The Bad Boy's Everything

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"So... can I use it?"

Michael was completely oblivious to my inner panic. I was staring blankly into my backpack, just thinking of Avery probably smashing my phone into bits with a hammer for attacking him earlier. "Uh..."

Michael looked up from his work, confused. "What?" He asked me.

"Okay don't tell mom but..." I had to stop myself. Although Michael was a cool kid and whatnot, whenever you argued with him, he would be quick to throw you under an 18-wheeler. "I forgot my phone at the library"

Hey, he could still snitch but at least I wouldn't get killed for associating myself with a guy like Avery Louis. Michael's mouth fell open. "You what?"

"Yeah it was on silent and I was sitting on this couch and I forgot it," I lied. "No worries though, it'll most likely be in the lost and found anyway."

"What are you gonna tell Mom?"

I set my bag back on the floor and went back to my same belly down position. "There's nothing to tell. I'll just go get it back tomorrow." I told him, trying to seem relaxed, but in my head I was panicking over what Avery already might've done to my phone.

Michael groaned. "But I still need to call Cole," he whined.

"Then ask mom to use hers and tell her that mine is dead, doofus."

Michael threw a pillow at me then stomped out of the room.

**

I filled Morgan in on everything that happened the next day at lunch.

"So how are you gonna get your phone back? That guy forever skips school," she told me.

I heaved a heavy sigh. "I know."

She swallowed down a bite of her burger and wiped the corner of her lip with her thumb. "I can drive you to his neighborhood after school today. My mom gave me the keys to my car back and I know where he lives."

The idea seemed extreme but my phone was my mom's only way to keep tabs on us while she went to work and I couldn't keep up with my lies for long.

"Chances are, you won't catch him around today so might as well." Morgan's words invaded my thoughts and she was right.

Avery's attendance was shitty and everyone knew it, but I kind of doubted that he would spend his "off days" lolling around at home.

But it was better than nothing.

"Yeah, okay. Meet me at my locker after seventh period." I told her and got up. "I'm going to the library."

"Alrighty. I'll be in the girl's bathroom."

By that she meant she would be smoking pot in the girl's bathroom.

**

I still hadn't gotten through with City of Bones, so I tried to spend as much time as I had left on my lunch break reading it. That was until someone pulled out the chair next to mine and sat next to me.

Naturally, I continued to read as if I were unbothered, but in fact I was. Why take the seat next go me when there was two empty seats across from me; and plenty other tables to work on?

"Natalie."

The familiar hum of my name caused me to look over and straight into the dark brown eyes of Brandon Gomez. "Hi," I whispered as I took in him sliding into his seat.

"Can I talk to you for a sec.?"

My hands had already gotten all clammy so I closed the book and busied my fingers by playing with my shirt to keep the pages from dissolving as my nerves spiked. I nodded my head a little, no longer making eye contact.

Brandon cleared his throat real quick. "It's about the locker room incident..." He trailed off and I felt my throat begin to constrict. "Were you and Avery really doing... inappropriate stuff in there or was it all just a misunderstanding?"

My cheeks flamed a little. I really wanted to and tried my best to remove any trace of that day out of my mind. Why did he even care?

"It's just that there's a few rumors about you going around and your name is kind of being dragged through the dirt," he explained. "I know you're a sweet girl with a case of social anxiety and that you can't really go around and tell everyone the truth. I just want to help clear things up."

He seemed real real nice and I could acknowledge his good intent, but I couldn't jump over the fact that he'd just diagnosed me!

Sure I didn't talk to many people, but he couldn't possibly know of the overwhelming stupidity I would feel whenever I would overhear a conversation I would so badly want to contribute to but fear the reaction I would receive so I say nothing; he couldn't have possibly known of that horrible feeling I would get whenever I had to present in front of multiple people; he couldn't have possibly known how it felt to have your throat constrict, your tongue turn to lead on your mouth, having your eyes tear up slightly at just the thought of possibly messing everything up, or how badly I would want to slap myself whenever I stumbled over my words; nor could he have possibly known how being forced to call someone for the first time took so many pep talks to finally get myself to do so. He knew nothing about me!

I had gotten myself so riled up within seconds of him saying that to the point where the throat constrictions started, and not because I was interacting with someone I wasn't comfortable with, but because he had just pissed me off to that point.

"I have to go." I muttered before collecting my things and leaving Brandon at the table alone.

"Hold up," he called and I could see him standing in my periphery. "Natalie, wait."

I rushed out of the library and turned down the first hall. I hid behind the wall near a classroom for about a minute or so, and when I believed that the coast was clear I stepped back out into the hallway. But as soon as I looked to my right, I almost got a heart attack.

"Boo!"