by L. A. Casey
Ryder stared at me for a moment before he smiled and said, "I think you're the only girl he has ever asked to be his girl, and you rejected him. That might knock him back a bit and make him realise he is not God."
Branna snorted. "I doubt that, your brother has too big of an ego not to bounce back from this."
I was fed up with all things related to this conversation.
"Can we just go home now?" I asked Branna.
She nodded. "Yeah, I need food and sleep."
"Yeah, we didn't get much of that last night." Ryder grinned down at her.
I felt sick.
"Look, Ryder, I'm tryin' to be understandin' about your sudden entrance into my life with you bein' me sister's new boyfriend, I really am, but never and I mean never, talk about sex with her around me. I will puke on you otherwise. Got that, bro?"
Branna face-palmed herself while Ryder bit down on his lip and cleared his throat. "Understood, Bronagh."
"Great."
Ryder drove us home and thankfully the car ride was silent. I didn't know what to say or talk about with him, so I just remained quiet.
When we got to our house, Branna leaned over and pecked Ryder's lips with hers, then reached for my hand. "Call you later."
He nodded and watched her walk away as we walked up our garden to the porch of our house; she waved while I unlocked the door. When we were inside I just stood still and looked around.
"Nothin' has changed in here and yet everything feels so different," I murmured.
Branna's arms came around me from behind. "It's a new chapter for us. Somethin' new is happenin', and it will take some gettin' used to for both of us."
I nodded because she was right; I just hoped I did get used to Ryder being around because if I didn't, it would break Branna's heart.
"I think your arse is gettin' bigger by the day, Bronagh."
I closed my eyes and sighed as I stepped into P.E. class in the main hall of my school. All four of the senior classes merge together for P.E., because our classes aren't very big, and we need the numbers to play football or other games after we finish running and other horrible exercises.
After Jason's dig about the size of my bum, I wanted nothing more than to go back to the girls' changing rooms, get my school tracksuit jumper, and tie it around my hips. But I didn't, I just shrugged instead.
"I don't see how anythin' to do with me arse is any concern of yours," I replied as I walked over to the line-up section of the huge hall where we would be running laps.
"I beg to differ, you see, it's very distractin'," Jason continued, grinning as his friends made some crude remarks about what use my arse could be to them.
Dirty bastards!
"Don't look at it then," I growled.
"I think the point Jason is making Bronagh, is that your ass is hard to miss because of its size, therefore, it is distracting."
Oh God, apart I could somewhat deal with them, but together? I might just crumble and die!
"The two of you run ahead of me then, and it won't be a fuckin' distraction'!" I snapped.
Dominic and Jason laughed along with Jason's friends.
I shook my head. "You two are serious dicks. I bet you would make each other's perfect bum boy."
I regretted the words as soon as they were out of my mouth, because the grin that took over Jason's face told me he was about to say something that would probably make me want to kill him or go home and cry.
"I don't think that would work out too well seein' as Nico's dick has been up your arse, mine wouldn't hold much appeal to him after that."
Oh.
My.
God.
"That's a fuckin' lie!" I bellowed.
Jason and his friends laughed and flicked their eyes to Dominic, who was only watching me with a sly grin on his face. I stepped forward to him and shoved his shoulder; he didn't even stumble.
"Tell them it's a lie!" I ordered.
It was Monday today, the party after Darkness was on Friday and upon arriving at school this morning it became clear that Destiny and her mouth had been very busy over the weekend, because everyone knew that Dominic and I slept together. Only thing was they thought we had sex, and we didn't!
"That what is a lie?" Dominic asked innocently.
I felt my left eye twitch. "Tell them we didn't sleep together!"
He raised an eyebrow. "But we did sleep together."
Jason and his friends laughed, hooted, and cheered while I felt my entire body flush with anger.
"We didn't have sex though!" I growled.
Dominic was about to open his mouth when Jason suddenly moved and appeared at my side.
"When is it my turn to test ride that arse and pussy of yours seein' as you aren't a little virgin Mary anymore?"
Dominic raised his eyebrows and cut his eyes to Jason and gave him a look which made Jason pipe down but only a little.
I wanted to cry. All this honestly wasn't fair; I really was a virgin, and I didn't have sex with Dominic, but everyone else thought I did, and suddenly I had morphed into the school slut.
I swallowed the bile that was rising in my throat, and I growled at Jason. "I'll tell Micah what you said if you don't get away from me."
Jason sighed, shook his head, and moved back next to Dominic.
"Fuckin' bitch," Jason spat at me, making his buddies laugh.
I rolled my eyes. "You are a bitch, you little cunt!"
That set them all off laughing, so without a word, I turned and stormed away. I stopped next to the water cooler so I could get a drink, but I froze when arms came around my waist and a chest moulded into my back. It made me tense up and melt at the same time, because he made me feel safe and guarded.
"Go away, Dominic."
He chuckled as he lowered his mouth to my ear. "How did you know it was me?"
I set my jaw. "Because you're the only person who ever touches me or gets in my personal space, that's how I know."
"Hmmm, you didn't seem to mind those times we were kissing. You seemed to enjoy that a lot, pretty girl."
I growled and turned to face him; the dickhead didn't step back, so I did.
"Those two moments were me havin' a brain fart."
Dominic snorted and shook his head. "Whatever you say, pretty girl."
"I really hate you," I spat.
He smiled, his dimples waving at me. "I really hate you too, pretty girl. Catch you later."
Why was he acting like I didn't reject him on Saturday morning, and why the hell did he move back over to Jason and his gang? I shook my head, they fought a few weeks ago, literally kicked and punched the hell out of each other, and now they were buddies? Dominic literally warned Jason off me and now they are hanging out in school?
I will never understand men!
"You okay, Bronagh?"
I jumped and whirled around, my hand flying to my chest.
"You scared me," I breathed.
Gavin smiled at me, the bruise on his jawline almost faded but still slightly visible.
"Sorry."
I shook my head. "Don't be, I was in a world of my own. Today is your first day back from suspension, right? How are you?"
He smiled again; he had such a cute smile. "Yeah, it is, and I'm good, thanks."
I frowned, suddenly feeling horrible and guilty. "Gavin, I've never thanked you for helpin' me with Dominic. I really appreciate you standin' up for me, and you tryin' to get him away from me a couple of weeks ago."
Gavin waved his hand and chuckled a little and gestured to his healing face. "I don't think I helped much at all."
I shook my head. "No, you did. He didn't like hearin' someone else call him out on what he has been doin' to me. He's being a possessive fucker lately, whether it's bullyin' me or tryin' it on with me."
Gavin frowned. "Are you with him?"
I shook my head. "He asked me to be his girlfriend, but I said no. I don't know why he keeps at me so much. I think he really just enjoys pissin' me off."<
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Gavin snorted. "He clearly wants you, and even though you rejected him, he still wants to be close to you. Bullyin' seems to be his only ticket to get to you. He might enjoy rufflin' your feathers a little as well though."
More than a little.
I grimaced. "Tell me about it."
Gavin smiled. "I kind of owe him in a way though, we all do. You aren't just a shadow around school anymore; you're just like the rest of us since he started here."
I smiled a little and joked, "Who knew it would take a stuck-up American to drag me from my comfort zone?"
"Not me, that's for damn sure," Gavin chuckled.
I smiled at him, shocked at how easy it was to talk to him.
"Lookin' forward to ten wonderful laps of this fine hall?" he then asked sarcastically while gesturing to our surroundings.
I snorted. "Oh yeah, cannot wait to feel like my legs are about to fall off. Dyin' for it all weekend."
Gavin chuckled at me then gestured for me to stand next to him. "You can catch me if I fall," he teased.
I laughed, loudly. "Can you imagine if you did fall, and I tried to catch you? We would both hit the ground in a matter of seconds."
Gavin laughed when he thought about it. He snorted mid-laugh, and it made me laugh louder, which Gavin found extra amusing. When we started our laps, I jogged side by side around the hall with Gavin laughing when I tried to talk through my breathlessness.
As per usual, I got to the fourth lap and had to stop because I honestly felt like I was about to die. I was always the first person to stop jogging, all the other girls and lads were fitter than me. I never usually cared because no one ever said anything, not even Jason, but this time Fuckface opened his mouth when he neared me on his jog.
"Don't stop, keep going, Bronagh."
I gave him the finger over my head and rasped out, "Fuck off!"
He laughed and slapped my arse hard as he passed me by.
"You bastard!" I snapped.
I wasn't even about to try and chase after him for two reasons: reason one was that I was dying, and reason two was that I knew I wouldn't catch him even if I tried.
I angrily walked over to the mats and began stretching after passing our P.E. teacher. Our P.E. teacher was Mr. Rivers. He never bothered with the girls very much, if we stopped running or didn't do our stretches, he just didn't care. His only concern was the boys in the class, because the majority of them played for his football team, and they had to be match fit to even be considered to play for the team. Even though their training days were after school, he used P.E. to make them sweat also.
It was a pretty good thing us girls - me - had going because when we got tired, we could bow out and not be shouted at like the boys would be. I did attempt to run as long as I could, but I was just not fit so I didn't last very long. I did, however, stretch very well.
I was bent forward, my legs shoulder width apart, and my palms pressed to the ground in front of me when I heard commotion behind me.
"Slater, you may not be on the team lad but that doesn't mean you can just stop running and cause my players to crash into you and fall!" Mr. Rivers yelled.
"I'm sorry but, Jesus Christ, how do you expect me to run when I have a view like that mere feet away?"
What in God's name was that lad yapping on about now? Why couldn't he just run without causing people problems?
He was like a damn virus!
"Stop lookin' at her! I won't have you oglin' female students and distractin' the lads, so either get back to runnin' or go stretch-"
"I vote on stretching," Dominic cut the sir off, getting some chuckles.
"Leave her alone."
I knew it was Gavin's voice, and I was instantly scared because the last time Gavin interfered with something to do with Dominic, he ended up in a fight with him.
I carefully stood upright, shook my legs out then went to see what the big deal was about when I suddenly shot forward. Dominic was squaring up to Gavin, and everyone else backed away from them as if they weren't going to attempt to stop a fight if it happened.
"Stop!" I snapped to both of them and pushed my body between their bodies.
My arse and back were pressed against Gavin's front while my front was pressed against Dominic's. I tilted my head back and looked up at him.
"Just give it a rest, will you? Stop causin' trouble. I'm fed up with you doin' this!" I snapped at him.
Dominic narrowed his eyes when he looked down at me, then he started breathing a little heavy when Gavin took a step back and took me with him, his arm securely around my waist keeping me tight against him.
"Get. Your. Hand. Off. Her," Dominic snarled in a low, dangerous warning tone.
I wanted to scream and cry at the same time.
Where did he get off telling people what do to with me? I rejected him, yet he still had the nerve to try and control who could and couldn't touch me?
He could get fucked!
"She doesn't want you, just accept that already and back fuckin' off. It's gettin' pathetic at this stage, man!" Gavin said to Dominic while taking another step back bringing me with him.
Dominic looked ready to blow a fuse when Damien suddenly appeared next to him. "Leave it, bro."
"I want to hear her say it," Dominic growled.
Hear me say what?
Damien sighed then looked to me. "Bee, you want to be with Gavin, right?"
What did he mean by that?
"Huh?" I murmured, confused.
Damien smiled a little and was about to say something when Gavin spoke. "She's goin' on a date with me tonight so I guess that's a yeah to your question, Damien."
A date, with Gavin?
What?
Dominic's left eye twitched and his face slightly reddened. "You don't want to date me, but you will go on a date with that sorry excuse for a-"
"Hey! That's enough!" I suddenly snapped not liking Dominic trying to put Gavin down.
I realised then what Gavin was doing; he was obviously handing me a ticket to get off Dominic's radar by saying we were going on a date.
"Fuck you, Bronagh, and fuck you, prick," Dominic growled to Gavin.
Gavin tensed around me. "Look man, you win some, you lose some. She's mine so just stay the fuck away from her, understand?"
Holy hell, Gavin had this down. He sounded so serious and actually came off like a protective boyfriend or something.
Dominic laughed and so did Jason, which made his friends laugh.
"What are you gonna do if I don't, bitch? I know you can't fight worth a shit. What exactly are you gonna do to me if I don't leave her alone?" Dominic grinned evilly.
He might be grinning, but I could tell that he was still fuming mad. He looked downright evil right now, and I really didn't like it.
"He won't do anythin' but I'm sure Ryder will. You know your big brother who just happens to be my big sister's boyfriend," I cut in, smiling sweetly.
Damien snorted. "Little Bee can hold her own, I'm proud."
I looked to him and smiled a genuine smile; he was lovely, so different from his crazy-arse brother.
"Shut up, you," I said, playfully making Damien snort.
"Not that this episode of Irish/American Teenage Drama isn't interestin' but can you all get a move on?" Mr. Rivers suddenly shouted.
All the guys on the team launched straight back into their laps, and the girls moved to the mats where gossip was clearly flying back and forth. Gavin kept his arm around me, and his body pressed to mine while Dominic glowered at us.
He looked me directly in the eye. "Fuck you, Bronagh."
I felt like he was stating a fact like he was done with me, and I was horrified because it actually hurt.
I cleared my throat and forced myself to say, "Not in this lifetime or the next, Fuckface."
If looks could kill, I would have been dead and buried with the look Dominic shot me. His entire body tensed, his hands were clenched together, and veins were popping out everywhere.
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"Walk away," Damien murmured to Dominic.
Dominic bore his eyes into mine, and I found I couldn't look back into his so I lowered my head and completely avoided his gaze. I watched his feet as he turned and jogged off, joining the rest of the lads who were being shouted at by Mr. Rivers.
"Sorry about him bro, he has a bit of a temper," Damien said.
I looked up and snorted while Gavin chuckled behind me.
A bit of a temper?
That was an understatement if I've ever heard one.
Damien winked at me. "Catch you later, Bee."
I smiled at him, liking the fact that he called me Bee like Branna did.
"Later."
When Damien jogged off, I turned to Gavin, who snorted down at me.
"I'm really expectin' a date from you, it's the least you can do since Dominic might just murder me soon."
I playfully rolled my eyes. "I feel weird though; I've never been on a date."
Gavin raised his eyebrows. "Never?"
He seemed very shocked.
I shook my head. "No, I've never been asked out by anyone. I mean, lads aren't into me. Sure you were me first kiss."
"What?" Gavin asked and dropped his jaw.
"Why are you actin' so surprised?"
He stared at me blankly, blinking.
"Gavin?" I prompted him.
"Collins!" Mr. Rivers screamed making me jump with fright.
"Sir?" Gavin asked after a moment of doing nothin' but staring at me.
"Leave the female alone and get your head and legs back into your laps!"
I rolled my eyes at Mr. Rivers and looked back at Gavin, who was looking at me again.
"You're startin' to freak me out by just starin' at me, Gav," I said.
Gavin chuckled. "Sorry but you have no idea how happy you just made me."
"How?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Never mind Bee, I've to run, literally, but give me your number? I'm cashin' in on that date I made up for Dominic's benefit."
I punched his shoulder, making him laugh.
I sighed trying to downplay the blush that was creeping up my neck. He just called me Bee; I guess that was my official nickname. Between Branna always calling me it and Damien now calling me it, it was obvious it was sticking. Even Gavin using it was sort of making me want to giggle. I was also trying to will away the sweat that started to fill my palms.