Marley Meets Josh

(1)

But he confided things in me that confirmed he was just a bona fide douchebag. The way he spoke about girls was particularly disgusting. And I knew if he was his genuine self in front of his many conquests, they wouldn't have been quite so easy to obtain.

Blake swung the car into a spot in the school parking lot. As soon as we exited the vehicle, swarms of people surrounded Blake and greeted him enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes at the legions feeding his ego. I recognised most of the guys that were exchanging bro hugs with him. They'd all joined the rugby team it would seem. Blake turned to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You guys remember my cousin Josh?" They nodded before I exchanged brief greetings and niceties with them. I wasn't going to exclude myself, but becoming close with anyone that considered Blake some sort of king made me weary of developing friendships.

I did notice that Bryce hadn't been quite as worshipping as the rest of them though. I remembered him having more of a head on his shoulders than most of our peers. We chatted for a bit before I heard my name being chimed.

"Josh Baker? Is that you?" I turned to see a blonde cheerleader skipping towards me, her tight ponytail bouncing with each step.

Dehlia Rhodes.

Ellie, Dehlia's friend lingered behind her with a bored expression on her face.

"It's so good too see you!" Dehlia beamed. She put one hand on my bicep, the other went across her chest as she leaned in closely. "I've really missed you around here."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her shameless flirting. The girl hadn't changed at all. Last time I'd been in town, she was dating Blake. But that hadn't stopped her trying to get me into the spare bedroom at his dad's birthday when no one was around. I wasn't sure what their relationship status was at the moment. But I certainly wasn't interested. Bryce snickered at the unwanted attention as he gave my back a slap and walked into the school.

"I need to go and find my locker," I shrugged out of her hold.

If she was embarrassed at the brush off, she didn't show it. She simply smiled and continued to purr. "Hopefully it's close to mine."

I pressed my lips in a tight line and raised my eyebrows before I spun around and made my way to the school entrance steps.

Blake fell into step beside me as I pulled the school doors open. "How's that nostalgia for ya?"

I glanced around at the large corridor which had been freshly painted with the cherry red and navy school colours. The white lockers look like they'd been upgraded and Northwood high posters hung from the ceiling as well as the rugby team banners.
Students buzzed around, greeting each other and looking over their schedules. A lot of familiar faces stood out to me and I was greeted occasionally as we made our way through the halls.

I looked down at the schedule which had my locker number and timetable on it. The information was sent out the week before school started to avoid over crowding in the office.

Blake split off from me as his locker was further down the corridor. I found mine and punched the code into it, sliding the books that I didn't need for the first half of the day in and slamming it shut.
I spun around to find Dehlia standing just inches in front of me, causing me to curse and step back, bumping into the lockers.