Just a Crush

Chapter 2

"Aiden, what the hell?" Cory yanked him by his collar and pushed him forward in the direction of the parking lot. "What if he comes after me? Then I'd really have to kill him."

Aubrey found herself laughing at the whole display. There was no denying it. Aiden was a full blown clown. No one could cause more mischief than he could.

And she was grateful for the distraction he unknowingly provided. The boy Warner had troubled had used the opportunity to leave unnoticed. She hoped that Warner wouldn't trouble him again.

After Aiden and his crew's departure all the excitement died down and the crowd got a lot thinner. Aubrey and Cindy hurried off so they didn't miss the next bus.

Pissed off and humiliated, Warner turned to leave but a firm hand on his shoulder prevented him from doing so. He wheeled around angrily but his anger diminished a little upon seeing that it was Tyler. His brother should have graduated last year but he gotten seriously injured in a fight so he missed part of his last academic year.

Tyler gave him a had knowing look. "I want you to leave this alone. Just drop it. Those guys don't play."

Warner scowled and shook his brother's hand off his shoulder. "I'm not afraid of them," he snapped.

Tyler shook his head and glared at the few remaining students that were lingering nearby. They got the message and soon it was just him and his brother. "I'm telling you this because I've been there before. I've done stupid shit that I'm still paying for. Shit that I could have avoided if I hadn't been so rash and in over my damn head. You may think you're invincible but you're not. It's only a matter of time before you mess with the wrong person."

"Who are you to talk? You're last person who should be giving me advice about who to pick my fights with," Warner said glaring at his brother. He'd been getting on his nerves lately. Always trying to tell him what to do.

"Okay, so that first year kid. What the hell was that? Is that what you're doing now. Beating a kid who isn't physically capable of standing up to you? Is that it? That was a punk assed thing to do and you know it." Tyler was shouting by the time he was finished. He couldn't believe the type of person his brother was becoming.

"Shut up and get the hell out of my way. I do what I want, when I want to whoever I want. I don't give a shit what you or anyone else says," Warner said. He shoved his way past Tyler and stormed angrily to his car. Seconds later the screeching of tires cut through the air as he sped out of the parking lot and unto the street.

At the bus stop, Aubrey and Cindy watched Warner's car as it sped by recklessly and ran a red light. His tires squealed as he made a sharp left turn completely disappearing from their sight. Aubrey snorted as they got on the bus. "Idiot. It's like he's trying to get himself killed."

It was a ten minutes drive to her and Cindy's shared apartment in a nice, secure complex that their mothers had chosen themselves to assure that they were going to be in a safe living environment once they left home. The girls had worked over the summer at a popular seafood restaurant to help cover the rent to make things easier for their parents.

For the entire bus ride Cindy talked animatedly, waving her hands the air ever so often as she relayed a story to Aubrey in her usual theatrical story telling voice. Even an elderly man seated in the same row with them laughed at her dramatic tale.

Although Aubrey found herself laughing aloud at some of the jokes she couldn't stop her mind from straying to the incident that took place earlier. Or to be more precise, she couldn't stop thinking about Travis. Just seeing him or even thinking about him made her feel a way that she never felt before. Sighing miserably, she mentally wondered if she was ever going to get over her infatuation of him. She hoped so. If not, well - she was just pathetic.