The girl with the bad reputation

Chapter 12

I WAS SO CAUGHT UP IN MY BOOK I DIDN'T HEAR THE NOISE AT FIRST. But soon a noise of a window nearly cracking I looked up from my book.

At first, I thought it was Hamilton getting revenge for earlier. So I ignored it for a bit. But the window seemed as if it was about to crack.

Just when I was about to open the window a new stone hit that caused me to jump back.

I looked outside, no one.

A confused look filled my features.

What the hell.

I opened the window and climbed out on the roof beneath. Only seconds away from hitting the person next to it with my baseball bat.

The person had their hands in surrender.

"Please don't hurt me" I heard Caleb say in his tiny voice. His voice tends to get an octave higher whenever he's scared or afraid of something that people are talking about.

When I realized Caleb stood in front of me. I slowly let the baseball bat down. "Sorry Caleb, I thought you were someone else-" I say with an apologizing laugh. "Wait, what are you doing here so late?".

He looked out in the air with a scrunched-up face, which told me he was thinking. So, the usual. "Don't overcook your brain Caleb" I laughed.

He looked at me and smirked, which can't be good.

It might be one of his riddles or lame jokes. My humor might be bad. But trust me Caleb tops me on that one-

"What goes up, lets out a load, and then goes back down?" he said innocently.

He made them seem so innocent even though he told us this one before- He wants you to answer incorrectly. To laugh. Caleb was our class clown. He was the one that if you had a bad day, he'd be there. Simply to make you laugh and forget whatever you need to forget.

Once I had a crush on a guy from our school. I admitted my feelings in a bold attempt hoping he liked me back. He didn't. Not only that, rumors spread around the school all about me and how ridiculous I was. Caleb came over that holding ice cream and chips, with a movie in his mouth holding it with his teeth. He hugged me tightly that evening and told me he was a jerk. Before he began joking about what a dork he was. The next day we arrived at school we laughed whenever we saw him and he became insecure about what we were laughing about. We did it unintentionally, of course. But the jokes we had fired all night were funny and he reminded us about them.

"That 'my friend, is an elevator Caleb," I said, copying his manners.

He then looked out the air, with his cute scrunched up face. He then looked at me and started on a sentence, but then stopped. He looked around, then back at me.

"I go in hard" He winked, but continued. "But come out soft, and I don't mind if you want to blow me" he smirked.

This one had my thoughts messed up. Something about this riddle seemed way too nasty. I thought about it for a minute, which to Caleb already was a secure victory. I had to surrender and tell him I had no clue.

At this he put a fist in the air in victory and I just laughed at his childish behavior.

"So why did you show up at my house, at 12 am?" I asked him tiredly.

"I-uh" He stopped stammering. "I just wanted to know where you knew Kaden from," he said fast in a high pitched tone, holding his hands up in surrender, scared of my reaction.

His hands slowly went down when he saw my face twitching confused. His overreacting like usual. But I didn't know Kaden. That's the problem.

He soon followed his question after I gave him no response with his high-pitched girly voice.

"Okay girl! So, spill the t e a, I want to know everything guuuurl" He said, striking the "guuurl" longer than he should.

He made me laugh like normal.

I couldn't keep a straight face with him staring at me.

He looked at me with big eyes. Trying to win me over with the use of puppy eyes. But I couldn't read him. Not to mention the fact I had no clue who he could be talking about.

"Caleb, who's Kaden?" I asked trying to hide my confused feelings-

"Wait, he never told you his name?" Caleb asked slightly curious. When he saw the look enrolling on my face. He came to the conclusion that whoever he is talking about didn't.

"Kaden, or as the one you refer to as Handsome." Caleb informed me. I groaned, understanding what he was searching for. How did he know handsome. Which his name apparently is Kaden? Something about the name Kaden was quite appealing. Hot, even.

Kaden......Kaden.....ka- I rolled the name on my tongue and I liked it. But how did Caleb know Kaden. Perhaps he knows something I don't. Something that could be useful in my endless fight with him.

"I don't know him that well? I just bumped into him by accident. That's all really" I told him.

He looked at me thinking, which meant his face scrunching up again in the cute way it always does. "So, you basically bump into Kaden and then he turns out to be your SECRET BOYFRIEND COMING FROM ANOTHER STATE?" he basically yells the last part silently in my face.

"No Caleb, I just bumped into him. He never even told me his name. Before you came here, so gladly sharing it with me." I answered him chuckling.

"Sorry Heath, I just thought" He said, but I interrupted him.

"Be careful you might overcook that brain of yours. If you think too much" I teased him.

He faked a sad expression. "How mean! I'm smarter than smart" he pouted.

I laughed at that but chose not to answer him.

We went inside and sat on my bed simply talking about all of the action happening at the school lately and the bet.

Caleb was like a second girlfriend. He never judged me whenever I had a mental breakdown or things like that. He always helped where he could. And wished the best for me. He always asked whether I was okay and if a boy came close to me if he treated me right. No one stayed long enough for me to know, to be honest.

We talked a lot about the bet. A little bit about the consequences and if it was alright to make Nathan fall in love. But we then discussed that it was quite funny.

We talked for hours and the clock had suddenly hit one am. He pouted and begged me if he couldn't stay over.

I told him he could- Caleb is a year older than me and he treats me like his little sister. Which is why, in my eyes, he is like an extra big brother to me.

So of course, I told him he could stay over.

He had already informed his parents which is like my extra parents. They have known my parents since we went to kindergarten. I began talking with Caleb in third grade. I had always been too shy. But we talked and we clicked. It worked out- later on I found out he scared off boys not wanting them to hurt me. Since then we have become inseparable. But then Aubrey came along and our group of two then became three.

And after a few years the group expanded to five, a group I wouldn't change for anything.

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(Edited 18-01-22)

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