Falling for the Badboy in Black

CHAPTER 1 Popularity. Something I never understood as I grew older was how the social scales tipped in favour of vanity. The fact that the definition of being cool was defined by how ‘hot’ you were or who you were friends with and how amazingly you displayed your wealth. I never understood who became the president of ‘this is what makes you cool in high school’ and what makes you deemed a loser or an outcast. I thought maybe I would figure it out once I got to senior year because they say that’s when everything changes, and everyone grows up and you figure it out more. My mother had always told me that she was just like me when she was younger, but when I looked at how drop dead gorgeous she was and still I realized she was just being a good mom. She had stated that she blossomed in her senior year and everything changed for her, which also happened to be the time my father had transferred to her school and fallen madly in love with her. Luck seemed to always be in favour of those who were blessed with beauty, in my mom’s case, she got the beauty and the brains. But here I was, still branded the class nerd while crushing on a guy who was totally out of my league and wouldn’t be caught dead glancing in my direction, let alone talking to me, because it would be social suicide. I didn’t want to be crushed by my crush anyway, so being able to be delusional about it helped. It was easier to pretend that he couldn’t risk his social status for me. Instead of me facing the hard truth that my overthinking would often remind me of, and that was him just not finding me the least bit interesting to look at and a dork like the rest of the school did. “Georgia…” I heard my name and realized it was coming from beside me as I sat on the bleachers admiring Tommy as they celebrated a win against a neighbouring school by wasting water. It was a weird thing they did after winning, they drenched the one who had gotten the last touch down in water to honour him before lifting that wet body onto their shoulders as they continued cheering all the way to the bus or the lockers depending on where the game was being played. I wasn’t complaining, as my eyes were fixed on Tommy, who shook his shoulder-length hair before flipping it back as it was the most magical sight… Thomas Smith was the hazelbrown eyed, darked haired boy who stole my heart since first grade, and he hadn’t even known it. Maybe he had, but had just chosen to forget how when we had to make a cute card and choose our special valentine, he chose me. I still remember how red his cheeks were as he approached me just as the bell had rung for recess. I was sure my cheeks resembled a tomato at that point, or at least that’s what my best friend had told me as soon as he ran out of class. First grade was a time when looks weren’t really considered, and you just liked someone because they made you laugh or share a pencil with you. I had done both, yet it seemed the moment was meant to make me smile every so often while he went on about his life of popularity as a jock. “Earth to Geoooorgia!” I saw a hand being waved in my face and rolled my eyes before I hit away my best friend’s hand and turned to focus on her. “Yes, Britt?” I questioned while she only shook her head and did a little tut of disappointment in how long it took me to acknowledge her. “You need to stop getting lost in the dreamy aura of Tommy Smith. You would think him being with the head cheerleader would make you realize that him remembering you were once his valentine isn’t going to happen.” She gave a slight pout as if she could read where my thoughts had drifted. While I was happy that no one chose to sit near me because sometimes my best friend didn’t realize that I didn’t want the whole school to know that I was in love with Tommy. “You would think after witnessing me pining for him since first grade you would stop trying to give me the tough love approach” I gave her a pointed look before I repositioned my spectacles and ofcourse I focused on him just as his girlfriend ran up to him and kissed him. “I keep telling you to get contact lenses, they were life changing for me” She fluttered her eyelashes, and I was reminded how if I did that, I wouldn’t look as flawless. Her dark brown hair flowed effortlessly down her shoulders, and her brown eyes stood out more in comparison to her pale skin than an extraordinary pair of green eyes would. Brittany Allen was my best friend and had been my best friend since I shared my sandwich with her on the first day of school because her mom had forgotten to pack her in some. It had seemed so odd to me that a mother would forget to do something like that, but it hadn’t just been that day. I had mentioned it to my mom, and by the second month, I was carrying two lunches in my little backpack. As I grew older, I realized her family situation didn’t resemble mine… Not that mine was the normal brady brunch either. We were both the only children in our families, so having each other was like having the siblings our parents had chosen not to give us. “It’s a shame that you bat for the other team. You would totally be his type” I sighed, and she laughed out before setting her pompoms down into her lap. Yes, my best friend happened to be a cheerleader and the reason I had showed up to watch a football game on a Saturday instead of finishing the 100 cupcakes for the bake sale to raise funds for my debate club. “Well just to help you get that image out of your head… Even if I didn’t bat for the other team, he wouldn’t be my type at all” She almost gagged at the thought. “What’s wrong with him?” I frowned and couldn’t help feeling offended due to the disgusted tone she used. “He screams perfection, G! There’s no darkness around him, which means he is probably boring, and I like my type with a hint of darkness to spice things up...” She smirked into the distance, and I wondered who came to her mind. I knew she was interested in girls, but she never really spoke about any crushes. Maybe the fear of liking someone and them not even being interested in your gender stopped her from indulging the fantasies, or maybe she felt that I wouldn't understand that side of her. I shook my head to dismiss her words, “There’s something about him that just screams perfection and a feeling that fills me every time I look at him that tells me we are meant to be together.” “I’m not saying that I don’t get why you and probably more than half of the female population at this school is into him, I do. He is hot, but I don’t think he would make you happy. You forget that I interact with him…” “Don’t remind me” I groaned with jealousy evident in my voice. She giggled as she knew how jealous I was of that fact and was the only reason I would have considered being a cheerleader. I wasn’t the athletic type, though, and risking my life being tossed around in the air and depending on girls who disliked me to ensure that I didn’t fall wasn’t that appealing. “I interact with him, and he isn’t ready for someone like you. You deserve better than a guy who gets wasted at parties every weekend and talks about which bases he has gone to with whoever at this school” I pouted even though I had heard her ‘you deserve better’ speech so many times, I knew it was probably only because she had heard the horrible things they had to say about me in my absence. They didn’t really hold back when I happened to be beside her in their presence, so I could only imagine what was said about me when I wasn't there. I tried not to think about what Tommy had to say about me, somehow the thought of him not deeming me important enough to discuss helped me hold onto the crazy notion that one day he could possibly feel the same way about me. “I’m not saying any of this to hurt you, I just don’t want all of this pining to crush you in the end.” She tucked a stray hair behind my glasses, and I sank in my seat, and all the butterflies that had filled me while staring at Tommy racing across the field had flown away. They would probably be back soon but for now, she had allowed them to be set free. “You forget that you already had three whole boyfriends before you were honest with yourself. You have kissed and slept with the opposite s*x while I have done absolutely nothing” I couldn't hide the whininess from my voice as it was kind of annoying that someone who didn't like boys had gotten more action from them than I had. “You had your first kiss with Luke Smith!” She hit my shoulder, and I quickly sat up and put my index finger to her mouth, forgetting about the amount of lip gloss she layered on for games. “Shhh…” She smirked as she watched me rub the sticky layers off my finger into a tissue I had gotten from my bag, “What? It's not like he is going to hear you” “He might!” She frowned but then realized I was talking about my crush, not the guy who had been a stupid little kiss. “Tommy doesn’t care that you slobbered his cousin during seven minutes of heaven in a closet in 6th grade” She shook her head. “Slobbered is a strong word. Luke just gave me a quick kiss, and I might have exaggerated it because you had already French kissed by then while I just got an awkward peck on my lips. I wasn’t even supposed to be at that party. You took me with you!” I playfully shoved her as the field cleared, and we were the last few people sitting around. “Urgh but at least you can say your lips touched another’s thanks to me. Everybody else forgot about that anyway, especially after he moved away a couple of years back.” Luke Smith was Tommy’s cousin, and while he was pretty much a nerd like me in 6th grade. He even had glasses, it was something all three of us has pointed out when we had met him. He came to our school in 4th grade so I knew he wasnt from our neighbourhood but he somehow still managed to fit in much better than I could. He became a cool kinda nerd when we started on high school, well I guess he ditched the nerd part because his grades dropped due to his poor attendance. He enjoyed pranking people and causing trouble wherever he went was what my mom had told me on a random night. As he got older, his pranks and behavior got out of hand and rumour was that he was shipped off to boarding school by his mom after she caught him wasted with Tommy and Tommy’s mom deemed him a bad influence for her son. I didn't really get that part because despite me being in love with Tommy Smith, I was aware of the fact that he could be trouble on his own. Not the trouble that would have him sent off to boarding school but he wasn't a Saint. He had been misbehaving before we even realized what it meant so I was certain it was the other way around. I had mentioned it to my mom and she had merely shrugged and stated it wasn't any of our business. I hoped he was better wherever he was. “Enough reminiscing! They’re having a party to celebrate todays win and you are joining me” She stood up and moved in front of me. “And why would I do that?” I lazily questioned as I stood up and grabbed my bag so I could leave and wait in the car while she went to the lockers to change. “Maybe because you promised me the entire summer we spent slaving away at the café that you would open yourself up to more things this year.” She was annoying with her good memory. “I meant adventures, not high school parties!” I wavered into the air before hopping off the last step. “You haven’t been to one. Honestly, if the kids found out you basically live alone, they would make you popular just to use your huge house for a party” She wasn't wrong, but most of the kids at our school were wealthy so we all had huge houses. However, I was the one whose parents were home the least but luckily the only person I socialized with didn't like being a party host so I hadn't been talked into throwing one of my own. “And that’s why they don’t. I have nothing to wear anyways…” I shrugged as compared to what I had seen her wear to parties. My wardrobe didn’t really fit. They always had annoying themes, too, which I didn’t see the point in when by the end of the night, nobody would be able to tell anyone apart. “That’s what your credit card is for. Your mom was complaining that you don’t use it anyway, your mom's the coolest” She smiled thoughtfully, and I was reminded of her lack of one. I smiled slightly and gave her a hug which she returned, “It’s okay” “You have convinced me but I really do need to make those cupcakes so…” “I will slave away in the kitchen with you tomorrow, I promise!” She hugged me as she squealed, and her excitement almost made me not regret agreeing as soon as it slipped from my mouth. “Let me go change and we can go shopping!” She giggled as she ran off to the lockers while I simply walked on to my car and hoped I wouldn’t regret my decision too much by tomorrow.