"I've been doing some courses... er, dog walking, Cordon Bleu barbecue, intermediate eroticism... and the rest of the time I just sewed."
Scarlett, Michelle's new step sister, sat with all of us on the college green, telling us a bit about herself. But the boys didn't seem to care much about what she had to say, due to the extremely low cut top she wore and the push up bra adorning her breasts. Anwar was drooling, and Sid's jaw was practically unhinged from how low it fell.
"I made, erm, this pair of shorts actually," Scarlett tells us all, pulling at the shorts she wore.
"They're a lovely pair," Chris speaks, only to her breast. He heard the word "pair" and her breast seemed to be the only pair he could think about.
"Really lovely," Anwar repeats.
"Lovely," Sid agrees.
Scarlett definitely knows all the boys are practically creaming their pants over her, or her breasts, that is, because she puffs her chest out and curls a piece of hair between her finger.
"Anyway," Jal clears her throat beside me, trying to change the subject off of Scarlett. "We still going camping?"
Jal asks Michelle, but Michelle seems too occupied with Sid staring down Scarlett's shirt.
"Sid?" Michelle calls to him. He jumps a bit, startled, as he looks to Michelle, his face blushed as he know he'd been caught ogling her step-sister.
"Jal wants us all to go camping," Michelle tells him, but he looks confused. "For my birthday?"
No one really responds, only a few mutters.
"It was only a suggestion," Jal defends herself, seeing that no one was really fond of the idea.
"I can't. I'm going to be- oh, hey Max!"
Anwar cuts himself off once he sees Maxxie approaching, giving an uneasy smile as Maxxie sits between him and Scarlett.
"You alright, mate?" Maxxie asks him, referring to Anwar's odd behavior. Anwar had been acting weird around Maxxie for a while now, and no one new why.
"Fine, fine!" Anwar emphasizes. "I'm really fine!"
"Okay," Maxxie frowns, definitely not convinced.
As Maxxie watches Anwar, I notice Scarlett staring at Maxxie, biting her lip with a sly smile, definitely checking him out. She was an absolute flirt, but unbeknownst to her, Maxxie was an absolute gay boy.
"Maxxie, this is Scarlett," I do Scarlett a favor, introducing her to Maxxie so she could relax and stop puffing out her chest. Maxxie turns to her, and even his eyes go straight to her breast, breathing out a soft "woah" at the sight of them. Even Maxxie had to acknowledge a good pair of breast when he sees one.
"What do you think about camping, Max?" Michelle asks to get his attention off her step-sister.
"Well, if you guys wanna do it, its their business. But personally, I like a more butch look."
The boys all let out a laugh, probably trying to keep up with Scarlett, who cackles like that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. I shift uncomfortably beside Jal.
"Thing is, erm, you know... coursework," Sid speaks bullshit. That excuse to get out of camping would have been believable, if it hadn't come from Sid, the boy who never does his coursework.
"Chris?" Michelle questions, though even she seems to know it's hopeless, asking him with a defeated look.
"Nipples," Chris says without thinking, his eyes glue to Scarlett's breasts before he says "what?"
"Thanks for the enthusiasm, everyone," Michelle mutters.
"Camping is wicked!" Scarlett exclaims, chiming in, much to the annoyance of Michelle that's evident by the roll of her eyes. "Campfires, a few spliffs, booze, alfresco sex! What could be better? We should go!"
"Hang on," Michelle cuts in. "'We?'"
It was clear that Michelle did not like Scarlett. I don't know for what reasons, but knowing Michelle, she didn't like it when she didn't hold the attention of all the boys in the room. Especially the attention of Sid I notice, as she stares at him staring at Scarlett, as she did always have Sid wrapped around her little finger. Not being the most sought after girl in the room was probably something new to the beautiful Michelle.
"Spliffs, booze and alfresco sex," Chris repeats Scarlett's words, suddenly seeming interested in the idea of camping. "What exactly is alfresco sex, by the way?"
"Shagging under the stars," Scarlett tell him, looking at him through her eyelashes with a sultry tone. "There's nothing like it."
"I'm in," Chris decides.
"Erm, we haven't got a car though," Anwar reminds everyone.
"Well I've got an enormous Volvo!" Scarlett explains.
"Well, I think that swings it," Chris smiles.
Jal, Michelle and I decide to leave after a bit, not wanting to sit around with the boys as they stared at Scarlett's body and she shamelessly flirted with them.
Michelle and I still weren't on the greatest term, but she no longer had the urge to scowl whenever she saw me, which I considered a very good thing. We even were able to carry a civilized conversation now, especially when it came to talking about people we hate, which most often was Abigail Stock, but today's topic of discussion was Scarlett.
"God, I hate her," Michelle complains to Jal and I. "I didn't even want to invite that bitch, but they're all gagging over her."
"She seems really nice," Jal speaks up.
"She's a cow!" Michelle retorts. "I don't want her coming."
"Yeah," I agree with her. "I wouldn't want her coming either if I were you."
Even though I didn't really know much about Scarlett to decide yet if she was indeed a cow like Michelle claimed, earning brownie points from her was much more important to me in the moment than giving Scarlett the benefit of the doubt. So even if I had to kiss Michelle's ass, I would willingly do it to get back in good terms.
"Ugh, thank you," Michelle tells me gratefully. "You're the only sane one here besides me."
I mentally give myself a pat on the back.
"Michelle, we're gonna go camping, and we're gonna be nice, okay?" Jal warns her bestfriend.
"Okay, yeah, fine," Michelle reluctantly agrees, but it's hard to tell wether or not she's lying.
Inside, Jal runs off to retrieve a book from her locker, leaving Michelle and I walking side by side down the hallway to the class we had together. I hug my binder against my chest, gently tapping my fingers on the front of it to drown out the awkward silence between Michelle and I.
"You know you're invited, right?" Michelle tells me suddenly. "On my camping trip? Everyone's invited."
"Oh," I say, somewhat surprised. "I didn't know if I would be-"
She grabs my bicep, stopping me in my tracks and pulling me to the side of the hall so we were out of everyone's way.
"About the whole Tony thing..." She begins the conversation that we both always seemed to try and avoid. "I'm over it, okay? I'm over him. And obviously you are too."
Yeah. About that...
Ever since last week when Tony showed up at Liam's and confessed that he might love me, I've been sick since. When he left me standing dazed and confused outside Liam's front door, I left shortly after too, not even managing to make it out the door of the apartment complex before the anxiety and stress that Tony's confession caused me had me vomiting in the trash bin by the front door. I was such a good liar that even I had myself convinced for a while that I was over Tony Stonem, but I was an idiot for thinking I ever was. If I truly was over him, the words he spoke to me wouldn't be on repeat in my head like a broken record.
I truly was a fool, a fool for Tony Stonem and I hated myself for it.
"Yeah," I try to agree thoug. "I've got Liam now, so..."
She nods, the corners of her mouth lifting to a smile.
"I've heard."
I chew on my lip, my eyes searching for anywhere to look beside hers.
"So, my camping trip. You coming?"
"I'll have to talk to my mum about it first."
***
My mom said I could go camping, but I lied and told Michelle that she said no.
I was considering going on the trip, until I overheard Tony telling Chris that he was considering going on the trip too. That was all I needed to hear to decide that I was not going to go. Tony's confession had physically left me in a disoriented state, not knowing right from left, up from down, right from wrong. So going on this camping trip that he would also be attending would do nothing but stress me out even further. I was growing stress pimples on my chin just thinking about it. So like most of my problems, I chose to avoid them instead of facing them.
And besides, I had Liam to keep me occupied and to keep my mind at ease. Being under Liam always helped me get over Tony, so Liam was definitely someone I needed at the moment while my thoughts clouded with none other than Tony's blue eyes.
I wait on my living room couch, my elbow rested on my knee as I chew anxiously on my finger nail, waiting for Liam's arrival. I followed the large hand of the clock hanging on the wall above our television, counting down the seconds until their was a knock on my front door. I opened it, not even giving him the chance to say hello before I brought my lips to his.
We end up in my room and he lies on top of me on the bed, both a mess of tousled hair, clashing lips and smeared cherry lip gloss. I tangle my fingers into his soft brown hair, pulling on it as I bite softly on his bottom lip that kisses mine.
"What's gotten into you?" He asks me, breaking away from our kiss breathlessly, staring down at me with a blushed face.
He's most definitely talking about the heightened urge I've had to make out with him every chance I got, something he probably never expected from me, and something I definitely didn't expect from myself.
"Sorry," I apologize, trying to catch my breath. My fingers play with the chain around his neck that hangs over me. "I just like kissing you."
And I like how kissing you is the only thing that can stop me from thinking of him.
He brings his hand to the side of my face, brushing away a stray curl before placing a gentle kiss on my lips.
"I like kissing you too," he smiles.
I pull on his chain, pulling him closer and pulling his lips back to mine.