Too Bad

Chapter 2: Competition

Alex's POV
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I sit on the front porch of Simpson house, listening to the birds chirping and waiting for Rhea. It has become a ritual for me. It's early spring now. My favorite time of the year, when everything looks young and ageless; how the early morning sunlight seeps through the leaves and illuminates a place. It's like the nature's spotlight. This place soothes me.
I spot Mr. Simpson outside the door and nod. He nods back and says with a smile, "You sitting outside again, son? Come inside."
"I like it here." I say with an answering smile.
Mr. and Mrs. Simpson are good people. I know them for the most part of my life. They are like second set of parents for me.
"One of these days Rhea will have to learn not to make you wait so long." He winks at me and walks away towards his car.

It's been ten years now. Ten long years of waiting for Rhea. But I like how she likes to find me here, always waiting for her, always by her side. I look at the watch. If she doesn't come out in five minutes, we're going to be late for school. My parents gave me the old family car on my 18th birthday last winter. Since then I drive her to school.
"I'm ready. Let's go." She sounds hurried. I look behind to see her leaning on the door, standing under the nature's spotlight. With the raven black hair and creamy smooth complexion, she always stands out. But today, with jeans and a yellow floral blouse, she's glowing. My golden girl.

"Alex Smith, why are you standing there looking at me with that weird expression?" She demands loudly. "Is there anything on my face?"

Shit! I've been staring. I quickly look away. "I was just making sure your brain's not leaking out of your ears."

"Very funny, Mr. Smith."

She smacks me on the head and runs to the car, laughing. "I see your sense of humor is greatly improving!" She shouts while running.

I run after her and beat her to the car. She's 5'5" but still seven inches shorter than me. It's so easy to beat her. And she's never been good at sports. My girl's too lazy for that. I grab her and start to tickle. She yelps and begs me to let her go.

"No way! You started it." I say with a satisfied smile.

She thrashes around for a few seconds, laughing hard. Then gets out of my hands and quickly gets into the passenger seat. I get in and start the car. Now we'll be late for school.

Lately, it's becoming so hard pretending to be just her best friend when all I want is the whole world to know she's mine. But there's a little problem. She doesn't know that yet. She just needs time. I know it. The kind of bond we share can only be deepening over time. And any one is yet to call me impatient. The last thing I want for her is to feel pressured. She's not even 18. She deserves to enjoy her teen years like any other girl her age. I don't want to tie her down to a relationship at this age. Because when, not if, she becomes mine, she'll only be mine. For now, I don't mind if she looks for a little fun.

Speaking of fun..."Hey, how was your date last night?" I ask glancing at her.

A weird expression comes on her face for a second and then it's gone. She scratches her left eyebrow, twitches her button nose. There! These are the signs when she's lying. She wears a fake smile and says, "It was okay," She says avoiding my eyes. "The guy was polite and treated me well and... the food was awesome," She continues with the lying.

"Yeah?" I pretend to go along. "What was his name, again?" I ask nonchalantly.

She's hiding something. I have to find out what. But I have to tread carefully now. If she realizes I've caught her bluff, it'll be nearly impossible to get the truth out of her.

"You've already asked me this twice before, Alex!" She continues, irritated "And before you ask again, he's Rita's cousin."

Rita, Jessica, Ross, Rhea and I --- we've been through thick and thin all through our high school days. They all know how I feel about Rhea but they respect my decision of taking this slow. Rita's cousin is visiting them and she set him up for a date with Rhea. Though I didn't like it a bit, the way my girl jumped at the idea, I reined in my emotions. I let her go but wasn't really in a mood to listen to all the gory details. When she called me last night I had to let it go unanswered. I'm not a saint, after all.

We reach our class just in time. Rhea sits next to me and loudly exhales, relieved.

"Thank God! We're not late."

I give her a sideways glance and look forward. Our teacher, Miss Hill, enters the class.
"Don't you think you should thank me and my excellent driving skill for that?" I whisper just for her. She makes a face.

"Always hungry for appreciation, Mr. Urban."

I was about to retort when Miss Hill calls our attention. "Okay class, today we'll work in pairs." Some of the students groan out loud. Jessica whispers from behind, leaning over her desk.

"Man! I hate working in pairs."

I smile. As far as I know, she hates everything remotely related to studies.

"I'll give each pair a project and you are required to submit it next Monday," Miss Hill continues, ignoring our groans of protest.

"Trust me you'll like this, because I will decide the pairs." At this, the whole class goes silent. Even if she notices this, she doesn't show it. "You'll get to work with new people and make new friends.l," She says with mock enthusiasm.

I personally have no problem in working with another person as long as it's someone I know. Without giving us any chance to protest further, she goes on with the pairing. I'm lucky. I get paired with Ross. Rita gets Sally, a quiet, nerdy girl. Jessica gets Beth, the gorgeous blonde cheerleader. Jessica's expression of horror is kinda funny. She hates Beth. I don't know why she can't stand those popular, gorgeous ones. This intense dislike started around last year when one day she, surprisingly, started to dress like the emo.

However, any amusement I was feeling swiftly drains out when Miss Hill pairs Rhea with that stoner Jace Kumar. Rhea looks at Jace and...a timid smile appears on her face, like it was just for him. The kind of smile you smile at another person when you share a secret with them. What the hell?? This is totally not the reaction I was expecting. Jace and his friends are literally the outcasts in our school. Most kids don't like them. Only those looking for a bit of weed or something stronger, seeks them out. Even then, they refuse to mingle with them publicly. So why's Rhea smiling at this guy?

They're sitting together, arms touching. She's not uncomfortable with the guy. I can tell when she's feeling uneasy. She starts to fidget, a lot; twitches her nose, scratches her eyebrows, chews on her lips. She's not doing any of that, now. And now, it seems they're having a conversation. What is going on!? Ross leans closer and teases me,

"I think you finally have competition, my friend."So this proves what I'm seeing is not my imagination. It doesn't give me any relief. "That junkie's gonna steal your girl, man." He snickers.

"Shut the fuck up!" I snap, failing to rein in my growing anger.

Rhea has a lot of explaining to do when this god-damned class is over.

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Hello everyone! Elena here. Tell me how this story is going. Did you like Alex? I personally love him! Who's POV you want to read in the next chapter?
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