「my boy」 | Johnnyboy

The Deal (prologue).

"I do your homework for the next four months, and you be my arm candy. That's all I'm asking." He pulled out his pack of Marlboros, lighting one before shaking the flame out and flicking the match onto the rain-stained concrete.

"That's all?" His seemingly black gaze flickered up at me and the more I stayed under it, the more I felt like I was drowning. His frame was smaller than my own, but that didn't change the hard expression on his face. He looked like he'd been through Hell and back. He looked scary, dangerous, and angry inside. God, why did I ever think this was a good idea? "Three months, and we're through. No late night calls, no falling in love, no suckin' your dick in the janitor's closet, nothing real?"

"Four," my voice was quiet, "four months." I was a bit taken aback by his word choice, but I nodded anyway. "I wouldn't want you to suck my dick in a janitor's closet, anyway. I'm more classy than that." My words brought the hint of a smile onto his face, which ignited a glimmer of accomplishment within me, and then it was gone. His eyes seemed to echo the question again and again: nothing real? "Yeah, nothing real." I clarified alas. Then, to make sure the deal was solid, "In public, we're the best damn couple out there. In private, I couldn't care less what you do." He puffed on his cigarette, ghostly white smoke tumbling from his parted lips a moment later. It would've captured my attention fully, had I not been so nervous about the whole idea.

His eyes were planted on the sky, like they had been when I first found him, and for a second he looked peaceful; less smug and intimidating, more human. The sun was going down, the usually blue horizon fading to an orange-pink. This was one of my favorite times of day, no doubt about it.

"Sure, kid, but I'm adding one thing." I decided to ignore the kid remark and found myself arching my eyebrows expectantly. My friend Keith knew how to raise one at a time, which probably would've looked a lot cooler, but I'd never been able to get the hang of it. He looked at me again and flashed me a wide smirk. "You pay me two hundred dollars after it's all said and done. That's fifty per month."

"Why the money? Is the thought of dating me that bad?"

"Maybe, but aside from that, homework ain't exactly my biggest concern." He shrugged his shoulders, taking another drag from the thin white item that rested between his fingers. "The teachers already know I don't give a shit about it."

"Okay." I agreed quicker than I should have.

"Okay as in deal, or?"

"Okay as in deal. When do we start?"

"You call the shots, baby." My nerves, believe it or not, got more shaky as the nickname flew from his lips. Wasn't it supposed to be comforting when someone called you that? Hell if I knew.

"We'll start Monday." Eagerness wasn't something I'd expected to feel from this encounter, especially not since he'd just requested money I didn't have, but it's the first prominent feeling that entered the cracks of my skin and seeped into the depths of my body. Then again, this would be my first boyfriend, so it made sense—maybe it was more like a part in a low budget play, but it still counted somehow.

Outcast or not, he was about to earn me a bunch of attention. Was that the only reason I wanted a fake boyfriend? Absolutely not, I had many motives for that. Why I chose Jonathan Cade as my suitor, though? I had no fucking idea.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Strongly inspired by a Fack (Finn and Jack) story, but there will be a lot of major differences. PSA that their characters WILL develop.