When Bad Boys Fall

ShadowsAndSharpTongues

Ethan was sitting at a table in the back corner. He had three thick books open and his laptop was glowing. He was typing fast, his jaw set in a hard, angry line.

"I'm here," I panted, sliding into the chair across from him. "I'm so sorry, my mom called and.."

Ethan stopped typing. He slowly closed his laptop and leaned forward, his blue eyes freezing me in place.

"Fifteen minutes, Audrey," he said. His voice was a low, dangerous growl. "I told you what would happen if you were late."

"It wasn’t intentional.I was talking to my family…"

"I don't care about your family," he snapped. He reached into his bag and pulled out a stapled set of papers. He tossed them onto the table in front of me.

I looked down. It was a formal request to the History Department. My name was at the top, right next to his.

"What is this?" I whispered, my hands starting to shake.

"It’s a petition for a partner change," Ethan said, his voice devoid of any emotion. "I told the Department Head that you were unreliable and that your personal accidents are a distraction to my education. I’ve already signed it."

My heart dropped into my stomach. "You... you're trying to kick me out of the project? If I don't have a partner, I'll fail the first 30% of the grade."

"Should have thought about that at 7:00," Ethan said, standing up. He slung his bag over his shoulder and looked down at me with pure contempt. "Enjoy failing, Drip Queen."

He turned to walk away, leaving me sitting there with the papers. But as I stared at the back of his head, something inside me snapped.I felt red-hot rage.

"Ethan!" I yelled, loud enough that the librarian hissed at us.

He stopped and turned around. "What?"

I grabbed the heavy salt-and-vinegar chip bag Mark had given me, still unopened and full of air and I didn't think. I just threw it. It hit him square in the chest with a loud pop, showering his expensive black hoodie in crumbs and salt.

The library went deathly silent. Ethan looked down at his ruined clothes, then back at me. His eyes were flaming.

"You did NOT just do that," he whispered.

"I did," I said, my voice shaking with fury. "And if you think I’m going down without a fight, you’re even dumber than you look."

Ethan took a step toward me, his face inches from mine. "You think a bag of chips is a fight? You have no idea what you just started."

"Is there a problem here?"

The head librarian was marching toward us, her face was angry. She looked at the mess on the floor and then at us. "Out! Both of you! Right now!"

"He started it!" I pointed at the papers.

"I don't care who started it! Get out before I call campus security!"

Ethan grabbed my arm. His grip was firm.He dragged me toward the exit. I tried to pull away, but he was far stronger than I was.

We stepped out into the dark, empty parking lot. The cool night air hit my face, but I was too angry to feel the chill.

Ethan spun me around and pinned me against the cold brick wall of the library. He placed both hands on the wall on either side of my head, trapping me. His face was so close to mine that I could smell the peppermint on his breath and see the flecks of gold in his angry blue eyes.

"Listen to me, Audrey," he hissed. "No one..and I mean no one…humiliates me like that. You want to keep your scholarship? You want to stay in this class?"

"Yes," I bit out, staring right back into his eyes.

"Then you're going to earn it," he growled. "You're going to do every bit of research I tell you to do. You're going to be at my apartment at 7:00pm every evening until this project is done. And if you're even one minute late..."

He leaned in closer, his lips almost touching my ear.

"I'll make sure Drip Queen is the nicest thing anyone ever calls you again."

He pulled back, his eyes searching mine. For a split second, the anger in his gaze changed into something else; something intense and hungry. He looked at my mouth, then back at my eyes, and for a heartbeat, I forgot how to breathe.

Then, he pushed away from the wall, leaving me cold and trembling against the bricks.

"7:00 pm Don't forget your notes," he said. He walked toward a sleek, black Audi parked under a flickering streetlight, got in, and drove away without looking back.I looked down at the Partner Change papers still clutched in my hand.