It was almost time. A minute left on the clock until it struck 3 - the end of school. Gathering all my papers, I stuffed them carelessly into my binder. It was a Friday, and honestly, there was not a more joyous occasion.
The bell rang and I remained seated, hoping to wait out the crowd of 'kids' stampeding their way to the door. When all was clear, I stood up, waved tiredly to the teacher, and trudged into the bleak hallways.
School was a horror-ridden nightmare, especially when spent alone.
I opened my locker, turning to glance at myself in the small mirror attached to the door, studying my reflection. My brown hair was up in a ponytail, giving a perfect view of my face. Two brown doe eyes stared back at me, and I sighed heavily at the blatant lack of effort I had given to my appearance this morning.
"You can keep staring, but it won't change what you look like," a voice sneered teasingly from behind me.
I whirled around to come face to face with Brielle Sanders, the girl who had bullied me as soon as she could form a full sentence. Her blonde hair cascaded smoothly down her back, outlining her slim jawline. Today, she wore a sheer blouse and dark blue jeans, showing off her curvaceous legs.
She looked like a Mediterranean goddess.
"What are you staring at?" she snapped, chuckling slightly to herself. "You really are like a mouse."
I hated her, but I couldn't deny that I also envied her. I knew she liked the fact that I would do anything to look like her. It encouraged her to make me feel inferior every single day.
Tears threatened to sting my eyes as I looked away.
Students stood and watched as the scene played out, ignoring my plight. None of them stood up for me; this always happened.
I'd never had the privilege of someone defending me, but I wouldn't cry. No, I would never satisfy anyone by letting them see me weak or vulnerable.
Brielle scowled at me. I flinched as she edged forward, hitting the remaining books out of my hand. I only looked down numbly as she smiled, satisfied to have left her mark, and walked away, her shoes making a tottering sound as she left.
Everyone turned away from me. The entertainment had left. Picking up my books, I looked to see where everyone's attention had fallen now and immediately rolled my eyes.
There, waltzing down the hallway as if the entire school belonged to him, with his two best friends in tow, was the school's golden boy.
Aaron Walker.
There was a strange allure to him, it seemed, that I could not put my finger on. All the guys wanted to befriend him, and every girl wanted to date him.
He strode confidently, making small talk with students. A group of girls smiled in his direction, no doubt competing for his attention.
His black hair was tousled, falling into his eyes messily. His blue eyes shone with mischief as he shoved his friend as they walked, and I watched the small play of 'testosterone' with them like I was watching some cult following show on National Geographic.
I knew he was good looking; it'd be a lie to say otherwise. But from what I had gathered, he was a total ass who loved only himself. He always had a girl by his side. One on Monday, then a different one the next week, as if they were totally disposable. We never spoke in our shared classes, and he would not even help the slightest when it came to the work.
I tore my sight away from the ridiculous movie scene in front of me and focused on taking some books out of my locker. The only thing I did out of school hours was study and.... I shook my head to clear my mind, the thoughts too dark to even bear.
With that, I slammed my locker shut and turned around. I let out a small, startled noise at the odd sight in front of me.
Aaron Walker loomed over me, his hands stuffed in his pockets, smiling.
"Hey," he greeted, his voice deep.
I blinked, then blinked again. He frowned at my strange behaviour, but I couldn't find any words.
What was I even supposed to say? Why was he talking to me?
I looked at him head-on, ignoring the shock at how bright his blue eyes were; I had never seen them this way before, despite having sat next to him many times.
I cleared my throat and composed myself. He watched every action intently.
"Can I help you?" I said curtly, raising an eyebrow at his unwelcome presence.
His lips quirked up in an easy-going smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again when he noticed a group of people had formed around us.
Aaron turned to glare pointedly at the crowd, annoyance apparent on his features. Immediately, the students started to dissipate until only Brielle remained. She stared long and hard at me, venom clear in her eyes.
Had she not already had her fill of insulting me, or was she back for more?
Aaron glanced between the two of us, noticing the cold stares. He cleared his throat loudly.
Brielle tore her gaze from me as though a hot poker had been lodged up her ass and smiled flirtatiously at Aaron. I suppressed the eye roll. It was clear that he not only enjoyed the attention, but bathed in it.
"Look, Brooklyn," he started lazily, gesturing to her with his hands.
"Brielle," she corrected sweetly, though the glint in her eyes dimmed.
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Brielle, of course. I really need to talk to..."
He trailed off and turned to me then, raising his eyebrow, seemingly awaiting me to throw in my name.
I suppressed a scoff at his blatant disregard for my existence when I had been in most of his classes since the start of school. It was obvious now that his good looks masked his complete lack of memory.
"Alexis," I deadpanned, eying him with a flat stare.
He smiled widely in return, completely oblivious.
"I really need to talk to Alexis, so if you don't mind..."
Brielle's flirtatious smile faltered a little bit, causing me to grin; I was enjoying this part of the conversation, even though I had no idea why someone like Aaron Walker would have any interest in talking to me.
"You'll get back to me about planning Madison's birthday, right?" she asked, the desperation practically seeping out of her words. I silently commended her for her vigour; not all of us could jump up so eagerly after being hit in the gut not once but twice.
He frowned slightly, most likely not even knowing or caring who this supposed Madison was. "Sure, er, Bridget?"
"It's Brielle," she chirped, her lips twitching downwards.
He merely nodded at this, eyes glancing down the hallway absent-mindedly. "Yeah, I'm sure it is."
Then he turned back to me, giving her a small nod as a means to dismiss her.
With one last glare sent towards me, Brielle tottered down the hall, stopping at the end, where she turned to wave one last time in Aaron's direction. He lazily drew his hand up, not taking his eyes off me, and waved back with about the same energy as a leaf flailing in the wind.
This was, however, enough to placate her, and she smiled contently before sauntering away.
Aaron's face shifted from boredom to seriousness in a matter of seconds. He cleared his throat before speaking.
"I need a favour."
My eyebrows furrowed in blatant surprise.
"You" —I motioned towards his lean body-"need a favour from me?"
"That's what I said, right?" he shot back, raising a slender eyebrow.
I looked around unsurely at the near-empty hallway as though I would see hidden cameras protruding from the nearby lockers. Aaron Walker had never even spoken to me before, and now he wanted my help?
"I'm not following." I admitted. There was no reason our different worlds should ever collide.
"I thought you'd be smarter than this," he muttered
—more to himself than me-frowning. I gaped at the words.
"Excuse me for not being psychic," I retorted, glaring at Aaron with all the resentment I could muster.
Rather than faltering at my gaze, however, he laughed slightly.
"Well then I guess I'll try again, if you're still not following." He smirked and, before I could retort, placed a hand on my shoulder, his blue gaze levelling with my own.
"I. need...a favour.from.you," Aaron enunciated his words slowly, as if he was talking to a five year old, even going as far as to make gestures with his hand.
I gaped incredulously, swatting his hand away, offended by his condescending tone. Interrupting my Friday with this pointless conversation was enough to make my anger rise.
"I know what you meant!" I moved away from him more. Just because he was used to getting close to girls didn't mean I was interested. He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off, holding a hand up to his face.
"With regards to your favour, let me answer before you ask-it's a no," I snapped.
Aaron Walker was the last person I'd ever want to help.
He smiled at this slightly, his lips quirking up.
"You don't even want to know what I was gonna ask?" he questioned, leaning his left shoulder against the neighbouring locker. I grimaced at his relaxed stance, clearing my throat and straightening my posture.
"Knowing your reputation, you probably want me to do your homework or sleep with you and I feel inclined to say no to both," I said, turning my head slightly up.
He blinked, taking in my mini speech before breaking into a fit of laughter. My anger grew in that split second as I glared at him, yet either he took no notice or ignored it, stroking a rough hand through his hair.
"Sleep with me? That's what you think I came to ask?" he managed to say between laughs.
My cheeks heated up in embarrassment. I hadn't meant to insinuate that; I had just meant to offer him a scathing reply. Yet now I couldn't help but feel slightly offended that such a notion could be considered laughable.
I shook my head to clear the familiar hit to my self-esteem, looking up to see Aaron smirking down at me, the laughter still bubbling.
"That wasn't the favour I was going to ask, but if you're so eager, I think I can arrange something for your sake," he said, leaning in closer to my body, engulfing me with his fragrance.
I blushed profusely before recomposing myself and pushing him back by his shoulders. He didn't even stumble, yet he got the message and moved back, the smirk still in place.
"Hold your horses, Romeo. If I ever think of you, it isn't nicely, trust me," I grumbled, eying him with disdain. Never before had I let anyone else get that close to me in proximity, so this annoying hindrance was no exception.
Instead of being fazed at my blatant insult at his reputation, Aaron smirked again, an action that I begrudgingly accepted suited him far too well. His good looks were surely there to compensate for the absence of a personality.
His voice interrupted my thoughts.
"What have I done to make you think so badly of me? Last time I checked, this is our first time speaking, so why are you glaring at me like that?"
I merely rolled my eyes. "I don't know you, but judging by this 5-minute conversation, I don't want to. Even looking at you is irritating," I edged out, turning away from him.
"Irritating, huh? I've never had anyone say that to me; maybe you just haven't had a good enough look yet." he purred.
I scoffed at his cockiness to distract from my flushed cheeks, pulling my bag up higher on my shoulder.
To think I would be staring at the golden boy of the school-scratch that, to think I would be having this conversation at all-was completely unbelievable.
"Careful, Aaron. If your head gets any bigger, you won't be able to fit into those designer shirts of yours," I grumbled in a dry tone, to which he laughed.
"What do you take me for?" he questioned, almost rhetorically, and I had just about enough of this long-winded conversation, tutting in frustration.
"Are we going to keep going in circles, or can you just tell me the favour, so I can get the hell out of here?" I questioned impatiently. He had to be quicker than this, if he wanted any semblance of help.
"It's going to be a lot to ask," he pointed out, the smirk long gone now. Something about his tone sounded distant and somewhat sad in a way I never thought he'd be capable of sounding.
Perhaps even the most privileged people had their fair share of problems.
"What is it?" I asked, the curiosity getting to me.
I hadn't ever had the pleasure of getting to know him, but the rumours seemed to be enough to give me the gist of what he was like. If they were even a little true, then even I couldn't guarantee his favour would be something in my favour.
He looked me in the eyes, his stare so intense I thought my knees were going to give out. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again, as if he was contemplating how to phrase his sentence.
Then he exhaled slowly before saying the most unexpected sentence I'd ever heard.
"I need you to be my girlfriend."