This time, I was ready.

Everybody in my class stared at me in curiosity when I sat down in Jax’s usual seat at the back of the classroom. I tried to ignore their raised eyebrows the best I could, but I knew they all thought I was suicidal. Maybe I was, but this time, I was ready to confront Jax.

When Jax finally stepped into the room, his eyes immediately met mine as he came to a halt at the door. The look on his face was deadly. The rest of the students fell silent, and they watched without blinking when Jax walked slowly to me. It was clear he was trying his hardest to control himself in front of the teacher.

“Nicholas Gabriel.” His voice sounded like he was Death himself.

“Chase Jackson,” I replied, knowing awfully well I was going to regret pissing him off.

“You are seriously fucked up in the head,” he spoke, staring at me like a snake stared at his target.

“Maybe,” I said, before our teacher asked us to quiet down.

I turned to look at the front of the classroom, hoping to seem like I was completely ignoring Jax. I was ready to dodge or defend myself if he made any sudden movements. I was sure he would attack me again, but to my surprise, he sat down next to me when our teacher told him to.

As the class started, I saw Jax staring at me from the corner of my eye, but when I turned to look at him, he had already turned his attention to whatever our teacher was writing on the board. I sighed silently and relaxed a little. Jax didn’t seem to be in the mood to kick my ass. I tried to concentrate on the class, but it was difficult when everyone else in the room kept peeking in our direction. I could tell Jax was getting annoyed too.

“What the hell are you staring at?!”

If someone thought it was Jax yelling at them, they were utterly wrong. Everyone stared at me for a short moment, including Jax. They all looked surprised since I had never lost my cool like that before.

“Mr. Gabriel, keep your voice down,” our teacher scolded me once he had recovered from the shock that, for the first time, it wasn’t Jax who had caused a disturbance.

It was the third day of the challenge, and I was already losing my mind. I knew the students would start spreading rumors, and sooner or later, they’d start asking questions. I would never even consider being friends with someone like Jax, and they all knew it. I had no idea what to tell them if and when they started asking questions.

At least they stopped staring…

Everyone else except Jax had turned to look at the board. Jax, on the other hand, was looking at me like he had never seen me before. I could tell he was getting intrigued by me. It felt like I had reached the first milestone.

Finally!

I wanted to laugh at that moment. I was relieved and happy. It had taken me only two and a half days to get Jax interested in me.

Take that Caleb! I told you I can make anyone fall for me!

Now I only had to sit back and relax, and Jax would fall for me in no time.

Yes. I was definitely getting ahead of myself. But I needed that confidence boost.

After the class ended, and I made my way outside, a good friend of mine, Alan, walked up to me.

“Why on earth are you poking the Snake?” he asked with a smirk.

“Snake?” I repeated absentmindedly, looking after Jax.

Jax hadn’t said a word to me after the class had started and now he was ignoring me again. I saw him sneaking through the door leading up to the roof. That had to be the place where he was hiding between classes.

“Jax the Snake,” Alan laughed. “I’ve never met anyone so venomous before.”

“So I’m not the only one who thinks he resembles one,” I said with a chuckle.

“Are you kidding me?! He’s like the reincarnation of a king cobra!” Alan laughed. “Why are you messing with him?”

“Because I’m bored,” I shrugged – at least it was partially the truth.

“Whatever you say, man…” Alan laughed again, then shook his head. “It’s not healthy though.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right…” I muttered.

I knew he was right, but I didn’t care.

After school, I took Jessica home. When I stopped the car in front of her house, I turned to speak to her.

“I’ll come pick you up in a few hours.”

“Give me a call once you’re ready,” she said with a smile, got out of my car and skipped to the front door of her huge home.

I continued driving to the very end of the street. My home was three times bigger than any of the houses I passed by on my way up the street. The mansion I lived in was the oldest house in the neighborhood, located at the top of the hill.

The neighborhood itself was surrounded by tall fences and strong gates to keep the riches of the residents safe. My family used to own the whole area, but eventually the lands were sold, piece by piece, until there was only our small yard left.

Now the tall hill was filled with luxurious homes, but in my opinion, my family had made a mistake when they sold the land. There was no privacy, and no room in the cramped hill. I always felt like I couldn’t breathe properly in the middle of all those huge buildings.

A few moments later, I parked my car close to the double-doors of my home. I stepped out and stopped to look around. I could see the whole neighborhood from where I was standing. I could also see the fences surrounding it.

Nice and secure, just like my life…

I let out a long sigh before I turned my back on the views. I walked inside and headed to my room to freshen up and do my homework.

“Nicholas! How was your day at school?” I heard my dad’s voice when I walked past his study.

I sighed lightly in irritation, but I turned around and entered his study.

“It was great,” I told him shortly.

Dad sat behind his long mahogany desk. He had a thick pile of papers in front of him. He was a lawyer, just like his dad and his granddad. I was going to become a lawyer too, but it was my own choice, not my family’s.

My great-grandfather opened a small law firm in this city a very long time ago. In time it grew up to be one of the biggest in our area. My dad was determined to make it one of the biggest in the whole state, and it needed a lot of work. He spent most of his time building that dream.

And he wanted me to join his firm once I graduated. He kept saying that he was going to make me one of his partners, and maybe even put me in charge of one of the offices around the state. There were three offices already, and he was planning on starting two new ones.

So, my future was pretty much planned out already. My older brother, Kenneth, wanted to become a doctor. He was already on his way to fulfill his dream. And then there was Daniel. He was the black sheep of the family, who was more interested in journalism than being a lawyer. Since my brothers had neglected my father’s wishes, it had become my duty to keep the family business up and running.

“I heard you and your friends are having a beach party tonight?” Dad said in a questioning tone as he put down his papers to look at me.

“It’s not a party, Dad. We’re just going out to have fun. It’s Wednesday after all…” I told him.

“Good. Just remember to do your homework before you go. We don’t want you to fall behind,” he said.

I was a straight-A student, one of the best in my entire school. But Dad was having a hard time remembering that. He expected nothing but perfect grades from me, and if I made even the tiniest mistake, he wouldn’t be happy about it – it was his dream on the line, after all.

“Sure, Dad,” I said in a monotone voice before leaving the room.

I did the little homework I had, and once I was done, I stopped to stare at the notebooks. Easy assignments, as always. I could remember all the formulas, all the boring dates, all the names, places, happenings, all the grammar rules, all the diagrams, all the chemicals, the body parts… I was the perfect student, after all.

Who cared? Dad, but I was never good enough.

But what did I care? Did I care…?

Suddenly, I felt like I was suffocating, so I went to take a quick shower, got dressed in a pair of jeans and a hoodie before I stormed out of the house.

“You’re late,” Jessica greeted me as she entered my car only a few moments later.

“Sorry about that…” I mumbled and continued driving toward the gates.

“Nic. Is everything alright?” she asked in a worried tone.

I nodded, but she didn’t believe me.

“It’s not just about Jax. I know something is bothering you,” she kept insisting.

I sighed as I stopped the car in front of the gates at the end of our home street.

“For all my life, I’ve been acting like everyone expects me to act,” I finally said to her. “Sometimes I just want to do what I want to do without asking for anyone’s permission.”

“So, you don’t want to be a lawyer?” Jessica asked.

“Of course I do. That’s my dream. I just want to do it on my own terms,” I said while the gates opened for us.

“So, you don’t like the way your dad is trying to help you achieve that goal?” Jessica said and chuckled.

I sighed again. I knew how weird that sounded like. I should’ve been grateful. My dad knew exactly what I needed to reach my goal. His help – and money – guaranteed me a spot in the best schools in the whole country. But still…

“I don’t know why I feel this way,” I said honestly. “I don’t know how I feel, anyway. I’m so confused right now. Maybe that’s why I accepted the challenge. I just want to concentrate on something else for now. To get my mind off things, you know?”

I saw her peering at me for a moment. “Yeah, I know. Just don’t let the Snake bite your head off.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her words. “I didn’t know people call him that,” I said.

“He does look a lot like a snake, doesn’t he?” Jessica laughed.

“He sure does,” I said.

When we arrived at the beach twenty minutes later, a lot of our friends were already there. It was yet another sunny day, and no one wanted to waste a nice day like that indoors. We spotted Daniel and his friends laying on the sand near the water, making ruckus and laughing loudly. Jessica ran the final steps to them while I followed her at a slower pace.

Once I sat down next to her, Caleb and his friends gave me amused looks.

“So! Is Jax in love with you yet?” Caleb asked me with a smirk. “How’s that going for you?”

“Better than Monday,” I told him as confidently as I could. “Jax didn’t hit me this time,” I continued with a smirk.

“Maybe the hits were just his way of telling you how much he loves you,” Jacob snickered in an annoying, childish voice.

The others laughed loudly until Daniel told them to shut up. I didn’t mind. I was feeling pretty confident about myself, and I wasn’t going to let anyone ruin my good mood.

Caleb was still giving me amused looks when Jacob returned to his conversation with another friend. I ignored him the best I could, and turned to look at Jessica, who had spotted some of her friends further down by the water. She was waving at them cheerily, gesturing for them to join our group. I recognized two of them, but I didn’t know the third girl who was approaching us.

“This is Cecilia,” Jessica said and pointed at a girl who I hadn’t seen before. “She moved here around a week ago,” she explained.

Cecilia was really pretty. She had long brown hair and a nice, feminine figure. Her eyes were dark brown, and she seemed really nice when she got used to our little gang and found the courage to start talking.

Later that night, I ended up talking with her, and when the sun was setting, she had already fallen for me. Just like they were supposed to. She was a really good kisser. And by the end of the night, I had her phone number in my pocket. Getting it from her had been simple and easy, and I hadn’t even suffered any head traumas while I’d been at it.

It was safe to say I was still bitter about Jax’s attack. I still had a huge bump on my head, but luckily my thick, perfect hair hid it from the curious eyes.

“You didn’t waste any time with Cecilia,” Jessica chuckled when the two of us were driving back home.

“I think she’s really nice,” I said with a happy smile on my face. “I’m taking her out this Friday.”

“What about Jax?” Jessica asked innocently. “I thought you had a thing for him,” she added as a joke.

“No one said I can’t see other people before this challenge is over,” I laughed. “I can’t spend a whole two months in celibacy, you know.”

Jessica laughed cheerily. “Well, you can always have sex with Jax.”

“Over my dead body,” I said, stressing each word, and then laughed loudly at the ridiculous idea. “There’s no way in hell I’m doing that with another dude.”

“I know, I know, I’m just messing with you,” Jessica said reassuringly.

I chuckled at the thought of having sex with Jax. There was absolutely no way in hell that was going to happen.