On Thursday morning, I was determined to get Jax to talk with me, but I soon realized I didn’t have any classes with him that day. And he was just as slippery as a snake as well. I spotted him only twice in the hallways – his flaming red hair was easy to notice – but on both times he managed to vanish when I tried to follow him.

I was not giving up, but I had the feeling this day would be a complete bust.

“Mom is going to kill me…”

I turned to look at the guy sitting next to me in chemistry. Benjamin. Didn’t really enjoy his presence, but our teacher had decided the seating order for us, so I was stuck with him.

“Why?” I asked to humor him.

“I got an F from the test. It must be easy for you,” he continued.

Here we go again…

“Chemistry is all right. You just have to put effort into it,” I said, turning to look at the board in front.

“Yeah,” he chuckled, nudging me with his elbow. “Or Dad’s money like in your case.”

I sighed quietly. “He’s not paying my teachers to give me A’s, you know. I work hard for my grades.”

“Sure you do,” he said, and when I glanced at him, I saw the familiar hint of jealousy in his eyes. “I’m just kidding. I know you… work. Or something. But hey! You don’t even have to worry over grades because your dad just pays for you to get into the best colleges in the world.”

A few guys behind us chuckled at his words.

“I’m just kidding, of course,” Benjamin added.

He was not. He just wanted to say what he really wanted, but without ruining his “friendship” with me. Everyone wanted to be friends with me in case they could somehow take advantage of it.

“Funny,” I said in a monotone voice and focused on my book.

The actually funny thing was that I appreciated Jax and his wish to break my skull much more than these so-called friends of mine. At least he was being genuine. These guys hated my guts probably more than Jax did, after all, but he had no trouble being open about it.

I really liked that.

Lunch break rolled around, and I absentmindedly followed Jessica through the hallways, keeping a close eye on my surroundings in hopes of seeing even a glimpse of a red strand of hair somewhere. But no. Nothing.

Where on earth was Jax hiding?

“Nic? Hello? Nic?” Alan waved his hand in front of my eyes.

I turned to look at him. For a brief second, I was confused to see him sitting next to me. I got even more confused when I saw a plate full of food in front of me. When did I get that?

“Where are you, dude?” Alan laughed, and I turned my attention back to him.

“Mm? I’m right here?” I spoke.

“Are you? I can see you there, but you’re not with us,” Alan joked. “Are you looking for someone?”

“Uh… I, uh…” I stammered, looking at Jessica for help since my mind was drawing blanks. I was not supposed to tell anyone about the bet! But she was just smirking at me! “I…”

But here was a god. Or a goddess. I saw the new girl entering the lunch hall.

“Cecilia!” I shouted, waving at her. Thank God, she waved back at me as she took her spot in the line. I turned to talk to Alan. “I was looking for her. Cecilia.”

“I know her,” Alan said, his eyes following Cecilia. “Seems like a fun girl.”

I did feel bad about lying to Alan. He was one of my closest friends, after all, but he was a disaster at keeping secrets. And no one was supposed to know about the bet, even if they were able to keep secrets.

Besides, I’d rather not let people know I was trying to hit on another guy. For one, Dad would go absolutely ballistic if he ever found out I had something going on with a guy – a challenge or not. He couldn’t even handle jokes about it. I wasn’t sure if Mom was so strictly against it, but she was against it.

And two, this was just a stupid challenge. No need to ruin my reputation over it.

Once Cecilia had her tray, she came to sit with us. She took the seat between me and Alan, flapping her long eyelashes in my direction. I gave her a big smile, and she returned it.

Now this is how it’s supposed to work.

“How are you?” I asked her.

I never could’ve thought a simple question like that could be such a big mistake.

“I’m super! Everyone here is so nice to me and I’m getting so many new friends, and…!” she babbled on and on… and on…

Focus Nic! Be nice to her… She’s pretty and, uh… stuff… What is she talking about?

“–and I really like the trees here! The forests are so pretty, and–”

Trees? Seriously…?

I looked at Jessica, who kept smirking at me. I had the feeling she already knew Cecilia didn’t shut up at all if you let her start talking. I looked back at Cecilia, trying my best to focus on what she was saying.

“–I did go to the mall once – no, twice – or did I? Maybe it was just one time… Oh well! Anyway, I went there and–”

I’d rather get my head banged against a desk right about now…

And I had promised to take her out the next day.

“Oh God! I forgot I have to go talk to my math teacher! See you all later!” I practically shouted and ran away from the cafeteria without looking back.

That was another lie. I just had to get away from Cecilia. I needed fresh air, so I headed to the roof. It was off-limits, but I really didn’t care at that moment. I really needed to be left alone.

I got up the stairs and opened the door at the top of it. I stepped out and was greeted by the warm wind. I took a deep breath and enjoyed the quietness.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

Of course Jax is here…

I nearly laughed. After running all around the school trying to find him, I ended up finding him when I wanted to be left alone. Figures…

“Why the hell do you keep following me? What the hell is your problem?” Jax hissed, and I turned around to look at him.

He was wearing red jeans and a black hoodie on him. He was holding a cigarette in his hand.

“Smoking kills,” I told him and turned my back on him.

“A lot of things kill,” he said in return.

I leaned my back against the wall next to the door. I looked at Jax, who was still glaring at me.

“Why do you hate me so much?” I asked.

“I hate everyone. Don’t think you’re anything special,” he answered.

“Why do you hate everyone?” I asked, trying to use the moment to get to know him better.

“None of your fucking business,” he replied.

I let out a short laugh. He got even more pissed because of that, and I laughed harder. Jax and Cecilia were as different as night and day… And I enjoyed Jax’s company better.

“The hell are you laughing about?” he asked.

So, he really is interested in me.

That thought amused me. He had to be interested, or he would’ve just ignored me, right? He had to be at least a little bit curious.

“I like you,” I told him.

That shut him up. He glared at me, clearly trying to decide if I was joking or not.

“You are so different from the rest of them,” I said and turned to look at the sky. “I like that. It’s refreshing.”

That was not a lie.

“Whatever,” he said and threw his smoke to the ground, stomped on it, and headed to the door.

“I’d like to hang out with you sometime,” I told him, but he only gave me an angry glare before he entered the stairwell.

Finally alone…

And then the bell rang. I let out a heavy sigh and followed Jax back inside.

What the hell is his problem…?

I stayed away from the roof during the rest of the day, and hid at the back of school, where it was easy to see if someone approached me during the breaks. I wanted to stay the fuck away from Nic since he didn’t have the brains to stay away from me.

Fuck that guy…

Once the day at school was over, I went to help Aunt Shirley at her shop. Someone had called in sick that day, so I’d promised to cover up for them. I really needed the distraction. And money.

But that fucking guy just wouldn’t stop invading my mind at every turn. Apparently, I wasn’t safe from him even when he was miles away.

After we closed doors at the end of the day, I found myself standing next to the shelves at the back, just staring at the labels without actually seeing them. I was supposed to be restocking… I hated to admit it, but Nic was once again the only thing in my mind.

I just didn’t understand why he wanted to be friends with me. We were so different. He was one of the popular ones, and I was a loner. I was more than happy to keep it that way, but Nic sure was persistent.

Honestly, fuck that guy!

There was no way in hell he actually wanted to be friends with me. He had to have a reason for it. He clearly had something in his mind, but I couldn’t figure out what. What the fuck could he get out of being friends with me? Other than brain damage…

So fucking annoying…

“Jax! When you’re done restocking, I need your help down at the storage,” I heard Shirley’s voice behind the registers.

I sighed and tried to push Nic out of my head.

As soon as I had finished stocking up the shelves, I headed downstairs. Shirley was piling up candy boxes at the back of the wide room.

“What do you need?” I asked.

“Help me with these. I’m going through the inventory…” she said. “The sooner we’re finished, the faster we both get to go home.”

“Sure…”

I sighed silently and started counting the boxes on the other side of the room. It sure was an annoying task. Especially when my mind was somewhere else.

“No, Jax, there’s five of those boxes, not fifty,” Shirley said in a weary voice after noticing my markings. “Please pay attention. I don’t want to count everything twice…”

“Sorry…” I mumbled and checked the papers I had in my hands.

I really hoped it was the only error I had made. I marked down the correct number and continued counting the next pile.

“Is everything alright? You seem so… quiet,” Shirley asked. “I’ve hardly heard two words from you today, and neither of them were curse words.”

I let out a humorless laugh. Fucking Nic was getting me in trouble at work, too…

“I guess I’m just tired,” I told her.

“Jax. When you’re tired, you get even more pissed. So, what’s up?” she asked and sat down on a small stool next to a wall.

She looked at me sternly, and I knew she would beat the answer out of me if I didn’t tell her what was going on. I knew I could trust her, but I wasn’t sure if this was something I wanted to share with her.

I mean, this wasn’t the first incident with the Gabriels, after all.

But she would literally force the truth out of my mouth, so I sighed and put the papers away before I sat down on the pile of boxes.

“Nicholas Gabriel is harassing me at school,” I told her.

“Kenneth’s brother?” Shirley asked in displeased surprise. Her brows turned into a furious frown. “Because of what happened last time?”

“No. I don’t think he remembers me. None of them do,” I told her. “I’m using a different name and all.”

“Then what is it? What did he do?” she asked, already puffing like the aunt of mine she was. “I thought we were done with them already!”

“So did I,” I said with a sigh. “He didn’t really do anything. He just said he wants to be friends with me. He’s being annoyingly persistent.”

“He wants to be your friend?” she repeated.

“I know right – who would want to be friends with me?” I said, laughing a little.

“Oh, honey! I’m sure they’d all love to be friends with you if you–”

“–I didn’t try to break their necks?”

“Ehh,” she said in an agreeing manner, and shrugged. “You are a sweet boy. But none of them are good enough for you.”

“Thanks,” I said and leaned back. “I’m just trying to understand why. I know he’s up to something, but what?”

Her expression turned a bit worried. “I know you can take care of yourself against those bullies, but I still want you to be careful. I’d hate to see you getting hurt. I’d have to spend my savings on bail money.”

I smirked at her. “I know, I know… But… I don’t know… Maybe he just really likes to get his head bashed in.”

She laughed at my words. “Boy, you still better stay away from the Gabriels. There’s just a whole lot of rot in that family,” she reminded me.

“I know, I know…” I repeated. “I’m not saying I trust the guy, but maybe there’s nothing going on. Maybe I’m just being paranoid. I mean, he’s friendly to everyone.”

Shirley’s expression turned sad now, so I turned to look down at my arms. I knew what she was thinking. They all were worried because I had no friends. They wanted me to have friends, and I realized how stupid I sounded – almost like I was defending the guy.

“I don’t want to have anything to do with him,” I said, but I feared the damage was already done.

I pulled on my sleeves, making sure they covered my arms completely. If I couldn’t wear long-sleeved shirts or hoodies, I always used the sleeves I had cut off from my old jerseys and shirts. And gloves. Talking about Gabriels made me very conscious about it, and I couldn’t stop playing with the fabric now.

Shirley probably noticed it, since she suggested we continued going through the inventory.

“You know you can come to me if there’s anything you need, right?” she asked in a sad tone for the thousandth time.

“I know. And I’m fine,” I said. “Let’s just finish this shit so we can go home.”

Shirley let out a small laugh and got up.

“That’s the spirit,” she said.