Of Course He's Bad (HOLD)

vii. everything has changed

A/N: I really like the song above/beside this, so please click it while you read!

Chapter 7, Everything Has Changed, Part 1:

"Are you ready?" He asked, challengingly, as he slung his muscular arm around me.

His contact made sparks of excitement jitter through me; I felt alive at his single touch. "Yeah," I replied breathlessly, trying not to seem to eager. I was eager, though. Never in my life would I have liked Tyler, especially due to his reputation. And although I really just went on this date because I "owed it to him", I found myself starting to become zealous.

"Good," Tyler smirked, dragging me out of the house with a polite wave to my parents. I could see the light flicker off behind me; then, I was in a car that traveled at light speed. "I'll try not to drive too quickly."

I joked, elbowing his rib area, "Don't kill me."

"Can't kill the girl before the date. Got it," he pretended to mentally note. "Especially not looking the way you do," Tyler added with a cheeky curl of his upper lip.

I turned to face him, quirking a curious eyebrow at him. What did that mean?

"You clean up well, is all," he shrugged nonchalantly, pressing the radio on. Oh. My cheeks instantly began to warm; despite my general aura of confidence, I was still a girl. Girls flush at compliments, genuine ones anyways.

"Oh, thanks," I nervously hummed, drumming my fingers against the black leather interior of the car door. My body was tense against the chair, and my curled hair was probably smushed behind me.

Tyler lightly rubbed my shoulder, laughing faintly, "Relax, we're friends now, remember? We've been friends for five days; so just ease yourself."

"Okay," I awkwardly laughed. Five minutes of pure silence went by as the drive continued on. A catchy song by Taylor Swift, at least her voice sounded like it was Taylor, suddenly came on.

"Let's get out of this town, drive out of the city, away from the crowd," came through the speakers as I rhythmically bobbed my head. I didn't really pay much attention to the lyrics, yet I found myself soon humming to the beat and slightly moving my body to the beat.

"So," Tyler said, breaking the comfortable silence, "you've been getting along with Jess and Kay lately..." I didn't even have to look at him to hear the confident smile in his voice.

"Yeah," I replied enthusiastically. Jessica and Kayla were two of Tyler's three best friends; they were now also my best friends. In the past three days of Tyler's suspension, I was welcomed into the group with warmth. Cheesy to say, but they were some of the best people I've ever hung out with. They were the ones who got me dressed up for this - outing.

Three hours ago, we were up in my bedroom. Both of them browsed through my closet in awe; of what, I didn't know, but they would squeal when they saw anything relatively nice. Jessica curled my blond locks, and Kayla did my very natural makeup. I had on dark purple mascara, black eyeliner, and light pink lip gloss. The outfit they appareled me in consisted of a cropped shirt that had random French words on it, a floral skater skirt, and my favorite black and white classic Vans shoes. I had on a headband whose print matched my skirt, a white gold locket from - an old friend, and a few midi rings to add pizazz to my outfit. That's what they informed me at least.

"You're welcome," said Tyler sarcastically. I set my eyes into a narrow glare at him. He threw his hands up in the air, attempting to be 'innocent'.

I shouted without missing a beat, "Both hands on the wheel, idiot." I was not going to let this rich little bad boy kill me. Not today, Satan.

"I'm a skilled driver," Tyler smirked, "I can drive with just my legs." He was not kidding. He grabbed my hand, which was previously resting upon the arm rest, and intertwined our fingers with a smirk.