Her normally bright ginger red hair was closer to a muted brown as it clung to her face, and her lips were in a sour pout as she looked around the room for a spot to sit. A puddle of rain water was forming where she stood, and her clothes were a soaked mess. To put it simply, Aimee was a wreck.
But, then again, she always was.
Just...not usually a sopping one.
"Ew," I mumbled, causing nearly everyone else around to chuckle in agreement.
"Oh, come on, guys," Reese mildly defended. "She's not that bad."
Blankly staring at him like his words couldn't compute in my mind, I blinked a few times. "Huh, did anyone else understand him?"
Catching my drift, Naomi laughed. "Nope. That boy is speaking another language, altogether."
Furrowing his brows in disappointment, Reese turned in the direction of his ex-girlfriend and stood up.
"Uh, what are you doing?" I questioned.
"Yeah, man," Cooper spoke up. "You remember what I told you I felt around her. "
Shaking his head, the Pakistani boy turned to his friend. "Aimee is not a racist, Coop. She just doesn't like you."
"How?" Naomi questioned out loud, confused. Judging by the sudden scarlet hue to her cheeks, I'd say she meant to keep that inside, but Cooper seemed to like her words, judging by his grin.
"Hey, Aimee!" Reese yelled, waving to get her attention and causing us all to groan collectively.
"Dude!" I protested, along with the others. Oli was all out begging him to stop. It would have been a comical sight, if I wasn't feeling like doing the same thing.
"Reese, please don't do this," he pleaded on his knees, struggling to stay balanced on the hard bleachers. "I like this spot and I don't want to have to move just to get away from her."
Ignoring us completely, Reese waved over the dripping girl, and she wasted no time walking over to us. Each step she took our way caused my mood to drop and I was certain I would have been in a deep dark depression if she hadn't slipped on her way up the bleachers.
The whole group burst into laughter, and we weren't the only ones. I could have sworn I even saw the officer manning the doors smirk in amusement.
"Shut up!" Aimee barked, her face clearly heating in embarrassment. I could see the blush on her pale skin even through the runny makeup.
"Pssst, do you guys see the she-beast, too, or?" Oli asked, making sure she heard.
Glaring at him, Aimee forced her way directly between Reese and I, muttering an ingenuine "Excuse me," as she took a seat. Rolling my eyes, I scooted over and wiped off some of the water that landed on my legs before it seeped into my leggings.
"Aimee," Matty spoke up after a few moments of tense silence.
It was clear none of us were too excited that she was here. Even Reese didn't seem too thrilled, although he also wasn't upset. Odds were, he was just being nice to the girl and probably still cared for her in some ways, but it came at the expense of our happiness.
"What?" she replied irritably.
Not acknowledging her rudeness, he pointed out, "I didn't see you with a bag. Did you not pack anything?"
With a frown she huffed," No. I wasn't planning on being trapped in here with you people."
"Woah, you people. What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Cooper jumped in with a brow raised when her eyes flitted over towards him.
Waving him off, she rolled her eyes. "Relax, MLK. I didn't mean it like that."
"Then, what did you mean by it?" Naomi asked, her tone soft and civil.
"Nothing. I just had better plans than this."
"Okay, then why are you here?" Pushing her glasses further up her small nose bridge, Naomi continued to press.
"Don't worry about it."
And that is how the entire mood was ruined. I hadn't even thought Sean noticed, considering how focused he looked as he typed away on his laptop, until he made a comment. "Well, you guys look like you're having fun."
"Says the boy whose best friend's his Albert Einstein bookmark," Reese teased, causing his nerdy friend to chuckle, wagging his finger like it was a good joke.
"It's better than it being my right hand, Reese," he retorted, causing Matty and Cooper to howl in laughter.
Surprisingly enough, Sean managed to liven things up again, and soon we were back to our usual banter. Eventually, though, I felt my mind wander back to my dad and I needed a break from all the joking around.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," I announced, moreso to Naomi than anyone else.
"Okay? Ever heard of T.M.I?" Aimee responded with her face scrunched up in disgust. Really? Was that necessary?
Rolling my eyes, I hopped down the bleachers and headed out the gym, nodding at the officer standing by it as I went.
"Remember to be back by eight," he reminded me as I passed.
As soon as I got to the bathroom, I rinsed my face and closed my eyes, just listening to the heavy downpour happening outside. Tapping my fingers against the sides of the sink I leaned on, I mumbled, "I didn't stay for you not to be here, Dad. Get your old butt back to safety, 'kay?"
I knew it was a pointless act, but it gave me some peace. Although, that was short lived when a loud roar of thunder rumbled and I remember just how dangerous this hurricane was predicted to be. I was beginning to wonder what could have possibly warranted the police being needed at a time like this? Was it prime time for every thief and robber to strike? 'Cause, if so, I hoped the storm washed them away, along with all their selfish stupidity.
After what couldn't have been more than five minutes, I stepped back into the hall and nearly jumped out of my skin when someone was waiting right outside the door. His hands were in his sweatpants pockets and his eyes were on me as he leaned against the grey lockers directly across from the bathroom door.
"Jesus, Matty, what the hell are you doing here?" I questioned, placing my hand on my chest to calm my heart.
"I wanted to talk to you," he said plainly.
Raising a suspicious brow at him, I crossed my arms. "Why? We don't talk. We argue."
"We don't always have to," he countered with the hint of a smile.
Weirdo.
"Uh, yes we do."
"No, we don't."
"Yeah, we kinda do."
"No, we kinda don't."
"You realize we're literally arguing right now, right?" I said with a smug grin.
Sighing, he brushed his brown hair away from his face and conceeded, "I see your point."
"Face it, Ellington," I mused, walking closer to him. "This is how we'll always be."
Patting his chest in a patronizing way, I started to leave, not expecting him to pull me back. His hand fit around the entirety of my wrist easily, and before I knew it, I was staring back at his determined face.
"Can I show you something?" he asked, holding my stare. When I didn't respond right away he added, "Please?"
Considering I had nothing else to do, and I didn't actually want to go back in the gym and force myself to joke around, like everyone always expected me to, I nodded my head reluctantly. "Okay, fine. But, I swear to God, Matty, if you try anything, I'll-"
"Yeah, yeah, you'll beat my 'lady pleaser' to a pulp, and not in a good way. I know," he cut in, making me cringe at the words he just spoke.
Faking a gag, I wheezed, "One, I can't believe you call your dick that. And two, such a misleading name is worse than catfishing. You should pick a more honest one, like 'barely there' or something."
Instead of having a witty response, Matty just laughed. Like, a real laugh. The type that comes from your gut and makes your eyes close and crinkle in the corners. I was so surprised he didn't say anything back, I didn't even realize he was dragging me down some hallway, leading us further into the school, his chuckles still loud enough to echo off the walls.
Taking my hand out of his, I questioned, "So, that's it? No comeback to defend your reputation?"
With a small smirk, he looked over his shoulder at me and shrugged. "No need to. Soon, you'll be defending it for me."
What the hell?
"Ew, okay, never insinuate something like that, again," I said, earning another laugh from him. "Where are you taking me, anyway? I haven't been down these halls since sophmore year."
"You'll see. We're almost there."
Looking at the different classrooms we passed, I couldn't help but chuckle as I thought back to some of the pranks I pulled over the years—my favorites being the ones that got Matty in trouble. God, there were so many of them, too.
"Hey, remember that time in Mrs. Hayfer's class when she caught you reading erotica and prayed for you in front of everyone?" I snorted in amusement, remembering the memory clearly.
"Yes," he groaned. "Even though I wasn't! She didn't even believe me when I told her I hadn't read a single word of it!"
"That's because it looked like you were," I reminded him.
That day, Matty had fallen asleep during class with part of his forehead resting on the edge of his desk and the rest hanging off so it looked like he was staring at his lap. Me, being the evil genius I was, planted my own copy of 50 Shades Darker on him with it opened to the middle of the book, and when Mrs. Hayfer saw him, she nearly had a heart attack. I swear, that lady was meant to be a nun, not our science teacher.
"It's a shame that got her fired."
"Oh yeah!" I gasped, surprised I forgot about that. "All because she prayed. That's pretty messed up when you think about it."
"Yeah," he agreed.
Holding a hand up to stop me from walking passed him, Matty opened a door I recognized to be the teacher's lounge. Walking inside, he motioned for me to follow and I did, wondering why I'd never been in there before. It's not like I was known to follow the rules. Plus, besides the snack bar in the corner that had definitely caught my eye, I noticed a dark brown leather recliner across from a matching couch in the center of the space and it looked like heaven to me after all those hours on the bleachers. I definitely planned to sneak in here again during the school year.
"Here," Matty called out just as I'd taken a seat. When I looked in his direction, he didn't hesitate to toss me something. I almost didn't catch it, but as I turned it over in my hand, I grinned.
"Peanut M&Ms," I mumbled, puzzled on how, out of all the different candies and sweets, Matty managed to pick my favorite out for me. "How'd you know?"
Scoffing, he shook his head, "Come on, Bryce. I've known you for years. Of course I know what your favorite candy is."
Furrowing my brows in confusion, I stared at him, surprised to say I felt a little ashamed as I admitted, "But, I don't know yours."
Holding up a Nestlē Crunch bar, he wiggled it around in his hand and smirked. "Well, now you do."
Thoughts on this chapter?
Did any particular moment make you laugh?
Would you label this as a humor book? Just wondering because that's what genre I have it listed under. I personally call it a 'killer comedy-thriller' 😉 but Wattpad doesn't have a genre with that lable ☹😂.