The Way You Love Me: A High School Bully Romance

by Lannah Smith

  "Then shit will happen to him," Leon stated, leaning back on the chaise. "Tell me when the guys get him."

  Rohan nodded.

  "The fucker's slippery as an ear," Skull commented.

  John blinked.

  A what?

  Leon sighed. "You mean slippery as an eel."

  Skull frowned and said, "Same thing."

  John bit his lip to stop himself from smiling and noticed Rohan doing the same. Leon let out another long-suffering sigh.

  "An ear and an eel is not the same fucking thing, Skull," he told him impatiently.

  Skull shrugged. "I meant the smiley."

  "The smiley?" Rohan asked.

  "Yeah. Smiley. You know, comparing crap and shit."

  John and Rohan couldn't help it anymore, they burst out into loud guffaws. Leon even managed to crack a grin. Trust Skull to be a complete idiot and break the tension.

  "I smell money," John heard Rohan mutter as Leon went to the kitchen to get another drink.

  "What are you going to do with your 500 dollars when you win, Rohan?" Skull asked, eager to change the topic to forget his simile disaster.

  "Buy some games on Steam, of course."

  These assholes.

  "You guys are awfully sure you'll win," John commented, annoyed. "You've seen him with her. If someone should be smelling the money, it should be me."

  Rohan grinned. "That's shit you're smelling. From your mouth."

  His annoyance flared to anger.

  "You morons better not be cheating," he warned with a steely glare.

  "I always play fair. I don't know about Skull, though."

  His glare went to Skull. "I'm warning you. Don't fuck with them."

  "But I really want to win," Skull grumbled.

  His burgeoning anger strengthened and in a lash of temper, he turned the table over, spilling the pictures. He reached for Skull but Rohan held him back.

  "This isn't a fucking game," John hissed. "This is Leon's life. Don't fucking interfere with his life."

  Skull raised a brow. "And you don't?"

  "I want him to be happy," he returned.

  "He's not going to be happy with Sophia," Skull shot back. "You know that. Not if he insists on keeping his secrets. Not if he doesn't move on from the shit of his past."

  "Oh, man. Are you really going to fight over this bet?" Rohan's amused voice came behind him.

  Skull grinned and John really wanted to wipe it off his face with his fist. But at that moment, Leon came out of the kitchen, looking pissed at the overturned table. Seeing him, John shrugged Rohan's arms off him and leaned back on the couch again with an angry exhale.

  "What happened?" Leon asked as he took his seat.

  "Nothing," John muttered, playing with his rings. "Skull is just being a dick."

  Skull barked a laugh. "I'm the dick? Who tried to bust my ass for telling I saw Stella in some rich bastard's ride?"

  He may be pissed at Skull but at that moment, he was glad he didn't tell Leon the real reason behind his anger. It wasn't because Skull knew subtlety, no. The idiot was saving his own skin because if Leon knew they were making a bet on his relationship, he'll beat them all within an inch to death.

  John skewered him with a glare. "You're a fucking liar," he muttered, playing the part of an enraged lover.

  "I didn't know you were into Stella that much," Leon stated, sucking in his beer.

  "No. But she gives great head and I'd hate to lose her."

  Rohan snorted. "Maybe you won't."

  Wow, these assholes were such good actors.

  Terrible friends.

  But good actors.

  Ah, but this was such a fucked-up week and John couldn't wait until it was over.

  ◆◆◆

  "Here are the books you've requested, Terry," Mr. Cameron told me.

  I was trying not to hyperventilate.

  I was supposed to be meeting Mr. Cameron. Just Mr. Cameron.

  I walked into his office in the special building and John was there, sitting on the side of the desk. One sight of him and I nearly walked out of the room. But loads of practice of ignoring people stopped me from doing that.

  It took a good deal out of me but I just ignored John. I continued to walk to Mr. Cameron's desk, greeted him, and then waited patiently for him in front of his desk to give me the books I had asked him.

  "Thank you, sir," I told him as I received the books he handed over and put them in my backpack.

  I tried to blank out the fact that John was still sitting silently on the side of Mr. Cameron's desk. He was looking at me, I saw him out of my peripheral vision but I also felt his eyes on me. It was beginning to disconcert me but I stood my ground.

  "Do you still need me this Friday?" Mr. Cameron asked.

  The air in the room changed. From the minute I walked in it, it had been suffocating, mainly because John was there.

  Now it went weirdly... electric.

  "Yes," I answered. "Dad wants to speak to you."

  He nodded. "I'll see you then."

  With a small smile, I bid him goodbye and began to walk out of the office without seeming that I was hurrying.

  When I got out of the building, I breathed out a long sigh of relief.

  Darn it.

  Why the heck was he everywhere?

  I barely got inside the regular building when my eyes focused on something that made me stop on my tracks.

  Pete Ward.

  He was looking out of one of the windows and he was smiling.

  I stared at him. I didn't tell John this but I never liked Pete Ward. He was one of the most charismatic people in school but there was something off about him, something that made me avoid him like how I avoid John and his friends. He didn't bother me though so I never thought about it. But now, knowing what he was doing made me angry.

  I followed his gaze.

  Then a chill went through me.

  He was staring at Sophia who was reading a book on one of the benches outside.

  I looked back at him and my body locked.

  Because he was now looking at me.

  Lifting my chin, I arched one brow at him. At this, his eyes grew dark but the smile stayed on his face. He raised his hand, gave me a little wave and walked away from the window. My eyes narrowing in suspicion, I watched him go.

  Then I heard footsteps behind me and I swung my gaze around to find John. He too was watching Ward go, his hands clenched into tight fists.

  His eyes slid to me and I stiffened at the anger in them.

  "Don't do anything stupid, Evans," he warned.

  I curled my lips in distaste. "Stupid belongs to you, Steele."

  "I'm serious."

  My brows rose. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

  He smirked and said, "No, you look beautiful today."

  Now my blood was boiling and I was going to have to take care not to lose control.

  "Aren't you a little too old to still need a tutor?" he suddenly asked.

  And my anger diffused.

  Genuinely perplexed, I asked, "Where is this coming from?"

  "Just an observation," he said with a shrug.

  "It's Dad's decision, Steele."

  "Ah." He cocked his head to the side and murmured, "I see."

  I gave him a scowl. "What?"

  "You haven't changed."

  "I'll bite," I said, shifting my weight to another foot. "What do you mean I haven't changed?"

  "You're still your family's lapdog."

  It felt like he slapped me and reflexively, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. The pain, as always, calmed me through the havoc of emotions whirling inside me.

  "And you're still a bastard," I answered softly.

  His brows drew together and he stared at me. I calmly held his stare and my breath.

  Then he murmured, "You never did change, didn't you? You're still the same little girl that I used to know."

  I remained silent.

  "It makes me ang
ry just thinking about it."

  Before I could say more or figure out what he meant by that, he turned on his heels and disappeared.

  My hands were still clenched into fists when I walked inside the classroom. A throbbing pain had begun at the base of my skull. Hannah, noticing my mood, was quieter than usual. Mary and Cecil were steering clear of me. I was used to everyone fearing me at some degree so it didn't bother me. In fact, it relieved me.

  But Life must really have it out on me today.

  Because the teacher paired me with Sophia Gideon for our English project.

  I scowled at the teacher and the teacher just shrugged in apology and looked away. Everyone in the room collectively sighed. Hannah looked worried, not for me obviously, but for Sophia. She was right to worry about the girl. I wasn't in a good mood and she was afraid I might lash it out on Sophia.

  I kept my patience.

  I was polite.

  We were to make a persuasive research on the novel the teacher had made us read in class and to compare an event in the book with another historical event or person. We split the work and I left Sophia alone to do her part while I do mine. But, God, what the heck was wrong with her head?

  I glared at her, then slid down my glare to what she had written on her paper.

  "No, Sophia," I muttered, holding back my temper. "The food they ate for the big dinner is not one of the main points of the story."

  She looked at me then quickly dropped her gaze.

  "Oh," she mumbled timidly. "Sorry."

  "And the color of her cat did not have any significant influence on his decision to burn down the town."

  She bit her lip and erased what she had written. I exhaled through my nose. At least she was trying unlike Hannah who was just letting her partner do all the work.

  Pen on paper, I tried to focus on my work. But John's words kept resonating in my head.

  How could I change? I thought angrily. It was easy for him to say. No matter what he did, no matter what he became, he will never be kicked out of the family because he was important.

  He was the heir.

  Me?

  I was the second child. I was an accident.

  I could easily be cast aside, forgotten and they'd never even look back. I saw it done before. And I knew they could do it again.

  "How about this?" Sophia asked, presenting her paper again.

  Oh, my God.

  It's the cat again. She wrote about the stupid cat again.

  And I couldn't take it anymore.

  "It sucks!" I snapped. "Everything you wrote sucks! Tell me, Sophia. Do you have crap for brains?"

  The hurt in her face gave my anger pause. I watched her slide her gaze to where Hannah was. I pressed my lips together. Did she really think I'd let Hannah have her back? Not in a million years.

  She leaned forward and asked quietly, "What is your problem with me, Terry?"

  My brows rose. Was she actually not timid as she thought she was?

  "I just told you your ideas suck. Why do you think I have a problem with you?"

  "Oh, just tell me already," she said in a quiet burst of temper.

  The nerve.

  "Do you think you can order me around?" I asked. "I'm not afraid of you just because you're dating him. Should I bow down to you, your royal highness? Should I just shut my mouth and let you use stupid ideas for our project?"

  She sat back and bit her lip again. "This is about Hannah, isn't it?"

  Hannah?

  My gaze fell.

  And for a moment, I felt shame.

  "Of course, this is about Hannah," she went on, completely misunderstanding me.

  This wasn't.

  Not anymore.

  I didn't want to be near Sophia because damn it, she started this whole mess to begin with. She disturbed my peaceful life in school. She triggered all of this whether she knew it or not. She was part of the reason why I kept running into John. I just wanted to forget, forget I ever slept with him. Forget he existed. I was doing so well but being near her was was a daily reminder of the fact that I could never get away from him, that try as I might, I would never forget about him.

  I let her misunderstand me and told her to stay away from Hannah. I was hurting her, I could see the tears in her eyes, but I powered on. This was me being selfish, I knew. But I was tired, too tired with my life and I didn't want to have to deal with her or John. I know it was stupid, it wasn't her fault that she was targeted but I still find myself blaming her. It was the only way I could deal with the stress.

  Yet, I wasn't sure how long I could go on.

  The hideousness of this day was already taking its toll and I felt myself breaking.

  My gaze moved to the calendar on the wall.

  And it had be today when I had my appointment.

  They worked double time.

  Sophia had a call from Ward, the sick bastard was masturbating to her voice, and Leon had exploded. John barely managed to calm him down and told him to go to her. His best friend didn't need to be told twice.

  Rohan was pissed at this development but John didn't tell him 'I told you so.'

  He was too busy to be bragging about shit like that.

  John held the phone to his ear, listening to Alec talk but kept his eyes on Skull and Rohan round the kitchen table. Rohan was trying to hack into Ward's security cameras and Skull was watching him, his hands clenching and unclenching. All around them were remnants of a party that hardly started because of this emergency.

  "We're almost there," Alec said in his ear. "I'll call again once we arrive."

  "Right," John said, rubbing his head with a sigh. "Talk to you soon."

  "Later."

  John heard the disconnect and put his phone back in his pocket.

  Fuck!

  The word exploded in his brain. He took a deep breath to help him relax. Then he shook his head at how fucked-up the situation had become.

  "Poor Sophia," Skull muttered over the frantic clacking of the keyboard. "She must have cried, right?"

  Rohan snorted. "She probably did. Women are weak, emotional creatures after all."

  "So glad I didn't see it. My weak point is seeing a girl cry."

  "Your weak point should be your empty brain."

  "Are you implying that I'm stupid?"

  "Wow, for someone who's stupid, you sure figured that out quickly."

  John smirked as he listened to the two argue.

  Women were not weak.

  Terry Evans was an excellent example of that.

  His Yukiko.

  Then the smirk vanished and his gut tightened. Because he'd done it again.

  He hurt her again.

  But when he heard that bastard Ethan was going to her place, it pissed the hell out of him. He didn't want to admit it but he was jealous. Yes, he was jealous even though he had no right to be. And when he heard that she was still bending to her family's dictates, it pissed him even more.

  He knew what it was like for her when they were still children, when they were still talking. She had confided in him. And it pissed him a lot that he couldn't do anything for her now because she'd already written him off.

  But it was his fault. He had no right to be pissed at her either.

  Because he wrote her off first.

  John drew in a long, deep breath.

  Then he let it out, muttering, "Are you in, Rohan?"

  "Yeah," Rohan mumbled as he typed a sequence of numbers on the keyboard. "He's inside his house. I just saw him walk through the hall."

  "Anything else?"

  "I'm trying to get into his computers again. Fuck, but his firewalls are hard to breach."

  Skull frowned. "You've been doing that for awhile now. Are you sure you're good at this?"

  "I told you. I'm still learning. This isn't like the movies, you know."

  "I don't think you've learned anything at all, boy genius."