The Way You Love Me: A High School Bully Romance

by Lannah Smith

  Looking up, Haru pocketed his cell phone and walked towards him.

  "You heard me," he said in a hard voice, "So I want to know. What does John Steele think of my little sister?"

  John held his eyes.

  Then he said, "The world."

  Haru stopped walking and stared at him.

  Then the bastard began to laugh.

  "The world?" he muttered between laughter. "My, my. Don't you sound melodramatic?"

  Something broke inside John and he couldn't control himself anymore. His vision went red and in a split second, he found himself with his elbow at Haru's throat up the wall.

  Out of the shadows, Haru's bodyguard appeared, aiming a gun at John's head. At the same time, Vincent materialized at John's side, aiming another gun at the bodyguard.

  "You dare laugh?" John gritted, not giving any fuck about the danger he was in. "You dare laugh at me?"

  "Don't," Haru murmured to his guard, raising a hand. "Put down the gun, Kabakura."

  The bodyguard immediately followed his order and melted back into the shadows. Vincent lowered his gun but he did not leave.

  "You, who gave her nothing but pain and misery, dare laugh at me?" John raged.

  Haru's eyes flashed and John knew he had struck a chord.

  "Get your hands off me," Haru said in a cold voice.

  "Please let him go, sir," Vincent murmured when John didn't listen. "Your father is already wondering where you are. You have to go back."

  Damn it.

  Damn it.

  John let Haru go slowly because Vincent was right. He couldn't make a scene. Stepping back without letting his gaze off him, John did everything in his power not to strike the bastard to oblivion. Haru straightened when he did, smoothing his suit jacket and giving him a look that could turn a running river into an ice rink in a blink.

  "You know nothing, John," Haru said and his voice held an edge of steel with a sheen of deep emotion he couldn't seem to suppress. "Nothing. So don't speak as if you do."

  Then Haru turned to walk through the doors, leaving an angry and bewildered John behind.

  "Jack, will you get your shoes off the table," I said, trying to keep the irritation from my voice as I finalized the year-end documents needed to be submitted to the clubs. "And please, please finish up processing the data. I don't know why you ran and won as treasurer but for God's sake, do your job."

  Jack wasn't listening, the bastard. He had his headphones on and his eyes were closed, his head nodding to the beat of the music.

  Annoyance combined with lack of sleep and restless worry made me pick up a pen and threw it at him. I watched with grim satisfaction as it ricocheted off his forehead. Jack opened his eyes and jerked up his seat, pulling his headphones off.

  "What the fuck, Evans?" he growled, rubbing his forehead.

  "What the fuck?" I snapped. "I barely had enough sleep last night and you have the gall to chill out? Be glad it wasn't the puncher I threw."

  "Who told you not to sleep?"

  "And who told you to join the student council if all you're going to do is sleep, you useless senior!"

  "You know," Jack rose up, glowering at me. "I've had enough of your disrespect. Doesn't Japanese culture put emphasis on hierarchy?"

  "We aren't in Japan and you aren't Japanese." I also stood up, slamming my hands on the table in anger. I instantly wished I didn't when pain radiated from my palms up my arms. "And don't you dare start talking to me about disrespect."

  Knowing he couldn't out-argue me, Jack sank back down on his chair with a groan. "I want to resign."

  "Then resign!"

  "Get out, Jack."

  Jack and I both turned at the sound of that voice. Leon was casually standing in the doorway of the student council's office, staring at me with weary eyes.

  My lips parted in shock and I forgot the pain in my hands immediately.

  What was he doing here?

  "Oh, thank God you're here." Jack jumped out of his chair and went to him. "This farce can finally end."

  Farce?

  Jack closed the door behind him as he left, but not before giving Leon a friendly pat on the shoulder.

  Bemused, I cut my gaze to Leon.

  "Do you know him?" I asked.

  Leon shrugged as he walked up to me at my table. "He's one of John's friends."

  "Did he..." I felt my temperature rise as realization dawned. "Did he make Jack spy on me?"

  "Lookout for you," he corrected. "Why do you think he knows where you are or what you're doing?"

  But of all people, does it really have to be Jack? Sure he was brilliant on paper but the guy was lazy and couldn't commit to a task.

  I shook my head at the thought. I had more important things to focus on and that included Leon being here inside the office which was completely bizarre.

  "Does Sophia know you're here?" I asked him.

  "No," he muttered, He picked up the glass paperweight on my table and studied it. "And neither does John. I'd appreciate it if you won't tell either of them. I'll see them both Saturday night for Skull's birthday party anyway."

  Damn. The party. Sophia had invited me and I'd completely forgotten to tell John about it.

  Oh, well. I'd just surprise him.

  "What do you want, Gage?" I asked impatiently.

  He put the paperweight down and looked at me. "I need to talk to you about Sophia."

  "About your stupid plan to break up with her?" I asked wryly. When Leon raised a brow, I shrugged, "John already told me."

  "It's good to know that you're back together," he responded quietly.

  I narrowed my gaze at him. "Speaking of which, you said not to give John a hard time. But aren't you doing the same?"

  He didn't hide it, my question pissed him off. "How about you? You really want me to be his friend when all I give him is shit?"

  I leaned towards him and hissed, "He wants you in your life, Gage. It's as simple as that. He wants the both of us in his life even though all we give him is shit."

  "I'm leaving, Evans."

  My brows drew together, "What?"

  "John didn't inform you?" he asked with a dark chuckle. "I'm leaving the city. I'm going to live in Boston with my Dad. John won't have to worry about me all the time anymore. You won't have to keep wondering when he'll ditch you for me." He looked straight into my eyes. "He'll soon enough be free of me."

  Leon won't ever be free of John and we both know that. But this was his way of reassuring me of my future with John though it didn't console me one bit. Because what about Sophia? What about my best friend?

  "Does Sophia know?" I asked.

  He shook his head and confirmed my worst fears.

  "You're really breaking up with her?"

  "It's for the best."

  "I knew I should have made John kick your ass when you were still in the hospital."

  He chuckled again. "I'm so happy he's got you."

  I rounded the table to get near him. "Leon, are you sure this is the right thing to do?" I asked him worriedly.

  "You won't change my mind."

  My low volume of patience ebbed away. "Then you are really stupid," I hissed. "When you're gone I'll make sure to find Sophia someone who's better than you in every way. I'll make sure she soon forgets about you."

  The ripple of pain across his face didn't make me pity him. Instead, it only served to anger me.

  "I'm jealous of you."

  Leon looked startled when I said those words.

  "Why?" Leon asked.

  "Because your mother is dead."

  It just came out, those five words, they just came right out of my mouth. The first time I said them to anyone.

  Leon jerked away from me, blinking. My heart was beating fast, my chest moving deep with my heavy breathing and I felt myself pale.

  Then his eyes narrowed, his expression frightening to look at. "What the hell do you mean, Evans?" he said in a low, menacing tone.

  "I wish she was."
I took a deep breath and felt my hands shaking with the need to clench them. Leon's eyes glanced at them before looking at my face again. "I wish my own mother was dead."

  His eyes widened with hurt. "You can't fucking mean that—"

  "My mother is already dying, by the way," I smiled painfully at him. "So I might be even getting my wish soon."

  "Evans—"

  "But I'm afraid that I can't cry when the time comes. I don't even know what face I'll show if she ever died."

  He fell silent, stunned by my admissions, and stared at me.

  "Everyone has their own circumstances in life, Gage," I found myself whispering. "Everyone. You're not the only person in this damn lifetime who's had it worse. But the thing is, it's over for you. While everyone else is still striving to survive the nightmare they are living in, you can now breathe easy knowing you wouldn't go through that ever again."

  "You don't know shit about what I'm going through," he whispered back.

  "But you are aware about what you are going to make Sophia go through once you leave her?" I shot back, my voice rising. "I'm pretty sure you know shit that you'll be giving her the hell you've always tried to protect her from."

  He closed his eyes. "You don't understand. You and John just don't understand."

  "Just think it over," I begged him. "For the last time, just think this decision through."

  He shook his head. Then he walked away from me.

  I raised my hands to my face and closing my eyes, I breathed deeply into them, once, twice.

  He thought I couldn't understand where he's coming from. I did. I freaking did. He was trying to protect Sophia from him, from the heartache he might give her. He was afraid that as long as he wasn't okay, he'd keep hurting her.

  And that was the difference between him and me.

  He was selfishly keeping his reasons to let her go. I was selfishly keeping mine to keep John next to me.

  "Just be there." I lifted my head and turned to see Leon had paused at the door. "Just be there for Sophia when I... I end things with her."

  I said nothing and he went on, "And don't worry. Jack will be resigning from the student council."

  I almost laughed.

  Jack was the fucking least of my worries now.

  John didn't think he'd ever been this angry.

  Of course, he'd been angry a lot of times considering he was a brat when he was a child. And even if he could now control that temperament, it had not been only once or twice when he had exploded out of anger.

  Jack knew this.

  Which was why, after speaking, he wisely took a step back.

  "Come again?" John asked, his voice vibrating with anger as he stepped down his truck.

  Jack took another step back. "Um, calm down, young master."

  "You expect me to be calm when you just told me you left Leon and Terry in one room?" he shouted.

  "Leon told me to get out," he said in defense.

  "And you're only telling me this now?" John leaned into him and Jack winced. "Cell phones were invented for a reason, Jack."

  "I just remembered when I saw you."

  "I'm going to kill you!"

  "Leon's here!" Jack frantically pointed behind him. "There, there! He's coming."

  If this was a trick, the smartass would definitely wish he'd never been born.

  John turned around. Fortunately for Jack, Leon was exactly where he pointed. But it was unfortunate for Leon, whose eyes had caught John's and had stopped dead at the visible anger John knew was on his face.

  "You told him, Jack?" Leon glowered at the culprit.

  Jack shrugged. "I'm on his payroll."

  "You mean you're one of the Steele Foundation scholars," John snapped at him. "Stop making it sound like you're some badass minion."

  "Fine," Jack mumbled sullenly. "So can I quit the student council now?"

  "Already told Terry you will," Leon told him, unfreezing and moving to them.

  Ignoring Jack's triumphant yell and focusing on Leon, John asked, "What did you say to her?"

  Leon didn't hesitate to tell him, "It's between us."

  "For fuck's sake, Leon."

  "You can ask her if you want."

  Yeah, like his girlfriend would actually tell him if she didn't want to.

  "And I didn't hurt her if that's what you're so pissed about," Leon assured him.

  John felt a muscle jump in his cheek. "I'm not pissed."

  "You're still yelling."

  "I'm not yelling!"

  "You shouldn't yell at him," Jack interrupted. "Didn't he just get out of the hospital?"

  Jack began to run when John slowly twisted his neck to look at him.

  "I thought you were going to stay at home today?" John asked Leon when the little shit was gone.

  Leon's face was unreadable except his jaw was set in granite. "I had something to do."

  "Like talk to Terry?" he asked sarcastically.

  "I don't need this to be ugly, John."

  "But this just keeps getting uglier and uglier, don't you see?"

  Leon shook his head. "I'm going home."

  "The fuck you are. We aren't done talking."

  "Do you know how she feels about her mother?"

  The question stunned John into silence.

  "Talk to her, John," Leon suggested.

  His shoulders went tight. "What do you mean?"

  "You know what I mean." Leon slid his hands into his jacket's pockets and looked away. He let out a long exhale then looked back at him. "You always know what I mean, John."

  Terry's body jerked and her head whipped around when John settled into her car unannounced. It was later in the afternoon when he found her getting into her car. John had been staking out the parking lot, waiting for her to come out of the school building and trying to get his shit together.

  "You scared me," Terry snapped.

  "Take this," John ordered, giving her cup of coffee he'd sent Jack to get. "I don't want you sleeping on the wheel."

  Automatically, she reached out and took it. He grinned.

  "Thank you," she grudgingly muttered. "And don't just jump in my car next time."

  She took a sip of her coffee, exhaling happily after she swallowed. John felt worry tear through him as he examined her. Her eyes had dark circles underneath them and her face was pale. She looked exhausted. No wonder she livened up when she saw the coffee he brought.

  "Are you sick?" he asked.

  Her gaze came to him. "I'm not."

  "You look sick."

  "I just didn't have any sleep last night," she explained, aiming her eyes out the windshield. "I had so much work to do."

  He raked his fingers through her hair and pulled her close. Kissing her temple, he murmured. "You shouldn't stay up too late."

  Her lips tipped up. "I'll try. We still have exams next week though."

  "Oh, yeah," John grumbled. Damn. It was time to burn the midnight candle again.

  "So what did you and Leon talked about?" It still pissed him off, Leon going around his back to talk to her but he tried not to let it show.

  She frowned and took another sip. "How did you know?"

  "Jack."

  She suddenly stiffened. "Speaking of Jack..." she started in a dangerous tone, swiveling her head around. "How dare you put a guard on me?"

  Shit.

  "Wasn't he helpful?" he asked with a wince.

  She punched his shoulder. "Helpful?" she shouted. "He's been nothing but a thorn in my side ever since I first met him!"

  "You know this won't work," he said, grabbing her cup, in case she spilled her coffee on him. "Tell me what you and Leon talked about."

  "That's between us," she grumpily told him.

  It was his turn to glare at her. "That's what he said!"

  "We talked about Sophia, alright?" she sighed again. "And like you, I tried to change his mind."

  That probably didn't work.

  "And I didn't sock him if that's what you're thinking
."