Winning the Bad Girl's Heart

Chapter 3

"Alright class, listen up." Mr. Hedges announces. "You have a big project that is due in three weeks, and you will be partnered. And before anyone asks, I will be picking your partners."

A whole wave of disappointment washed over the class.

"Now, I have already listed you guys in pairs. Beck and Bruce. Joanne and Trevor. Cason and Bianca." Mr. Hedges exclaimed.

Everyone's heads turned in our direction as he said that. Some had looks of concern on their faces, whereas others had looks of entertainment etched on their faces. I personally was completely surprised that the bad girl was my partner.

'I was supposed to be avoiding her today. What the hell?' I thought as I looked around the room as Mr. Hedges kept announcing the partners. I didn't dare to look in the direction of Bianca. The last thing I need is to get more mouth from the bad-ass.

When the bell rang, I immediately went to the door and tried to get out of there as quickly as I could. However, when I was about ten steps out of the entrance, I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. I looked to my shoulder to see that the hand had black-colored fingernails and tattoos on the fingers and the hand. I sighed, knowing exactly who it was that had stopped me. At the same time, I inwardly blushed at the fact that she was actually touching me.

"If you just wanted to tell me to do all the work and put your name on the project, don't worry about it because I was already planning on doing that." I said, before trying to walk again, but the hand would not budge. 'Damn, she's strong!' I thought to myself.

Bianca walked around to face me, her hand still on my shoulder. She looked at me with a serious face as she said, "Look, nerd, I really need to talk to you."

"My name is not 'nerd' and why are you suddenly so interested in talking to me now? I gave you a shot at talking to me, and you blew me off. Bitterly if I may add," I stated, feeling confidence arise in me. "Besides, you probably have something else better and more important to do than talk to a nerd, just like you said earlier."

I moved away from her again, only to find her hands grab me and then, before I knew it, she had me pinned to the wall of the nearby building. She looked very angry and I felt a little bit of my previous confidence fade, but I managed to keep a stern face as I looked back at her. Bianca took a deep breath and closed her eyes, before she opened them again to reveal a softer expression.

"Listen, about earlier. I apologize for the way I treated you. I was just in a salty mood this morning, and I wrongly took it out on you," she said calmly, as her grip on me started to loosen. "Now what I also wanted to talk to you about is the project. I am not that good at math, and this project counts for a good part of our final grade. I would appreciate if we could work on it together. Please?" she said, staring into my eyes.

My mood softened as she apologized. And as I stared into those beautiful blue eyes, I could not but help submitting to her. I sighed and said, "Alright, fine."

Bianca then gave me a nod, before looking me up and down. She then quirked a brow and smirked at me.

"What?" I asked, completely confused at her actions.

She chuckled a little and leaned closer to my ear. "See you tomorrow, nerd boy." she whispered, and her lips slightly brushed against my ear as she spoke. I started shivering as a result, and Bianca leaned away from me, smirk still in place as she walked off.

'What was that all about?' I thought to myself as I headed towards the parking lot. I then heard the roar of a motorcycle from my right side and turned to look. Bianca was on her bike, getting set to leave, when she looked up and saw me staring at her again. She gave me a lop-sided smirk, before kicking off the ground and driving out of the lot.

'This is gonna be a long three weeks.' I thought as I made my way to my car. 'But who knows. Maybe this will not be as bad as it appears right now.' I said to myself as I began to drive home.

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If anything could make me calm after a long day at school, it's hanging in the nearby lake area. It's a place that I love to go to from time to time whenever I need some space or if I need to clear my head about something. In this case, gazing out at the water while sitting on the dock was the best way to calm my nerves about a certain someone who had recently become my partner for a project.

"Well, what do you know?" said an all-too-familiar voice behind me.

I instantly froze. 'Speak of the devil.' I thought.

Bianca had walked all the way out to where I was and sat down next to me while I was relaxing. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, nerd boy." she said with that same smirk on her face from before.

I sighed as I looked towards her. As I looked, the sun was behind her. With her hair flowing and the contrast that the sky made on her skin, tattoos, hair, and eyes, she looked extremely pretty. You know more than usual.

"See something you like?" she asked after a moment. I instantly blushed at her giant smirk and looked away towards the water. She giggled and I heard her shift. "You know, I never knew that you liked coming here too." she said.

I looked back in her direction and saw that she was closer than the last time I glanced at her. Or maybe I was just imagining that she was closer.

"Y-Yeah. I like to come here sometimes to clear my head or to have some spare time to myself." I said to her, cursing myself for stuttering.

I looked at the water again, but looked back when I felt a hand touch my forearm softly. Bianca seemed to have a different look on her face as she stared into mine. Usually she would seem so superior and fearless. Now she looks as if she is a much softer person.

"Hey, just because I'm bad, doesn't mean I want to hurt you," she says softly. "There's no need to be embarrassed around me, Cason."

My eyes widened as she used my name for the very first time. "You remember my name!" I said in shock.

"Well, you did tell me," she replied with a smile. It wasn't a smirk that she would always give me, but an actual, honest and bright smile.

"Yeah. I guess I did." I said, getting lost in her eyes. "Why are you here now?" I asked.

"Well, like you, I also like to come here sometimes. I live in the neighborhood across the street." she said, pointing to my neighborhood.

"I live there too!" I exclaimed, looking at her, my mood all of a sudden brightening. Bianca turned to me and smiled.

"Awesome! It'll be easier for us to get together and discuss the project." she said, scooching even closer to me. We were barely touching, yet I started to feel my face getting hot again at her closeness.

We started to talk with each other more and more then. With every second, I was feeling more comfortable around Bianca. I was very curious to learn more about her. To hear about her likes and dislikes, her hobbies, and what she wants to do for a living.

"A veterinarian huh? Nice." I commented.

"Yeah. I've wanted to do that since I was a little girl. Nobody else, other than my parents knows about this," she admitted.

"No one else? You trust me that much?" I asked, a little surprised at her words.

"Well, I know that we've just met, but my gut tells me that you are trustworthy," she said.

"Oh, believe me, I am," I said confidently. "I am very trustworthy. If you tell me a secret, I can assure you that I will carry it to my grave. Now, that doesn't mean that I would kill myself the very second you told me a secret, but my point being is that you can trust me Bianca." I elaborated.

She smirked and suppressed a laugh. "You know, you're not exactly what I expected." I admitted to her.

"What were you expecting? A complete bad-ass who gets what she wants, when she wants and doesn't give a damn about anyone's thoughts?" she asked. 'That's exactly what I was expecting.' I thought and I nodded. "Well sometimes, you're right." she chuckled. "But I'm not like that all the time. I can be a good girl.....when I want to be."

"I believe you." I said, looking into her eyes and instantly getting lost in those light-blue orbs. Then her phone buzzed and she checked it.

"Gotta go. I'm heading to a party tonight." she said, getting up. Without thinking, I grabbed her biceps and she stopped and looked at me again in surprise.

"Wait a minute, isn't it a school night?" I asked and she nodded with a smile. "Well, can I at least have your number so I can contact you?" I asked.

Bianca smiled and held out her hand. "Let me see your phone." I stood up and took out my phone and opened the contacts app before giving her my phone. She then entered her number and put her name in my contacts. "See you around Cason." she said, before turning to walk away.

"See ya." I said as she walked away.

But after she took about twenty steps, she stopped in her tracks, and then looked back at me. Then she started walking back towards me. I was confused at her sudden actions, that is until she came right up to me face-to-face. I always figured that we were the same height, but now as we were this close, I saw that I had about an inch and a half on Bianca.

We stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, before finally, she hugged me tightly. I was stunned for about a couple seconds before wrapping my arms around her in return.

We held each other for the longest time, before I felt soft lips press against my cheek, and I flushed once again. It felt like the absolute best thing in the world, feeling those soft pink lips against my flesh. Bianca drew back and giggled at how red she made me.

"Bye." she said with a smile as she turned and left me on the dock. Once she was out of sight, I placed my hand on the cheek that she kissed and smiled to myself.

I think I probably had mustered up the goofiest smile that ever existed that night. If I did, then it was for a great reason.