Chapter 2: School's 'Bad Boy'

“You look amazing, Liv! Just go! You can do it!” Paige encouraged me as we stood in a corner. 

The whole house was packed with people everywhere. Even in the pool at the back of the house.

To be perfectly honest, this was more of a nightmare-ish hell for a claustrophobic person than a party… 

If I knew that high school parties were basically just loud music with drunk teens everywhere, I would have stayed at home with a big bowl of popcorn while watching some random movie. 

I could’ve drooled over guys who would never know that I exist!

Wait… That’s kinda sad… 

But those guys are also too old for a high schooler like me… 

That’s not sad… Or is it? 

It is, you dumbo! 

Why don’t we all have that one person in the world made for us in a way that he or she can never be with anyone other than us? 

Like mates in all those werewolf stories? 

Life would be so much better if those stories were true… 

Wait… What if they are true and I just don’t know it?!

What if the werewolves are just not telling us mere mortals about their existence?! 

What if I have a super hot werewolf guy waiting to find me?! 

Ha! As if… 

I’m not that lucky… 

Now that is super sad… 

Liv! Focus! 

I’m not here to think about my werewolf mate! I’m here to get Ryan! 

But what if Ryan’s my werewolf mate? 

You’ve grown up with that guy, Liv! If he was a werewolf, you would’ve known about that! 

Now, focus!

“I can do this.” I said to myself when I saw Ryan standing a few feet away from me with one of his friends, laughing at something. 

“Yes, you can do it!” Paige smiled encouragingly. 

“I can totally do this!” I said, nodding my head. 

“He’s right there. You just have to go to him and tell him everything.” Paige told me. 

“He’s right there. I just have to go to him and tell him everything.” I stated. 

“You should go now.” Paige nudged me. 

“I should go now.” I nodded my head in agreement. 

“Olivia, seriously, go!” Paige sighed. 

“Olivia, seriously go!” I said to myself. 

“Paper planes fly but Olivia doesn’t.” Paige said. 

“Paper planes fly but-” I was speaking but Paige cut me off. 

“Liv! Snap out of it!” She shook me by my shoulders, bringing me to the present. “Stop parroting my words and go get your man!” She instructed. 

I nodded as I started walking to Ryan.

But before I could reach him, someone walked past me, almost knocking me over as their shoulder hit mine. 

“Ouch!” I exclaimed, gripping my shoulder. “Watch where you’re going!” I called after the guy who just continued to walk away after hitting me. 

He turned around at my words and stared at me from head to toe with a creepy smile on his face. 

“Look who has a back-bone.” I chuckled as he walked back to me. 

“Uh… Technically all humans have a back-bone.” I stated. “I don’t think you ever attended your biology class, did you?” I sassed. 

I mean, the guy was tall and he could easily overpower little ol’ me but I had my sass so I couldn’t just let it pass. 

Oooooo! It rhymes! 

“Colour me impressed, baby.” He said as he wrapped his arms around my waist. 

“And colour me creeped out by you.” I told him as I tried to push him away but he just smirked down at me. 

“Aww! Baby girl has a tongue on her.” He chuckled, holding me in his arms, close to his muscular body. 

“All humans have tongues! Please, go study human anatomy, man!” I sighed exasperatedly. 

Where the heck is Paige? 

Even Danny-boy would do! But where the heck were they?! 

“I’m gonna show you my anatomy…” The guy said creepily as he started to drag me somewhere while I struggled against his hold. 

Seriously, is everyone here blind?! Can’t they see this creepy idiot practically kidnapping me?! 

“Leave her!” I heard a hard, angry voice saying behind me which made the guy stop. 

Wait… I know that voice… 

Oh… My… Goodness! 

“Hey! Man! What’s up?” The creepy guy, who was still holding me, replied. 

“Let her go.” The hard voice said. “I won’t repeat myself.” He added. 

Holly mac n cheese! 

“I-I’ll let her g-go.” The creepy guy stuttered as he released his grip on me. The fear in his eyes as he practically ran away told me that I would have nightmares for years if turned around now. 

Oopsie Daisy… 

“You okay?” The same deep voice asked, sounding much closer to me than before. 

I think he calmed down… 

“I’m perfect!” I replied loudly over the music, not bothering to face him. 

“Olivia, look at me!” The voice commanded. 

I clenched my jaw as I turned around to face him. 

“Oh! So you do know who I am?” I asked him, looking up into his green eyes. 

If I wasn’t super angry at the moment, I would have taken my time to appreciate the deep green eyes and the almost black hair of the guy standing in front of me. 

Wait… What the hell am I even thinking?!

“Olivia, I just-” He started speaking but he cut me off. 

“Don’t call me that you… You monster!” I fumbled over my words as I tried to contain my anger. “You lost the right to call me that a few years ago when you started acting like you don’t even know me!” I told him.

If I wasn’t so angry, I would have actually swooned over how my name rolled off of his tongue.

Gross! Where did that thought even come from?!

Eww!

“That’s your name, Olivia. What else would I call you?” He pointed out. 

Well, when he puts it that way… 

“You do have a point. I don’t know what I was thinking… Well, to be fair, I hardly ever know what I think about…” I thought out loud. “But you still didn’t have to come and save me like some kind of knight-in-shining-armour!” I snapped at him. 

“Yeah, you had everything under control.” He rolled his eyes. 

“I did have it all under control.” I lied. 

“You were just about to knock his teeth out, weren’t you?” He smirked at me. 

“I don’t know about that but I would knock your teeth out if you don’t scram!” I warned him as I took a threatening step towards the giant boy who once was one of my best friends. 

Yes, one more! 

We were a close-knit group of four. The idiot standing in front of me, Ryan, Kaylee and I.

You can celebrate now that you know all the three people who left me right as I stepped into high school! 

“As if you can hurt me, kitten.” He smirked down at me due to our obvious height difference. 

“You know, kittens have claws and they scratch pretty bad.” I told him. “Wouldn’t want the bad boy to have claw marks on his face now, would we?” I raised an eyebrow at him. 

“I had almost forgotten that you were sassy since birth.” He smiled at me as he stepped closer to me. 

“Don’t act like you know me, Hunter.” I told him as I felt a sudden surge of emotions making it hard for me to breathe properly. 

“Oh, I know you, Olivia. I know you better than you know yourself.” He told me seriously as he stepped even closer to me. 

“You haven’t been around for three years, Hunter. People can change in seconds. I mean, you all did. So what makes you think that I haven’t?” I glared at him. 

This was the first time I was throwing accusations at someone for abandoning me. And as much as I felt like a weight was being lifted off of my shoulders as I looked at the guilt on his face, I also felt awful.

Hunter Kingston was my best friend three years ago. Just like Kaylee and Ryan. And now, he acted like I didn’t exist. 

Honestly, what he did was the most hurtful. 

Ryan still smiled at me. Even if he didn’t ever talk to me. He still showed recognition. So did Kaylee, in her own diva way. She might have turned into a bully but she still showed recognition. 

Hunter acted like he didn’t know about my existence… 

And unlike the hot boys from the popular TV shows or movies, him not knowing me was painful beyond belief. 

Hunter was the same boy who couldn’t ever see me cry. He was the same boy who would start a fight with my brother, who was much older than all of us, if he even threw his usual brotherly insults at me. 

The guy in front of me didn’t do that… 

The guy in front of me in his signature black leather jacket and black T-shirt with black jeans and black sneakers was the school’s ‘bad boy’. 

The guy in front of me was the one who just hung out with his other friends who dressed like him in all black while barely attending any classes and still somehow managing to pass all of them.

Now that’s something I would like to learn… 

I mean, screw maths and science and all those boring subjects! These people hardly ever come to school and still manage to pass all their classes! Now that’s what real talent is! 

But they don’t get straight A's like you, Olivia… 

Good point, brain! 

I know, I’m awesome! 

You are… Till you're getting straight A’s. One B and I’ll take it all back! 

That’s not the point here, you dumbo!

Yes… I need to focus on the green-eyed Greek god first… 

What the heck are you even thinking about, Liv! That’s Hunter! Not some guy you can just drool over! 

He’s bad!

He’s super bad!

“Olivia-” He started to say something but I stepped back, shaking my head. 

“Why are you even talking to me?” I questioned. 

“Olivi-” He started but I cut him off.

“You know what? I am not here for you. I’m on a mission and that is to find someone who actually knows me and talk to him.” I said more to myself than to him. 

I didn’t even dare to look at him as I started walking past him. 

“You might not be here for me but I’ll always be there for you.” I heard him say as I walked past him to go find Ryan. 

I need to forget about Hunter and focus on Ryan…