Bite Me

Chapter 4

"Okay," I began as I tossed my bag on the floor and practically collapsed onto Cella's bed. "Where did you two lovebirds leave off yesterday?"

"We are not—whatever," Cella spluttered. "But, uh, I'd say we had almost all of the planning done when he left."

"Sweet, let me see it," I said, sitting up and extending a hand. "No doubt I'll have to get rid of some of it."

"Excuse me?" Cella huffed as she handed me her notebook.

I fell back into the bed and flipped through the notebook until I found the project. "I'm sure whatever you wrote is fine. I'm more concerned about lover boy."

"You know, he actually is pretty smart," Marcella said.

"If it were coming from someone who wasn't crushing on him, I'd believe it." Cella made a noise of protest. "Save it, hun. I'm not blind, ya know," I grinned as I read through the work they'd done. "I see you convinced him that ambition was the major theme?"

Cella shrugged. "It wasn't hard, you know. If you did it in a less dick-y way, he probably would've listened."

I placed down the notebook, satisfied with what I saw, and turned over onto my side so that I was facing Cella. "Cells, give it up," I sighed at the girl, who was sitting at her desk a few feet away. "I don't try to get you to like girls like Emily and Jenna."

      "But that's different!" Cella said in exasperation.

     "Why, because you like him?" My friend's face turned red.

       "I don't," she insisted.

      Deciding not to bug her on it, I said, "He's just not my kinda guy, Cells. He's been here two days and he's already getting in with the jocks."

     "So?"

      "So he's a fuckboy. Guys like him are to me as girls like Emily are to you."

      "Kieran, everyone thinks Emily's a bitch; I'm not alone. But I'm pretty sure you're the only person at school who doesn't like Mason."

    I shrugged. "I pride myself on being different."

      "You're impossible," Cella groaned. "Come on, think about it. You were rude to him first."

     "So that little stare down we had," I said, "the one that you said was like a scene from twilight. That was completely one sided? It was all me?"

     "Still, you were the first one to be mean. He tried to make a joke and you snapped at him. If you hadn't, that little macho contest wouldn't have happened."

      "Oh, but you see, Cella," I tsked, "That's where you're wrong. It started way before that."

       "What do you mean?"

        "This is going to sound weird, but...It's like the moment I saw him, I hated him," I explained. Cella crossed her arms in front of her chest.

       "Well that's not very fair," she said.

         "But he felt it too! At least I'm pretty sure he did," I continued. "I know it doesn't make any sense, but I'm serious. If I had a heartbeat, it would've started going faster, and not in a mushy-shushy-love-at-first-sight kind of way. In a I-want-to-rip-your-throat-out kind of way."