“You should’ve guessed,” Mia continued. “You taught her everything she knows, didn’t you?”
Paige had entered the living room again.
“GET OUT!” Mia yelled at her.
Alicia snapped shut her laptop, and the room momentarily stopped at the sudden sign of movement from her.
“That’s enough, Mia,” she commanded. “Jane, take her to her room.”
Jane put her arm around her and gently pulled her towards her bedroom. Mia reluctantly complied. Hannah was still sorting through a pile of books as if there was nothing going on around her.
“I’m sorry, Paige,” Alicia said when Mia was safely in the confines of her room with Jane. “I know you didn’t know about Gavin…” In fact, Alicia didn’t know if Paige did or did not know about Gavin and Mia, but she did not care at this point.
“Of course she didn’t know,” Clarabelle said. “Paige wouldn’t kiss another girl’s boyfriend if she knew…”
“Yes, I’m not like you!” Paige said turning around on Clarabelle.
“What?”
“You have done it before, and you will do it again without a second thought. And I’m not like you!”
“Paige…”
“SHUT UP!” Paige yelled. “How could you?! You knew I’m in love with him and you still went ahead anyway. You didn’t even care a little bit? Just a little bit?”
“I thought…”
“YOU DIDN’T THINK ANYTHING! You knew, Belle-” her voice broke. “And you did it anyway.”
“You never said anything to him…didn’t even talk to him…” Clarabelle attempted to explain.
“YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE MY BEST FRIEND!” Paige yelled again. “That shouldn’t have mattered to you!”
The room was silent. Hannah’s eyes were focused on the book she had pulled out of the pile.
Paige was breathing hard. “It’s alright, though. You two won’t last long.”
“W-what do you mean?” Clarabelle said.
“If you think he’ll stay with a girl like you for too long, you’re a bigger idiot than I thought.”
Clarabelle gained her composure and scoffed. “You think he’ll want a girl like you, Paige? Just because you lost a little weight and learned to put on makeup that doesn’t make you look like a troll doesn’t mean he’ll notice you!”
Paige made for Clarabelle with the obvious intention of hitting her. Alicia stepped in the middle. “STOP IT!” she yelled. “He’s just a boy!”
“He’s the boy I’m in love with!” Paige yelled. Alicia still stood between them.
“He doesn’t care about you!” Clarabelle said. “He likes me, and you have to accept that.”
“That’s until he finds out all the terrible things you’ve done in the past,” Paige said, a little calmer now. “Accept it, Belle. Boys like James would never like girls like you.”
“That’s funny coming from you since you’re trying so hard to be me!”
“I NEVER WANT TO BE YOU!” Paige screamed. “James Carter is only dating you because-”
“Because what?” Clarabelle challenged. “You don’t even know the boy. He likes me. He likes me and doesn’t just want to sleep with me. That rarely happens to – like you said – ‘girls like me’ so of course, I would go for it.”
Paige had tears in her eyes.
“You think the reason he never noticed you were because you weren’t skinny enough? James is much better than that! And it’s not like he has never had options before. Girls line up to date him!”
“STOP IT!” Alicia yelled. “You two are so ridiculous! Honestly! He’s just a boy. And I will no longer hear you two scream all over the house. I want SILENCE!”
And there was silence until Alicia exited the house and went outside. Hannah silently slipped away too, leaving Paige and Clarabelle alone in the room.
“You should be grateful she doesn’t like James Carter,” Paige said quietly. “Or he would be losing interest in you really quickly.”
“He doesn’t like Alicia,” Clarabelle said calmly.
Paige scoffed. “You’re blind, Belle. After all your experiences, if you still haven’t learned that a guy can sleep around with a girl while being in love with another girl, you’re extremely stupid. You’ve been the former girl way too many times to not know that already.” She smiled sweetly before she, too, turned away and headed upstairs.
Clarabelle was left alone.
Chapter Six
Alicia roamed the streets for hours afterward, trying to find some sort of solace in the cold night air.
He likes me. He likes me and doesn’t just want to sleep with me.
James had finally found a girl who he genuinely liked.
Alicia felt her heart breaking. And as if the world was conspiring to break her heart, even more, James appeared in front of her. He smiled as she saw him and she swallowed. He was perfect. With his messy hair and hazel eyes, his stupid smile, his hands in his jeans pockets. He was perfect.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” she replied.
“Why are you out all alone?”
Alicia shrugged. “Just – just too much drama in the house.”
“What sort?” he asked.
“Paige and Clarabelle...” It then dawned on her that James did not know about Paige’s feelings for him and she should leave it for Clarabelle to explain. Clarabelle owed him that much. She sighed. “Clarabelle will explain to you soon, I suppose.”
“Alright,” he frowned. “Want to come over?”
“Would the girlfriend be alright with that?”
He rolled his eyes. “With having my best friend over? Of course.”
Best friend. That’s who she was to him now. Just two old chums, hanging out.
Hours later, they found themselves in James’ room, sitting cross-legged and facing each other with a chess board in the middle of them. Normal people found chess boring, but they both always had fun playing it. It helped that they both were brilliant at it.
James frowned when he got himself into a particularly tough situation and glanced at Alicia. She looked forlorn and distant to him. He wondered if he should say something; she had been that way for quite some time now.
“Are you alright?” he asked before moving one of his knights.
“Yeah,” she said.
“You’ve been strange for a few days now.”
“I’m alright,” she said, focusing on the board.
“You can talk to me.”
James picked up the chessboard and set it aside, moving closer to her. They still sat cross-legged, but now they were barely inches apart. He held her hands in his own and all the while, she kept her eyes fixed on a spot on the ground. Finally, she sighed and looked up at him. His hazel eyes looked concerned and confused at the same time. There was a slight frown on his forehead. Her eyes lingered on his lips, and she realized that she would really like to kiss him. It was as if her whole body wanted to go against any rational thought and kiss James Carter senseless. But then she remembered another girl had said yes and she had said no and it was over now.
“Alicia?”
She saw rather than heard his lips form the words. She gripped his hand tighter, willing herself not to do something stupid.
But then his phone rang, and he pulled away to answer it and the moment passed. She let out a deep, calming breath as she composed herself. James still held her hand as he spoke on the phone. She could hear Clarabelle’s voice on the other end.
James had felt it too, but he was just better at hiding it. Besides, he was done hoping that Alicia would ever reciprocate what he felt towards her. Any spark he felt must have been a figment of his imagination, the last hope left to get Alicia to feel something towards him. He hung up and frowned.
“Everything okay?”
“She wants me to pick her up,” James said. “Sounded pretty upset.” He stood up and held out his hand, helping her up too. “Come on. I can drop you back and pick her up.”
She nod
ded.
When the car pulled outside her house, the street felt strangely calm especially after what she had witnessed before leaving. All the screaming and crying seemed to have subdued. Maybe Mia was sleeping? Alicia remained in the car because James was talking about something and the story wasn’t complete yet. They were so immersed in their conversation that they did not see Clarabelle open the front door and step outside.
Alicia laughed at something James said which made him smile. The light moment died down suddenly till only their smiles lingered.
“I had a good time with you, James,” Alicia said. Her heart broke again.
He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “So did I.”
His hand slid down until it tangled with her own. They both sat in silence, hand in hand. None of them spoke a word, afraid to break the tense silence. Clarabelle watched from the doorstep. She couldn’t see their tangled hands, but she had an uncomfortable feeling which made her walk towards the car. Alicia heard the footsteps and withdrew her hand. Fucking hell, she thought. Is this really me? Am I really trying to steal another girl’s boyfriend?
“See you, James,” she said hurriedly, reaching for the car door.
She hastily greeted Clarabelle as she passed her and disappeared into the house. Clarabelle took her place in the car and leaned over to kiss James deeply before pulling away.
“What was that for?” he asked confused.
“Can’t I kiss my boyfriend without there being a reason?”
“You can but… what is it, anyway?”
She sighed. James started to drive.
“Paige hates me.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s in love with you.”
“Paige?” James asked confused. “What are you talking about?”
And weeks of feeling worried and sad came pouring out as Clarabelle told him the truth about everything. About Paige’s old crush, her own supposed betrayal by seeing James, of the change in Paige’s behavior and the fight they had just had. James listened patiently and did not interrupt till she had talked herself out. When it was over, he shook his head.
“Do you hate me?”
“Why would I hate you?”
“I feel like I’ve lost the only friend I had. People don’t normally like girls like me. Not as a friend, anyway.”
“You haven’t lost me,” James said simply.
Clarabelle smiled. “That’s the only thing keeping me going.”
And it was the only thing keeping her going. Earlier this morning, she had had a strange encounter with a friend of hers called Ben. Ben had been one of her good friends since high school.
“I’m so happy you’ve finally settled,” Ben had said, alluding to her newly formed relationship with James. Clarabelle wasn’t one to settle for one man, and everybody knew that.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” she had replied.
“But I assume we’re still on for our normal arrangement? Friday nights?”
“What?”
“Friday night. We meet every Friday night.”
“Oh. Ben, I’m with James now…”
Ben and Clarabelle had been meeting every Friday night for the past one year to shag and satisfy one another. They had excellent chemistry which made for perfect fuck buddies.
“So what, Belle? That has never stopped you before. You’ve been with guys before, and I’ve been with girls, but that has never stopped us. You always said shagging a friend is no different than going for a drive with them if there are no emotions involved.”
“Ben…”
“I’ll see you at my place on Friday,” he had said, winking.
“You won’t.”
“I will. You’ll show up. You always do.”
Clarabelle mused on this conversation as she sat with James and reflected at the person she was before she committed herself to James. She never considered cheating to be a wrong thing; she was the girl several men cheated with, and she always assured them that they did nothing wrong. A part of her missed that freedom; the freedom to be with anyone, to be with multiple people and to be free from any attachment. She craved her old life at times, but it was nice being with James too. It was nice that he held her hand and kissed her and they could be known as a unit to the public. He looked after her and was nice to her. He wanted her and not her body. He enjoyed being with her.
She was happy with James.
Or so she told herself.
Chapter Seven
Paige woke up the next morning and the events of the previous night dawned on her. Everything that had happened in the entrance hall, everything that Clarabelle had said to her, everything that Mia had said…
But she was done feeling miserable. She had cried herself to sleep the night before, but it was over now. Now, it was time for payback, and she was going to show Clarabelle what she was worth. Clarabelle, who thought that Paige could never land a boy of her choice. Clarabelle, who was always the prettier friend. Perfect little Clarabelle who everyone loved so much.
Paige and James were in the same major, and coincidentally, they shared loads of classes together. That might have to do with the fact that Paige always carefully chose her classes to match his, but she never admitted that fact to anyone. The next morning, as Paige arrived for her first class, she found a few early arrivals dawdling around in the lecture hall, waiting for the professor to arrive. Paige quickly spotted James sitting in one of the back seats and surprisingly, Clarabelle sat on the table in front of his seat. They were idly talking, and James’ hand rested on Clarabelle’s bare leg. Paige prepared herself and walked towards them with new found confidence.
“Hi, Jamie,” she said cheerily.
“Hi,” James replied, trying to be cordial.
“Hi, Paige,” Clarabelle said. Paige pulled a seat next to James’ and settled down. Clarabelle didn’t say anything but Paige was her best friend. She could tell how much it bothered Clarabelle that Paige was going to be in James’ company for pretty much the rest of the day.
“This is going to be a good class, right, Jamie?” Paige said.
“You know, he hates it when people call him that?” Clarabelle said.
“He doesn’t mind when I call him that,” Paige replied.
“What are you trying to prove, Paige?”
“Um, can I point out that I’m sitting right here?” James added, annoyance audible in his voice.
“Sorry,” Paige said. “Wait till she goes away. We can have a good time then.”
Clarabelle opened her mouth to reply, but Paige saw James’ grip on her leg tighten. They gazed each other’s eyes, and through some apparent unspoken conversation, James silenced her. When the professor arrived, and brought with him more students who were bidding their time outside till her arrival, Clarabelle leaned down to kiss James. She made sure it was a deep and long kiss before pulling away. When she was gone, Paige turned towards James.
“Alright, Paige…” James began. “Let’s just say that my girlfriend isn’t too fond of you right now…”
“So what?” Paige demanded. “Can’t we be friends? Why do you need her approval to be my friend?”
“I don’t… that’s not what I meant.” James could already tell this was going to be difficult. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Look –”
“Your hair is very beautiful,” Paige cut across him.
“Err, thanks. Look –”
“We don’t have to talk about Clarabelle right now,” Paige interrupted him again.
“Actually, we do.”
The professor was about to start the lecture now, so James glanced at him before speaking again.
“I think you’re both being stupid. You shouldn’t be fighting over something so… so insignificant. She’s pretty upset about the fight too, and I really think you two should make up.”
“That’s nice of you, James, but it’s none of your business.”
“Of course it’s my business.”
“This isn’t about you, James.”
“Then what’s it about?”
“It’s about proving Clarabelle wrong,” Paige said smiling. “You’re just a pawn in the game.”
“Great,” James said. “Lovely.”
He spent the rest of the class trying to get Paige to shut up as she told him all about her life and interests. He was too polite to tell her to shut up. The James of two years ago would have found no problem in telling her to leave him alone. But the James of two years ago was long gone. He was gone because Alicia disapproved of him. He did everything he could to make himself good enough for her, but there was only so much that he could do. There was no more. Alicia was gone now. Clarabelle was his girlfriend. He didn’t care about Alicia anymore.
Alicia was a story of the past.
Or so he told himself.
As soon as the class ended, Clarabelle was back at James’ side, and Tiffany and Stephanie were at Paige’s side. Apparently, they had come to fetch her for their ‘manicures and pedicures.' They giggled and said hi to James, throwing hateful glances at Clarabelle.
“James, why don’t you come along?” Tiffany suggested. “Paige would like the company while she gets her back massage done. Maybe you can assist.”
“Um,” James said.
“Clarabelle can come along too,” Stephanie added. “We wouldn’t mind. Paige might though.”
“Oooh, yes I will,” Paige replied. She looked at Clarabelle. “She might end up sleeping with one of your boyfriends there, girls.”
Tiffany and Stephanie giggled.
James looked at them flabbergasted. He turned to Clarabelle. “Is it still considered wrong to tell girls to shut the fuck up?” he asked her loudly.
“James…” Clarabelle placed a soothing hand on his arm.
“Don’t be angry, Jamie,” Paige said.
“Don’t call me that,” he replied harshly. “And I suggest you three leave my girlfriend alone. She has enough troubles without the three of you spreading gossip around.”
He pulled Clarabelle along and exited the class. She was quiet.
“What gossip were you talking about?”
“Oh, you know. Just in case someone is spreading gossip about you.”
The Campus Jock: A College Bad Boy Romance Page 4