FEBRUARY,
BLUESTONE HIGH SCHOOL
b r o o k l y n l e s l i e c o o p e r
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"Bye dad!" I called out as I shut the car door behind me and slung my backpack over my shoulder. As my dad drove off in his prised possession, his brand new black Range Rover, I turned to face my school and started to head in from the car park. I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my favourite denim jacket as they felt cold, and kept my eyes to the ground as I slowly walked. I still had seventeen minutes until the warning bell for homegroup went, so I didn't feel the need to rush.
"Brooklyn!" I looked up at the sound of my best friend calling out my name, and I smiled when I saw her exit from the passenger side of her boyfriends car. However, what caught my eye was not the super cute top she had chosen to wear today. No, it was the motorbike parked next to her boyfriends car.
It was the same as my neighbours. Number plate and everything.
My eyes widened and I speed-walked over to her. She tried to give me a hug but I pointed to the bike and help my other hand up as if telling her to stop. "Who's bike is this?"
Morgen furrowed her eyebrows at me and looked down at the bike with curious eyes. As she did so, my mind went into a trance and I studied her as if for the time. I don't think I've ever realised how pretty Morgan really was; I was too focused on maintaining our friendship to notice. She had been growing out her hair, so her thin golden blonde locks cascaded down her back. I'd always wished I had her hair, it seemed so perfect. Everything about her was perfect. She had eyes that were dark around the rims and then the rest of her iris were an ombré of green, and her lips were shaped and filled so perfectly that I reckoned Kylie Jenner would kill to have them. And she worked out a lot, so that obviously meant she had a great a body.
And know what else? Her boyfriend was one of the hottest boys in school, maybe even in town. They'd been friends for so long and started dating recently, after they kissed for the first time. I was there when it happened, and when it did, I knew that something was blossoming. That was four months ago, Morgen and Luke Hemmings (the one and only) were still going strong.
At the mention of my question, Luke popped out of the drivers seat of his car and locked it behind him. He then strolled over to us and put an arm around Morgen's shoulders, pointing to the very motorbike I was still aiming my index finger at. "The bike? It's Calum's. Remember, my friend? Calum Hood?"
My eyes widened as this information came flooding into my head like a tsunami. Calum Hood, the school badboy, player, and rebel, was my new neighbour.
I was screwed.
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Calum Hood. Yes, he was a player, a bad boy, a rebel. Yes, he was very good looking and got all the girls. Yes, he skipped class a lot and gave attitude to teachers. No, I'd never actually spoken to him before, and I didn't know why Luke thought I had, because Calum Hood and I were complete opposites. He owned a bloody motorcycle, had more tattoos then I could count and probably has been on ten countless dates. Whereas I got chaperoned everywhere by my parents and friends, would get murdered if I even spoke about tattoos, and have only ever been on one date, and it was when I was six, because it was a playdate with a boy in my first year class and our mothers. I wouldn't even consider that a date!
I could name at least twenty girls that I know for sure have gotten with Calum, all in my classes. And they were only some! He probably used girls more then his own toothbrush! And now he's my next door neighbour? This surely won't end well.
"You're kidding, right?" I almost screeched. Luke and Morgen looked at me funny, and I wanted to slap the looks off their faces. "Don't look at me like that! This can't be possible, why would God even allow this?" I waved my arms around as I spoke, feeling as if I were about to explode. I couldn't seem to accept this information, I just wanted to run away from the bike and forget about.
So I did.
Making sure that my backpack straps were still on my shoulders, I took a deep breath before running towards the school entrance and pushing through the doors. I looked back to see Luke and Morgan worriedly running after me, but I won't stop now, I need to at least make it to my locker.
"Brooklyn, wait!" Morgen called out, but I was still running. I was running like I was in a race, in the Olympics. I commentated my moves as I ran all over school to get to my locker, which unfortunately was all the way at the back.
Brooklyn started off with a burst of speed, looking back only once at her competition, but she's not slowing down yet. Her long legs get faster as the thought of hearing that motorbike every day pops in her head, her feet burn as she doesn't stop. Her locker is now in sight, she almost feels accomplished— that is, until she looks back to see if her friends are following and crashes right into someone and they stumble to the floor. Girl down! She still won the race though!
"Sorry! I was trying to beat the bell." I dig up a small lie as I looked down to see the person I had landed on. My eyes widen when I see who it is and I quickly get off him and onto my feet. "Oh, sorry."
He lifts himself off the ground and chuckles at me. "You already said that, but it's alright. Girls usually tend to fall for me that easily." He winks at me and I feel my eyes widen. Whaat? I'm not falling for him, I've never even met him!
I let out a small cough and shrugged my backpack back up my shoulders. "Right . . . Bye!" I couldn't think of what else to say so I decided to walk over to my locker, but his voice cut me off before I could open it.
"What's your name?" I looked over at him and saw him smiling sweetly at me, as if he didn't just try to flirt with me before. I knew what he was trying to do, he'd done it with so many girls before. I wouldn't have it, not at all. Besides, it's not like he'd remember me in an hour.
I send him a fake smile, and try my best to make it look genuine. "Topanga. Topanga Laurence." I lie, using one of my favourite tv show characters. I wouldn't give him the honour of knowing my real name, and it wasn't like I'd ever talk to him again.
"I'm Michael," He said, there was a glint in his eye; one that made me feel uncomfortable. He almost looked mischievous, like he was planning something. "Will I see you at lunch?" He then asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe." I then pay attention to my locker and don't bother to look back, I already know he's gone.
I've already collected my books and pencil case and closed my locker shut by the time Morgan finally catches up to me. "Why'd you run off like that, girl? You had Luke and I worried, what's going on?" I then proceed to tell her about how Calum Hood is my new neighbour and how I'm not fond of that, I even tell her about how my mum is going to invite his family over for dinner. I think the whole situation is annoying and cliche, but Morgan says it's fate and that I'm lucky. Why would she say I'm lucky?
When she saw the look of disgust mixed with confusion in my face, she chuckled and decided to clarify herself. "Calum Hood is one of the most popular boys in this town, not to mention he's bloody hot. If I wasn't so obsessed with Luke I'd definitely be in his lane. Take advantage of this new situation! Calum is your neighbour and you keep denying it, but it actually doesn't bother you that much." She states, sounding sure of herself.
I think about it as we enter our first class and take our seats. Does Calum being my new neighbour really bother me? It's not like he's done anything to piss me off, we've never even spoken before. Why should I be so rough on the situation at hand when there's nothing to overreact about in the first place? I was acting just like my mother, she always took things too far. And I didn't want to be like that, like her. I want to be fun, lively, a good person to be around, like my father. Not a pain in the butt who takes every situation too seriously.
I finally shrug. "I guess I am overreacting a bit." I agree and she pats me on the shoulder approvingly. She looked happy. Happy because I was accepting the fact that my new neighbour is a smoking hot seventeen year old who rides a motorcycle everywhere and smokes behind the gymnasium with his mates. Who wouldn't be excited to live next to Calum Hood?
However, still as I try to focus on the teacher's lecture about handling crucial situations, the nagging feeling of nervousness and doubt boils in the pit of my stomach, and plenty what if's crowd in my head, leaving me to have a troubled time blocking out my strangled thoughts for the rest of the day.
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WOAH-HOA-HO!! Introduction to four of our main characters: Morgan, Luke, Michael and Cal-yum! Let's get this part STARTED! *play's Babylon live version*
Btw, my Meet You There Tour concert was like a month ago and I'm still suffering from PCD??? Life is so hard when you're a big fangirl. I'm— SHOOK, IN LOVE, AND SAAAD ABOUT IT!!!
Anywho!!
Did you enjoy the second official chapter of Risky Business??!?!
Let me know!
Sending my love!
@calxcx ✨