Bad Intentions

Chapter 6

Julian's POV

I find myself thinking about boys with dark hair and green eyes who smoke and have tendencies to capture girls despite their attitudes.

Or one boy in particular...

I see him walking down the street sometimes, either playing with Collin or going on his usual run. I can't help the feeling that blooms in my chest, just under the surface of my rib cage.

I tell myself that's it's nothing, but each time he jogs past my house or looks up to my window, I feel the anxious feeling spread throughout my entire body.

It's been months since they moved here, three days since Harry and I shared a pizza in my living room, and two hours since I last thought of him.

Now he's walking to my door and I have one minute to make the living room presentable, thirty seconds to adjust myself, and ten seconds before he knocks.

I make him wait for a few seconds before answering the door.

"Oh, hey!" I say, as if I had no clue it was him. He laughs, and it sounds like a gentle spring rain.

"Hey" he steps around me into my house without being invited.

"Do you need something?" I wonder aloud, not sure why he's here.

"You said you wanted to be friends, so here I am." He picks up the grocery list I left on the counter and reads it before setting it back down. He seems nervous.
'~'~'

Harry's POV

I shouldn't be here, but the weight of my bet with Dominic rest on my chest like an elephant. I need to get close to her in order to win.

I pull out a chair from the table and sit. She brings over a cup of coffee and sits with me. She is pretty, now that I look at her. Her long red hair frames her face and her eyes are a mix of sapphire and jade. Her nose is perfectly straight, her skin is smooth...

At least Dom didn't choose an unsightly girl for us to play for.

"So, now that we're friends what do you want to do?" She asks.

"Well I have to run into the city. Do you want to come with me?" I stir my coffee with my middle finger while I wait for her reply.

"Sure" She shrugs, but there's something else in the way she perks up.

"Good." Is all I can think to say.

"Let me go get ready" She walks up the stairs to her room and I follow her. I sit on her bed while she pulls a pair of jeans and a black tshirt from her closet. She locks herself in her bathroom and I hear the shower turn on.

I move to the window seat and open the window. I light a cigarette and place it between my lips, blowing smoke to the outside world.

I remember how she showed me that box that she hides in her closet, how she trusted me enough to bare her memories of her mother.

I'm such an asshole for the game I'm about to play with her, but I can't help it. I'm addicted to hurting others, it numbs the pain I feel in myself.
'~'~'

"Harry turn here!" Julian exclaims loudly from the passenger seat. She's wearing sunglasses and her hair is billowing in the wind from the lowered window, despite the cold December air. I groan but do as she demands. We pull into a small cafe that specializes in pastries and icecream.

"You're insane. Ice cream in the middle of winter?" I ask. She gets out of the car and ducks to see me through the window.

"I'll be right back." She walks joyously into the cafe and emerges a moment later with a small box of cinnamon rolls and a cup of ice cream for each of us.