Guys! It's been so long since I've written anything (and I have to admit I have serious mid-book writer's block), but because people are actually reading and liking this story--looking at you, @X0X0_a--I had to get something out there. So here you are, apologies it's a bit of a filler, and more good stuff to come soon. Promise. xxc
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Three weeks later I'm lying on the floor of Jill's room as she paints her nails at her desk. I've been spending most of my free time here since Sam's and my massive fight after Ryan's party, and recently got up the courage to ask Mr. Ross about moving out of the dorms entirely. He said he'd look into it, and even though he flashed me his usual kind smile, I got the feeling that my moving from the dorms to his home isn't something he's excited about. I guess that's fair.
Because I've been mostly sleeping in Jill's guest room, I've only seen Sam in passing and we've hardly spoken a word to each other. Brandon still makes snide comments when he passes me in the halls—shoving his shoulder against mine and taunting loud enough to make kids in the vicinity laugh—but Sam just looks past or through me.
Spencer has taken a side, and I'm endlessly grateful that it's mine. He's my saving grace in MacMillan, and has recently begun taking me to the tennis courts after dinner and allowing me to smack ball after ball in his direction. I suck at tennis, and he's on pace to be recruited for the sport, so we're poorly matched, but I enjoy the hours of swinging at those little green balls until I'm exhausted and sweaty.
Because it's Saturday, Spencer and I hit the court early and I'm recently showered and flexing my sore left wrist as Jill wheedles at me, giving her best puppy dog face.
"Come on, Lo" She sings. "It will be fun."
"It will be fun?" I pull a face at her, rolling onto my stomach and propping myself up on my elbows.
"Yes. Talulah's parties are always fun. And she invited you specifically, didn't she?"
I shrug. She did invite me, and she's always been way nicer to me than she needs to be, particularly with the way her friends avoid me like the plague.
"So it's settled," Jill says. "We leave at 8."
I glance at my watch. It's 4 now. "What do we do until then?"
Jill gives me a devious look, blowing on her now black nails. "I thought you'd never ask."
By the time I drive us to Talulah's, I'm wearing one of Jill's strappy crop tops, a pair of torn black skinnies, and my combat boots. I keep tugging the top lower and Jill keeps slapping at my hands.
"I feel exposed," I say for the hundredth time.
"And you look fantastic. Stop trying to ruin my work."
I laugh as I turn the wheel onto Talulah's street. Jill had fought against my driving—she wanted me to 'let my hair down,' a thinly veiled request for me to 'get drunk and be a little more fun.' After last time, though, I'm not interested in booze. Besides, this is my first Ryder party and as the school's most hated student, I have no business getting wasted and making a bigger fool of myself than I have done already.
Still, Jill convinced me to check myself out of the dorm for the night, just to give myself the option of letting loose. If all goes as planned, I'll drive us both to her house in a few hours. If things get crazy, we'll sleep at Talulah's.
Speaking of...Talulah's place looks like it's on fire from the road. Lights and people crowd the windows and spill into the yard. Red solo cups litter the grass out front. Ridiculously, I'm amazed by the size of the home; I was under the impression Talulah's parents were artist hippies and she doesn't act like a girl who grew up in a mansion on Cott Mountain.
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Boarding with the Bad Boy [COMPLETE + BONUS published edition]
Teen Fiction"You like this, don't you?" Sam grins, running his tongue over his lip ring. "You're turned on by it." "Please," I wave my hand in dismissal. "You are," he accuses, his voice light. He does it again. I can't look away. "Stop." "Why should I...