Within a matter of seconds, we had scrambled up my fallen books and my shirt off the floor and hid ourselves in one of the cubicles. I was about to speak when Roman placed a finger on his lips, signalling for me to 'shh' when the locker room door opened, and footsteps echoed in.
"Roman?" his dad called through the room. We waited as he walked further in. "Are you in here, son?"
Mark bent down on the floor to pick up something that caught his eye. My pen. Shit.
Roman and I shared shit-scared looks as his dad studied the pen with furrowed brows. I held my breath as he finally shrugged and put it in his pocket.
"My years are getting to me again." Mark muttered and walked out of the room.
When the door closed, we both let out huge sighs of relief and rested our head back against the wall.
"I honestly thought I was going to shit my pants." Roman said opposite me and closed his eyes. I laughed and rubbed my hands against my face.
"I don't think I've ever seen you more scared than when your mom came home, and I was butt naked in your bedroom."
Roman tipped his head back and laughed.
He opened his eyes and stared back at me. I still managed to put my top on before we ran into here, but the thin material was creased, hanging low on my cleavage. He took in a breath and frowned.
"I'm sorry I called you pathetic the other day." He finally said. "And all the other hurtful things. I really don't think that about you."
"It's fine if you do. I haven't really been –"
"No, it's not fine. I was mad at you but also mad at myself. I shouldn't have been that way." He protested.
I looked back at him and frowned before letting a sad smile deepen my lips. "I'm sorry I said no one would ever like you." It was such a stupid thing to say. Roman didn't have many friends, people already assumed too much stupid shit about him that couldn't be more wrong.
He looked down at the floor, "It's okay. You weren't necessarily wrong."
"Don't say that." I argued. "People do like you. You know, your family, Jesse... me." He looked up at me with furrowed brows as if not being able to understand what I had just said. "Look," I sighed, "I know we're not exactly friends, but I don't think you're a bad person. I actually don't mind being around you."
"Well, that's a relief." He sarcastically remarked. I went to playfully hit his shoulder when he caught my wrist and pulled me towards him. I squealed as my hand came in contact with his bare chest, and I looked up into his eyes.
"You – erm – your makeup is a bit..." he brought his thumbs under my eyes and wiped away the smudged mascara.
"Thanks." I whispered as he finished and awkwardly placed his hands by his side. "So..." I looked away from his stare. "They nerd boy who's a boxer? Way to break the stereotype."
He laughed and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess." I chuckled and stood back against the wall. "That doesn't mean I'm one of those guys who'll break your nose if you look at me the wrong way." Adam came to mind. He was certainly the type to do that.
"So why did you start?" I questioned. I knew his dad owned the gym but Roman never struck me as a gym person. Even when we were growing up he spent all of his time alone reading or doing homework, never participating in P.E. or any sport for that matter.
He looked away to think for a minute before saying, "When my dad came back from deployment a couple years ago, he went on this whole mental health rage."
"Why?" I cocked my head to the side.
"He just did." Roman answered a little too quickly which gave me the impression he was lying, but I didn't pick it apart. "Anyways, he ended up buying this old warehouse and fixed it up to create a gym. He told me to go. He said that he was worried I spent all my time in my room and had no friends. He was scared for my health. I got angry at first but ultimately agreed and went to the gym. That was when I started boxing and found that it helped. All my stress and anger that I couped up in my head seemed to diminish and I actually found myself enjoying it."
I watched him as he looked away and continued, "Obviously the physical advancements came along too but I didn't care too much for that, I was focused on making my mind better, being able to feel the weight lifted from my shoulders. I used to come every day after school but now I only come on Tuesdays and Fridays. My dad calls it 'father-son bonding'." He chuckled softly at the last bit.
I could understand it. Roman was a guy to keep to himself all the time so his mind must have been raging with tonnes of thoughts. He had no friends to rant to, to share his stress or frustrations, to relate to. So, this was how he cleared his head.
Maybe Rya needed something like this. The girl was a big, bundle of stress and anxiety.
She'd burn the whole place down if you made her do that.
True.
"You said you had no guy friends." I then remembered.
"Yeah?"
"What about Jesse?" Jesse seemed like a good guy and he also seemed to know Roman quite well, but I couldn't stick an age on him. He was one of those guys who could get away with being eighteen and thirty at the same time.
"He's more of my dad's friend than mine." Roman answered. "He dropped out of college to join the military; he usually works at the base a few hours from here but comes back for my dad." that explained a lot.
"He seems cool." I shrugged. "Maybe you should hang out with him more." Roman needed to put himself out there. I knew he liked keeping to himself but there was nothing wrong with making friends.
"I'll think about it." He finally answered.
We stood in silence for a few moments, my brain trying to get around everything that had just happened. Finding out Roman was into boxing, Roman accepting to tutor me again, giving Roman a blowjob, hiding in a cubical with Roman from his dad. Just an average day in Sienna World.
"But what about the jocks?" a thought suddenly came to mind. Roman gave a confused look. "You said you're not the type of guy to break someone's nose because they looked at you the wrong way, but what about the jocks that continuously beat you up? Why don't you fight back?"
"Would it be ironic if I said I didn't like violence?" he gave a useless shrug and raised an eyebrow. I sniggered and rolled my eyes.
"A little bit."
He sighed and looked back at me, "It's a moral thing. What do I get if I hit back? Justice? Vengeance? Maybe. However, in my mind, I'd be just as bad as them. In twenty years to come, I want to accomplish great things, I want to show the world that I wasn't just this weird, nerd guy. I want show what my mind can do, be what I want to be. And in those twenty years, when I'm happy and successful, I'll look at those jocks who beat me up and called me names and look at the shithole they've dug themselves into, and then I will get my justice and vengeance. Then I will know I really was the one on top."
I came to the realisation of how smart Roman actually was. It felt like I was talking to some psychological genius. He was right, though. I knew for a fact that in twenty years Roman would be amazing and that those jocks would probably be the baby daddies to multiple naïve college girls. Poor things. He was playing the waiting game.
I suddenly felt sad. Where was I going to be in twenty years? I had no clue; I had no clue where I was going after this year. Roman noticed my expression and frowned.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he softly asked.
"Nothing." I shook my head and took in a deep breath. "Just thinking about what I'm going to be doing in twenty years."
"Great things." He answered. I was taken aback slightly at his adamance when he said it. "What? You've already made yourself queen of high school. What's stopping you from making yourself queen of the world?"
I laughed and rolled my eyes. Roman then grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. "I mean it." He spoke. "I'm tutoring you again and we'll figure this whole thing out. You're going to be great, Sienna. Trust me on that."
I felt a lump in my throat as those words fell from his lips. You're going to be great, Sienna. I took in a deep breath and exhaled, trying to ignore the redness forming on my cheeks.
"So, the deal's back on?" I gave him a little smirk.
"The deal's back on."
❦❤︎❦
It was Monday again and Roman and I agreed on meeting Wednesday morning in the library to start tutoring again. I was prepared. Rya and I went shopping on Saturday to by me super cute school supplies and the right textbooks to get me started and, not going to lie, I was excited.
I was standing at my locker, putting away books with Rya by my side.
"Nice hickeys." She commented and I froze from putting my book in my bag. Carrie, by Stephen King.
"Huh?" I turned my head to look at her. She gestured to my neck and I looked into my locker mirror. Holy shit. Hickeys. Two of them! Both on my neck. Roman, you little shit. Looking around to see if anyone was looking, I pulled my shirt down a little to my cleavage and noticed another three along the swell of my breasts.
"Well, damn." Rya whistled. "Lawrence has a bite."
"Dude!" I hit her shoulder and readjusted my neckline. Roman have me hickeys. Five freaking hickeys! How the hell did he learn to do that?!
"I take it when you said you guys made up you also made love –"
"Ew, gross! Don't ever say that phrase again." I snapped and shut my locker. Rya cocked her eyebrow and I sighed frustratedly, ultimately giving in. "So, we might have done more than just talk."
Rya's eyes widened, and she grinned, slapping my arm repeatedly. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" she squealed.
I grabbed her wrist and flicked the side of her neck. "Ouch!" she groaned.
"Would you calm down?! You're acting like Dobby the House Elf on crack."
Rya faltered her excitement slightly but still eagerly waited for my answer. "I might have suckedhiscock." His mumbled under my breath.
"What what?" she couldn't hear me.
"Suckedhiscock." I repeated again under my breath.
"Huh?"
I gave in with a huff and repeated it clearer, "Sucked. His. Cock."
Her mouth gaped and eyes popped out of her head. "YOU SUCKED HIS COCK?!"
I slapped my hand over her mouth in a panicked and she staggered back. "Will you shut your yapping mouth, girl?!" I hissed. "I don't want the whole school to know I had cock for dinner Friday night, thank you very much."
"Owwrigwaset." She muffled.
"Huh?" I narrowed my eyes at her. A tongue poked at my palm. "Ah!" I took my hand away and grimaced.
"How big was it?"
I wiped my hand down my skirt and glared at her. I huffed and rested my back on my locker. With the stroke of my luck, Adam walked past with his basketball friends, not batting an eye in my direction. Fine.
"Let's just say." I whispered to Rya as my eyes followed Adam, a smirk glued to my lips. "That it puts Adam's to shame."
Rya bit her fingers to stop herself from laughing as I bit my lip to hold in mine. What? There was no lie.
"McCoy!" anger footsteps jerked us from our laughter and none other than Christopher Knowles came stalking down the halls, his eyes fixated in a death glare towards Rya.
"Oh no." she huffed unamusingly.
Christopher stopped just in front of us, fists balled at his side. "I know you did it." He hissed.
Rya turned to meet his stare and smiled sweetly, "Did what?"
Christopher pointed a finger, "You told the whole Basketball Team I have sex to Shakira!"
I sniggered and Christopher gave me the same death glare he was aiming at Rya. I covered my mouth and watched the whole scene unfold.
Rya placed a hand on her heart and gasped. "How could you accuse me of doing such a thing?!"
"Don't sass me, kitten." Christopher's voice turned low and stern, dominance flooding through his tone. He took a step closer to Rya and her innocent, sweet smile disappeared. "I don't fuck to music. D'you know what I fuck to?"
"Dora the Explorer?" Rya suggested.
"I fuck to screams." Christopher took a step closer. "Lots and lots of screams."
Well, Jesus. I knew Christopher was up there on the heartthrob list but now he must be there on the fucking list too.
I watched as Rya gulped before composing herself. "Step any closer to me and I'll knee you in the teeny weeny."
"You're just jealous that it isn't your screams." Christopher smirked back.
"You're just jealous that Shakira is a better answer. Looks like I'm better than you again, Knowles."
"In your dreams, McCoy."
"I stab you in my dreams." Rya bit back and smiled. I had no doubt in the whole world that that statement was true.
"Don't worry, in my dreams I –" Christopher stopped himself there. I watched as Rya smiled contently, ultimately winning this little showdown.
In a quick deflect of his loss, Christopher's eyes travelled to me, "You better stay away from my cousin, Sienna."
I sighed dramatically and pretended to examine my manicure. "Or what?"
"You both better watch out." He warned before stalking away. Rya groaned by my side and stamped her foot.
"He makes me want to vomit. 'Fuck to screams'? As if! Like his little wiener could even make her girl scream! She probably says 'oh' followed by an 'is it in?'. I'll guarantee you that!" she slumped back against the locker.
"You handled it well." I praised.
"And 'jealous'?!" she went on. "Like I'm jealous of the poor souls that fuck him to boost his pathetically large ego. What a dick!"
"I know, Rya, but –"
"And 'kitten'?! Who the hell does he think I am?! I will gladly set fire to his bedroom if I wasn't so scared of going to prison –"
"We get it!" I cut off her ranting. I still stood by my statement, these two either needed to murder one another or have angry sex.
I sighed and pushed off of my locker. "What d'you think he meant when telling us to watch out?"
Rya cocked her head to the side and shrug. "Probably empty threats. He once threatened to spray paint dicks on my car."
"And?"
She shrugged again, "Never touched it."
Maybe she was right. Maybe Christopher was giving an empty threat, but I couldn't help the bad feeling bubbling in my gut as we walked away from my locker.
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❤︎ hello lovelies! I'm currently on Easter Break and so I think I'll be able to make my updates much more frequent, yay!
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