Living With The Bad Boy [COMPLETE][VERSION ONE]

Chapter 9

Wait.

How do I know that?

And why does Jase kissing Chrissa send painful heartbeats through my chest?

"Mr. Turner. Miss Thompson. Could you please save the PDA for after school?"

"Sorry, Mr. O'Connell," Jase says, turning around with a sheepish grin. "Won't happen again."

Mr. O'Connell gives Jase one of his rare smiles and I roll my eyes. How is it that stupid jocks manage to both not do an ounce of homework and get all the teachers to love them? If I was making out with someone before class (not that I ever would because who would want to make out with me?), Mr. O'Connell would probably fail me. I wish I was kidding. I glare at them as they break apart, my fists gripping the desk until my knuckles turn white.

They're so stupid.

The bell rings, but I barely hear it as Jase puts an arm around Chrissa. "Stop it!" she giggles, blushing. "Mr. O'Connell is going to kill us."

Jase dropped his arm, holding her hand instead and whisper-yelling, "He's just jealous because we're too relationship goals for him."

Chrissa turns to face him and kisses him again and I know I should look away as they kiss, but I don't. And when they break away, and Jase opens his eyes, I swear he looks at me, those intense blue eyes like a question. Like he's... bragging, almost. Like he's asking me if I'm jealous yet.

Which I'm not. Obviously.

I'm completely frozen, and my heart pounds. Warmth fills my head and I turn away, sure that my face is now crimson.

"Mr. Turner, may I remind you that we follow a schedule at UVHS? That bell ringing? It means you have somewhere you need to be."

My face is still turned away, but I can hear the smirk in Jase's tone without even looking. "Well, actually, Mr. O'Connell, my schedule just changed. So, I guess you're stuck with me."

I hear Chrissa's giggle and my fists clenched involuntarily. I don't care, I remind myself. Jase doesn't matter to me and he can do whatever he wants.

Except steal my heart.

School is finally over for the day, and I find Mayah at her locker, grinning as she sees me. "Cody Chasen talked to me!" she says by way of greeting, her mega-watt smile enough to make me laugh. "You'd think you could say that with a bit more enthusiasm," I say sarcastically. "What did he talk to you about?"

Mayah twirls a strand of hair around her finger. "We-ell, he wanted my calculus notes. But then he asked me to come to his party next weekend!"

I rolled my eyes. "You know he's only asking that because he wanted your notes, right?"

Mayah's smile deflates. "I thought you'd be happy for me, Sienna."

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. You've just had a crush on Cody forever. Maybe it's... time to get over this."

I don't know where the words come from or why I'm saying them. All I know is that Mayah's desperately hopeful attitude is getting on my nerves.

Mayah looks shocked, then annoyed. "Whatever, Sienna." She turns away, slamming the locker door behind her and walking away from me. "You know- you used to be fun." She looks back at me, and I turn around, tears stinging my eyes.

You used to be fun.

Yeah. I'm sure I was fun.

Before my father died.

Before my family stopped being able to afford meals.

Before all of my childhood fantasies came crashing down around me. It turns out that all of those concrete dreams I'd made were just as flimsy as a card tower, one low from caving in.

I'm exhausted by the time it's four-thirty. I walked into Summer, the town adjacent to our high school, and spent the last hour interviewing for various jobs. A waitress at Meg's Diner. Bag girl at Walmart. Cashier at Target.

I've never had a job before, but it isn't a bad idea to have some money saved up. I don't know how I'll go to college otherwise. It's not like my mother is going to pay for it.

I'm just walking out of Target when I see the bus pull up across the street. The same bus that stops 5 minutes away from Jase's house...

Suddenly a devious plan fills my head and I smirk, sprinting across the street and stepping onto the bus seconds before the door closes. Once I've sat down, I check the time. 4:15. Perfect.

Hey, I text Jase.

This is Sienna, by the way.

He responds immediately. hey little red.

I text him the rolling-eyes emoji and then ask: you're done at 4:30, right?

yup

meet me @ my car

in the senior parking lot

You're not even a senior!! I reply.

But k

I grin, holding my phone to my chest. He's falling into my trap perfectly. Putting my phone down, I try to focus on the chemistry problem in front of me and not at Jase's annoyance. I can't help but wonder if he'll try to look for me. I know he really doesn't care about my welfare or anything like that, but he's clearly not in the habit of disappointing his mother. And I have a feeling that Lizbeth would not be too happy if she found out that Jase lost me. I imagine the annoyance on his face and can't help but smirk. Finishing my chemistry problem, I sit back and wait for the ride to end.

What I'm not expecting... is this:

red did u get lost on ur way to the senior parking lot

srsly where ru?

MISSED CALL

i stg if you decided to ditch me I WILL KILL U

red this isnt funny anymore i gtg do homework

shit are you okay???

plz tell me u havent been kidnapped or smthing

red im serious this isnt funny im actually worried

MISSED CALL (2)

ok im gonna go home now, plz be there and not freezing in a ditch- i don't want to organize a search party tonight tbh

i'm going to kill u

My fingers hesitate on the keypad as I see his messages. Something about them sounds... worried. Though I immediately push that thought out of my head. There's literally no way that Jase could be worried about me.

Right?

I'm sitting in the kitchen helping Connie make meringues when I hear a car door slam shut. Jase. "I have to go, Connie," I tell her. "But I'll be back soon."

"Have fun," Connie says, and it almost seems like she knows what I'm about to do.

I flash her a conspiratorial grin and step outside. "Miss me?" I ask Jase.