~Faiths POV~
I had been pacing in front of Shane, who had been sitting on the edge of my bed, for a while until he decided to answer me, "It's not something I can explain. Kaden's almost back. Just wait. Okay?"
"Fine." With a huff, I plopped down on my bed next to him. Rather than keep the conversation going, I decided to just stare at the floor, hoping to make the time pass faster.
"You know... He's changed. You both have." Shane stated silently. He was slouched over, his head bent down as his elbows rested heavily on his knees.
"What are you talking about?" I questioned him without looking up.
"I've only known you for a short time, but I've known Kaden for a while now. He's not as bad as everyone makes him out to be. Or at least as he lets everyone thinks he is. And ever since you two have started this game, you both have changed. You guys seem... happier. Even though you think him to be a pig headed beast, or whatever you go around grumbling when he pisses you off, but I see it in you eyes as well as his." I could feel his gaze on my face, as though he were searching for a response. I brought my eyes up to look him as I practically pleaded him to go on.
"See what?"
"That you-" Shane was abruptly cut off by my bedroom door swinging open and five obnoxious teenage boys enter. Both of our heads snap up to watch them as they stopped behind Kaden who looked like his feet were planted into the ground. Standing up I approached him, but his eyes were glued to Shane. As though he were giving confirmation. Confirmation for what though?
Once I had stopped in front of him, Kaden's eyes shifted to me. They searched my face for something before settling on my eyes. His stance became rigid and you could see his whole body tense up. As he did this, a hand of his lifted itself to my face and gently rested on my cheek. I could see... worry in his eyes. An emotion I've never seen him have before.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Mumbling, I hesitated to ask about what happened. Not because I didn't want to or anything, but because he seemed scared. Why though? What would he be scared of. He definitely didn't seem scared when he was talking to that guy in the woods. Looks like that hesitation was already out the door. Because as lifted a hand to his forearm, gently pulling it down, I my lips started forming words before I could control them.
"Now, would you like to explain the events of tonight?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest and settling my weight on one hip.
"No, no I don't. There's nothing to speak about."
"Kaden, what the hell happened tonight!?" By now I had started to raise my voice. I was furious. Why can't anyone give me a stinking answer!
"You don't need to know! Nothing happened tonight! Okay!" Kaden was fuming just as bad as I was, only he looks way more intense. "Guys, you can go home. I'll see you tomorrow." When he spoke, he spoke angrily, yet calmly. All while never tearing his eyes away from mine.
One by one, the boys silently left the room, shutting the door behind them and leaving me alone with Kaden. Now, I was getting answers.
"Kaden I swear to god that if you don't tell me what's going on I'll-"
"You'll what?"
"You know what? Just forget it." Allowing my face to soften up, I simply turned my back to him and walked away. Kaden stood still as I made my way over to the window sill and sat down, pulling my knees to my chest and wrapping my arms around them while looking out the window towards the ground. For once, I allowed myself to look sad, though at the time, I wasn't. I just know how to manipulate people. And boy did it work.
I felt his presence as he sat across from me, seemingly less angry. Though I tried to pay him no attention. like he wasn't even there. Until he softly put a hand on the side of one of my knees and spoke, "Cambina... Faith, it's complicated."
"So complicated that all the guys know and I don't?"
"Yes, I don't want you involved. Trust me, I'm protecting you."
"Protecting me from what?"
"There are things in this world, that you shouldn't know. Bad things. Involving even worse people that could hurt you."
"You'd be surprised with what I know." He chuckled.
"I'm sure I would, but it doesn't matter, you can't know this... no matter how much I want to tell you."
"Why not?" I barked, snapping my head to look at him. He was looking off into his window peacefully.
"Because you wouldn't think of me the same." He looked down before looking at me, then silently got up and left the room.
Why does he care what I think anyway? I huffed around the room practically pulling my hair out.
It's already past midnight. If I want to even be remotely ready for school tomorrow, I need to get some sleep.
***
BEEP!
BEEP!
Glancing out the living room window, I can see Kaden's convertible parked in my driveway. Guess it's time for school.
"See you at school!" Yelling out to Christian who's eating in the kitchen, I grab my backpack and what's left of my apple, then head out to Kaden's car.
The ride to school was silent.
Uncomfortably so. Though, I guess that was to be expected after last nights events. The only sounds were the radio and the whipping of the wind through my hair.
Once we pulled into school, I could see all eyes on us. Right... I forgot that the only people that knew about us, were those who were in summer school P.E. Great.
I've never been a fan of attention. That's why I hate school presentations. I get so nervous with all eyes on me that anxiety starts to kick in. My knees begin to tremble and I start to feel nauseous. Overall, it's not a very pleasant feeling. Another reason not to let my parents death hit the tabloids...
Apparently Kaden hadn't noticed my frightened appearance because he was already pulling out his things and stepping out of the car. He waited against the hood of his car while I slowly did the same.
Here we go.
When I stood next to Kaden, he enveloped my hand in his and began leading me into the school. He's never held my hand before. So why now?
I was thinking to myself when I felt something beside my ear, before Kaden started to whisper through my hair.
"Stop thinking so much Cambina. Chill out." I gave him a light nod as he squeezed my hand slightly.
My nickname. Cambina. I actually kind of like it now. Though I still don't know what it means, it just sounds natural now. Like its a second name. The guys are just as used to it as I am.
We had made it all the way to my locker without me paying attention to all the stares we were getting. For some reason, having Kaden by my side was reassuring. He leaned heavily against the locker next to mine as I gathered my materials.
"So Cambina, what's your schedule?"
"English, AP Psych, American History, French three, Math Analysis, free period, then health, and musical studies,"
"Which lunch?"
"Fourth,"
"Well look at that, I'll get see my girlfriend a lot throughout the day."
"How wonderful." I commented in an overly giggly tone. Though there was no joy to it.
"I'll see you later, I'm going to go meet up with the boys."
"Tell them I say hi! Oh, and don't you dare be late to class."
Rolling his eyes, he sarcastically stated, "Got it mom."
What a brat.
After I shut my locker, I spotted Lexi and Sterling down the hall and made my way to them. I greeted them both with a smile as Lexi engulfed me in a large bear hug. I lightly hugged back trying to catch my breath.
"Lexi, could you let go? So I can breathe." She reluctantly let go and chuckled.
"Sorry," a smile broke across her face as she took a step back.
"What's with the big hug anyway? I mean I saw you guys last night."
"Well, I missed you. Plus, we're juniors now!" She squeaked out.
Glancing over at Sterling's face, I examined his expression. It was somewhere between sad and confused. He didn't even seem like he was paying attention. More like spacing off. What's up with him?
"Hey weirdo!" His expression changed as he looked at me to continue. "You okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine,"
"You sure? You seem kinda out of it."
"I'm good." He snapped shortly. I was shocked by how he was acting. He had never spoken so abruptly towards me. Maybe he had seen the shock written across my face because his mood had instantly softened. "I'll see you guys later."
He reached out a hand and slid it from the top of my head, down to my cheek, lightly pressing a kiss to my forehead. Briskly walking away, he left Lexi and I. Just standing there.
Breaking the silence, Lexi blurted out, "Well okay. I'll see you later then too?"
Giving her a smile, I answered. "Definitely!"
"Okay, love you babes." After after sending me an air kiss, she turned her back to me and headed to first period. As I should be doing.
Once I had made it through first period, I made way to second period, briefly stopping by my locker on the way. Being one of the first ones to arrive, I settled down in a seat somewhere in the middle. As other students started to pack into AP Psychology, I silently doodled on the cover of my fresh new notebook.
When I began to draw a thorny rose at the top, a thud sounded from the desk to the right of mine. It startled me, bringing my attention to whom had caused the ruckus.
Why am I not surprised? The source was Mr. Bad boy, my fake boyfriend, the one and only: Kaden Amante. Perfect.
My eyes followed him as he placed the book he had purposely dropped on the desk, underneath it along with his other belongings. Giving me a devilish grin, he slumped down in his chair while twirling a pen in between his fingers.
I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the slamming of the class room door, causing me to jolt. Kaden chuckled beside me and I focused on the teacher who had already written his name on the board and started addressing the class.
"This year in AP psychology, the school board has decided to do something new. Instead of making you all take endless notes that are probably more unlikely than not to help you on the final, we want you to be more productive. More hands on. We will be assigning multiple projects so as to keep your brains working. Of course there are things you will need to know, so I will periodically have reading assignments for you and you must take notes over them."
Taking a quick glance towards Kaden, I could see him partially paying attention. As I scanned over his face, my eyes landed on his lips. The pen he was twirling around earlier was now being pushed against his lips in boredom. For some reason I couldn't tear my eyes away. He could probably feel my gaze, because his attention adjusted to me, but I quickly looked back to Mr. Rankin before his eyes could reach mine.
"Your first project begins today." Mr. Rankin stated while sitting on his desk. "I want you to pick someone in this room to be your partner. This person will be your partner for the rest of the year. Your assignment is to talk to this person. Get to know them. Find out what makes them who they are. Become a part of their world, in a sense. Then you will give a presentation about them next Friday. Please don't pick your closest friend just for an easy 'A'. Pick someone you know is going to be a challenge. Get them to open up and show you their true selves. By Friday next week I want to know who you are. This will also give you a chance to make new friends. Plus it'll help me to memorize your names and learn about you so I can be a better teacher for your needs. Enter cliché teacher speech here. Everyone, go ahead and get to work. If you have any questions feel free to come ask."
Everyone quickly scrambled to find a partner, except me. Sitting in my chair, I took out a few supplies to use. I glanced over to see Kaden talking to a few girls that wanted to be his partner. One twirled a strand of her brown hair around a browny finger as she giggled at whatever he had said. A pang of anger shot through my chest as I looked back down at my things. Just as I was about to stand up to go find a partner, a shadow fell over me, causing me to look up at the source.
"Hey," a boy that I didn't recognize stood in front of my desk looking down at me. He looked at me through his shaggy blonde hair that hung over his eyes. "Do you have partner yet?"
"No I-" before I could finish my sentence a masculine voice interrupted my own.
"Yes she does. Her boyfriend," I looked to my right, to see Kaden lean his hands on my desk and smile sickly sweet at the boy before his face turned serious. "Now go find someone else."
I gave the boy a tight lipped, empathetic smile as he took a glance at the both of us then slowly walked away. When his back was turned I addressed Kaden's ill attitude towards the boy.
"You could've been nicer you know."
"Now where's the fun in that?"
"It's not about fun, you should just be nice to people for the sake of being nice."
"Well how else would he have known to stay away from my girlfriend?"
"No need to be all possessive. He was just looking for a partner."
"Doesn't matter. What's mine is mine." Growling, he looked intensely at me from above, lowering his head to mine and dropping his voice to a whisper. "And I think we should all by now, that what's mine, is not to be messed with."
"I am not owned by you, nor will I ever be." Confidence oozed from my words when I spoke.
"You sure about that sweetheart? Because I'm pretty sure your heart is already mine."
"You wish." I smirked at his undeniably, cutely scrunched up face. He obviously didn't know what to say, he's so used to girls fawning all over him and this is probably the first time someone has said something that's gone against his wishes. That said, he could have almost any girl he wanted, and knowing that kind of hurt.
My head tilted down until I couldn't see his chocolatey brown eyes anymore. I let my gaze stay there as he continued to try and prove his point.
"Oh Cambina. You're cute. Real cute." He paused, putting a finger beneath my chin and lifting it up to stare him in the eye. Those dang cocoa brown eyes. An arrogant smirk stretched across his face before speaking again, "It's even cuter how you think that you can resist my charm."
"That's funny, because I think I've got you wrapped around my little finger."
"Whatever you wanna think Cambina." His hand stayed under my chin tilting it up farther as he leaned down looking straight into my eyes as he did so. He hovered his lips above my own for a second, letting his minty breath fan over my nose. I inhaled the scent, closing my eyes in the process. At that moment his eyes fluttered closed, delicately putting his lips on mine. After a couple, really long seconds, he pulled away. Leaving my eyes shut, I took in the moment. Though, what would a moment be without someone to interrupt it.
When I opened my eyes, I could feel the presence of an audience. Turning my head slightly, and using my vision, I could see that most eyes in the room were on us.
As I spoke, my lips brushed against his, sending a small shock through my body.
"People are staring."
His eyes flickered to the class before answering me, "Then let them."
I was going to reply, but Mr. Rankin beat me to it, "Let's leave the PDA to our free time, okay?"
I pulled farther away in obedience, but of course, Kaden has to be a smart mouth. He couldn't just leave it be. "I can't guarantee anything, but I'll try my very hardest mister." He stood straight up and sat back in his chair with a grin as he proved his feet up on the desk.
Oh good god. He's so annoying. It's not like I want him to kiss me anyway, I would stop the PDA if I had a choice, but he does it because he's trying to win. Little does he know, I fully plan on stepping it up even more. Otherwise, neither of us would fall for the other, and it would just be an endless game that I couldn't afford to lose. I don't think I could spend the rest of my junior year, let alone forever dating this butt munch.
The only question is: how on earth do I step it up? What could I do that wouldn't make other people think of me as a slut.
I could play hard to get. Haven't I tried that already, just by being repulsed by him? That wouldn't work.
Okay I could... Talk to, and hang out with more guys. Shoot! Then he might think I'm cheating.
Wait, cheating... I could find a way to get him to cheat on me! Coming from a girlfriend that sounds really bad, but I want this game over with. I want to be able to date whoever I want to date. Not that there's anyone that I like, or anything, it's just... having the option to would be nice. How in hell am I supposed to get him to cheat on me though, there's no way I can MAKE HIM do it.
What if I just, seduced him. I don't need to act like a slut, just pull away all the time when we kiss. Tease him, sexually. cause he isn't getting me, no matter how much he would want it. Get him to want me so bad, that he knows he's fallen for me.
It's so crazy that it just might work.
Let's put this not very thought out plan to effect because the sooner I get out of this relationship, the better.
***
Once we had reached lunch time, I briefly met Lexi at my locker before heading to the cafeteria.
"I'm starving!" She complained.
"You're always hungry." I giggled.
After grabbing our food, we sat down by a group of our friends and starting making conversation before a voice interrupted us,
"You're sitting with us," I was swiftly being picked up into someone's arms. "Put me down! Stop it, put me down! Let me go! Please!" Without knowing who, I wrapped my hands around their neck for stability. Then I looked at whom had picked my up bridal style and was carrying me across the cafeteria. Kaden. Why on earth would I think it could be anyone else.
"As you wish Cambina."
I was being flung into a seat at a new table in the cafeteria. I could hear Lexi being given a choice as to how she would come sit with us. "Are you going to come willingly, or do I need to carry you over too?"
"Carry please!" She said throwing her arms in the air like a child, allowing Shane to pick her up as she wrapped her arms around his neck, just as Kaden had done to me. Though, unlike me, she didn't protest; she loved being carried everywhere.
Shane placed her in the seat across from mine as he sat across from Kaden, who was sliding in next to me. Jamie dropped our lunches in front of us before taking a seat beside me. The rest of the guys were at the table already, and were laughing at me. Typical.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to manhandle a woman? I'm sure your mom would be very disappointed in your behavior. I might've come if you had just asked."
"Once again Cambina, where's the fun in that."
"You find it fun to pick me up like a toy and carry me places against my will?" I asked bewildered.
"Well when you put it like that, it makes it seem worse than it actually is."
"And what is it then?"
"It's me, gladly giving my girlfriend a chance to feel my muscles as I carry her places so she doesn't need to walk on those uncomfortable looking heels."
"As if, and they're called wedges."
"You act as if I give a damn to whatever the hell they're called." Before I could rebuttal, a shrieking girly voice caught our attention.
"Omg, you guys fight like an old married couple!! It's so cute! You guys are like my OTP." Kayla, a girl from my grade, ogled from behind us.
I tried to quickly and politely respond to get the attention away from me and my relationship, but she decided to continue, "You guys would be great as Homecoming king and queen! I'm going to nominate you both right now!"
I couldn't ask her not to, because she had already ran off to the nomination booth. Dang, people never let me say what I want to say.
Looks like I'm officially a nominee. I don't want to be, but now I don't have a choice. It's not like people will vote for me any way. I'm not the princess of popularity like Danielle. She'll probably win again. She has the last two years of high school, so I don't know what would be stopping her from getting it this year.
Gosh, today is our first day of school and we're already talking about homecoming. I mean it is this weekend but it seems a little fast this year. I have a lot of prepping to do before then, and I'm sure Lexi and Teri will make me go shopping with them. At least it's the kind of shopping I do like!
As I focused back on the conversation at the table, I could tell that they were also talking about homecoming weekend.
I cant wait! This week is going to be a long one.
"Hey Faith, do you want to go dress shopping after school?"
"I can't, I have dance team practice. Is Wednesday okay?"
"It's a date!" Lexi sure does seem excited. "I just need a date."
Chase, who had been sitting in the other side of Lexi, reached behind her to hook his arm around her shoulders before replying. "I can help with that."
As Lexi giggled over Chase, Kaden looked over at me. "I didn't realize that you were a dancer."
"Well, you probably would've if you payed attention in school assemblies."
I couldn't help but smile at his bewildered face. Times like these, I think there's a chance that if the circumstances were different, that I could maybe fall for him. Maybe I could fall for his warm brown eyes that just pull you in, his rippling muscles, hair that shags into his face even when it's styled because it's so long. His gentle laugh, those rare times you can get a genuine smile instead of a dashing smirk, and how sometimes he can make you feel as if no one else is in the room.
But they're not, and I won't. I can't fall for him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Hey guys! Hope y'all like this chapter, I worked really hard on it. It had gotten deleted somehow so I had to rewrite quite a bit of it, but I tried to make it even better for you!
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