Page 33 of Bullied By The Bad Boy

The happy child is back in an instant, he grins from ear to ear, and my lips pull into a line. “His birthday is on October 17. Benny has never gotten a good surprise before. I want this to be his first.”

My heart clenches at his thoughtfulness. This boy adores Ben. I can get it into his locker. If I can’t, Maria will. She’s friends with some cheerleaders. They should be able to smuggle a cake.

“That’s so nice of you, Champ.”

Asher blushes. “Benny is nicer than that.” I highly doubt it, but I am not the killjoy Maria claims I am. I pinch his chubby cheek, and he retaliates by pinching my arm. We laugh. “Thank you, Tessa. Benny will know it’s me when he sees the name. I’m the only one who calls him Benny.”

When the car is quiet again, I turn on the radio and ask, “When is your birthday?”

“January 5.”

The front door slams close, we jump, and our eyes snap toward the school building. Maria storms out with Daniel hot on her heels, his lips moving as fast as her feet. Their talk must have ended horribly. I check my phone for new messages, and sure enough, I have a few from her promising me death by the most painful means for betraying her best friend. She can’t do shit.

I chuckle, and Asher raises his brows.

“What is it?” I ask. He says nothing, and I roll my eyes. It’s obvious he has something to say. Asher flicks through the radio channels until he settles on a song I have never heard. I frown, a cautious eye still on the front door, but the boy remains mute. At least I know stubborn runs in their veins. To diffuse the awkwardness, I tell him, “You didn’t ask about my birthday, Champ.”

“When is it?” he squeaks out.

“April. I was born in April.”

“Mommy, too. April 5th.”

His smile fades, and he hides his hands inside his shirt. Sadness rolls off him.

“Where’s Mommy?” I ask him.

A faraway look blankets his face. He shrugs and looks out the window. I observe the little man in silence. He tugs on the gloves keeping his superpower out of sight, and I raise my shirt to peek at the irregular white patches that have taken over my stomach. I am not sure I will ever call my vitiligo a superpower. To me, it’s a blemish, something to hide. A knock on my window drags me out of my thoughts, and my brain freezes at the angry eyes glaring back at me. Ben knocks again.

“Benny,” Asher calls out to his big brother. He stretches his arms for a hug and pouts. I would have laughed, but Ben’s angry eyes grow angrier, and his brows pull together to form a unibrow. I hastily fasten my seatbelt. I don’t like how he looks at me like I am the most horrible person on earth. So what if I am having a conversation with his brother hours after he warned me to stay away from him? I couldn’t have left Asher there alone. He needed company. “You took so long.”

I don’t miss the dark promise in Ben’s eyes as he moves around to Asher’s side. I hit the lock, and the door opens. He squats in front of Asher. “Sorry, Champ. I had to sort some things out.” I avert my gaze when he throws a sinister look my way like the thing had to do with me. “Ready?”

“Yeah,” Asher drawls out without leaving the car.

I focus on my thighs, on the small gap between my legs. I have a thigh gap. Maybe I can join the latest TikTok trend, get famous, and have the other girls at school look at me with envy for once.

A voice at the back of my mind mocks me. I know I will never join any trend, but it’s nice to distract myself with such thoughts. The two pairs of eyes boring into mine finally get me to raise my head. I look up to see the Carter brothers staring at me. Asher smiles. I make sure to keep my eyes trained on him alone, but my gaze wanders to Ben’s face, and his frown morphs into a scowl.

Why does he loathe me this much? I should be the one hating on him. He punched me!

“You remember Tessa from that day?” Asher nudges Ben on his side, and Ben grumbles a reply. He hops out of the passenger seat, dragging Ben to my side of the car. “Tessa is in your school too, Benny.”

No shit, Captain Obvious.

Asher unlocks my door. “Tessa, meet my brother, Benny.” He squints at his big brother, who sighs softly. Yeah, I don’t want to talk to him, either. He is not even that handsome. Asher is cuter. “Benny, meet my new friend, Tessa. So, Benny doesn’t like people calling him Benny.”

Is that so? I stretch out a hand to him. “Hi, Benny. Benny, the cow.”

Asher laughs. Ben scowls and grabs my hand in a tight handshake. Shit. He squeezes too hard.

“Hi, Tessa. Nice to meet you, mask girl.”

Alarms go off in my head. Mission aborted. I retract my hand and shove it into my pocket. His reply sounded like a threat. He’s going to make my life miserable, isn’t he? Oh, my God. Ben and Olivia will team up. The pranks will resume. He will punch me again. I don’t want that for my final year.

The attention is taken off me when Asher turns to his brother. He motions for Ben to squat, and when Ben does, I am blessed with an up-close view of his pretty blue eyes. His rugged features soften at the words Asher whispers into his ears. Ben chuckles, a sound I hardly hear from him.

Our eyes meet before I can look away, and the arrogant asshole smirks. I know Ben is arrogant, rude, and snobbish, so why am I still ogling him? I want to stop, but I can’t. They say the eyes are the gateway to the soul, and Ben’s eyes are so beautifully blue I want to keep staring at them to uncover those layers he puts up. To know if he is really a jerk or if it’s a facade.Okay, where the fuck did that poetic bullshit come from?I don’t like Ben at all. I used to have a crush in the past, but now it’s as dead as Olivia’s kindness.

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