Outcasts

by B. D. Fresquez

  I raise my eyebrows. “What did you do?”

  “I told her it wasn’t going to happen.” He smirks. “I’m done with her. And if she talks shit to you again, let me know so I can deal with it.”

  I frown. “But shouldn’t I fight my own battles? No offense, but I don’t want a bodyguard.”

  He raises his eyebrow then smiles. He reaches out and pinches my cheek. “Awe, is Riley Bear finally growing up?”

  I frown. Riley Bear? “That is the most awful pet name I have ever heard.” I shiver.

  He laughs at my reaction. “I don’t care. It’s going to stick.”

  This is just great. I have an awful pet name now. “I refuse to respond to Riley Bear,” I tell him. I then start to walk away from him.

  But he catches up with me and walks along beside me. He stays quiet for a moment, and that makes me a bit nervous. Ryan isn’t one to stay quiet for too long.

  “Do you like Aiden?” he blurts out.

  I look at him with wide eyes. I definitely wasn’t expecting that. “Why are you asking me that?” I question.

  “Because I want to know.” He presses on. “I won’t tell him if you do. I’m just curious.”

  I’m not going to tell him about my silly crush. This reminds me of when Aiden had me pushed up against the wall in his room in Alex’s house and I find myself blushing slightly at the memory. I lied to Aiden when he asked me if I liked him, so I’m going to lie to Ryan also. “I don’t like him,” I tell him.

  He lifts his eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  He smiles and wears an amused face. “Interesting.” Before I can ask him what is interesting, he starts to walk away. “I’ll talk to you later, Riley.”

  I just watch him as he walks down the hallway. He greets many people as he walks the hall, reminding me that Ryan is Mr. Popular. He saunters down the hall with such confidence. Sometimes I wish I can hold my head high as I walk through the halls, but I keep my head low and hide my face with my hair.

  The more I think about it, the more it seems impossible for me to have that kind of confidence.

  ***

  “You did not,” I say to Aiden as we walk along the sidewalk. He’s telling me about his experience in his Biology class.

  “I did.” He nods happily. “Though I did drop the frog’s internal organs on her purposely, I made it look like an accident so I wouldn’t get into too much trouble.”

  I shake my head and chuckle. “Such a rebel you are.”

  He shrugs. “I can’t help it. I was born to be a badass.” He grins from ear to ear.

  Once again, I find myself glancing down at his attire. “I meant to ask you this morning,” I start. “But I forgot. So I’m going to ask now. Why do you look so…normal today?”

  Glancing down at his clothes, he shrugs. His eyes meet mine, and he speaks. “Well, first of all, my leather jacket got dirty, so it needs to be cleaned. I’ve been too lazy to wash it though, so it’s currently sitting on my floor in my room,” he says. “And I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to switch things up today. I think this is the only red shirt I own. Everything else is black, white, or gray.”

  I can’t say that my wardrobe is colorful either. My band t-shirts are black, white, or dark blue. I think I have a purple tank top somewhere in my closet.

  We approach my house, and I turn to him. “This is my stop. Where are you going?” I ask him.

  “I’ll give Alex a call so he can get his lazy ass up and come pick me up.” He smiles.

  I glance at my house then back at Aiden. I chew on my lip. “Um, you can come inside if you want. You know, so you don’t have to wait out here,” I suggest to him.

  He raises his eyebrows. “Really?”

  “Yeah,” I say, feeling surer about it.

  “Okay.” He grins.

  We both walk up to my house and I unlock the front door. My mom is still at work and probably won’t be home until after five o’clock.

  “I control the remote!” Aiden suddenly yells and takes off to the living room.

  Wait—what?

  “Oh no, you don’t!” I say, running after him. He’s not going to keep the remote from me.

  Aiden dives for the couch and grabs the remote. I tackle him and reaches for the remote. He stretches his arm so I can’t reach it at all. Damn, I hate having short arms.

  Aiden chuckles at me. “Ha, you can’t reach,” he teases.

  I jump on top of him and lean over. I realize that I’m now straddling him and my cheeks are flushed. But Aiden ends up falling onto the floor, taking me down with him. I land on the floor next to him.

  We both start to laugh until Aiden holds up the remote. “I’m in control.”

  I try to snatch it away from him, but he yanks it away. I try again, and I grasp hard onto it. We are both pulling at it like two five-year-olds fighting over a toy.

  I eventually pull it away from him, and I smile. “Victory is mine!”

  Aiden sighs but crawls on top of me. My heartbeat speeds up and my cheeks burn. Aiden hovers over me and I have no idea what he’s doing.

  “Riley…” he whispers softly. He leans down and nuzzles his face into my neck. I’m frozen on the ground. He gently kisses the soft skin on my neck, and my eyes close involuntarily. His lips find their way up to my earlobe, which he nibbles on delicately as his hand rests on my waist. “You are so…” he says, making me open my eyes. He grins darkly. “Gullible.” He pecks my cheek while his hand clutches the remote, which is still in my hand, and pulls it away from me.

  Aiden pushes himself off me and I curse myself for falling for that. How many times has he done that to me? And I don’t learn.

  I sit down on the opposite end of the couch and cross my arms angrily as Aiden looks for something to watch on TV. I sit there silently and occasionally play with my phone.

  He glances at me after a while and smirks. “C’mon, Riley. You can’t be that mad at me.”

  I huff. “Manipulative asshole,” I mumble under my breath.

  “I’m sorry, what was that?” he asks, holding his hand to his ear.

  I look at him and scowl. “I said you’re a manipulative asshole.”

  He chuckles and shakes his head. “I thought that’s what you said.” Suddenly, he lunges at me and I cover my face with my hands. I know he’s above me and I refuse to pull my hands away from my face.

  “Riley…look at me,” I hear him say.

  “No. You’re going to kill me,” I say into my hands.

  I hear him laugh. “I’m not going to kill you. I promise.”

  I slowly remove my hands and come face to face with Aiden. He offers me a lopsided smile. “Don’t think.”

  “Wha—”

  I’m cut off by Aiden’s lips meeting mine.

  Chapter 22

  I’m shocked, to say the least.

  But I somehow manage to move my lips in sync with Aiden’s. One of his hands comes up and cups my cheek softly. The kiss doesn’t last too long, but it feels like it lasted an eternity.

  Aiden eventually pulls away and just smiles at me. He goes back to his spot at the end of the couch and continues to watch TV with the remote in his hands. I stare at him.

  How can he act so calm and collected after he just stole my first kiss?

  My heart is leaping around in my chest, and I feel like my stomach is going to burst with butterflies coming out. Weird visual, but it literally feels like it. My breathing is ragged, and my face is red from blushing.

  Aiden continues to stare at the TV and doesn’t acknowledge me at all. I clear my throat, hoping to catch his attention, but that doesn’t work.

  I frown and stand up. I end up running up the stairs to my room and shutting the door behind me. I lock it then go into my bathroom. I pace inside and keep running my hands through my hair.

  My first kiss. I just had my first kiss with the guy I’m crushing on and he’s ignoring me.

  There’s a feeling of hurt in my chest
and I keep taking deep breaths. Is it normal to act like this after your first kiss? I always thought I’d feel bubbly and giggly afterward, but this is not the case.

  Why am I acting so ridiculous? I’m overthinking this whole thing. Aiden told me right before, “Don’t think.” What was that even supposed to mean? Don’t think during the kiss? After the kiss? Both?

  I rub my temples and feel a headache coming on.

  After taking some Tylenol for my headache, I come out of the bathroom and unlock my bedroom door. I slowly walk down the stairs and hesitantly make my way into the living room, ready to face Aiden.

  But when I enter, he’s gone.

  The TV is shut off and the remote is on the coffee table in front of the couch. Anger rises through me and I ball my hands into fists. He kisses me then takes off?

  When did my life turn into a freaking soap opera?

  Aiden

  I’m sitting in the living room of Alex’s house with my feet propped up on the small table in front of me. Alex and two of our buddies are all in the kitchen, mixing drinks. They try getting me to join in, but I ignore them and come in here to watch TV.

  “Aiden!” Alex shouts. “C’mon, man! Just have one drink!”

  I sigh in frustration and stride into the kitchen. They all have shot glasses in their hands. Alex shoves one into my hand. “What the hell is this?” I ask, looking in the glass. I take a whiff of it and scrunch my nose. Whatever it is, it sure is strong.

  “Just drink it!” Jake exclaims.

  Jake is the ideal party dude. If you want a real party, you call this guy. He stands a few inches taller than me and has blonde hair. I’m always slightly intimidated by him because he’s bigger than me, but I will never admit that out loud.

  “On the count of three,” our other friend Isaiah says. “One…two…three!”

  All three of them down their shots. I give in and lift the glass. The liquid slides down my throat and I cough a little. That’s really strong.

  Alex grins at me. “Was it bad?”

  It actually wasn’t. I shake my head. “No.”

  “Another round then!” Jake grins.

  ***

  I don’t remember how many shots I took. But I do remember drinking straight from bottles of unknown liquor. Jake and Isaiah were supposed to go back home, but they both end up passing out on the couches.

  I lean against the counter in the kitchen, holding myself up. The alcohol is running through me, giving me a nice buzz. I know I shouldn’t have drunk that much because I have school in the morning.

  But then I think, Who gives a fuck about school?

  Alex comes in and smiles at me. He’s stumbling around also. “Aiden!” he exclaims. “You should go to bed, little boy. You have school.” He messes up my hair.

  “Fuck off,” I growl at him. “I’m not going to school.”

  He holds his hands up and laughs. “Whoa, calm down,” he tells me. “What has you grouchy as fuck?”

  I groan and hold my head in my hands. “Riley fucking Summers, that’s what.” I snap at him. I turn around and stagger my way into my room. I slam my door and pace around for a few minutes.

  Why did I have to fucking kiss her? Why couldn’t I have given her a kiss on the cheek or something?

  She probably hates me because I ran out on her. That was probably her first kiss and I had to go and fuck everything up. That was a douchebag move of me.

  After I left Riley’s place, I went somewhere I really regret going to. I feel fucking weird and I’m not myself.

  I yank my shirt off and change into some pajama pants. I then throw myself onto the bed and quickly fall asleep.

  Riley

  My mom had told me that I’m going to stay with my dad this weekend. I have to leave Friday morning and come back Sunday afternoon. This means I will miss a school day. But that doesn’t bother me too much. I’m actually kind of excited to see him.

  I stare out the window of Ryan’s car and watch everything go by in a blur. Ryan had called me this morning and offered me a ride to school, which I gratefully accepted. I’m not exactly in the mood for walking today.

  “Is there something wrong?” Ryan suddenly asks. I glance over at him and he’s watching the road.

  “No.” I lie. “Why?”

  He shrugs. “You don’t seem like yourself today.”

  “Just tired.” That part is true. I didn’t sleep well the night before and now I feel like crap.

  We pull into the school parking lot and I immediately see Nicole getting out of her car with some of her friends. She hasn’t bothered me for the past couple of days, but I’m still uneasy about her. I feel like she can pop up anywhere and claw my eyes out with her perfectly manicured nails.

  Ryan parks the car and we both get out. A few people stare at us as we walk towards the building. Everyone knows Ryan but no one cares about me. They’re probably wondering why I’m walking into the building with him.

  I catch Nicole’s gaze right before we walk into the doors. She gives me a sickly-sweet smile, which I don’t return. I just look away from her and duck my head.

  “Will I see you at lunch?” Ryan asks. I catch him looking in Nicole’s direction, but his attention turns back to me.

  “I’ll be in the library again,” I tell him.

  He grins. “I’ll see you there then.” He walks away from me and down the hall.

  I sigh and walk in the direction of my locker. I quickly find it and open it. As I put a book in place, I feel a presence next to me. I look to the side and find Nicole standing there. I expected her blonde friend Stacey to be right behind her, but it’s just her.

  “Riley,” she speaks.

  “Nicole.” I acknowledge her.

  She crosses her arms. “What makes you think that you can just take Ryan away from me like that?” she asks.

  I frown. “What are you talking about?”

  “He broke up with me because of you.” She takes a step towards me. “Well, guess what? You can have him.”

  Nicole has gone off the deep end. “What?” I ask, not understanding.

  “I have my eyes on someone else now.” She flashes me a smile. “I don’t know why I didn’t go after him in the first place.”

  “Who?” I inquire.

  She smirks. “Aiden Callaway.”

  She can’t be serious. She can’t like Aiden. But why is she suddenly interested in him? As far as I know, she never really liked him. “Oh really?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.

  Nicole grins and takes another step towards me. She’s about an inch and a half taller than me so I have to look up slightly. “I’m going to ruin your relationship just like you ruined mine.” She sneers.

  “My relationship?” I scoff. She really is obviously delusional.

  “You and Aiden have been getting pretty close, haven’t you?” she asks. “Well, he’s going to be mine and there’s nothing you can do about it. I’ve practically got him wrapped around my finger already.”

  “I’m sure you do,” I say, rolling my eyes. I’m not in the mood for dealing with her today. I’m pissed off and she’s making it worse.

  She pulls out her iPhone and unlocks it. She goes to her messages and shows me the screen. The name on top says Aiden with a kissing face next to it. My eyes roam down the screen and read a few of the messages shown.

  Aiden: Can’t wait to see you tonight

  Nicole: Are you on your way yet?

  Aiden: No. Still at Riley’s. Don’t worry, I just have to do something real quick then I’m out of here.

  Nicole: You better hurry ;)

  Aiden: Oh I will

  Anger rises in me. “When were you guys texting?” I ask, keeping my voice steady.

  “Yesterday afternoon. He was coming over for some fun.” She smirks.

  I slam my locker shut and walk away from her. If I stood there any longer, I probably would’ve punched her in the face because I’m so angry.

  I can’t believe Aiden would do that to m
e. I don’t want to believe Nicole, but I have no idea where Aiden went after he left. He probably did go to her house. He probably thought I wasn’t enough for him.

  My mind is racing with different scenarios. I clench my fists as I walk into my first class.

  ***

  I haven’t seen Aiden all day. The only person I talked to was Ryan and that was for lunch. He tried getting me to talk about what happened, but I didn’t want to. He doesn’t know exactly what was going on and I don’t intend to tell him.

  I’m now at home, bundled in a blanket on my bed and listening to my iPod with Sassy curled up next to me. I have the volume turned up as high as I want it, and I close my eyes. My emotions swirl around, making me dizzy.

  One of my earphones is pulled out of my ears suddenly and my eyes spring open.

  My mom stands over me. She raises her eyebrow. “Is there a reason you’re drowning out the world?”

  I’m not talking to my mom about all this. “No. Just tired. I didn’t sleep good last night.”

  “You and me both,” she says. “I’m going to start dinner, so don’t fall asleep unless you want to starve.”

  “Thanks,” I say sarcastically.

  ***

  Ryan and I walk through the building doors the next morning and I glance around. Everyone seems to be buzzing about something but I’m not sure what.

  “Why is everyone all hyped up?” I ask Ryan.

  He shrugs. “Who knows? But I really don’t care. Let everyone gossip.”

  “I’m going to my locker,” I tell him. We go our separate ways and I make my way down the hall. I find my locker and open it.

  Someone leans against the locker next to mine and I stiffen when I see who it is in my peripheral vision.

  “Good morning, Summers,” Aiden greets.

  I ignore him. I don’t want to get sucked into all this drama.

  “Riley…”

  “What do you want?” I snap at him. It comes out harsher than I want, but I can’t care less now.

  He looks surprised. “What’s got you in a grumpy mood this morning?”

  I purse my lips and turn away from him. How can he act like he didn’t steal my first kiss then run out to Nicole? That only makes me angrier.