Bad Guy: Providence Prep High School Book 1

by Allen, Jacob

  Despite our apparent cool, though, I had planned to get wasted hammered. Though my stepfather had declared me grounded for the rest of the semester, apparently, said grounding did not extend to homecoming. It was typical. My mother could get my stepfather to relax his rules—probably by sucking his dick, gross as that was to think about from my mom; it was pretty predictable, knowing what I knew of both of them—and I could get to do whatever I wanted.

  It made living in that house almost boring. What good was flaunting the rules when you knew the rules didn’t mean shit? I’d sooner be scared of Kevin’s parents or even Nick’s parents than I was my own; at least Kevin’s parents weren’t afraid to literally try and smack some common sense into us.

  With that opening, then, I wasted no time in chugging as much of the Fireball as I could. I had no boundaries tonight other than, in theory, to be home within an hour of the dance concluding around midnight—and let’s just say that if I had to, I could break that stupid-ass boundary as well.

  I was going to smear my stepfather before the entire school. I was going to act a fool myself, call him out, and embarrass him.

  Oh, how fucking glorious it was going to be.

  How fucking needed it was going to be the way the past couple of weeks had gone, having to see my ex with one of my supposed best friends. How fucking awful that was.

  How fucking awful it was, too, knowing that I had pulled out quite a few stops to get her to change her mind and she had still chosen Nick over me.

  Seriously, fucking Nick?

  We arrived at the dance, taking place in our high school basketball court—because of course it was, even at a place like Providence Prep, we had to be cheap—and Jane immediately wanted to dance with me. Begrudgingly, I danced with her, but my eyes were wandering all over the place. Where were Nick and Emily? What shit did I have to break up?

  A couple of songs passed that I only knew were different because of the way people danced. When I soon realized that I would never spot the two of them from this vantage point, I instead pulled away from Jane, not bothering to take her hand. I went up to the bleachers, took a seat, and looked out over the crowd.

  Of course, it was too fucking dark to make anything out. It was like my options were to either see three people at a time down below, or see no one with added height. Maybe at closing time, I could come up here, but I’d ideally be long gone by then.

  “Come on, let’s go dance,” Jane said in her obnoxious voice.

  I didn’t even look at her when she spoke. My eyes were locked in, trying to use the passing strobe lights as clues for where Nick and Emily might be.

  When I found nothing, I instead grabbed some fireball, took some gulps, and put it back before any stupidass chaperones decided to cause any trouble for me.

  “Adam,” she said, her vocal fry grating on me horribly. “I didn’t come here to sit with you. I came here to dance. I’ll be you’re a sexy dancer.”

  “You should go to Vegas, being able to make bets like that,” I said in a smartass voice. “You—”

  And then I saw them.

  Emily had walked in first, wearing a light blue dress that had one should exposed and went down to about her knees. I would never admit it out loud, but she looked stunning—and not just stunningly hot, but stunningly beautiful. She exuded grace.

  And then, right behind her, his hand behind her, was the failure of an athlete, the cocksucker of the group, the Judas among my friends, Nick Locke. He leaned in to say something, blocking my view of Emily’s face, and I swore to fucking God, if he kissed her tonight…

  “Adam, are you OK?”

  “I’m fine,” I growled, sneaking in another hard gulp of Fireball. “Come on, let’s see how good of a dancer you are.”

  If Emily and Nick were determined to make out and make me enraged, then I was going to show off to Emily what I had. I was going to all but say “this could have been you” and then basically fuck Jane right out there on the floor. This was fucking war.

  At first, I didn’t start dancing with Jane dirty, nor did I even dance that close to Nick and Emily. I was on their half of the court, and if I really looked, I could see them in the crowd, but we were separated for the most part.

  However, as if held back by a dam that had just burst, all of the Fireball I’d consumed in the last little bit had finally broken through, and now I was drunk.

  And when I got drunk, two things happened.

  One, I got more emotional.

  And two, I had a tendency to get very pissed off.

  I grabbed Jane around the waist and pulled her into me, slamming her ass into my crotch. I went to grab her pussy from around her, but she pushed my hand up. Still, by the way she looked back at me, I knew she liked what I was doing.

  But this wasn’t for the sake of Jane.

  I looked to my left and saw Nick and Emily dancing… apart.

  Other couples were dancing as Jane and I were, maybe not in degree but certainly in style. And yet, there Emily was, not only dancing apart from Nick… but actually looking my way.

  Too bad. She had her chance.

  I nibbled on Jane’s neck, drawing a purr and a twisting of her head to mine. She turned into me, practically dry humping me as she faced me. I turned my eyes to Emily’s to see a dour, disappointed expression on her face. It was a face that hurt me.

  But it was a face that also reminded me whom she had chosen to go to homecoming with. And it was not me. It was the Benedict Arnold of Providence Prep.

  I turned back to Jane and closed my eyes. I—

  “And now, ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the principal, Mr. Samuel Collins!”

  Cheers erupted as I paused. I opened my eyes half an inch from Jane’s lips, leaned back, and looked up.

  There was no better time for what I wanted to do.

  “Good evening ladies and gentlemen,” he said in his normal, pompous voice. “Thank you to everyone who has come here. Tonight, we’re going to honor your choices for homecoming court, and then announce the king and queen. So—”

  “But first!” I shouted, loudly enough that all eyes were on me.

  Including my stepfather’s.

  Including, I knew from behind, Emily.

  “First, we have to honor my stepfather, the principal!”

  I went up to the stage. My stepfather was trying so hard to try and keep a cool look on his face, but I could see anger boiling deep inside. He could not stand the notion of getting shown up at the dance, much less by his adopted son.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” I said, moving between wanting to show how drunk I was and also feeling like staying sober would make my words that much funnier. “We all know Principal Collins as the man who demands we tuck our shirts in, follow school rules, and stands outside with ‘Good morning, random student!’”

  My classmates burst out laughing at my impression of my stepfather, which was much better received than I’d anticipated. That sucked for him; it only meant I was more encouraged to go forward.

  “Well, let me tell you some things that I know from living with him that you don’t.”

  “Haha, OK, very funny, son, but the comedy routine has come to an end—”

  “Have you ever wondered what an eighty year old man does on Saturday mornings?” I said. “He drinks cider and tans by the pool. And let me tell you, he has more wrinkles than the Emperor from Star Wars!”

  The crowd went into an uproar at that. My stepfather scowled and looked furious.

  “Security!” he shouted.

  “It appears my time is up,” I said with a laugh. “But I have just one more thing to say, one more thing. Oh, man, I—”

  My voice cut off when somehow, in the mess of laughing students, all looking at me expectantly like a comedian, I saw Emily Zane staring at me.

  And I saw fear in her eyes.

  I saw a fear she was about to be called out, mocked, and relentlessly ruined before her.

  And maybe it was because of the alco
hol, or maybe it was because of what had happened when we went for ice cream.

  But she was right. I was about to call her out.

  “There’s a person I have to—”

  “Alright, that’s enough,” a stern voice said as a man approached me.

  “Viva Adam Collins forever!” I shouted as I ran off the stage, drawing thunderous applause.

  “OK, and now we know who will be in detention for the rest of the school year,” my stepfather said in a shaky voice, drawing boos.

  I’d made my point. I’d embarrassed my stepfather in public.

  And boy, as I got off the stage, it only began to just then hit me how fucking hammered I was.

  I nearly tripped down the steps before Jane caught me. I thanked her by brushing past her and heading for the outdoors. I’d made my point, and seeing Emily had ruined any sexual drive for Jane. I just wanted to go home now. Mission fucking accomplished.

  But as soon as I got outside, five adults surrounded me.

  “You’re going to be in big trouble with your father, young man,” one of the women said.

  I’d never seen her before. She must’ve been one of the mothers of the students. What-fucking-ever.

  “Stay here and don’t move,” another man said.

  His voice was much sterner and had much more authority than my father’s ever had, to the point that I believed he was actually a cop or something. I had a rebellious streak, but not a stupidity streak. I bit my lip and remained there, feeling the alcohol rise in me and make me more and more uncontrolled.

  “Well, well, well.”

  I didn’t know how much time had passed, but it wasn’t enough to make me any more sober as my stepfather came out.

  “I hope you enjoyed your little arrogant stunt up there,” my stepfather said.

  I tried to look up at him, but I was so drunk. It was hitting me so hard. Too hard.

  I never got this drunk for a reason. I didn’t like to lose control. Control was what I most craved and most desired, and to lose it was akin to losing myself. I didn’t mind a little alcohol, especially when it got good pussy, but this much alcohol had come only because I’d already lost the control I wanted with Emily.

  “Your life is going to be hell for as long as I’m alive,” he said.

  “Fuck off,” I said.

  “You just love digging yourself deeper than six feet, don’t you?” he said. “I’m going to call your mother to come and pick you up. Unlike you, I have responsibilities to attend to. So, I hope you’re happy with yourself, Adam. Because it’s the last thing you’ll be happy with so long as I’m in charge.”

  He gave a sarcastic pat on my cheek before he walked inside. I collapsed to the ground, closing my eyes, just waiting for my mother.

  God, fuck him. Fuck him so hard. Fuck him, fuck my father, and fuck my mother. Fuck everyone.

  Except…

  Except the only person who had never treated me poorly, even when I’d been a giant ass to her.

  “Never shoulda left you, Emily.”

  I hadn’t meant to say the words out loud. But this drunk, and this alone, I didn’t care. I think I heard the door open a few moments before, but what was some random parent of a tenth grader going to do? Figure out which of the two dozen girls named Emily at our school I was referring to, separate her from her date, and tell her what I said?

  No.

  “Sorry,” I murmured. “Sorry… I’m an ass. I’m worthless.”

  Some indeterminate amount of time passed. I eventually heard what sounded like heels coming from afar, but then I heard a second pair of heels leaving me and going to the first pair. A few moments later—or maybe a few minutes later, who knew, I didn’t—only one pair came up to me.

  “Come on. It’s time to go home.”

  It wasn’t my mother speaking.

  15

  Emily

  Three Years Before

  I had no idea where things had gone wrong.

  It was like one moment, Adam had been the doting, sweet gentleman that I loved to spend my time around, and the next, he had just become so rude.

  He wouldn’t tell me what had happened. So I turned to someone who might—his friend, Nick.

  “Is everything OK with you and Adam?” he asked.

  We were at a nearby Starbucks outside, each of us drinking tea. He looked surprised that I was here; I suspected Adam had probably said something about how if any of his friends went out with me, he’d beat them up. It would have been a very Adam thing to do.

  “Well, no,” I said with a sigh. “He’s been distant this whole summer. I was going to ask him to come down with my family to Percy Priest for the fourth of July, but every time I reach out to him, he just replies with some sarcastic remark. I was hoping you might have noticed if something was going on?”

  But to my disappointment, Nick merely shook his head.

  “It’s weird. We get along by talking trash to each other and teasing each other, and that hasn’t really changed. But it seems like he’s… colder now. More distant. Like maybe something happened at home.”

  “Do you know what?”

  “I don’t,” Nick confessed. “I will say that whenever I ask if his Mom can take us somewhere, he keeps saying how someone weak like her isn’t needed. None of us suggest his stepdad, obviously. That would just be weird to go ask the principal of our high school to take us somewhere.”

  “Very true,” I said with a chuckle.

  I wasn’t worried about my image with Principal Collins. I was a good student; the worst I’d ever gotten was a request to stop talking to Samantha during my English class. I wasn’t going to be thrown into detention over cheating or lying or something like that.

  “But yeah, he’s definitely been different,” Nick said. “I don’t know. How are you handling it?”

  “I’m doing what I can, thanks,” I said.

  I didn’t want to elaborate, if only because it somehow felt like a betrayal of Adam. If I confided in Nick, that was a boy that was not my boyfriend that I was discussing things with. I’d already had plenty of talks with Samantha and Jackie, but they weren’t friends with Adam. Only Nick and Kevin would have known, and Kevin would have tattled to Adam the second I had a conversation with him.

  “Well, if you want to talk about it, just let me know,” Nick said. “I’m always here to help.”

  I nodded. Nick was a sweet guy. He just… maybe he was a little too nice.

  “Football practice going well?” I asked, hoping to change the topic.

  “Yeah, so far, I’m going to start JV, hoping—”

  “I knew it!”

  Both of us turned to Adam, getting out of what looked like his mother’s car. He stormed over to us, standing over us.

  “What?” I said. “Adam, please, what is going on?”

  “I knew you’d cheat on me,” he growled. “I knew it. All relationships end in cheating.”

  “What?!?” I said. “I’m just talking to Nick!”

  “There’s nothing to it, dude, I swear,” Nick said.

  “Uh huh, I’m sure that’s what they all say,” Adam said. His eyes were starting to well up. “I should have known better. You bitch!”

  “Adam!” I said. He’d never spoken to me like that. Never!

  “What’s wrong, Adam? Can we talk—”

  “Nick, we can talk if you’re going to admit you’re making Emily cheat on me.”

  What was happening?!? I began to gasp in panic.

  “Adam! Please, this is—”

  “This?” he said. “This is over. I hate you, Emily. I should have known this is how it would end. I should have learned.”

  “Adam! You’re just angry right now. Listen to yourself before you lose control!”

  “There’s nothing more to lose,” he said very darkly before storming back to his car. “And fuck you, Nick!”

  With that, he got in his mom’s car. I watched the car drive away, taking my love and my relationship with Adam wit
h it.

  Just like that… the boy I loved, the boy that I stood by, the boy that I tried to help and love every opportunity I got… he was… he was…

  Gone.

  “Are you OK?” Nick said. “I have no idea what the hell he’s talking about. I can go beat—”

  “Nick,” I said. “Just leave me alone. Please.”

  I couldn’t turn back to Nick. I didn’t want to face him. I didn’t want to face anyone right now. Tears filled my eyes.

  “OK,” Nick said softly, walking away.

  I slumped back into my chair, buried my head in my hands, and bawled my eyes out.

  How had it fallen apart so quickly? I didn’t even know what he was referring to. Should have learned from what? Should have known better? I’d felt bad about just talking to Nick, let alone doing anything else!

  Was talking to Nick like this cheating? Was it really? I’d only done this with the best of intentions, to better understand what Adam was going through. I only wanted to make things better.

  Had I really hurt him that badly?

  It sure seemed like it. But I still… I hadn’t done anything to hurt him. My mother spoke to other men all the time, usually in public, and I’d never gotten a whiff of her cheating. Same for my father. Speaking to members of the opposite sex couldn’t possibly be considered cheating.

  I had no idea what Adam was going through. But it was so unlike him.

  Something had to be affecting him. Something had to be making him this way. This wasn’t the Adam I loved.

  But would the Adam I loved ever make a return?

  If he did… if he tried to apologize… I would forgive him. If he could ever return to being the good person I knew him as, if he could explain what had happened that had caused him to be so callous, I could forgive him.

  No, not return to being a good person. He still was. Maybe that was me being naive. But I swore he was a good person—he just had to be going through some dark stuff. What, I didn’t know. Maybe I’d never know.

  I just… I just wanted the Adam I loved back. I just wanted to give him a second chance.

  Maybe that was weak. But I sure felt awfully weak having a man I loved so much hurt me so much.