Best Friends With The Badboy #wattys2018

23

Naturally, everyone at school is talking and staring at me. It's a small town, after all, which only makes me hate it more.

Savannah is the first person to actually speak to me all morning. The teachers are just like the students—whispering, side-eyeing, pretending not to be obvious.

"I heard about last night. Well—I saw," Savannah says as she walks up beside me. "Honestly, the same thing almost happened to my house too. Someone threw a bottle filled with alcohol and a burning cloth through our window. Thank God I reacted fast and tossed it back outside. My dad's taking fingerprints. We might know exactly who did it soon."

I slam my locker shut. "We already know. It was either Murry or Charlotte. They probably got Romaine to do the dirty work—just another petty move to get back at us."

Savannah nods. "So, you know how my dad's a cop and all... I did some digging on Romaine. I honestly can't believe I used to like that prick. And you said he was sweet... laughable."

I give her a once-over and motion for her to continue.

"He's a total delinquent. Apparently still is—clearly, if Charlotte can manipulate him that easily," she huffs.

I start walking toward class, but slow down so Savannah can catch up.

"I already knew he got mixed up with a gang," I say. "Told me he was trying to change his life. Guess that didn't last long. Now here he is, burning down houses with that nerd sidekick of his."

Savannah suddenly goes quiet, then says, "Well... did you know he raped someone? And when the girl's brother tried to stop him, Romaine beat the crap out of him."

I freeze mid-step.

Turning to face her, I see the look on her face—and it tells me everything.

She's not joking. She's dead serious.

"Yup. He used to live in this town, moved away, then came back with a new name and even repeated a grade," Savannah reveals.

"What?" I blink at her. "He told me he got into a fight and beat some kid up out of anger."

Savannah rolls her eyes. "Yeah, he did that too. But the real reason he got in trouble was the rape. That's what started everything. He raped Victoria. Had to move away after that. Victoria's little brother tried to get justice, but Romaine beat him up—poor Jason. Romaine did a week in juvie before his uncle pulled strings to get him out. Didn't stop him though. He started a gang, got into looting and robbery, and one of his crew ended up getting shot. That's when his mom was forced to take him back in."

I exhale hard. Every day, something worse comes to light, and all it does is make me more desperate to leave this place.

"Just a little while longer in this hellhole," I mutter, turning and walking toward my first class.

I still can't believe Romaine set my house on fire. I haven't even done anything to him—sure, I rejected him a few times, but that's no excuse for arson.

I completely zone out during first period. By lunchtime, Peyton and Mason have to shake me back to reality.

"You're in class," I say dumbly to Mason, blinking up at him.

He sighs and shrugs. "Yeah, well, you're not the only one who wants out of this place. I've decided to go to college."

I scoff, "Right—and I'm a monkey."

Mason gives me a look. "You might not believe it, but I'm a B student now. You always thought I failed everything, but I'm actually on the honor roll this year. Which means college. Which means bye-bye crappy town."