I spent my morning sleeping in. Some annoying curse decided to make me late for school, so I managed to leave the house at nine instead of the usual 7:20 schedule. I took my time at least, letting my aunt know I slept in with a text before getting ready.
With school done, all I had to do was get dressed and shower. My hair was still wavy from being curled last night, which settled itself into a sweet look as I put on some black jeans, a slightly cropped black shirt and green flannel that was rolled up to my elbows. I put on some doc martins and I was out the door.
I got to school right before third period started, stopping by the office and then my locker as the bell rang. I grabbed my things, switching out for whatever I needed for the rest of the day and moving to my next class when I caught sight of Kevin. He looked a lot less pleasant than usual, or at least... less than last night, his furious gaze only worsening as he caught sight of me.
He seemed to be storming my way, and I let out a sigh, realizing I didn't really want to feal with this as I ducked into my next class. I didn't have the time, nor the effort to put up with him right now. Whatever bullshit he was mad about, I would definitely be getting a front seat view to his rant session later, and the idea made me chuckle.
I gave my pass to the teacher, just so she would understand why I had been marked absent, and headed for my seat in the second row. I wasn't a goody two shoes, as we could clearly tell, but I wasn't the over-the-top badass either. That was left for guys like Kevin, who thought being intense assholes was a personality.
To be fair, it was, just not a good one.
I was surrounded by normal kids, like me, each with their own friendships in the class. I hadn't genuinely spoken to anyone, other than a thank you for passing a paper or quick "Morning". No one seemed to mind that I had been new, just treating me as any other kid. It was great, I enjoyed it, though I did wish I could talk to someone that wasn't a possessive boy.
I guess today was my lucky chance, as a girl with dark raven hair turned to me while the class began with it's usual conversation,
"You look like you're glowing, don't tell me you got any actual sleep last night?" I couldn't help but laugh, turning to her with a raised brow, "We all know Sunday's are for finishing the homework we refused to do over the weekend. And you, my friend, seem pretty happy for a Monday morning." I tried not to smile too much, simply grinning at her as I replied,
"I slept in, which is an amazing way to start the day, don't you think?" She chuckled, holding out her hand and introducing herself,
"Hi, I'm Olive, and you must be..." She held her chin jokingly and looked away, as if she was thinking about it, "Dove, the girl who suddenly appeared on Tuesday, and loves to wear black." Her green eyes went to my outfit, and I couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
She wasn't wrong, but I had an excuse.
"Hey, don't attack me, it looks nice," I took her hand, shaking it briefly before pulling away, "And yeah, I moved here a couple of weeks ago." She nodded, glancing at the teacher who still seemed too focused on her computer to address the class.
"I think she's taking a silent attendance, to be honest." She whispered quickly, leaning over as she spoke before pulling back and raising a brow at me, "You're also the girl who's with that Kevin guy a lot. How's that going?"
I sighed softly, holding back the urge to roll my eyes. Yes, of course, my name was already being associated with his. Though I had to admit, I didn't quite ask Kevin if he had any other friends—and if he did, I clearly wasn't being introduced to them.
The thought didn't particularly annoy me, but considering he was pushing the girlfriend agenda quite a bit, I was shocked he hadn't introduced me.
Olive must've caught the less than comfortable look that suddenly appeared onto my face,
"Not too great. Is he the bitching type?" I had to stifle a loud, rather annoying laugh, shaking my head as I smiled,
"No, we're fine. And he's not the type to bitch... actually wait, he is," She laughed at that, our smiles mirroring each other as I continued, "but it's not unbearable. I just hate being known by a guy I'm with instead of, I don't know, being me."
"Well, when you're seen almost cussing him out in the hallway, and then he starts following you like a lovesick puppy, people are bound to notice." She shrugged, running her fingers through the ends of her curls, "But I won't hold you accountable for that, we can have a clean slate. For all I know, you're just pleasantly soft spoken in Spanish, but smart enough to be in Honors."
I chuckled softly, leaning back and looking at the board. The teacher was finally standing up, writing something on the board. Olive and I exchanged one last joking look before deciding to pay attention as the rest of the class lulled in conversation.
Finally, a normal friendship.
-
Lunch came faster than expected after fourth period ended, and as I headed for my locker I found someone waiting there for me. Kevin had that annoyed look on his face, and I let out a sigh. Now, I guess I'd have to put with this. I reached for my lock, our eyes meeting as I raised a brow,
"Hey Robin Hood, what's up?" I hadn't even opened my locker when he deadpanned in that hostile way of his,
"Where were you?" I held back the urge to scoff, closing my eyes and thinking. I could either feign innocence to piss him off, or get annoyed at him for asking. I figured, just to mess with him, innocence worked best.
I didn't have to tell him, anyway.
"What are you talking about?" I asked softly, opening my locker and my bag. The halls were slowly getting quieter as people filed out, and we were soon to be alone,
"You weren't here this morning, I was looking for you."
"That's creepy of you, don't you think?" I chimed in jokingly, a small grin on my face as I watched him huff slightly. Maybe he was adopting my habits as well, like caring.
"Stop it, Cooper , just tell me where you were. You headed out with that prick, didn't you?" He questioned, a tone in his voice that seemed like he didn't even fully believe what he was saying. He was just throwing out the worst scenarios he could think of, hoping they were far worse than the truth.
Still, it was fun to play into.
"What prick? The only one I hang out with is you, and I don't think you were the one I was with this morning, were you?" I glanced at the hall, realizing we were alone now. I put the books into my bag and closed the locker. Kevin was pissed, and I could see that sneer coming onto his face,
"You think you're so funny, don't you, Cooper?" I smirked softly, looking up at him and leaning on my locker as I pulled my bag over my shoulder. I finally got a good look of him, and something seemed rather off.
He wasn't his usual self, and I didn't know if it was from lack of that bored expression, or how he looked a bit disheveled. Not any less than usual, but I could see the tiredness in his posture, it made me wonder what was going on. Still, I kept up the charade, knowing better than to annoy him about something so small,
"Yeah, I think I do. Now tell me why you care so much about where I was." Those words tripped him up, and his wicked smile faded, turning into a mix of confusion and curiosity as he himself tried to explain the question.
I had to hold back a laugh.
Kevin had a crush on me, and he didn't even know how to deal with it,
"Aww, you like me." I teased softly, earning a small glare from him as I continued, "You like me, and just like the hormone-driven dick you are, you think demanding to know where I am will fix it. You do realize I'm a human being, right?"
He sighed, shaking his head and rubbing his temple. He looked at me, a small unsatisfied look as he finally gave in,
"Alright, sorry, that was a bit... much. I just, figured that after yesterday, maybe you would want revenge." I raised a brow, crossing my arms,
"Revenge? How?" He clenched his jaw, looking down at me in silence. Finally, he spoke, like it was practically impossible to sua the words,
"I don't know... going out with someone, avoiding me... I know you're stubborn so I just thought.." I couldn't help but burst into laughter, realizing what was going on. Was Kevin... insecure? It was a sight to behold, to even imagine.
"Stop laughing. I can't believe I'm even trying to explain myself to you." He stated bluntly, slamming his fist against the locker and turning to walk away. He managed a few steps before I caught up to him, following behind,
"That's not why I'm laughing." I chuckled out, grabbing his arm and stopping him from going any further, "You like me, and you're not used to it, you idiot. You're really bad at showing it." He huffed softly, running a hand through his hair and stopping as he looked at me,
"Wow, you really know how to make a guy happy." I rolled my eyes, realizing how warm he was as I held his arm.
"No, what I mean is, you're bad at caring about people. Obviously. Also hey," I raised my hand up, touching his forehead and realizing that for once, I was the cold one, "You're burning. You should go to the nurse."
He rolled his eyes, leaning back from me and raising a brow,
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"You have a fever, idiot. Go to the nurse and see if you can go home." I rolled my eyes, looking at a confused, and rather annoyed Kevin as I began pulling him towards the direction of the nurses office,
"But I feel fine." He stated carefully, staying entirely in place as I scoffed,
"Shut up, some symptoms take awhile to show up. Just go to make sure, you don't want it infect anyone else." He looked at me unsurely, before sighing and deciding to walk. I stopped trying to pull him along, simply leading the way as we walked through the halls,
"Maybe your Aunt poisoned me." He said quietly, a small chuckle leaving him. I rolled my eyes, looking at him as we neared the office,
"Or you're allergic to love, whichever it was." He looked at me in more confusion, probably wondering where I even thought to mention the word. Still, I turned my attention to the door, opening it and dragging him inside, "God, you're like a child." I mumbled, before giving the lady at the desk a quick smile. Then we went into the nurses office, knocking on the door softly incase she was busy.
She wasn't, instead waving for us to come in. I opened the door and practically shoved a silent Kevin in,
"Hey, it's currently our lunch period so you don't have to write a pass but, he's burning up. Can you check if he has a fever?" I explained, not realizing how insane the words sounded coming from my mouth. The nurse gave me a severely confused look, looking at both me and Kevin carefully,
"Why... can't he ask for this himself?" Kevin's eyes went to her, giving a look that said, 'I know, right?' before sighing. Still, I was left to answer as I suddenly stepped back,
"Uh, yeah, you're right. I'm sorry." She nodded, looking at me with a small smirk and then turning the to Kevin,
"Do you actually have a fever?" She stated plainly, taking out a thermometer and looking up at him, "Or is your girlfriend just being a little dramatic." Kevin chuckled softly, making me realize that she was entirely right, and he let her place it in his ear as he replied,
"I feel fine, just a little dizzy, but my medication does that to me sometimes." She raised a brow, hearing the beep and pulling it away as she moved to examine it,
"And what medication do you, wow... your girlfriend wasn't wrong. 104, that's enough to send you home." I couldn't help but smirk, looking over him smugly as he glanced at me,
"See? I was right." I stated jokingly, the nurse looked at me and shook her head, a mix between annoyance and amusement on her face,
"I hate to say this, but your mini-me was right, fevers may hint that you're contagious. What's your full name, and your parents number so we can get you home?" Kevin sighed softly, turning to her and giving her the number and the information. She dialed it, staying silent for a second before someone picked up and she began to talk to whichever one of his parents was on the line,
Kevin turned to me, raising a brow as he crossed his arms,
"So, are you trying to be my fill-in mother or what?" I rolled my eyes, huffing slightly as I glanced at the floor,
"I'm not, it's just... I don't know, I figured..." I didn't have the effort to argue, instead just settling for a quick jab at him to change the subject, "It just seemed really unlike you to care about where I was."
He rolled his eyes, his face turning into a slight frown.
"What did you expect? You don't even text me. I'm allowed to be a little bit worried." I scoffed, sighing and holding out my hand,
"Then give me your phone, idiot." He eyed me carefully, before pulling it from his pocket and unlocking it. He slowly handed the phone to me, beginning to realize what was going on. I went to his contacts, not bothering to glance at any other apps.
I created a new contact, put in my number, and then put in my name. I clicked save, and gave it back to him, watching his expression shift into a small smirk. He turned off his phone, placing it in his back pocket as he crossed his arms,
"I thought you didn't give out your phone number to just anybody," I resisted the urge to hit him, instead touching his forearm sweetly, pursing my lips as I batted my eyelashes up at him. He leaned closer, and I stepped back, a cheeky grin finding its way into my expression,
"You're sick, and my friend. Might as well do it to keep you from freaking out." He winced, clearly taking some sort of offense to the 'friend' comment. He raised his hand to his chest in mock pain, and when he opened his mouth to speak, he was quickly interrupted by our lovely nurse,
"Kevin, you'll remain here until your mom shows up." He rolled his eyes, a sour look on his face before he turned to her, the expression changing entirely into a calm one, "And you, young lady. Stop worrying about your boyfriend and get to class, the bell's about to ring."
I blushed softly, nodding and smiling at her politely as I leaned against the doorway,
"Thank you for putting up with us, Miss. Have a nice day." I practically sang out, my words as smooth as they could as I turned to head out, "And good luck on the recovery, Khatchadourian." I added, earning a smirk from him before I headed out the office, hearing the bell ring. Now, all I had to do was get to class.
-
Kevin's POV
I watched as she walked out, my eyes following her until she was gone. I dropping my bag onto the ground, sighing and slumping into a chair. I felt terrible, and I couldn't keep up the shit act for any longer.
The Nurse must've noticed this, a smirk on her lips as she looked at me,
"She seems like a handful." I chuckled with her, nodding and rubbing my temple,
"Yeah, I guess you could say that." I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the pounding headache. Whatever I had caught, I needed to get rid of it soon. Staying home with Eva wasn't going to be any more bearable than it was when I was a kid.
Still, for the time being, this Nurse wanted to continue the conversation,
"She cares a lot about you, you know." I glanced up at her, trying to see if she was being even slightly disingenuous. She was looking at me with such sincerity, I decided to keep listening—I didn't really have anything better to do, "Girls don't just drag their boys into the nurse for a fever. She could tell you were off, you shouldn't try to be so tough around her."
This time I chuckled, actually humored by the comment. This woman has no idea how wrong she was.
No one could blame her false observation, obviously, but I wasn't the one acting. Not more than usual, per say. In the past couple of days I had been more honest with Dove than I'd ever been with my own family. It was usually only Eva who saw how terrible I was, and she was scared of me for it.
Meanwhile Dove, she was something... peculiar. She sees all the warning signs that Eva does, and she doesn't seem to care. That's the key word, seem. I was certain there was something about Cooper that explained why she was always acting like it didn't bother her.
Something that turned her into more than just a fuck. She wasn't entirely wrong, on Friday night. I wanted to know every bit of her, and she wouldn't give it to me because she thought I'd leave right after.
Of course, she's not an idiot. She knows what being a hormonal teen feels like, and she thinks that all it that was. It wasn't. I knew exactly what I was saying to her, I knew what I meant behind my words, and I knew it wasn't gonna be easy to deal with her.
But she already cared, clearly. And she was an amazing actress. She took my breath away faster than I'd care to admit. The way her lies tasted like sweet candy, flowing out of her lips as she sharpened her tongue. Or her eyes, how they told so many stories all at once and wrapped you in deeper with every glance. The way her kisses felt, even the ones meant to cause nothing more than harm.
She was endlessly addicting, I refused to let it go. As infuriating as it could be, there were moments where she had me entirely in her grips, and I felt ready to give her anything and everything she would ask for. It was the only sense of exhilaration I felt anymore, to be teetering over the edge with her.
Control was something I had, and sometimes she manages to swipe it from my hands, acting like it was a plaything of hers. She didn't realize how quickly she could have me in her grips, and it made her dangerous.
But these elaborate, sweet, and harrowing tricks were all she had to protect herself. Cooper was nowhere near as strong as she showed herself to be, but she was getting there.
The longer we played this game, the better she would become. And, in part, the more I'd see parts myself in her.
I could be psycho, but she could be worse. It just mattered how far I'd push her.
-
I know, oh shit, ITS KEVINS POV.
I made sure not to reveal too much, because the whole attractions of Kevin is that we don't really know what's going on in his head, so I figured I'd just give a sum up of their relationship so far.
There's a lot more to his thought-process, but I guess we'll learn through Dove's Perspective instead of his lol.
Just wanted you guys to catch the 'She could tell you were off", to hint a bit more at Dove's character and how her and Kevin fit so particularly well.
Thank you for reading! What do you think of the POV? Should I do it more, less? Lemme know for future reference if I decide to do it again.
- j.j