Scandalous

Chapter Twelve

(Would you guys please vote? Just click the little star, please! And I introduced another character at the end of the book because it ties in with my new one. xx)

Dad decided to buy me a briefcase for law school. He still thinks I want to be a lawyer when in reality I hate everything they stand for.  He just doesn’t understand, not that I’ve attempted to explain it to him. I guess he’ll figure it out when I pack my things and head across the country.

But with that on my mind along with finals and all my plans of actually traveling, I’m mentally exhausted. So, when I run into Ashton in the hallway of school, I don’t even realize it’s him. “Sorry,” I mumble.

“Hey babe,” he coos.

I snap my head up. “Oh, Ashton! Hey.”

“What’s a matter?” His hand swings up to grab mine with a grin playing in his lips.

“Just thinking about a lot lately.” My eyes go to the few boys walking by and giving us sneers, so I gently pull my hand away from his. Everyone is taking it weirdly that Ashton and I are dating. Especially, Ryan. Every time Ashton is around, he won’t even look at me. I guess it’s because they’re all scared of him.

He reaches for my hand again. “Stop watching them, watch you,” he whispers.

I sigh, but nod anyway. “Hey, Ash?”

He hums a little, playing with my fingers as I open my locker.

“Are you still sure about our plans?”

“Of course I am, love.” He gives a dimpled grin as his eyes go past me. “Hey, I’ll meet you in class.” He pushes away from the locker and takes off running down the hall.

I grab my books and close the locker door. Two days. We graduate in two days. Finally, I’ll be free. When I spin around I collide with someone, my books falling to the ground. “Fucking hell,” I hiss.

His dark eyes peer up at me, through his long, black hair. Anger and hatred fill them and I have never met a human being more terrifying. His clothes are all black, consisting of a black hoodie, black jeans and Converse. It’s not the black clothes that make him scary, it’s the resentment in his eyes that say he wants to kill anyone in his way.

“What are you staring at?” he growls.

“N-nothing.” I reach down and grab my books, before standing up and meeting his eyes again. “Sorry.”

“Aren’t you Stella?”

I freeze for a moment before nodding.

“Oh.”

“Who are you?”

He shrugs a little. “Dylan.”

A hand slaps the back of Dylan’s neck, causing him to shrink up and curl into himself. Fear flares up in his eyes and I instantly want to hug him, because this guy isn’t as scary as he seems at first. He’s so scared right now, there’s no way he could be intimidating. The owner of the hand pulls him close for a side hug.

“Dylan, hey,” Ashton says in a soft whisper.

“Oh, uh, hi,” he mumbles, with his arms still wrapped around his waist.

“Stella isn’t giving you a hard time, is she?”

“’Course not.” He shuffles his feet nervously.

“That’s a surprise,” he snorts. His eyes are so soft, with his voice gentle. I’ve never seen him like this before which makes me all the more curious as to who this guy is. Ashton gives a dimpled grin at me and then looks back at Dylan. “Stell, this guy is really cool.”