Page 56 of Bullied By The Bad Boy

In one of my letters to Lett, I jokingly asked him if he knew how to pick locks, and he told me to use hairpins. He warned me against getting caught after I refused to disclose my plans. My face heats up thinking about Lett’s reply:why is a good girl doing bad guy’s stuff?I am doing it to fulfill my promise to Asher.

Ben cheered for Tee yesterday before offering me a ride. I rejected it because I didn’t want him to know my house. Our interaction at school is enough. The boy keeps confusing me. But it was weirdly nice to have someone I knew cheering for me.

The oven pings. I take out the cake, spread the icing, and write Ben’s name as instructed by his younger brother. Asher doesn’t have a phone, but I take pictures I will show him the next time we meet. For now, I am taking Ben’s advice to stay away from his brother, except I run into him.

That boy is too fantastic to be ignored.

I sneak out of the house as early as 6:30 am. A massive record for me, one I should gloat about to Maria, but how do I explain why I have to be in school that early? I don’t have a crush on Ben.

The parking lot is almost empty when I drive in. I recognize a few teachers’ cars. Thankfully, the front door is unlocked. I tiptoe to Ben’s locker, tired. After inputting different codes, including 1710, which is today’s date, I am ready to give up. Of all days to forget my hairpin, it had to be today.

A bit frustrated, I punch in 0501—Asher’s birthday. The opening click echoes in the hallway, and I place the cake inside. With the number of Asher’s pictures glued to Ben’s locker door, you would think the locker belonged to him. He’s a good big brother. Since Asher didn’t ask me to insert a note, I didn’t add one. I close his locker and jump at the sight of the person in front of me.

Black eyes bore into my forehead. I palm my chest. “Is that your locker?” the janitor asks. I nod. I am an awful liar. His face conveys his disbelief, but he doesn’t call me out. “Why are you early?”

“There’s no rule against punctuality,” I reply and stalk in the opposite direction, walking past my locker to hide behind the stairwell.

Footsteps reverberate in the hallway. I hold my breath until the nosy janitor passes my spot. Once he is gone, I return to the staircase to capture Ben’s expression when he sees the cake. I make myself comfortable, throat closing up at the birthday cards already glued to his locker.

How many minutes was I gone?

Bile jumps to my throat when one of his fangirls tries to open his locker. God being so merciful, it doesn’t work. A grin pulls my lips. These girls are so thirsty, and he doesn’t even like them.

As the morning wears on, the hallway grows noisy. More students troop in, and a few stop at Ben’s locker to tape a note or birthday card to the door. I roll my eyes when the fifteenth person passes. I only got a card from Maria and Daniel. Then I went home to a birthday surprise from my parents. I’m grateful for that but watching this show of love makes me feel more like a loser.

People love him. No one loves me.

I push up to my feet. What am I doing here? I glance at the phone that vibrates in my hand, and I automatically smile. Mom is checking in because I left earlier than usual. My parents love me.

Maria loves me.

Hayden too.

Even Daniel.

Halfway to my class, I halt. The hallway is quiet. I toss a glance over my shoulder as the birthday boy struts to his locker with some girls on each side of him. They must have given him gifts. Birthday wishes ring out in the air. I stop feeling sorry for myself and return to hiding with my camera turned on. This is not the best spot, but it captures him. Plus, I have an amazing phone. The zoom quality is crazy.

My heart skips as Ben opens his locker. The door cuts my view of him, and my breath catches in my chest. Seconds grow longer without him making an appearance. Did someone steal the cake when I turned? Wait, has it melted? My knees scream from squatting for too long, so I stand.

The door finally shuts. I tense. Ben has the mini-sized cake in one hand. I tried to make it fit into his locker. His eyes roam the hallway, the hand holding my phone lowers, and I hide behind the wall so only my head pokes out. Other students are recording this. I will find the video on BGC.

Ben’s eyes find me, a look passes between us, and I almost drop my phone. I avert my gaze to my sneakers. I’m wearing blue converse. Not black, not white. Maria will have a glorious fit.

Ben opens his mouth but never speaks because the uproar cuts him off. Olivia sashays to him with a smile bigger than her GP and pecks him. Her eyes scan the hallway when she notices the direction Ben is looking. When they land on me, she kisses him on the other cheek. I straighten up and step out. No need to hide. Finally noticing the cake in his hand, she throws me a dark look. I inch closer to the wall for protection. She knows I bake. She used to come over a lot then.

“Happy birthday, Benny.” Her voice is extra loud, most likely to spite me and mark her territory. She’s so greedy. Why must she have all the good-looking guys? Ben grins at her, and I mentally strangle myself. I can count the number of times he has smiled at me, but with Olivia, his dirty mouth is ever willing to spread into a smile. She is not allowed to call him Benny. “I see you got my surprise.”

“Surprise?” Ben is as stunned as I am. I almost tumble forward in shock. This scum of the earth. This witch. Anger courses through my veins. I clench and unclench my hands. “Your surprise?”

Olivia moves in front of him to obstruct his view from everyone, mostly me. Her voice is louder than ever. I feel the words pierce my skin and harden my heart. “Yeah. The cake. Do you like it?”

“You did this?” Happiness leaks into Ben’s voice, and a wry smile forms on my lips. Asher was right about Ben loving the surprise. Olivia’s head bobs. God help me, but I want to walk over there, rip out her extensions and shove them into her mouth so she’s silent forever. She is a fucking liar, and I am a goddamn coward, so I keep staring at them. Not moving. Not blinking. “For real, Liv?”

I can’t see Ben’s face, but his voice is so soft, so raw with emotions, and it breaks my heart. He called her Liv. Her fingers rake his hair, she moves a bit, and I see Ben’s smile. I hate all of them.

“This is unbelievable,” he whispers.

“Believe it, Benny, I’ll do anything for you,” she says. Why can’t she have a seizure and die? I don’t ask God for a lot, butGod, please. “Asher said he had a surprise for you, but he wouldn’t let me in on it.” So that’s how she knew. I loathe her. “Took a while, but we agreed to do this.”

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