Belonging to the Bad Boy

Chapter 23

We walk into school, my hand held tightly in his and I realise that this may be the first official thing we had done to signify that we were more than friends or messing around. My heart flutters at the thought and we make our way to my locker, seeing the other three boys in my life stood around it, waiting for us as every morning.

"Hey, she's here!" George calls and immediately makes the first steps towards us. I smile wide, only now realising I missed my friends. George pulls me into a large hug, holding me tight as he sways us side to side, causing me to giggle and let go of Ranger's hand to hug him back. I felt the hesitation but released anyway.

"We missed you," Damon says, hugging me straight after George. I love my best friend and missed him dearly. Finally Flynn leans in, giving a much less excited hug, holding me gently for only a couple of seconds before pulling away. I look at him as we do, and I see the pain as Ranger wraps his arm around my waist, knowing he isn't quite over us yet. It didn't last long, but I could tell he liked me and he had told me he'd liked me for a while before actually meeting.

I lean into Ranger nonetheless, accepting the warmth and safety he provided me. "I missed you guys too, and I'm sorry going going MIA yesterday. I swear, I'm okay," I reassure, giving Damon an extra nod as he'd always been there for me and probably knew what happened and why I went missing. He nods back, a gentle and warm smile on his lips and I knew he trusted me.

The bell rings to signal the start of the day and I bustle to get the books I needed from my locker before Ranger walks me to class, only to disappear into his own. The day pretty much blended together, my usual routine setting back in. I take notes, answer questions where I can, enjoy English as all we had to do was read and the same for History. Lunch rolled around quickly, and I was thankful to be with my friends again. We all head up to our usual spot on the bleachers, sitting in a row as we talk about everything and nothing.

Ranger meets us halfway through, having to have spoken to his team about who knows what. As he makes his way up I notice he'd changed, now wearing black, skinny jeans and a navy t-shirt, a leather jacket hanging perfectly off his shoulders and his jeans tucked into a pair of black boots. I almost swoon at the sight of him, never having seen a man so attractive before in my life. He notices my stare and smirks, winking at me like some cliche movie.

"Get a room," I hear Damon groan, and I turn for a moment to punch his shoulder before turning back to Ranger as he takes a seat next to me. Like magnets our sides attach to each other, his arm snaking around my waist to hold me close. "Again," he whines, pouting at me.

"Damon, hush, they're in love," George says and I feel goosebumps rise all over my skin. My heart begins to beat a million miles an hour and I feel Ranger stiffen next to me, not the only one reacting to the word George decided to use. Of course I'd fallen for Ranger, fallen hard and way faster than I ever could have dreamed of, but love?

I feel the warmth next to me leave once more, Ranger standing and leaving quickly with no words, just heavy footsteps as he jogs down the bleachers and away from us. A frown graces my lips as I look back at my three shocked friends. "I, we didn't, I didn't mean to," George starts, stammering over his words.

I wave my hand, readjusting how I was sat to better face them. "No, it's nothing. If he has a problem then he can handle it alone."

"I was only teasing," George states, looking defeated.

I nod, giving him a small, side hug as Damon and Flynn tap his shoulder. "I know, G. He's still a jerk though, remember?" I ask, nudging him playfully. He smiles lightly, nodding. "I don't know what's gotten into him but he isn't as cool as we are."

Flynn pipes up, trying to lighten the mood. "Obviously I'm the coolest of the group, though." He shrugs his shoulders and attempts to lean back, forgetting that benches do not have backs and falls between the two. We all bust into laughter, Damon helping a tangled Flynn from in between the bleachers, barely able to hoist him up as he laughs loudly.

Soon enough the bell rings, signalling the end of lunch. We all go back inside, heading to the last of our classes, and I don't see Ranger anywhere before we all go our separate ways. The rest of the day was the same as the start, blurring into one as I move from class to class, taking notes in the respective notebooks before the end of the day rolls around. I head to my locker, seeing Flynn, Damon and George already there, waiting at our usual meeting point. I wonder for just a moment when it was decided that my locker would be our meeting point, but realise I'm closest to the front entrance of the school.

I walk over, happily greeting everyone as I deposit most of my school things into my locker, keeping my homework in my bag. Truthfully I had done most of it during free periods through the week and don't often need to do much at home, but this week had been so crazy that it had began to pile up.

"Want to head to mine to work on that History project?" Damon asks, and I curse as I completely forgot about it. I nod, telling him yes as I close my locker door. I hadn't seen his family for so long and wondered how his parents and younger sister were doing.

"What the fuck?" I hear a voice down the hall, and it captures everyone's attention as all heads turn to look. The hall was filled with students packing away and ready to leave school for the afternoon when the commotion began, meaning there were many people to watch.

I see Ranger and a bunch of his friends, or so I assume, down the hall, stood at his locker. I remember two of the guys from the first day Ranger and I originally met and they don't look too happy. I glance at Ranger and see the fury in his eyes, the beautiful emeralds now dark and terrifying. "You watch your mouth," Ranger growls, his voice dangerous and harsh. I flinch at the tone, hating when he got angry. The last time I heard his voice this sharp was at the party when he rescued me from those guys.

"Well you're not around anymore, Jones," one states, and I'm unsure of this blonde boys name. "We can't win if our captain isn't around to train. You're too busy with that little whore." In an instant the blond boy was slammed against the locker, so hard it echoed down the hall and through the newfound silence.

His left hand holds the boy by his collar, his right throwing a punch straight to the nose. I cringe, looking away for a moment. There was no doubt it was broken. "Call her that again, I dare you," he growls, staring straight into this boys eyes, rage obvious as he challenges him.

Before I can think my legs are carrying me down the hall, the crowd of students separating as I rush towards the scene before me. "She's nothing but a," before he can finish his sentence he's slammed against the locker again, a dent forming where his head hit it so hard.

"Stop it," I demand, trying to keep my voice from wavering as I place a hand on Ranger's shoulder. I look at the boy briefly, seeing the blood covering his face and his shirt. "Ranger," I say again, this time with a softer tone, looking up at him. His chest rises and falls rapidly, his jaw clenched and he slowly turned to look down at me. "Please."

I looks at me for a couple of moments, and I can feel everyone else's eyes on us too. He glances back at the boy and drops him to the floor, stepping back. Running his hands through his hair he storms away, leaving be stood over the bloodied boy. I offer him a hand, yet he pushes it away, taking another boys hand for help up. "This is because of you, bitch," he growls before they all walk away, leaving me alone with a pool of blood. What the hell is going on?