Chapter Eight - Playing with Fire

Start from the beginning
                                    

            Finally she knocked on a tall mahogany door with a brass door-handle. There was a small shuffling, and then I recognised Cole’s voice. "Yeah?"

            Damn, why couldn’t I have recognised that voice yesterday morning instead of thinking it was a burglar, grabbing a frypan and embarrassing myself?

            "Cole, you have a visitor," Juanita said sweetly, her tangerine-colored lips pulling up into an adoring smile, like a grandmother.

            He sounded perplexed when he spoke next. "Did they have an appointment?"

            I rolled my eyes.

            "No, Cole. It’s a surprise visit. They’re coming in now."

            She twisted the door-knob and opened it slightly, before turning on her heel and walking away, an air of loyalty and regality surrounding her.

            I hesitated for three seconds before opening the door fully and stepping over the threshold.

            I don’t know what I expected. Band posters and naked pictures of girls taped up on the wall? Black bedspread with a skull and crossbones? Music pulsing out of the speakers? Drawings of motorbikes and cars? Well, that was definitely not what I was greeted with.

            The walls were beige, completely untouched, not a photo or picture anywhere. Large desk with a globe, phone charger, and school books stacked neatly. Book case covered in—you guessed it—books, paraphernalia, a model of his bike just in smaller form, and a snow globe from Central Park. A king-sized bed with blue-and-grey quilt and dark grey pillows. And there sat Cole, laptop perched on his knees.

            He looked up, and he looked shocked to see me standing in front of him. He put the laptop next to him and stood up awkwardly.

            "Grace, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked.

            "Oh, I brought you some cookies," I said sarcastically, putting my hands on my hips. "Are you kidding right now, Cole? What do you think I’m doing here? Did you honestly think I would just sit back and let you do that without coming to talk to you?"

            "So you saw it." It wasn’t a question, just a statement.

            I scoffed. "Of course I saw it! It's all over the Internet! You have dropped to an all-time low, you know that? To humiliate me so completely? That was out of line."

            "You started it, Grace," he said. "I was ending it."

            "Oh, this is far from the end! Do you seriously think I’m just going to take this lying down? You’re insane!"

            "Do what you want, Grace. You can’t beat me. You played the game when you didn’t even know the rules. You played with fire! Of course you got burned. What did you really expect?"

            "How about a little warning? A little restraint? Did you have to take it so publicly?" I snapped, my voice coming out like an imploring whine. I cringed at my voice.

            "You know, I didn’t even do half as bad as what you did. I haven’t stopped getting texts from people all weekend about what happened Friday night. So, excuse me for wanting some well-deserved payback."

            "How could you do that, Cole? I mean, dump your lunch-tray in front of everyone in the cafeteria. Fine. Pull another science prank on me. Fine. But to post an incriminating photo like that for everyone to see?! Not only is that immoral, but also illegal. I could sue you for that!"

            "Look, Grace. I have said this before and I’m saying it again, you started it. Take me to court over this if you want. Nothing will happen."

            He and I both knew I was not going to take him to court over this. This was between us, and I intended to settle it between us. I didn’t need high-paying lawyers to do the job for me. Especially since his dad was a very notorious defence lawyer.

            "I hope you know this isn’t over, Cole," I said. "I’m going to make you regret the day you ever did this to me."

           "Go ahead, sweetheart," he said with his signature smirk, waving a hand dismissively. He sat back down on his bed and pulled the laptop onto his knee, before clicking a few times and typing again, as if he couldn't be bothered with my company anymore. "Do your worst."

            But what Cole didn’t know, and what he remained oblivious to even as I left his room that night and closed the door quietly behind me, was that I wasn’t going to do my worst.

            No. I was going to do much, much more.

~           *           ~

An early update o_O I guess I just wanted to update to say thanks for fanning me, showing your support and getting me onto the Wattpad charts. Thankyou!

Dedicated to diprox for the amazing banner to the side. I love it! Thankyou sooo much for this!!! Check out her covers and banners, she's amazing at them!

Question of the chapter: What is number one on your bucket list? Mine is doing 10 Random Acts of Kindness to people in need :)

Please fan, vote, comment and add to your reading list to show me you like it!

xXx

Pranking the Bad Boy {Completed}Where stories live. Discover now