1. An Offer

My phone vibrates in the pocket of my jeans. Again. I don't know how many more times I will have to decline it. Why can't he just leave me the hell alone?

My head feels dizzy and the whole room starts spinning as I make my way toward the stairs that lead to the first floor of this massive house. Before I know what I'm actually doing, my fingers are swiping across the screen, accepting the call.

I hold it still in my hand for a few seconds before bringing it to my ear. I might as well get over with this now, it's going to be much easier that way.

"Stop calling me, Holder." I snap harshly. "We're done."

He doesn't hesitate for a single second before interrupting me. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I really am sorry, can we please just talk about this?"

"Talk about what?" I blurt out as I steady myself against the railing. "About the fact that you've been f*****g Stephanie behind my back? Wow, that sounds like an incredibly interesting conversation. Really."

"Don't be like this." He sighs heavily. "I told you I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't f*****g her regularly. It happened just.. few times."

My foot catches on a stair as I try to run upstairs faster and I slip, bumping my knee hard against the hard wooden stair. I curse under my breath before pushing myself up again. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? Are you really that stupid? Do you think it matters whether it happened once or twenty times? For God's sake, Holder. You were f*****g cheating on me the entire six months we were in a relationship."

He stays silent for a moment as if he was thinking hard about his next words. "I love you. I can't lose you." He says quietely just as I open the door to someone's bedroom and I stop in my tracks.

I've heard him say it before, so many times, actually. It almost makes me want to laugh. Almost.

"Well, you should've thought about that while you were burried inside of Stephanie."

I say dryly and end the call. He doesn't deserve a single more second of my life. I close the door behind me and throw myself on the bed, looking up at the ceiling.

The loud music from downstairs is still audible but it's been a long day and I have no doubts, I'd be able to fall asleep in a beat. I close my eyes and exhale a big breath, when the door opens and closes again.

My head feels incredibly heavy and my vision is a bit blurry but I manage to lift up my head to look up at the person that entered the room. Elle.

I immediately relax and lay down again. She sits quietely on the edge of the bed and I feel her watching me but I keep my gaze above my head.

"You okay?" She asks and touches my shoulder gently. I love how she always cares, that's one of the main reasons why she's my best friend since our childhood.

I nod silently. I don't want to talk about it but I don't want to cry because of it, either. I should want to, but I don't.

"Wanna talk about it?" She lays down beside me and supports her head on her elbow.

I turn my head and look up at her, shaking my head in the process. "Not really. He's an a*****e and I'm beyond the level of being done with guys."

She silently watches me, her short blonde hair cascading down her shoulders.

"Guys suck." I state. "And a******s like Holder suck even more."

I expect her to say something but she doesn't. She just keeps staring at me quietely, her face searching my face and I furrow my eyebrows at her.

"What?" I ask, confused. "You don't agr-"

My words come to an abrupt haul as she forcefully presses her lips against mine. My breath catches in my throat and my eyes widen as she starts kissing me passionately. I push against her chest and she pulls away, her eyes filled with fear.

I swallow hardly because I don't know what to say to her. The throbbing in my head is so hard now I can barely think.

"Charlie." She breathes out as she searches my face with her eyes once again. "I... I'm sorry." She looks shamefully away.

I can't stand the look on her face. "It's.. it's fine, Elle." I give her a little smile, even though I'm still shocked.

She leans into me again and cups my cheek with her small hand. She holds my gaze and I can't take it so I squeeze my eyes shut. "I'm sorry for kissing you now, but I'm not sorry for kissing you, Charlie."

I hold my breath completely still, not daring to move a single inch. I have no idea what the hell to do. Do I run? Do I push her off of me? I doubt I'd be capable of doing either right now.

"Charlie." Her bubblegum breath tingles my cheek and her fingers graze the skin across my cheekbone. I open my mouth to say something but I'm beaten to it. Her mouth crashes hard against mine again and I want to turn away so much but for whatever reason, I can't. She holds my face in her hands now as she moves and straddles me.

I still have no idea what is going on. What the f**k is happening? I attemp to turn away but she grips me tighter. "Please." She whispers against my lips painfully. "Please, Charlie."

I don't know what exactly happens to me in that moment but the desperation in her voice freezes something inside me and I gently touch her elbow, letting her know I'm allowing her to have this kiss, even despite the fact that it most likely doesn't mean the same thing to me as it does to her.

One of her hands falls into my hair and the other one disappears under the strap of my plain tank top. Her tongue is in my mouth now and her fingers try to slip off my bra. I have no idea whether I'm kissing her back or not, I have no idea when did my hands move to the nape of her neck.

She moans against my mouth just as she slips off the strap of my bra, sliding it down my shoulder. Her mouth moves to my neck and it's too f*****g much. It's too f*****g much for me.

I push against her chest. "Elle." I try to wiggle from beneath her but my drunken state has left me really weak and even the simplest tasks would be painfully hard for me at this moment.

"Please, stop." I finally manage to sit up and lean my head into my hands, breathing hard. I can't comprehend the events of the last few hours. First Holder and now this. I don't know what the f**k is happening with my life.

I push myself off the bed and attemp to stand up, clutching my hands behind my head. I try to calm myself down so I could talk to her about what just happened but I can hardly manage that. I'm afraid to look at her. It's not that she kissed me, my issue is that she kissed me. If that even makes sense. My best friend kissed me.

The air in the room is thick and I can't breathe. I clutch the door handle and open the door. I have to get the hell away. I take a step out of the room and force myself to finally look at her. My heart crashes as I do so.

She's crying. Her body is shaking and it's all because of me. I feel like complete s**t. I want to comfort her, I really do, but I can't. I'm afraid of how it would end up.

So instead of doing what I should, I turn my head away and close the door behind me, walking away without saying a single word to her.

• • •

"If you have an issue with me, then go sit somewhere else." I stare at the guy sitting beside me, my mouth slightly agape.

"I don't have an issue." I snap back at him. He's the one who has, obviously. He thinks he can barge in here and everyone is going to fall to their knees because he, Seth Callahan, his f*****g majesty, decided to honour us with his presence. "Besides, I was here first. So you go sit somewhere else."

He grins widely at me. "I want to sit exactly where I'm sitting right now." I roll my eyes at his immature choice of words. He has transferred two weeks ago and even despite the minimal amount of time we've spent together, he's already pushing my f*****g buttons.

I don't know what is his issue. "You have been sitting in the back since your first day here, Seth. Why do you care where you sit all of the sudden so much?"

He shrugs casually and leans his elbows against the table, bending forward. His dark brown hair fall across his forehead and he pushes them back. "I just want to sit here, Charlie. No special reason."

His bright blue eyes watch me intently and I narrow my eyes at him. I'm really not in the mood for a staring battle right now. He has never spoken to me before, he has never even looked my way. I doubt he has even noticed me sharing classes with him.

My gaze immediately falls to Elle, who's slouching over the desk, her gaze focused on the chemistry book in front of her and my chest tightens. We haven't talked since I left her crying in the bedroom on Saturday night. I don't even remember the last time we haven't talked to each other for more than twenty-four hours.

We have to talk. I have to fix this somehow. But how?

Her eyes meet mine and I quickly turn back to Seth, feeling the guilt swallowing me. The look on his face is amused and his face stretches into a smirk.

He plops down, taking my usual seat and I glare at him. I turn around to find myself another seat. I spot a free seat in the back of the class, so I immediately pick up my pace to get there before the professor comes. I wish looks could kill right now. I'd rip his f*****g head off.

This is the first and the last time I'm giving up my seat for him.

•••

I neatly put my book and notebook into my backpack just as the bell rings and the students start escaping the class as fast as possible.

I quickly slouch my backpack over my shoulder and head for the door when Seth blocks me. I look up at him and he still has that same f*****g stupid smirk from earlier on, which makes me even more furious. I don't have time for this, I have to talk to Elle.

"Get the f**k out of my way."

"Easy." He draws out. "Just wait a sec."

I push my hand into my hair desperately and sigh with annoyance. "What the hell do you want now? I don't have time for this."

The grin on his face widens even more. "I think you're going to find time for this."

He nudges his head toward the class and closes the door behind him. I watch him hesitantly as he leans against the wall, his shoulder gently brushing mine as he searches for something on his phone.

"I have to get stuff for my next class, Seth."

"Just a sec." He says, still concentrated on the screen of his phone. Why the f**k did he even stop me if he wants to be on his damn phone? "Here."

He shoves the phone in front of my face and presses play on the chosen video file. The screen is quite dark, but not nearly dark enough to prevent me from seeing that.

I close my eyes and inhale a sharp breath before looking up at him. "Where the f**k did you get that?"

"Watch. You haven't seen the best part yet."

My stomach twists from being completely disgusted with him. The video is still playing, showing everything I wished I'd never have to relive again. Elle straddling me, her fingers slipping under the collar of my top, her hands tighly holding my face as she kisses me passionately. I attemp to snatch the phone out of his hand but he pulls it quickly away and holds it above my head.

Anger boils inside me. "Turn it off."

"Why? You're not turned on?"

"No. I'm. Not." I gritt my teeth. "F*****g turn it off, Seth or I swear..."

"Are you seriously threatening me right now?" He laughs. "Charlie, who do you think you're?"

"Who do you think you are?" I yell at him. He has no f*****g right to behave like this. How the f**k did he even get the video? "How the hell did you even get that?"

"I have my ways." He shrugs casually.

"Delete it, Seth. You have no right to have that. You had no right to even record that or do whatever the f**k you did to get it." I take a challenging step toward him.

He does as well. He's standing much closer now to me than I feel comfortable standing to him. "You are not in the position to make threats or orders here, Brooks."

His eyes glisten with something I can't quite decipher. This is apparently a game to him. "What do you want?"

"That's the question here, isn't it?" He laughs again and I have a really strong urge to punch him because there is nothing funny about this.

"Spill." I cross my arms in front of my chest. "What do I have to do to get you to delete it?"

"Now that's the question I want to answer." He grins again and finally brings his phone down from above my head. "I won't make this longer than necessary, so I'm gonna be really straightforward now."

"F*****g spill it already." I hiss at him.

"Chill out, would you?" He c***s his brow at me and I almost laugh at his words. Almost. "So, to answer your question, Charlie. I want only one thing. I'm not as difficult as you might have had expected."

I glare at him, wishing looks could kill for the second time in the last forty minutes. Or f*****g hurt at least. "And that would be?"

"Let's make a deal."

"I'm not making any deals with you."

He rolls his eyes at me. "You're not in the position to make requests here, Brooks. I told you already."

I work my jaw back and forth, too angry to even speak.

"One hook up." He tilts his head to the side, his eyes challenging me. "You hook up with me once and the file will be deleted. Promise. That's my offer."

 

Author's Note

Please let me know what you think of the first chapter!
This is actually my first time publishing my writing somewhere besides Wattpad so I'd love to hear your opinions.

Reviews

[aj milton]

Sex, infidelity, conflict, rejection, blackmail, the list goes on. It's full on and it flows well.

Makes me glad that high school or college is a long way behind me! haha. Post education life is far more relaxing.

Seriously, although I'm not really into high school type drama, I wanted to keep reading and find out what happens next. Keep going.

[nessa]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter.
And I have to agree, high school is definitely full of (most of the time unnecessary) drama.