blindsided

•chapter twelve•

"who are you and what have you done with ronan kole?" condos questions ronan as he sits down at the lunch table. ronan has his arm around me as he picks at his lunch, the two of us laughing at something holten said.

"what do you mean?"

"you gave up fighting? just like that?" he snaps his fingers.

ronan looks over at me, his eyes lit up.
"id do anything for her. " he says and places a kiss on my head.

"ronan, you've been fighting your whole life. i just..." condos' sentence trails off as ronan gives him a glare. i swear if looks could kill. i take ronan's tense hand in mine and he noticeably relaxes. condos says in an unconvinced voice, "congrats man. "

the rest of lunch was spent talking about how weird it was maleana and lacy weren't here to keep a conversation going. i can tell that holten likes maleana a lot, the way his ears become crimson whenever her name is brought up. the same with condos for lacy. he genuinely cares for her. good, we all deserve someone to make us feel special. i haven't talked to nathan or jake in forever and honestly i don't miss them one bit. sure we've been friends forever, but i prefer my new three boys much more over the old two.

"so i was thinking," i start.

"that's never good." condos jokes and i throw a piece of grilled chicken at him from my small salad. he catches it with ease and pops it in his mouth.

"anyways, mockingjay part two just came out and even though i loved all of the books more than the movies, i loved the movies. so do you guys want to go maybe?" i suggest. today is thursday and we're off tomorrow for one of those teacher inservice days. i don't know what it is, all i care about is that i get to sleep in.

"uh yeah i'm in. " holten says and takes a huge bite out of his cheeseburger. my eyes linger on the burger a little longer than necessary and ronan catches me, but doesn't say anything.

the other two agree also and we make plans to see the eight o'clock showing of it tonight after my hair appointment. i decided it was time for a new look since i've been feeling as though i have a new personality. i want to change it up a bit and cut it short with maybe a little highlight to it. also, i'm getting contacts today after school so i don't have to wear my thick framed glasses anymore. i'm getting bored of the same old look so it's time for a change.

the lunch bell rings and the three periods after lunch fly by. ronan walks me out to my blue jeep before hopping in his porsche that has taken lacy's usual spot, condos' car taking maleana's. i tell the boys i'd pick them up around six so we can grab something to eat and to text me the address.

••••

"alright honey so what were you thinking of having done today?ooo i see you don't have glasses anymore." carmen, my hair dresser asks me. carmen has got bright pink hair and always has his nails painted white. he's also a hair genius, i absolutely love him.

"just got colored contacts after school. i chose a bright blue, what do you think?"

"i think you look gorgeous no matter what hun. "

"and as for hair, honestly? go crazy. " i tell him and he freezes from putting the black apron around my neck. he meets my eyes in the mirror and they're filled with complete shock.

"are you serious?"

"i'm trusting you!" i giggle at him, feeling giddy and nervous for the outcome.

"oh don't worry honey, you're in good hands. "

carmen takes me over to the sinks and washes my chocolate brown hair as we talk about the town's latest gossip.

"so did you hear that ronan kole has gotten a girlfriend? omg he is one hunk of man that girly is so lucky!"

my face reddens and carmen looks down at me, his eyes wide. he stops scrubbing my scalp with vanilla scented shampoo and his jaw drops.

"nuh uh!"

i nod my head at him, trying to suppress my huge grin.

"shut up! omg this is amazing holy shit! i've been hearing so much about how he hasn't been in any trouble lately and how he's so protective over you and just how head over heals he is for you!"

"he chose me over fighting. " yeah the pit it like a top secret fighting arena, but like a good hairstylist, carmen knows everything about everything. well, except for my love life until now.

"shut up! he loves you. " he states, plain and simple.

"what? no way it hasn't even been a week. "

carmen finishes rinsing the conditioner out of my hair and wraps it in a fluffy towel.

"so, is he as bad boy and intimidating as everyone says he is? ooo, or how about his friends? "

"actually they aren't at all. at first they scared the heck out of me but after a while i really began to like them. i mean, they're super protective over me and the girls, and they're so funny."

i tell him everything from the night ronan saved me at the pit to christmas tree decorating to us going to the movies tonight.

"awe i love a cute bad boy good girl cliché!" carmen cheers. he has my chair faced away from the mirror so i can't see myself until everything is done. he has been cutting my hair for a little while so i have the feeling it's not going to be to my waist anymore.

••••

"alright, here we go new look in three, two, one!" carmen spins me around in my chair and my breath is taken away by my appearance. he trimmed it to just below my shoulders, then dyed it a shade of blondish brown at the ends then curled it. i honestly love my new look!

"i love it so much oh my gosh thank you carmen!" i jump up out of the chair and hug him.

"anything for you sweetheart! and good luck on that date tonight!" he gives me a wink and i grin at him before walking out of the salon.

the boys texted me the address while i was getting my hair done so i start off in the direction of the house i'd be picking up condos and holten at. then to ronan's.

i pull into condos' driveway to see they're already waiting for me.

"tsk tsk. it's six o'five. you're five minutes late miss- whoah you look different!"

i smile at holten through the rearview mirror as the climb in the back, leaving the front for ronan.

"you like? "

"awe no more nerd glasses?" condos whines.

"yes and that's good because now you can't take them and wear them around. "

after five minutes i pull up to a small flat and ronan walks out of the front door.

"he lives alone?" i question.

"uh... yeah. " holten trails off awkwardly, like he knows something.

"what? what do you know that i don't?"

"that's a story for a different time. "

ronan opens up the passenger door and stands there, awestruck at my new appearance. butterflies fill my stomach and my heart pounds. crap. what if he doesn't like it?

"you look amazing sweetheart." he compliments and then climbs in before placing a kiss on my cheek. i blush and thank him, then drive off in the direction of Chick-Fil-A.

••••

kinda short huh? sorry bout that! thanks for reading! vote, comment, etc!