Revenge on The Bad Boy (Unexpected Match #1)

02 - Lola: Under the Surface

"Then you just walk away."

Pressing the pads of my fingers against my temples, I dragged my hands down over my cheeks, wishing, for what felt like the millionth time, that I'd never agreed to this.

"So you know the plan, right?"

Claire tapped her nails nervously against the side of her thigh, something she'd started doing once she'd realised that biting them made them ugly as hell, and cost her twice as much to fix at the nail salon. This habit was even more annoying.

"Yes, I know the plan. I knew it the second time you told me, and the third, and the fourth..."

I didn't need to continue. Cheeks flushed, she shrugged apologetically and I rolled my eyes.

"Look I know you have your heart set on crushing this guy, but are all these clothes really necessary? Could we not just, like, stick a 'kick me' sign to his back?"

Glancing down at my outfit, my nose crinkled in disgust at the height of the heels Claire had forced me into. Hoisting my top up over my cleavage for at least the fifth time that morning, I raised my eyebrows incredulously at Claire.

"I'd be careful what you say about the clothes. Remember, they came from my closet."

For such a small girl, Claire was unexpectedly scary. Eyes narrowed dangerously, the sharp line of her lips was a clear warning not to reply.

"I was just going to say that they're more..."

She raised her eyebrows

"Flattering than the clothes I'm used to wearing."

Claire's familiar grin lit up her face once again.

"Well, what isn't?"

I raised my eyebrows at the blunt comment, but didn't retort. When it came to clothes, it was often best just to listen to Claire. Not only was she usually right, but it was essentially pointless to try and argue with her. She'd never been one to back down from an argument, much like me. It had made for some interesting fallouts when we were children.

Eyes suddenly lighting up, Claire grabbed my shoulders and spun me around.

"Target located."

Whispering dramatically, she nodded her head towards the other end of the corridor to where Ryder stood. Face glued to that of a tall blonde girl's, he pushed her forcefully up against the lockers and I rolled my eyes in disgust.

As if he could sense me watching him, he glanced up slowly, lips twitching into a smirk. Unperturbed, the girl lowered her head to below his right ear, gently nipping the skin between her teeth. Blood rose in my cheeks and I cursed under my breath before giving Claire one last look of desperation.

She shook her head resolutely, and I turned back with a sigh. Ryder's gaze locked onto mine and he winked; an amused smile on his face as he turned back to the blonde.

Claire shoved me forward gently, hand lingering next to my arm for a moment as if she were worried I might try to make a run for it. I couldn't deny that the idea had crossed my mind.

The heels Claire had leant me clicked loudly on the floor, attracting not only Ryder's attention, but that of most of the people around me as well. My cheeks heated under the curious stares as I headed towards Ryder.

He eyed me in amusement, his half smile challenging me to come closer with every step I took.

"I need to get into my locker."

Gesturing at the lockers behind the blonde's head, I tried my best not to break eye contact, reluctant to show any sign of weakness.

"Surely it would be awfully cramped in there." He commented drily, raising one eyebrow when my lips threatened to twitch into a smile themselves.

His face fell slightly when he realised I wasn't going to reply, and he pulled his girl to the side. I could feel his eyes on the back of my head as I twisted in my combination and paused for a moment after retrieving my Calculus books from my locker before turning around.

Nodding once curtly in his direction, I stepped past him, unable to resist the urge to let my arm brush against his ever so slightly as I did. Goosebumps prickled over the skin there, and I hesitated slightly in shock before rushing away.

I had to admit, it was quite flattering to feel his gaze on the back of my head as I walked away. That was, of course, until his eyes travelled down, lingering on my backside for longer than I cared to think about. In my mind, I could still picture his face, lips curled in that amused half smile, and growled at myself in annoyance. My intention had been not to show any emotion at all to him, and yet I hadn't even been able to contain my blush every time I met his gaze. It was embarrassing really, how pathetic I was around him.

"That was perfect." Claire squealed in excitement, her smile impossibly wide. I nodded with slightly less enthusiasm as she started muttering something about a progress report.

"He is seriously attracted to you." I raised my eyebrows sceptically, but before I had a chance to point out that he was attracted to pretty much anything in a skirt, she continued.

"We are gonna crush him."

I didn't have the heart to tell her that there was no way this plan was ever going to work.

Ryder may be incapable of emotion, but I wasn't, and even if it was selfish of me, I wanted to protect my feelings at all costs. Getting closer to Ryder was not at all the way to go about doing that.

Even after going months without speaking to him, that one small encounter had got to me in ways I couldn't even begin to describe.

I should hate him, if not for what he did to me, then for what he'd done to Claire. And yet there was the smallest part of me that still believed in him. The guy pressed up against my locker with another girl: he was not the same person I'd kissed last year. Despite all he'd done, I couldn't help but hope that there was still a small part of that person in there.

But it was going to take a hell of a lot more than me to bring that part back to the surface.

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Dedicated to PinkLosha for finding the picture of a blonde Ariana Grande at the side. It was really helpful and in case any of you are wondering why, she's the actress who's casted to play Anna, a character who will be introduced later in the book.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!! Thanks to all of you reading and commenting on this so far, it's really encouraging :)

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-Bree