3. Fake Badboy?

Logan

I am filming Daniel Ortega knitting a sweater with his grandma, and I feel giddy.

The high school bad boy isn't so bad after all. And he knows how to knit! How adorable.

I stop when Daniel notices me for the first time. His eyes turn wide as he recognizes me, but he doesn't open his mouth to speak.

Speechless? I don't blame him.

"Hey, guys! Having fun without me?" I chirp.

Daniel's grandma looks at me and smiles brightly. "Can I help you, hijo?"

"I'm Logan. I'm here to volunteer." I explain to Mrs. Ortega.

"Ah, yes. They told us there would be young people coming in here and keeping us company. Since we are not dying yet, they want us to die sooner by listening to teenagers whine about everything," Mrs. Ortega waves her hands.

I chuckle. I like this woman.

"That's exactly right, Mrs. Ortega."

"Oh, please. Call me, Camilla. Come sit in front of me and have a good look at you. My eyes don't work as well anymore, so I can't see things that are away."

I walk toward her quickly and then sit right next to Daniel, who hasn't spoken a single word yet.

"Ah, what a handsome man you are. Look at those gorgeous grey eyes!" she swoons, making me blush. I don't think highly of myself in terms of looks, so her compliment felt good.

"Thank you, ma'am. I got them from my father."

"This is my grandson, Daniel," she introduces me to Danny, and I chuckle again.

"I know Daniel. We are classmates," I let her know.

His grandma's eyes lights up. "Oh, so you are his friend?"

Daniel finally opens his mouth. "No, Abuela..."

"Yes, we are! Best friends, actually," I interject, earning a glare from Daniel.

Oof, he is angry at me again.

"That's wonderful, dear," his abuela smiles approvingly.

"I gotta leave." Daniel stands up, still glaring at me.

"Yes, you should go if you're busy. I'll keep abuela company. It's okay if I call you that, Mrs. Ortega?" I look at her with puppy eyes. She can't refuse these eyes!

"Of course. You are Daniel's friend, so you can call me abuela."

Ah, what a sweet lady. I can't believe Danny and her are related!

Daniel storms out of the room, leaving me alone with her, so I spend time talking to her and playing some game of checkers with her. I think about asking her about Daniel but decide not to.

I will get more information about Danny from her but not yet. I need to earn her trust first.

After I'm done, I leave the senior center and wait for my car outside.

"You."

I snap my head towards the voice and smile as I see Daniel standing next to me. For a guy this tall, he sure is stealthy!

"Oh hey, Danny. When did you get here? Have you been waiting for me?" I ask enthusiastically.

"Cut the crap. Why are you here hanging out with MY abuela?"

"Volunteering. Didn't they tell you?" I ask.

"They told me, but I didn't know it was you. Why does it have to be you?" he grumbles.

"Shoot, I don't know. But I'm glad it's me. Your grandma is pretty cool."

"No. Stay away from her!" Danny cried.

That startled me. "Why are you so hostile? I told you. I'm volunteering. I need it for my college application. "

"Then go find someone else's grandma to hang out with. I'm not asking." Daniel barks at me.

I'm not sure I like being told what to do. I like to make my own decisions, and right now, my decision is to keep Daniel's grandma company.

"Just leave her alone," he said again.

"I am happy being assigned to your grandma, so just live with it."

Daniel suddenly grabs both of my shoulders. His long fingers dig into my flesh, making me wince. "listen to me, little twerp. I'm not playing with you. If you don't stop coming here, I'll beat you to a pulp."

"Sheesh, so violent? I may not be as good at knitting as you are, I could still make an excellent company."

Daniel halts but does not take his hands off me. "What did you say?"

"I saw you having a cute ole time knitting with your abuela. What are you making, Daniel? A sweater? Think you can make me one?" I coo.

"Fuck off."

"Dirty mouth, but I'll forgive you. And I'd watch what you say to me." I grin.

"Why is that?"

"I have your little knitting moment recorded on my phone. You were sooo cute. I can't wait to show this to everyone at school, so people don't get scared of you anymore," I suggest.

"Don't you fucking dare." Daniel barks at me.

"What? Don't you want people to see that underneath all those scars and tattoos, you are a big, knitting loving softie?"

"I like being scary. People leave me alone," he snarls. "Now, delete the video."

"No can do."

"I'll rip that phone out of your hand, and do it myself," Danny threatens me.

"Don't bother. I already sent a back up to someone and instructed her to release it all over the internet if you do something bad to me." I grin slyly.

"To who!?" Danny looks horrified, and I want to laugh.

"To my sister. She might be younger than us, but she is tech-savvy. She will find a way to send it to everyone at our school too."

In my mind, I am not doing anything bad. I am just teasing the guy. I mean, who cares if people see a video of him knitting with his grandma, right? It's a sweet moment between a grandma and her grandson. Danny shouldn't be bothered by it.

But it turns out I was wrong. Danny IS bothered by it.

"I can't let people see a nice side of me. It took me years to build the scary guy reputation," Danny said with a serious expression on his face.

Is this guy for real?

"But why..." I start to ask, but he stops me.

"None of your business. So, don't tell anyone I visit my grandma every day and knit like a fucking dork." Danny's eyes are dark.

An idea pops into my head. If Daniel is desperate to keep this a secret, then I can use it in my favor. "Okay, I won't release the video but on one condition."

He looks at me suspiciously.

"What's that?" he asks.

"You will do me a favor. In the form of kicking someone's ass for me," I declare.

Daniel's dark brown eyes turn even darker. "You want me to beat someone up? Wh...who?"

"Meet me at the cafeteria tomorrow, and I'll give you all the details," I said to him.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the beginning of a business deal between me, the nerdy Logan and the fake scary badboy, Daniel. Hope this doesn't blow up in my face later.