The Bad Boy and I | Pt.3

The coach wasn't thrilled when Tora announced that she wanted to quit the cheer team. Karina was taken aback and simply stared at her blankly. 

She had thought about this last night. Now that she was Allison, she needed to plan her life out carefully. And within those plans was not wasting time on cheerleading. 

Her classes were boring and it felt extremely stretched out for no reason. Lunch came around and passed by quickly. It was thanks to the carefully prepared meal from David that made lunch better than it was. 

"You and Adrian are totally over?" Her table consisted of some of the girls from cheer. 

"Yeah, there's a period at the end there. I witnessed it myself." One of the girls answered instead of Tora. Her lips curled and her eyes sparkled. She was ready to spill all the drama she had learned. "I haven't said anything about it, but I like your look, Allie." 

"Bestie! Me too! I gotta try that look tomorrow." The slicked-back ponytail and beautifully drawn cat eyes made her seem intimidating. "You gotta teach me that makeup style, it's gorgeous!" 

"I think you look gorgeous as is, Laura," Tora replied genuinely. She found it cute that these teenagers thought she looked pretty. 

"Jeez, this serious side of you is very…nice." Laura felt a blush creeping up her face. The Allison today felt foreign to her. "I guess Karina was right when she said Adrian is no good." Karina snorted at the comment and continued her peeling of the tangerine. 

"Laura, babe. We've been telling you this for YEARS." Jada rolled her eyes and shoved her phone in front of Tora. "Look, that girl has a pretty hot brother. I did some digging, guess what?" 

"Oh my god! Let me see!" Laura and Karina both leaned over for a look. "Ugh! He is hot and that's a problem. What was it that you found?" 

"They're HALF siblings. His name is Vick. He's a freshman at the U. Majoring in Game Design." Tora continued snacking on the fruit salad that was packed with her lunch. She didn't find teenage boys attractive. This conversation made her feel out of place. "Rich Daddy. Bitchy Step Mommy. TERRIBLE HALF SISTER." 

"No kidding. Rich Daddy cheated on Mommy or something?" Although she wasn't interested in the guy or Sarah's family history, her ears perked at the ridiculously dramatic tone Jada had. Tora snickered silently at the expressions these three girls had. 

"Precisely! Big bro hates her ass but has to care for lil sis because of Rich Daddy. You should seduce the big bro, Allie." 

"OH MY GOD! Are you OK!? HERE! WATER!" Tora choked on the blueberry she was eating. Her choking led to coughing fits and tears welled up in her eyes. All three of them came over and started rubbing her back gently. 

Yeah…I'm gonna die.

"Don't take it seriously, Bestie." Laura laughed and handed her napkins. "BUT! It would be funny if you stole her family." 

"Precisely! Take away her golden goose and she won't have shit left." Jada was very passionate about this topic. She crept in closer and whispered so all of us could hear her. "She keeps threatening me with her BIG BRO, I'd say we take that from her and then beat—!" 

"SHHH! What's all this about beating? You're gonna get us in trouble!" Karina quickly covered her mouth. "I disagree. No one deserves to date Allie!" 

"PSS! HAHAHAHAHA!" Tora burst out laughing at the absurdness of their reasonings. Her eyes still had tears in them but they scrunched up tightly from the laughter. 

The others were too stunned to say anything, but eventually joined in on the laughter. It was a rare sight to see THE ALLISON laugh out loud, this caused everyone to stare at her. 

"OH GOD! I can't breathe," The fits of giggles continued until the bell rang, signifying the end of lunchtime. They all packed their stuff and made their way out of the cafeteria. 

Tora could feel the blush and heat in her cheeks from laughing so much. Her tense body relaxed and her mind felt free. It was the first real laugh she's had in a very long while. 

She was so lost in her own world that she failed to notice the reactions of those around their group. 

Her eyes lit up and sparkled giving her an innocent look. Her cheeks redden, making her look cute and youthful. Her facial features were gentle and her lips wore a beautiful smile. It was different from the usual cocky and indifferent look she usually had. This captivated everyone and she instantly became the main topic of conversation. 

This gentle look carried over until the last class. Tora had noticed the amount of people just casually greeting and making small talk with her. Compare this with the uncomfortable stares and silent treatment she had this morning. 

She failed to realize that she looked a lot more approachable than she had earlier. 

"Are you really quitting?" Karina looked her up and down feeling a bit concerned. "Coach was very angry this morning." 

"I'm quiting." Karina reminded Tora of a giant puppy. She could practically see her ears drooping. "I realized something after seeing Dad yesterday." 

It was actually after reading the damn novel. Cursed you, Asier!

"Well, alright. I'll try to talk to Coach again. How's Monsieur?" 

"He's…well, I hope." Karina could only tilt her head in confusion at the answer but decided not to comment further after seeing the conflicted expression on Allison's face.

"Who's picking you up?" Her change of subject helped Tora relax a bit.

"Hmm? It was gonna be Dad, but I need to go somewhere first." She had told David not to come pick her up through text. She needed new clothes, so her goal was the mall. "I'm gonna buy new clothes." 

"New clothes? Who's taking you there?" 

"I'm walking, since it's only three blocks away." Karina had a pensive look on her face.

"I'll ask Coach for today off. I'll accompany you." 

"Nope! Go to practice. It's not even that serious." Tora gently pushed Karina's shoulders towards the opposite side of the hall.

"But walking alone—!" 

"Alright, alright all ready. I'll be fine," her hand patted the shoulder with a bit more strength than the push. 

"Call if something happens." 

"Yes, ma'am! Bye!" Tora quickly left the school. She felt tired of dealing with people constantly babying her. 

Although she had some memories from Allison, it was only major moments such as the day she started dating Adrian. She couldn't understand the reasoning behind the babying.

The empty lunch bag felt annoying to carry, so Tora decided to put it in the backpack instead. Her hands fumbled to zip it up and her eyes were so focused on the bag that she forgot to look ahead. This caused her to nearly bump into someone. 

"Here, I'll zip it up for you." The hands that were steadying her slowly let go of their grip on her shoulder. Her bag was snatched away and quickly zipped up. "There we go! Now you can focus on walking." 

Gentle hands patted her on her head. He urged her to put her arms through the straps, and once secured, he let go. All this caused Tora to freeze, standing completely still. Her eyes focused on the lifted corner of his lips. 

His nicely styled hair and his charismatic eyes were extremely capturing. His grin was captivating, this evoked a few squeals from a group of girls. 

If it was any other girl, they would have felt their heart skip. But Tora felt her lips and muscles twitch. She had to take a few deep breaths to calm her ugly facial expression that almost escaped her. 

"Brother!" A loud shout interrupted the atmosphere. "Allison?" Sarah had a weird look on her face as she tried to make sense of  the situation. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two and soon she opened her annoying mouth again. "Stay away from my brother!" 

Tora immediately closed her eyes and straightened her lips. She took a few more deep breaths and slowly opened them up again.

Can I slap a bitch and be done with it?  Deep breaths. 

"Thanks." She said her peace to the guy in front of her and quickly walked past them. She didn't have the patience to deal with Sarah. 

"Allison?" She ignored the question of the guy. Her hands rummaged through her pocket for her phone. "Here, it's from the old man," Vick tossed the credit card to Sarah and quickly followed after Tora. 

"Wait—! Brother!? Where are you going!?" When Sarah saw Vick outside, she felt an insane amount of joy filling her heart. Vick was someone who she really wanted to be close with. But just like every other time, she was met with disappointment. 

"So you're…the infamous Allison?" Vick didn't even bother with Sarah. Rather than looking at a sister he never wanted, Vick would rather interact with someone more interesting. 

Tora didn't reply. She simply side-eyed the person who caught up to her. She tried outpacing him but failed, so she gave up. 

"I can drive you there?" It was a relief that he was at least walking a few steps behind her. Tora had no interest in interacting with someone related to the main protagonist. 

"No, thanks." She could hear his chuckle loud and clear. "It would be nice if you could leave me alone." She turned around to face the guy who was at least a head taller than her. 

"Hmm?" His eyes shifted to the side as he thought about her request. Tora took this opportunity to make sense of his appearance.

His light brown hair glowed gold in the sunlight. The softness of his hair color complimented his sharp jawline. His large eyes and plump lips gave him a very youthful feel to it. 

The action of leaning towards one side greatly added to his lazy posture. Just the act of putting one hand in his pocket was enough to piss Tora off. Maybe, it was because of the lack of a father figure in Tora's life that led her to be more attracted to mature men. Vick was handsome, but his playfulness and childish air threw her off balance. 

"I'll walk you to wherever you're going and then! I'll leave you alone." Vick simply shrugged when Tora sent him a quizzical look. He then walked towards her and gestured for her to keep walking. 

"Okay. Fine. I'd like to walk  in silence." There was no reason for her to argue about this. 

"Completely zipped up. You won't hear a word." He made a gesture of zipping up his lips and throwing his hand up as a form of submission. 

'So this is your type?' A piece of paper appeared in her hands. This greatly startled her, because she hadn't seen it all day. 

Type, my ass. Scare me again and I'll completely ruin this world of yours. 

'You're funny. I'd like to see you do that.' This sent her shivers. Her face twitched uncontrollably and her hands started ripping the piece of paper.

Where are you watching all this from?

'You should care more about the guy that's looking over your shoulders.' Her body jumped slightly and her hands immediately reacted. The paper was quickly shoved in her mouth as an automatic response. 

"That's quite the response." Her head turned to look at the guy who was, very obviously, trying not to laugh at her. "You don't have to eat paper. If you're that hungry, I can buy you something to eat."

Embarrassment hit her like a truck. Her face and ears reddened and her face twisted.

"You should spit that out." Her hands gripped the straps of her backpack as he leaned in close. Her body subconsciously twisted away from him just as her head was also turning away slowly. 

Her eyes looked everywhere except for this person who was breathing embarrassment into her face. 

She could feel the paper evaporate in her mouth and it tickled her anger even more. "This—? Ah...This is..." All she could say was a few words repeatedly. 

I'm going to fucking kill you, Asier.

"How about chicken tenders?" 

"Ugh..." She groaned and felt like dying right then and there. 

"What happened to the paper? You didn't swallow it, did you?" His hands were awkwardly hanging near her face. She could feel the hesitation in touching her. 

"Yeah, I did." She pushed him away and started walking again. 

He quickly caught up to her and started laughing. "Since we're almost there anyway, I'll just leave you to yourself as planned. Make sure someone picks you up and sends you home." His hands gently patted her head again. Tora took note of this and swatted the hand away.

"I can take care of myself." She couldn't really understand why he grinned so much. "Thanks for walking me..." 

"Are you going to attend the U?" That question caught her off guard. She thought about it, but there really wasn't any reason for her to attend University. "I was hoping to see you there for the Fall Semester, but that's fine." 

What is he? A mind reader? 

"Are you interested in me or something?" 

"You probably don't remember but we went to the same middle school. I've loved you ever since."