Once Upon A Badboy

2. Rumour has it

CHAPTER TWO

"I heard he's the one who broke into Gilles Auto shop and stole most of his new stock," Chase said as I sat down at our table. Everyone was already seated and devouring their lunch. I, unfortunately, got stuck in the busy line because my locker jammed again. I was a few more tries away from punching the metal before it finally opened, but if it continued sticking then I'd no doubt have a bruised hand by the end of the week.

Toby snorted. "I heard he smoked weed with Crazy-Carson at the back of the school after first period."

"I heard he swore Declan Pence in the parking lot on Wednesday," Lacey spoke up, after taking a bite of her beautiful sandwich. Yes, I just used beautiful to describe her food. Lacey was a major art girl and everything about her was a masterpiece. Her lunch was unquestionably the same. She made all of our food look like the mystery meat they used to serve us a few years ago before it got banned by the health department.

"Well, Declan is a piece of shit. And honestly which one of us hasn't given him a piece of our mind," Michael remarked. Five hands shot up, including mine. Declan was a total piece of garbage. He was the real cliché of a big-headed jock and bully. He was also a serious ladies man but he's been semi tied down to Valerie Chambers since last spring. I guess you could say all the boys like to get in her chambers, she's also the wicked witch of Sparrow High and loathes Maliya and I, but mostly my best friend. I guess it's the fact she's always wanted to be captain of the dance team, and Maliya was the best of the best.

"You really think the rumours are true?" Maliya asked with thought.

My eyes strayed towards the boy in question. For the past three days, since his arrival, Ethan Darke sat alone in the corner of the cafeteria. He ignored everyone who tried to approach him. And the girls definitely tried. It also wasn't the fact that no one asked him to sit with them - Valerie did on the first day. Chase even tried asking him to sit with us when he met him in English.

"There must be some truth to it." Lacey shrugged. "What do you think Flora?" Everyone at the table glanced at me, as if realising I had been silent the whole time. I pursed my lips and shrugged.

"Oh, come on," Chase said. "You must be curious too?"

"She's curious," Maliya answered smugly. I rolled my eyes. She hadn't forgotten my first encounter with Ethan Darke and to be honest neither had I. There was something about him that I just couldn't put my finger on.

"Don't even think about it." Everyone frowned at Toby's words, but he kept his eyes trained on me. I did not like where he was going with this, but I knew what he was thinking about, more specifically who he was thinking about. "You know I'm right, Flora," Toby added.

Maliya scoffed, and Lacey rolled her eyes. The girls and I were on the same page when it came to the overbearing, overprotectiveness of our other friend - who was currently still missing from school. Shane Hall, was practically the brother I never had. We'd known each other since birth and ever since I could remember he was always there beside me, scaring off any guy who thought they could try their luck with me. Now if you're thinking, we harboured secret feelings for each other, you should stop now. Aside from the small fact we don't share the same blood - we've always thought of each other as siblings. Something our parents are quite happy about, too. The thought of dating Shane quite honestly ruins my lunch. He's even told me the same.

"Shane needs to chill. Flora isn't going to be single for the rest of her life, and someday, some boy isn't going to be so scared of him either," Michael spoke up. Toby shook his head, but remained quiet. Toby and Shane were really close, when Toby's parents divorced, he ended up living with Shane and his family for a while - it was a really nasty separation.