Good girl, bad boy

CHAPTER TWO; PART TWO

Eugene strode across the hallway, humming a tune as he made a corner to the cafeteria but, Miles stopped him abruptly. He intentionally stood in front of him, blocking his path; whistling away, unfazed.

Entirely ignoring Miles, Eugene moved to the other side, attempting to go on his way but, someone else blocked his path.

"Aren't you Kendall's brother? What's this all about?" Eugene was becoming impatient. How was he supposed to get food for Emily if he was being cornered by senior students before reaching his destination.

"We just need a little of your time. Shall we take a walk to the old library? My brother would like to have a word with you" Miles answered Eugene frankly; placing his hand on the latter's shoulder.

"There's no need to touch him....Just hold my hand if you want" The boy beside Miles chipped in, eyeing Eugene furiously.

"Come on, James. I just wanted to sound civil. What's with you and holding hands. anyways?" Miles was dumbfounded.

"But, you never touch my shoulder" James complained bitterly.

"Bro, you sound really weird right now" Miles was taken aback. "Boys don't hold hands"

Miles was shocked and leaving, he walked ahead of Eugene and James as the two stared at each other.

.

"Um, excuse me" Eugene stuttered before hurrying off. James was surely not acting right.; Eugene thought as he caught up with Miles. The three of them were oddly quiet as they walked to the library and Eugene begun to feel uneasy, recalling the way Riley looked daggers at him a few days back.

"We are here". Miles said as he entered the old room with Eugene and James walking in behind him, one after another. The floor was wet from the construction works taking place and the smell of cement and plaster pervaded the huge room.

The old library was far from all the other rooms; It was so old they had to renovate it and Riley wittily chose this place for a meeting with Eugene.

"Isn't this place prohibited...? Looks like it's under reconstruction" Eugene asked concerned about their safety.

"We've been to so many prohibited places, Eugene and this is nothing" James answered him, chuckling.

.

"Well, I haven't" Eugene told him confidently.

"Me neither" Miles was anxious and nervous.

"So, why bring me here? Are you planning to hurt me or something?"

"He called you" Miles replied as he pointed at Riley. The latter sat on an empty bucket of paint with legs crossed, staring hard at them blankly. With his expressionless face, it was hard to tell whether he was angry, sad or happy and what he was going to say.

"Why did you call me here?" Eugene asked coldly, narrowing his eyes and staring at Riley.

"Is there something between you and Kendall?" Riley went straight to the point of their meeting.

"Yes, we are friends"

"Is that the whole truth?" Riley asked but. Eugene remained quiet, studying his opponent carefully.

"Kendall is only fifteen..." Riley added, sensing that Eugene wasn't understanding the intensity of the matter at hand.

"So what? I'm fifteen too" Eugene bleated out. " So, why exactly am I here?"

"I have seen how she looks at you, Eugene. My sister is too young to have her heart broken..." Miles chipped in, grimaced.

"This is serious. Why in world would I break her heart?" Eugene was perplexed.

"I'm not here to negotiate. Stay away from Kendall..." Riley said as he stood up, making Eugene take a few steps back.

"You and Kendall are not in the same social class, by the way" James added, eyeing Eugene intently.

"James, you don't have to say that" Miles told him.

"What is wrong about what James said?" Riley asked his brother, pompously.

Eugene sighed deeply, composing himself. it was clear that what James and Riley had said stung deeply, piercing his heart. For once, he had forgotten how unfair the world was, creating inequalities in age, gender and status but, James and Riley reminded him of the bitter truth, awakening him to the reality that presented itself to him years ago; even this school wasn't even fit for his family, he thought as he brazenly looked at Riley.

"Looking down on the vulnerable? You are surely the right heir of Tech In Group..." Eugene' s voice turned cold, grimacing.

"So, you knew who I was and still dared to cross my path?" Riley asked arrogantly.

"Riley, you can't talk to him like that?" Miles reprimanded his elder brother.

"I am ready to do what you want and make sure Kendall understands this too" Eugene chipped in hastily.

"Are you saying that my sister is the one that follows you…" Riley furrowed his brow, angrily.

"Absolutely right. Don't blame me if she becomes sad from today onwards"

"Don't threaten me" Riley was becoming impatient too.

"There are plenty of guys she could choose from. You are just a tenth grader" James chipped in.

"You won't need to resort to such…" Eugene said. "I know my place well"

"Forgive my brother Eugene. He tends to be insensitive but he is a good guy". Miles' warm smile was back. He closed the distance between him and Eugene, resting his hand on the latter's shoulder and just then, Emily rushed in, limping. She picked up a plank anf almost slipped on the damp floor.

"Hey you. Step away from him!" she yelled making Miles and James turn to her so suddenly.

" Who are you?!" James asked her, dumbfounded. "How did you…?"

"I said step away!" She repeated as she looked at Miles, distraught. She didn't know he was among the students giving her brother a hard time and if the girl who sat at the back of their class didn't tell her what was happening, she would not have come in time to rescue Eugene.

"Emily, what are you doing here?" Miles hurriedly said "The floor is wet; don't come any closer. It's not what you think, really" .

" What is it then?" Emily was disappointed. ".....a party?"

"It's really not what you think" Miles explained, holding his gaze on her.

"Who is she to you anyway?!" James chipped in hastily.

"James, please stay out of it"

"It's a valid question, Miles" Riley also joined in. standing up. He closed the distance between him and Emily, his eyes widening with recognition.

"You? Why are you here?" Riley sputtered

"I should be asking you..." Emily was flustered, suddenly dropping the plank in her hands and splattering dirty water on everyone as the plank hit the wet floor.

"You look like you've seen a ghost" James laughed.

"Don't be rude, James"

"She just ruined yours and Riley's uniform with dirty water"

"We can always change, right Riley?" Miles turned to Riley but, he and Emily were busy glaring at each other. "Do you know each other?"

"This conversation is done. Let's go!" Riley said without even looking at his brother.

"I should have known that it could only be you; so ill-mannered! Why are you troubling my brother?"

"Your brother? Eugene is your brother?" Miles chipped in, dumbfounded.

"Miles, stop playing around" Riley said to him. "Let's go…"

"But, I really like Emily" Miles said, flustering everyone in the room.

"Let's go now. Don't make me say it for the third time"Riley said, dragging his brother along with James.

"...I expected an apology from someone so arrogant? I must have lost my mind" The words came out without warning. "Oh no; I wasn' t supposed to say that out loud…."

" It's cute" Miles told her once again.

"Miles, enough!" Riley was now angry. He turned to Emily, glowering at her.

"I don't apologize for the things I have done so, how can I apologize to you for your clumsiness? Get a hold of yourself and move on from the past" Riley said to Emily and walked past her, brushing her hand as he walked way.

"Are you doing alright, Eugene?"

"I should be asking you that question. That boy was rude to you" Eugene replied, pouting angrily. "He even dared raise the issue of class".

" What can I say? My encounters with him are always sour, except one. Why did they bring you here? Did you have lunch…?"

"I am not hungry anymore. Whatever relationship you have with those two should end in this very room"

"I bought some fruits. We can eat them before class resumes. Come on" Emily grinned as she hooked her hand into Eugene's arm and walked out together. Meanwhile, Riley had lingered behind, watching them as they made their way back to class.

***

Back in class, Emily walked all the way to the back of the class, stopping in front of a beautiful Asian girl who always sat at the back;hardly talking to anyone. The girl smiled as soon as she saw Emily approaching.

"Did you manage to rescue your brother?" she asked Emily.

"Turns out he didn't need rescuing" Emily forced a laugh. " But, thank you…"

"Wang Sue but, you can call me Sue…"

"Thank you, Wang Sue. If it weren't for you I would not have known that something was up with my brother"

"I know you would do the same if I were in the same situation"

"I will go back to my seat now"

"Wait, Emily" Sue stopped her. "Is it alright if I joined you and your brother for lunch. Thing is…"

"You don't have to explain, Sue. You can have lunch with me as often as you want from now on"

"Does that mean we are friends now?" Sue asked shyly.

"Of course we are, Sue" Emily grinned at her.

"You are actually my first friend here at Chestnut High…" Sue stuttered.

"Me too. Wang Sue" Emily said, grinning before walking back to her seat. She was about to sit down when Eugene stopped her.

"Can you take my seat, today?"

"Did you fight with Kendall?"

"I just don't want to be in the middle anymore...." Eugene was sad and Emily could tell. She decided she wasn't going to pry any further, taking his seat immediately.

"I hope Kendall agrees with this because I'm not in the mood to tolerate her tantrums" she said.

"Are you going to fight her?" Eugene laughed subtly.

"I advocate for peace but, I won't let her harrass me" Emily answered meticulously as Kendall and her brothers arrived, standing on the doorway as they chatted. Flustered, Emily turned to Eugene.

"Why is she with them?. She is a two-timer who got you in trouble with her rude boyfriend, right"

"They are her older brothers, Riley and Miles Doyen"

"Doyen!" Emily was perplexed as everything that happened to her and her brother made sense.

"Like I said, whatever relationship you have with them must end" Eugene said as Kendall walked to her seat, glaring at Emily.

"Why are you here?" she asked Emily.

"Do you have something to say, Kendall?" Eugene began

"Why is she on your seat?"

"He's s my brother and we share everything including our seats" Emily replied hastily

"Everything? I don't share everything with my brothers" Kendall said feeling envious.

"That's because your brothers are insensitive and cold. They are just a bunch of bullies"

"Emily not now" Eugene chipped in.

"I'm not speaking for you, Eugene. I'm speaking for myself"

"What are you talking about?" Kendall asked.

"That grumpy tall brother of yours is a bad person"

"You mean Riley. He is my oldest brother"

"He is the reason I fell to the ground and hurt my elbow"

"You mean he made you fall…" Eugene was not flaring with anger.

"What is worse is he didn't even help me up afterwards" Emily added.

"Kendall, tell your brothers to keep away from Emily" Eugene said unable to control his displeasure. "...and let's not be friends anymore. Your brothers don't want us to friends anyway"

"They wouldn't do that" Kendall defended Riley and Miles.

"Do whatever you want, Kendall" Eugene said before turning away from her coldly.

***

"Did you really cause Emily's fall, Riley?" Kendall asked later that day after mustering the courage to confront her brothers about what Eugene told her.

"Riley caused Emily's fall?!" Miles was loud. Riley turned to his sister., looking at her brazenly.

"What if I did?"Riley answered.

"Is it true?" Miles asked as Riley.

"What do you think?" Riley replied coldly. "She bumped into me and fell. Even if it was partly my fault. How can the two of you side with her?"

" I have another question" Kendall was stern.

"Yes. Kendall. I also told Eugene to stay away from you"

"Riley…!" Kendall snapped but, Riley interrupted her coldly.

"Get a hold of yourself, Kendall. Remember who you are before you can go on establishing relationships with just anyone"

"Bro…."Miles begun but, Riley interrupted him, rudely.

"You inclusive, Miles. I saw how you were looking at that girl"

"Riley, how could you be so cold towards us" Miles was dumbfounded.

"See it however you like, Miles. Is it because of that girl that you are raising your voice at me?" Riley looked disappointed, getting into the car first.

"Miles, you helped him shoo Eugene away?" Kendall turned to Miles.

"You are too young to understand things right now" Miles said as he walked on ahead of her. Kendall followed him behind; she was helpless if Miles didn't support her. He was always her shield and pillar and with him around, she could get away with anything that she did either to Miles himself, Riley or their mother and stepfather.

Kendall and Miles got onto the car and the driver sped off. The three remained quiet all the way home, looking daggers at each other. They were all upset with one another. Kendall sulked over Eugene as she loved him dearly. He was the only person she loved after Christian, her first crush.

Miles too was heartbroken; he wasn't the flirty type of boy and stayed away from girls, keeping to his hobbies and studies and now that he had met someone he liked, Riley had ruined things for him with his nasty temper and arrogance but, Riley was the most infuriated; he felt that the Wilson twins were trying to cause trouble in his family. Today, Miles and Kendall had turned on him and tomorrow, they would shun away from him. Riley clenched his hand in a fist as he looked out the window; in his mind, Miles and Kendall were the only family he had and he wasn't going to let Strangers take them away from him. Whether it was paranoia or not, Riley was ready to fight for his family.

"I will teach those two a lesson; especially Emily" he thought to himself.

***

It was past 9 O'clock at night and Emily wasn't sleeping yet despite being the first one to retire to bed. Fidgeting non-stop, she switched sleeping positions from time to time but to no avail. Her eyes were devoid of sleep, making her sit up straight in her bed. She switched her bedside lamp on and lied down, gazing at the empty celling above her and wondering why she couldn't fall asleep.

"Why do I feel so apprehensive?" she asked herself.

It was a windy night and the trees outside swayed from one direction to another, making scary sounds. Emily's window rattled in the wind as she listened attentively to the frightful racket.

"The Lord has not given us the spirit of fear but of sound mind" Emily recited a verse from the scriptures repeatedly till she fell asleep. She woke up to Eugene's hysterical knock on her bedroom door the following morning; gnashing her teeth in irritation.

"Did you sleep late playing games again, Emily?" Her mother asked as the former ate her breakfast, lazily.

Emily yawned , shaking her head vigorously; although she had managed to get some sleep, it wasn't enough to cover for the lost hours of rest.

"I think I have insomnia" She concluded. "I could use some of that massage you used to give me when I was younger".

"Aren't you exaggerating everything now?" Eugene laughed, hitting her head lightly as he walked past her but, she was not the only one feeling low on this day. Julia looked pale from restlessness too. She feebly walked towards the table and slumped on one of the dining room chairs.

"I was restless too mother and now I have a huge migraine" Julia chipped in. "I am afraid I won't go to the university today"

"Honey, is there something you aren't telling me? You never miss class no matter what" Prudence placed her hand on her oldest daughter's shoulder, concerned.

"I am just feeling unwell" Julia told her mother, unable to look her in the eye. She had been acting odd after returning from the University the previous day but, no one thought it was serious.

"Then I will stay home and watch over you then" Prudence said, sensing foul.play.

"That's not necessarily mother. I'm nineteen, remember? I can take care of myself"

"I just want to make sure you are alright"

"I will be fine. Please, don't fret"

"I will drop Eugene and Emily at school then. Call when you need me"

"Get well soon..." the twins told her as they stood on the doorway before leaving for school.

Julia smiled at them, watching them leave as the car sped off before shutting the door behind her. Suddenly gripped by sadness, her smile turned into a frown; tears running down her cheeks. She placed her hand on her stomach; fear crippling her and crowding her mind. Silence would only make things worse but, how was supposed to tell her mother the truth of the matter; would she be blamed?

"But, I didn't do anything wrong" Julia told herself repeatedly.

Julia cried uncontrollably, stooping against the door as her mind told her there was no other way but, to put herself to sleep.

***