Rowdy Boy (A High School Bully Romance): Black Mountain Academy

by Clarissa Wild

  Why the fuck would it irritate me so much that she called me an asshole?

  Why the fuck do I even care that she’s here at all?

  I smack my pen onto the table and look away, blowing off steam, but nothing I do can stop the voices in my head from repeating what she told me.

  Asshole.

  I’m a fucking asshole, and I know it.

  I do it on purpose because I wanna see how far I can go. Because they’ll always come back to me because I’m popular, because I’m in a band, and because they can’t help themselves. Nothing I do ever has any effect.

  But this girl … she doesn’t play by those rules.

  And the fact that she doesn’t fangirl over me like all the others makes my stomach churn.

  When the bell rings, I pick up my shit and chuck it into my bag, right as she passes by. Her hips sway as she walks, and she has this arrogant attitude to her, but not in an I’m-a-hot-cheerleader-and-I-know-it kind of way. No … this is a girl who knows she doesn’t need anyone to make it. A girl who doesn’t want the attention of boys but gets it anyway.

  And it’s infuriating to the point that it makes me want to snap.

  Why?

  I don’t even fucking know her.

  But I want to … I want to know what made her this way.

  I follow her out the door and grab her shoulder, spinning her around.

  “Don’t call me that,” I say. “Ever again.”

  The look in her eyes changes as they widen, and her pupils dilate, her body growing rigid under my touch, the hairs on the back of her arm standing up. She backs away from me as though I threatened her with a knife.

  “Don’t touch me,” she says quickly but softly, almost as if she can’t get the words off her lips. Those pretty lips quiver with fear right at this very moment.

  Is she scared of me?

  I frown, confused. No girl has ever had that reaction. Most of them fawn over me, beg me for attention, a touch, a kiss, anything. But she … it’s almost as if she hates me already.

  But she doesn’t even know me.

  And for some unknown fucking reason, I want her to, more than anything right now. I don’t know why I’m having such a visceral reaction to her calling me an asshole. It normally doesn’t faze me … but this time, it’s different. And I’m not fucking used to shit being different.

  “Whatever your cousin told you about me, it’s not true,” I say.

  She puts on a defensive stance. “I think I’d believe her over you.”

  Of course she would. They’re family after all. But who in this school would ever tell the new girl I’m the asshole? There’s only one person I can think of …

  “You’re being lied to,” I reply, licking my lips in anger.

  “Yeah, well, I could say the same about you,” she says, clutching her bag closely as though she’s using it as a shield to create distance, and it makes me want to rip it away. “What do you want, Cole?”

  I swallow. I don’t fucking know either, and I hate that she asks because I don’t want to think about the answer.

  “If you bully me, I’ll call you out,” she adds. “And you’re an asshole for stealing my shit.”

  “It’s just a fucking note,” I reply.

  “It was a big deal. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m the new girl,” she hisses. “That was the first friendly conversation I had with that girl, and you stomped all over it. Why? You jealous or something?”

  She’s so fucking direct, and I both love it and hate it at the same time. I don’t know why I did what I did. I wasn’t jealous. Maybe I like being the asshole because everybody loves me, and no one ever calls me out on it … until her.

  “You want a phone number?” I say. What I’m doing is wrong, but I do it anyway. “Here.” I fumble in my pocket and take out a bunch of scribbled on torn pieces of papers that I’ve gotten today from several different girls. Fans. Groupies. It doesn’t even matter because they’re all the same to me. “Have at it.” And I chuck them at her.

  They all fall to the floor like a cascade of confetti. None of them manages to make her move. “Go on. Plenty of girls to be your friend.”

  She shakes her head with such disappointment that it stings like a motherfucking knife cutting me to pieces. And I don’t even fucking know the girl. What is wrong with me?

  “You know what, never mind,” I say, and I turn around before I make an even bigger mess. “Call me whatever you want. I don’t care.”

  “Clearly, you do,” she calls after me.

  I glance over my shoulder, and she’s standing there, arms folded like she’s the queen of the motherfucking hallways. And it makes me want to turn around and make her regret every single word.

  But I don’t.

  Instead, I slam someone else’s locker closed and march off. I have a bone to pick with another girl, and it’s not going to be pretty.

  I immediately make my way to the classes she attends, walking past every door to gaze inside and see if she’s there. Drama class. Of course she’d be there. Perfect opportunity to polish her skills.

  “Ariane,” I growl, stepping inside.

  She’s talking with one of her friends, but the moment she hears me, everyone grows quiet. They all stare at me for a few seconds, and I take in their judgmental looks with rage. She nods at them, and then they leave, all passing me with snooty looks on their faces as though they know exactly what kind of guy I really am.

  They don’t know shit, and neither does she.

  “You think you can turn her against me?” I growl.

  She folds her arms and clears her throat. “Nice way to say hi.”

  “I’m done playing nice with you,” I reply, stalking toward her. “What did you tell her about me?”

  She inches away from me just a bit. Not enough to become untouchable, but enough to make a point. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  I smash my fist on the table next to me, and she jolts up and down in shock. “Don’t fucking play around with me! You talked with her, that new girl.”

  “So? You’re forbidding me from talking to people now too?” She raises a brow, and it makes me want to yell.

  “I never told you to do jack shit. But you just can’t stop it, can you?” I growl. “You have to insert yourself into everything.”

  She puts her hands against her side. “I warned her about you, big deal.”

  “You had no right.” I point at her, wishing I could rip out her heart. But she doesn’t have one.

  She splutters. “Pfft …” And she rolls her eyes. “As if you can’t get any other girl in this school.”

  “That’s not the fucking point, and you know it,” I reply.

  “Oh, yes, it is. You want to own every girl you meet. And now you’re surprised one of them fights back?” She scoffs.

  “You always make shit up,” I say, biting my tongue because I’m about to flip out. “You always do this, always get in my way.”

  “Poor you. It’s just one fucking girl.”

  “You’ve already turned her against me for no goddamn reason,” I say.

  “Oh, I have every reason,” she replies, and she looks over her shoulder at her girlfriends who seem eager to eavesdrop.

  I don’t fucking care. Let them hear just how fucked up Ariane is.

  “She’s your fucking cousin, isn’t she?” I scratch my chin, but it doesn’t take away the sting. “You should’ve fucking told me. Any other secrets you’re keeping from me?”

  She makes a face and shakes her head. “None that you ever need to hear about.”

  “Right …” I knock on the table a couple of times out of frustration. “You know, I always thought you were one of the nicer ones. Guess I was wrong about you too.”

  I turn around and march away before I do something I regret. The table behind me scoots, and suddenly, she’s right in front of me, blocking my way.

  “Cole, stop. Please.” She sighs. “Look, I’m sorry. I just … I’m tryi
ng to protect my cousin, okay?”

  “By telling her I’m an asshole?” I say through gritted teeth. “Thanks.”

  “Cole …” She places her hand on my chest and starts playing with my shirt in a way that only fuels my anger. “Please understand, I’m only doing what’s right.”

  “What’s right for you, you mean,” I retort, and I grab her hand. “Don’t even try.”

  “What? This?” With her other hand, she curls a strand of my black hair around her finger and starts playing with it. “You know I know you like it. You like the attention. That’s why you’re so upset.”

  “Stop it,” I growl.

  “Why?” She leans in and whispers into my ear, “So you can run back to your countless other fans to get you off?”

  That’s it. I shove her off me. “Shut up. Always trying to slither your way in. You should look in the mirror sometime. Maybe you’d finally see the snake you really are.”

  The look in her eyes turns icy cold. “You don’t deserve any girl, let alone her or me. I won’t let you go anywhere near her.”

  I cock my head. “Is that a threat?”

  She’s all up in my face now. “Don’t you even dare,” she hisses through her teeth.

  A part of me wants to ignore her every word, but a part of me wants to take her up on this dare, just to prove I’m not at all who she says I am, and just to get her to be even more upset at me.

  Biting my lip, I say, “Any one of those girls would stand in line to suck my dick and say thank you when I’m done. I can get any girl I want, even her …”

  She pauses and glares at me in shock.

  SLAP!

  Fuck.

  My cheek stings and feels hot in a second, and I grab my face.

  “You’re a disgrace, Cole Travis,” she spits, and she storms off out the door.

  Where little Miss New Girl just watched every second of the show.

  Chapter 4

  Monica

  I didn’t stay.

  I couldn’t.

  The moment Ariane slapped him across the face, I was stunned. I was only going to find her because I needed to talk to her about Cole and that she was right to warn me … and then I find him there, yelling at her.

  No wonder she slapped him.

  I only overheard a small part of their conversation, but it was enough to believe her when she told me he was a grade A asshole.

  When she left, she ran straight past me without even blinking. But I could see the tears in her eyes.

  His … his were thunderous. As though he just got caught in the act of being a monster … and I was there to witness it all, and the look he gave me was nothing short of vicious. Like he wanted to attack me for even daring to look.

  I did the same thing Ariane did, fleeing the scene before I’d say or do anything that would make it worse. I didn’t see her for the rest of the day … I didn’t see Cole, either, despite the fact that we shared at least two other classes.

  I don’t want to know what he was doing, nor do I care. I just worry about Ariane, but she hasn’t replied to any of my texts. I hope she’s okay.

  Sighing, I roll across my bed and grab my phone again to check in. A new message grabs my attention, and I swiftly click the button. It’s Sam.

  Sam: Bitch, why aren’t you telling me how your day was?!?!?

  I snort. Always so chill. Not.

  Mo: Bitch, chill. I was busy.

  I put my phone down again, not expecting her to answer soon since my reply came so late, but then there’s a new PING, and I check it right away.

  Sam: With what? Studying? Don’t tell me you’ve turned into one of those bookworms, pls

  Mo: Course not. But class exists, remember

  Sam: Right. Forgot. LMAO

  Sam: Calling you. Pick up

  A few seconds later, the phone rings, so I pick up.

  “Finally,” Sam mumbles.

  “Oh, stop it, bitch,” I grumble back.

  We both laugh. “Well, it feels like ages since I last saw you,” she says.

  “It’s been one day. Stop freaking out,” I reply.

  “I can’t! I miss my best friend,” she says, doing some fake sniffles to make me feel guilty.

  “I’m not dead,” I reply. “I’m just going to a different school.”

  “Exactly, which means we can’t gossip during class or tell each other all the dirty shit we saw.”

  “You can still tell me in text,” I say.

  “That’s different,” she replies. “And I still miss you.”

  I roll around on the bed again. “I miss you too.”

  “How was it?” she asks.

  “Ugh …” I groan, and she immediately laughs.

  “Already regretting it, huh?”

  “No, yes, but no. I mean, it’s better for me, in a way. No one’s staring at me, you know? And no one knows me there, so that’s good. Well, except Ariane of course. But she won’t tell anybody … I think.”

  “She’d better not, or I’ll come sucker punch her myself.”

  I snort. “Should we swap names? Because you’re acting like me now.”

  “I gotta protect my girl,” she says. “I want them to treat you better.”

  “I know, I know.” I sigh. “But it’s fine. I mean, the first day went … okay.”

  “Okay? Oh, God.” I can almost hear her roll her eyes at me. “Spit it out.”

  “What?”

  “Everything,” she snarls. “I know when you’re lying, so don’t even try.”

  “Fine. There’s this boy.”

  “A boy?” she gasps. “NO! Monica, no fucking way, we talked about this.”

  “Relax.” I go to sit up. “Nothing happened. He was just a jerk. That’s all. I’m not even ready for any boy stuff whatsoever.”

  “Okay, good,” she says. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

  “I know,” I reply.

  She was there the night it happened. Even though she wasn’t there in time to prevent it, she did come to my rescue when I begged her to, and she’s been there for me through it all, even helping me get back to school and all. She’s the kind of best friend most people could only wish for. We’ve always got each other’s back.

  “We should meet up soon. Maybe grab some ice cream too,” Sam says, and I can practically hear her drool. “What I wouldn’t give for a tub of chocolate ice cream right now.”

  “Sure,” I reply. “And how’re things with Nate?”

  “Oh, well, he’s doing great, I suppose. Finally got his dad to agree to let him enter some rap contests.”

  “Really? That’s amazing,” I reply.

  “Yeah, Nate really wants to try to see if he can score an agent. The whole college thing was never really for him, you know.”

  “Right.” Nate’s got such a difficult history. With him being involved in a girl’s death last summer, I really didn’t expect his father to ease up on him, especially since he wanted Nate to get a football scholarship. But you can’t stop someone from living their dream.

  “Anyway, we’re doing okay … despite the fact that you’re not here.”

  “I still live in the same house, Sam. You can still come and visit me,” I reply.

  “I know! It’s just not the same.”

  I smile. It’s good to hear that I’m missed. Beats already having a bully on day one of school. “God, sometimes I wish I could just snap my fingers and get a whole tub of ice cream delivered to my door.”

  “Girl, same,” Sam replies.

  “No, but, I mean …” I sigh. “It’s really hard, going through school without your best friend by your side.” Shit’s getting real now, I can feel it in my bones. “I hate being the new girl. And I miss knowing where everything is, who everyone is.” I swallow to stop myself from tearing up. “It’s just hard, and sometimes I wonder … what if I hadn’t made this stupid decision?”

  “It’s not stupid,” she says. “Don’t tell yourself that. There’s nothing to regret. You
made the right decision for you. You needed this. So stick with it. It’ll get better, I promise. It’ll feel like you own the place in no time.”

  I laugh. Even when I’m feeling down, she always manages to cheer me up. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome, bitch,” she replies, making me laugh again. “Now stop crying and go get some ice cream for two. Promise me you’ll eat it all.”

  “What?”

  “I can’t come, I have homework to do,” she says.

  “Ah, boo!” I yell.

  “I know, but it is what it is. So we’ll talk soon, okay? And we gotta meet up ASAP.”

  “I’ll text you some dates and times,” I reply.

  “Great. Have fun eating all that ice cream without me!” she yells, and then hangs up.

  Bitch. Always trying to make me miss her even more.

  I get off the bed and pick up my wallet as well as my keys. Better make good on that promise.

  Suddenly, my phone buzzes again, and when I check it out, I’m surprised it’s an unknown number.

  Hey, it’s Melanie, from class, remember? I got your phone nr from Ariane. She said you were her cousin. Sorry about what Cole did. I didn’t wanna run off and leave you there by yourself, but I had to call my mom for something important.

  A smile forms on my lips. I thought I had to go get her phone number again myself, but she beat me to it. Damn.

  Mo: Hey, thanks! Glad you got my nr. I was trying to get the note back from Cole, but he wouldn’t budge. Ariane was right when she said he’s an asshole

  Mel: No worries. He tries to mess with literally every girl he meets. Just ignore him

  Mo: Will do, definitely

  Mel: Some of us from school are meeting up at this club later. There’s an indie concert with lots of different bands playing. Thought you might like it

  Mo: Are you kidding? I’d love to!

  Mel: Great, meet me there at 8. I’ll text you the address

  Not long after, I get another text with an actual address in it, and it definitely makes this day a whole lot better.

  Someone knocks on my door, and I lower my phone.