Hey, Bully

Second Cry

I looked out the window of the cafe from where I was sitting, wondering if this was a wise decision.

But then again, I wasn't known for being wise nor for making good decisions. I was known for being reckless. For being stupid and crazy. Terry would always nag me to start acting like an adult since we were already juniors. I thought about it. I even tried doing it. But I was still in high school. The boring, adult stuff can come later. For now, it was all about fun for me.

Picking up my café latte, I took a small sip and continued to stare out the window. A fancy restaurant was opening across the street. There was a huge ribbon in front of the doors and a few well-dressed people milling around it. There was even going to be a small media coverage from the looks of the men carrying cameras and some women and men holding microphones, waiting for their cues to start.

I put my chin on my palm and sighed. I skipped the last day of school before Christmas break for this. I had lied to Terry that I had a cold so I was staying at home instead. She probably didn't believe me. But luckily, considering she was busy taking care of Sophia and her boy problems, she just let me be.

The sound of a chair scraping back made me turn my head.

Then I blinked. And dropped my jaw.

Skull was sitting across me like he had been there since the dawn of time. He was holding a cup of coffee in his hand and had sunglasses on. And he was grinning widely at me like he knew exactly why I was here.

"Why are you here?" I asked him when I found my voice.

He took a sip of coffee before answering, "I skipped school too."

"It's not something to be proud of," I replied with irritation.

Chuckling, he lowered his sunglasses to the table and leaned forward. "So tell me then. What are you doing here?"

He probably knew, the big jerk. And he was enjoying my discomfort from the amused look on his face.

Skull and I had a weird sort of friendship ever since I confided in him about Will at Jean's party. I felt pretty embarrassed after Terry sobered me up with the coffee she brought. Skull had long gone then and when Terry asked me what we did before she came, I lied to her and said I didn't remember. And even pretended that I didn't know the guy looking after me and who I had tried to kill was Skull. She didn't enlighten me. And I kept pretending innocence.

Like I told him, he reminded me of my dead grandpa. And I had been so afraid after that night that he'd spread my secret crush around school which was why I always avoided him. That and I was a little nervous around his other friends too.

Still, when we celebrated Sophia's birthday at his private resort, we had fun playing volleyball together even though he kept trying to bully me. We also found out that we shared some hobbies, like making fun of our friends. He also knew that I liked doing art and made me share some of my fan art with him, something I really didn't do. He was a good guy. But he teased people too much.

That was why I didn't have a good feeling about him suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

"You're stalking Asshole Will, are you?" he said when I didn't speak.

"No," I denied.

He stared at me, still grinning. "Yeah, right. That's his family's restaurant opening across the street."

"It is?" I feigned innocence. "I didn't know."

"You're so full of shit." He shook his head.

I didn't deny that.