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I couldn’t quite put my finger on what annoyed me the most about him… I supposed it was the way he was always digging at me. He was always pushing, always goading… even now, there was a glimmer of a challenge, although since he was far enough away he couldn’t hear Bree, I doubted he knew what he was challenging me to do.
He just seemed to find pleasure in irritating me. It had been that way for years.
“Please, Cait! You’d be doing me a huge favor.”
“Okay,” I said, before I could stop myself, picking up the gauntlet he’d just inadvertently thrown down.
Damn it.
I didn’t want to let my best friend down. I could handle a few hours.
“Yay!” She hugged me, but I barely noticed, because her brother’s eyes were still fixed on mine, raising my temperature by several degrees.
How did he do that?
His stare strummed every nerve in my body like I was a guitar, leaving me ringing with furious energy that had no place to go. I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms in an attempt to quiet the vibrations that buzzed around my body before I actually exploded.
Whywas he staring?
I was a gangly kid with too long limbs for my short body and a mess of curls that toed the line between platinum and gold… not enough of one, not enough of the other. I was awkward, flushed, always one step behind. Perhaps that’s why he always zeroed in on me. The predator going after the weakest of the herd.
And Aidan was at the top of the food chain.
He wasn’t exactly the most popular kid at school, but he had the natural born qualities of a leader, and people always gravitated towards him. He was cool and calm. Irritatingly collected, always. Nothing ever made his stride falter. It was something I found incredibly irritating about him.
Normal people had stresses and worries; you could see it in the lines on their face. Aidan had no lines. None except the line to get into his bed… which I was surprised hadn’t broken yet for all the action it saw.
Every girl in school leapt at the chance to be in his presence. But not me. I avoided him as much as I could… which wasn’t actually much considering his little sister was my best friend, and my parents worked for his father.
Brianna was still chatting away next to me as she retrieved books for the next class, but I wasn’t listening to her. I was visualizing all the ways I could hurt her brother.
I didn’t know what I’d done that made him want to pick me apart the way he did…
Aidan finally looked away, giving me space to breathe. My chest ached as it expanded with the first breath I’d taken in a long minute.
You need to get a grip.
“I’m going to history. See you later?” She asked, and my attention snapped back to her.
“Sure. Later,” I mumbled as she trotted off, turning to my locker to grab my own books. I’d had to swap with another freshman to stay close to Bree as we weren’t in the same grade, but I didn’t mind. I’d do anything for her.
I had Calculus next. My least favorite subject in the world. In fact, anything to do with numbers was my least favorite. I was best at more practical subjects. Gym. Shop class. Art. I didn’t mind English either… Calculus, however, could fuck off and die.
The warning bell rang to signal everyone should head off to class. I grabbed my textbooks, slammed my locker and spun on my heel, but I ran smack into a solid chest.
“Sor-” The word was halfway out of my mouth before I realized who I’d knocked into. “Oh. It’syou.”
Aidan reached out to steady me, but I shrugged out of his grip, taking a step back.
“Why do you always say it like that?” he asked, following my step.
I moved back again.
He took another step forward.
My back hit the lockers at the same time my heart rammed into my ribcage.
“Because I don’t like you,” I snapped, clasping my books in front of my chest. It was my only form of defense against him now. He had me trapped, but I refused to cower.
