4. Blackmailing The Bad Boy

C H A P T E R  4  : W H E N  A  T O R N A D O  M E E T S  A  V O L C A N O

You promised me the light of hopes and sunshine rays, with a better looking future where we can both stay. But now, you too, sit here in my darkness, waiting for it to pass away.

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That girl smiled triumphantly and although she was currently threatening him and Flynn hated it, he wondered if she was still the same girl who had broken down in tears in Mitch Hammer's backyard last night. Because standing right there with her arms folded in front of her chest, she was every definition of a strong woman. Maybe even a goddess. 

“What do you think they will say about that?”

He shoved those thoughts away and grimaced. “Just cut to the chase. What do you want?”

“Oh, now we are talking.” She walked away from the side of bleachers, closing the gap between them. Every step she took radiated confidence. She looked so much stronger than last night and he could not help but admire her.

Flynn looked at her profile. At the smooth white skin of her forehead where a lock of dark brown hair fell upon it, her straight nose, and full pink lips. They might stand close, so close he could smell cupcake from her, but there was a big distance between them. He realized with the slightest regret that they were strangers. It was true that he had helped her earlier but he had done it for himself, not her. No one knew, but he truly hated when someone cried. Last night in Mitch's backyard, he had wanted to stomp his way there and shake her until she stopped crying. The urge had surprised him and if it had not been because Kat had stood next to him, he would have done that.

“Do you realize what you are about to do?” Flynn raised one brow, tilting his head to the left. “Don't you remember, I just helped you during the break?”

“Oh, I remember.” She shrugged. “And?”

“And?” He scoffed. “Are you seriously going to blackmail your knight in a shining armor?”

“Saying that you are my knight in a shining armor is a bit of exaggeration, don’t you think?” She laughed, shaking her head. “But to answer your question, yes. I am blackmailing you.”

He could not believe this. She was being impossible! Shoving his hands into the front pockets of his worn-out Levi's, he straightened his back and towered over her. “If you want money, consider it done. I will give you as much as you want.”

“No.” Kelsey gave her head a shake and laughed as if she had found him funny. “I do not want your money.” The look she gave him was the look of someone who knew well that she had won. “I want you.”

* * *

Kelsey tried her best to control her anger, forcing her fist not to fly and struck his ridiculously handsome face. Did he think she was after his money? Maybe rich people thought differently than commoners like her, maybe all they were worried about was their wealth.

As she watched one of his brows arch into what had to be the most arrogant expression ever to grace a face, she gave her head a shake. “No. I don't want your money.” That sentence seemed to surprise him and confirmed her earlier theory about rich people.

With his eyes locked on hers, she knew she could have anything she wanted. Even when he was busy displaying his arrogance, she could see fear and worry in his hazel eyes. Kelsey pursed her lips, refraining herself from grinning. She had never thought that having some sort of power over someone could be this thrilling. Her heart was pounding with excitement and she blurted her next sentence a little too fast. “I want you.”

Realizing she had not told him her true intention clear enough, she quickly added, “I want you to pretend to be my rebound guy.”

His reply was short. “Why?”

“Because after what happened last night, I want to get my pride back. Moreover, I am tired of people coming at me and talking shits. I want them to leave me alone and you will help me with that.” She had not thought this through but she knew to have the notorious bad boy who always said 'no strings attached' emotionally attached to her would gain her pride back. Or at the very least, it would shut people up. She would be that girl who would catch the attention of the most emotionally unavailable guy in Northern High.

Everyone always said that they did not need people to look at them in a certain way but she knew better. She knew how it felt to lose her pride, to go through humiliation, to be bullied by people she had once considered friends. If she had to blackmail the bad boy to earn her pride back, she would.

Kelsey looked up to meet those hazel eyes, expecting him to argue but all he did was give her a nod and a short reply, “Fine.”

“Good.” To be honest, she was quite shocked that he agreed almost immediately yet she tried her best to regain her composure. “There are things you need to remember.” His eyes were on hers, waiting for her to continue. There was boredom emanating from those hazel eyes. “One, keep this a secret or else your secret is out.” She watched his jaw clench, refraining herself from grinning, and gave him a pointed look instead, challenging him to protest if he dared to. Apparently, the resident bad boy was smart enough to remain silent. Again, she had a hard time not to laugh.

“Two, you are not allowed to sleep around. I want everyone to believe that you are oh, so in love with me,” she said that while rolling her eyes as if knowing how ridiculous that statement truly was, “that you do not need those Barbie dolls to occupy your bed. Three, if you dare to touch me without my permission,” Kelsey let the words sink in and smiled sweetly, “I will kick your balls.”

One corner of his mouth twitched. “Is that all?”

She gave it a moment of thought then answered, “Yes.”

A slow, dangerous smile appeared on his lips as he took one step closer. Kelsey could feel his breath on her forehead and knew she should move backward, possibly away from him. But she was not born yesterday. Sure, it was intimidating to have a tall, lean guy standing way too close to her, taking up too much of her personal space and nearly suffocating her. If she was not desperate to get past the humiliation and bullying, she would quiver and back away. But right now, desperate was practically her middle name. At least until she got her pride back and was able to stand on her own two feet without having the need to duck her head every time she heard someone talking about her or the new it couple, Shane O'Bry.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked in a low husky voice that she had never known he possessed.

Was she?

Kelsey nodded, swallowing as she fought the urge to chicken out. “Of course. One hundred percent.”

He looked at her as if he didn't believe her for one second. “Okay. I can play a charming boyfriend if you want.”

Somehow the word boyfriend nearly made her choke for air. “I did not say anything about you being my boyfriend.”

“So what are we, exactly?” He did not touch her anywhere yet she could feel him everywhere — his voice, his breath, the heat radiating from his body. “Friends with benefits? Occasional hookup buddies?” Flynn leaned in devilishly. “Lovers?” His breath fanned on her face.

Kelsey put one hand on his arm to push him away but he did not budge. His biceps turned hard beneath her touch, and she was surprised by the sudden leap of her heart. “None of the above.” She dropped her hand and shoved him with her shoulder. Once she made sure that her face was fine, and she was not blushing like an idiot, she turned and looked him in the eye. “Pretend to be completely smitten by me and I will continue rejecting you.”

His whole expression shifted and he looked slightly annoyed. “So you want me to be the idiot who can not take the hint?”

Kelsey beamed. “Exactly that. To have someone like you,” she did not mention his good looks or his famous escapades, knowing fully well that she didn't need to feed his ego, “head over heels over someone like me would certainly help me get my pride back.”

Flynn lifted one brow. “Someone like you?”

“Yes. Someone who got dumped by her hot boyfriend like me.” The more she accepted the fact, the less it would hurt.

That is a good sign, she thought to herself.

He mumbled something that sounded like “I do not understand, there is nothing wrong with you” but she could not be sure since he had spoken in a very low voice. She had probably misheard it. There was no way the notorious bad boy, who had broken dozens of hearts, was being nice to her.

Flynn straightened his back and crossed his arms. “Okay, Princess.” He did not bother to hide the mocking tone when saying the last word. “When do we start? And when will this end?”

* * *

Flynn Ascott had never faced any difficulty in life. Growing up with good looks and a lean but muscular body, he had always attracted attention wherever he went. Having the famous Ascott as surname gave more than a boost to his already enhanced qualities. Boys did not dare to challenge him and girls were onto him like pouring rain. He never had any trouble picking up girls.

When a woman named Audrey Vincent had come to him about six months ago, he initially had thought that she was bluffing. He was an Ascott since birth, how could he possibly be anything other than that? Things changed when she had shown him the photo of a guy who looked exactly like him — except for the glasses and horrible sense of fashion.

Bottomline, Flynn had a twin. An identical twin brother who lived not far away from him — based on what that woman had said, they had used to live in Vancouver, British Columbia. Someone who now shared the same country with him, only a few hours drive in D.C. They could have met, people could have mistaken one for the other, yet none of this had happened before.

He turned and looked at Kim Tae Woo, who was busy munching down macaroni and cheese as if it was his last meal. Tae Woo (or what the others preferred to call Tae-tae) was South Korean-born but raised in the U.S. Despite the difference in personalities among other things, they had been best friends for ten years. With the Ascott's money and resources, everyone wanted to be friends with him yet Tae Woo was different. He saw Flynn as Flynn, not an Ascott or the heir to a billions dollars company. For someone who most people saw as an opportunity, having someone see him for who he truly was, was a rare thing. One that he had cherished and treasured for years.

“Tae,” he nudged his friend.

“Hmm?” Tae Woo responded although his eyes were still on his plate. One of the things about him which often frustrated Flynn was his love for food. There was almost nothing that could take Tae Woo's attention away from his food. It was as if he had his own ritual while he was eating his meal.

“What if I have a twin brother?”

Tae Woo chewed and swallowed as if giving it a thought but when he finally opened his mouth, the only thing that came out was “Huh?”

Flynn cleared his throat. He did not know whether to feel relieved that his friend had not heard his ridiculous question or annoyed that food mattered more than his words. In the end, he decided to switch the topic rather than having to repeat his question. “Do you know Kelsey Leah Ferreira?”

“The blonde one?” Tae Woo placed his disposable chopstick—which he always brought because he didn't like the fork and knives.

Flynn shook his head as he recalled how Kelsey looked standing in the middle of the football field. “No. She is a brunette.”

A small frown creased Tae Woo's brow. “Are you sure? I remember Kelsey Leah Ferreira and she is a blonde. We went to the same elementary school.”

Flynn was not color blind, and he was so sure that girl who blackmailed him two hours ago was a brunette but there was no way he would argue with Tae Woo knowing how good his friend at remembering things, so when he saw that girl walking into the cafeteria, he pointed directly at her. “That girl. She is Kelsey Ferreira. Do you know anything about her?”

Tae Woo lifted one brow. “Isn’t that Kels from the history class?”

“Kels? Does that stand for Kelsey?”

“Honestly, I do not know.” Tae Woo shrugged one shoulder. “Kelly, maybe? Honestly, everyone calls her Kels, and I sort of just went with it.”

“Hmm,” Flynn frowned.

“Some people were bullying her in History Class today because she got dumped by Shane. People are horrible.” Tae Woo shook his head then glanced at Kelsey before turning his attention back to the food on his plate.

Flynn stared at his friend dumbly then turned his gaze at the girl who was now sitting in the corner with a box of juice and a muffin in front of her. “Interesting,” he muttered to himself.

“What is?” Tae Woo looked up and stared at Flynn in confusion.

“Nah, I gotta go. See you later.”

“Okay.” Tae Woo shrugged.

Flynn picked up his tray and moved towards her.

• • •

Flynn could see the look of confusion in her eyes when he placed his tray on her table and sat beside her. She was not the first girl who tried to blackmail him, one of his previous hookups had threatened to release his naked pictures online if he did not pay her some money. However, she was the first girl who asked for something other than money, and if he was honest, that fact alone intrigued him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him coldly, business-like, almost sounding like they were strangers.

He grabbed his can of Coke, hooked his finger on the metal circle, and open it. “I thought you want me to be smitten by you.” Flynn purposely used the word she had used earlier and took a sip. When she did not respond, he leaned in towards her and whispered, “Remember our deal?”

She blinked as if she had forgotten their arrangement. “Oh. Yeah. You can start whenever.”

Flynn had thought this through. Even though he was intrigued by her request, he still hated being ordered around, tied in an agreement he had no say about, and most importantly, he hated how powerless he was. If she wanted him to play a fool who was madly in love with her, he would but it was all going to be an act. Because honestly, only a mad person would fall for a cunning girl like her. Nonetheless, he had his own plan. In return, he would make her fall for him. With his charm and experience, he would blow her mind before leaving her with a broken heart. Sweet revenge for blackmailing him.

Locking his eyes with hers, he lifted his hand and tucked her hair behind one ear.

Her body froze, her narrowed eyes looked at him warily. “What are you doing?”

Instead of answering her question, he slid his hand down to her neck, caressing her soft skin before resting his thumb on her shoulder blade. “Flynn.” Her warning tone made him want to smile. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“I am just doing what you asked me to.” Once the last word left his mouth, he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. He placed soft kisses at the corners of his lips and held her face with one hand while the other hand resting on her shoulder pulled her body closer to him.

She had her eyes opened, directly staring at him. It was something that had never happened before. All the girls he had kissed before always melted and closed their eyes the second his lips were on theirs yet here she was, having no sign of melting while he himself had difficulty trying to keep his own eyes open. She must be an alien or something.

After a few more heartbeats, he pulled away. Ignoring how disturbed he was by her lack of participation in their kiss, he pasted a slow, sexy smile on his lips. “How is that?”

He had expected her to melt yet she had not. He had expected her to kiss him back yet she had not. He would never expect her to slap him in front of everyone yet she did exactly that.

“Consider yourself lucky that I did not kick your balls,” was all she said before she stood, grabbed her stuff, and walked away.