The Bad Boy's Problem

Nate Wolf is a seventeen years old high school junior who preferred to be alone. His intimidating demeanor and bad attitude were more than enough to drive people away from him. All he had to do was to glare at people with his piercing blue eyes, and they all cowered away. He was also 6 feet 4 and worked out regularly, which made him look even more intimidating. Rumors about him being the son of a Mafia leader circulated the school. No one wanted to find out what it would be like to get beat up by him. He had it made.

He didn’t exactly go around beating up kids and stealing kids’ money, but he did almost beat someone up for sitting at his table. He didn’t care what people thought of him, and he enjoyed being feared.

It was the first week of school. He sat down at his usual table during lunch and took a bite out of his sandwich. All of a sudden, a sweet smell of perfume hit his nostril, so he looked up from his sandwich and looked straight into a pair of large brown eyes. A girl about medium height, long brown hair, and tanned skin was standing in front of him and smiling. She had a tray full of food in her hands.

“What is it?” he barked. “Are you lost?”

Her smile didn’t falter at his rude behavior. She twirled a strand of hair in her finger and stared at him intently.

“No… I was just wondering, is this seat taken?” she asked, pointing at the chair in front of him.

“Yes, it is,” Nate answered with his mouth full.

“Well, I have been observing you for the past couple of days, and I noticed that no one ever sits in front of you or around you. So, I think you are lying, and this seat, in fact, is not taken,” she announced in one breath.

“You have been observing me? What am I, your science project? Who the fuck are you anyway?” Nate said, clearly annoyed.

“I am Amelia, Amelia Martinez, and I just moved here last week. Nice to meet you!” Amelia said and extended her hand to him.

Nate just stared at the hand without saying anything. He looked up and down at the girl who was bothering his peace. “Welcome to this shitty ass high school. So now, if we are done here, get the fuck away from me. I am trying to eat my sandwich.” he said and waved his hand in a shooing gesture.

“Whoa, rude! I am just trying to be nice. I thought you could use some company.” Amelia sounded hurt.

“Well, you thought wrong, and I could care less about your company, so goodbye,” he said, hoping she would finally leave.

To his dismay, she pulled up the chair in front of him, sat down, and then started to eat her lunch. Oh, fuck no. This bitch is trying to get on his last nerve.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he challenged.

“Eating my lunch with you. What does it look like?” she said nonchalantly, like it was the most natural thing to do.

Oh hell no…he thought.

Nate stood up abruptly and slapped his palms on the table so hard that the table shook. Amelia yelped as her juice almost tipped over.

“You need to relocate that cute little butt of yours somewhere else before I get pissed off for real,” he said, his eyes bored into hers.

“You think I have a cute butt?” Amelia smiled.

“That’s not the point!” Nate barked. “The point is, I have rules, and I expect people to follow them or else.”

“What happens if they don’t follow? And what rules?” she asked, sounding completely confused.

Nate just realized she was new to the school, so that means she wasn’t aware of his status.

“Since you are new, I will give you a pass this once. But just so you know, I have a few rules that I expect everyone to follow. Rule number one: do not talk to me, rule number two: do not approach me, and rule number three: do not sit at this table. This is my table.” Nate said and tapped the tabletop for emphasis.

“What happens if I don’t follow these dumb rules? Are you going to kill me?” Amelia said with a mischievous smile. “Besides, last time I checked, this table was the school property. I can sit here if I want to. So, it looks like you are stuck with me, buddy.”

Is this chick for real? Nate thought. If it was a guy, he would have grabbed him by his throat and throw him on the other side of the cafeteria, but this was a 5 feet 3 girl. He would never lay his hands on a girl, so he didn’t know what to do.

“So, what will it be? Are we going to be lunch buddies or what?” she asked.

Nate was frustrated. No, scratch that, he was irritated to the max. Who does this chick think she is invading his space like that? He was starving, so he plopped down on his chair. He will deal with her some other time. Right now, he didn’t feel like arguing with her.

They ate in silence for a few minutes.

“So… you never told me your name?” she spoke suddenly.

“It’s Nate, and just because I am allowing you to sit here doesn’t mean we are going to have a conversation. I’m merely tolerating you,” Nate said.

“Wow, rude much?” Amelia frowned. “Why are you such grouchy pants?”

“Fuck this. I’m out of here.” Nate stood up. “I better not see you at my table tomorrow.” With that, he walked off.

“It was nice to meet you!” Amelia called after him, and he flipped her off. She smiled to herself. She wasn’t usually this aggressive with guys, but something inside of her told her that he needed a friend. She wasn’t a naive teen girl who was obsessed with bad boys. It wasn’t about that. The first time she saw him, she sensed the invisible wall he built around him. She decided to break it once and for all.