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

Chapter 29

Is that crazy? That's probably crazy.

"Fine." He stands up now, and I'm aware of just how much taller he is than me. I have to tilt my head all the way up to meet his eyes, and just the action feels stupidly submissive. "If that's what you really want, Sienna."

"What I really want is for you to just apologize for what you've done. Or better yet, for you to not have texted my best friend that in the first place!"

"It was an accident!" he says, and I'm aware of just how close we are. Close enough that I could lean up and he could lean down and-

Jesus christ. Why am I thinking about this right now? "How the hell do you 'accidentally' text someone? And why were you on my phone in the first place?"

"She shouldn't have said to you, okay?"

"And I can defend myself, Jase! I don't need a big, strong man coming into my life and fixing all my problems for me- I'm not a 17th century damsel stuck in a tower."

"I never said you were!" His voice is indignant, angry. "I did it for you, okay? Why can't you accept someone trying to help you for once in your life?"

"Because!" I yell, my voice sounding shriller than I expected. "You weren't trying to help me, clearly. You just wanted to ruin my friendship and make me miserable- you clearly want everyone around you to be miserable so that you can feel better about your own pathetic life! Like, Chrissa? You were just toying with her for years!"

Maybe that was a little unfair.

"Go," he says, and this time his voice is quiet, cold, and unfeeling. He doesn't even look down at me.

"Fine! Be like that," I say, turning on my heel. "I'll be waiting for that apology, by the way."

"Well, it looks like you're going to have to wait a long time."

The next morning, Jase is gone before I even get up, leaving me with no choice but to call Noah. I feel terrible making him drive all the way out here, but I feel even worse knowing that I'm basically using him like a backup. I wouldn't have asked him if not for my stupid fight with Jase.

God- my fight with Jase. What was I thinking? Was I really expecting Jase fucking Turner to apologize for anything? He doesn't even have the proper judgment to not get himself a DUI.

I rummage through my closet, trying to pick out an outfit to wear, and then realize...

I still have absolutely no idea how fashion works. Whatsoever. Or makeup, for that matter. Chrissa took me to Sephora yesterday, where she tried to teach me what lipsticks to use and how to do winged eyeliner... but now I'm feeling just as inadequate as ever. I send Chrissa a quick text pleading for help, and within a minute I hear my ringtone sounding, the lyrics to a Taylor Swift song I'm currently obsessed with. "Chrissa!" I say, picking up the phone. "Thank god- you have to help me. I'm having a... fashion crisis."

Since when is that a thing I say?

Chrissa seems to find my statement funny too, and soon enough we're both in fits of giggles. "God, Sienna, I swear, if someone told me a week ago that you'd be calling me about a fashion crisis, I would've thought they were crazy. But I'll help you... since my style is so obviously superior. I have to help the poor ugly duckling out sometimes. Hey, do you think this'll count as charity work?"

"Ha. Hilarious," I say flatly, practically rolling my eyes through the phone. But I'm not mad- I know she's just kidding.

Eventually, Chrissa does actually help me, and I go downstairs in light wash Levi's skinny jeans, a dark blue satin tank top that I seriously thought was lingerie but apparently isn't, my red hair half-up-half-down, tied back with a light blue hair ribbon. Chrissa even told me what makeup to apply, so now I'm wearing a soft pink lip gloss and a thin layer of mascara. Not enough makeup to look noticeably... completely different, but just enough to 'elevate' my face, as Chrissa says. I'm also wearing heels for the first time in forever, and I kind of... don't hate it. I've given up all hopes of being tall, but I can still try to be taller, right?

"Hey, babe," Noah says, a grin spreading over his face as he sees me climb into the passenger seat of his truck. "Whoa- you look... gorgeous."

"Well, I guess you're lucky that I'm your girlfriend, then," I say, smiling at him. He's attractive, that's undeniable, but when he leans in to kiss me, I don't... feel anything. It's not like every touch fills my body with tingles, not like the space between us feels electric, alive.

But that's not what it's supposed to be like, right?

All day at school, though, I can't help the guilt clawing at me, the fear that what I've tried to ignore for so long has finally come true.

Every time I kiss Noah, I wish it could be Jase.

A/N: Hey lovely people!! I hope y'all are having a great day today and making the most of quarantine- I've taken the time to do some extra writing so I don't have to scramble last minute to get chapters posted!! 

Also, I'm genuinely very curious- what did you guys think about the characters in this chapter? Do you think Chrissa's reformed and become a good person- or do you still not trust her? And what about Jase? Is what he did worth getting that upset about or did Sienna overreact?

Ily all, thank you so much for sticking with the story, & I'll see everyone next week with a chapter that I'm personally very excited for!

-Selene