Run Bad Boy Run

Chapter 10

Give it back," I demand.

"Nah, I don't want to."

I glare up at Hayden, eyes twitching as my patience grows thinner and thinner with every second of him standing in front of me. I keep reminding myself to keep calm and not to blow up. That's what he wants. Hayden looks down at me with gray eyes that glint with the satisfaction of angering me. For a moment I'm transported back to the other night in the parking lot of Del-Mart . There was that same satisfaction in his eyes, but for different reasons. For reasons I can't even begin to comprehend and it has me on edge.

Someone has dropped an anvil on my chest.

Say something to him! Say something!

I tried to earlier, but all that became of it was an insult war. And the more I think about it, the more doubt taints my mind. Was that really Hayden, or someone else? It was dark.

There were so many lights and shadows...

Hayden and his buddies crowd around my desk in third period Photography class. The period started with me minding my own business, admiring my new Nikon camera and trying to figure out manual shooting, when it was abruptly snatched out of my hands.

"Seriously, this isn't funny," I growl, reaching across the table in another attempt to grab it. Our photography teacher is out sick today and the substitute is nowhere to be found. If anything happens in here, well, I have a feeling no one is going to call the principal until blood is spilled.

Hayden stretches away from me and I press a hand down on the desk to hold myself up, leaning even further and clawing at the air in a pathetic attempt to reach the camera. He takes a long look down my shirt in the process and ducks before I can smack him.

"If you break that, I have fifteen other witnesses who can testify against you," I tell him.

You saved me that night. There were no witnesses there to prove it, but I know it's true.

Hayden runs his tongue slowly over his bottom lip and hands the camera to Chase. "What are you? A lawyer? Are you going to take me to court?"

Tossing my hair over my shoulder, I reply, "I just might."

I eye the camera in Chase's hands. Maybe if I lunge at him...

"Alright," Hayden leans back and crosses his arms over his chest, muscles pressing into the thin fabric of his shirt.

I raise an eyebrow. "What?"

The edges of his mouth quirk up slightly. "I'll give you your camera back."

I look up at him suspiciously. "There's a catch."

"I have one condition and then I'll give you your camera back."

I tap my foot impatiently. "And that is?"

"Kiss me."

"What?"

"Kiss me," he repeats. A few people turn around to watch the drama unfold. All eyes are on me and I can feel myself turning bright red all over.

"I heard you!"

His look of boredom transforms into an all-out, dimple-filled grin. "Well?"

"No!"

"Are you sure?" He raises an eyebrow and tilts his head down, looking over at me with a pout.

"Yes!"

Hayden takes one step forward and then another, inching forward. "So you'll kiss me?"

"No!" I gape.