Born to be Bad

ch. 4 pt. 1

* * * Flash back * * *

Disclaimer: Viewer discretion is advised for this chapter will contain some very triggering scenes of bullying and its possible effects and outcomes that might not be safe for the reader’s mental well-being. Read at your own risk.

Adele (A few years ago)

I walked down the narrow hallway of Astoria Middle School covered in jewels and satin that would put Blair Waldorf to shame. I was thirteen years old, beautiful, rich and unstoppable. People turned their eyes my way and smiled, waved and said a kind greeting. I mean, who wouldn’t? I was the richest student in the entire school and no one would dare mess with me.

“Hi, Adele!”

“Good morning, Adele!”

“Looking good, Adele!”

“I’m so happy to see you, Adele!”

I didn’t know half of those people but I smiled, I waved and acknowledged their presence because, what is a girl to do? I felt like a princess because I was.

“Hey, Adele.” Someone called out to me and I turned to see Janet together with our friend Ian. Those two were always together like two peas in a pod.

“Hey, guys. What’s up?” I asked and proceeded to go to my locker.

“We need your advice on something.” Ian started as I fiddled with my lock.

I glanced at him. “Sure. What is it?”

“So, you know how the Ball is coming up?” He said, glancing nervously at Janet.

“Oh, yeah. The Winter Ball I’m helping them arrange.” I said, rummaging through my locker before finally giving him my full attention.

This gesture made Ian look even more uncomfortable. For a while, he wasn’t able to say anything, only opening and closing his mouth and looking more and more like a goldfish. Janet gave Ian a small nudge and that’s when he snapped out of it and swallowed hard before looking at me, a newfound determination in his eyes.

“I want to ask someone to be my date but I don’t know how.” Ian said all of that so fast, I almost didn’t hear it.

Janet was scowling at Ian while the latter was fiddling with his hands and looking at the floor. I caught Janet’s eyes and she only shrugged at me before looking at our friend who looked like he was about to pass out.

I chuckled and couldn’t help but ruffle his dark and curly hair. “Ian, why would you be afraid to tell me this? You know I would be more than willing to help. I’m great at these things!” I exclaimed.

Ian looked up at me in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“See? I told you. It’s Adele. She’d be more than willing to help.”

“Janet is right. You should’ve come to me sooner. Now, tell me. Who is she and do I know her?” I asked, excitedly and taking one of their arms to lead them into the courtyard.

Ian and Janet, once again, gave each other nervous glances.

“Uhm, yeah. You know him.” Ian said and I abruptly stopped in my tracks making both of them stumble slightly.

I slowly looked at Ian who immediately avoided my gaze. I stared at him for a few minutes more before letting out an excited squeal and tackling him in a hug. “Oh, my God. Who is he? Don’t spare any details.” I said excitedly.

~ * ~

“Chris Waver?”

Chris Waver was this dark skinned, wavy haired boy and the captain of the basketball team. His dad was a big league NBA player and, basically, his family played all kinds of sports. He was his dad’s prodigy and he came out a year ago. It became the talk for a while but not very long. Our school never cared about that. They only cared about if you were rich or not. That’s when they try to be friends with you, like the leeches they are. That very lesson was going to come in handy in the long run. I knew Chris’ story but I didn’t know Ian’s.

“So, when did you realize?” I asked.

“Realize what?”

“That you were… gay?” I hesitated before asking.

In my defense, Ian and I only knew each other recently. We’ve known each other for about 6 months when he came to school as the new student and I was tasked to give him a tour. Talking about our sexuality never came up in the conversation. I suppose that’s my fault, too. I never cared to know. I gave in to the societal norm that straights are the default sexuality. Janet and I have known each other since we were in fourth grade together with Nina.

“You don’t have to say it like it’s a bad word, Adele. It’s okay. I’m proud of who I am.” Ian said, proudly.

“Right. Sorry.” I said, sheepishly.

“Anyway, I knew when I was ten years old. I saw this movie with young Robert Downey Jr. and I just fell in love. That’s when I knew.”  Ian chuckled and me and Janet couldn’t help but laugh along with him.

“Okay. I’m gonna have to agree with you on that one.” I said.

“It’s just funny to think about how Iron Man helped me come to realize my s****l awakening.” Ian joked, eliciting more laughter from the group.

“Okay, anyways. Chris Waver? Damn, Ian. I think you’d look cute together.” I said.

Ian blushed. “You think so?”

I nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. No doubt about that. So, do you want me to talk to him about you?”

Ian blushed even harder. “I mean… I guess that’d be nice.” Ian said, shyly.

I laughed along with Janet. “Consider it done.”

Out of nowhere, Janet gasped and gestured to the entrance of the cafeteria, where we were staying. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear,” she muttered and Ian and I both turned to look at the same time only to see the man of the hour, Chris Waver himself, strut into the cafeteria along with his basketball team. She pulled Ian and I’s arm to make us look back at her. “Don’t look at the same time!” She reprimanded in a hushed tone.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” I said and Ian raised his hands in surrender.

“Thank you. So, what’s the plan?” Janet said.

We all looked at each other before both eyes landed on me.

I sighed and rolled my eyes at the two of them before looking back to where Chris and his friends were seated and laughing loudly at what one of his friends said. Just then, I spot a mop of brown hair entering the scene. He was wearing a blue polo shirt and jeans. He looked way more casual than I have ever seen him. It added more to his good boy charm. His eyes glinted in the light, making it almost look green. It was Roy. I knew he went to this school but I’ve never seen him around to actually see his face. I’ve only ever heard people talk about him. It’s weird seeing him out and about. I thought he’d be studying or something.

“Huh,” I said, distracted. I couldn’t help but stare at the beautiful boy right across me.

“Hello? Earth to Adele?” Ian said, waving a hand in front of my face and snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Right. Sorry. What was I saying?” I said, distractedly.

“Nothing. That’s what’s so weird. Is everything okay?” Janet said before looking at Chris and his friends to see what I was looking at. When she looked back at me, she had a smirk on her face. “You have the hots for Roy Allister or something?” She teased.

I rolled my eyes at her. “Psh. You’re being ridiculous.”

Janet scoffed. “Why deny it? I mean, I wouldn’t blame you. He’s hot.”

“Well, then maybe you should go on a date with him.”

“I never said anything about going on a date with him.”

I paused. “Whatever. It’s not going to happen. That’s just--”

“Guys! Can we please focus?” Ian interrupted.

“Right. Okay.” I said.

“Sorry.” Janet said.

We all looked at each other for a minute and it ended with Ian looking at me expectantly.

“Alright. I have an idea. I’m going to go and talk to him after class, pretend I need help from him about PE or something and then casually bring you up. After that, you ‘coincidentally’ come across us in the hallway on the way to the gym and then you figure out the rest.” I said.

Ian was nodding intently and looked like he was thinking about the plan very seriously before slowly realizing what I just said. “Wait, what? You want me to do what?” He said.

I shrugged. “I mean, how hard can it be? You just pretend to bump into him and then ask him out.”

Ian huffed. “That’s easy for you to say. You've never asked anyone out. You’re always the one getting asked out.” He said, almost pouting.

Well, it’s not like I can help that. Instead of saying that, I said, “Don’t worry. I’m gonna be by your side but I’d just be letting you do all the talking.” and giving him a pat on the shoulder.

Ian seemed to relax at that and I glanced at Janet and she nodded slightly at me.

~ * ~

And so, we started our plan to get Ian a date for the Winter Ball. Since Chris and I have the same last period, it wasn’t hard to get him alone. When the school bell rang, I immediately gathered up my things and made my way to approach him and patted his shoulder. He smiled when he saw me.

“Hey, Adele. What’s up?” Chris asked.

“Hi, Chris. Can I talk to you for a minute? This might take a while so would it be okay if you walked with me outside?” I said, sweetly.

Chris gathered up his things before standing up. Jesus, he was tall. Was I just short? Whatever. “Sure. No problem. Is everything okay?” He asked and we got out into the hall.

“Yeah, everything is fine.” I paused. Come on, think of something! “Anyways,” I started. “The Winter Ball is coming up. Are you excited about that?”

Chris nodded. ‘’Yeah, I’m actually pumped about it. It’ll be the first school event I’m going to attend after coming out.” He said, wistfully.

I looked at him this time, only to see a contented smile on his face. “You’re really brave to do that, you know.” I told him.

Chris gave me a sideways glance. “Thanks.”

We walked in silence for a few minutes before I ended up saying the first thing that came to mind.

“Oh, by the way, I noticed you talking to Roy Allister earlier.” Why was I talking about this?

“Yeah. Man, I love that dude. He’s so chill and easy going, you know?” Chris said.

I let out a nervous laugh. “I guess.”

“Wait,” Chris stopped in his tracks and I looked up at him in question. He narrowed his eyes at me, his lips turning up into a smile. “First, you ask me about The Winter Ball. Now, you’re asking me about Roy Allister.” He paused, which I assume was for dramatic effect before dropping the bomb on me. “Do you like him or something?”

I knew this topic of conversation would backfire.

I looked at him in surprise. “What? Of course not!”

Chris had a smug smile still playing on his lips. “Hey, it’s okay. Roy’s easy to like. Almost half the school has already asked me about him. Everyone wants to take him to the ball so I suggest you hurry.” He said.

“Well, that suggestion would be much appreciated if I did plan on asking the guy out, which I’m not,” Chris’ smirk widened. “And, besides, I don’t even like him. He acts all cool with his windswept hair, cool smile and freshly pressed shirt. Definitely not my type.” I rambled.

Chris gave me a knowing look.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Enough about me. How about you? Anyone you’re planning on taking?” I said, if only to stray away from the subject about me and Roy.

Chris looked away and let out a deep sigh. “I don’t know. I’d probably just take my sister or something.” He said, sheepishly.

“What? But that wouldn’t be any fun at all. It’s your first ever school event after coming out. You said so yourself. Don’t you want that to be special?” I said. Before Chris could say anything, I continued, “You know, my friend Ian always says how important first times are. Not just in, you know, anything intimate but think about your first kiss, first time you hear a really good song, first time you step on stage and hear that standing ovation or in your case, the first time you won a game. All of those needs to be cherished and remembered, you know?”

“Really? Ian said that?” Chris said.

“Yeah. Ian’s a real romantic. He even told us how he would love to be able to adopt one day with his future husband or something. You know him?” Of course I knew that Chris knew Ian. They were in the same science class

He nodded. “Yeah. We have the same science class and we sit beside each other.”

“Oh, cool.”

“I didn’t know you were friends with him.” Chris said.

I shrugged. “We hang out all the time.”

Just when I rounded the corner, we saw Ian and Janet. When the two saw Chris and I, the former seemed to freeze in his tracks. Ian looked so nervous, I could see him sweating while Janet was keeping a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Oh, speak of the devil. We were just talking about you.” I said, smoothly.

Ian looked at me, fear and nervousness in his eyes. “Y-you were?”

I nodded and looked at Chris, who was looking at Ian with a shy look on his face.

Ian cleared his throat. “Hey, Chris.” He said, nervously.

“Hey, Ian. Good to see you.” Chris said.

“Good to see you, too.” Ian said, nervously.

After that, it was just pure awkwardness. The two were just stealing glances at each other and looking away simultaneously when their eyes would meet. I never saw this kind of attitude coming from Chris before. It was cute and refreshing (and, yes, I will admit, a little bit funny too) and not at all something I would expect from someone like him. A few minutes of silence went by before Janet got too tired of it.

“So, Chris.” Janet said, giving Ian a little shove. “Ian has something he would like to ask you.”

Ian looked at her, seemingly more panicked than before. Janet’s little shove caused him to stumble a little and end up being a little closer to Chris than intended but that seemed like enough encouragement for Ian to stand up straight and look Chris right in the eyes.

“Right.” Ian said.

“Is everything okay?” Chris asked.

Ian visibly gulped. “Yeah. I mean, yes. Uhm…” He trailed off. “So, Chris. I know we’ve only known each other for a few months and you’ve been awesome.” Ian paused, seeming to be at a loss for words. “Would… would you maybe consider going with me to the Winter Ball?” He finally said it. Ian said it all in one breath but he finally said it.

I looked at Ian and then looked at Chris, who had an unreadable expression on his face. In that moment, my heart started to pound due to the suspense this was all bringing me. I looked to Janet to see if she was feeling the same and I could tell that she was also as nervous as I was but no one could tell how Ian was feeling. The longer Chris pondered on his answer, the sadder Ian was getting.

Then, as if a flip had been switched, something amazing happened. Chris looked Ian straight in the eyes and smiled the widest smile I have ever seen him do and uttered the words Ian had been wanting to hear.

“Yes, I would love to.”

~ * ~