There is no winning: I'm the hero of my story, but the villain in someone else's; I might as well be the villain in both.
Damien
My feet traveled out of the airport in Italy, the cold, winter air stinging my nose as I inhaled. I loved being home. Being in Italy reminded me of my dad. He had loved it here, had spoken about his childhood, and how his friends had gotten in so much trouble, but my grandma always saw him as an innocent angel.
I clutched the strap to my leather travel bag and shoved the other hand in my pocket to keep warm.
"I'm f-f-freezing." Bennett's teeth chattered. He pulled his jacket closer to his body, but it only made him shiver more. He hated being home, so I did whatever I could do to help him get out of his house for a bit.
Dylan's chuckle caught my attention. His thumbs moved and tapped across his phone. Ava. His best friend. My brother has been in love with his best friend for as long as he's known her. I wondered when he was going to tell her.
Declan's slight movements filled my peripherals as he took subtle glances everywhere, observing everyone's movements to analyzing the reason behind them and the type of person they were. Meanwhile, Deacon put his earphones in his ears, closed his eyes, and stayed close to Declan.
Two cars pulled up in front. My men got out and grabbed my bags. "Go in that one," I told my brothers.
"You're not coming with us?" Declan asked.
"I don't want to go to nonna's alone!" Dylan said.
"You won't. You have Deac and Dec." I pointed to the car. All three of them crossed their arms. "No, no!"
"Yes!" They countered.
"We'll have the car follow you," Deacon said.
"They won't listen to you."
"But if we tell nonna—"
"Fine!" I power-walked toward my car. The driver drove off, and I looked forward, clearing my thoughts of everything and channeled the Damien I needed to be. I couldn't be eighteen-year-old Damien. That Damien, that boy, couldn't get the shit that needed to be done, done.
Damien King, however, allowed his darkness to surpass him and be the man he needed to be. He embraced his dangerous side. Damien King didn't take bullshit from anyone. Not a damn single soul.
If anyone wanted to lose their life, go against me. Question my loyalty. Go ahead.
I was done taking bullshit from people. The day I showed people what the price was for defying me was the day they stopped acting against me.
We made it to the club I owned. The strippers were practicing their routine, and my brothers were watching. Dylan kept his eyes on his phone. Not Declan; he had his eyes glued to a girl doing an upside split on the stripper pole. Deacon walked away, toward the bar. I pushed Declan, which made him laugh and look away. But I caught him stealing glances.
"Women." He had a huge grin on his face. Dylan walked away to the lounge, his phone to his ear.
"Let's have a drink."
"That's what I'm talkin' 'bout," Bennett said, rubbing his hands together. "How have you been?" I smiled at his Italian. There were certain words he said that sounded kid-like, which was funny because he towered over everything. On the way out of the airplane, a kid pointed at Bennett and called him Big Foot.
"So, tell me, American, why you this time?" Emilio asked.
"I need a break from home."
Relishing in the terrible burn in my throat, the strong taste of medicine numbing the tip of my tongue, allowed the burn to make the Leader of the Serpents a concrete persona.
I didn't drink often, but when I did, there was this point in drinking where all of my emotions turned off. If the world blazed in fire, I would admire the beautiful flames as they danced with destruction.
I became apathetic with being apathetic. Was that a good thing? Did it allow me to be a better leader, to see things objectively rather than with emotions? Following my heart only become useful with one person.
"Capo," a voice called.
I looked to my left. A member of my crew approached me. His name lost in my mind. Honestly, I could give a rat's ass as to what his parents named him. Remembering his name does what for me, exactly? Absolute shit.
"What?" Treating my members apatheticlly prevented them from walking over me. Prevented them from thinking, well, fuck Damien; I'll do what the fuck I want.
Because, no the fuck they won't. They'll listen to me, obey me, and if they can't handle that shit, they can get the fuck out of my face. The fuck I need them in my life if they won't respect me.
I didn't treat them like complete shit. I gave them many opportunities they would've never had. I liked to think of it as a don't-bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you. I treated them well.
"We found three," he told me.
"Where?" I asked, grabbing the bottle and popping off the spout. The guy pointed where two girls and a guy sat. The audacity those Reapers had sitting in my bar. What the fuck were they even doing in Italy? I chugged some of the bottle as I walked forward. The burn of alcohol intensified every time I exhaled. I felt fine despite the amount of alcohol I consumed. But that was the thing about alcohol; you're fine one moment, the shots catch up, and you're drunker than you anticipated. "Name?"
"Who the fuck are you?" The guy snapped. My cynical smile stared at him.
"Who the fuck am I?" I looked at Bennett and laughed.
Bennett laughed. "Who the fuck are you?" We laughed together. A fucking comedian right before me. I should feel fucking honored. I halted my laughter and stared at the guy.
"The fucking owner of this bar!"
"As in Damien King?" One of the girls whispered. I looked at her, and she looked down. What a timid little coward.
"Eye contact," I said, and her green eyes met my demand. Funny: I used to have a thing for green eyes, and now, hazel eyes were my favorite. I guess people really can change preferences. Her eyes darted down as she bowed her head: one, she was scared; or two, she was hiding something. "And you." I looked at the third girl.
The darkest pair of brown eyes stared into mine, a challenge lingering within them. She was confident, assured, but underneath it all, there it lied: self-doubt. The self-doubt that would ultimately lead to her demise. And to think it would be at the mercy of my hands.
She reminded me a lot of my Serpent Talia; she was a chameleon, constantly changing her colors, and like a snake, shedding her skin. Talia's assignments always assigned her as the confident seductress. And more of the time, Talia always fell deeper and deeper into her role, but when she took a step back, she had doubts and fears. So, now, reading the girl in front of me, she gave way to exactly the type of person she was.
I smiled, and her lips mirrored mine, eyes dropping to my feet, traveling up until her confident eyes met mine. "So it is true what they say," the girl said.
"Yeah?" I kept my tone and stance light, letting my eyes linger on hers a bit longer, a small smile taking over my lips. "And what's that?"
"That you're hot." She promoted her chin on her fist.
I leaned closer with a flirtatious expression. She smiled, nearing too, but I dropped the facade and carried my natural, stoic face. "Don't fuck with me. I'm not one of these boys you can seduce."
"Is that a challenge?"
I chuckled. A challenge. "I'll give you fucking challenge." I turned around. "Follow me."
"All three," Bennett said as he followed me.
"What?" the girl asked, her confident role faltering.
"What for?" the timid one asked.
"Just the two of us will work."
"I'm not fucking going anywhere with you!" the guy snapped.
I halted and turned around, staring the guy down. "Who the fuck do you think you are?! You're in MY BAR!" I rushed him and grabbed the back of the neck, dragging him out like a dog by its collar. I made my way to a different room.
"Get the fuck off me!" He shouted and pulled away. Emilio had his gun pointed to the back of the guy's head. We walked into the room.
"We're going to play a game." I looked at my Serpent, and his name clicked. Sontana. He handed me a gun, and I gave him my bottle. "No, wait, I want that." The heaviness in my hands felt weird. The bottle was heavier than the gun. I tightened the grip to the wrong hand and a shot fired.
"Damn, foo!" Bennett flinched, plugging his ears. Emilio lined up the three Reapers on the wall, hands behind their back, feet shoulder's length apart. "I'm a ten outta ten shot! You'll be fine!" I checked my gun.
"When you're drunk, too?" The timid girl gulped.
"No. I'm a two outta ten. So let's see which is the lucky winner." I smiled, aiming my gun at them. "I'll ask questions, you don't answer, we'll test my capabilities."
"Just ask. We'll answer," the timid girl said, her eyes watering. I felt for her; I did, but did I truly care enough to stop what I was doing? Not really, no.
"I gave you a chance, and you guys didn't answer."
"You asked him what his name was!"
And that was where her flaws lied. I shook my head at her. My crew was supposed to be one, a collective hive mind, and they weren't supposed to be hostile toward each other. Sure, I didn't expect them to be best fucking buddies, but shit, I didn't want them being hostile with each other either.
If I sent them out on a task, and there was a tad bit of animosity, they would focus on that, keeping up the charade, and rendering themselves useless to me.
If one person fucked up, sure, I could hold that one person accountable, but that left the other's to have a fuck-them-I'll-do-me attitude. If they're all held accountable for one mishap, they work together to prevent that mishap from ever happening. It's more of an I-gotta-save-his-ass-to-save-my-ass kind of attitude, and shit gets done that way.
"And did you tell me your name?" I asked.
"You didn't ask me," she said. Wrong answer. I shot above her head, and she fell to the floor, crying.
"And you?"
"Natalie," the confident girl answered.
"Answer now."
"Micheal."
I gave a slow nod. "Was that so hard? Was any of this necessary?"
I looked down at the girl crying as she released small screams. I felt apathetic toward her. I get it; you're crying, scared that you almost died, but suck that shit up. That shits over already. Happened a minute ago; it's in the past.
She kept crying and crying, so I waited some more for her to stop, but she wouldn't let up. Did she think if she cried enough I was going to let it go and dismiss her?
"Alright, you're good," I told her, but she didn't stop. Her screaming intensified. "Shut the fuck up!" She stopped. See, I didn't want to be mean. I understood that it could have been traumatizing for her to experience that, so I didn't tell her anything, but after fifteen minutes of her crying with no actual tears coming out seemed like a bit much. She looked at me, dry-eyed, and smiled.
"You are a tough one to crack. Softy, still."
I shot above her head, and she flinched. "Sure. I'm the softy." I aimed it at the chameleon. "Who are you, really?"
"What's it to you?" Natalie smiled. Wrong.
I shot by her head and miscalculated. She screamed, bending over as she held her bloody ear. A malicious smile made an appearance on my lips. "How about you? Would you like your ear blown off?"
"Do I want you to blow me?" Micheal asked with a cocky tone.
I shot him in the knee. What part weren't they understanding? "Just how dispensable are you?" I forced a chuckle. "Your leader really gives a rat's ass about you. That shows."
"Do you really think you could protect that bitch of yours!" Micheal screamed, yelling in pain. "He wants her! And he'll do whatever—"
I motion from Emilio to Micheal. He approached Micheal and kicked him in the face, rendering him unconscious. "What does your leader want with her?" I aimed my gun at Natalie. "Either you answer or you die!"
"I'm dead regardless!" She screamed at me. Wrong.
I pulled the trigger, and she fell back into the wall, sliding down and screaming in pain. She clutched onto her shoulder, trying to stop the blood from spurting out. I didn't care to find out any more information from them. They were useless to me—dispensable like their leader thought of them.
"Deal with that," I told Emilio and walked out of the room.
"You didn't want more information from them?" Bennett asked. What he really meant was, are you sure they needed to die, what if they're still useful? Bennett was a softy. A big, giant teddy bear as Ryder liked to call him.
"I'll get the information I need. But they don't have any. Their leader knew that, gave them their lines, and once their lines ran out, he knew I'd end it for him. For all I know, they could've been traitors to him that begged for redemption."
I knew he hated when someone's life had to end, but there was shit I had to do, things that needed to be done. I couldn't be feared and respected if all anyone ever saw me as was an eighteen-year-old high school student.
Why was I going to save the lives that would end mine if I was on the other side of the trigger?
I could swear on everything I loved that, if any of the Reapers in that room held a gun to my head, I would end up dead. Better them than me.
Why save the world that shat on me, on the people I loved? Where was my saving when I needed it? Where the fuck was my hero?!
Back then, before that night, I was naive, had my whole innocent life ahead of me. But, that's just it. I didn't—I was the lamb who walked to the slaughter.
Thinking back now, the irony was humorous. When I was forced on my knees and had to beg every entity in the entire universe to save my parents from the Reapers' leader—and from me, their own son—no one listened. That made me dangerous now. I was a kid who needed saving, even begged for it, and now everyone around begged me for saving. Their lives were at the mercy of my hands, and I got to decide who needed saving, who got to live.
The Reapers did this to me, forced me to be this type of person, and I would be damned if any Reaper was saved. They weren't resilient Reapers; they would receive no redemption. I would be sure of it.
I stumbled over my feet and laughed. Bennett looked at me, smiling at my state. "What a time to be alive, Bennett." I put my arm around his shoulder, bringing him down to me. "My friend."
"You're drunk." He chuckled.
"Damien." I heard a voice call. I looked to my left and saw Greta doing an upside-down split on the stripper pole.
"Don't fall!" I shouted and then laughed. Drowsiness overtook my body, and I wanted my bed and a phone call with Mae. I turned to Bennett and nodded. "I'm ready for bed."
He laughed. "Okay, let's take you home."
"Do you want me to die? Nonna hates when I drink."
"You can sleep in my room." Greta approached us and put her arm around me. Had she always been this short? Hmm, I guess I thought it was cute back then or something.
"Any bed sounds good. Mae's bed's the best. Where's Mae's bed?" I started closing my eyes. I wanted her in my arms, holding onto her, and kissing her. Not having kissed her was killing me. I wanted to show my love to her, but I couldn't, and I was okay with that because I never wanted to pressure her into something she wasn't ready for.
"She's not here. You're in Italy," Bennett said. I drank more from my bottle. "Do you know why you're in Italy?"
"Because of the meeting with Mr. Moretti tomorrow about the information. I'm not that drunk, Bennett."
"Good. I can drop you off at home then."
"You do want me dead." I side-eyed him, and he laughed.
"I can take him," Greta said.
"He's drunk. I don't mind."
"Neither do I." Greta tugged on me, but Bennett pulled me back.
"I'm a body of liquid. Starting to feel like it now." I swayed side to side and rode the motions that felt similar to a water bed.
"I got it," Bennett said and pulled me away.
Greta nodded and told me goodnight. I waved as we walked upstairs to the office. Bennett set me on the couch. I laid back and pulled my phone from my pocket and swiped to Mae's contact.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Bennett said and reached for my phone.
"Watch out," I slurred and pulled it away, pressing Mae's contact.
"Don't. You're drunk."
"I'll behave." I settled for texting her first.
Hey you -D
How was your day? -D
Heyyy -M
It was good, how was your day? -M
Alright. -D
I couldn't tell her what happened a few minutes ago. If I did, she might think I'm a sociopath, that one day I could hurt her. I never will. Was it selfish of me to want to keep Mae in the dark? Showing her the bad side of me could remind her of every reason she should stay away. I didn't want to add more shit to her life. But that was the thing: I was selfish. If I wanted something, I went after it.
Well, I hope it gets better. :) -M
It will if I call you. I called her, but it was Ryder who answered. After being hassled by Ryder and hassling him, I finally heard Mae's voice.
"Hey," I said, and she laughed. Her laughter was starting to become my favorite; everything about her was starting to become my favorite. Bennett waved to me as he left the room. I waved back and got comfortable on the couch. The alcohol was a nice muscle relaxer. "So you have me under Damien?"
"Damien King, actually," she said. Wow, that was definitely a kick to my ego. Here I go having her under my contacts as My Girl, and she has me under my legal name.
"Ouch. So formal." I chuckled.
"I just wasn't sure what to put. Do you want me to change it?"
"If you want to." I didn't want to force her to change it. If she liked my name as her contact, then she can keep it that way. Maybe she'll change it later to some shit girls put. She remained silent, so I did too as I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of having Mae here with me. Peace surrounded me, and sleep was dragging me down.
"We can talk another time if you're busy," she said, sounding a bit sad. Why was she sad?
"No," I said and cleared my throat, so I wouldn't sound both drunk and sleepy. After checking the time, it made sense why I was this sleepy. "It's just the time zone."
"Ohh!"
"It's one in the morning here, and I feel really tired," I said, a yawn escaping before I could silence it.
"You want me to hang up, so you can get some rest?" She asked.
"No, please. I really wanna be with you. I think it's the whole being in another continent again that makes me miss you."
"I'm so used to seeing you," she said, which made me laugh.
"Have Ryder and Max started fighting yet?" I asked.
"Give me the remote!" I heard Max shout in the distance. Why couldn't they at least act civil for three days? Three days. That's all I asked for.
"I got it first!" Ryder yelled back.
"No, you didn't!"
"Yes, I did!"
"Nevermind. I can hear." I laughed it off. I still felt guilty. It was annoying to Bennett and me, so I knew it was going to bother her eventually, and I wanted her to be friends with mine. They liked her, said she was good people. "Sorry about that. I'll text them."
"What have you been up to?" Mae asked.
"Besides missing you?"
She laughed, making happiness fill my chest, but made the aching to hold her intensify.
"Mmm, not much else."
"Any cute Italy girls?"
"Well, there is this one girl, but she's not from Italy."
"Where is she from?"
Fuck. "California?"
She laughed. "Tell me about her."
"She's really beautiful. Tall, dark hair, beautiful hazel eyes, cute freckles on her adorable nose."
Mae laughed, and I wanted to hug her so badly. To have her in my arms, to hold my light, was what my body ached for. "She sounds like a keeper."
I laughed, grinning from ear to ear. "She is. I might have to make some moves." Make some moves? Who the hell am I? Ryder?
She laughed again, and I wanted to tell her to keep laughing so I could fall asleep without effort.
"I want to bring you one day."
"To Italy?"
"Would you want to?"
"It sounds like a dream. I've ever left LA County."
"Then we'll travel everywhere together."
"Just us?"
"It can be a group thing. All of our friends, multiple destinations. Nothing but a good time and several memories."
"We should start with San Francisco. Zach and I have always dreamed of going there. It seems so nice there, and I wanna see the Golden Gate Brigde."
"We'll go wherever you want to."
I woke in the morning, lifting my head to see if Mae was still on the phone, but found Greta asleep on top of me. Was I dreaming, and this was my dream taunting me because I wanted Mae here with me, like this? I tried pushing Greta to the side, but she held on.
"Let go," I said.
"No, I missed this." She looked up at me with a frown.
"Let go." I could have pushed her off, but it was a part of my moral code, something my father instilled in all of his sons. Never hurt a woman.
She sat up and straddled me. "You used to like it when I did this." Greta smiled, leaning down. I held her in place.
"Stop." The corners of her lips pulled down. "I told you, when I came back, we wouldn't be together."
"You said might not."
"I was trying not to hurt your feelings."
Her shoulders slumped, the corners of her lips pulled down. "And look at me now," she whispered. "So those two years meant nothing to you?"
In the beginning, they meant a lot to me. She showed me how great physical touch can be, but Mae was always in the back of my mind, especially as I got closer to my senior year.
"In the beginning, yeah."
"But now, no?"
I nodded, and she got off.
"Is she worth it?" Greta whispered, gazing away from me.
I smiled at the thought of Mae. "More than I ever realized."
She looked at me, a glum look on her face as the frown lingered. "She makes you happy."
I nodded.
"I used to make you happy too."
It was true, there was a time when I relied on Greta for more than make-out sessions and gang-affiliated business; she made me happy. Happier than I thought I could be after losing my parents. But even so, I never took Greta seriously as a partner.
"I'm sorry."
She nodded and walked out. I searched for my phone and found it dead. I went downstairs to find a charger. The hangover made me nauseous.
"Damien!" Declan laughed from a booth.
"Did you sleep?" I asked, wanting to get away from him. He rushed me, and I pushed him away. Being slightly drunk with a massive hangover, I didn't want to be touched right now. "Get away."
"You're mean!" Declan shouted in my ear. "I wish I had another older brother. Maybe he'd be nicer."
"Too bad. I'm all you got."
"That is all too bad." He slurred.
"Did you sleep?"
"An hour here and there." I sat at the bar, desperately needing some water. "Be a good lad and fetch me some water. Quite parched, I am."
Even as my brother annoyed me, he still knew how to make me laugh. The bartender laughed and set a glass of cold water in front of both of us.
"Where's Deac and Dyl?
"Dyl's asleep, just got off facetime with Ava, and Deac's...somewhere." He pointed his finger, waving it around the room, and shrugged.
"And Bennett?"
"What's with the third degree?" He drank his water.
"Go upstairs, sleep on the couch."
"Don't need to tell me twice."
Greta walked in the back of the bar and served herself a drink. Putting myself in her shoes, I thought about if Mae and I were together, and she left me for someone else. Or worse, for James. I wasn't sure if Greta felt the same for me as I had for Mae, but I knew liking someone and them leaving for someone else couldn't have left good feelings. I did feel guilty for hurting Greta's feelings. That was never my intention. I never involved myself with her to one day hurt her.
"How'd you sleep?" I asked, trying to sway from the conversation we had earlier.
"Better when I was with you. You know, before you rudely kicked me out?" Greta stared into my eyes.
I avoided her gaze, finding the ice in my glass interesting until she walked away. There was no winning.
After a couple of hours, my meeting with Mr. Moretti was going to start. I walked downstairs once he arrived, and waited for him in a booth. I could care less by giving him the fake, friendly greeting. We skipped straight to business.
"Do you have what I need?"
"Don't you mean want?" His cynical smile made me want to put a bullet in it.
"Cut the shit."
"With the amount of shit you give me," he pulled the envelope from his coat and set it on top of the round table, "you might find that my men don't appreciate their boss being disrespected."
"And your men might find that most of them are under my payroll." I glanced at the three men in the back of him. All under my payroll.
He dropped the smile, which resulted in me picking it up.
"Don't be offended, Mr. Moretti, it's just business." I mocked.
He slid over the envelope.
I opened the envelope and read over the content. I slammed it on the table. "That's not what I'm fucking looking for!"
"What you asked for is in that envelope. Stop acting like a spoiled brat and accept it."
"I asked for Sam's whereabouts. Not this shit!"
"Those are his whereabouts." He smiled, finding my anger funny.
"Don't fuck with me! You have the guts to bring me the location of a cemetery?!" I slammed my fist on the table.
"He's dead." Morretti shrugged.
"He needs to pay for what he did to my family!" I was seething with resentment. How was I suppose to get justice for my family when the man was dead? "How'd he die?"
"It says if you read."
I stared at him.
"Heart attack." There was a look in his eyes.
"Bullshit."
"Well...there's speculation that it was done at the hands of his son."
"He has several sons." I gave him a blank expression until he said which son. "Corrales has a lot of people backing him."
"I hear the Reapers are closing in on second rank again."
"I worked hard for that," I said.
"And he didn't?"
"Why are you defending him?" He looked away when I asked, took a sip of his water, and then chuckled. Don't trust him. My instincts were always right. As a way to compose my distaste for the piece of shit sitting in front of me, I clenched my teeth.
"You misunderstand me." He chuckled.
"If you say. We're done here." I nodded down and stood.
"Stay sharp, kid," he said as I walked away.
I walked toward the exit, looking at Emilio, and nodded up once. He bowed his head, taking my order, and continued cleaning the counter.
I looked to my side, where Mae was curled in her sleep, and smiled. Lifting from her bed as quietly as I could, I walked to my car and grabbed my travel toothbrush. I used some of her toothpaste and brushed my teeth.
She remained curled in her fetal position when I walked out. I laid back down, pretending to be asleep when she started moving. Her presence grew close to me, and I knew she was looking at me, but after a while, I wasn't sure if she was still staring or if it was just my mind playing with me.
She got up, and I rested back, almost falling asleep again until the bed dipped. I opened my eyes and was welcomed by Mae's huge grin. She laughed, and I pulled her to me.
"You seem happy," I said, brushing back her frizzy, wavy hair.
"'Cause you're here," she said. "How'd you sleep?"
"Good." Truth be told, I couldn't sleep last night. The excitement of being in Mae's bed after I kissed her excited me too much. I also had Italy on my mind all night, plotting back and forth. "How'd you sleep?"
"Really good." She smiled and rested her head on my chest.
"Is kissing still on the table?" I asked. Or was that a last-night-only type of thing?
She laughed and nodded, still with her head on my chest.
"Lemme see."
Mae looked at me, a grin on her face, and I wanted to tell her how I felt. To admit everything, but I didn't want to scare her. We barely kissed, and I was going to admit my love to her? Mae already questioned why I liked her; I knew she wouldn't believe that I loved her too.
She reached up, wanting a kiss, so I leaned down but curved her kiss. I smiled at her happy laughter and kissed her cheek, her forehead, her nose. Giving her this affection felt like an equivalent of telling her I loved her, so, for now, this would have to suffice.
"Right here." She pointed to her lips.
"You sure?" I teased.
She nodded, never did the grin leave her face; it was as glad to see me as she was.
"Positive?"
She nodded again.
"Negative?"
"Damien!" She laughed, and I switched positions and laid on top of her, kissing her as she craved.
"Hm?" I kissed her again. "Is this what you want?"
She nodded, caressing my face and my hair. I stared into her loving eyes, and to my surprise, she didn't look away; her eyes held mine. I kissed her again; she was too cute not to.
"You're cute."
She shook her head and looked away, smiling.
"Yes."
"Uh-uh."
"Mm-hm."
"Mm-mm."
We started laughing, and with a light touch, she pushed my face away.
"You're cute," I assured.
"No," she mumbled, a shy smiled replacing the happy grin.
"Fine, then. You're ugly." I rolled over on my stomach, and she scoffed then laughed. I laughed and rested my head on my pillow. "Then agree that you're cute."
She shook her head with vehemence.
I groaned, making her laugh again. "You're a complex creature."
"Creature." She threw her head back, laughing, and I stayed admiring her. Why did guys have to fall in love first? "So I'm a creature?"
I nodded. "Apparently an ugly one." She threw her head back again, laughing, and hit her head on the wall. I hissed and brought her to me, pushing her head on my chest. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it didn't hurt," she mumbled in my chest.
"It's a good thing you have a big head." I teased.
"So I'm an ugly creature with a big head?"
"You're words, not mine."
"Those are your words." She laughed and backed away, her cheeks red as she looked at me.
"That was a hard hit."
She shook her head. "I'm okay. High pain tolerance. But a kiss couldn't hurt."
I cupped her face and leaned in, but her alarm went off, making the both of us jump. She turned it off and gasped.
"It's seven."
Shit. I had to go home, take a shower, get dressed, but I just wanted to be here with her. "Let's ditch."
"You're a bad influence." She laughed. "But I can't. Our math teacher works the entrance at the football games, so if I'm not in class, she won't let me in."
"That's today?"
She nodded. "Are you going?"
I shrugged. "I'm not really into American football."
"Do you like any sports?"
"Football."
She furrowed her eyebrows.
"Oh. Uh." I thought about it for a second. "Soccer."
"What team is it in Italy?"
"Azzurri," I said. "Max, Bennett, and I go at it."
"I want to know more, but...I need to get dressed." She sat at the edge of the bed.
"Just a few more minutes." I wrapped my arms around her, preventing her from getting up.
"But I planned to..."
"To what?" I pressed my lips on her back.
"To look cute today."
"For who?" The corners of my lips turned up as I placed another kiss on her back.
"This cute boy in my class."
My grin widened.
"Cute dimples, grey eyes, black hair, sound familiar?"
"Sounds mediocre."
She mocked a gasp. "He's anything but mediocre."
"How?"
"He's sweet...adorable...kind. I catch him staring sometimes, and he thinks he's so smooth when he looks away."
My laughter escaped before I could control it. "I don't know. He sounds smooth."
"Yeah, like sandpaper."
I laughed again and squeezed her in my arms. She laughed and leaned her weight on me. As much as I wanted to stay here and possibly persuade her to ditch school with me, I had to get home to get dressed too. "Alright."
"Alright."
Neither of us made a move to get up.
We laughed at that and stood. I stretched out, groaning and shouting in her quiet room. My loudness made her laugh. I cupped her face, squeezing her cheeks together, and she made a kissy face, so I placed a kiss on her lips.
And she said she wasn't cute.
"I'll see you at school." She started back away, but I didn't want her to leave. I didn't want to leave.
"One more kiss," I said. She leaned up and kissed me, but it wasn't enough. "One more." She kissed me two more times and tried turning around. "Just one more."
"Damien!" She laughed then groaned. She gave me several, small pecks. It still wasn't enough.
"One—"
"Damien!" She laughed and started pushing me out of her room.
"Alright, alright." I laughed. She had a huge smile on her face even as she closed the door on me. "I'm naked." The door opened again, and she handed me my clothes. "One m—"
"Bye, Damien!" She laughed.
"If you don't open the door, I'll kiss you in front of everyone at school." I changed into my clothes.
"Okay." She stifled her laughter.
"What if, when I left, I didn't come back, and you didn't give me a goodbye kiss." Guilt; that was the winner.
She opened the door, a small, playful glare in her eyes. "You're lucky I like you."
I pulled her to me and kissed her forehead.
"That's it?!" She asked when I started walking away. I closed the door behind me and heard her shout my name. Temptation told me to go back and see what she wanted, maybe a kiss, but I thought it was funnier to leave.
After going home, taking a shower, and getting dressed, I left for school. Driving into the parking lot, my friends were standing in my parking. I aimed my smile at them when I got off my car.
"Why are you a chipper bitch?" Ryder snapped.
"Chill, dude. Stop taking your anger out on everyone," Bennett told him, a slight annoyance in his tone.
"What's up?" I asked Ryder.
"I got a ninety-five on my essay because my conclusion was anticlimatic. Anticlimactic. Anti...climatic. I'll shoot up her house and show her anti-fucking-climatic!"
We started laughing, and Ryder released a full breath. Ryder took his grades seriously, which resulted in his straight As.
"Ask her if you can rewrite it," Max said.
"I didn't ask for your advice!"
"Shut the fuck up, foo! I'm trying to help."
"I didn't ask for it!"
"Chill," Bennett said. We hated when they fought.
"Yeah, listen to my best friend," Max said, a smirk forming on his mouth. Ryder had a tendency to be possessive. His best friends were his best friends and no one else can be best friends with them. Acquaintances at most, but not close, close.
"My best friend." Ryder took a step toward Max. "Not yours. He'll never be your best friend."
"He already is. Right, Bent?" Max asked, holding back his laughter but failing to hold back his smirk.
"Don't even talk to him." Ryder shook his head. "As a matter of fact, don't even look at him." Ryder stood in front of Bennett.
Max laughed.
"Don't even breathe in the same vicinity as him."
Max bent over laughing. Mae pulled in a few parking spaces down and waved to us when she got off her car. "Look, my Cupcake's here," Max said.
"Shut the fuck up!" Ryder's eyebrows creased, the corners of his lips drooping.
"Hey, Creature," I told Mae.
The guys laughed. "I don't think you're supposed to call her that," Bennett said.
"Hey, Sandpaper."
"Sandpaper," Ryder echoed. "Is that supposed to be cute nicknames or something?"
"'Cause, that shit ain't cute," Max said.
"Cupcake is cute. Creature? Sandpaper?" Ryder asked. "What nickname are you going to give me?"
"What? You don't like those nicknames?" Mae asked, feigning ignorance. "I was thinking you could be Screwdriver."
The appalled look on Ryder's face was hilarious.
"Why, 'cause he screws everyone, and he's a tool?" Max asked, and we doubled over in laughter. "That's so your nickname, foo."
"Shut up. No, it's not."
"Yes, it is."
"No, it's not."
"Yes, it is."
"Fine, what are you, a joke? Oh, wait. You already are. How about a garden gnome?"
"Fuck yeah, one hand with a Modelo, the other hand flipping everyone off, and a sign that says, 'Get loss, fuckers."
"I hate you."
"Yeah, and one day we'll get married, and I'll kill you for your life insurance."
"Fuck you. I won't get life insurance, so you'll get stuck with the funeral bills."
"Fuck that shit." Max laughed. "I'll just tell them to throw your ass in the dumpster. You're trash anyways."
"I fucking hate you." Ryder laughed. "And it's anyway, not anyways."
"Anyways." Max turned to Mae, and Ryder's eyes rolled to the back of his head. "Nice hoodie."
"Thank you." Mae smiled, looking at her hoodie. Her hoodie looked like a football jersey but in hoodie form. I liked the hoodie until her brother called her and James came with a jersey that looked just like her hoodie. Yeah, I was super thrilled they looked like a matching couple.
"I left my bag in your trunk. It has my mouthguard," Zach told her. She opened her trunk, and he got his bag out.
"Hey," Mae told James, and he nodded up.
"I gotta get to class," James said and started walking away. "I'll catch ya later, man."
"Alright." Zach nodded, closing Mae's trunk.
"Wait," Mae called after James. "I'll see you in class." She chased after him.
"Good luck today," Bennett told Zach.
"Thanks. Y'all coming to the game?" Zach's eyes lingered on mine before looking at the guys.
"Haven't decided."
"Mae'll be there, if that makes a difference, but I'll catch y'all later." He looked at me for a second before turning back and walking into the school.
"Homeboy gots a crush on you," Bennett chuckled.
"You saw that too," I said.
"Mean anything?" Max asked.
I shrugged. The bell rang and people started walking to class. "Did you ever find out anything on why Lou wanted Mae?"
Ryder shook his head.
"I still don't understand."
"We told you," Ryder said. "When we were taking him out back to deal with him, there were guys back there already waiting. Someone whacked me in the head. I was out cold."
"I was kicked in the balls, and now that the weather's fucking changing, I feel that shit in my guevos," Max said. "But this foo over here"—he pointed at Bennett—"Lucky ass motherfucker."
"Guess they realized not to mess with the big guy," Ryder joked.
I looked at Bennett for his side of the story.
"They had me at gunpoint, and Lou told them to shoot me."
"Why didn't they?" I asked. It wasn't common for a Reaper to refuse a kill order. It's what they did: killed for the hell of it.
"I don't know." Bennett shrugged, seeming just as confused as I was. "I really don't. But we're gonna be late for class."
"I'm just glad they didn't shoot you." Ryder reached up and put his arm around Bennett's shoulder.
"I know, what was I gonna do without mi amigo." Max forced himself between Bennett and Ryder. "Mejor amigo"—he put his around Bennett's neck, bringing him down—"y peor amigo." He did the same with Ryder
Ryder pushed him away, leaving Max laughing. "Pendejo."
"¿Y tu, gringo?"
"I'm French and Latino!" Ryder shouted.
"But not a hundred percent Latino," Max said.
"I fucking hate that!" Ryder snapped.
"For real, me too," Bennett said.
"So what, since I'm not from Brazil and I don't speak Portuguese, I'm not Latino? Fuck outta here."
"For real, it's like, 'Shit, I'm sorry I'm not fuckin' Mexican enough for you. What, I don't speak Spanish, so I can't hang with you, can't fit in or what?'" Bennett shook his head, furrowing his eyebrows.
"It's not even that deep, foo." Max shook his head.
"It is to us, though!" Ryder said, and he and Bennett walked away to class.
"Why do you have to start shit like that?" I asked Max.
"What?" He held out his hands.
"You know how they feel about that kind of shit, and you do it only to get a rise out of them."
"I can't believe you're taking their side!"
"So you're telling me you didn't try to get Ryder pissed off, and in turn, you made Bennett mad too?"
He looked away, smiling.
"It's not funny. Do you see me smiling?" I stared at him, my face flat.
He looked at me, still smiling, and a smile slowly made its way on my face. "See! You can't stay mad at me."
"I hate you too." I chuckled. We went to class, and Bennett made no gesture to acknowledge Max's presence. Max was the stubborn type too, so I knew there wouldn't be an apology anytime soon. When I took my seat, I looked at Mae, a smile on my face, but she was looking down, texting.
James.
He ignored her earlier, and she was still texting him? Is that what I had to do, ignore her, and she'd give me her attention?
Please James!!! -M
Blowin up my phone is only makin me happy it ain't fair -J
Can we talk? -M
We did none to talk bout now -J
Don't be like that! -M
"Mae," the teacher called, and I looked away from her phone as Mae looked up. "The lesson's starting. Please pay attention."
She nodded and put her phone away.
What were they talking about?
The teacher taught for half the class and then let us do our work, but Mae kept sneaking her phone, so I took it from her so she could do her work.
"Stop, give it back." Her stern voice forced me to comply.
"Sorry," I mumbled, handing her back the phone.
Throughout the whole day, despite having some of the same classes, Mae never gave me attention. Even at lunch, she didn't sit with us. I could have gone without attention, but now that I had Mae's, I didn't want to go without it. Getting attention from the girl a guy liked was his biggest weakness. Without a doubt.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and I walked to my car. I didn't care to wait for Mae. Walking to my car, I heard heavy footsteps behind me.
Frustration seeped into my chest and head. All of my annoyance from today washed away the moment Mae stood next to me. It wasn't fair, and that made me frustrated.
"Hi," she said.
"Hello," I said, pulling out my keys from my front pocket, and keeping a stoic expression.
"Are you mad, again?" she asked, and I shook my head. But it was the again that furthered my frustration. "Are you going to the game?"
I shrugged. "I don't really want to sit alone and watch a game I don't care about."
"Why would you sit alone?" She chuckled.
"I figured you might ignore me at the game like you've been ignoring me today."
Silence.
Exactly. She knew what she was doing. I opened my car door but stopped when she spoke.
"I've just been dealing with something."
"Like what?" I turned around. She stared at her shoes. "Hmm?" I wanted to know if it was something I could help her with. I wanted to help her with her issues if she let me.
She shook her head. "I've been thinking about it all day. I don't want to think about it anymore." She opened her arms to me, and of course, I gave in. I hugged her and kissed her forehead out of instinct. "I'm sorry for ignoring you."
I couldn't even be mad, and she knew that. She knew she was already forgiven. I kissed her temple, her cheek, and she backed away and kissed me.
"Do you forgive me?"
I placed rapid kisses on her lips, making her laugh. "You know I do."
She threw her head back and laughed.
I admired her as she laughed. The amount of feelings I had for her this soon in our relationship was dangerous. This girl's going to ruin my life one day.
"Mmm," she groaned and pushed my face away.
"What?" She hid her face in my chest. I liked that she did that whenever she was shy. "What time's the game?"
She looked up at me, excitement in her eyes. "You'll go with me?"
"No, I have a date today."
"No, we have a date tomorrow."
"But I'm talking about today."
"You can't make plans today if you have plans tomorrow."
I laughed.