Dylan was a handful today. Even then, he could have been worse. Since it was game day, he was distracted by his teammates and fans. Everyone was flocking him, asking how he thought it was going to go tonight. Even from far away, I could see his forced smile. He was putting on a show.
"So, are we going tonight?" Emma asked. We were all huddled together, away from our traitor friend. He kept sneaking glances at us but the crowd forming around him wouldn't leave him alone.
Good.
"We should," I chimed in. They all gave me looks of disbelief, probably because I was the one who acted the most dramatically. "Listen, it's our senior year. We can't let these moments pass because of some grudge, right? Besides, we're not going for him."
Will was the first to agree with me. "You're right, Bella. Fuck him. We can go for Andrew or something."
"I don't know if that's a better deal," Jaz scoffed, then sighed in resignation. "Okay, I'm down."
"Me too," Emma added.
Perfect. The four of us would go and I'd have great company.
"Hey Bella, are you still mad at Dean? Because he's heading our way," Jasmine warned, looking behind me.
I gave her a look saying, 'it's complicated,' but made no effort to run. The plan was to ride out the ignorant bliss until I couldn't anymore. That way, if I were to inevitably get hurt, I could delay it for as long as possible.
An arm wrapped around my waist and I leaned into it, subconsciously smiling. Even if Jaz didn't warn me beforehand, I'd know exactly who it was from his scent. "Hey babe," he whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
I looked up and flashed him a smile before redirecting my attention back to my friends. None of them seemed to care about the PDA, which meant I didn't have to explain myself.
Another friend decided to join us. "Hey, Bella. Hey, guys," Andrew chirped. He was also with Dylan and his teammates this morning but I could see him keep a good amount of distance from him. "Are you guys coming to the game tonight?"
"Yup," Emma grinned.
"Just for you," Jaz remarked, her voice sounding bitter. She didn't really like Andrew. It was because of that whole stunt he pulled last year. She thought it was a load of B.S. But, she tolerated him for my sake.
"Always cheery, Jaz," Andrew playfully grinned. Her scowl only deepened.
"Oh shit, what're we going to do for study hall?" Will suddenly asked. The five of us had that period with him and we usually camped out in the library. Dylan would obviously see us if we went there.
"I think Reece can sneak us into the gym or his office," I told them.
"God, I always liked that boy," Jaz approvingly grinned, making me roll my eyes. "Okay, well ask him and let us know."
"Will do," I mock saluted.
"Wait, if you're going to see Reece, I wanna come," Dean whispered so only I could hear.
I turned to face him. "Don't you have a class though?"
"Don't worry about it. Maybe I can get my schedule rearranged... If you'd be okay with that."
"Good luck with that," I snorted, trying not to get my hopes up. "It's Friday. I doubt they'll let you change your schedule this late in the week, especially because it was already changed once." I distinctively remembered him being switched into my AP Government class during the middle of the week.
His shoulders sagged in disappointment. "Well, I have math that period anyway. It's an easy subject."
"Brag," I mumbled under my breath. He smirked upon hearing his.
The bell rang and we all dispersed to our classes. My stomach dropped as I realized this was a class I had with Dylan.
Needless to say, it was weird not being with him right now. I kinda missed him crashing my vibe time in my car and walking with me to class. Sucks he had to go and be an asshole.
Dean sensed my struggle and enveloped his hand in mine. I ignored the butterflies I was feeling and gave him an appreciative smile. I soon realized that he had no idea where my class was, so I was the one guiding him.
Right away, I got glares from multiple girls. It was no secret that Dean was one of the most attractive guys at school, along with the jocks. However, he was different. He was considered to be more mysterious, so naturally more girls were attracted to him. Hell, that's kinda what drew me in too. But, along with keeping secrets, he was also impossible to get with. Unlike the athletic kids, he didn't sleep around much. He did go on a whole rampage when we weren't together, but that was mainly because I encouraged him to.
Stupid, I know.
But this unattainability is what challenged girls. They wanted to be the ones who broke his stone-cold heart. It hadn't been until late last year did I learned that he acted closed off with everyone but me and my friend group. No one knew him like I did, and that made me feel a little smug.
"What're you smiling about?" He playfully nudged me as we neared my class.
"Nothing," I grinned. He rolled his eyes but gave me a swift kiss on the cheek. Sure, it wasn't the lips, but it was better than nothing. "Thanks."
"See you at lunch?"
I nodded and watched him leave. I could see Dylan heading toward the class so I rushed in and took a seat at a desk that had no empty seats nearby. This way, he couldn't sit next to me and force conversation.
He scanned the room as he entered and narrowed his eyes when he caught wind of my plan. He had no choice but to sit in the back corner. Throughout the lesson, I could feel his gaze on me.
When the bell rang, I bolted out of the classroom. I heard him call my name but I made sure to push the aching feeling back.
I missed him.
~~~
Half the day ended quickly and it was now lunch. Emma and I lingered outside the cafeteria doors, waiting for our friends. We knew Dylan was already inside, probably kicking his teammates off the table right now.
Will and Jaz appeared first, followed by Andrew. Dean was right behind him and wrapped an arm around my waist as soon as I was in reach. I held back an eye roll and turned to face the group.
"We're going to go in there and sit at a different table, okay?"
They all nodded, except for Andrew, who gave us a sheepish look.
"Drew, it's okay. We understand. You have to sit with the team on gameday," I reassured him.
"Traitor," Jaz coughed, then innocently looked around like it wasn't her.
I rolled my eyes. "Ignore her."
"Already do," Drew grinned. He had this weird relationship with her. She'd be cynical and blunt, while he'd kill her with kindness and compliance. I know it secretly killed her inside when he didn't react the way she wanted. I guess his method was working.
"Sorry dude," Will sympathetically pat his back. We all felt pretty bad that he was forced to interact with him.
We were all still pretty pissed at Dylan, so none of this was easy.
"Okay, let's go," Emma sighed and led us in. Drew split from the group but made finger guns and pretended to shoot himself as he did. I giggled at his dramatics before following everyone. Dean's arm tightened around me.
We found an empty table and squeezed in. Dean sat next to me, his knee skimming mine. A wave of nostalgia hit, reminding me of when he did this just to annoy me. I later found out it was just another way to get my attention.
Cute.
"Alright, game plan for tonight. We can't let him know we're here for him," Jaz said, taking a seat between Emma and Will.
"So what, we cheer Drew's name?" Emma asked, pulling out her salad.
"Hell no," Jaz groaned. Then her eyes lit up. "We could cheer for Justin! That would make sense, right?"
"Okay, but what about when they win? Bella here is gonna run straight into his arms," Will remarked.
I scrunched my nose. My friends really had no faith in me. "Um, I'll have you know, I won't. I'm way too upset to do that."
Dean finally spoke up, changing the direction of the conversation. "So, Emma, you dyed your hair. What's up with that?"
Her cheeks slightly tinted pink. "Oh, hah. Sorry, sometimes I forget that you haven't been here for God knows how long. You're very good at just jumping back in."
He waved a dismissive hand. "Thanks."
"Yeah, I just wasn't feeling the blond anymore. I figured that Bella should get the spotlight," she teased, only half-lying. "And you probably figured that Will and I broke up," she added, not going into detail.
"Yeah, the screaming match in the hallway gave it away," he chuckled, referring back to the first day of school.
Both her's and Will's faces turned red from embarrassment. I decided now was the time to change the conversation again. I could tell Dean all about their breakup in private. After all, we had some catching up to do. "Are we going to the afterparty? Dylan will be there."
"Hm, I wanna say no, but I also know it's Brad's party and he throws some of the best ones," Jaz sighed. "Oh, I invited Kim to the game by the way." Kim was Jaz's girlfriend, the one who Dylan claimed she was turning in to. Yes, she had a heavy influence on her, but I could still see my old best friend hiding in there. Change wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
The table squealed in delight. We all adored Kim. She didn't go to the same school as us so we rarely saw her. We'd try to hang out with her often, but we also didn't want to crash Jasmine's dates so it was a tough call.
"Okay, so... are we partying tonight or not? Because I need to have an excuse for my mom," Jaz asked, lifting a brow. Knowing her, she'd probably crash at her girlfriend's house after.
I looked around the table. Everyone seemed to want to go. "Okay, fine," I sighed in defeat. "It'll be easy to avoid him, I hope. Worst case, we ditch and go somewhere else."
Everyone collectively nodded.
"So... did he apologize to anyone?" Emma hesitantly asked.
To my surprise, we all nodded, even Dean.
"Called me."
"Left me a hundred messages."
"Tried to DM me on Insta."
"He stopped by my room after," I told them. Their eyes widened and they eagerly leaned in. "No biggie. I didn't really let him in. I think my mom told him how I needed space, but in reality, she was scared that he was going to break my door down."
They all laughed and mentioned their surprise that he stayed.
For the rest of lunch, we all talked about all things not-Dylan related and got hyped for the party. I was excited, but also dreading it. It had been a while since I truly went to a rager and I wasn't sure how it was gonna go.
One thing was for certain: I wasn't going to drink.
~~~
Study hall was a difficult period to finesse. I was lucky Reece was willing to sneak us into his own office he had in the locker room. Since it was game day, he was excused by Coach to look over tonight's plays and strategies.
We slowly tiptoed into the hall that had the locker rooms. We had to wait until the students in that period were changed and out before we could come in. Since it was the male locker room, it was extra important for my poor, virgin eyes.
Dean met up with us in the hall, kissing me on the cheek as a greeting. I hid my disappointment every time. I was wondering why he didn't just kiss me on the lips. The longer he didn't, the more my fear of rejection was resurfacing.
I pushed the negative thoughts aside.
Ride out the ignorance bliss.
I noticed he didn't grab my hand but I tried not to overthink it. Instead, we waited around the corner for the kids and teachers to leave. Once it was all clear, Reece popped his head out and looked for us. We made our way to him and he opened the door wider.
The room was overpowered by the smell of BO and AXE bodyspray. We all coughed until we reached the fresh air of the office. His office was pretty small, but at least he had one. We shut the door, not allowing the odors to follow us. A collective inhale echoed in the small space.
The others immediately settled on the floor and pulled out whatever work they had for class. Reece expectantly looked at the two of us, then gestured back to the locker room. As much as I didn't want to go out there, we didn't have a choice. I knew we wouldn't talk in front of the others.
"We'll be right back. Don't touch anything," Reece warned to the others before leading us behind the door. I held a breath and hoped my lungs would be strong enough to survive this.
"Okay, I brought her. Now tell me why you're here," Dean said, his voice dripping with authority. Even though he was no longer the gang's leader, I could see that Reece still considered him to be powerful.
"Gee, nice to see you too, Dean," he sarcastically replied, earning an eye roll from Dean. "Okay, I'm done. You were right. I wasn't planning on staying here, but I got a mission."
Dean grumbled something under his breath before speaking up. "I knew it. Come on, Arabella," he grabbed my hand, taking me by surprise.
"Wait, don't you want to hear what it is?" Reece asked. From the tone of his voice, I could tell he was dying to tell us. I kind of wanted to know too.
But, Dean crushed my dreams by saying a stern, "No. I'm done with all that shit."
Out of all the times to be uninvolved, he had to choose now? I instinctively pouted. I really wanted to know. Reece took notice of my defeated expression and smirked. It was then that I realized he did this on purpose. He knew Dean would refuse to find out and that my nosy ass would beg him to tell me.
Damn, he's good.
"Bella, you don't wanna know?" Reece taunted.
My gaze flickered from his smug face to Dean, who was clenching his jaw. His grip on my hand tightened, pleading for me to not fall into the trap.
But I did.
"What's your mission, Reece?" I sighed in defeat.
He grinned, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Well, I'm so glad you asked! We have intel that the man who tossed you in jail isn't very happy that you're out. He thinks you're dangerous."
I interrupted. "But Dean's not doing gang work anymore."
He ignored me and continued. "So, he sent out his own little spy here to find you. Isn't that cute? You've gotten quite the fanbase these past two years. Anyways, I'm here to find that spy and kill... torture him until we find out why he wants you." He corrected himself after glancing at my horrified expression.
"I don't give a shit if they sent some kid after me. Even if he gets to me, I'm not with you guys anymore," Dean snapped.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"We aren't sure, that's what we're trying to figure out. And Dean, it matters. We have no idea why they want you specifically. More importantly, we don't know if they care whether you're alive or dead."
I tensed up. Someone wanted to kill Dean? That seemed extreme, especially for not having a real motive.
"Wait. You said 'we'. Who else is helping?" Dean asked, tensing up. I started to think he was going crazy. He just found out someone was sent here to maybe kill him and he cared about his old gang members being here? And from his tone and tense posture, he wasn't happy about it.
Reece's smirk faded as he looked back at me. My brows furrowed in confusion. He looked... nervous? Maybe even scared?
"Skylar."
While Dean stiffened even more, I stayed confused. The name sounded slightly familiar but I couldn't put a face to it. Based on both their reactions, they were expecting me to freak out at any second.
Skyler? Who the hell was Skylar?
Whoever she was, I knew it wouldn't be good for me.
Before I could ask who she was, Dean dragged me out of the locker room and to the hallway we originally hid until Reece came out. He began pacing as I leaned against the wall, watching.
Even though the situation seemed to be incredibly stressful for him, he looked super hot at the moment. His hands would reach out and run through his hair, making his already messy hair even messier. It gave him a sexy vibe. His jaw hardened and his eyes darkened. Even his fists were clenched by his side.
I gave him a once over, my eyes slowly trailing over his body. His leather boots seamlessly flowed into his black jeans, which were distressed at the knees. He wore a white t-shirt and covered it with his iconic leather jacket, which he seemed to wear even if it was eighty degrees. A pair of Ray-Bans hung from the front of his shirt. Something glinted around his neck and I noticed he was wearing a chain.
That was new. Also very hot.
While I shamelessly gawked at him, he stopped pacing and watched me in amusement. I looked away as my face heated up in embarrassment.
He chuckled and stepped closer, putting two fingers under my chin and tipping my head up. I met his gaze and immediately got lost in his eyes. I could literally see them getting shades lighter as the stress left his body. I felt giddy at the fact that my mere attention could make him relax a little.
"Come on, the bell's gonna ring soon. I need to go to my locker." He dropped his hand from my chin but entwined it with mine. I nodded and followed him back into the main part of school.
As he said, the bell rang as soon as we reached his locker. I leaned against the one beside it while he exchanged his textbooks. All thoughts were completely void in my mind as I dazed off, looking at the people passing by without a care in the world.
And a small part of me was so jealous of them. They weren't in a fight with their best friend, nor were they insecure in their own relationship.
Well, they could be, but everyone seemed too happy.
"Oh, Deanie!"
Dean stiffened and I almost laughed at the ridiculous nickname, but the familiarity of the voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He grumbled some incoherent words under his breath before turning around.
The voice got closer and I focused on the source. "Deanie, it's me!" A beautiful redhead wearing all black walked up to us. I wasn't sure if it was the high-heeled boots or confidence surrounding her, but I was automatically intimidated by her.
But as she spoke, I realized who this was. The mere thought of her sent an unpleasant shiver down my spine.
"Skylar," Dean said through gritted teeth.
Oh fuck, I was hoping it wasn't her.
Skylar, the one part of Dean's past that remained a mystery to me. When I had asked him about her, he claimed she was irrelevant now. His hesitation to share their history had always unnerved me but I pushed it to the back of my mind after he was sent away. I was too distracted by other things.
But now all the worries and doubts came rushing back to me.
All I could do was gape at her as she strutted over to my "boyfriend" and kissed him on the cheek. I was too shocked to even be jealous.
She put her hand on his leather-clad bicep and gave him a flirty smile, flashing her perfect, white teeth.
I wanted to knock them out.
Dean's gaze flickered to me and I could see the amusement in his eyes. It was all directed at me and my completely frozen state.
She flipped her ginger locks over her shoulder and looked at me for the first time. "Aw! I remember you! You were the chick that got shot without even trying. You're even cuter when you're not delirious," she cooed, pinching my cheek with her free hand. The other one was still comfortably chilling on his arm.
Dean cleared his throat, bringing her attention back to him. "Sky, always a pleasure. How are you?"
"Oh, you know, only trying to save your life," she joked, moving her hand to his chest. My brows raised, a little with amusement, but more in shock. "How have things been? We have so much to catch up on."
He politely plucked her hand off of him and dropped it to her side. A small part of me felt relieved at the action. Her confident stature didn't falter one bit.
"Oh, are you going to the game tonight? We could totally catch up there. And I heard there's an afterparty. Maybe you could take me?" She looked at him through her extremely long lashes.
"Yeah, me and a couple of my friends are probably going to go. You're free to join," he responded. For a split second, her smile faltered, but she quickly recovered.
"Sounds good! I'll find you at the game." She gave him a flirty smile and turned to me. "Bye, sweetie."
Sweetie? SWEETIE?! Apparently, my voice hadn't returned as I pathetically watched her leave, swaying her hips and getting attention from the remaining males in the hallway.
I held my breath as I turned to face Dean, who looked super amused at my state. It was now or never. I needed to do this before I put unnecessary effort into a relationship that wasn't going to work.
"Dean, I can't compete with that so you straight up need to tell me right now what we are," I whined as I pointed in the general direction of where Skylar sauntered off. I may not have liked her, but even I knew she beat me out when it came to attractiveness.
He looked surprised that I even had to ask. He gently cupped my face, brushing his thumbs over my cheeks. "Babe, nothing's changed. I still feel the same about you. If you want to tie me down, I'll give you the damn rope."
I chuckled at his complete cuteness. "Wait, just to be completely transparent, that means I'm your girlfriend, right?"
He laughed and pulled my face closer. "Yes," he whispered before crashing his lips to mine.
All the doubts and fears I had momentarily vanished as he kissed me with everything he had. I could feel all the emotions behind his kiss. Love, longing, desire. I perfectly molded my lips to his, resting my hands on his chest. He pulled me in closer, deepening the kiss. I didn't even care that we were in the middle of the hallway.
Before we could go any further, a paper ball hit me in the head. We reluctantly pulled apart. Dean glared at the thrower while I caught my breath.
"No PDA," Mr. Cullen called out, completely disgusted with us.
I stifled a giggle, not meeting him in the eye. Dean seemed annoyed by his brother's cockblocking.
"So, I see you two are okay," Damien continued, smugness in his voice. "I'm glad."
"Go away," Dean groaned. His older brother chuckled, but it faded as he went down the hall, actually listening for once. "That was easy."
I looked up into his eyes. "Are you coming to the game?"
"Yeah," he chuckled, reminding me he just had this conversation in front of me.
With Skyler. Shit.
"Do we have to take her to the party?" I whined.
"Yeah, it's a little rude if I back down now. Don't worry though, we can always leave if it becomes too much," he reminded as he pulled away, grabbing my hand in the process.
We both walked out, hand in hand, and I felt at ease, even though I had little reason to. I just didn't know it yet.