Mutual Hatred - Love Game (20 page)

The 'falling out' had happened because Chelsey thought Shelley was spending too much time with her cheer friends. "
What about me?"
Chelsey had whined,
"I thought we were best friends."

Shelley had answered,
"We still are! I just have different friends. You can have different friends too!"

That hadn't flown too well with Chelsey. It was either her or cheerleading. As you've probably guessed, Shelley chose the latter.

So while Chelsey had given the final ultimatum, Shelley had made the ultimate decision. Did she regret it? No. Because she couldn't remember why she'd ever been friends with a bitch like Chelsey.

Taryn was a
much
better friend.

But I guess sometimes life gives you lemons so you can appreciate the strawberries when you get them,
mused Shelley.

Shelley barely slid into her seat in the back of Room 201 before the bell rang. Her Physics teacher, Ms. Riley, was notoriously always in a frenzy. First day of school and Ms. Riley already looked flustered. She clapped her hands together once. People stopped talking at once.

That was the thing about Ms. Riley. Unorganized as she was, people still took her seriously. Definitely one of the coolest teachers in the universe.

The day progressed; Shelley went from class to class. During lunch, she met Taryn and their friends at the school entrance and the group headed out to lunch.

"Where should we eat today?" Shelley asked breezily.

"Let's try the new sushi bar around the corner," suggested Brianna Lawler.

"Gross!" cried Taryn, "The thought of fish isn't very appealing. Maybe another day, Bree."

Just as Taryn spoke, Alex came up from behind and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey baby," he whispered softly, "Go out to lunch with us."

Taryn shrugged him off. "I love you and all, but lunchtime is sort of a girl thing.
Our thing
is after school," she added meaningfully.

"The boys will pay for lunch," offered Alex, still hopeful at the prospect of spending time with his girlfriend.

"Done deal!" cried Meg Heaney. After Taryn threw Meg a 'look', she added, "Who's going to refuse free lunch? You know I'd never!"

Since they were paying, the boys got to choose where to eat. Ironically, they ended up at the sushi bar around the corner. Shelley saw Taryn gag for a brief moment, but straightened up when Alex whispered something in her ear.

Was it very surprising that somehow Chelsey Smith ended up at the
same
sushi bar?

No, not really. The little slut could weasel her way into anything. Not to mention anyone's bed.

Hah.

Unfortunately, Brandon was also there.

The downside of being a cheerleader AND coach was that you were friends with all the football players. So naturally everyone hung out together. It had always been that way.

Shelley was cautious when she ordered her food and ate it. She hadn't forgotten that Brandon liked to mess with her food. In fact, she took advantage of the fact that he was sitting across from her to ask him,

"Brandon, sweetie, do you mind trying this for me? I just want someone to try it before
I
actually have to eat it."

Brandon shook his head vigorously and said, "No way!"

Shelley swiftly kicked him under the table.

"I swear I didn't do anything to it!" he defended.

"Then you won't mind trying it," Shelley said sweetly.

Knowing there was no way out, Brandon took a hesitant look at the sushi before taking a bite out of a roll. He tried his best not to gag, but Shelley didn't miss a thing.

After swallowing, Brandon unenthusiastically said, "It's good!"

Oh, that's comforting.

"Then you wouldn't mind eating the rest, would you?" Shelley gave him an evil grin as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"Oh you're impossible to fool, Sinclair," Brandon said, defeated. "Am I that predictable?"

Shelley kicked him under the table again. "Yes."

"Ow! What did I do now?" he protested.

"That's for tampering with my food,
again
. Do you know what happened to Morgan last time?"

"Oh, she got over it."

"Believe me, she hasn't. But I guess you haven't noticed that your Xbox is missing, have you?" Shelley said serenely.

"I-she-WHAT?" sputtered Brandon. "She took my Xbox?"

"I figure she'll hold it hostage until you beg for her forgiveness," Shelley said thoughtfully.

"At this rate, she'll make me her personal slave until the day I die," muttered Brandon.

"Serves you right."

"And you're such a bitch."

"At least I don't try to scare people by pretending to be a stalker!"

Brandon gaped at her, his mouth open so long he could have drooled up a puddle. He didn't react fast enough to cover it up. By now there was no denying it.

It was nice to know she had such a strong hold over him.

Forget being Morgan's personal slave for life.

Brandon knew he was going to pay big time.

But at what cost?

Chapter 17 – Consequences

Shelley smiled with satisfaction.

"Didn't think I'd find out, did you?" she drawled.

"No," Brandon said shamelessly, for by now he had recovered from his shock. "But it was all in good fun."

"At my expense!" cried Shelley, banging a fist on the table, "You call that
fun
?"

"You know, sometimes you need to relax and smell the roses," Brandon said calmly. "What's got your thong in a knot?"

The fact that Brandon was treating the matter so lightly infuriated Shelley. And she knew that was exactly what he wanted!

She stood up and picked up her glass of icy water.

You can guess what happened next.

Leaning slightly across the table, Shelley dumped the water on Brandon's head, just as everyone looked up to watch.

"Oops, my hand slipped," Shelley said as innocently as she could, a smirk playing across her lips.

Brandon scowled.
That little bitch!

"What the hell!" squealed Chelsey, who was sitting next to Brandon, "That was uncalled for, Sinclair!"

A dozen pairs of eyes rested their eyes on Shelley, as if asking for an explanation. Too bad she didn't feel like explaining. Sure, dumping water on Brandon's head wasn't the most
mature
thing to do, but Shelley felt it completely justified. Who ever said that people plotting revenge had to be mature about it? And this was just the first step.

"I can't say I didn't deserve that," Brandon said loudly. To his friends he said, "Sorry boys, but the jig's up. She knows. I don't know how, but she does."

Shelley saw Kyle avert his eyes, as if suddenly his empty plate was the most interesting thing in the room. Just then, Chelsey, who'd been fussing over Brandon, angrily said,

"Sinclair, I'm still waiting on an explanation. Why would you dump water on the hottest boy on earth? Do you
have
a death wish?"

No you bitch, but if you don't shut up, I'd say you had one.

"I don't owe anyone an explanation. If you know what's going on, you know. And if you have to ask, you'll never find out," Shelley said unperturbedly.

"Brandon, aren't you going to do something to her?" Chelsey's voice was so high pitched and whiny it was annoying.

"No," shrugged Brandon.

"So you're going to let her get away with this?" demanded Chelsey.

"Uh, yeah. It's just water. I'll dry off."

"What is
wrong
with you people? I'd be brewing up a storm!" cried Chelsey.

Kind of like you are now
.

"Chelsey, what are you doing here anyways?" Brianna said pointedly.

"Brandon invited me. Didn't he tell you? We're
dating
," Chelsey said smugly, shooting Shelley a 'look' as she wrapped an arm around Brandon's shoulders. To her dismay, he shrugged it off.

"You're fucking raving mad, woman," he said tonelessly. "I don't know what gave you that idea. I'm
not
interested."

"You jerk! After all the time I spent pining after you, this is how you repay me?
Fine!
" People were starting to stare just as Chelsey flung her napkin on the table, "See if I care! But when you come crawling back begging for my forgiveness, don't think for a second that I'll take you back!"

As a result of Chelsey's flair for dramatics, she too dumped her glass of water on Brandon. Then she stalked off, slamming the door on her way out.

"Well, that was completely random!" giggled Meg.

"Absolutely. Chelsey Smith is one delusional girl. I almost feel sorry for her," said Shelley with a smile.

On the other side of the table, Brandon was livid. "I can't believe it. Two girls dumped water on me in the same ten minutes?"

Alex Taylor clapped his friend on the back. "Tut tut, it looks like you're losing your 'god-like' status, buddy."

"Nah, I'm still the best looking guy on earth," smirked Brandon.

"You shouldn't have to lie to yourself, even if it makes you feel better," Shelley said innocently.

Brandon rolled his eyes. "Are you
still
mad about me being Luscious Lloyd?"

"I have every right to be."

"So how long will it be until you get over this?"

"Let's just say that I hold grudges."

Brandon groaned inwardly. When he'd started the whole Luscious Lloyd prank, he had meant for it to be a
funny
prank that even Shelley would laugh at. Apparently, he'd been wrong about her.

Just like he'd been wrong about so many other things concerning Shelley.

Being on bad terms with your coach wasn't a nice feeling. But if all she'd done so far was dump water on him, her retribution couldn't be
that
bad.

Could it?

- - - - -

The gang arrived back at school just before the bell rang. Shelley happened to have her next class, AP English, with Taryn. It was their only class together this year. It also happened to be Shelley's only class with Brandon. Who would have thought the egotistical asshole was smart?

But then again, Brandon never ceased to surprise her. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

All through English, Shelley found herself staring at the back of Brandon's head. He sat in the row to her right, up one seat. She envied how he could sit in class and text message his friends all day and never get caught. Or if he did, no one bothered to reprimand him. Brandon always managed to charm his way through trouble. The only person who never fell for his charm was Shelley.

And he took that up as a challenge.

But first, Brandon had to say sorry. He wasn't
really
sorry about his prank, but he knew it'd be in his best interest if he did.

And people were staring at him like he was an animal at the zoo. Granted, people had always stared at him.

With these looks, who wouldn't?

He received a text from Belinda Breen, a tall, leggy brunette who sat right behind him. 'WHO GOT YOU ALL WET?' it said.

Ah, that must be why people were staring.

It was funny that Belinda had texted him. Couldn't she have just tapped him on the shoulder and whispered it in his ear?

This, my friends, is what today's world has come to.

'LONG STORY' he replied.

God, he was such a hypocrite. He could have turned around, but he didn't.

'IVE GOT TIME N UNLIMITED TEXT MESSAGES SO TELL ME' was her reply.

'LETS JUST SAY 2 GIRLS R UNHAPPY W/ME RIGHT NOW'

Brandon and Belinda kept up the conversation; eventually she got the whole story. It was quite odd how Brandon could talk to a girl he barely knew. But something Belinda had just texted him caught his eye.

'SHES BEEN STARING AT YOU ALL THROUGH CLASS'

Who?

That was precisely what he texted back.

'SHELLEY'

What the hell? Sinclair was staring at him? If there was any truth in what Belinda was saying, Shelley was probably glaring daggers at him. When he dared turn around and sneak a peak at her, sure enough Shelley was giving him a look that could kill.

Brandon gave her an apologetic look and mouthed the word
Sorry
.

He watched as her eyes narrowed.

She probably thinks I'm messing with her again.

"Mr. Miller, just what do you think you're doing?" called Ms. Nickol.