My Ex-Best Friend: The Bad Boy (Smythe #1)

Chapter 1

       "We weren't in contact," I pointed out. "And I'm sorry I left without saying anything. I seriously suck at goodbyes." I should also apologize to Seb, but I knew I should wait for a bit judging by how mad he seemed.

       "It's fine," Lauren said. "So, are you here to stay?"

       I nodded. "Yeah. I'm glad to be back."

       Lauren and Tanya looked at each other, having some sort of silent communication. They did that a lot before I moved away. "What?" I asked.

       "Sebastian Smythe," Tanya said. "He was your best friend, right?"

       I nodded. 

       "Did you keep in contact with him?" Tanya asked. "Or even tell him you were moving?"

       "I....No," I said. "I already bumped into him, so don't worry about telling me how much he changed."

       "No, it's not that," Tanya said. "Well, part of it is that. Sebastian is really...."

       "Bad," Lauren finished. "It's probably not a good idea to hang out with him."

       I furrowed my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

      "He's kind of a bad influence," Lauren said hesitantly as if she didn't want to tell me. "He's a massive jerk, he gets into loads of fights, he smokes, and there's a lot more."

       I found it hard to believe that it was my best friend they were talking about. Or should I say, ex-best friend? Seb, as pessimistic as he was, was still very sweet and it was hard to believe that he was a bad influence. 

       Then again, he looked like a conceited jerk when I bumped into him.

       "He can't be that bad, right?" I asked, hoping they would assure me that he still had his sweet side. "He's still a little bit sweet, right?"

       Lauren sighed. "I haven't seen him smile for years. There's always a scowl on his face and he basically snaps at everyone. Sweet, definitely not."

       The bell rang just then. "I guess I have to head off the class now."

       "If you need someone to hang out with at lunch, just look for us," Tanya said with a smile before they headed off towards their classes.

       I went in the direction the secretary at the office told me, hoping I would get to the class before the tardy bell rang so I wouldn't be the centre of attention.

       However, that didn't work at all. Even though I got the direction towards my AP chemistry class, I got lost. To make things worse, the tardy bell rang, which caused me to sigh. There goes my plan for not being the centre of attention.

       I finally found the class, luckily not that long after the tardy bell. I walked in and everyone immediately turned towards me. I avoided eye contact with the class and looked at the teacher at the front of the class. "You must be Artemis," he said. "I'm Mr. McCarthy. Everyone has a lab partner, except...." His eyes scanned the class, looking for someone who didn't have a lab partner. "Ah. Artemis, your partner is the young gentleman in the back who should take his feet off the table."

       I followed Mr. McCarthy's gaze and almost sighed out loud when I saw who my partner was, especially because my partner was glaring at me.

       Seb.

       "Sebastian, please make Artemis feel welcome," Mr. McCarthy said.

       Seb snorted. "Not likely," he said, once again glaring at me.