I slipped my chequered green and black pleat skirt on, tucking my shirt in, then pulling my knee high black socks on before slipping my Doc Martens on. My feet would melt but they were so comfortable.
I pulled half of my hair up and tied it into a pony-tail, then left the rest tumbling down. I smudged some nude, pink lipstick on and flicked my lashes with a coating of mascara. I grabbed my black school ruck-sack on the way out of my bedroom, running down the stairs and straight into the kitchen, picking up a slice of toast with honey on before kissing my mum goodbye.
“Have a good day, darling,” she shouted down the hallway as and I made my way out the front to wait for the bus.
Great. I groaned when I saw Conor standing with Chase. I knew he was going to be there, every fucking morning, but it was still a kick in the teeth when I actually saw him standing there.
I took another bite of my toast as I stood next to them, Chase smiling at me. Conor’s eyes were drawing up and down my body, pulling his bottom lip in-between his teeth as if he was mentally undressing me.
“Why are you such a creep?” I sniped, frowning at him then looking him up and down in disgust.
“Darcey,” Chase moaned at me, kicking the floor as he tightened his grip on his backpack before pushing his hand through his curly mop of blonde hair in frustration.
“A creep? Am I?” Conor asked moving closer to me, sniffing me then grabbing my last bite of toast out my hand and putting it in his mouth, smiling at me as he chewed it.
“What’s wrong, were you not fed this morning, stray?” I shouted at him angrily, balling my hands into fists.
He rolled his eyes before laughing. “Alright, grunge.” He snorted before he stood back next to Chase. It was only eight a.m. and my blood was already boiling.
I was grateful when the bus pulled up and I managed to get a seat midway down, on my own. I put my ear phones in and blasted Blink 182 into my ears. I eyed Conor as he walked past me, behind my brother, winking at me as he did.
Ugh. He was such an arrogant prick.
I rolled my eyes before turning to face the window, watching the world go by. Fifteen minutes into the journey, I felt him near me. The hairs on the back of my neck standing, goose-bumps spreading over my body like wildfire as he sat down next to me.
“Hey, baby girl,” he crooned, pulling my ear phone out of my ear. He made himself comfortable before looking over his shoulder at Chase who was too busy talking to some girl he was sitting with at the back of the bus.
“What do you want, Royce,” I hissed at him.
“Oh, baby, do you really want to know?” His tongue darted out and licked his bottom lip as his hand rested on my thigh, squeezing it gently. My breathing hitched, my chest rising up and down a lot faster than I would have liked it to, showing him just how much he affects me.
“Leave me alone,” I whispered, my voice quivering. I was trying to be strong, but my voice betrayed me. My eyes darted back and forth to his.
“I can’t do that, angel,” he whispered, his hand trailing near the edge of the hem under my skirt, running his finger and thumb across my bare skin before he whipped them away.
“As if I would really go near you though.” He laughed. “Grunge.”
He stood up, cockiness all over his face before he turned around, leaning down so his face was in front of mine, his hand grabbing my cheeks and squeezing, pulling me closer to him, our lips so close. My heart was jack hammering in my chest.
“But let it be known, I may not be able to have you yet, but I don’t want anyone else having you. Got it?” He said through gritted teeth, dropping his hand from my face.
Tears started to sting my eyes, but I wouldn’t let them fall. I wouldn’t cry in front of him.
In that moment, a glint of kindness shot through his eyes as he saw my reaction, but it was soon replaced with anger again as he laughed at me then walked back up to Chase.
“What was all that about?” I heard Chase ask.
“Oh, nothing, just wanted to make sure she knew we had a test today.” I heard his lies spilling out of his mouth. How the hell was my brother friends with him?
He was the spawn of Satan himself.
I was grateful when we pulled up at school, jumping out of my seat and darting off before Conor and Chase caught up with me. I saw Robyn standing there waiting for me.
“Hey, girl,” she said, her red hair tied into a bun. “You okay?”
“Wonderful,” I grumbled, looking over my shoulder and frowning at Conor whose eyes were glued to me. I could feel them burning into my soul.
“Conor being a dick?”
“When is he not a dick?” I sighed.
“True.” She shrugged as we walked towards our lockers. “Ready for the test?” she asked as she dropped her bag in front of her locker.
“I think so, I hate calculus. When am I ever going to use it outside of here, honestly? What ballet dancer do you know that does calculus?” I started laughing as I offloaded some of my books into my locker, as did Robyn.
“I know.” She laughed with me, slamming her locker shut.
I let out a deep breath when I felt his presence near me.
Robyn’s eyes were looking behind me. “Incoming,” she muttered, dropping her eyes to the floor.
I turned around to see him smirking and walking towards me, Chase nowhere in sight.
Brilliant.
He stopped in front of me, dropping his text book on the floor, his stupid grin getting bigger as he pushed his dark, chocolate hair back over to the side.
“Pick it up, grunge,” he demanded, his little army of girls behind him snickering.
Bitches.
“No,” I said before turning my back on him when I felt a tug on my hair, pulling me back around and bringing my face close to his, him inhaling my scent.
“I said…” He tightened his grip, tilting my head back as his eyes burned into mine. “Pick. It. Up.” He continued through gritted teeth, slowly, his breath on my face before letting go of my hair.
I dropped to the floor like a submissive, crouching down in front of him but trying to be mindful to keep my legs as close together to each other as I could, I didn’t want to be giving the whole school a flash of my underwear. I grabbed his text book and stood slowly, one hand holding my skirt down before clutching the book to my chest, trying to take a moment to register what the actual fuck was going on.
How the hell had I become this girl that did every single thing he said?
The girls all had their phones out, standing behind their king as they continued to giggle. I didn’t give a shit if they were filming me, they were as pathetic as him.
I held it out to him, my eyes not leaving his, trying to show him that he didn’t intimidate me. But he did, he was so intense.
He snatched the book from me, then shoved me into my locker, pressing his body up against mine, his scent intoxicating me. He stroked his finger down my face before running it along my jaw-line, then gliding his hand down my body, stopping at my hips. He pressed his knee in-between my legs, pushing them apart with his knee and standing even closer to me, his body pinning me to the metal locker.
“Next time, baby girl, don’t make me ask twice.” He smirked, his eyes on me the whole time.
Within minutes he was walking away, down the halls, and I couldn’t stop watching him.
I finally let out the breath I had been holding, my heart hammering in my chest. My eyes moved from him as he disappeared into the distance, then I turned to face Robyn. Her mouth was lax and open from what just happened.