Heartless Savage: A High School Bully Romance

by Ivy Blake

  “Stop calling me that,” I said half-heartedly. “And in regards to tutoring, are you sure you still want to do it?”

  “I haven’t finished getting what I want from you,” said Austin.

  “And what’s that?”

  “Let me worry about that,” he said. Without another word he turned on his heel and started walking towards the library, and I followed behind slapping on the best poker face I could muster, but probably looking more like a lost puppy instead.

  My phone buzzed in my pocket as we reached the library doors. It was Lola.

  “Sorry, I actually need to go,” I said apologetically, wishing that my sister wasn’t a nuisance and just learned how to drive instead of relying on me. Austin turned to me, looking far from impressed.

  “What could you possibly have to attend to?” he scoffed.

  “Family stuff,” I said quickly, taking care to notice the pained looked that briefly occupied Austin’s face.

  “Fine then,” he said as I started walking in the opposite direction. “But you’re going to have to make it up to me.” I could practically hear the smirk in his voice. My breath caught in my throat as I stopped in my tracks.

  “What now?” I breathed.

  “Nate’s having a party, you should come.” Me? Go to a party with him? What the hell was this?

  “I don’t really-” but before I could protest, Austin cut me off with a raised hand.

  “I’m not asking you.” His eyes flashed and I could tell that he was serious, and that I had no choice but to follow his order. “Give me your phone.” I hesitated for a moment, reluctant to give it to him, which I think was understandable considering the way he’s treated me. Austin closed the gap between us and held out his hand. “For fuck’s sake, can’t you follow simple instructions?” The venom in his voice pierced my ears and I swiftly handed him my phone, my brain felt like it was on fire as I thought about all the possible things he could do or find on there.

  I watched as he tapped on my phone screen, my heart stopping each time he smiled to himself like he knew something I didn’t. A few moments later, Austin held the device out to me and I snatched it out of his hand as quickly as I could before he had the chance to change his mind.

  “Are you going to tell me what you did to my phone?” I asked indignantly, getting impatient with his mind games.

  “I assumed you’d want to know where the party is,” said Austin as he turned on his heel. “Oh and Megan.” He turned around and looked me up and down, the heat coming from my body notified me that I was still not used to being under his gaze.

  “Yes?” I squeaked.

  “Wear something nice,” he purred, that wolfish grin returning to his face. Before I could reply, he’d disappeared into the library.

  As I made my way to the car, ignoring Lola’s onslaught of messages even though I’d told her I was on my way, I was mentally scanning my wardrobe for something suitable to wear. I wasn’t sure how to play it at all. Parties back home were so different from what they seemed to be like here. A few of us would get drinks, watch a movie, maybe dance to some old music, but I didn’t think that was quite Austin’s vibe.

  There was also the added caveat that I didn’t know any of his friends, the same friends that had encouraged the bullying train that the rest of the school had enthusiastically jumped onto. There was no way I was going to face this alone. I thought about asking Sophie to come with me, but from the conversations I’d had with her about Austin and his crew, I couldn’t imagine anyone who would be less interested.

  “I’m so hungry, Meg! Where the hell were you?” Lola whined from the side of the car. A smile broke across my face as an idea came to mind.

  “I’m sorry I’m late. I can make it up to you though.”

  “Oh really, how?” Lola’s face lit up but there was still a tinge of apprehension.

  “Want to go to a senior party tonight?” I asked nonchalantly as we climbed into the car.

  “Obviously!” she exclaimed, then she cut her eyes towards me, her eyes widening as the realisation set in.

  “There’s no way you got invited-“ Lola spluttered as she searched my face for an answer. I smiled smugly and simply nodded back.

  “So is that a yes?”

  “How though?” If I hadn’t felt so smug that I’d got invited and she hadn’t, her comment would have usually upset me, but I was currently too focussed on keeping the car on the road as I struggled to explain why Austin would invite me to a party. On one hand, I wanted to believe that it was a set up and he was set on embarrassing me further, but on the other hand, I wanted to give him the benefit of doubt. I wanted to believe that it was his way of thanking me for getting his grade changed.

  “I will make you stop this car if you don’t tell me how the fuck you got invited to Nate’s party!” said Lola.

  “Austin invited me,” I blurted out, a lot less coolly than I’d planned to in my head. I braced myself for my sister’s response.

  “As in Austin Hunter?” asked Lola, with a disbelieving expression on her face.

  “Yep, that one,” I said as we turned into our road.

  “I don’t understand- what-how?”

  “Do you want to come or not?” I said firmly as I put the car in park. There was no way I was going to give her a rundown of me and Austin’s relationship- whatever it was- I barely understood what was going on. I wasn’t going to open my mouth to my sister who could compete in the Olympics if gossiping were a sport.

  “Obviously I’m coming with you,” said Lola, “also I know you need me to help you out in the clothes department,” she added as she climbed out the car. She wasn’t wrong there.

  Chapter Ten

  Megan

  We stood outside Nate’s house which was three times the size of ours, knees knocking each together as we shivered in the cool evening breeze. We’d gotten Mom to drop us off, she thought it was so that she could be sure that we were going where we said we were. Meanwhile, me and Lola knew we’d be drinking and weren’t about to get any violations for drink-driving.

  The music could be heard from outside, the bass thumping through the walls, notifying any passers-by that teenagers were engaging in illegal activities and illicit fun. I raised my hand to knock again but Lola shook her head.

  “Are you crazy?” she hissed, wrapping her faux fur coat around her tightly.

  “What?”

  “You don’t want to seem desperate,” said Lola, spitting out the last word with as much disdain as she could muster. I rolled my eyes- my sister could be a drama queen at the best of times. We were both shocked when the door flew open and two girls came running out wearing nothing but bikinis, ignoring our existence, giggling in that high pitched way that certain girls did when they wanted male attention. They ran across the grass and stopped to pop open a bottle of expensive looking champagne, foam spraying everywhere. Behind them was Ross and another guy from the football team that I didn’t know the name of who whooped and hollered, celebrating what? Me and Lola had no clue.

  “You girls alright?” asked Ross when he finally noticed us, even though Lola and I had been standing staring at him and his friends for the last few minutes. His smile grew as he took in our outfits. “You new girls know how to clean up good.” He winked and nudged his friend. His friend, a tall, muscly ginger guy with massive biceps, took a sip of his drink and raised his eyebrows in approval.

  “We’re good,” said Lola in a low seductive voice that was at odds with her normal speaking voice- but I didn’t make a comment, simply raised my eyebrows in surprise. “We okay to go in?” She batted her eyelashes at Ross, clearly upping her game in the presence of other women who had far less clothes on than us and arguably better bodies.

  “Of course you can!” exclaimed Ross. He crossed over the grass, leaving his friend and the two bikini-clad girls to wrap his arm around Lola’s shoulder. Even though she was trying to play it cool in front of the older guy, I could tell from my sister’s eyes t
hat she was feeling proud of herself. I suddenly felt really alone.

  “I’ll hook you guys up with some drinks,” said Ross, turning to me. “It’s Megan right?”

  I forced a smile and nodded my head. “That’s me,” I said lamely, meeting Ross’s eyes, which had already turned back to Lola before he could fully acknowledge my answer. I followed behind them as they walked into Nate’s house which looked like something out of a reality TV show. It was insanely spacious and decorated with dainty pieces that I could tell were handpicked and expensive- probably one of a kind, considering what I knew about his family’s financial position in the town.

  We walked into a room that I quickly realised was dedicated entirely to alcohol, save for a pool table and bar for people to socialise at. I was even surprised to see that the bar was staffed and I watched in awe as bartenders handed drinks to students that I knew were underage without checking their IDs or asking for money. I guess money really was above the law.

  Seeing everyone outside of uniform was really weird, as some people were unrecognisable in their tight skirts and skinny jeans. I made brief eye contact with a few people that were clearly puzzled by my presence at the party, but I looked away before things got too awkward. I knew that I had yet to shake my badge of being the loser at Valley High, and a lot more would have to change than just getting invited to a party. I knew I didn’t belong, but it felt like there was a flashing neon sign above my head notifying every one of my presence.

  “I’m gonna get a drink,” I called to Lola, who had started dancing with Ross to the new tune that the DJ had put on. She already had a drink in hand, probably courtesy of Ross, but I knew there was no point in me telling her off without causing a scene. I decided to embrace the party and have some fun myself, instead of having a stick up my ass as Lola so often accused me of.

  I went to the bar and looked around for a menu, but of course there wasn’t one. Anxiety clouded my brain as I saw the bartender coming towards me. All I had to do was pick a fucking drink and I was already struggling with that.

  “What can I get for you?’ asked the bartender, a curly haired athletic looking guy. My eyes darted around while I panicked and looked at the drinks everyone else had, nothing I recognised. Shit.

  “Vodka and lemonade,” I blurted, even though I knew how dangerous I was when ingesting spirits.

  “Coming right up,” said the bartender with a smile. I allowed myself to breathe as he turned to make my drink, scanning the room to see if I could find Austin. Neither of us had spoken since we’d last seen each other at school and while I didn’t expect him to text me, it seemed weird that I still hadn’t seen him at the party he’d invited me to.

  “There you go.” The bartender set my drink down in front of me and placed a neon pink straw in the glass, giving me a wink before he went to attend to someone else. With shaky hands, I drew the straw to my lips and took a sip, nearly retching from the strength of the drink. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but luckily there were too many people, all engaged in either conversation, dancing or other less safe for work activities.

  There was a group of girls nearby that I recognised from my Algebra class, but the way they were dressed and interacted with each other made me feel too intimidated to join. I checked the time on my phone and of course not enough had passed. There was no way that Lola would let us leave already and I wasn’t going to leave without her. I was going to stick it out, I hadn’t spent an hour getting ready just to go home without even trying to have fun.

  There was a collective cheer, and I followed everyone and turned around to look at the door where Austin and Nate were walking through. It was like these guys were celebrities. Girls reached out towards them as they made their way through the crowd- Nate engaging with a few of the guests while Austin stared straight ahead. At me.

  My straw fell from my mouth as he subjected me to his cool gaze, ignoring everyone in the room to look at me. He looked me up and down, his eyes pausing on the short skirt that I’d borrowed from Lola before resting on my exposed cleavage that threatened to spill out of another one of Lola’s tops that she promised made me look ‘sexy as fuck’. Granted, I knew I looked hot, and with this knowledge and his attention on me, I quirked an eyebrow and smiled at him seductively. Austin’s expression didn’t change and step by step he got closer to the bar as Nate went off with a different group. I practised what I would say to him once he came over. Was it better to play it cool or make a joke? There were so many options running through my head that I couldn’t decide and time was running out.

  My nostrils were filled with Austin’s cologne as he reached the bar, tearing his eyes away from me, he gestured to the bartender.

  “Two beers, please,” he said gruffly. I hadn’t asked for a beer and wasn’t really a fan, but decided to keep quiet. While me and Austin were only mere centimetres apart from each other, his demeanour made it seem like we were oceans apart. Oddly, his face was turned away from mine and it seemed like he was no longer interested in my presence. Austin tapped his fingers on the bar as he looked everywhere but at me. What the hell was this guy’s problem?

  “Hello?” I said, with a tinge of annoyance in my voice. Had I suddenly turned invisible? I glared at Austin, but he refused to look at me. There was no way he hadn’t heard me, so I knew he was ignoring me. I finished my drink and set the glass on the bar, prepared to give this a jerk a piece of my mind now that I had a bit of liquid courage. Before I could open my mouth, he’d accepted the drinks from the bartender and made way to leave.

  He turned back on his heel and I thought he’d forgotten something. Austin’s dead eyes met mine, briefly lingered on my boobs before meeting my eyes again holding me in place.

  “You look like a slut,” he said in a matter-of-fact voice before leaving through the crowd of intoxicated people.

  I suddenly felt overly exposed and wanted to cover myself up and run away. I should have known that the only reason Austin would ever invite me anywhere was to humiliate me. I felt tears prick in my eyes as I looked around at what the other girls were wearing. Their outfits were just as skimpy as mine, but he hadn’t gone out of his way to tell them that they looked like sluts. One minute I was a virgin and the next I was a slut? What was this guy’s problem? Why was he so obsessed with my sexuality when it had nothing to do with him? The feminist in me knew that it didn’t matter what I wore, Austin would always see me as lesser- there was nothing I could do to change that. I was sick of Austin and the way that he could disarm me with his words and decided that if he thought I was a slut, I was going to show him just how slutty I could be.

  “Three shots of tequila, please,” I called to the bartender, ready to truly make the most of my night. I could tell that my request had surprised him, especially since I was standing on my own, but he didn’t say anything as he poured the shots and slid them in front of me. As I knocked back each shot, I cursed Austin in a million and one ways. Fuck him. Fuck his perfect hair and sexy body. Fuck him.

  I hadn’t gotten drunk in a while and since I was already quite a lightweight the shots went straight to my head, making my surroundings a bit fuzzy, but it was manageable. I instantly felt calmer and more confident in myself, if Austin said anything else to me tonight there was no way it was going to get to me. As far as I was concerned, Austin was nothing. When I next saw him I was going to call off our stupid tutoring sessions- the asshole could figure out how to get the grades for his scholarship on his own. I wasn’t going to put up with him treating me like shit, I didn’t care how hot he was.

  The song blasting through the speakers changed to one of my favourites and my body instantly started dancing along. Before I knew it, I was gliding through the crowd and out the door towards the DJ deck where other party guests were dancing even more enthusiastically. There was a cloud of smoke and from the smell I could tell that it was weed. If I wasn’t so tipsy I would have been worried about the police showing up but since everyone else was having such a go
od time, and I was beginning to, I ignored the negative voice in my head for once and decided to embrace the high school madness.