Loathe at First Sight

Chapter 10 ~ Rumour Has It

Chapter 10

::Charlie::

27 times! In the last half hour Steph had called me 27 times. The girl had seriously upped-the-ante on her stalking skills since I had last seen her.  There was also 13 messages and 7 Facebook notifications from the psycho. She could seriously give Eden a run for her money in the ‘annoying’ department. Sonny fell into step with me glancing around the crowded corridor warily.

“She’s called me 8 times bro and 3 messages” Sonny flicked through his phone nervously “Shouldn’t you just answer and talk to her?” he offered

“Nope” I replied hastily without a second thought.  “How is she even managing to pull this off? I mean she’s blowing up every source of technology for the both of us! How is that even possible?!” I cried out, desperation clear in my voice. I needed to buy myself some time with her so I could figure out a game plan. We made a quick stop at my locker, Sonny ducking down conspicuously while his eyes swept the hallway for any sighting of our stalker. My phone rang yet again and I looked at Sonny hopelessly before taking a deep breath, here goes nothing.  I answered the call and quickly pressed the phone to my ear

“I’ll explain everything at lunch” I hurriedly said before crushing the end call button. With a shaky smile I turned towards Sonny. “We’re not going to lunch” I said happily. Sonny shook his head sadly at me.

“Bro, you know that won’t last long, she’ll figure it out in 3 seconds flat and all she’ll have to do is ask around for where you are. Look around you” he said sweeping his arm around us. I watched the student population move through the hallway all with their eyes fixed on me. I caught the eye of a younger girl who moved closer to us

“Did you screw Eden Marelli?” she asked unashamedly with wide eyes. I turned to Sonny horrified, he shooed the girl away.

“See?!” he whispered frantically, “We might as well be surrounded by Steph’s spies! Your little Facebook stunt has made you and Eden the hottest commodity in this shit-hole. People will be monitoring the two of you for the next month just for more gossip.” Sonny’s eyes had a frantic look in them and he was gripping his hair dangerously. “Steph will have my balls” he started hyperventilating. I grabbed the giant by his shoulders and smacked him around a bit.

“Keep it together man!” I cried trying to maintain my own sanity. “We’ll figure this out” and with that useless consolation said, I led us to homeroom with shaky steps.

~Eden~

I glided into school as per usual tapping away at my blackberry, ignorant of anything around me. A shout to my right made me look up in interest. I caught a glimpse of Charlie and Sonny staggering down the hall and leaning on each other for support. I would’ve laughed loudly, maybe even taken a photo of the absurd sight if I didn’t have a sickening feeling twisting my stomach. What could possibly have the massive Sonny and brooding Charlie looking shell-shocked? I walked more cautiously deeper into the school that was starting to feel more and more like a cage.

In a matter of seconds I realized that every eye was subtly trained on my every move. I stopped at my locker and discreetly checked out my outfit. A turquoise pencil skirt, white blouse and black accessories; admittedly more chic than this school was accustomed but nothing ogle-worthy. I self-consciously patted my hair before heading off to homeroom, glaring at anyone I caught staring for too long. 

My mind was racing with ideas on how I had warranted such unwanted fascination amongst my peers when I bumped into a group of guys blocking the entrance to my homeroom. I recognized a few from Charlie’s group of friends and their large bodies were a dead giveaway – footballers. I schooled my features to be polite which was the best I could ask for; my pride made it physically impossible to act shy or intimidated which would have boosted their egos and put me on their good side.

“Excuse me” I smiled and tried to pass them

“You’re Eden right?” a hulking figure with suspiciously dirty hands asked sliding gracefully to intercept my path again. I realized I wouldn’t get through until they got what they wanted so I crossed my arms and studied them through narrowed eyes.

“Who’s asking?” all traces of politeness had vanished

“Just some friends of Charlie’s” a guy with an army haircut answered. They paused and continued to analyze me.

“I’m sorry are you new here?” a different guy again burst out looking confused and too young to be hanging around wannabe-mobsters

“Nah man this is the chick Eliza’s always going on about” dirty-hands piped up. I felt a smirk twist my lips

“Eliza talks about me huh?” I asked feeling somewhat satisfied. 

“Is it true?” young guy burst out again, he had a definite problem with holding his tongue. 

“Are you really dating Charlie or was he just trying to pull a prank?” Army-hair explained. I let my gaze flick over the group as I considered a suitable answer. So this is what had the school going crazy.

“We’re dating” I said with a sigh and pushed through to homeroom. I felt a part of me mourn as I took my middle seat. I could no longer go unnoticed by these people despite the many precautions I had taken over the years. The middle seat, the subdued clothes, no friends – all useless now that I was ‘dating’ popular, womanizing Charlie. I clicked me tongue angrily, all for my freedom I thought with a new resolve.

I know it's short I'm super sorry but it was just one distraction after another in my life but the good news is I found my groove again and am excited to write the next few chapters 

TEASER: Eden has to experience a 'normal' high school experience and Charlie is confronted by the mysterious Steph

IMPORTANT: I really really really wanna get some banners out with the cast I've chosen (I already have pictures I wanna use) but I need someone to edit them etc. So please pm if you're interested

REWARD: if you do help me out I'll dedicate a chapter to you and write a character into the story purely based on your personality and looks ^.^