COME MY WAY • RODRICK HEFFLEY

thirty sixth chapter

"dude i'm telling you by the end of this date, i'd have her wrapped around my finger." marcus bragged, as he laughed along with the rest of his friend group.

marcus baker was plainview's dream boy, he was the epitome of prince charming in most girls' eyes and was envied by many. he led the football team to state championships, and drove the latest sports cars, he practically got everything he wanted.

marcus charmed his way around throughife with his baby blue eyes and caramel wavy hair that made the girls swoon whenever he wore it a certain way.

he walked with confidence like he owned the world, and everyone else was just living in it. so when he had approached the shy, giselle aoki, one day in the local library, it shocked everyone around.

giselle was quiet, she kept to herself most of the time and only ever hung out with two people. zara and quinn. most of all, she went to st. mary's and no one ever gave girls like her a chance unless they fit into heather hills' category.

so when plainview's dream boy approached her, it felt like her small bubble had been popped. she knew she should never get involved with a guy like him, most girls in her class were well aware of his player ways,  even though they went to two different schools. marcus was always the talk of the town and giselle knew, that was a huge red flag waving right in front of her the moment he had said hello.

but he was marcus baker. and he wanted giselle in his world.

so she fell shamelessly into his arms and gave it a shot. quinn and zara were skeptical as normal best friends would be, but they were hoping for the best. marcus wore his facade pretty well.

"giselle aoki man, she's like a nun bro." one of the boys snickered, "you're the fucking man."

"catholic school girls are the easiest ones in the book, what did you expect?" marcus laughed,

each word coming out of his mouth felt like venom, hitting giselle's skin and burning right through it. she clutched onto her tote bag tightly, trying to bite down her tears as she listened in on their conversation. she felt like a little girl, all dressed up in her favorite yellow sundress with her hair done up real nice only to find out, it was all for nothing.

giselle felt stupid, she knew this was bound to happen. she felt it, but why didn't she stop herself? she was smarter than this, she knew she was, but why didn't she do anything?

all those questions swirled in her mind as the tears brimming around her eyes began to descend down her face. it was no use holding them all in.

she would never forget the way she ran out of the cinema house without a single hesitation. giselle was disgusted that she'd ever thought a guy like that would ever take her seriously.

she was right, feelings and emotions never mixed well.

"giselle?" rowley's squeaky voice snapped the girl out of her thoughts.

it was late in the afternoon and office hours in the community service center had become so bland, a pin dropping seemed entertaining. the atmosphere was silent, everyone doing their own things behind their desks so that the only sound you could hear was the shuffling of papers or the tapping of keyboards.

rowley was sat in his usual spot, in front of giselle's front desk where he doodled in his little notepad to pass time. he had a look of concern written on his face as he asked her if she was okay.

giselle didn't even realize she'd been dazed for a while, the unsettling thoughts of marcus flashing into her mind for a split second. "oh i'm alright, just tired." she cracked a small smile at rowley.

"you sure?" he asked, showing her the sketch he made of her frowning face. "this is what you looked like."

giselle rolled her eyes playfully at him, "geez i can't smile all the time."

rowley laughed as he stood up, strapping his backpack on. "well this is goodbye, my mom's waiting for me at the parking lot." he said, flashing her a quick smile.

"bye rowley, i'll see you next week." she grinned, "we are going to have a meeting on the talent show i believe."

the boy's face lit up at the mention of the talent show as if he was remembering something for the first time. "about the talent show, i'm performing!" he exclaimed, gleefully.

giselle beamed at the news, standing up from her desk chair and giving rowley an enthusiastic high-five. "that's amazing!" she smiled. for the past month that she was able to work with rowley, he'd become the little brother she never had. "i can't wait to see what you do."

"thanks gigi, you've always been great." he looked at her happily, as he gave giselle a quick side hug before rushing out the door where his mother would be waiting for him.

giselle couldn't help but grin to herself as she thought of that small little moment. it succeeded in helping her get her mind off of things.

this weekend was eye-opener for the girl, she couldn't deny her growing feelings for rodrick heffley and it scared her. she knew how these things worked, you build each other up and let someone see the way you see the world, only to have them leave you after everything.

her parents weren't the most happy go lucky couple, they barely acted like they were in love and the only example she had were her grandparents, but their time was so long ago, who knows if boys were still the same? giselle thought to herself.

it's not like her own experience in the past had been good, marcus only wanted her for his own motives and even though she didn't give it to him, he still managed to hurt her by spreading false lies.

she shook her head to rid herself of the thoughts, it was too much for her to deal with. it had been a week since she last saw rodrick at his house and it bothered her that she was leaving him out in the dark. ignoring his messages and pretending that there was nothing going on, but it was hard when your feelings were speaking louder than your actions.

rodrick rules

giselle is everything okay? i haven't heard from u in a while

r u in trouble for sunday?

pls text me back.

giselle sighed staring at those messages, she hadn't replied since this morning. maybe she was being dramatic? they were just friends after all, there was nothing going, right? she thought to herself.

but then she'd think of that night at the party and the way he looked at her when she left his house on sunday morning

and giselle couldn't deny that there is something.

she needed to get her mind off of this and there was only one person she knew she could go to 

to zara 

can we hangout?