Haze Bois

Chapter 16

Caleb sighed. His boys were arguing over some girl. From what he could gather, this girl had been dating Aman, broken up with him and started dating Ryan. Now she was liking Aman’s ** posts and it was apparently a big deal. 

The temptation to reprimand them or at least solve their issues had almost grown to fruition when he spotted Jamie flirting with Jade. This was not good. He was supposed to be flirting with Katie. 

‘What is he playing at,’ Caleb asked himself. He wasn’t directly speaking to the voice, but it chimed in anyway.

“He is attracted to her, but that won’t be an issue. She is falling for you like I said she would,” the voice assured with confidence. Caleb had no reason to doubt his new friend. It had not lied to him as yet.

“I couldn’t pull that off, I’m not a stunner like Katie,” Jade was saying.

“You are every bit as beautiful,” Jamie said while gently tucking her hair behind her ear. “If you kept your hair off your face so people can see how pretty you are.”

Jade looked up, her eyes seeking out Caleb’s. When they locked on Jade made a desperate look. A look that said, ‘I’m sorry this guy is all over me, I didn’t instigate it and I am worried this is upsetting you.’

Caleb was upset. This was a first for him – getting worked up about a girl. He had engaged in brief unsatisfying relationships with girls from school but never felt any sort of possessiveness over then. With Jade, he wanted people to know she belonged to him and him alone. He wanted to brand her with his name.

“You need to keep that boy happy,” the voice warned, sensing his discomfort with the situation.

‘Why can’t he be happy with Katie?’ Caleb groaned.

“She just isn’t his type. Unfortunately, her best friend is better suited as a potential match.”

‘That’s no good,’ Caleb replied. Even if Haley would betray her best friend in the world for a guy, it would just be more upset to deal with. He had enough with his own mates.

“Jade,” Caleb barked. “Come upstairs.”

She got up, smiling politely at Jamie and practically ran over to Caleb. There was no longer doubt in his mind. She wasn’t interested in Jamie. 

They left the others to bicker, retiring to Caleb’s room and shutting the door behind them. 

“Thank you,” Jade said.

“For?” Caleb asked.

“Getting me away from him. That guy gives me the creeps,” Jade shuddered.

“He’s my mate. You treat him with the same respect as you treat me, understand?” Caleb said, though he was secretly pleased by her aversion. A lot of the girls he knew were interested in Jamie, though he barely seemed to notice them.

“Of course,” Jade nodded so hard her hair fell back over her face. He preferred her hair this way, loose curls tousled around her cheeks.

She shifted her weight from foot to foot, looking around the room and back at Caleb. 

“Is there something you want me to do?” she asked at last.

“Na, I just wanted to get away from that lot,” Caleb admitted and rolled his eyes. He racked his brain for some activity the pair could do together. Something just to pass the time. What did Jade like to do?

“Let’s play strip poker,” Caleb said. He knew she liked poker and he liked the thought of seeing her naked. 

“Yay,” she cried. “I warn you; I am pretty good at poker.”

Caleb laughed as he searched his drawers for a deck of playing cards. There was one he’d bought on holiday and never opened laying about somewhere. He eventually found it hidden under his old schoolbooks.

Pulling out the cards, he passed them to Jade to shuffle. She split them using one hand and did a couple of skillful flourishes before shuffling the pack. As good as she was with the cards, she had zero chance of winning a single hand. The thing in his head could read her eyes as she read the numbers on the cards in her hand.

He let her deal so she couldn’t accuse him of cheating. She burned the first card and dealt two to each of them.

“What about the chips?” she asked.

Caleb pulled two bags of Maltesers from his school bag. He was always buying them for Kenny, who seemed to have an addiction to the little balls of chocolate.

“We can play for chocolate,” he shrugged. 

“I love chocolate,” Jade said, popping the leftover one into her mouth after divvying up the rest.

It was obvious that Jade had confidence in her skills, but she only managed to win one hand, and that was only because Caleb had taken pity on her. 

After six hands she was sat wearing nothing but a bra and the boxers he’d lent to her, perfectly at ease aside from her disappointment over losing so badly.

When Caleb won the next hand she removed her bra.

“I hate my stupid small boobs,” she sighed, avoiding eye contact.

“Shut up. Your boobs are just fine,” Caleb scolded her. He had never been the sort of guy to obsess over large breasts and there was something desirable about the soft curve of her modest chest. 

He clapped his hands together. “Last hand!”

“Oh,” Jade’s face reddened. “Really? Do we have to—”

Caleb dealt the cards before she could protest any further. She sighed at the sight of her cards, giving up all hope of winning. A two and a six. Not a winning hand at the best of times, let alone against a living computer.

When Caleb revealed his pair of queens with a smug grin, she pushed out her bottom lip. He watched her stand slowly and slide the boxers down her legs before stepping away from them.

“Right, let’s go back downstairs,” he said. The look on her face was hilarious.

“You’re joking, right?” she asked. Somehow, without being told, he knew that her heartrate had jumped from 65 bpm to 75 bpm. It had to be the machine inside his head. His perception was heightened, even without the thing whispering hints to him. It was changing the way his mind worked.

“No,” Caleb pulled her by the hand toward the door. He felt her small muscles tugging back against him.

“Please?” she asked, pulling on his arm. “Please? I don’t want anyone else to see me naked.”

He stopped and looked down at her, loving the way her face changed when she was pleading with him. Knowing she would comply against her own will, suffering embarrassment and pain to fulfil his demands.

“Please, Caleb.” 

“I was kidding,” he admitted finally. “I don’t want anyone else to see you naked either.”

Jade breathed a sigh of relief and gathered her clothes, heartrate gradually returning to its base rate. She looked awkward, trying not to bend over too much as she scooped garments from the floor and shimmied back into them. 

When she was done, they joined the others, aware of their sly, presumptuous looks. They clearly thought some sort of s****l activity had occurred, and he didn’t mind letting them believe it had. Especially if it deterred Jamie from making advances toward Jade.

When it was nearing 5 o’clock, Caleb told his mates it was time. The group joined up with Katie and Haley in the carpark that joined the two houses. Caleb sighed as he saw Steve and Ross stuffing themselves thought the gap in the metal fence that surrounded the carpark.

“What are they doing here?” Caleb huffed.

Katie and Haley both gave genuine-looking shrugs, indicating the guys had just turned up. 

“We heard about your fight with Brummie,” Ross said, barely concealing a smirk. The sneer dissolved as he took note of Jade standing by Caleb’s side, dressed in skirt and socks. In a sly move, Caleb took Jade's hand and wrapped her slender arm around his waist. He stared down the older boys, waiting for them to pass comment.

He didn’t have to wait long.

“What the f**k?” Ross asked. He was aiming the question at Jade, who just gave a little shrug. 

“Why?” Steve asked, looking about the group and shaking his head. The sight of their darling Jade cuddling into his side was too much for their little brains to handle.

When nobody had any insights to offer, Steve turned his attention to Haley. 

“I haven’t seen much you lately,” he told her.

“I’ve been busy with sixth form,” Haley lied. Caleb knew it was a lie, but thankfully she was a decent liar, and Steve was happy to accept it.

“We are gonna be late,” Kenny whined, looking down at the time on his phone. The boy chewed his nail and danced about. 

“It’s going to be fine, Kenny,” Caleb assured his friend as they piled through the fence and began the short walk to town. Brummie’s Gym was on the outskirts. 

Like the Tardis, the building looked small from the street view but was surprisingly expansive once you entered. This was obviously down to good use of space and lighting rather than magic.

Two lines of punchbags lined the far wall, next to a series of weightlifting equipment. The boxing ring sat in the centre of the room, lit up by fluorescent strip lights. Brummie waited by the ring, chatting to mates and customers.

“Oi, oi,” he shouted as the group entered. “I thought you’d chickened out, lad.”

Caleb said nothing. He slapped Jade on the bum before climbing between the ropes and standing in the ring. In all honestly, he had no idea how to box. His only hope was to trust the AI to control his body. 

“The average speed of a nerve impulse is 100 m/s, but I can increase that speed, making you able to move faster than humanly possible,” it explained. 

“What was it you said? If I win you pay my rent for the next three months?” Brummie confirmed.

“No. If you can hit me, I’ll pay up.”

Brummie let out a huge belly laugh, echoed by his half of the crowd.

“Okay,” Brummie shrugged and fell into a boxing stance. He punched the air a few times and stretched before shaking Caleb’s hand. 

As soon as the bell dinged Brummie lunged forward, attempting a jab. Caleb only had to move slightly and shift to his right to avoid it. With his nervous system overclocked it felt like everyone else was in slow motion.

As he dodged, ducked and weaved, with no skill or grace to speak of, the cheers of the crowd turned to murmurs.

‘This feels amazing,’ Caleb thought, just as the world kicked back into a slower gear and he felt a fist just almost graze the end of his nose. He stumbled backwards, almost tripping over his own feet before a punch took the side of his head, just above the temple.

The shockwave rippled through his face and down his neck, but curiously, it was not accompanied by the pain Caleb would have expected. It was almost like he’d been wearing a head guard.

“I fortified you,” the voice whispered as Caleb stumbled backwards and rested himself on the ropes.

Caleb’s vision swam He could see Brummie pacing about, holding his hand and screaming.

“Aghh, what the f**k?” Brummie was crying. Some of his mates ran over to assist him, though there was little they could do.

Kenny passed Caleb’s bag up to him, and taking out the money he promised, he approached Brummie. 

“Come with me,” Caleb’s told him, leading him into the staff room marked private. He offered the money, but Brummie didn’t take it. He was too busy wincing and looking at his broken hand.

“What is your head made of?” Brummie cried. “That was like punching a concrete post.”

“Here,” Caleb reached out and took Brummie’s crushed hand in his own. Caleb spat into his other hand and rubbed the saliva into the scuffed, purple knuckles of his opponent.

“What the heck are y—”

Brummie looked down at his hand, dumbstruck.

“How… How di… did you?” Brummie stuttered.

Caleb watched with detached fascination as the boxer opened and closed his hand, staring at it as if it didn’t belong there.

“That isn’t… possible. It’s just not possible. It was broken.” Brummie shook his head. He was probably trying to think up a rational explanation.

Apparently, he couldn’t think of one, repeating, “that’s impossible.”

Caleb placed the money on the desk, then leaned in and smiled. “But we both know it happened, right?”