ONE KISS TO TAME THE BAD BOY

[Ava’s POV]

My books clatter onto the ground in front of me, pages and papers scattering across the tile, and I just stand there trying to take in the scene in front of me. 

Ryan has Sophie pressed against the lockers, his hands tangled in her hair, her mouth moving against his like they have all the time in the world. 

Ryan. My boyfriend of two years. The one person I would do everything for. The one person who ever made me feel useful. My stomach drops so hard I feel it in my knees, but I force myself forward anyway, each step sharper than the last. The two of them are so lost in each other that they don’t notice anyone else until I am close enough to touch.

Ryan pulls back first, lips still shiny. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand while Sophie tries to straighten her dress, the wrinkled fabric only making everything look worse.

“Come on, Ava, it’s not what it looks like,” Ryan says, stepping toward me. I take a step back.

“It’s not what it looks like?” My voice comes out tighter than I want. “Then what would you explain, Ryan? What’s the meaning of this?”

Sophie steps forward, eyes still glassy from whatever just happened. I turn to her, anger flaring hot at the sight of the girl I once called my best friend.

“And you,” I say, “to think you’d actually do this to me.”

“Oh, please, Ava.” Sophie’s mouth curves. “You don’t believe Ryan ever wanted you, do you? I mean, just take a look at yourself. Would he want you?”

The words burn straight through me. Ryan shifts, glancing between us.

“You don’t have to say it that way, Sophie.”

“Oh, Ryan, please tell her the truth.” Sophie laughs, the sound bright and sharp. “There’s no need to keep pretending for this piece of trash.”

This time Ryan does not stop her. I look at both of them, the two people who were supposed to be my safe place.

“Really? After two years together and this is how you choose to repay me?”

Ryan’s mouth lifts like the whole thing is funny. “There’s no need to be overly dramatic, Ava. You know nobody actually wants you anyway. I was with you because I pitied you.”

Something inside me snaps so hard at his words that I can barely feel the floor under my feet. I could never believe, even in a thousand lifetimes, that they would do this to me. 

My brain begins to run in different directions, thinking of how to turn this scene. Years of always being unnoticed, and today, the first day people notice me, it suddenly looks like the worst day of my life. But no. There is no way I am going to stand here and watch them crumble everything I have ever built about myself. Without thinking, I open my mouth.

“Newsflash, assholes. I came here to tell you something.”

They both laugh. The sound alone draws more people. Suddenly phones are lifting into the air and conversations are ongoing. People whisper. The crowd stares at me like I have suddenly grown two heads or they have never seen a joke before.

“What could you possibly have to say?” Ryan asks.

“I came to tell you that I am done with you,” I say. “I am over you and everything we had.”

Ryan smirks. “You know you have nowhere else to go, right? So there is no need to put on this show.”

The words drop into places I never expected. Still, I open my mouth again.

“I am with someone else.” 

The second the words leave my mouth I regret them. I do not have a new boyfriend. I have nothing. But I cannot let them win. 

They laugh harder. The crowd grows even louder at my claim, voices overlapping, and everyone already whispering.

Sophie tilts her head. “Oh please, we all know no boy in this school wants you. There’s no need to put on the act.”

“Well,” I say, my voice steady even as my hands shake, “I am about to prove you wrong.”

I turn without thinking and walk straight toward the nearest tall figure moving past the edge of the circle. I do not even look at his face. 

I just grab the front of his shirt, pull him down, and press my lips to his. The hallway goes completely silent. It feels like every single person is holding their breath. Three seconds. Four. Five. I finally pull back, and only then do my eyes take in the person in front of me.

Kyle West.

The bad boy of the school. The one person everyone says to stay away from. His lips are still slightly parted, and the side of his mouth lifts into a slow smirk. 

Before I can step away he puts his hand on my waist and pulls my body flush against his. He leans down until his mouth is only inches from my ear.

“If you want to kiss me, darling, at least make it convincing,” he whispers.

Then his lips are on mine again, hotter this time, and the rest of the hallway disappears. My hands come up to push him away but end up twisting in his shirt instead, pulling him closer. 

I feel his mouth curve against mine in a low smile. Somewhere in the back of my mind I know this has gone too far, but my body is not listening.

When I finally manage to pull away. My heart is slamming so hard I can feel it in my throat. I reach down, take his hand, and intertwine our fingers, lifting them high enough for everyone to see, yet I'm silently wishing I don't go too far and make him expose my obvious lie.

“I’ve moved on from you,” I say, looking straight at Ryan, “and I’m with Kyle now.”

I watch Sophie’s mouth fall open. Ryan’s face goes completely blank. I do not wait for either of them to speak. 

I turn and walk straight through the circle of bodies, feeling every stare burning into my back, one of them hotter than the rest. My books are still scattered on the floor behind me. My backpack is still half-sliding off my shoulder. None of it matters.

I am almost around the corner when a voice calls out, low and purposeful.

“Wait up, girlfriend.”

I already know who it is, and I know I've just gotten myself into a huge trap. But I keep walking anyway. Until suddenly a hand pulls me by the arm and turns me around.