CHAPTER 2: JUNIOR MY ASS

ADELINE

It lands square on his back before falling to the floor by the bed. The dead rat peeks out of the opening and the girl screams louder than I did when I first saw it. Both their reactions are satisfying to watch. 

The girl pushes him off her and while he struggles to keep his balance, she struggles to cover herself up but fails terribly so she runs past me anyway with more loose buttons on her blouse than I can count. 

Cussing as he pushes his hair back, he stands before aggressively kicking the paper bag to a corner of the room. He covers up the distance between us in two long strides. 

My eyes don’t waver even when James Sullivan Junior, self-acclaimed king of high school and my nemesis since the 9th grade stands chest-bare in front of me. 

Now I know what you’re thinking. But no; James and Nora aren’t in any way related. Not even remotely. It’s just so unfortunate that my favorite talent shares the last name of a douchebag who thinks he owns the school because a huge chunk of his father’s wealth goes into funding it.

“What’s your deal, Caldwell?” He stresses my last name in a rather demeaning way, his voice dangerously low. It must be so painful to have been cock-blocked by me. 

“What do you think, James?” The scowl that takes form on his face after I say that satisfies me greatly. You see, it’s our thing; he thinks he's degrading me by calling me by my last name and I rile him up by calling him by his real name knowing quite well that he detests it and prefers to be called Junior. Junior my ass. 

“You could have knocked if you wanted in on the fun.” He taunts me. 

I scrunch my nose, internally cringing at his words. 

“Gross. I wouldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole.” I say. 

He clicks his tongue, “Believe me, half the girls in school will beg to differ.”  The scowl is still very much present in his stupidly handsome features as he shamelessly hints at his sexcapades. I don’t let my fleeting thoughts of his looks distract me from my goal. 

“It’s too early for Christmas presents, don’t you think?” I say and he surprises me with a sly smile that has the ends of his lips lifting up. My head reels in annoyance.

“Forgive Jackson, man must have grabbed whatever he could find at the flea market,” He casually talks about his friend serving as his errand boy and then leans closer, catching me by surprise and making me aware of the fact that he is still very much half-naked, “Do you want me to get you another one? I love gifting my friends, you know that better than anyone else.” 

Mischief burns bright in his eyes. Not the look I’d hoped to see but I’m not even surprised that nothing ever catches him off-guard.

Okay, he won. One thing I can’t ignore is how devastatingly handsome James is. That is perhaps another one of the things(asides his brilliance)he has in common with Nora; that gorgeous face that houses striking blue eyes, a straight firm nose, full lips every teenage girl would die for and a head of jet black hair that falls roughly over his forehead and screams I just got laid every time or in this case: I almost got laid. 

James is the perfect exhibit for the looks can be deceiving campaign. Underneath all of that gorgeousness is a devilish spirit that seeks only to ruin and lay waste to anything that crosses his path.

I would know because I have suffered through three years of high school for one accident that he is too childish to let go and now tortures me everyday since the first time I met him. 

“Don’t you, Caldwell?” He says again, hinting at all the other times I’ve found a dead rat everywhere around me. I do not count myself as immune to his looks unlike the many girls in school who live for the very air he breathes but his wily ways are enough to set off a bomb inside of my head. Just like now. 

I push back from him and he straightens up, flexing his muscles in the process. 

“This has to end, James. I am not doing this with you anymore.” I say firmly, “It’s been three years, let it go!” 

“Who’s counting?” 

“I am!” I yell back, frustrated. “Just let me get through twelfth grade in peace and end this childish back and forth.” I can’t imagine struggling to graduate while also looking over my shoulders. 

“I decide when this ends, Caldwell. You don’t.” 

Words aren’t just getting to him and fists? One look at his toned body and I know I’ll lose. 

“Is it fun messing with me?” I grit through clenched teeth.

He shrugs, “Unless I find myself a new toy to play with, I’d say yes. It’s fun.” 

He starts to shrug on a shirt while I just stand there, unsure of what else to do. It’s as though I’m going to be the only one who ends up with a bad memory to keep me up all summer. Everything I do to get back at him just rolls off him. 

“You ruined my night and I hope you spend summer break thinking about what you have done wrong and the right punishment you deserve once school starts again.” 

He sidesteps me to leave the room but not without leaning in to whisper into my ear, “Enjoy your summer break, Caldwell.” 

And just like that, he’s gone. 

His last words ring in my ears till it peaks and I’m trembling with rage. I sure as hell won’t enjoy summer break now that it sounds like an order coming from him. That was probably his intention. 

My only consolation is that I won’t be seeing James Sullivan’s devilish face for the next three months.