Beautiful Bully

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Isabel continued verbally assaulting Simon over the next several days. He put up with it, deciding not to retaliate. Instead, he pretended not to hear her and acted like she didn't exist. This drove her insane. She was completely unaccustomed to being ignored in such a manner, especially by someone who she considered inferior to her.

And then something changed.

They were in Literature class together and the teacher was handing out their previous essays with the marks on them.

Simon got 21/25. He smiled, pleased with himself. Then he saw Isabel's face when she got hers back. Her face was very pale. She looked as though she was about to break down into tears.

"Can't be," she mumbled. "Couldn't have fucked up this badly..."

He peeked over her shoulder.

11/25.

"You'll do better next time," he said, surprising both her and himself.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me. I mean, yeah, it looks bad right now but you're smart. If you work hard you'll do much better with your next one. You just have to keep practising."

And then he gave her an encouraging smile and she flushed.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" asked the sexy brown-haired girl. Simon shrugged.

"Why not?" replied Simon. "Sure, you were mean to me before, but I don't see the point in holding grudges." His smile made her turn redder and then he asked "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I mean, thanks. I'm okay," she said, not at all her usual self. Gone was her normal confidence. She couldn't believe it. After all the shit she did to him, he was still so kind. It caught Isabel completely off-guard, almost as much as her marks did. She usually did so much better on her assignments.

"Good. Too much stress isn't going to help anyone."

Then he scooted closer to her, looking at her paper and offering her some advice on what corrections to make. She found herself looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, observing him in a way she never did before.

During the lunch break, she talked to Loren and Vanessa about it.

"We're not bullying Simon anymore."

Loren frowned.

"Why not?" she asked.

Isabel quickly told her and Vanessa about what happened in Literature. The frown never left Loren's face. Loren tapped her chin slowly, deep in thought.

Vanessa, meanwhile, said "So you want to be his lover now instead of enemy?"

Isabel glared at her, shaking her head.

"Okay. I'll ask him out then." Vanessa was about to walk towards Simon when Isabel and Loren grabbed her at the same time.

"Hold your horses," Loren told her, before saying to Isabel, "Are you really sure you don't want to bully him anymore? Just because he was nice to you once?"

Isabel shrugged.

"He was nice to me after all the crap I did, so it seems fair for me to stop giving him a hard time."

"And that's it? No other feelings?"

"No other feelings," replied Isabel, although she did not sound very convincing. "Just remember. No more making fun of or insulting my Simon."

"Your Simon?"

"Crap!"

Isabel looked profoundly embarrassed. Vanessa was about to tease her when Loren said "Alright, we won't bully him again. Can we talk about something else now? Like getting food? I'm really hungry." She then went to buy food, with Isabel and Vanessa close behind.

They greeted a few other girls on the swim team, with Vanessa saying "Your Captain's got a crush, ladies!" Isabel blushed but didn't say anything as the other girls excitedly asked her who it was.

"You've got to tell us," one of them said.

"It must be Carlos," another speculated.

Isabel shook his head. "No, it's not Carlos."

"Who is it then?"

"I'm not telling you lot," said Isabel as she and her two closest friends left with their food and found a table to sit down at and eat. They had their lunch together like they did nearly every day, chatting about what subjects they had after lunch.

Suddenly, Isabel noticed something.

Simon had entered the area with Christina next to him. The two were talking and laughing, and it pissed Isabel off.

She glared at them yet they didn't notice her.

Loren and Vanessa didn't know what to say to their friend. They never expected to be put in this sort of situation.

All the three girls could do was watch as Simon and Christina sat down a couple of tables away from them.

"Do you want to go swimming with me this evening?" Christina asked Simon. She had gotten on the team despite Isabel and her cohorts attempting to scare her away.

Simon nodded. "Sure! I'd love to, baby," he said. "Just let me get home first so I can grab my swimming trunks and goggles, okay?"

Hearing Simon call Christina 'baby' nearly made Isabel spit her coffee across the table. Loren seemed equally shocked by this. Her eyes were wide as she continued to listen in on Simon.

After a while, Simon went to the toilet, leaving Christina alone.

Isabel got up from her chair and walked over to the table. She sat down opposite Christina, saying "I want you to break up with him?"

"What?"

"You heard me. Tell him you're no longer interested in going out with him. Do it later today or maybe tomorrow. Just tell him that it's over now."

Christina was startled and stared at her bully. She wasn't sure she heard her right.

"And what if I don't do what you ask?"

She expected Isabel to make threats or physically hit her, but that didn't happen. Instead, Isabel drew her iPhone from her pocket and made some quick searches. Christina watched her curiously.

"I'll buy you one of these," Isabel said, showing her many items from a jewellery shop. "You can pick anything you want. I'm very rich." Christina looked at them with longing but shook her head.

"Nope. Not interested."

Isabel frowned.

She went back to her table where Vanessa and Loren were waiting. Loren asked, "What are you going to do next?"

"Don't know yet," murmured Isabel. She clenched her fists angrily. It was the first time someone said no to her money and she was at a loss as to what to do next. Usually when she threw cash at problems, they tended to disappear.

Author's Note : How is this one, everybody?