𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 || baxter radic

5.

After a few minutes to compose myself I exit my room. I find Bax standing beside my bedroom door, just watching everyone mingling "Surprised you haven't run off to make out with someone." I comment, trying to walk past him, but he stops me before I can get far.

His finger locks around my wrist, pulling me toward him. His voice is hushed, like he doesn't want anyone else to hear. But there isn't anyone around, and the devil deep inside me is convincing me slowly that he's doing it to be closer to me. I'm being manipulated by my own body, always. "Maybe I was waiting for you." 

I rip my arm away. It's very clear he's seeing through my façade. This mask I've been wearing has been deemed useless. Why now? Why after all this time had it all fallen apart? What changed? Was it being second best? Because I was not about to be someone's second choice.

"Not funny." I scowl. My eyes dart daggers through his chest.

"Why'd you let Summer win when you'd been there from the start?" Baxter continues on his with the slough of questions has lined up in his head waiting to ask me. I wonder how long he's been complying the list. There's been quite a few, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

"What are you on about Bax?" I shake my head, my arms drifting across my chest. Almost as if to show I'm fed up, and mentally I am. But every second he's focused on me, is another second of having a shot.

"You know what I'm on about May." His eyes drift over my shoulder. I know right away it must be Summer and Ari appearing in his sights. When I turn to accompany his glance, I'm right. Summer has her arms around him, swaying to some song playing aloud. 

"Keep loving her." I pat his chest and walk away. 

"May!" Bax calls out after me but I ignore his plea to continue the conversation. If he wanted to continue it, he could have chased after me. I wasn't going to sit and have another conversation that walked in circles. His mind was set on Summer. It would always be set on her. I wouldn't accept being second best. 

I walk over to Poppy who is free of Marlon. "What's all that about?" She motions toward Bax, who's shifted his focus from Summer to me. Yes, let's point more attention to the obvious.

"Just Bax being Bax. You know how he is, always pushing everyone's buttons." I lean on the counter, unable to break my eyes away from him. It feels like I'm locked in a trance, unable to escape. Maybe, just maybe, I've been hypnotized and someone's been controlling my actions all day. It's highly unlikely, but you never know.

I understood where his actions came from. He was always seeking to be the center of attention because he never got that attention growing up. He didn't get his parent's affection. His sister's worked hand and hand at being the worst people possible. He has been berated his entire life. Of course he was going to act out for attention. He never learned how to get that attention in a positive way. All he had to do was look toward me, but he didn't.

"I feel bad for him." Poppy states. "His family screwed him over. Summer picked Ari. He hasn't had the best time down here. I don't understand why he wanted to stay. Nothing good happened here." 

It was actually quite clear to me why he stayed. He found a person that made him feel everything he craved growing up. Why would he ever walk away from that? Even if she picked someone else, he could still go to her if he needed. Summer would still drop almost anything to comfort him. He was there for her when no one else was. She owed him the same back.

"I think more good happened than you think." I sigh as I train my eyes off him finally. 

"Maybelle, do you like Bax?" Poppy whispers, her hushed tone drifting past no one but me. I want to scoff; I want to continue to lie. But it's Poppy and if anyone understood, it would be Poppy. She felt the guilt I felt because she felt it with Marz. 

"That obvious?" I drift my eyes to her, hoping that she gives me an answer I can work with. Maybe she can explain to me how my perfect plan has started to crumble. 

"Summer's told everyone you had a boyfriend at home. So no, but everyone has something bad to say about Bax, everyone but you." The broody new kid always getting the bad rep. No one takes time to see past that first layer. I was new and I didn't get that treatment, it shouldn't be like that for him either.

"She what?" My voice cracks. The shock hitting a bullet to the chest. Why would my best friend make up a lie like that? Why would she make me claimed? She knew I wanted a love like hers. Why was she going out of her way to prevent it?

"You know what? It's fine." I hold in a breath for a few seconds, letting it out slowly. Maybe it was all just a massive misunderstanding. There was no way that she'd tell a lie like this to hurt me. She must have had an ulterior motive. "I'll be back, don't move."

I walk over to Bax, who's drifted closer to Poppy and I. My hand wraps tightly around his wrist as I yank him away from people to a private part of the house. A place where someone can't eavesdrop in on what I'm about to ask. "Just can't get enough of me, can you Maybelle?"

"Shut up for two seconds will you?" For once I'm not letting him run this conversation. But Bax being Bax has to make some game out of it. He can't ever be serious. He zips up his lips and tosses the key like a child. 

"What has Summer said about me while I'm not around?" My tone is serious. If he gives me some smart aleck comment, I might actually whack him for it. 

"Uh oh, trouble in best friend paradise?" A smirk starts to tug at the corner of his lips. 

"Now isn't the time Baxter." I growl.

"There you go again." An audible tisk slips past his lips and I swear he's being the most unreasonable human ever. And him being this unreasonable is the reason I have found myself so enamored by him. But I really wish he would be serious for half a second. "Tell Baxxy what's got your panties in a bunch."

I huffed. "Forget it." I storm a whole half a step before he inevitably stops me, which seems like a normal situation for every encounter we've had today. He clearly enjoys every second of pissing me off.

"She told us all not to mess with you. If one of us hurt you, she'd find a way to get back at us." His eyes shift serious. 

"And that I have a boyfriend so don't even think about trying anything." I add onto his statement. He doesn't agree verbally, but a shift in his face gives me the answer I need. "Of course." I run my hands through my hair.

"So you want to tell me now, why you've spent every morning down at the beach?" Bax's tone isn't playful. It's genuine, floating in the air like a soft cloud is transporting it specially to me. 

A lump forms in my throat. I can't answer. I'm screaming the answer in my head but it won't past by my lips. It's running laps, sprinting as fast as it can, trying to escape. But the gates closed, no other exit in sight. 

His hand reaches up and caresses my cheek so softly, I almost melt into his palm. It's a touch of understanding. A touch of knowing why I can't answer. Even though he won't admit it, he gets why I can't confess. Too much on the line. Summer liked him. He liked her. The line had been drawn, and that line didn't involve me.