He's Just A Player

Chapter 9: Connor the Kinko's Houdini

Chapter 9: Connor the Kinko's Houdini

Carter's P.O.V:

      Hey, you know when I said I was going to regret going with Connor?

      WELL I FREAKING DID.

      As of now, we were in a Kinko's. You know, that shop that prints stuff and laminates crap?

      Well, everything would have been fine besides the fact that KINKO'S WAS CLOSED AND WE BROKE IN!

      Here's basically how I was dragged against my will into this tragic debacle:

      After we left school, (and pretty much ditched might I add) Connor so brightly suggested we go to Kinko's.

      Now, don't get me wrong. I've got nothing against the store. I love it in fact. But there's no way they'd be able to fulfill the order of 1,800 newspapers. Plus, it'd cost a fortune. A fortune that sadly the school funds cannot provide.

      Normally, we go to our city's own newspaper building and ask to print there. They're more than happy to help out, since they think we're bright and influential students. (Yeah, not really considering we freaking broke into Kinko's.)

      However, it was much too late for us to go to them now, so we had to find some other way. I'd told Connor a million times we couldn't go to Kinko's since they'd never be able to do so many papers. He reluctantly agreed and said he'd take me to another print shop.

      But guess what?

      HE DIDN'T TAKE ME TO ANOTHER PRINT SHOP.

      "Connor, why are we at Kinko's?!" I hissed, stepping out of his car.

      He smiled mischievously and locked his car.

      "Why else? To finish the job right," He replied.

      God, he knew he was pushing my buttons.

      "I told you-"

      "I know, I know. 'They cannot fulfill our order'," He mimicked, his voice going way too high-pitched.

      "Please never do that again. You sound like a cat who ate some bad tuna," I said, wrinkling my nose.

      He raised an eyebrow.

      "How the hell do you know what a cat sounds like from eating bad tuna?" He questioned, making a face.

      "Trust me, I own a cat......and sadly some tuna. Bad, bad combination," I shuddered, remembering Whiskers' last encounter with the bad fish.

      Let's just say I was cleaning up cat vomit for the next two days. Not to mention his constant high-pitched wails.

      He shook his head.

      "I'm not even going to ask about that. Now come on, we've got to get going," He stated, walking up to the door.

      I sighed, trudging behind him.

      If I couldn't beat him, I'd join him. Besides, what was the worst that could happen?

      "Uh-oh," Connor said.

      "Why uh-oh? Uh-oh is bad, very bad!" I asked, my eyes widening.

      He let out a breath.

      "Kinko's is kinda closed," He stated.

      "Oh thank God! You had me worried over nothing! Well, no big deal. We don't have to print the rest of the newspaper. We'll just say that there was a mixup," I said, beginning to walk back to Connor's car.

      I didn't hear footsteps following.

      "Well, aren't you coming along?" I asked, ushering Connor to hurry up.

      He stood there, not moving.

      "We're still going to Kinko's. We've come too far to just leave. We came for newspapers, and we're damn straight getting them," He stated, pulling out a pencil from his pocket.

      "Woah, woah, woah there mister. Just what in the name of Fruit Loops do you think you're doing?" I asked, honestly kind of afraid of what he was planning.

      He took the pencil and picked the lock on the door easily, with the metal clasp falling to the ground.

      "We're going to get some newspapers!" He said excitedly, pushing the door open.

      "Um, how about A HELL TO THE FREAKING NO!" I screamed, running to Connor.

      I thumped the back of his head hard, hoping to bring some sense into him.

      "Ow!" He whined, rubbing the sore spot.

      "We're not sneaking in! Are you an idiot?" I hissed, ignoring his cries of pain.

      "Come on, Kit-Kat! Don't you want to do something bad for once? Not to mention we'll get the rest of the papers?" He asked.

      "I-I-"

      "Exactly. Now come on, we've got some papers to print," He stated, walking in like nobody's business.

      Soooo now here we were. With me flipping the hell out and Connor printing papers like this was a normal thing for him.

      Yeah, because people ALWAYS break into Kinko's to print 1,800 newspapers for their school. Totally normal.

      "Are you almost done?" I whined.

      He tisked.

      "It's going to take awhile for this stuff to get printed," He reminded.

      "I swear, if we get caught, you're dead!" I said.

      He laughed.

      "Pretty sure we'll both be dead if that happens," He joked.

      "Not funny! This could go on my record! I could go to jail! I might not get into Harvard!" I gasped, beginning to hyperventilate.

      This was such a stupid idea! Why did I trust a teenage boy?!?! Lord knows they have the most idiotic things racked in their peanut sized brains!

      "Would you calm down? You're actually starting to freak ME out. And that kinda takes a lot!" He asked, tapping his foot.

      "I can't believe I let you drag me out of school for this. Has second period started yet? Is it almost going to start? If I am late and miss my no tardy streak-"

      "Carter. Calm. Down," Connor said, gripping my shoulders.

      I gasped at the sudden contact, as his dark eyes bored into mine. He kept contact with my shoulders for what seemed like ages, until I broke away.

      "Right. Well, I think I'm calm now," I said awkwardly, sitting on a nearby table.

      He shuffled back to the printer.

      "That's good."

      How could he act so smooth after something like that happened?! Ugh, why was I so socially awkward?

      "Why is this place closed anyways?" I asked, attempting to reduce the awkward air.

      "Don't know actually. Maybe they're closed for lunch break," He replied.

      I nearly choked on my spit.

      "Closed-for-break?" I asked.

      Connor laughed.

      "Yeah. Break. And by the way, you look quite attractive with spit spraying all over the place," He said.

      "Not funny! And you know, if they're on break they'll be coming back soon!" I scolded, suddenly having the urge to vomit on him.

      "Yeah, not for awhile though. It's still morning. And anyway, it was just a thought I had. I don't know if they're on break or not," He said.

      "Thanks for working me up over nothing then," I muttered.

      "Hey, you're the one who over analyzes things dear," He said defensively.

      "Dear? Now you're sounding like an old man Con-Con," I tisked.

      "At least I don't have a problem with spit coming out of my mouth," He retorted.

      "Oh yeah? Well-"

      Vroom. Vroom.

      "What was that?" I asked, snapping my head up like a prairie dog.

      Vroom. Vroom.

      "Two words Kit-Kat. Oh shit," Connor replied, skillfully grabbing the newspapers that'd been printed.

      "Are they back?!" I asked frantically, helping him with the papers.

      "Don't mean to freak you out, but yes. They're back," He stated, gesturing his head towards the door.

      Crap! This could not be happening! Why did I go with Connor in the first place?! Now we were going to jail!

      "I just knew breaking into Kinko's was a bad idea! You know, this wouldn't have happened if we just stayed at school! But nooo! You just had to come here!" I ranted, hearing the vrooming noise come to a hault.

      "Hey, don't mean to sound rude, but would you mind shutting up for a sec?" Connor asked, poking his head around a corner.

      Funny thing is, when people say "not to be rude," or "no offence," YOU ALWAYS TAKE OFFENCE.

      "Yeah, and not to worry you, but what the hell is our plan of getting out of here unseen?" I asked, following him.

      "I-"

      "Jim, why is the lock on the ground?" A booming voice asked.

      CRAP.

      "Looks like someone broke in. I saw a car parked close by. Maybe those are the culprits," Another voice replied.

      "Or maybe Les left the door unlocked. Let's look around and see if anything was tampered with."

      I heard the faint sound of shuffling feet as I immediately ducked down, smashing my side into Connor's.

      "We're so getting arrested. I'm too young for this!" I thought, silently praying.

      "The printer looks like it's been just shut off. Come on, we've got to check every inch of this place," One said.

      Connor tensed up, as I freaked out. Not only were we in the crappiest of all hiding spots, but I'm pretty sure the amount of sweat coming off of my body could fill a bathtub.

      As I held my breath and tried not to make a sound, Connor did something that I was sure would end us both.

      He crawled from our hiding spot and popped up into the store worker's eyesight.

      "Hey you! What're you doing in here? Not only did you break and enter, but you're going to have to pay for all those papers you printed!" Someone shouted.

      "I'm so sorry sir, but my wife was in so much pain. She's over there, crumpled into a ball. You see, she's pregnant and having contractions. It's really, really bad," Connor said.

      I'm what?!

      "Where is she?" One asked.

      "I'll show you," Connor replied.

      I immediately reacted by curling up and contorting my face into one of pain. I was definitely not pregnant and never had been, but I'd just have to do my best at faking it.

      "Are you alright?" One of the workers asked.

      "No, no, no! It huuurrts," I cried, shaking my head.

      "Jimmy, I'll call a hospital," The other stated.

      "NO!" Connor shouted.

      Both workers looked at him confused.

      "No, as in she's afraid of the doctor. They'll inject her with this new pregnancy shot that does weird stuff to her breast milk. It turns it all floury. It's brutal," He made up.

      I had to stop myself from busting up laughing at his stupid excuse.

      "That sounds.....strange."

      "OW!" I wailed, attempting to stand up.

      I held onto the wall to support myself and slowly walked over to Connor's arms, where he held me tightly.

      "We had to get to a warm and safe building for her to reside. She needed to lie down for awhile. Sorry for the misunderstanding," Connor explained.

      "What about those papers you printed?" One asked suspiciously.

      "Oh, those? Yeah, that's for our family. We wrote these newspaper articles to entertain themselves. You see, they're spending a lot of time over at our house tending to my wife. To pass the time, they like to read. So I thought, why not print some papers while both my babies are resting?" He replied.

      It honestly astounded me at how easily the lies flowed from his mouth. And these gullible workers ate up every last bit of it.

      "Well, sir, I'm sorry about your wife's contractions. But you can't go and break into buildings more or less print things from them," One scolded, but I could tell he was softening up a lot.

      "You're completely right. I don't know what came over me. It'll never, ever happen again I'm sure. I just want her to be okay," Connor said.

      "Well, alright. I can see you love her a lot, and who am I to do this to a pregnant woman? Go on, you two. And take your papers. Free of charge," One said, ushering us off.

      We both said thanks a million times, trying to surpress our laughter. Connor grabbed all the newspapers that were able to be printed and quickly stuffed them into the trunk of his car.

      "I cannot believe they bought all that!" I laughed, as Connor drove away.

      "I know right? I swear I need to be in acting. That deserved a freaking Grammy!" Connor replied.

      "Literally almost died when you told them I couldn't go to the hospital. A shot that makes my breast milk floury? Really?" I asked, shaking my head.

      Connor broke into hysterics.

      "Oh my God! That just flew out of my mouth without me thinking! You've got to give me points in creativity, yeah?" He said.

      "Sure, sure. I'm just surprised one of them didn't strike that as odd. I'm pretty sure hospitals don't just go around injecting pregnant women with flour-ifying shots," I replied.

      "Well, what can I say. Guys will believe anything when there's a wailing pregnant woman having contractions," He said, shooting me a grin.

      "I've got to give you credit Con-Con, you did a pretty great job. The fact that you broke in, stole paper, and still got away with it amazes me," I said.

      "Yeah, it's a gift. You're welcome by the way. Exactly 1,800 copies made," He stated.

      My eyes widened.

      "Exactly? But how?" I questioned.

      Was he freaking Houdini and I just didn't know it?

      "Let's just say you owe me one for this," He shrugged, pulling into the school parking lot.

      He began walking off as I followed close behind.

      "What do you want?" I asked.

      "Oh, you'll find out later. But I don't want anything from you just yet," He said.

      "Just yet?" I squeaked.

      "That's right Kit-Kat. Not just yet. Anyways, you better get on to second period. You've got exactly two minutes."

      Connor gave me a wink before walking away, leaving me totally flustered. I still made it to second period?

      Huh. Maybe that boy really was Houdini.


Aiden's P.O.V:

      I kept thinking about Paige up until lunch. First period was the only class I had with her, which was kind of a bummer.

      But now it was lunch time, which meant it was time to search for Paige.

      "Hey Miller," Darren said, slapping my back.

      "What's up?" I asked, looking around him. Where was that girl?

      "Nothing much. What're you looking for?" He asked curiously.

      "Nothing," I replied, swatting him away.

      "Oh shit," He groaned.

      "What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

      "It's that 'I'm looking for a certain hot girl' stare," He groaned, face-palming himself.

      "What? I don't know what you're talking about?" I said, shrugging.

      I heard Darren mumbled something along the lines of "idiot" under his breath.

      "Yeah right. You're looking for ANOTHER girl," He sighed.

      "Why do you even care? It's my life, anyway," I asked, growing irritated.

      It was getting old on how he was acting like my mom.

      "Because, I'm just trying to better your reputation. I'm your best bro," He replied.

      "Whatever. I'll see you later Darren," I said, pushing past him.

      I had an agenda to stick to, and that was to find a certain blond girl.

      "Oh my gosh, I can't!" Someone laughed.

      The voice and laugh was all too familiar.

      I turned my head and spotted Carter sprawled out on the grass, with Conner laying next to her. They were laughing at God knows what, as he playfully punched her arm.

      I frowned.

      I don't know why, but seeing them together made me sort of.....jealous. Crazy, right? I mean, it's not like we were dating or anything. It's just that....I don't know. Maybe I was jealous of the fact that she was hanging out with a guy that wasn't me. After all, she was my best friend.

      I was about to walk over and talk to her when someone tugged at my arm.

      "I believe you promised to show me around?" A smooth voice asked.

      I felt the corners of my lips turning up.

      "It'd be my pleasure," I replied, facing Paige.

      "So what's this?" She asked, poking her head around one of the buildings.

      "This is the greenhouse. Be careful, there's a lot of rocks scattered around," I warned, grasping her arm to help her walk.

      "Thanks," She smiled.

      That smile....

      We walked into the greenhouse and studied the plants. Paige walked over to the flower section and touched a lilac petal.

      "You know, these are my favorite flowers," She said.

      "Really?" I asked, walking over.

      She nodded.

      "I just think they're so pretty. Nice, right?" She replied.

      "Yeah. They're beautiful. Just like you," I said.

      Cheesy, I know. But it gets the ladies so don't judge.

      "Why do you talk to me?" She asked.

      "What do you mean?"

      "Well, you could talk to so many other girls, but you choose me. Why?" She asked again.

      I shrugged.

      "Because you're new and nice."

      She thought over my words carefully.

      "Okay. Let's go see something else," She said, skipping off.

      "Wait up!" I called, jogging to keep up with her.

      She laughed in reply, continuing to quickly skip.

      "Watch out! There's sprinklers sticking out!" I warned, sprinting up to her side.

      "What did you say?" She asked, tripping over a stuck out sprinkler.

      Thank God I'd caught up to her and was able to catch her in time.

      As I held her in my arms, I smirked.

      "I said, watch out for the sprinklers," I teased.

      Her eyes widened as she blushed, obviously not used to this position before.

      "Aiden, I-"

      "AHEM!" A loud voice scoffed, interrupting our moment.

      I rolled my eyes and looked up, spotting Carter and Connor sitting only a few inches away.

      "Oh, hey Cart. Other guy," I said, lifting Paige up out of my arms.

      "Oh hey Aiden and his new girl of the week," She retorted.

      Paige's eyes turned into slits.

      "New girl of the week?" She questioned.

      "She's just being dumb Paige. Come on, let's go," I replied quickly, before any other words could fly out of Carter's trap.

      Paige didn't look too convinced but went along with it anyway.

      "Later Cart!" I said, throwing her a thumbs up.

      She shook her head in response and turned away, as Connor wrapped his arm around her.

      I swear I heard him say something like, "It's okay."

      What was okay? Why was he holding Carter like that? Were they dating? He was dead if they were!

      "Do you like her?" Paige asked, looking up at me.

      I snorted.

      "Well, she's my best friend. Of course I like her. But as anything more? No. We're too close for anything like that to happen," I replied.

      Her expression seemed as if she was relieved.

      "Oh. Well how about we get something to eat?" She asked excitedly.

      I laughed at her enthusiasm towards everything.

      "Sure. Let's get something to eat. I think today's BBQ sandwiches," I replied.

      "Oh my gosh! I love BBQ! Come on, before it runs out!" She exclaimed, dragging my hand along with her.

      She loved BBQ, had a fun personality, and didn't care my best friend was a girl.

      We had to have been made for each other.


(A/N) We got some Kinko's action in there, or should I say KINKY action HAHAHAHAHAHA. *wipes a tear* Too funny.

Anyway, I'm happy I've got this story going on a roll now. Chapters will hopefully keep coming. As long as I keep thinking of new ideas, should be okay.

Song of the Chapter: Say my Name by Destiny's Child. Haha, old song but still AWESOME. If you haven't heard it by now, maybe you don't listen to music much. Idk. I always hear it. Take a listen when you've got the chance!

Thanks for reading! Keep it up! :D

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