I Don't Like Badboys...Seriously | ✓

Chapter Twenty Six - It's Getting Heated

Chapter Twenty Six – It's Getting Heated

For their alleged crimes, Hunter and Ace each got a Saturday detention. "I think that's my fifth one this year," Ace mumbled.

"It's my seventh. Hah. Suck that," Hunter grinned proudly, waving the yellow slip around.

"I don't think you should be trying to get Saturdays," I commented. "Dare I ask, what did you get them all for?"

"I honestly do not remember," Hunter beamed.

The guy had just gotten a Saturday detention and there he was grinning from ear to ear like it was the happiest thing that had ever happened. "We're so lucky you're a goodie two shoes," Hunter said. "Otherwise he wouldn't have believed me. Lucky, you didn't get anything on your school record."

Then it hit me, that pang of guilt, again. I'd almost manage to forget about it until he mentioned it. I just looked at him, but he did nothing but continue grinning. His emerald eyes dazzled in a sincere way that almost hurt me.

"Principal Ryan thinks there's no such thing as honour amongst thieves, but hey, we're not thieves," Ace winked.

"I also 'scout's honoured' him, but, I'm not a scout, so whatever," Hunter shrugged.

They were so goofy. It made me wonder. How did they garner up such a reputation? Looking at Hunter, it made me wonder another thing. Was what Jenny said true?

"And you have no idea how much Hunter cares about you."

It made no sense. Just looking at him, and then looking at me. We were entirely different people.

I headed home in deep contemplation. I didn't purposely want to use anybody, nor was I particularly keen about all the rumours floating about in the school.

It got worse in the following days. On Friday when I got to school, I'd coincidentally arrived at the same time as Hunter, and boy did we get a lot of stares as he walked me to my locker.

"You've heard the rumours right?" I finally managed to ask.

"Yup," he answered plainly.

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Why should it? I mean, I know it's not true, and you know it's not true, so what the hell have I got to be ashamed of?"

I laughed. "You think really straightforwardly, you know that?"

"I like to be true to myself, you know?" He joked, grinning.

"Oh please, Mr Shameless."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You do that."

The day went by swimmingly as I adopted Hunter's supposed mind frame. Not caring worked surprisingly well. It went so well that by the end of the day, I was feeling better than I had in a long time. Jenny, Ella and I walked out of the science wing side by side, and despite the weight of my bag, I felt as light as a feather. "So, how are the rumours?" I asked.

"I'm not going to lie to you, they're travelling around the school at the speed of light," Ella replied.

"How are you coping?" Jenny asked.

"I'm fine, I guess," I answered.

"Do the guys know?"

"Yeah, I know Hunter does. He doesn't even care." I recalled what he'd said in the morning. "You know? I had no idea Hunter was anything like that." And then I realised. I found myself smiling and grinning when I spoke about him.

There was no denying it.

In my mind, we were officially acquaintances. He'd gone from being just 'one of the badboys', to someone who obviously meant more than a stranger to me.

"So what was their punishment for climbing the fence?" Jenny questioned. Of course. After I was feeling all fine, that had to pop up back into conversation. But. How did she know? I hadn't told her about it, and neither had Ella. She knew we'd been called down to the Principal's office, but not what we were supposedly in trouble for.

"How did you know?" I asked.

She quickly shut her mouth. "O-of course I know. You were talking about it all of y-yesterday," she stammered, struggling to remain calm. "Besides, other than climbing the fence, what else have you ever done wrong?" She added, with more confidence this time.

"Actually, we got called down for vandalising the building," I lied, my voice never wavering. Ella looked at me questioningly before nodding, knowingly.

"What?" Jenny exclaimed. I'd thrown her off with my comment. "You vandalised a building?" She gasped.

"No. I didn't." The dots were finally connecting themselves now. There was no way the incident would have been brought up so long after it happened unless someone had decided to bring it up again. No one else could possibly have been sure it was us. But if it was her, what was her motivation for it? As far as I could remember, I hadn't really done anything to her that would warrant this.

"Did you tell the principal it was us?" I asked slowly.

She looked at me and her look of surprise that appeared vanished as quickly as it had come.

"No."

"I don't believe you," I said firmly.

"I don't need you to believe me. After all, everyone believes you all the time, anyway right? So who am I to deserve your belief?" She exclaimed. "You're cold and ruthless, and yet you have people who want to be around you! You don't even have to try and everything comes to you. And Hunter," she grumbled.

"Is this what all this is about? Hunter?" I exclaimed.

"Yes! Fine! I like him, okay!?" She shrieked. "When I first got here, you had no interest in him whatsoever, so I tried, okay? But bit by bit he just got closer to you. You lied. You had no interest and you were running around with him doing all of this?"

"But I don't..." I said, almost speechless.

"You're just leading them on!"

"Who am I leading on!?"

"Ace and Hunter. You're just using Hunter, and that's cruel, you know."

"But they don't even like me!" It was my turn to start yelling, until I realised people had started staring.

At that moment, I looked up and realised that Hunter and Ace had been standing in front of the science wing, and when I saw their faces, I knew they'd heard the entire thing.

"What?" Was all Hunter managed to say as he made his way over.

~*~

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