Run Bad Boy Run (One-Shot Contest Winner)

Dedicated to the real – amazing – author of Run Bad Boy Run :D

Ember’s P.O.V.

My breathing was shallow, and I was exhausted.  My chest was rising and falling faster for every time I pressured myself even more.

This was the end. The end. The conclusion, the finish, the wrap-up, the closing or whatever you’d call it.

The bags underneath my eyes felt heavy, and I longed to be in my bed under the warm cover of safety.

Once and for all, it would be over. All because of me.

The burning in my arms intensified, and I groaned. The things I do for this boy! I would put all my strength into it if it was the last thing I ever did. I had called all the forces, but mostly I relied on myself.

Which was partly why I was sprinting down the street at 6.30 a.m. with a long – seemingly never-ending – line of shopping carts from Target, hoping the rare and few people around at this ungodly hour wouldn’t notice the red shirt I was wearing wasn’t actually a coworker’s uniform. That, and the fact that it was a bit weird how the supposed Target assistant was running away from Target with a shitload of their shopping carts.

The deafening sound of the carts clashing against one another made me paranoid and while I tried to keep up the pace without stumbling, I couldn’t help but look back over my shoulder every fifth second. Totally inconspicuous and discreet behavior, I know. Let’s just say I was longing to reach my destination, before my neck snapped. Having motivated myself, I pushed the carts a bit harder and took longer strides, even though I was already panting like a dog under the breeding season.

Internally I blocked out the sound of my huffing and puffing – which probably would overpower the sound of the shopping carts soon – to go through the plan once more. While I was heavily relying on the assistance of the others to reach the desired reaction, I also thought this was good for them. Hayden was more or less accepted as my boyfriend by Corry, but whenever he was mentioned my half-brother would still frown now and then without even realizing it. Knowing the girls I also knew they were trying to get used to the whole situation, but they still weren’t all too sure about the terms of our relationship. I grimaced at the thought of all the things that could go wrong in this plan, but convinced myself that it was worth it.

~*~*~*~

The time was 7:06, when the school janitor eventually opened up the main entrance. Exhaling in irritation over the fact, that he spent half a minute to actually place the key in the lock, I gave him the stink eye. As soon as he opened up the door, I pushed my way in. I turned to look him straight in the eye. “You were 7 minutes too late.” I declared critically, eyeing him up. “Don’t be surprised if I let this slip to the school board.” And with that I turned around and made my way to the nearest available locker room, ignoring the weird stare from the janitor.

I was definitely not a morning person.

As I entered the girls’ locker room and making sure that it actually was the girls’ locker room twice, I started my mental timer. Having only 35 minutes to spare, I knew all preparations had to be done in time, before the plan could be ready to take action. Everything was about timing and maybe a little bit of luck.

I took a quick shower, making sure to wash away the smell of my sweat without taking too long. Barely wrapping the towel around my most important parts, I stepped out of the shower and immediately started blow drying. The entire essence of my work was to do things thoroughly, but as fast as possible. Which was why I praised the lord over the fact, that I managed to do my small amount of make-up in one try. The dabbing of my bright red lipstick was spot on, and the bags under my eyes weren’t nearly as apparent as before. That’s what you get for sleeping late and waking up early.