Thirteen: MTOABB

MTOABB

"Cassandra! -" he grabs his sister's keys. "We need to go."

I take my last spoon of cheerios before grabbing my backpack.

"Give me a second!" She shouts from upstairs.

"A second already passed."

"Don't be a smart ass, Prinse," she says walking down the stairs.

Pretty as always, I try not to compare myself to her.

"Looks like no one wanted to wake me up," Jordan says, coming down the stairs in pajamas.

"Morning," I say.

"Morning. -" she grabs the kettle of coffee and pours it in a cup for herself. "Before I forget, your mom called -"

Oh shit! I knew she was going to catch on.

"What did she say?" I ask.

"She asked if I can get you home straight after school, but we all know I won't be doing that, so Cass will drop you."

"She doesn't have to, I will," Prinse utters.

"No, I want Cass to drop me," I say, deciding not to meet Gomes's stare.

"I wish I could, but I have somewhere to be. Why don't you have your boyfriend drop you?" She suggests and I nod.

It's not like last night's conversation was at all uncomfortable, but having Prinse take me home would be a disaster waiting to happen.

Why?

I'm with Zack - so why have Prinse take me home if he can?

My Type of a Bad Boy

"Ms. Jenkins and Mr. Gomes, you're up next," Mr. Miller says and my throat goes dry.

I watch as Gomes smiles at me - so oblivious to my little late night rendezvous with my notebook.

We both move to stand.

"Only one of you."

I give him a quick glance and nod for him to go to the front. I hand him the letter closed and I sit back down.

I bite my tongue - anxious of what his reaction would be.

I stare at him, confidently standing there in front of the class.

He opens the letter and my stomach does a somersault flip.

"10 things she-" he halts, stares at me and returns back to the letter, "-loves about him."

"I love the way-" he clenches his teeth, "-you smile at me."

I throw him a smile and he shakes his head.

"It's as if it was only meant for me to see." He looks back at me and this time - he smiles.

"I love the way you touch my skin - only to try and annoy me." He looks up and arches an eyebrow at me.

"I love the way you kiss me - when I'm crying and you're all that I need."

The girls swoon and I join along. Hearing Gomes recite a love letter I wrote does something to a girl.

"I love the way you tickle me - even though I tell you I won't laugh. I love the way you squeeze me to death - but still say it's your way of cuddling."

I throw my arms around myself in an attempt to cuddle - well that was a fail as Gomes snickers at me.

"I love the way you wear your jeans - even if I say you look ridiculous. I love the way you undress me with your eyes-," he pauses, holds my stare and continues to read. "-and tell me that I'm your favourite candy." He smirks and I could feel my face turning into a ripe tomato - blood-red and very juicy.

"I love the way you say good morning at night - just to see my smile before our eyes close shut. I love the way you snore louder - when I nudge you in the middle of the night."

"I think Ms. Jenkins can read the rest of the letter, don't you think so?" He asks Mr. Miller, who seemed very invested in the words being spoken.

"You are doing a terrific job, go on ahead Mr. Gomes," he says.

It was the first time I saw him roll his eyes - or maybe he does it on a regular and I happen not to catch on.

"I love the way you sneeze - as if you're having a seizure. I love the way I can never hate you - even if you end up breaking my heart."

He said that last line while staring at me and it gave me chills - it was like his eyes spoke words only I knew.

"I love the way I love you - like only you matter," he closes off and moves quietly back to his seat.

The boys whistle amidst the applause and I sit there - frozen to the core in my seat.

He turns to look at me. "So you snore," he smirks.

"I don't snore, I peacefully sing through my nose." I smile, knowing he wasn't angry at my little stunt.

My Type of a Bad Boy

What exactly am I doing?

I'm really happy with Zack - I know it - I can feel it.

I walk towards my locker where Juliet is standing there with Chloe.

"What are you two doing here at my locker?" I ask them.

"So we shouldn't be here?" Chloe asks.

"Not what I meant, it's just not something you do on a regular basis."

"How was your little sleepover with Prinse?" Juliet asks with a smile. She has her hair tied into a ponytail, giving us a clear view of her face.

"It was a sleepover with Cass and you know it, Juliet. Might I add - this hairstyle makes your forehead look bigger than usual." I snicker.

She stares at Chloe. "It is, isn't it?"

"You've always had a big forehead. Don't let her get to your head. You know she does this when she's feeling guilty for something," Chloe reassures Juliet.

She's right. Juliet has always had a big forehead, but haven't you heard? Pretty girls have big foreheads.

"Hey ladies," Zack says, coming from the back and wrapping his arms around my waist.

I smile, knowing that he made that gesture in front of Juliet.

"You two are actually pretty cute. I had to join in on the Zack and Rossita parade soon enough," Juliet comments.

Chloe looks at her friend amused. "You're growing up."

"Oh please, Zack isn't the only boy at school. I'm thinking of checking out Prinse-"

"NO!" I say, cutting Juliet off and all their eyes glare at me, sending me different messages.

Chloe looks at me all nervous for me - "what have you done?" Is what I could read from her pupils.

Juliet stares at me in shock - "you're fucked." It was clearly written on her face, but I knew I was in shit, she didn't have to tell me twice.

Zack clenches his teeth. His anger was very apparent - "you better have a good excuse" looking at his eyes, I hoped I had a good excuse.

"He has a girlfriend, that's why," I say, although it sounded more of a squeaky voice in my head.

"How would you know that?" Zack asks.

"He told me." Which is not a lie, because he did tell me about Molly.

"So you two are still on talking terms?" He asks, removing his arms from my waist.

A wave of coldness hugs me on the spot where his arms had brought me warmth.

"He's my English partner."

"Could you two give us a minute please," he says, addressing Chloe and Juliet.

Chloe looks at me with a bare-it-expression and walks away with Juliet following her tail.

"Was he the one you spent time with yesterday after school?"

"It was for an assignment," I defend.

"Answer the damn question," he snarls.

"Yes."

"So how did that go?" He folds his arms and leans against my locker.

"It was fine," I say.

"Just fine? Would have thought it was great," he says.

"What do you mean by that?"I ask, already not liking where this conversation was going.

"Thought he was good at getting the girls to drop their panties."

I gush in disgust. "How dare you say that? Who has more notches in their belt, huh?"

Having had a glance at Prinse's body, it's obvious that he isn't a virgin, but I doubt he slept with girls like Zack has in the past.

"You should ask him. He has quite the stories to tell. Why don't you ask Chloe how the sex was, I bet she has details to share."

"How dare you say that, Zack! Fuck you!"I yell.

"Then let's go do it, I know the perfect spot - maybe then I can add another notch on my belt, but even then I would not be able to surpass his target," he spits out in anger and out of nowhere, my hand is on his cheek and I can feel the after affect of having slapped him.

"What are you doing?" I cry out.

"I told you I don't want you near him."

"I tried to change partners, but Mr. Miller wouldn't have it," I sigh, feeling weird - first boy I've ever slapped and he happens to be my longtime crush and now boyfriend.

Is he still my boyfriend after all this?

He breathes in heavily, looking everywhere else but where I wanted him to look.

"I'm sorry." I move to cup his cheeks.

Standing on my tiptoes, I drop a kiss on his lips. Unsure of whether he'll reciprocate - I start to move back, but he wraps his right arm on my waist and pulls me towards him.

"I don't want to have to feel like I'm sharing you," he says, staring right at me. "I don't share my candy."

"I'm not edible," I lightly chuckle.

"To me you are." He playfully bites my neck and I wiggle away.

"Will you be having lunch with the boys?" I ask.

"Not today, because I'll be spending lunch with my girlfriend."

It sounded just right coming out of his mouth - this was always what I wanted - to have him in my arms and soon everywhere else.

Yes, exactly that - wouldn't Chloe want to know.

I shake my head, trying to get the idea of Gomes and her together out of my head.