Dangerous [A BAD BOY ROMANCE]

5

The weekend after that was pretty bland. I spent most of my time doing any homework I had left and organized more of my stuff into my room. I did anything I could to keep my mind off of the incident that had occurred at the party. Any time I did think about it, I'd come close to tears and could feel my breathing shorten. I'd decided not to tell any of the girls about it since, although I love them, I don't feel that close to them yet. I hadn't spoken to Gray either, but for some reason, I feel like he'll understand not to say anything. I'm still home alone so I went grocery shopping and such, and the time flew by until it was, unfortunately, time to go back to school. I don't want to see any of my friends and have to lie to them or spot Luca in the hallways and somehow avoid having a panic attack. Most of all, I don't want to see Gray, who I'd made a fool of myself in front of.

I drive up to the parking lot and find a parking spot just a short walk from the front doors. Maybe this day will go okay for me after all. I'm hoping I won't see Luca anywhere since, as much as I hate it, he does scare me.

I head straight for my locker as I walk into the school, and keep my head down in case Luca is in the hallways. I even throw the hood hanging on my back over my hair to keep a low profile. I want to avoid any confrontation if possible. I've been here for just over a week and I've already found a reason to be uncomfortable coming to school. Great.

 I watch my sneakers slap against the ground as I continue to speed walk towards where I now know my locker is. As if deja vu I feel my downward facing head smack into something hard, and this time instead of spilling my coffee, I fall down to the floor and land on my butt. I mutter an ouch and start to say sorry until I look up. Grayson.

"Feel like we've been here before Teagan. Maybe that's just me." I notice Aaron standing next to him, and although his voice comes out jokingly I can clearly read the concern in his eyes. I know immediately that he hasn't told anyone.

"It's just you," I say, trying my best to sound confident. A small smirk rises to his lips as he puts his hand down to help me up. I grab it thankfully and he pulls me up easily. I finish my sorry and begin to walk towards my locker again until I hear a nasally voice in the hallway behind me.

"Hey, new girl!" It calls. I stop in my tracks and turn around. What my eyes are met with is a skinny girl with bleach blonde hair and white high heels. She wears a similar colored dress and loads of fancy looking jewelry. I get a bad vibe from this girl, but I decide to play cool just in case my instincts are wrong. 

"What's up?" I say as nicely as I can. I try to forget that Gray's large frame is standing just to the right of me.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to stay the hell away from my boyfriend." For some reason, my heart drops. Of course Gray has a girlfriend. He's gorgeous and seems like he has some kind of moral compass. She must have heard that he gave me a ride home from the party.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't realize you guys were together, but nothing ha-"

"Get the fuck out of here Whitney." Gray sounds from behind me. I'm confused, why is he speaking to his girlfriend that way? I look over at him for the first time since the girl came up to us and notice his hands in fists at his side. What is going on?

"Shut up Gray. This fucking bitch tried to hook up with my boyfriend. You expect me to do nothing about that?" Grays shoulders tense and my confusion progresses. So they aren't dating. But I didn't try to hook up with anyone.

"I think you have the wrong girl, I didn't try and-" I'm cut off by a deep voice walking towards the small group. 

"Babe." It calls before coming around the corner. "It's alright she's new." A boy comes and wraps his arm around Whitney and looks straight at me. Luca.

My breathing stops, and I try to tear my eyes away from his, feeling tears beginning to form within them as I recall the hallway, his hands on me, the bruises that sit on my wrists from how tightly he was gripping me. I try my best to calm down, hating that he can have this much effect on me. I struggle to remain standing as I watch the two people in front of me.

"How should she have known not to come onto me when she doesn't know that I'm dating the hottest girl in school?" Luca directs towards Whitney. Part of me feels disgusted that this girl doesn't know the truth about her 'boyfriend', but another part feels as though they deserve each other. I continue to try and gain my composure as Whitney turns back towards me.

"I'll let you off this one time since you're new," She says maliciously. "But if you ever put your slimy hands on my boyfriend ever again, I'll expose you for the backstabbing little slut that you are. Also, don't ever fucking park in my parking spot again." I'm at a loss for words. My knees wobble underneath me and I feel a large hand make its way to the small of my back. Gray.

I turn on my heel and head away from everything. I can already feel my lungs tightening and my vision becomes blurry.

"Teagan." A familiar voice says as I feel a hand wrap around my wrist, stopping me. "Teagan..." Gray starts but immediately stops when I turn around. There are tears running all over my cheeks, and I watch as his eyes run over me. "I'm gonna kill that fucker." His eyes darken with rage.

"P-p-please. Yo-you'll just ma-make it worse." I struggle speaking as my throat tightens even more. The anger in his eyes quickly turns to worry. There are a couple of people in the hallways around us, and Gray looks around quickly before dragging me behind him and walking further into a part of the school I've never seen. I stumble along as Gray drags me until I'm pulled into a dark room. I flatten my back against the wall and slide down to the ground, placing my head in my hands. I can hear the strain in my breathing obviously, and I'm sure Gray can too. He crouches down in front of me.

"Hey hey hey," Gray says softly. "Look at me." I shake my head, still looking at the ground. At that, he grabs both of my hands gently and pulls them away from my face before tucking his hand under my chin and pulling my face up. My brown eyes are forced to meet his grey ones. "It's okay. He's not gonna touch you, okay?" My breathing slows down a bit, and I manage to speak.

"I'm sorry. I'm not usually like this."

"You have nothing to apologize for." He responds quickly. He drops his hand from my face but continues to run his thumb over the back of my hand. He looks down at our hands, where the marks from Luca are clearly visible, and then to my neck where a couple of bruises reside as well. I notice him grimace, and his shoulders tighten. "He's a fucking asshole."

"Just." I start and wait for him to look at me again before continuing. "Just, don't tell anyone okay?" His eyes darken like he's about to disagree with me, but I start talking before he can say anything. "I don't need to draw any unwanted attention to myself, okay? And I'm just gonna make more enemies if I, or you, say anything. It's not a big deal."

"It's not a big deal Teagan? He hurt you. Who knows what would've happened if I had-"

"I know I know. But I've dealt with worse. I can handle myself." I wipe the tears from under my eyes. He looks almost astonished at my words.

"Give me your phone." He demands.

"Why?" I question.

"Seriously Teagan? Just give me the fucking phone." He somehow still sounds genuine through his curse words. I reluctantly pull my phone out of my pocket and place it in his hand. I watch as he adds a new contact to it and names it 'Gray' and then shoots a text to the number he's put in. I hear his phone ding in his pocket. 

"If he ever comes near you, or if you need anything, just call me." He seems serious. I nod and take my phone back.

"Do I have mascara under my eyes?" I ask him. Putting on a calm voice. He shakes his head no. I nod back at him and pick myself up off the floor. I nod at him and begin to leave. 

"Wait, Teagan?" I look back at Gray. "Do you have the afternoon off? After lunch?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Come get lunch with me and the boys?" I think for a moment before responding.

"Sure." I walk out of the closet and into the halls.