The Player Game

Chapter 1

"I bet you have a crush on me."  Aaron winks, nudging my shoulder playfully.  His bright blue eyes sparkle with laughter.

"What?" I reply sharply, too shocked to shove him back like I normally would.  My head snaps to the side to stare at him.

Why would I have a crush on Aaron?  What on earth could I find attractive about the arrogant jerk-head Aaron Nichols, chief womanizer and self-proclaimed 'player' of Greentree High?

"I said, I bet you have a crush on me," Aaron repeats as he leans over me to take control of the computer mouse.

 The soft scent of blueberries lingers in my nostrils and I stretch backwards in my chair, trying to create distance between our bodies.  He doesn't even bother to spare a glance in my direction, too busy concentrating on scrolling down the tumblr dashboard that is open on the computer.

I can feel my teeth starting to grind together, a habit of mine when I get angry.  My fists clench together as I fight the urge to wrestle him away from my computer.  When I'm upset or angry, violence is my first reflex.  If someone annoys me, my instinct is to hit them over the head.  

I guess you could say I'm the violence-junkie type of girl.

"What the hell?" I satisfy myself with slapping his hand away from the mouse and irritably, I regain control of the computer.  I click onto the next page and glare at the screen.

I can't believe that I've been abandoned by Micky for his new girlfriend.  We've been planning our "Make Fun of Movies Night" for the past week.  I even went to the extreme of buying two shopping bags worth of junk food for the night.  Yet, when I turn up to prepare, I find that he's abandoned me for his new girlfriend Tatiana, leaving me with his ass of a cousin, Aaron.

He's probably quite content eating spicy chicken with his glamorous girlfriend.  You could say the Player-ism runs in the family... though my best friend is much more likeable.

Aaron smirks at me, obviously knowing the peeved thoughts going through my head.  He leans back in his comfortable black armchair, one leg propped over the armrest casually.

I glare at his comfortable posture for a second before I continue using the mouse to scroll down the page.

The computer is an old grey thing, with a server as slow as a snail.  The screen flickers with every click so that it's as though lights are flashing in your face.  It can be so bad sometimes that I have to blink rapidly to rid the feeling.

The matching keyboard isn't much better.  Not only is it hard to type on with it's chunky grey keys but the mouse is big and heavy too.  I have to admit, even the ugly school computers are more modern.

"I do not have a crush on you," I assure Aaron, letting a moody edge creep into my voice.

I try to ignore the smug smirk I can see stretching across his lips.  I watch his smile grow in my peripheral vision as he opens his mouth to speak.  Before he can utter a word, I take action.

"Don't."  I point a finger sternly at him before he has a chance to open his mouth. "I do not like you."

I realise that my teeth are clenched together again, and force myself to unclench them, turning away from his smirking face.  Angrily, I return to tumblr, clicking onto a new page.

I don't know how we even ended up on tumblr.  I guess that I chose this option over sitting in the awkward silence that fills the Nichols' kitchen.  I can't go home since my parents are out and my keys are on top of the cabinet in my bedroom.

A low chuckle sounds from next to me.  "You've gone bright red."

This time I whirl around on my chair to face him, my rage flaring.  "I have not gone red.  I do not have a crush on you.  Get the picture?" I'm speaking through my teeth, another habit when I get angry.