I was fuming.
Actually, I was feeling a lot of things, but one of them was definitely anger. The reason why was quite simple, really. I mean it had seemed absolutely impossible to me and it came as quite a shock when I realized that, well, it actually was possible.
Because it had happened.
"Aubrey, sooner or later, fumes will be escaping from your ears," Amber remarked, crossing her arms.
I pursed my lips and pressed the books tighter against my chest. "Sorry. I'm just upset."
"Are you still thinking about that picture? Oh, come on. It's just a picture of when you were young."
I glared at her. "Are you serious? He was invited to dinner and he ended up stealing. He actually had the nerve to steal! You know that's illegal, right?"
"Maybe he had a fetish," Amber commented, nodding.
I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "A fetish?"
"Maybe he's a pervert," Tymon suggested.
That made me uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. But even that seemed impossible. The text he had sent me reeked of revenge.
Because I laughed at him.
"No, no," I shook my head in disagreement. "It was all revenge. His mother forced him to say something during dinner and the way he said it—he was just so awkward and he definitely did not want to be there. I couldn't help but laugh. I bet that ticked him off."
"You bet? He stole a picture," Amber said. "So it most definitely ticked him off."
"Well, what am I supposed to do now? It just really puts me on edge knowing he has something that belongs to me."
"There's only one thing you can do."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "What's that?"
"You get revenge."
I eyed her carefully. I had never been in such a situation before. I've never even thought of getting back at someone. Amber had a mischievous glint in her eyes that I was scared of for a second. She was the queen of revenge. After all, she was friends with Tymon. "What do you have in mind?"
"Well, he stole something from you, right?" she started. I nodded. "So, you steal something of his. That way, you're even."
My eyes widened. "What? No way! I could never—I would never steal something. That's...that's way out of line, Amber."
"Well, do you have something else in mind, Aubrey?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
I sighed and began walking away. I turned my head towards them. "Come on, let's just get to class n—what the—"
Not a second later, I felt my face come in contact with the dirty, linoleum floor. I fell with a grunt. Groaning, I opened my eyes and was immediately met with a pair of worn out Converses and a hand dangling in front of my face.
I blinked.
Basically, I had fallen in front of everybody in the hallway. I felt my cheeks redden, but I took the person's hand anyway. Once I was on my feet, I immediately frowned.
"You!" I exclaimed, pointing a finger at him.
Dylan raised an eyebrow. "Me."
I gritted my teeth.
He gave me a lopsided smirk. "You should really pay attention nowadays." He leaned in closer and spoke in a low voice. "You wouldn't want to make the wrong move. Usually comes with bad consequences." He then leaned back. "Also, you should tie your shoes."
Then, he left.
You wouldn't want to make the wrong move. Usually comes with bad consequences.
His words floated around my head. He was patronizing me again. I felt even more uncomfortable now. Was he going to use the picture of me to his advantage? Was he going to print copies of it and paste them all around the school? For the whole student population to see? Was his reputation his sole purpose and reason?
I whirled around.
"I'll do it, Amber," I said.
"This is insane, Amber," I exclaimed.
She rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. "Come on, Aubrey. You agreed to it, so you're going to do it."
"But, but—this is illegal!"
"Yeah, well, he committed an illegal act first," she said. "Anyway, let's go over the plan again."
I wanted to get even with Dylan and Amber had just the plan. Even if I did agree to it, I was starting to regret it. I mean it was the heat-of-the-moment sort of thing. I was not very content with the fact that I was about to do something my parents would disown me over. But, I knew there was no backing out.
After school had ended, Tymon, Amber, and I went back to my house. Amber said that doing the deed at night was much better. I just went along with whatever she said, occasionally reminding her that this was over-the-top bad. My parents were out for dinner and the Seether's car was not in their driveway.
I noticed that Dylan occasionally liked to open his balcony doors when he was at home but tonight, they were closed. We didn't see him after school, seeing as him and I take the same route. So, we concluded that neither he nor his mom were there.
That still didn't ease my nerves, though.
"Earth to Aubrey," Amber snapped her fingers in front of my face. I shook out of my trance and gave her an uneasy smile. "The plan. The front and back door are locked. So, you're going to have to climb up this vine. Hopefully, the balcony doors aren't locked. Once you have access, you grab the first thing you see, but make sure it's something he'd notice is gone. Then, you climb back down and all is well."
"Unless, you know, I go to jail."
"Shut up and start climbing. We have your back. If something bad happens, we'll notify you. Now go."
Sighing, I carefully began climbing up the vine, silently praying I wouldn't fall and die. The houses in this neighborhood were very old. I wouldn't be surprised if the vines would snap because of the weight I was putting onto them.
"You're almost there," Amber whisper-shouted.
Once I was equally on the level the balcony was, I shut my eyes tight and extended a hand, flailing it around until I found myself grasping the cold railing. Exhaling a breath, I got closer to the balcony and placed my foot on the edge. I inhaled again and quickly held onto the railing with my other hand, and then swung my legs over until I was finally standing on my two feet.
"Are the balcony doors locked?" Amber asked.
"Not so loud, you dummy!"
I grabbed the doorknob and twisted it. The door opened. Smiling, I gave Amber and Tymon thumbs up and proceeded to walk in. His room smelt of smoke and perfume. It was surprisingly neat. The walls were already covered with band posters. I also noticed there was a stack of books on his desk.
Focus, Aubrey.
I opened a drawer, only to find some packs of cigarettes, a lighter, and some receipts. I closed it and examined his desk. It was practically empty. Apart from the novels, Dylan had school books scattered across with some crumpled papers and...
A photo frame.
Grinning, I grabbed it. It was a picture of Dylan. He was very young, though. I could see there was a huge difference between that Dylan and the Dylan people know now. In the photo, Dylan was actually smiling. He was grinning, actually, with teeth and all. His cheeks were red and strands of his hair were tied up in colorful rubber bands.
Before I could take the picture out of the frame, I heard a voice outside the room.
I froze.
To my horror, I realized that someone had returned. Either Molly or Dylan. Or both. The footsteps were getting closer and it sounded as if they were approaching the room. Panic overtook every fiber of my being and I quickly snatched the picture out of the frame.
I turned my head left and right. I wouldn't have time to climb down the vine without someone noticing the balcony doors were actually open. I raced towards the bathroom, flinging the door open and closing it as gently as possible behind me. Just then, the door to the room opened. I tiptoed towards the bathtub and climbed in, drawing the curtains close as quietly as I could muster. Why didn't Amber warn me? I stuffed the photo of Dylan in my back pocket and silently prayed whoever was out there wouldn't enter the bathroom.
I was shivering with fear.
When I heard the bathroom door open, though, I knew I was toast. I held my breath and listened closely. The footsteps approached the tub and I was contemplating whether to cry or run out of there. A tattooed arm popped through the curtain and I knew that that was Dylan.
(Which didn't make the situation any better.)
It seemed as though things never worked out the way I wanted them to. I just wanted to steal something from Dylan so that we could be even. But, here I was, standing in a stranger's tub that wanted to take a shower, with no clue as to what to do. Dylan pulled the faucet upwards and cold water came rushing out. I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming. If it had been hot water, I didn't think I would be able to suppress one, though.
And then he drew the curtains open. When his eyes finally met mine and realization took over his features, he did the only thing a normal person would do when they see a stranger in their house.
"What the hell?" he yelled.
My hand dropped and I gave him an uneasy smile. "Hi there."
He stared at me and I had never felt so scared in my entire life.
"How are you doing?" I asked.
He opened his mouth to say something but panic overtook his features. He hastily climbed into the tub and drew the curtains close again.
"What are you doi—" I exclaimed but he slapped his hand across my mouth. My eyes widened and I stared at him. His eyes were focused on the curtains and it was then that I was able to take a good look at him. His eyes were of a rich brown with a golden mix to it. They held far too many emotions.
He averted his eyes back to me and he looked startled for a second.
I froze as realization took over me.
(Again.)
I was standing in a stranger's tub with the stranger himself. He had a hand over my mouth and we were standing very close to each other, almost to the point where I wanted to cover my face because the proximity made me very, very uncomfortable. I shivered.
"Honey, are you okay?"
Oh crap.
"Yeah, I am," he replied coolly. "I just thought I saw...a spider. I'm okay. Please close the door behind you."
"Okay, sweetie."
When the door closed, Dylan removed his hand and his face definitely demanded an explanation. He removed wet strands of his hair away from his face.
"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed. "Why the hell are you in my house?"
"H-hanging out?"
"Play date's over," he spat. "Get out."
No need to tell me twice. I climbed out of the tub and raced out of the bathroom. Climbing back down didn't take as much time and effort but I was happy to be out of there. I realized that Amber and Tymon were nowhere to be seen so I knew who I was going to kill tomorrow.
(If, you know, I wasn't killed before that.)
When I was safe back in my bedroom, I checked if the photo was still in my back pocket.
It was. I grinned mischievously.
Mission accomplished.
