|WATTYS 2021 Shortlisted| ❝Teach me.❞ ❝Teach you what?❞ ❝Teach me how to be a bad boy.❞
Elias Rodriguez has a crush on a certain cheerleader (since forever), but she has a thing for bad boys, not chemistry nerds. Lucky for him, the cheerleader's bes...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Chapter forty-three | The Redemption Arc
Whispers followed me around, making me huff in annoyance. Running a hand through my hair, I glared at the people around me. Their prying eyes averted, but the hushed voice continued to float in the confined space of the locker room.
A hand patted on my back as Aaron appeared in my vision. His eyes were amused and curious as he gave me a slight smile. But hidden under the layers there was certain tightness to his features.
"So, what is exactly going on between you and Cynthia?" I opened my mouth to reply, but he beat me to it. "Don't bother lying. You guys aren't more discreet people."
Maybe holding each other's hands while walking through the school hallway in a very middle school way wasn't discreet enough. My brain snickered.
Resisting the urge to roll my eyes at the absurd thoughts, I gave him a hesitant smile.
"We are not sure yet. We haven't decided on any labels." I added a shrug at the end for a nonchalant effort.
Aaron hummed in response and said nothing. "Well, best of luck for whatever you guys have."
With that, he excused himself and walked out of the locker rooms.
"Don't worry. He is fine," Michael reassured me, following Aaron out.
I barely had a moment to react before Connor tugged me to his side. A huge grin was plastered on his face as he wiggled his eyebrows.
"Oh, boy! He will make you run too many laps around the field today," he spoke with a fake concern.
I lightly elbowed him in the stomach and pushed past the metal door. My steps came to an abrupt stop when Connor screeched.
"Wait!"
With eyes wild, I met his amused face. "What?" I asked, feeling startled.
Connor gave me a cheeky grin and pointed down at my laces. "Your laces are open."
I shook my head at his childish attitude and huffed in response. Getting down, I retied my laces, making two bunny ears just like they taught us as kids.
I looked up from my shoes as a shadow blocked the sunlight. My eyes narrowed as a familiar hulking figure appeared in my vision.
His words and actions from the past weekend flashed through my thoughts. His eyes were hard like mine, not betraying any other emotion than anger and resentment.
"What do you want, Everett!" I hissed. I expected some emotion or maybe a smirk on his face, but it remained an impassive mask.
Connor gazed at the scene attentively, searching for any form of threat from Jacob.
