The Bad Boy's Crush

#2- Jerk Of All

"Mom, we've been over this." Chloe sighed as she closed the door to her tiny fridge.

A carton of milk in hand, she took a whiff of the open pack just to make sure it's contents were still fresh. A running stomach on her first day on the job would leave her not only with a terrible first impression, but enough embarrassment to make her start searching for another job altogether. There would just be no way she could stand anyone picturing her sprinting to the closest loo.

Taking a seat on the only chair at her small kitchen table, she poured herself more milk than she needed all over her cereal and dug in. Her bed sitter was smaller than her bedroom back home, but the air of freedom compensated for the lack of space. And the fact that she was paying for it was an added bonus for her path to independence.

"You are not exactly paying for it." Her mind retorted and she only rolled her eyes. "Once I get paid, I'm paying dad back. Same as me paying."

"I honestly don't get why you would leave a perfectly good and normal life just to go and scavenge on your own in some foreign place with no family." Her mother's protests took Chloe out of her thoughts.

"Because, that is yours and dad's life, not mine. Clearly you and dad made a whole different being that's nothing like either of you. I can't just be forced to love what makes you both happy." Chloe chewed on a spoonful of cereal to keep her from saying anymore. Just a few more words and she would end up hurting her mother's feelings.

"Still, you could have gone to any place with family, but you chose that that--"

"Mom...you know I couldn't have just chosen some random place. Hazelmond has the perfect opportunities for what I want to do." And she was going to make sure she explored them all.

"What opportunities? What is better than being a personal designer to a prince or princess?"

Here we go again. Chloe gave her temple a squeeze as her mother went on and on about what an honor it was to be able to design clothes for the royal family of her kingdom.

"Our family has been in service to the crown and we've been able to do just fine, more than fine actually, so I don't get why--"

"Mom… I love Thievania, you know I do and it will always be my home. I just…" Chloe paused while a sigh escaped her lips. She just didn't know how to explain to her mother why she needed to do this. Why she didn't want to stick around the royal kingdom, no matter how beautiful and perfect it was.

"What is it huh? What is so bad about your own home that you leave it the first chance you get?" Her mother's tone rose with each question, making frustration eat at Chloe. She also considered cutting the call, but after having done that the last few times she couldn't handle her mother's scolding, she knew the older woman would catch her on her lie. No network connection apparently dropped only when their conversation got heated.

“I never said there was anything wrong with it–”

“Then what is it?”

"Because mom...I don't wish to be known just as the maid's or royal guard's daughter anymore. And I sure as hell don't want handout projects." She stared at the bowl of cereal, not hungry anymore. "I shouldn't have picked her call." Chloe sighed as her mother kept pressing her for an answer she couldn’t give.

"Tell you what, if ever I do get lonely, scared, bored, tired, broke or dead, I'll take the first flight back home and do all those lovely things you are talking about. But please let me do this gap year my way. Please…" Chloe pleaded. "High school was all about you guys and you promised I'd get to do what I wanted once it was over."

"Couldn't you have stayed a little while longer? It's not like high school has been over for a long time."

"Mom, you promised…"

"Fine." Her mother sighed at the other end of the line. But if you get even--"

"I know. I'll call you or dad and you will be on the first flight out to get me."

"You know we are only doing this because we love you, right?"

"Of course mom and I love you too. Say hi to dad. And I promise to call in case of an emergency. Bye." Chloe cut the call knowing it was the perfect moment. Any more of that conversation and they would be talking for another thirty minutes. Minutes she couldn't afford spending just talking when she needed to finish putting herself together.

"Couldn't I have had some siblings to share all this attention and affection with?" She curled an eyebrow at the heavens. Chloe knew she sounded ungrateful at the moment, but she’d had it. Even being many miles away from home, her parent's love still felt just as smothering as it had when she was under their roof.

"Well not anymore. I might be your only child but I still get to live life my way." Chloe stared at her reflection, a huge grin breaking out on her lips. "I may be Chloe Morgan, but I refuse to be stuck with the mundane, the ordinary, like everybody else." Her hands went over her little attire that she had chosen for her very first day of her internship. Without her imagination it would have been just another boring black pencil skirt and professional blouse. But her designer gene wouldn't leave it at that.

She traced the sides of the skirt that she’d cut out and replaced with a glittery lighter material. The little design had surprisingly drawn attention to her curves and she’d loved it. Her top, bearing matching colors in the cut outs of the skirt was neatly tucked in, making the whole look perfect and professional.

"Here's to perfect first impressions." She gave her perfect look one last satisfied glance before her phone rang.

"Girls!" Chloe chirpped when Ava, Jessica and Natalie's faces popped up on her phone's screen.

"How's our favorite gapper?" The girls squealed in unison, making Chloe miss all the times they got together for nothing but fun.

"I miss you guys! Your majesty, how are you?" Chloe grinned at Natalie who simply scowled at her.

"I'm not a queen."

"Yet!" Chloe, Jessica and Ava screamed in unison.

"Whatever. How's your first day?" Natalie smiled her usual smile. The new princess of Thievania was glowing. Chloe guessed love did that to a person. Something that wouldn't be happening to her any time soon. She was no fortune teller, but Chloe knew that fact. Boys were definitely nowhere on her to do list. Or maybe they would after she met that special one who would rock her world.

Someone did rock your world.

"And that ship left me on the rocks." Chloe ignored the familiar ache in her heart. Focusing on her friends, she smiled. “Not yet there, but as far as first days go, it’s been perfect.”

"I can totally see that." Jessica, her number one fan of the bunch, gushed. "Did you just pop out of one of those fancy magazines?"

"Something like that." Chloe grinned, giving her only friends a view of her whole ensemble. And as always their impressed expressions left her feeling proud.

"I'm just surprised that you chose Hazelmond."

"Ava!" By the looks on Natalie and Jessica's faces, Chloe knew Ava would have probably gotten some painful pinches if the girls were in the same room. Hell, she’d have taken part in too if only it would keep Ava from talking about he who she did not wish to name.

"What?” Ava shrugged innocently. “I just think that if she wants to avoid Cooper, Hazelmond is not the best place to be working from right now."

"Not him please." Despite Ava already having stepped in it, Chloe offered a little prayer to keep from venturing into the dreaded Cooper Wright waters. It went unanswered as everyone looked at her expectantly and she was left to defend herself as she swam to the shores of safety. "I know, but I'm not going to stop living just because I kissed a jerk who got into another fierce lip lock right after." Chloe smiled, but deep down it hurt like hell. It’d been six months since that stupid truth or dare game at Natalie's party, and yet it felt like just yesterday when she got her first perfect kiss and Cooper kissed some other random girl right after…jerk.

She shouldn't have looked back after deciding to walk away that night. But she had. And finding Cooper's lips locked with someone else shouldn't have mattered either, but it had. It had hurt to realize with that one glance that Cooper had moved on past that moment so easily when she clearly hadn't. It shouldn't have been a surprise though, him being Cooper Wright, the no strings attached jerk of all. Thanks to Natalie, Chloe had come to know that detail when the girl had tried and failed to make her see that his actions were not a big deal.

"Besides, working for the Hawkins is the best opportunity there is out there for me." Chloe said the last part with more enthusiasm than necessary.

"Right."

"Ava!"

"What?! I'm not going to pretend that it's easy to forget your first kiss just like that and–"

"Well, I have!" Chloe snapped, hating to be reminded of Cooper's lips on hers. The memory had haunted her every dream since it happened and she refused having it haunt her days too.

"Just… if you do see your jerk, make him sweat for it."

Chloe's face instantly heated up at Ava's advice and she tried to mask it with a scowl before the girls noticed. "He's not my jerk and FYI, I plan on staying as far away from that insufferable human being as possible." On that part Chloe was totally certain. The Hawkin's group and Wright Corp. were like sworn business enemies, so the odds of meeting Cooper at her new job were practically zero.

"It might not be a bad thing, you know?" Natalie mumbled quietly.

"You too?"

"I mean, look at where me and Brendan ended up." Natalie waved her beautiful ring, while the happiest smile lit up the princess’ face. God knew Chloe would love to have her face light up like that someday, but Cooper was definitely not it.

"I'm sorry princess, but I happen to know that our prince is a decent human being. Can't say the same about that…that…argh! I'm going to be late. Talk to you later." Chloe cut the call before anyone protested. A talk about Cooper was definitely not how she’d intended to begin her day. So much for wanting to pick calls.