by CJ Adler
“No problemo, mi amigo.” I grin at him before making an offer. “Hey, wanna hang out and watch a movie or something?”
He narrows his eyes into daggers upon hearing my suggestion. “Hell n—” he stops himself when he sees the disappointed look on my face, “I'm picking the movie.”
***
We end up watching some lame horror movie. I hate horrors because they terrify me. I go out of my way to mock the characters throughout the movie in order to ease the tension and fear building up inside of me. It seems to work.
“Let me just prance and skip into the dark room where the scary noise is coming from. Surely nothing is there despite the loud banging sounds. I'm sure I will be fine, A-OK artichokie,” I mock as I narrate the fake lines of one of the minor female characters, purposely putting on a high-pitched voice to sound like her.
As expected, she soon gets attacked. For emphasis, I let out a fake screech that matches hers. “How foolish was I to walk into the room?! It's the killer I had been warned about several times, time and time again, over and over and over and over.”
I stop talking when, from the corner of my eye, I spot Grey scowling at me. I shoot him a helpless look. “What?” I shrug innocently as if I've done nothing wrong, ever.
“You're ruining the entire movie,” he answers, clearly annoyed.
“The movie was ruined as soon as it was written, my dear friend,” I tease before letting out a loud yawn. I throw a popcorn kernel at the television. “Lame!” I exclaim, desperately wanting this stupid movie to be over with.
Horrors are a force to be reckoned with and apparently so is Grey. He glares at me. “Shut up.”
“Never!” I shout overdramatically before throwing a popcorn kernel at his face.
He looks from the popcorn kernel—now on the floor—to me, unblinking. “Screw it, I hate you,” he grumbles before turning off the television, knowing full well that he's not going to be able to watch the movie in peace if I'm here.
“So, Grey, tell me about yourself,” I demand as I flip position so that I'm lying upside down across his couch.
He raises an eyebrow upon seeing the current position I'm in, whereas Jay is used to it by now. “No,” he answers flatly.
I sigh loudly just to annoy him further. “Why do you hate me so?”
“Because you're the most annoying person that I've ever had the disprivilege of knowing,” he answers, eyeing my position wearily. “Also, I really hope you fall and crack your skull open,” he says, gesturing to the tiled floor beneath me. “That should teach you.”
I suppress a smile. I know he's only saying that as a subtle warning to prevent me from actually falling and cracking my skull open. For his sake, I sit up, not missing his subtle breath of relief.
“This is the part where you're supposed to say that you don't really hate me,” I point out to him with a dubious grin.
“Oh, no, you got it right for once. I do hate you,” he clarifies sternly. “You should probably go now,” he says, gesturing to his front door. “I've had just about enough of you to last me a lifetime.”
Yeah, I get that a lot. I'm like an infection that just won't die.
“Still rude,” I mumble loudly.
“Still don't care,” he calls over his shoulder without so much as a 'thank you' or a 'goodbye'.
I brush it aside as I head for the front door, opening it to see a person standing on the other side. It seems as if she was just about to open the door herself. Her eyes widen in surprise upon seeing me. She quickly narrows her eyes into slits as she places her hands on her hips. “You,” she, in recognition, says through clenched teeth.
I glare back, crossing my arms over my chest as I stand my ground. “You—” I pause awkwardly, “—more,” I reply, feigning my own irritation at seeing her. “You more,” I conclude, satisfied.
Grey hears the commotion and glances from the girl to me in confusion.
“You two know each other?”
The girl and I answer simultaneously, “Yes.”
“Haven't got a clue as to who the hell she is,” I answer.
Grey rolls his eyes before introducing me properly. “Aqueela, my housemate , Nancy. Nancy, you already know Aqueela …my…uh…nothing . She's irrelevant, insignificant. I'm not even sure she can be classified as a human being.”
His housemate is a girl! Ooh! How scandalous?
He fixates his sole attention onto Nancy. “I don't even get why you know her. If I could erase the memory of Aqueela Lawson out of my head forever, I would in a single heartbeat.”
“You need a heart for it to beat,” I rebut, winking at him teasingly. I turn back to Nancy with a questioning look to my eyes. “Nancy as in 'Nancy Drew' the detective?”
She turns to me with a prodding brow, curious. “You really don't remember me, do you?”
I shake my head, genuinely clueless. “Should I?”
Grey offers Nancy a sheepish look when she turns to him with a questioning glance. “Just ignore everything she says and does. I do. Although, it's easier said than done. She's a psycho.”
Nancy smirks at him. “Real keeper you have here, Ferrot.”
His face falls into a frown upon registering her words. “Please don't make me vomit. You know I've been sick all day,” Grey remarks. “Besides, Aqueela wishes she were that lucky to land me.”
I scoff at the last part. “Egotistical much?”
“Aqueela's dating someone else,” he informs her, ignoring me.
“I just thought it because you never bring any girls home,” Nancy says, pointing out the facts.
I instantly catch her drift, as does Grey. “I never brought Aqueela here. There's just no keeping her out. I could cover the circumference of our apartment in holy water and fire and somehow she'd still find a way in, probably dig a tunnel or something.”
Nancy turns to me for confirmation.
I shrug. “Most likely true, though, I won't dig down too deep, wouldn't want to enter Grey's paradise.”
He glowers at me. “You are hell itself.”
“Anyway,” Nancy emphasizes as if to recapture our attention, “I'm Nancy Montry,” she introduces herself as if I'm supposed to suddenly know who she is. She sees the blank look on my face. “Montry,” she repeats.
I raise my eyebrows, her surname slowly registering in my head.
“Mason's cousin,” she clarifies, rolling her eyes at my slowness. “I met you once. Funny thing is, I used to like you, that is until you broke my cousin's heart by getting together with that Jay kid.”
Her cousin broke my best friend's heart!
“Mason used to be a jerk,” I defend myself before defending Jay, “and that Jay 'kid' just so happens to be Grey's best friend and my boyfriend, so, I suggest that you watch your mouth.”
Nancy, shocked at the revelation, turns to Grey to see if there's any truth in my statement. “You're friends with the guy who stole the love of Mason's life away from him?”
“Go on,” I encourage, “give it to her, Grey,” I say, hoping that he'll defend Jay against her ruthless attacks. She doesn't even know Jay personally. To judge him is unfair. She only knows about him based on all the countless lies that Mason has apparently been telling her.
Grey glances from Nancy's expectant look to me, back and forth, as if put on the spot. “I…uh…I…” he stammers. “I'm gonna get a drink,” he concludes like a coward before simply walking away from the argument, choosing the easy way out.
And he says Jay is the whipped one!
Nancy shoves past me and heads to her room. I couldn't care less. Insulting Jay instantly puts you on my 'to kill' list.
I skip after Grey, stopping to lean on the kitchen counter he's currently using. I watch his every move, amused, as he pours himself a glass of beer. He notices me staring. “What?!” He snaps at me, quickly downing his drink. “Just leave already!” He barks out angrily.
“I know something quite enlightening. I think you'll find it interesting,” I hum as I lean towa
rd him with giddy eyes.
He looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to elaborate further.
I stay silent, staring up at him, patiently waiting for his response.
“Well, get on with it!” he snaps at me out of impatience when I don't speak.
“You like her,” I say bluntly, motioning with my eyes to Nancy's bedroom. And that is how I end up outside Grey's house with the front door slammed shut in my face…again.
Chapter 48
One in a Million
After having waited for hours in the back of Bell's car—total exaggeration—she finally hops in and starts the engine. She's completely unaware of my presence as she drives along the highway while humming a tune to herself.
I jump out from the back seat just as she adjusts her rearview mirror. “He has a crush!” I shout, springing to the front of the car as I come into her line of vision.
She gasps and lets out a frightened screech of shock upon seeing me popping up out of nowhere. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” Distracted, she loses control of her car briefly and almost ends up swerving out of her lane and into another vehicle.
I stare at her, unimpressed, as she regains control again. “You really should pay more attention to the road,” I scold her. “That was really irresponsible of you. You could have caused an accident and killed us.”
She turns her head from behind the steering wheel to glare at my audacity.
“Tut-tut, haven't you learned anything? Focus on the road, missy,” I reprimand her as if it's my place to do so.
“You have a passenger in the car. Be more careful.”
Bell keeps her eyes trained on the road, a frown on her lips. “I would if I knew I had a passenger in the car in the first place,” she mutters angrily, under her breath.
“Drop the attitude, Bella. I can go without it,” I tease, sending her a playful grin.
I don't miss the ghost of a smile forming on her lips at hearing my words.
“You're so lucky I love you, Aqueels, or I would've thrown you out this car long ago.”
“Good to know,” I lie, bored.
“So who has a crush on who now?” she asks, interested.
“Grey has the hots for his housemate, Nancy,” I explain, summarizing the story.
“So, down the same rabbit hole as Jay then?” she asks with a smile, amused. “Want to help me intervene and make them official?” I ask.
“No. The last time I made a couple official, I ended up paying for it through slavery,” she reminds me, taking her eyes off of the road to send me a knowing look.
Oh yeah…
“C'mon! You know you wanna. You can't resist romance,” I tell her, hoping to persuade her into my wild crusade in making Grey and Nancy happen.
“It's Grey. He's scary. I really don't need to get on his bad side. After all, I've seen how he treats you,” she reasons logically, shaking her head, unwilling to contribute her help.
“Grey loves me. We're best buds. We're tighter than rope and thicker than cement and all that jazz,” I say in an attempt convince her.
She pulls a face at my choice of words. “He can't stand you. I think it's better we stand back this time and let things fall into place naturally. Grey can handle Nancy on his own,” she insists, dismissing the thought entirely.
I shake my head at her, disagreeing. “You think Jay has no game with girls? You have not seen Grey. He's a hopeless case. He'll never make a move on her, and if he does, it will be social suicide. He's practically begging you to assist him in this small task.”
“I think that's just you begging,” she rebuts, her chin held high as she finally pulls over to the side of a quiet street so that she can talk to me properly without the interference of traffic. “Who is this Nancy in any case? Why has Grey never mentioned her? Why have we never met her?”
I scratch my chin in mock thought. “Yeah, well, you see...you have met her already. Her surname is Montry, as in Mason Montry's cousin.”
Her smile drops at the reference to Mason, a scowl in its place. She and Nancy never did get along. “That girl always said that Mason could do better than me. She never liked me.”
I clap my hands in excitement. “Good news! She now hates me too!”
Bell raises a perfectly plucked eyebrow at me, a perplexed expression on her face. “How is that good news? She used to adore you.”
I quickly fill her in on the details. “So, you going to help me with them or not?”
“Nuh-uh,” she answers with a wave of her finger. “Sorry, Aqueela. It's just, I've learned to not interfere in other people's business, including yours. If Grey and stupid Nancy are meant to be together, then they will be. I believe that. Let 'life' take its course in its own time.”
I sigh. “Ugh, fine, but just so you know, I'm not happy.” I pause. “And since when did you get so free-spirited?”
“Does it really matter?” she asks, in turn.
I give her a flat look to which she responds to with a sigh of complaint.
“With Mason, I took life so seriously, but, now, with Max, I'm finally free. I loved Mason and he broke my heart and I was crushed. I pushed you away and felt so hopeless. Then my brother, and only support, left. I felt abandoned. I was in a dark place. I needed you back in my life but I was too afraid you wouldn't accept my apology—”
“Bell,” I drawl, able to sympathize.
“I now see that splitting from Mason was the best thing that could ever happen to me. With Max, I feel so much more alive.” She stops to shoot me a helpless look, willing me to understand. “You know?”
I nod. It sounds to me like Bells has gone and done the most stupid thing in her life, she's gone and fallen in love with Max.
“How did you get in my car anyway?” She suddenly asks. “I demand a lawyer before answering.”
***
Two days later…
On my way to school, my thoughts drift to Jay. He's been acting 'off'. I'm busy taking random photos along the way when a hand is suddenly placed over my mouth from behind.
I begin to panic, ready to strike, when a voice whispers into my ear smoothly, “Be cool, girl, be cool. Act natural, it's just me—”
I don't wait for the psychopath to finish. I turn around and throw a punch straight into the masked stranger's face.
“Ouch! What the hell?! What girl packs a punch like that?! It's not natural!”
A familiar voice shouts dramatically from under the black mask covering his face.
“Max?” I frown, seeing his brown eyes peeping out from beneath the black stocking over his head.
“Nuh-duh! Gosh, Aqueela! Keep the hell up!” he complains as he throws his head back, holding the bridge of his bleeding nose.
I should have known. Only Max would pull a stunt like this.
“Why are you dressed like a criminal? Are you breaking into a bank without me?” I ask, not bothering to apologize for the blood pooling out of his nose.
“That's none of your business!” he snaps before running off to go scare some other poor, defenseless human being.
I glance sideways to see that Bells has made her way over to me upon witnessing the entire incident from afar. “Your boyfriend is crazy,” I tell her as we both stare after Max who frightens an elderly man next before getting hit over the head with a cane.
“He gets that from your influence,” she agrees, winking at me teasingly.
I turn to Bells with a questioning stare, ignoring her statement. “Why is he dressed like that?”
“Might be my fault. I wanted to get even with you. I wanted Max to scare you in the way you scared me back in the car two days ago. I made him practice on a few people. I should have known, being it Max, that he'd take it way over-the-top. I didn't predict him enjoying it and turning into an actual stalker. He's been scaring people endlessly for the past two days. It's exhausting keeping track of all the people I need to write apology letters to.”
“Well, seeing as I punched him in the face, I th
ink I win again.” I laugh aloud upon hearing of her failed attempt at trying to terrify me.
Bells thins her lips into a straight line and nods. “I'll say, you're definitely a force to be reckoned with.”
“You want some candy, little girl? I have candy.” Max harasses a seven-year- old with pigtails next.
“Max!” Bells scolds at him, her yelling falling on deaf ears.
Max waits patiently for the little girl to react, except, she doesn't. She merely blinks up at him with her big, round eyes, innocently licking her red lollipop.
“It means I'm going to kidnap you! Raaaah! This is where you scream and run away crying,” he says, trying to scare her, but, still, she doesn't react.
His face falls in disappointment. I think he gets some kind of kick out of the screams of fearful people.
“Mister, you're not even remotely scary. You just look like some raging lunatic parading around in your mamma's underwear for show,” the little girl dressed in pink bows and frills finally speaks up.
Max's expression drops, his mouth agape in shock. “I'll have you know that these—” he points to the stockings on his head, “—are my girlfriend's underwear, not my mom's! In your face, little dweeb! I bet you're single…what a loser.”
“Whatever makes you sleep at night, you criminal wannabe whose girlfriend I'm certain is his childhood dolly,” the little girl replies, shrugging at Max, unfazed by his comment.
“My girlfriend is real, so shut up, and I don't even have a doll anymore!” Max barks, stooping down to arguing with a seven-year-old child. “I'd be a brilliant criminal. I could make a living out of it!”
“Yeah, and your fake girlfriend could make a living on a street corner. Those stockings are trashy.” The little girl unintentionally insults Bells.
Bells glares at her while I stifle my laughter behind my fist.
“The only thing scary about you is that atrocious thing you call a voice. The world would be better off without it,” the girl adds, uncaring.
“Shut up, you spawn of evil!” Max glares down at her, offended.
“No, you shut up, you lousy excuse for a criminal!” She hisses back. “And even if you did make it as a criminal in life, you'd be a lame one, like a cat burglar or an art thief. That's what you look like anyhow.”