The Bad One or The Nerd One

Chapter 7

Katie's P.O.V.

As I ran through the house to the very back I could hear someone following me. I hoped that it would be Zac so I could talk to him yet I knew it wasn't going to be him. He would know his way to where I was going and wouldn't need to stop to figure out where to go. It had to be him. To try and lose him I took the most complicated route to the garden doors. I went through the kitchen into the dining room, through the study and towards the bathroom. I went up the stairs to the middle floor and came back down on the other side. I went back to the kitchen through what was my secret hallway and finally to the garden doors. 

I tried to convince myself that I needed to get away because I was self-conscious. In fact, it was most likely seeing him again. I thought that I could admire him from a distance, not have to live next to him and see him all the time. I knew that I felt something for him, some small attraction to his bad boy appearance. I let the sadness consume me. I knew that I was in deep s**t now. Now I'm crying again. Great. The third time today. Why has today been such a day? What have I done to deserve this? I collapsed onto the chair beside the door overlooking the pool. I watched as the wind blew the water around and wished that the sadness could be blown out of me. It also seemed to be like my life. Being blown around and not having a direction for myself. 

I felt someone staring at me as I thought about my failing life. I raised my head and I saw him standing there watching me. I met his gaze and his eyes were breathtaking. They seemed like a dark chocolate bar mixed with honey. 'I am so hungry now. I want chocolate.' I blinked out of the trance and my eyes drifted to his hair and to Zac who was glowering at me from beside him. I widened my eyes in the hope that Zac would get the message of not hurting him. He thankfully did and asked why he shouldn't. 'How can you do this?' I asked myself. I can talk to someone through my eyes. A full-on conversation. That shouldn't be possible, right? I looked back at him to see him clenching his fist as he turned to look at Zac. He seemed amazed or surprised. 

"Impressive!" He said. 

My eyes immediately moved back to him as I said my first words to him. "What are you talking about? We haven't said anything." He seemed to go back into another trance. I thought he was meant to be the bad boy, always present and cocky yet he can't keep a conversation going. The appeal is slowly leaving. "Hello! Anybody there?" I said more loudly as I stood in front of him waving my hand. I moved it closer in the hope to get a response and I did. He grabbed my wrist and I immediately felt the tingles that I have read about so much flood my arm. I was so shocked that I didn't even realise he dropped my arm till Zac spoke to me.

"Kat. Come on. Your mum wants us back out there." He started to pull me to lounge but I stopped him.

"Sure. Tell mum I went to get cleaned up before dinner. I don't want to look like this around people." I nodded my head slightly in his direction. "Unless I am close to the and that is only you, mum and Uncle Cody." I left to go up to my room and looked back to see Zac going back to the adults as he slowly followed behind. I wonder what he thinks of me and my family. Of my relationship with Zac. He probably believes we're dating like everybody else. I wonder if he knows about the tingles. I need to make sure it was a one-time event. I can't fall for the bad boy. 

I hadn't even realised that I was sitting in my room taking off my makeup and replacing it. I must have been in really deep thought about him and me. 'Already acting like we are dating. No Kat. You can't do this to yourself. He will find some poor girl when we go to school tomorrow.' He didn't even come on a school holiday. It is the middle of the term. Why transfer in the middle of a term? Unless you are a trouble maker that they couldn't wait to get rid of. More reason to avoid him. I did the exact same routine that I have done 3 times today and made my way slowly back to the adults. I just had to prepare myself for an awkward evening.

As I walked into the lounge I realised that Zac still didn't like and had some form of long dislike towards him. I watched him from the corner of my eye and I saw his eyes widen as he looked at his phone. Please don't find what the tingles mean. Please. "Hi, mum. Hi, neighbours" I greeted. I don't know their names so someone please tell me. I begged in my head. 

"Katie your finally here. Are you staying this time?" Mum jokingly asked. 

"Why wouldn't I be mum?" I wanted to keep the act going

"You ran off last time. You might go again." She now wore a smug smirk on her face as she knew she had won. I opened my mouth like a fish trying to breathe out of water. "Need some water to breathe honey?" I stared at her in shock that she knew exactly what I was thinking.

"Are you a psychic mum? That is what I thought I looked like" I had no idea what to think.

"No honey. You just looked like a fish that needed water." I looked up and saw everybody watching our conversation intently as though it was the most interesting thing in the world. 

"Who is everybody please mum?" I asked suddenly feeling very embarrassed and shy about all the stares.

"There is Katherine, Albert and you must already know that this is Jaxon," She said as she pointed at them all.

"No, I didn't know that was Jaxon," I admitted to her to which she stared at me in disbelief. Sorry, mum that I didn't introduce myself when I was upset.

"This is Katie if you hadn't figured it out," Uncle Cody joked to diffuse the tension between me and mum. It worked as Katherine and Albert started to laugh but Jaxon continued to stare at me. His name suited his manner. Did his parents know that he would become a bad boy? 

***

About half an hour of a strange atmosphere we move to the dining room and sat down. Mum had made it that Uncle Cody was at the head of the table with her to one side of him and Zac on the other. Albert and Katherine sat beside mum and I was next to Zac with a tense and silent Jaxon on the other side. It was an uncomfortable dinner for me. I was trying to figure out how I could accidentally touch Jaxon and know that it was just a stupid one-time thing. Yet I part of me wanted it to be permanent. What is wrong with me? 

I was brought back to the present by someone poking my arm. My left arm. That meant Jaxon. There were no tingles. I was safe for now. I looked at him trying to express my annoyance without anybody else seeing it. "What?" I asked in a sharper tone than I should have used.

"I was asking if I could have the meat please," he seemed to genuinely want it and it wasn't a stupid trick of his. I couldn't reach so I had to get Zac's attention. That was just a chore in its self.

"Do you really need it?" I complained to him

"Yes."

"Fine!" I was annoyed at him. "Zachy!" I called in my high-pitched voice he hates in his ear. It did nothing. "Zachy baby!" I tried again while cringing. I heard laughing from beside me and I sent a death glare to Jaxon as I knew that he heard the horrible nickname Zac gave himself. I gave up being nice and decided it was time to shake him till he did something. After many stares from my mum to tell me to stop Zac finally came back to the present. "Finally Zac!" I cried in happiness. "I need the meat," I said as I pointed to it. 

"That was why you were disturbing me for ages!" He cried back.

"You knew I was trying to get your attention!" I shouted back. "You knew and you continued to ignore me!"

"Yes. Now please stop getting upset." 

"Stop getting upset! You have been ignoring me for ages. I have been getting glares from mum and been laughed at and you continued to ignore me!" I was not letting this go ever.

"Kat. Will you stop please?"

"No, I will not! You ignored me! I called you that horrible nickname you gave yourself. I need to change your contact name from it and I hate it! You know I do!" I was going to start crying again. 

"Katie! This is not the place to be having a petty friendship argument!" My mum decided it was time to intervene.

"Petty friendship argument. He blows me off all the time. When he is around he is distant and like this. This is months. NO years of anger built up inside of me coming out! This is not a petty argument!" I was crying now. I could feel the tears streaming down my face and mascara joining the tears. I must look a mess for everyone to see. The look on everybody's face was a sight I will not forget. Zac looked upset at the new information, my mum horrified at my outburst, Uncle Cody just plain surprised at what I have just done. Jaxon somewhat impressed that this was inside of me. His parents looking at him with death glares to stop what he was thinking. Yes, I was starving but I didn't want everybody judging me on one action. So I did what any normal human would do when they are embarrassed or want to be away from a situation. I left the room and ran to my room again. 

I needed to write everything down so I got my diary out and wrote. I wrote down everything and more. I talked about how I'm so happy that the tingles are no longer there but I partly wish they were. About Zac and how he made me annoyed and got me in trouble. More about Jaxon and some more. I want the romance that is in films. I want that and I would love the bad boy type. They are possibly dangerous but that doesn't stop me. Jaxon could be that romance. Yet them lasting after high school is so unlikely. You have your first love and lose everything to them for it to ripped away once high school ends. Who would want that? 'You' I mentally whispered. The likelihood of it ever happening to me is so small. Nobody could like me. The little nerd that has the one distant and strange friend. Now the one neighbour to the bad boy. Why can't I have some attention in school? Just a small amount, please. 

A knock on my door released me from my spiralling thoughts. "Who is it?" I called trying to control my voice.

"Jaxon."

"Why are you here? How did you know where my room was?" I started to panic. Did he stalk me to my room and been waiting out there. What else does he know about this house? 

"Don't worry. Your mum pointed me in the right direction as she seems to think that I'm the person you are not annoyed at," he scoffed at the end. " I don't see how that could be true seeing I'm the reason you were trying to get your boyfriends attention."

"He isn't my boyfriend, Jaxon. Though I was correct in you thinking it might be the case," I started to laugh at an idea. "I could be so rich if I got money for every time someone assumed that. Mega-rich!" Smiling to myself I got up and walked to the door before opening it to reveal Jaxon falling to the floor. I burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it all up. Laugh at my poor sorry ass." He complained from the floor.

"What do you think I was going to do?" 

"I don't know. Maybe help a poor guy up?" He looked up at me hopefully.

"No chance." I walked away into my room but not getting very far. I felt a grip on my ankle and it seemed like slow motion as I fell towards the ground. "Face-plant time!" I cried while still laughing.

"Not the response I was hoping for but..." I turned over to see Jaxon looking down at me. "You. Are. On. The. Floor." He started to dance around me with his eyes close so he didn't know that I had shoes on the floor. He fell over them and it was my turn to start laughing again.

"What is going on in here? Your mum and dad are thinking of some gross things Jaxon." Zac said, announcing his presence. "Why are you both on the floor in fits of laughter?" He questioned.

"Jaxon was... leaning on the door... I opened it and he fell in." I could not stop laughing.

"Calm down Kat will ya." 

"She wouldn't help me up so I grabbed her ankle when she started to walk away. Her turn to fall." Jaxon burst into more laughter again. 

"He got so happy he started to dance around with his eyes closed. He fell over one of my shoes!" I was crying from laughing so hard now. I looked over to Zac to see him struggling to keep a straight face. "Come on Mr Grumpy. Can't you laugh for once?" I said in a little baby voice. It got him and he joined us on the floor laughing.