I Owe The Bad Boy My Heart

Chapter 17: The Dress Code

"Of all the roads she traveled, the journey back to herself was the most magnificent." -Anonymous.

CHLOE ARMEL

We were driving towards our party destination. After having left my house, we had gone over to Andre's. They were already out, waiting for us in the parking lot. When we reached them, the guys had showered me with praises on my looks. I couldn't think of anything else to say or do, so I just kept smiling at them, and mumbling a silent thank you, which I am sure they couldn't even hear. I was technically very bad at taking praises. After that we had all left for the party. Andre, Valentino and Hozar left first in Hozar's car, while Cole and I were in his car.

It had been merely two or three minutes on the way and as far as I remember the guys had told that it was a 10 to 20 minute drive depending on the level of traffic.

I look over at Cole. His full attention is on the road.

I had felt bad when all the guys had complimented me earlier but he hadn't. He had just kept quiet all the time.

It felt as if what he thought mattered to me, in fact it mattered the most. Maybe because I wanted him to think I was pretty or something else, I don't know. But then it had just mattered, and I couldn't point the reason as to why it had mattered that much.

All that he had done was show his extreme eagerness, to take me away, when Andre had started to flirt with me. That too I can't understand why.

But nevertheless, I shouldn't care. I don't even know why am I thinking about it all in the first place?

"Cole?" I ask

"Hmm," he says nonchalant. This unnerves me. Still I continue.

"Why did all of you guys wear a leather jacket?"

"Huh?? Meaning?" he asks not taking off his attention from the road even for a second. I notice that he raises his eyebrows slightly, in a habit, whenever he is unable to decipher what the other person is saying.

"I mean you guys dressed up so similar tonight. Why?"

"Oh! That! Well it's a long story you know, but for now just know that, when we were small we wore it because we thought it made us look cool like as if we are in a gang or somewhat, but as we grew up it became a kind of a practice. We don't always wear similar clothes while going out, but whenever it is a school party or any other school related stuff we go this way," he continues, "When Hozar came a year before, and became a part of us, we even asked him to wear it, if he was comfortable, and so even though he is not a leather jacket guy he wore it for us."

When he stops speaking, I realize that all I caught up on is the fact that they did not ask me to wear anything of this sort. I wonder if I am not a part of them yet, or if I would ever be. I feel slightly bad on thinking this.

I once again do not know why.

Recently, I have started feeling stuffs; I don't have an explanation to.

"Ohhh... Well that's really good." I say, unable to think of anything better.

"And do you know what the best part is, you wore a black dress, instead of us asking you too." He says, with a glimmer on his face, I haven't seen before. But what he says leaves me nonplussed.

"What do you mean?" I ask only to assure what I just heard.

"Well, since you were not initially willing to come with us, we decided that for this time we will not ask you to follow this dress code of ours. And later when you will join us in another party we will ask you."

"That means that you guys are sure that I will join you all again in another party?" I ask with a hint of humor in my voice.

"We are dead sure Princess. No has ever been able to deny the charms that we possess." This time, while saying this, he looks over in my direction. His gaze holds me for some time before he turns back again towards the road.

"I am really happy to see you in this dress, and I am sure so are the others, and they would have even said you so themselves, if only Andre wouldn't have had been too busy to flirt with you." Initially he says all this with a happy face, but when he comes to the part where Andre flirts with me, I see a frown etched on his face. This makes me smile inwardly. I make an attempt to fuel the fire.

"He wasn't flirting with me, he was just praising me. He just knows too well to play with his words, while some people do not even know a simple word of compliment." I say.

"He was clearly flirting with you. Didn't you notice the way he was talking?" he says. I feel like laughing at him right now, in this situation that he is in, but instead I say, "Are you jealous of the fact that I didn't stop him from flirting with me?"

"Why would I be jealous?" he asks with slight emphasis on the word 'I'. He continues, "I was just looking up for you. I thought you didn't like all of this bullshit. I just didn't want you to be pissed off in the very beginning of the night."

The fact that he says all this with so much of honesty, I feel sorry for having brought him in this situation, so I hurriedly say, "Yeah! Of course I do not like it all. And thanks for earlier. I was just trying to you know...." I shrug off my shoulders having nothing to specifically say. On rewinding back my memory I wonder what I was even trying to do. I even feel a slight jolt of emotions at the fact that he wasn't actually jealous.

He looks over at me once again and just smiles. Thereafter we stay quiet throughout the drive. I find myself relaxing in the silent atmosphere of the car.

It feels that tonight.... is going to be long....

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Hey Friends! Here goes the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. Stay tuned because you are in for a very long chapter during my next publish...Stay Safe Stay Happy. Do Vote and Comment if you like the story.

                              -Surls