He'll have to break all the rules to keep her, but first she has to break just one and let him in...
It's taken four years, but Anna Fray has finally put the past behind her. Mostly. She fills her days working in a bar and her nights watching bad ro...
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Those first few days, when Book Boy sat in the bar, were the first of many. He never drank anything, but he devoured the complimentary sweets like they were going to disappear at any moment.
He was the kind of customer places like this usually detested. He sprawled across the table for hours on end but never spent a penny. If it weren't for the steady stream of girls he attracted, I imagined Kelly would have kicked him out days ago.
As it was, he'd become like a piece of the furniture, silent but unignorable. We'd taken to calling him Book Boy since he hadn't offered his name and none of us were brave enough to ask him it. It wasn't just that he was attractive, it was the way he held himself. His eyes focussed on the book in front of him so intently, that it felt like a violation to interrupt him.
After two weeks of ogling, Callum's interest had waned to the point that he had started to pay attention to the other customers again. A fact many would wish wasn't the case, if they knew the things he said about them.
"Can you believe what that girl's wearing? She looks like she's been dragged out some 50s abstinence advert," Callum said with disdain as a girl walked in and made her way towards a small huddle by the window. They'd positioned themselves so they had the perfect view of Book Boy, but the perfect hiding place to spy from. I'd seen them move several times before they'd settled on that perfect spot.
Emma tried to hide her smile at Callum's comment. It wasn't in her nature to be so harsh, but Callum had a way of drawing it out of her.
"I like her hairband," Emma added, as if trying to find something to compliment her on. Even if she couldn't hear it.
"What do you think, Anna?" Callum piped up.
I looked at the girl I was supposed to be slating. She was just another girl, but there were definitely parts of her that screamed Mary-Sue. That shiny brown bob, the cute Mary-Janes, the butter-wouldn't-melt face and Alice in Wonderland hairband. I felt a flare of anger and sneered at the utter sweetness she encapsulated. Sickly sweet.
The itch within reared its ugly head.
"I bet she's so innocent she sleeps with her legs crossed, just in case," I said as a bitter taste settled on my tongue. I could feel it seeping up my throat and on it I tasted the truth.
I wasn't angry at this girl. I didn't know her. Yet, just looking at her, I couldn't help the jealousy, hurt and shame that rose to the surface. She was everything I would never be. She was the type of girl who looked down on me the most when my secrets came out. I wanted her innocence and the respect it would command later in her life. I'd lost mine and with it went the respect of my friends and family, even myself.
I stared down at my black coffee as Callum and Emma laughed at my comment. All I could see was my own reflection on the dark surface. I wondered, if I tied my dark hair back in a hair band, could I rewind the clock, or at least pretend my past had never happened? If I wiped the mascara and eyeliner away, would I look like the wide-eyed girl I used to be?
