It's a hundred percent possible blackmailing the bad boy wasn't a good idea.
Liam wasn't exactly known for being someone that followed the rules. He lived on an adrenaline kick; whether it was through football or drag racing, he found his fix.
Somehow, I'd managed to convince myself that none of his personal life mattered when it came to our project and my conditions. He'd follow them and I'd take on most of the work. Everything would work out fine and we'd get through the rest of this semester without a hassle.
My thoughts were shot down in cold blood when I set the notebook I'd started with the first set of my conditions before Liam the next morning.
"'Be nice for a week?' What kind of ridiculous shit is this?" he snorted. "I am a nice person, Reese."
I leaned forward, my elbows pressing into the table. "Yeah? Do you want to tell that to the overweight girl you told to kill herself yesterday? Or maybe Dre, who he continuously called a fagot all of last year? How about that-"
"Whatever." Liam interrupted me, pushing my notebook aside with a shake of his head. "This is stupid."
"If you think this is bad," I made a gesture toward the little written on the first couple pages. "then you might as well start writing and researching now. This isn't even the half of it."
An amused look lit Liam's eyes. "Are you blackmailing me, Taylor?"
"Look, Liam, I'm not asking for your first born child here. If you think it's so ridiculous and stupid, why don't you just do it to show how above it you are?"
He leaned back in his chair until it started to lift from the floor and balance itself on two legs. It was easy to assume turning down challenges wasn't Liam's strong suit.
"Fine. If something this dumb will get you to do the work, then I'll do it." he eventually responded.
Rather than allow my shock to show, I nodded curtly and began to tune myself back into Mr. Herring's lesson.
Despite my desperate attempt to pay attention the rest of class, I found my mind drifting.
Liam had agreed to my first condition, craving the challenge that'd fallen from my tongue without much thought. If he could get through this week without any faults in his action, it would prove how serious he was about this entire thing. It would also provide more room for me to play around a little with his head.
Liam was in the palm of my hand and it was beyond my control at this point whether he slipped through my fingers or not.
*
"Say it again and I'll punch you in the throat." the threat broke through my train of thought so suddenly I dumped my books off my lap and on to my best friend's head. Bryan jerked forward, muttering bitterly under his breath.
Brianna Waters sat with her legs crossed on the recliner across the room, amused by the pain inflicted on her twin. Her threat still lingered heavily in the air between the two of them, and I knew from experience she wasn't going to let it go.
"You are-" Bryan started, but I slapped a hand over his mouth before he could get any further. Brianna and I exchanged a smile before my eyes darted back toward the boy at my feet.
"I'm serious guys, what am I supposed to do?" I dangled the notebook over Bryan's head to emphasize the matter at hand.
Brianna leaned forward, brushing her thick, straightened black hair out of her eyes. "You literally have Liam Scott under your control right now, Reese. A better question is what can't you do?"
Brianna had fallen victim to Liam years before he climbed the social ladder. She had been silently falling in love with him from afar since, hazel eyes twinkling whenever he passed her by with his head held high to balance his ego. I knew she'd have a hard time processing the fact that I was trying to teach the bad boy a lesson rather than try and win him over.
"Why don't you try playing him at his own game?" Bryan suggested, peeking up from his book. "I mean, see how well he likes being Mr. Perfect when he's in our shoes. He'll already be getting a little taste of it with this whole quest to be nice for the week. I honestly don't think he'll be able to do it."
It took me a few seconds for what he was saying to sink in. The moment it finally registered, I nodded. The idea wasn't all that bad. If I could play Liam the way he did half the school, maybe he'd finally learn a few things about how to treat people.
"Bryan?" I nudged the back of his head with my foot. He tilted his head back and smiled.
"Yes?"
I flicked his forehead, "You, my friend, are a genius."
Brianna's eyes were dancing between her brother and me. "I think you guys are underestimating Liam. I think he has it in him to be a nice guy."
She twirled a strand of her dark hair around her index finger, awaiting a response.
"A nice guy who wants to get between your legs." Bryan huffed quietly.
I flicked the back of his head.
"He's been an egotistical ass since the seventh grade, Bri. You can't take the bad out of a bad boy. Not in reality."
Bryan slammed his textbook shut and turned his body all the way around so he was facing me on the sofa. "You're giving him too much credit too, Reese. He's not much of a "bad boy" as far as I'm concerned. Treating people like utter garbage isn't something to be proud of. All the kid does in regards to all these girls fantasies is play around a bit with the law."
"What about the hundreds of girls he goes through in a year?" I returned my best friend's glare. "What about the ego he wears like a new leather jacket every minute of every day?"
"A facade." Bryan sighed, tapping his fingers against his thigh in irritation. "Liam Scott is just a shell. It isn't who he is, Reese. I'd think you of all people would know that."
Brianna snickered from the beige recliner. "You're seriously contradicting yourself, Bry. One second you say he's an ass, the next your defending his ways."
"I'm not defending his ways!" Bryan barked defensively. "I'm trying to explain them."
I cleared my throat and broke the tension between the two before it could move any further. Outstretching my hand, I grasped Bryan's shoulder and shook my head.
"Not everything can be explained, Bry. Maybe the Liam we know is a facade, but we won't really ever know, will we? Stop trying to explain what you can't. You'll keep running into walls."
Rather than give me the satisfaction of responding, he propelled himself up from the floor and was down the hall and in his room before his sister or I could say anything. Brianna's bitter look dissipated once he was out of the room. I watched her stretch her long legs out from beneath her, her lips pursed in a slight pout.
"I wish you'd let me have a little fun with this too." she said.
A few minutes of silence followed before I had a coherent response. "I don't want you to get hurt, Bri. We both know you'll get attached to him."
"I know." she grumbled, wiping her palms against her shorts. "I'm just afraid you're going to hurt him."
My eyebrows drew in confusion. "You hardly know Liam, Brianna. He isn't-"
"I'm not talking about the jock." she met my eyes. "I'm talking about my brother."
"What? Brianna, you know I'd never hurt Bryan. I w-"
She rose to her feet, "You wouldn't ever hurt him intentionally, I know, Re. But sometimes the unexpected happens and we lose ourselves a little in it."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," she paused, pointing her finger accusingly at me. "that you don't truly understand what you're getting yourself into. You don't want me hurt, but what about you, Reese? You're blackmailing the bad boy and you expect to walk out of this the same person you are now?"
I dropped my head a little, feeling her eyes burning into the side of my head as she inched closer. Once within reach, she squeezed my hand.
"Liam is hot and I do believe he has a heart somewhere underneath all that ego and conceit, but he's also the guy that hates following the rules. He's the guy that spends more time in a Gym than he does with his own family just to improve his self image so he can boost his ego. Reese, he's the guy that goes through girls like dirty socks."
I didn't have to ask what she was getting at, it was loud and clear in every word she said. I also couldn't find it in me to deny that some of what she said was right.
"I won't get hurt." I whispered, then spoke louder. "I'm not going to play his games, Brianna. He's playing mine."
A smile stretched across her face as she dropped my hand back on to my lap. She started toward the hall, sighing as if she'd thought she would be able to make it out of the living room without another word.
"Reese?" her voice was strained.
"Brianna, I know what I'm doing." I reassured her.
She nodded, forcing the smile further.
"I'm sure you do. Just be careful you don't lose yourself in all this, okay?"
***AN***
*Unedited*
I know the chapter wasn't too eventful, it was just a little insight into Reese mapping out the playbook. The next few chapters will be a lot more eventful and we'll be able to see a little more or Reese and who she is.
Let me know what you guys think/thought!
~ChasingMadness24