Tempting the Bully: The High School Bully Collection

by Bella King

  “I didn’t hear you before,” I protested, holding my hand with the palm facing up and looking around at the other students for support. Nobody wanted to stick their neck out for me, and Emma wasn’t in this class.

  “Because you weren’t listening. Maybe tomorrow you’ll do a better job once you experience the joys of detention,” she said dryly.

  I shook my head. “Bullshit,” I muttered under my breath.

  She squinted at me. “Detention and a note that your parents must sign to acknowledge your filthy mouth during class. One more word out of you and I will have you suspended.”

  Her ears must have been sharp for her age if she had actually heard what I had said under my breath. It seemed so, but I was a little too taken aback to be more upset about the note. It wouldn’t really matter. My mother wasn’t going to get upset with me over a slip of the tongue in class. Besides, I had heard her use plenty of profanity herself. It wasn’t unusual in my house.

  I buried my face back in my book, hoping that Mrs. Roadsworth didn’t call on me again. If she did, I would be able to answer because I was off in fantasy land again, thinking of everything Mason could have been if he hadn’t turned out to be a rude jerk.

  When the class bell rang, Mrs. Roadsworth slipped a pink paper onto my desk that I was expected to bring home to sign. I would also have to make an appearance in detention this evening after school for an hour.

  I shot her a dirty look as I left the classroom. I wanted her to know that I didn’t appreciate her poor attitude when I was going to do just fine in her class. I would probably have top grades, and I wouldn’t have to listen to a word that bitch said.

  I stuffed the pink paper in the small pocket of my book bag as I walked out with the other students. I saw Emma in the hallways and came up to greet her. She was talking to another girl who I didn’t recognize.

  “Hey, Jasmine, this is Naomi,” Emma said, turning to me the moment I stepped up to her.

  “Nice to meet you,” I said, waving my hand.

  Naomi smiled and gave me a curt nod. “Same.”

  “Naomi plays tennis too, but she likes to bitch about it just like you do,” Emma said, tossing her head back and laughing as though that were the funniest thing.

  Naomi and I both gave her unamused looks before looking at each other.

  “So I guess we can be friends then,” I said.

  “Probably. Emma is some kind of genetic freak, able to run around in the heat like that and not die of stroke.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I always knew her to be an oddball.”

  “Alright you two, it’s not that strange,” Emma chimed in. “You both are just a little weak on the tennis court. Maybe with a little practice you can get on my level.”

  “Well, I won’t be able to join you for practice after school,” I said.

  Emma pointed a finger at me, winking. “Mason, right?”

  I cringed at her reminder. That was supposed to be tonight, but I hadn’t told her that he had moved it up to last night. I wasn’t ready to talk about it.

  I shook my head. “No, actually I got detention. I didn’t know that Mrs. Roadsworth was such a bitch.”

  “Oo, yeah, that’s too bad. She is pretty harsh,” Naomi said, nodding her head.

  “Really?” Emma said, “That’s not fair. What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” I said, which was pretty much the truth. I hadn’t had to do anything to get detention from her. “She didn’t like that I wasn’t paying attention, but I already know all the material in that class.”

  “Nerd, you know the material for every class. Weren’t you tell me that you were only here to get your diploma?” Emma asked.

  “Yeah, I covered all this crap in my first year with my tutors. It’s all pretty basic.”

  “Damn, speak for yourself,” Naomi said, holding up a hand. “Math is fucking killing me right now.”

  “Probably because you’re stupid,” Emma said jokingly. A firm punch in the shoulder was enough to shut her up.

  “Well, I’d rather be bad at it because apparently being too good will get you detention. But, you know, have fun at tennis,” I said.

  “If we survive the heat,” Naomi said, holding up a finger.

  I laughed. I had to go to my next class, so I said goodbye and got out of there. I was okay with Emma not knowing that I had hung out with Mason. If she thought I had to skip going to see him fight because of detention, then that was fine. Maybe I would even tell her I just thought better of it and took her advice. It wasn’t like I was going to be hanging out with him again after what he had said to me.

  Detention was going to suck, but at least I didn’t have to melt my ass in the hot sun after school playing tennis. I wanted to like the sport, but I was so bad at it that the only reason I went was because of Emma. If she hadn’t been my friend, I would spend my entire day inside like I used to.

  Chapter 12

  I almost forgot to go to detention after school, and then wondered if they would even notice if I skipped it. Didn’t keeping someone locked up in a room after school count as imprisonment? Was it even legal?

  I suppose they could just kick me out of Windsor Elite if I started questioning their authority and skipping detention, so I attended like I was supposed to. I walked into the cold room that afternoon with the intention of staring into space and collecting my thoughts for the required hour and just walking out like I never was in trouble. It wouldn’t actually be that bad. I might even find it relaxing.

  However, things never go as I imagine them to. When I passed through the main office into the back room where the detention room was, I found that I wasn’t alone. There was another student there who I hadn’t expected to see.

  It was Mason.

  He was scribbling on a worksheet when I walked in, and looked up when I stepped inside the room. “Hey there,” he said, raising his eyebrows at me

  “Don’t talk to me,” I said, sitting down a few desks away from him. It was as far as I could get without leaving the room entirely.

  “You’ve been a naughty girl, huh?” he said, raising his eyebrows at me again.

  “Can you stop being a creep and leave me alone? I’m done with your bullshit, Mason,” I replied. I sprang up out of my seat, walking up to the front of the room where the worksheets were so that I would have something to do instead of talking to him.

  “Those aren’t anything new, but they have blank pages in the back if you want to draw on them,” Mason said, holding up a crudely drawn picture of breasts on his.

  I groaned. “Are you for real? I thought you would have grown up to a bright young man but instead you’re drawing tits in detention.”

  “Hey, but now I have some real one right in front of me,” he said with an arrogant smirk. “No need to draw them.”

  I held a hand over my chest as I sat back down. I didn’t like how crude he had become. I wasn’t a sexual object for men to drool over. I was a woman with thoughts and feelings who deserved respect, and he would do well to remember that.

  I bent my head down so that the only thing I could see was the paper in front of me. My brown hair hung down on the sides of my face far enough to block out any sight of Mason, but I realized that wouldn’t be enough as he continued talking.

  “You and I should start over. Maybe we can still be friends,” he suggested.

  I heard the scraping of the metal chair against the linoleum floor as he got up. They had nice tiles through the entire school, but the detention room looked like it had been designed and built in the 70’s, with hideous yellow linoleum flooring to match.

  “Don’t ignore me, Jasmine,” Mason said, walking up to my desk.

  I did just that. I bent my head down until my nose was nearly touching the paper and began to study the questions in the booklet. It was all excruciatingly basic stuff, but it was enough to fill an hour of my time.

  A hand snatched the paper from under my nose, flinging it across the room in wild ruffle of pages.<
br />
  I looked up to see Mason’s muscular body leaning over the desk menacingly. “You don’t need that. Why don’t we talk?” he asked cocking his head to the side. He crotch was level with my face when he spoke, and I felt him leaning in toward me, as though he wanted to press his bulge against my face.

  For some reason, I was turned on my that idea. I had never let a man go so far with me, but for some reason I continued to make exceptions for Mason. It was like I wanted to like him even though he was obviously just an asshole now. I guess I hoped there was something good left in him that I could enjoy.

  “Can you stop?” I said, coming back to my senses and planting a hand on his hip to push him away.

  Mason didn’t budge, instead, he looked down with an aroused smile on his lips. “Don’t stop, you’re almost there,” he said calmly.

  I jerked my hand back to my body, disgusted not by his advances toward me, but that I was excited by them. This wasn’t hoe I imagined coming back to school at all. I wasn’t prepared for something this intense and sexual from him.

  “I tried to apologize earlier, but you were quite rude about it,” Mason said, still standing over me.

  I looked back up at his dark brown eyes. “I’m not interested in your half-assed apologies.”

  He breathed out of his nose in a slightly annoyed amusement. “You’ve changed just as much as I have, Jasmine. You couldn’t have possibly expected me to stay the same.”

  “I haven’t changed,” I said, but he was right. Three years ago, I would never have been this combative. I was always a quiet girl until my father got sick. Death changes you.

  Mason smiled. “You used to chase after me, and now you’re trying to have me chase after you. Something definitely changed.”

  “I don’t want you to chase after me. I don’t like you anymore, that’s all. I want you to mind your own business from now on,” I told him, standing my ground.

  “It’s too late for that,” he said. “What’s with the tiny little skirt? I can practically see your panties.” He jerked his head down, trying to catch a glimpse between my legs.

  I slammed them shut, shocked that he would say or do something so crude. “You’re disgusting. I didn’t wear this for you to perv out over.”

  He chuckled, walking around behind me. He must have enjoyed making me uncomfortable because he had been doing it a lot lately.

  I felt heavy hands come down on my shoulders, then squeeze the tense muscles that held my posture in such a rigid position.

  “Relax,” he cooed, his hot breath hitting the back of my neck.

  I shuddered, but his touch felt good. I didn’t realize how much I had needed a massage until the man of my nightmares was kneading my shoulders like I was about to step into the boxing ring. He was playing his cards skillfully, trying to get me to fall into his trap.

  “That’s enough,” I said, shrugging my shoulders as I snapped out of yet another lustful daze. This was getting to be too much for me to handle.

  Mason pushed me as he let go of my shoulders, shoving me forward toward my desk. I turned my head, annoyed at his aggression, to find him with a bitter look on his otherwise handsome face. “I could have had any one of the women here at Windsor Elite, and I waited for you,” he said.

  “That’s not what that meant, Mason, but it’s not like I was hooking up with people while I was gone. I was caring for my father,” I said, my face turning pink in frustration.

  He scoffed. “I don’t care what you were doing. The fact is, I was waiting for you and when you finally do show your face, you reject me entirely. That’s fucked up,” he said, crossing his large arms over his broad chest.

  I looked at the time on my phone. It had only been ten minutes. I wasn’t sure if I would stay sane long enough to deal with Mason’s nonsense and get out of here alive. I might have to sneak out if he continued this way.

  I put my phone down and stood up, turning around to face him. “I came back hoping to find a man who would be kind and respectful toward me, and instead I found a complete moron who thinks beating up crackheads is a good career path. Why the hell wouldn’t I reject you?”

  He snarled at me, shaking his head. “You’re one to talk. Maybe you think you’re better than everyone else here because you got to stay home all day while everyone else had to work and go to school. That must be really nice.”

  “Shut up,” I said, balling my fist and squeezing it until my knuckles were white. “I was caring for my father.”

  “Boo-fucking-hoo, I’m really sorry that your father died and left you all his money so you could continue to fuck around like the entitled cunt that you are.”

  Jesus Christ, he was really leaning into this newfound hatred toward me, but I wasn’t going to let him bully me like that. He had the story all wrong. He was the one who had fucked up, not me. I had been doing the right thing. I did what I was supposed to do while he was the one running around acting out and being irresponsible.

  I didn’t let his words get to me. He clearly had some issues controlling his anger, and I could see from his face that he was trying to get a reaction out of me. Maybe he wanted me to cry and beg for forgiveness for things I hadn’t done. Maybe this was his way of manipulating me so that he could use me for sex. I didn’t know, but I wasn’t going to have any of it. This had to stop.

  “You and I both know that’s not true,” I replied, unbaling my fist and trying to relax my body.

  “Bullshit, you’re probably not even a virgin. I bet you’ve been lying to me about that too,” he said.

  I had to laugh. “What is with your fixation on my sex life, Mason? It’s really none of your business if I’ve had sex or not.”

  He frowned. “So, you have.”

  I sighed, growing impatient with him again. “No, I have not. I told you that already.”

  “So, what is your problem with me? You don’t think I would be a good first?”

  Was he suggesting that we have sex? While that was an idea that had floated in my head quite a bit since I met up with him again, I wasn’t going to let him have that part of me and nothing else. He had to change before I would even consider dating him, much less fucking him.

  “You would be an awful first,” I said, putting my hands on my hips. This made me feel more powerful. “Especially with how you are now.”

  “I’m not handsome?” he asked, angling his head to the side and letting his brown hair fall into his forehead.

  Of course, he was, but I wasn’t going to feed his ego. I kept my mouth shut, only glaring at him as a response.

  “Come on, I know you’re attracted to me,” he said.

  “There’s a lot more to being attracted to someone than their looks. Your personality, for one, is god awful.”

  He chuckled. “The same could be said for you too. Such a pretty face, curvy body, nice long legs, but the attitude of an old lady. Gross,” he teased.

  “Are you done?” I asked, glancing down at the time again. Barely any had passed.

  “Almost,” he said, walking back toward me. “I just want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that there isn’t something still there between us.” He leaned toward me, widening his eyes to gaze into my soul.

  I gazed back at him, searching for some chance in his eyes that things could ever be the same again. I found very little to go off of, but I thought I saw a glimmer of kindness and hope behind them. It was hard to say, but it was like he was silently urging me to bring out the better man that was trapped inside of him.

  I took a deep breath. “I don’t know you anymore.”

  “That’s not what I asked you,” he said, his face remaining blank. “Is there something still between us, or should I move on like seem to have?”

  Ugh, more games and trying to make me feel bad. He was approaching this all wrong. I wanted to grab his shoulders and scream into his face that he had everything all wrong, but I held back. I fluttered my lashes at him and pursed my lips together before speaking. “I don’t kno
w.”

  “You do you, because there is,” he said. “You just can’t bring yourself to accept me for who I am. That’s pretty shallow of you.”

  “Would you stop with the personal attacks?” I asked, my voice growing louder. “You’re not a good person anymore. I had every right not to accept you. Now please leave me alone and let me move on,” I said, waving my hands wildly in the space between us.

  He fell silent, reverting to his hungry eyes and sweeping over my body one final time before he headed back to his desk. He didn’t say anything as he sat down and went back to filling out the worksheet.

  Finally, some peace.

  Chapter 13

  The second the clock struck the hour mark, I was out of detention and running through the white halls of Windsor Elite to get far away from Mason. He hadn’t said anything during the remainder of detention, but I had seen him look over at me often enough to make me feel uncomfortable.

  I wouldn’t have to worry about him again until the next day, so I was determined to forget about all that and do something else with my evening. My mother thought I would be out hanging out with friends, so I decided that even though I wouldn’t be with Mason, I could probably still find something to do outside the house.

  I pulled up my phone and dialed Emma on the drive home, hoping that she wasn’t busy after tennis practice.

  “Hello?” she said after the first ring.

  “Hey Emma, I’m out of detention and bored as hell. You want to do something?”

  “Yeah, actually. I was about to call you and ask if you wanted to come to the hill to hang out and get into some trouble,” she said her voice laced with some serious mischief.

  “What’s the hill?” I asked, completely out of the loop.

  “Ah, yeah, I forgot you’ve been away for that long. The hill the place where seniors hang out after school. Usually people are up there drinking and smoking, but you can do anything you want. The cops don’t come around that area.”