He kept eye contact with Cal as he walked away, his face set in a firm line. Cal leaned against the locker, watching Finn with amusement. Sweet perfume filled the air as Clara walked down from the cafeteria towards us. Clara was my boyfriend’s cousin, and the Queen Bee of the school. As she walked, she cut her eyes at those that dared to look at her, ensuring their gazes moved away. I detested Clara and her clique, made up of Krystal and Savannah, the popular girls in school.
“Cal,” she called, flicking her platinum blond curls over her shoulder. “I’ve been dying to introduce you to my friends. Especially Krystal...”
Krystal followed Clara, dressed in a tight denim skirt, high heels and a revealing top- someone needed to remind her we were at school, not a strip joint.
“With all due respect, Clara, I couldn’t give less of a fuck. I’ll catch you later,” he turned and walked towards the exit, leaving Clara and Krystal standing open-mouthed after him.
Rosie and I exchanged a look of surprise as Clara narrowed her eyes at Cal.
“Well. He is rude, Clara,” Krystal stood, hand on her hips as she followed him with her eyes. “Hot, though...” she added with a smirk.
Could it be that Cal is immune to the charms of Krystal Denning?
As he turned the corner, my stomach fluttered.
I sure hope so.
Suppressing a smile, I turned to follow Rosie into class.
Later that evening, I met up with my friends at The Lounge. Rosie was there, along with our other best friend, Sienna. We had been friends for years, and I was eternally grateful that I had not one, but two best friends. Sienna was busy chatting to her boyfriend Ethan, and I sipped on my caramel latte, discussing with Rosie how the new guy, Cal, had dissed Clara and Krystal earlier.
“Finn said he’s a prick,” Ethan said, brushing his floppy chestnut hair out of his eyes.
“Well, that’s it then,” joked Sienna, “The mighty Finn has spoken...” she smacked his arm and threw her crimson hair over one shoulder.
Ethan laughed, scanning her face with adoration. Ethan, Finn and Luke had been tight for as long as us girls had, yet Finn was the alpha male of them all. It bugged me how Ethan and Luke agreed with Finn about anything, as though they didn’t have their own opinions.
“Nah, babe, Finn is sound. You don’t start a new school and pick a fight with the golden boy, do you? Anyway, I am not gonna argue with you in that dress...” he leered, kissing her neck, much to our dismay. Despite being together for years, they still behaved like they’d just met.
Sickening.
‘Ew, get a room guys,’ Rosie said, rolling her eyes as Sienna pulled Ethan in for a kiss.
Ethan stood up, detangling himself from Sienna.
“Right, baby. Gotta go, do you wanna ride home? Or you can stay at mine....” he said, staring at her chest whilst she stretched and yawned.
No prizes for guessing his motive…
“Yeah, I’ll come to yours, I just need to grab up my stuff on the way,” Sienna stood and laced her fingers through Ethan’s. “Later, girls,” she smiled, blowing us both kisses. Ethan gave a brief wave as they made their way to the door.
“Well,” I declared. “I’m just going to nip to the little girl’s room.”
I slid out of the booth, heading to the restrooms. My hair became loose from its messy bun, so I flicked my head forward, gathering it using my fingers as a brush. This was the problem when you had such thick hair- it was unruly. I lifted my head back, colliding with someone. Releasing my hair, I rubbed my head, looking up to find Cal standing in front of me.
“Shit,I’m so sorry,” my voice quivered beneath his penetrating gaze.
Boy is he scary.
He shook his head, his lips curling into a sneer as he pushed past me, muttering under his breath, “It’s not like there’s not enough room in this shitty town.”
Jeez. What crawled up his ass and died?
I stared after him as he walked out of The Lounge; the door slamming shut behind him. My veins hummed with adrenaline as Rosie hurried over to me.
“Babes,” she gasped, “Are you okay? What did he say?”
My head ached from hitting him, so I shrugged and said I just wanted to go home. Rosie linked arms with me as she chuckled.