B is For...

9 - Bribing

[AN: I recommend you go back and read the last chapter...]

9 –  Bribing

Of course I told Kelsey. I told her as soon as I ran upstairs after shutting the door.

I mean, she's my best friend so I'm basically obligated to tell her.

Which is what I tried explaining to Braddon as soon as he walked into the art class. He doesn't want to hear it though. I can't see him, due to him sitting behind me, but I can feel his glare piercing a hole in the back of my head. I squirm in my seat, feeling rather uncomfortable. I turned my head, so I'm able to look at him over my shoulder.

"If it makes you feel any better—"

"It won't," he cut me off sternly, annoyance clear on his face. I huffed at his behavior.

"You don't even know what I was going to say," I stated back accusingly before facing forward in my seat. Fine, if he wants to be all rude, then I just won't try to make things better. I try to focus on what Mrs. Grace was talking about, but not even a minute later, I felt his breath against my ear.

"You're right. That was rude of me. Please, continue," he spoke in a friendly manner. I looked over my shoulder, which wasn't a genius decision seeing that it caused our faces to be very close. Our eyes met, and he raised his eyebrows, almost like he was actually waiting for me to speak. I scoffed. I may be an optimistic, but I'm not naïve.

"Do you really want to hear what I was about to say?" I asked his suspiciously. Braddon watched my lips as I talked, and when I finished, his eyes immediately found mine once again. It was then I noticed aren't as dark as I once assumed. Within his dark, chocolate eyes, are specks of gold. It reminded me of a chocolate bar with caramel inside.

"Not really," he smirked. "What I really want to know is why the hell you opened your big mouth," he answered easily, as if he didn't just insult me.

"Excuse me? I do not have a big mouth," I defended myself, once again, turning away from him. How dare he? True, I told Kelsey, but it's not like I went shouting it to the entire neighborhood. I glared at the front of the class. Mrs. Grace was drawing a demonstration on how to properly shade pencils.

For the remainder of class, Braddon and I didn't speak to one another. I didn't mind it. I actually started getting very intrigued by the teacher's skills. When the bell finally rung, Braddon was out of his seat and out the door before the series of bells stopped.

****

As the day progressed, I had no more encounters with Braddon.  I placed my books in my locker and looked down the hallway at all the students preparing for the last class of the day. Just then, I saw Allen. He was leaned against the locker, with a girl standing in front of him, in between his open legs.

Her?

It was the headphone girl. The one that asked me about my hair color. She lived up to the name I mentally gave her, because she still had a set of headphone around her neck. She was dressed very basic, like she had the two other times I saw her; jeans with a few rips in them, and a plain navy colored t-shirt that wasn't too tight, but not too loose. Her signature ponytail, like always, holding her curly hair intact.

Allen had his arms wrapped around her midsection, and hers was wrapped around his neck. They both were smiling and talking with no cares in the world. I smiled at the scene. Allen reached up and moved a few loose strays of her hair behind her ear, exposing her cheek for him to kiss.

"Aww," I said softly, admiring his gentle gesture. My mind instantly went back to my last school year at my old school. I remember having a certain boy do the same thing to me, both of us smiling at each other. I sighed at the blissful memories of my ex-boyfriend. We broke up on good terms before I moved in with my dad.