Weakness

"Get it in Butler"

My brother and – who I now know was called Justin Bieber (through serious probing by me) were what Ryan had called ‘associations’. Apparently he helped him out and vice versa. By ‘helped out’ he obviously meant in supplying drugs, something like that anyway. So incidentally I tried to push it to the back of my mind.

But it was pretty hard seeing as I couldn’t seem to shake off the look in Justin’s eye when he said ‘I promise’ it was haunting me and I wasn’t sure why. But I was sure that I wanted the feeling to fade, and quick.

It wasn’t like I was going to see him again, so why he was having such an effect on me I was a mystery. But I was determined to get this evasive guy out of my head – he was corrupt – a demon in the eyes of the lord and he internally screamed trouble.

I was sat back in my brother’s car, even though he himself didn’t go to school, his one of many duties as a ‘good’ son was to take me to and from school and thankfully his bad boy antiques didn’t let his side of the deal down – most of the time anyway.

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly clearing his throat as if he wanted desperately to say something but he didn’t quite know how. “Just spit it out Ryan” I said quietly not being able to deal with his anxious behaviour any more.

“You’re not going to tell mum and dad are you?” he asked a guilty glint in his eyes, “About last night, I mean,” he added answering my question that was on the tip of my tongue.

I shook my head staring out of the window staring in detail at tree after tree that we drove past. I felt extremely uncomfortable talking about those types of things. It was so unfamiliar to me and I hated to think that beyond his sweet exterior he could be a monster like the ones you see on TV.

Not that I’m allowed to watch any TV content that has an age limit of below twelve mind you. I may be fifteen but dad says he doesn’t want me to see anything bad, like he wanted me to think that life was all unicorns and rainbows – but I knew it was far from that.

Saying that, I had watched a couple of ‘disallowed’ TV programs. Mainly through my friends when I was at their houses. Not that my dad knew about those few selected occasions though, he’d go crazy if he found out.

“But remember what I said, stay away from Bieber,” he shook his head a hand running through his hair absentmindedly “He’s bad news.”

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I was lent up against the wall of the school mentally cursing Ryan for turning up late. The normally fully packed crowds of people that swarmed the parking lot were now just a distant memory away and I found myself being the only one here.

I gripped onto the ends of my jumper sleeves, it was mid winter meaning it was spitefully cold and I did not want to be standing out here. I was going to go crazy at Ryan when he turned up. I had been left in the cold one too many times.

“Grace, what are you doing here?” Brad Holloway, head of the math committee (yes that does exist) spoke up beside me. I quickly turned to him flashing him a smile as he mirrored my actions.

“My inconsiderate brother just so happens to have forgotten about me,” I laughed making sure he knew that I was only joking. He may be late but he hadn’t forgotten about me – well I hoped he hadn’t anyway.

“Do you need a lift?” he asked me. I was just about to accept, after all the chances of Ryan turning up now were pretty slim, but instead the sound of a car screeching and pulling up beside us interrupted me.

A darkened blacked out window of a jet black Cadillac swiftly rolled down revealing a person who had taken over my thoughts much of last night and this morning and who I very much wanted to avoid – Justin Bieber.