~Luke's POV~
I was stunned for days after what that girl had said to me. Because I had the tendency to be a little blunt, if that was the right word for it, it wasn't uncommon for girls to blow up on me when I said something wrong. However, I'd never had one do it like that. I was more used to them bursting into tears and crying at me, but she had been just pure anger. I could still see the fire in her eyes.
It wasn't until I'd taken a good look at her that I realized I recognized her. I sat next to her in class and, as I'd learned that day, she lived across the street from me. How I hadn't known that she lived across from me before then, I honestly don't know. If I was remembering correctly, her name was Elsa.
To be honest, I still wasn't quite sure if I was angry at her or if I just had respect for her, but I was pretty sure it was a little of both. I wasn't expecting her to get so angry at me, to call me an asshole, and then to indirectly say I'd be alone for the rest of my life. She looked like an innocent little kitten. She was deadly gorgeous and, I admit, that's sort of why I just assumed I'd slept with her. However, it made sense that I hadn't because there's no way I'd have forgotten sleeping with someone who looked like that.
"Luke!" I heard Calum exclaim, causing me to snap out of my thoughts and lift my head, startled. "Huh, what?" I asked, unaware of what was even going on. "The hell are you thinking about so hard?" Michael snorted, picking up a laser tag gun after he had gotten all strapped up like the rest of us. "Nothing." I sighed, but then I caved in. For some reason, I'd been dying to talk about her to somebody. "It's just that...my neighbor came to my house the other day and was a giant bitch to me. She said I was a douche and an asshole!" I scowled, crossing my arms over my chest.
The three of them stared at me. "Well, what'd you say to her?" Ashton asked, cocking a brow up at me in wonder. I paused. "I may have assumed I'd slept with her. I...wasn't very nice." I admitted.
All of them rolled their eyes. "Sorry to say, bud, but it sounds like you got what you deserved." Calum snickered, grabbing his laser tag gun as well. I rolled my eyes. "Wait, your neighbor? You're talking about the hot one?" Michael asked, raising his brows. "You must've pissed her off. She seemed perfectly nice when I met her." He shugged.
My eyes snapped over to him. "What? How do you know her?" I asked, frowning. At my question, he froze, seeming to contemplate an internal dilemma. Eventually, he just shrugged. "No particular way. Just...seen her around." He said vaguely, causing me to raise a brow. Mikey was a shit liar, so I could tell he wasn't being honest, but I didn't really care too much, so I didn't press on it. I just rolled my eyes and grabbed my own laser tag gun, hearing the door open up as a few more guys entered, since we were doing guys against girls for teams.
When all of us were ready, we were released to go into the dark room, the nine of us splitting up into different directions instead of sticking together. It seemed, though, that that proved to not be too great of a tactic because we already had four people out and there was only one girl out, according to the scoreboard up on the walls.
Feeling determined to win, I carelessly began to shoot every girl I ran by, not even really sparing them a glance until there were only two girls left to take out before we'd win. Not only that, but there were also only two guys. Me and someone else, though I doubted it was Ashton, Michael, or Calum, if I'm honest. While I was searching for one of the two girls left, I saw the number of girls on the scoreboard go from two to one, telling me that the other girl had been got.
Because of how dark it was in the room, I could hardly see anything, so instead I used my ears to try to determine if there were any people nearby. Right when I thought there was nothing, I heard the sound of a soft voice talking, from down the short hall in front of me. I stalked down the hallway, wondering if she was talking to the other guy. When I reached the area, I peaked around the corner, surprised to see that Jaxon was the other guy. However, I was even more shocked when my gaze reached the girl.
It was Elsa, standing back against the wall with her laser gun pointed at Jaxon.
She had this big grin on her face and I couldn't help but to wonder if they were dating. If so, I hoped she hadn't mentioned our little run in to him because he'd kick my ass. While I had him beat on height, Jaxon most definitely had me beat on muscle. He was built like a goddamn bulldozer.
"Can't you just shoot me?" He complained at her, but she just let out a laugh. "What's the fun in that?" She teased back, still grinning widely. "Well, you'd win and I wouldn't have to deal with you messing with me anymore." He answered flatly, seeming to forget that there was one other guy left besides him, that guy being me. She let out another laugh, this one more like a giggle than anything. "Aren't you going to come out, Luke?" She asked suddenly, the use of my name causing me to blink in surprise.
Taken aback, I just stood right up from the plant I was hidden behind, giving her a dumbfounded look. "You walk very loud." She tsked at me, shaking her head as she pointed the laser gun at Jaxon and simply shot him, making him out.
"Damn it, El!" He complained, slouching against the wall. She just chuckled and pointed her gun at me, while I just stood there like a moron and stared at her. "What are you doing here?" I asked, the disdain clear in my voice. Apparently, I most definitely was angry at her for what she had said to me those few days ago, even if I did deserve it. I wasn't used to girls talking to me like that. "Playing laser tag. What about you? Run out of girls at school, so you've come here?" She asked back, raising a taunting brow at me.
Her black hair slid around as she cocked her head at me, a little smile on her full lips. "No." I mumbled, frowning. "If I'd run out of girls there, I'd have fucked you already." I stated, a little smirk nudging up at my lips. "And I haven't yet." I said.
My words caused her to gape at me, eyes surprised and cheeks red with embarrassment. "Yet?!" She squealed, gripping tighter at her laser gun. "Yet." I confirmed, able to feel the amusement that probably shown on my face like a light. "But you could always make it sooner rather than later." I suggested, only messing with her. I didn't have plans to bed her. She seemed like she was a bit of a tightly wound shrew and I didn't need to, nor want to, get involved with a girl like her. She'd probably become clingy like all those other girls.
"You're despicable." She scowled, right before she lowered the gun to the target on my chest and shot it.
A loud buzzer went off above and she glared at me as she grabbed Jaxon by the hand, angrily stomping off and out of the room. I hurried after the two of them, still wanting to screw around with her. "What's the matter?" I teased, walking up beside her as she tried to out-walk me. "You seem a little cranky. I think I know a way to lighten your mood a bit." I said suggestively, causing her to cringe into Jaxon's side as they walked out the door with me behind them.
"Don't you have some friends to go bother?" She sighed, right as Michael, Ashton, and Calum walked up to us. Her eyes landed on Michael and I saw the surprise in her gaze. "Michael." She said, giving him a friendly smile. He seemed just as surprised. "Elysia." He greeted back, confusing me greatly. "Elysia?" I repeated, frowning in confusion. "I thought your name was Elsa." I said, looking down at her. She blinked and tilted her head up more to look at me, a frown on her face.
"You thought my name was Elsa?" She repeated slowly, as if she thought I were stupid. "Yes. You even look like a bitch like her." I said, causing her to glare at me. I couldn't help but to grin, finding it oddly attractive the way she glared at me like that. "You're mean. This is why I called you a butthole, if you were ever wondering." She snapped, trying to walk away from me, but I wouldn't let her. I just followed beside her. "Butthole? I believe the right word is asshole. You called me an asshole." I corrected, hearing a bunch of people following us, both her friends and mine.
"Well, I guess that's your fault for being one, isn't it?" She huffed, walking into the food court. I couldn't help but to frown a little and roll my eyes. "You know, it's not my fault. Two good-looking people like you and I are supposed to sleep together. It's not my fault that I thought we had." I said, shrugging. She glared at me. "You're pushing your luck here, Luke. Go away. It's no wonder I didn't like you." She snapped.
Even though I knew I probably deserved that too, I couldn't help but to feel a little hurt by that. She didn't like me? As in, before she'd even met me?
I slowed down until she was walking with her friends again and I was walking with mine, frowning to myself. Did she really think so little of me that she'd not liked me before she even knew me?
"When are we going to leave?" I asked Michael gruffly, suddenly not wanting to be here anymore. I didn't want to be around judgmental bitches like Elysia. Unfortunately, fate didn't seem to be on my side because Michael just shrugged. "Actually, we're going to have lunch with Elysia and her friends. I already asked Jaxon if that was okay." He said, causing me to sigh deeply in contempt. That meant I was stuck here with her.
"Great." I said flatly, sitting down at the table that her magenta haired friend was sat at, who was scrolling through her phone. I didn't speak to any of them, an angry furrow in my brows as Elysia came and sat at the table I was at, on the other side at the other end. Before I had known that she had judged me before she and I had even met, I really hadn't been too angry at her. It was just minimal, something that I could've easily gotten over. In fact, I already had been, for the most part. However, now that had changed.
Now that I knew Elysia was judgmental and hated me based off of things she knew nothing about, I didn't like her. I didn't want to be friends with someone who acted like that, who judged people like that. She didn't like me because I was mean to girls after I slept with them and she didn't know that that was the only way to keep them from trying to get more involved with me. I wasn't mean to all the girls I slept with, really. I did have more respect for girls than that. That was why I made clear that it wasn't anything special to me besides sex when I slept with a girl.
However, some girls didn't understand that. They either didn't believe me or they didn't care or they were straight up delusional and believed that it was the opposite of what it was. The only way to make them not want to be around me anymore was for me to be a giant dick to them. I'd tried letting girls down easy and it didn't work. They just came right back, so I'd stopped doing that.
I didn't enjoy hurting their feelings, but it was better than stringing them along and making them like me more before I completely crushed them altogether. I wouldn't give them a false hope. Knowing that Elysia had judged me for something that she knew nothing of made it hard for me to like her now. I didn't want to know someone who was able to judge someone so carelessly, so thoughtlessly.
For the rest of the time that we spent having lunch with them, I just sat slouched against the table, keeping completely silent.