Bad Boy Blues

chapter four

"Harper, wake up," I said, tapping her slightly. After the whole thing at the pool I found a room on the second floor without anyone in it. I carried her up there and laid her on the bed. And no, you morons. I wasn't going to violate her. I might have a complicated history with her, but I'm not a rapist.

She groaned, and for a moment, I panicked. I thought maybe her lungs still had water in them. She could have pneumonia, or worse. Suddenly her eyes fluttered open, and this time they stayed open. "Uh—Where am I?" she asked, stirring.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "You're at the Opening."

Harper's eyes widened, full of panic. "Oh my god, what just happened?" she asked, straining to get up.

"Woah," I said, putting my arm around her. "Don't get up. You were out for almost five minutes."

She looked at me, and gulped. "What?" she repeated.

"I just got here and decided to go to the pool. I heard a commotion and saw two people dressed like fucking ninjas carrying you. Next thing I knew, you were thrown in the pool." I said slowly, making sure to sound calm.

Harper hit me on the arm. "Don't talk to me like I'm stupid," she seethed, crossing her arms. "Oh god. What have I done?"

I didn't even flinch. "What did you do?" I repeated.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I don't want to tell you." She said, leaning on the headboard of the bed. She looked down, and yelped. "Oh my god!" she screamed. "Where are my clothes?"

"I took them off," I answered, standing up. "You were dropped in the pool, remember? I couldn't have you freezing to death, now could I?"

Harper shook her head wildly. "But that doesn't mean that you could undress me! You should have called Aldo and let him help me!"

Sudden pain shot through my chest. It took all I could not to double over. After all this time it's still him. What does Harper even see in him? I'm better than Aldo, in every possible way. I don't get what he has that's better than what I have. "Wow," I breathed out. "I helped you, but you're looking for your boyfriend who didn't do shit."

"That's not what I meant," Harper said, rubbing her temples, "you were nice. Thanks for saving me. But Aldo is my boyfriend. He should have been the one who changed me or whatever. No guy has ever seen me in my undies, ever. And now, you're the first."

My eyes widened. "You're kidding,"

"No." Harper replied, putting her hands up in the air.

"So that means you and Aldo haven't—"

"God no. I'm saving myself." She said, crossing her arms.

Well, that's fantastic. Aldo hasn't had the balls to have sex with her and Harper doesn't want to. This is gold. "So, who are you waiting for then?"

"Listen, James. I'm sorry," she started, "but I don't think you should be asking that question. You've been practically harassing me at school, and you're bullying my boyfriend. And now, you've saved me from drowning. You've put me in a box here, James. I don't know if I should thank you or scream for help."

I couldn't help myself. I laughed, shaking my head. "It's not weird. It's just that I like you—from the moment I saw you I couldn't help myself."

"Oh wow," she said, shaking her head. "So you just think I'm a piece of meat that you can just pounce on?"

I stopped laughing. I took a deep breath, and walked back over to her. "No. I happen to think you're quite the girl."

"But I'm a girl you just met this Monday."