Chapter Three : Death by Spearmint-I'd Revolutionize the World of Crime
Now I can honestly say that I'm not the lightest of sleepers in fact a crane could scoop out the roof of my house and I'd sleep through it because that's just how I am and how the rest of my family is. We all cherish sleep a lot more than regular people and my brother took his love for it the extra mile since all he ever does is sleep, well get hopelessly drunk and then sleep.
Now this heredity love of sleep would explain the amount of hatred I would harbor for any person who wakes me up before I absolutely have to. Anyone and everyone who knows me well enough (which is sadly restricted to my family and my two best friends) knows better than to mess with my sleep. You can bully me all you want, you can call me all the names in the world and you can also so cruelly snatch the love of my life away from me but you just cannot wake me up when I don't want to woken up.
Sadly one person didn't get the memo which might probably be the reason I wake up the next morning sneezing like a nerdy kid with pollen allergies during springtime.
Wait I am the nerdy kid with the pollen allergies...
However the reason I was on the verge of sneezing my insides out wasn't because sunflowers had magically bloomed inside my room during the course of the night. No, the real reason was that the reincarnation of Hannibal Lecter better know as Cole Stone had stuck a feather up my nose and was tickling me with it.
A feather!
By the time I'd finished wiping the snot from my nose he doubled over laughing manically. I growled and threw my pillow cushion at him but seeing how it was covered in fluff it was hardly going to do any damage.
"You imbecile!" I had lunged for him as he managed to pick himself up just in time because I missed him and landed rather ungracefully on the hardwood floor of my room. Suffice to say my morning had been ruined just so that Cole Stone could amuse himself.
Now we're sat somewhat awkwardly at the breakfast table and my parents are pretending to be so completely unlike themselves that their little display is starting to make my head hurt. My mom passes my dad his coffee and he graciously accepts it offering her a kiss on the cheek in return. They laugh as they talk to each other and hold hands at the table as they reminisce about the good times. I want to gag but I cannot possibly ruin their Oscar worthy performance now can I?
All of this is done for the benefit of the person sitting next to me who is currently devouring the plate of scrambled eggs and French toast which my mother had so lovingly prepared for him.
She never cooks, like ever.
I knew she was a terrific cook from experience but somewhere down the line she stopped being the mom whom I would find in the kitchen baking her to die for lemon meringue pie for my brother and I, she used to make dinner every night and it would always be something exotic and absolutely delicious since she loved trying out new things but it had been a really long time since she cooked for us and I blamed it on all the anti-depressants she'd started taking.
I couldn't help but feel jealous as I realized that mom could cook for Cole and not me. It was stupid really but it did hurt knowing that I wasn't important enough for her. All my resentment now seemed to be directed towards Cole who seems to be oblivious to all the tension surrounding him and is ploughing throw his food like a tractor on crack.
"So Cole what are your plans for college?"
My dad never asks me about my plans, he doesn't even know what classes I'm taking for senior year or that I'm a straight A student. I sigh internally and try not to drown in self pity. It makes sense that they're sucking up to him he is after all the Sheriff's son and the Sheriff is a very important man in the world of small town politics.
Cole stops chugging down his food and disarms my parents with a charming smile, "I haven't actually planned anything. I might not even go to college this year you know, go backpacking through Europe and stuff."
I snort in disbelief," Backpacking through Europe, only people who're about to repeat their senior year use that excuse."
My father gives me an admonishing look and I realize he's warning me to back off. I pout like a stubborn child crossing my arms over my chest and match his stare. I've told him before that I will not under any circumstances suck up to Cole Stone. There's nothing on the planet that could make me be nice to the one guy who's taken it upon himself to make every waking hour of my life difficult. If he thinks I'm going to become his best buddy then he is obviously delusional!
"Tess sweetie about that car you wanted for your birthday..." He trails of on purpose no doubt but his words have the desired effect. I freeze, my fork stopping halfway in the air as my father smirks at me from across the table.
Oh he did not just go there.
All year long I'd been saving up for the most beautiful Range Rover Sport however in the end my savings had been somewhat meager and my father stepped in to stop me from sinking into depression. He promised me that I could have the car for my birthday since money wasn't an issue and I'd been floating on cloud nine dreaming of me and my car cruising down the highway with the wind blowing in my car and Maroon 5 blasting from the radio...
However as soon as the words left his mouth the image shattered into thousands of bite sized pieces because I knew where this was going.
"What about my car?" I ask carefully as his smirk widens.
"I was thinking maybe we'd get it next year. You can have Travis's old one this year since you're still a little shaky with parking."
Oh no he didnt! I could park better than he could and he admitted it to my face. I knew what he's doing, he's blackmailing me into being Cole's lapdog and threatening me with the one thing he knows I could never live without. I just really needed that car, nothing is more embarrassing than being a senior whose father drives them to school and then picks them up at the end of the day too.
I gulp as I realize the predicament I'm in and the only option I have left is to surrender my pride and take this punishment with a pinch of salt. One day I would get back at him for this.
"Don't worry Daddy; I'll work on my parking." I smile until my cheeks ache but the message has been delivered. When decoded my words meant this, 'You win Father I will treat Cole like he's the Pope from now on and worship the ground he walks on."
"Wonderful dear." He replies cheerfully and turns back to his breakfast.
"Slow down!" I shout as I clutch my seat belt so tightly that my knuckles turn white.
"What's the fun in that Tessie?" Cole grins wickedly and I squeeze my eyes shut as he takes a nasty turn around a bend in the road the tires screeching in protest.
"You're father's the sheriff he'll kill you if he finds you speeding." I try to reason with him without opening my eyes. I'd rather not see my life flashing before my eyes just yet. I'd known that getting into a car with Cole equaled sauntering over to the Grim Reaper and handing over your life on silver platter but stupidly enough I'd thought that he wouldn't kill me when he was in the same car as me. I however had been proven wrong, not only is he a sadist, a lying evil manipulator, a scheming arrogant jerk who thinks way too highly of himself but he's also suicidal.
"You really need to learn to live shortcake. This is what we normal humans refer to as a good time, the mother ship left you here accept that and at least try to fit in."
"You call possibly crashing into a tree and bleeding out on the road and die waiting for an ambulance to show up having a good time?" I screech opening my eyes and glaring at him. He shakes his head and steers the car once more around the bend and I end up pushed flat against the window.
"You and that imagination of yours," he chuckles and I bet my imagination can think of a thousand different ways to kill him using that pack of gum lying inside the dashboard.
Death by Spearmint-I'd revolutionize the world of crime, they should give me my own episode of Criminal Minds.
When we finally make it to the parking lot of ALHS I feel like I'm a war veteran and that a parade with lots of Mylar balloons should await me however that is not the case as Cole eases his Volvo between two parked spaces. What does await me I realize as I get out the car are the shocked, stunned, surprised and some more shocked faces of the student body.
Figures, Cole's return is a pretty big deal. See he's this big legend and unlike me everyone seems to love him, in fact love would be a mild word. In our school Cole is hero worshipped for the many pranks he's pulled throughout the years. Everyone knows who he is even though he's been gone for nearly three years and it seems like his celebrity status hasn't diminished even a little bit over the years.
Joy.
He purposely embellishes his exit out of the car, why can't he do what normal people do and get out without his usual antics? It's like watching a really bad episode of Bay Watch as he swings one leg out and then the other in slow motion. When His Highness finally gets his sorry ass out of the car he takes off his leather jacket and swings it around his shoulder, he makes a big show out of taking off his shades and inserting them in the back pocket of his jeans. Then he stretches and pretends to yawn so that his taught muscles stretch and ripple as his shirt does nothing to hide how fit he really is.
I can practically hear each and every member of the female population sigh in amazement as he messes his hair up so that it looks artistically disheveled. He then does the unthinkable and winks at me and I'm sure that everyone caught the little moment. I narrow my eyes at him, "Who do you think you are David Hassellhoff?"
This wipes the smirk right off his face and I mentally congratulate myself for the little victory. His face is priceless as he realizes that I will not be drooling over him like every other girl here.
"Please if the ladies saw this," his points towards his body, "half naked and all wet and glistening and running on the beach the nation's female population would considerably go down" He says cockily and I nod in agreement surprising him.
"You're right; they'd actually claw out their own eyes, keel over and die out of revulsion."
With that I march right past him knowing that every eyes is on me and that sooner or later this would so come back to bite me in the butt.
Megan is on the verge of hysterics as we sit next to each other in homeroom and I can tell she's just itching to know if I really did show up with Cole and if I did how come I'm still in one piece. It is the ideal class to spill my guts seeing as Mrs. Sanchez's head currently rests on her desk and drool is visibly escaping from her mouth. I shudder at the sight and focus my attention on my best friend who is practically whimpering with the need to know what is going on. I also have Beth who's pretending to not listen in on our conversation but I know she's interested due to the fact that she's been stuck on the same page of her assigned reading book for the past fifteen minutes.
I tell them everything starting from how I was forced to go to the Stone residence the previous night to how Cole became my wake up call. Then I described in detail as to what was at stake if I cross him and by the time I'd finished venting Megan's eyes had turned the size of watermelons as she gaped at me. Beth simply looked amused and shook her head a bit, that just how she is I really don't take her lack of concern for my well being personally.
"So you're basically doomed." Megan declares and I slump in my seat hitting my head against my desk repeatedly.
"There there," Megan pats my head sympathetically and I glare at her.
"I don't see what the problem is." Beth's gravely voice interrupts the silence for the first time and I squint my eyes in disbelief. She doesn't seem to think I have a problem? Has listening to all those Led Zeppelin albums finally damaged her brain?
She rolls her eyes as Megan and I give her incredulous looks, "Look the way I see it it's a win win situation for you. Now that he's taken the role of resident bully Nicole won't come near you and Jay will realize that there are other guys who are interested. He might actually grow a backbone and be the friend you've always wanted him to be."
I splutter in disbelief as I try to make sense of her logic. The words 'guy' and 'interested' stand out and seem so alien especially when applied to me that I think my friend's gone for a ride on the cray cray train.
"Beth which part of him being Hannibal Lecter did you not get?"
"I got it all trust me but what I got the most was that this guy likes you and he shows it the best way he can which is by picking on you, it's a classic boy maneuver." She states like she's discussing the stock market and Megan and I exchange looks both thinking the same thing, sane Beth isnt with us today.
"Yes it's a classic boy maneuver for when you're in kindergarten. If there is even the smallest possibility that he likes me he wouldn't torture me like he does." I explain patiently like I'm talking to a child with learning problems.
"Think what you want I know I can't convince you otherwise," She shrugs but adds, "I just think that him being here inst necessarily a bad thing."
She however couldn't have been more wrong. As the day passes on I realize that people are looking at me with more interest than ever. The last time I was this popular was when I'd been Nicole's fat sidekick these people had pushed and prodded until she'd dumped me so it wasn't a surprise if I seemed a little afraid of what they were up to today. I stand outside the door of my Economics class, one which I share with Jay and Nicole and one which I dread attending ever since the start of school. It's like Nicole purposely rubs in the fact that she's dating Jay and I can't even get him to smile at me without him worrying about what his girlfriend would think. She does what she can to make it the worst fifty minutes of the day and I do what I can to not let my heart be shredded into bits and pieces each time I see them discretely or not so discretely touching each other.
I walk in about two minutes early and the happy couple is already seated at their joint table. We have a partner system in this class since we get a lot of assignments to be completed in pairs. It is self explanatory that I sit alone as Nicole as threatened anyone from changing my status at a social outcast. I try not looking at them as I walk past them to take my seat at the back of the class, a seat which I hated as I could hardly see what the teacher was writing on the board but I took what I got and moved on.
"It's okay Tessie I'm sure you'll grow some boobs when you're like thirty, no need to stuff your bra." Nicole snickered. A low blow that was, she knew that my chest area is a major source of embarrassment for me and yet she chooses to pick on it when Jay's sitting next to her. He must be comparing his curvaceous and voluptuous girlfriend to flat chested me and thinking how he got the better end of the deal.
"Or she could get a boob job like you did but she's not that desperate."
For a second my heart soars as I stop halfway and think that Jay's finally defending me and that he's seen how rotten his girlfriend is on the inside and that he's going to kiss me right in front of her telling me that I have always been the one for him. I snap my head back so fast that I almost pull a muscle but to my utter disappointment Jay sits in his seat squirming and another person has joined in on the discussion about my chest, fantastic.
Cole leans over Nicole and Jay's desk and I can see he's testing if Nicole has the guts to talk back to him. See when Cole was still here Nicole wasn't much of a queen bee or even a worker bee in fact she was happy being the outcast bee with me. That's not even the best part; Nicole also had the biggest crush on Cole seeing as how she's obsessed with bad boys and Cole was the epitome of one. I recall all the times we squealed over the Stone brothers and imagined our joint wedding after which we'd end up being sisters. Though I did point out that her future husband might not let me live to actually wed.
Obviously things didn't work out.
Now it's priceless seeing her face drop as Cole has so blatantly insulted her. Her mouth flops open and shut like a fish's as she struggles to come up with the biting remarks she's used on me all these years. It's nice to see her be the being bullied for a change; I almost feel a sense of gratitude toward Cole, almost.
"Back off man." Jay comes to the defense of his girlfriend a little too late but it still hurts to know that he's got her back and not mine.
"Then tell your girlfriend to stop being a bitch." He says smoothly and I swear I see Nicole's face reddening in embarrassment.
"Cole." Jay says warningly his hands balling up into fists and his jaw clenching.
"Jay Jay." He retorts clearly enjoying the whole ordeal.
Before either of them can go any further the bell rings and the teacher, a balding Mr. Spruce walks in clutching his brief case. Everyone settles into their seats including me and imagine my surprise when the chair next to me gets pulled up for the first time ever and Cole Stone of all people sits down next to me.
He makes nothing of it as I openly stare at him, "You can't sit here." I exclaim yet try to keep my voice down as Mr. Spruce starts taking the roll call.
"If it won't kill me or endanger my sex drive in any way then of course I can." I wrinkle my nose at his indecency and he chuckles at my discomfort.
"No you seriously can't. No one sits here!"
"Do you have some sort of a contagious disease?"
"No!" I say looking around and making sure that no one's listening in on our conversation, especially not the people sitting two tables in front of us.
"Do you have a footsie fetish?"
"Eww no."
"Do you plan on using whatever information you can get from me in this class sending it to Ninjas and having them kick my ass when I least expect?" I almost laugh at this one but hold it in and shake my head.
"Then I can totally sit here."
"You'll end up at the bottom of the proverbial food chain then, your call." I say dryly flipping my text book open and turning to the chapter we were currently studying. I can feel Cole's gaze burning the side of my head but I cannot look him in the eyes just yet. I might have said the words with nonchalance but it did sort of suck that just by association with me a person would be labeled loser for eternity. My best friends were already subjected to that torture at the hands of Nicole's minions and it hurt knowing that it was because of me.
"Don't let her get to you Tessie." He says softly, so softly that I cannot believe that the words have come out of his mouth. It goes against his very nature to be nice to me so to say that I'm surprised is an understatement. Since when does Cole Stone behave like an actual human being around me?
"It's not exactly easy to do that." I say avoiding eye contact but I hear him sigh and drop his head on the table.
"You let her walk all over you but that's got to stop." He sounds determined and I whirl my head around to look at him. There's genuine concern in his eyes and my mind involuntarily goes back to what Beth said earlier this morning, did Cole like me?
Evening thinking about it is absurd and I shake the thoughts out of my head," Why do you care?" I ask and he shrugs before flashing me his devil may care smile.
"Let's just say I don't like sharing. You're my Tessie and only I get to make you miserable, besides it's not like Bishop's any match for me and you deserve the best there is."
I roll my eyes and realize that he could never be serious for longer than a nanosecond, "I feel so lucky to have you as my customized bully."
"The pleasure is all mine." He winks and opens his own textbook.
Sometimes I really do wish I could see what it is that's going on inside that head of his but then I think better of it as I realize it probably holds more conniving thoughts about making my life a living hell and that I'd be so much better of not knowing. Cole Stone's head was dangerous territory but I had an inkling that I was about to become Dora the Explorer sooner rather than later.
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WOW 60 votes on the last chapter? You guys are the best and look as promised here's an early upload-I just updated another story of mine and my brain's THIS close to shutting down but this chapter was just begging to be written so yeah... I hope you guys enjoy and please please please vote because now I know you can and comment (very important-Cole demands you do!). I love reading long/short/any kind of comments so yes do leave those behind.
Now how many of you are Taylor Swift fans? I'm a big one and I'm currently obsessed with Red, DUH. I was wondering what your favourite song from the album is, mine's I Knew You Were Trouble. It is SO SO SO gooood! I've got it on repeat, if you havent heard it already go listen like right now!
Okay I guess that's enough rambling for now, bye guys and for those of you battling Sandy please stay safe <3
Blair.