I Slapped Mr. Popular

13

I get a text from Ridge the next morning:

Can I pick you up for school?

Smiling, I text back:

Sure :)

I text Emma, telling her that Ridge is picking me up today. When that done, I make my way downstairs. Nathan passes me, and he doesn't even acknowledge me. I make my way into the kitchen and make myself a bowl of heavenly Fruity Pebbles.

Nick sits on the counter with his own bowl of cereal, and I sit in the chair. "Morning," he greets flatly.

"Morning," I reply, taking a bite of cereal.

"So, I saw the video," he says.

I drop my spoon into my bowl and look at him. "What about it?"

"Nothing. I just said I saw it."

I am about to reply when the doorbell rings. Kyle walks in, and I hand him my bowl. "You can finish it," I say.

He smiles. "Thanks," he says.

"Yeah," I say, grabbing my bag. I open the door, smiling when I see Ridge. "Morning."

Ridge grins. "Well, good morning. Shall we?" he asks.

"Yeah, let's go," I say, and we walk to the car. He opens the door for me. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Cupcake."

I glare. "Don't call me that," I say.

Ridge smiles and shuts the door. He gets on his side, and we buckle up. "Ready?"

"Yeah," I say, and he pulls out. I turn the radio, and "Talk Too Much," by COIN is playing.

I hum along, and Ridge looks over at me. "Who sings this?"

"COIN," I say.

"Who?" he asks.

I gasp, "You never heard of COIN?"

He shakes his head. "Never, Braelyn," he answers.

"I love them. This is my favorite song by them," I say.

"What song is this?" Ridge asks me, glancing at me with a small smile.

I grin. "Talk Too Much," I reply.

He nods, smiling. "It seems like a good song," he says, looking over at me. Then, I start to sing along. He shakes his head, laughing. I turn it up.

We pull into the school's parking lot, and I turn the radio down. Ridge finds a parking spot, and we get out. Everyone stares at us, and I swallow. Ridge grabs my hand. "Ignore them," he says.

Nodding, we walk into the school. Everyone starts whispering. I can't pieces from conversations. "That's the girl in the video...what's she doing with Ridge...they just started dating like yesterday...she's actually pretty hot..."

I put my head down, and Ridge squeezes my hand. I look at him, and he winks. Rolling my eyes, I look ahead. Emma, Marcus, and Xavier wait by my locker. Emma wiggles her eyebrows at me, and Marcus nudges her.

"Hey, guys," I greet.

Xavier stares at Ridge with a hard expression. Emma looks at him then back at me. "Hey," she says, "Are you doing anything tonight?"

I shake my head. "No, why?" I ask.

"Sleepover?" she asks.

I shrug. "Sure."

Marcus frowns. "What about me?"

Emma pats his shoulder. "Girls night, hun."

"But I wanna gossip about Channing Tatum's abs, too!" Marcus says in his best girl voice. He even stomps his foot.

We laugh, and Xavier walks away. I look at Emma. "What is his problem?" I ask.

"You know Xavier," she says.

Someone calls for Ridge, and he nudges me. "I'm going to go see a few friends. I'll see you in homeroom."

I nod. "Okay," I say, and he kisses the side of my head before running off.

"Aww, two days dating, and you seem like the perfect couple," Emma squeals.

I roll my eyes, grabbing stuff from my locker. "Yeah, okay."

"You guys are so cute!" Marcus says, coping Emma's tone. Emma glares and slaps his chest. "Ow!" Marcus grabs his chest. "At least take those rings off before you slap me."

Emma rolls her eyes then looks at me. "You guys are cute. Anyway, we're going to the mall this afternoon when I get to your house, so you can get some cute clothes," she says.

I roll my eyes. "And why is that?"

"You got to show these losers who you are," she says.

"Yeah, I'm good," I reply.

She groans, "Fine. I'll give you some of my old stuff."

"I don't need new clothes," I say.

Emma rolls her eyes. "So, you say. C'mon, let's get to class."
××××××
Xavier meets me by my locker right before lunch. "Hey," I greet, opening my locker.

"Hey. Braelyn, I know you've just started dating Ridge, but I don't trust him," He says quickly.

I look at him. "What?"

"I think he's playing you," Xavier answers.

I raise my eyebrows. "Well, he's not," I reply.

"C'mon, Braelyn, you know his reputation as well as everyone else. I thought he annoyed you."

"That was before I got to know him," I say.

Xavier crosses his arm. "Things are moving too fast. You changed your mind within a couple of days. What is it about him?" he asks.

"Xavier, are you jealous or something?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "No, just worries that he's going to break your heart like Jared did," he says.

I glare. "He's not like Jared."

"You're right. He's worse than Jared," Xavier says.

"Let me make something very clear, Xavier. You have no say in who I date. You're not my brother or my boyfriend, so stay out of it," I say then walk off.