The Homeboy and The Virgin

23-Junior

Chapter 23—Junior

 

 

Oh, yeah, we were being shunned.

     As usual, I had my spot between Honey and Rena, both of whom looked like they were about to break at any moment. I had to be strong for all three of us, even though looking at Duke with some other girl in his arms made me want to rip his hair out. And the fact he had moved on so quickly to Laila made it worse.

   The Homeboys were all talking amongst themselves, studiously ignoring us when we walked into first hour. Our seats had been replaced by new girls. It irritated me that some busty blonde with a tight shirt was sitting where I had sat for the past two to three months. But I turned my head from them, chin up, like it didn’t even bother me as I moved half-way across the room.

   Rena on the other hand paused, looked at Chris with this lovesick puppy face and then ran out of the room, crying, her black ponytail bouncing behind her. Chris made a motion to get up, but then his features hardened and he sat back down, ignoring the girl next to him. His carefree expression quickly turned brooding.

  Honey stopped, looking between me and the Homeboys. A second later, she stalked after Rena, her face turning red.

  I rolled my eyes, deciding whether or not I should go after them. I didn’t know what happened between Honey and Kyle—she called Sunday afternoon and said she hated him, but wouldn’t talk about why. Rena was an open book and always had been. Chris had been an ass to her, and she still loved him. Meanwhile, my little “plan” to break his heart hadn’t turned out exactly how I wanted it to. But that was life.

  At least you didn’t tell him you loved him, I told myself, grinning.

  “And then there was one,” Liam said, sliding next to me. His blue eyes were intent on me. His blonde hair was just as spiky as usual. And Liam looked exactly the same, except he wasn’t wearing his crap-eating grin. “So, little lamb, what keeps you from breaking down like the other two?”

   I gave him a side-eye. It was no secret that Liam was one of the biggest gossipers in the school. He could spread the truth or a lie faster than a Homeboy. So I knew to watch my mouth around him. But I could also play it to my advantage. “I don’t love these hoes,” I joked, smiling at him. My brother had long ago taught me that jokes and an easy smile was my best bet to getting boys to trust me.

  His grin grew. “Ah, really? And your friends do?”

  I shrugged. “That’s not my business to tell. You want somethin’ about them, ask them.” Our eyes connected and a silent conversation passed between us. He knew better than to get information from me about the people I loved.

   “Alright, alright.” He leaned back in the chair. We were separated from everybody else. Eyes glanced our way, curious. Liam slid his hand into my mine, putting a piece of paper into my hand. I closed my fist around it and he winked at me, speaking again. “I like that about you, Junior. You’re loyal as shit to the people you love.”

   I nodded warily. His tone said there was a double-meaning, but I didn’t catch it. “Yeah.”

     “But the people you just wanna fuck over and mess around—yeah, you don’t give a shit about those people, do you sweetheart?” His use of the word ‘sweetheart’ made shivers creep up my spine. But I didn’t focus on that. Somehow Liam knew.

   I gave him a semi-shocked look, aware all eyes were on us. Say something to show Duke you really don’t care. I noticed Duke watching the scene intently, his eyes burning a hole into the back of Liam’s head. I put my eyes back on Liam, knowing I needed him as an ally. “Nah. Besides Rena and Honey, there’s a few people I actually need in life. Everybody else was there until I got what I wanted from them.”