The Psycho Is Innocent | ꪜ

Chapter 18: You Love Ricky

Ariel couldn't understand it. She didn't know what she did to deserve such a cold reaction from him. However, this was always who Parker truly was. Before her, he was just another asshole jock who cared for his feelings alone. She shouldn't be surprised when he was always a wolf in sheep's clothing. "Parker, seriously, I'm literally begging to talk. Just to talk, nothing more." He lowered his gaze down onto the table. Ariel could see the turmoil on his face but she couldn't decipher whether he was contemplating it or building up another insulting comeback.

"Hey," one of the baseball players called out, ripping her attention away from Parker. He motioned to her hair, then his hand travelled to her lower body, "does the carpet match the drapes?" His words were louder than anyone anticipated. The table beside them, and those falling down the row one by one were all ear pressed against the wall listening in on what could be a bloodbath. Larson who had only just emerged from the canteen also witnessed the event going down and despite his disconnect from Evelyn when it came to a proper friendship, they both shared a look, knowing at that moment she would snap.

Ariel's gaze hadn't wavered. No one could guess what would happen next mostly because the look on her face didn't give off any warning to run. Before any more words could be exchanged, Ariel lunged towards him, hand outstretched, fingers gripping the tendrils of his black hair. The move was swift...without hesitation and that's what scared every onlooker staring in horror at the event unfolding before their eyes.

A loud crunch echoed through the cafeteria. Words halted mid-sentence, people forgot how to breathe and speak. Parker froze as he stared in horror at Theo's face smashed against the table, the bones in his nose broken, painful wails emitting from his cracked lips as Ariel's hand remained tightly wrapped around his head of hair. She lowered her mouth beside his ear and snarled, "to answer your question," she grimaced at the blood that began to pool beneath his face, "the carpets don't match the drapes asshole."

Past

He outstretched a hand towards her and with a smile, she kindly obliged and took it in her grasp. "My mom always taught me proper etiquette." He exclaimed as he slammed the car door shut. He led Ariel out of the parking lot and towards an Archery facility. Neither of them had said a word to one another. Ariel kept quiet mostly because today was one of those days where the atmosphere felt different. Before, she could hardly pick up on it when he didn't speak but even now as he said little to no words she felt it.

However, this time something was different from all the others. She just couldn't pinpoint the reason. At the receptionist table inside the air-conditioned building, a woman peered up from the white monitor to greet them. Her cheeks suddenly brightened in a deep crimson red tinge, indicating that the sight of him had her flustered. "R-Ricky you're here, uh we haven't seen you in so long, how are you?" She questioned, completely ignoring Ariel's presence.

Ariel didn't seem to care for the woman either. Instead, she gazed up at him and smirked. Ricky? She thought, immediately recalling the moment where she sat in his car as he babbled about going by multiple names. How could she forget when her main goal at that time was to sus out something she couldn't quite explain. Ricky Morton is what he called himself this time but something was still off. . .she couldn't say what it was.

"I'm good, Hannah," ignoring her failed attempt at flirting, he turned to Ariel, "this is Ariel and I'm here to teach her archery so can we get one of the three court halls? I just want to teach her the basics before she hurts herself." Ariel glared at him and to her utter surprise he smiled and the urge to laugh was evident on his face. "We wouldn't want her to get hurt now would we," Hannah clipped as she typed away on the computer.