Chapter 14

      Flame’s POV.

I walk out of my last class feeling drained, abnormally exhausted, and disappointed in myself for being so nice and lending my friends my car. Now I had to ride home with my brother and that’s never really fun. Don’t get me wrong, we’re kind of close but that doesn’t make him any less unbearable to say the least.

I’m blindly digging in my bag for my phone to text Logan while my eyes roam the hallway when they land on her-

Cainine, outside the basketball team locker room next to a girl who keeps pulling on her shirt, no amount of trying to lengthen it will make that outfit appropriate so she might as well give up. She looks up at Cainine who says something to her, and the girl giggles and pokes Cain’s arm.

Who is she? I’ve not known Cainine to have any female friends, she’s always hanging around her two boyfriends. Anyway, why do I care what type of friends Cainine has- it’s just that I haven’t seen that girl around here.

She says something to Canine and stretches her arm ruffling Cain’s already messy hair and Cain laughs slapping her hand away. Wow, would you look at that.

Finally, Cainine looks up from the girl and our eyes meet almost immediately making me freeze in my steps. Fuck. Now she’d caught me checking her and this new girl out.

Why the fuck hadn’t I looked away earlier? My shoulders sag and I watch as the smirk on her face washes off instantly and this wide, sunshine smile appears as she waves at me. I wave back and can’t resist smiling at her too. It’s contagious shut up. She seems to mutter something to her “friend” and before I know it, she is walking to me.

Cainine confuses me a lot honestly… How can someone have such contradicting characters inside her? And most importantly, how can someone be so thoughtful and unthoughtful at the same time? Those starfish are the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever gotten me, then she sits outside with me in pure silence and we gaze up at the stars for hours. She doesn’t say anything douchey, doesn’t try to make a move. We just… lay there.

“I was just thinking about you” she interrupts my thoughts and I look up at her then back at the red-head she was with who was still standing by the locker room looking lost and confused.

I was no fool, I knew what they were up to… Besides what else would they be doing in the locker room?

“You sure about that?” I raise my eyebrows.

“Who else would be in my mind if not you Sparks?” she teases and I snicker. Maybe the girl she was with… Most probably sexually a few seconds ago. See, unthoughtful and idiotic.

“What do you want Cainine?” I ask trying to hide my knowing smile.

This is odd but it was hard not to smile with her around me, looking at me with awe in her eyes half the time. I know she probably did that with most girls, but I couldn’t help it. Besides, if this is how she acted around other girls, I get why they fell for her amateur traps.

“Again… Do you want me to answer that?” she smirks and a cringe slowly and involuntarily takes over my face. Why does she have to make everything sexual all the time?

“I mean, why are you here?” I point the ground “Next to me.”

“Umm… because this is a free country” she says closing her eyes seeming content with her response. Her stupid response.

“Okay then, I’m free to walk away” I say knowing this will get her to talk as I take slow steps backwards.

“Okay… Listen” she speaks, stopping me on my tracks.

I register the small furrow in her brows, the adorable pout on her soft lips as her eyes bore into mine and she fidgets in her steps. This is going to be good.

“Yes?” I smile. That nervous look on her face gives me some sort of satisfaction

“Umm… So, I just realized- that I don’t… Shit” she mutters stammering terribly like an awkward teenage boy in front of his crush.

This was amazing, she never stammered like this. What was going on in her mind? I fake a frown swallowing my laughter knowing if I laugh, she’ll give up and not say what is troubling her.

“Use your words” I mock.

“I need your…” she sighs “shit” she looks away running a hand down her face. Wow.

“Need my shit?” I chuckle. It’s really funny when a person that acts like they’ve got it all together acts like this. And I was the one making her this nervous.

“No” she quickly defends.

“Spit it out then” I push raising my eyebrows and she ruffles her short hair and stares at her feet then back at me.

“Ph… Pho-” pause. Was she really going for it? And asking the old fashion way too?

She stops, takes a deep breath as if she’s scared and the whole time I’m thinking… Should I put her out of her misery? Nah, she can do this. Besides it’s entertaining to watch and now that I knew why she was here I’d let her suffer a bit before she found her words.

“Okay… Sparks, I wanted to ask you for your… Damn it… Okay” deep breath “Phone number” and there it is. I smile and she rolls her eyes and looks away. Boy, am I enjoying this.

“What?” I act surprised. I kind of was… Why did she need my phone number? And why wouldn’t she surprise me by ‘just having it’? That’s how it happens in the movies. I know it’s absurd. I just pinned her out to be that type.

I guess I was wrong about yet another thing.

“Never mind” she sighs already giving up… Afraid of rejection I see.

“I’ll give it to you…” I say and bite the inside of my cheeks to hold back a smile when her face lights up. I was going to use this to my advantage “In only one condition” I add.

“You and your fucking conditions… What?” she smiles.

“My friends took my car and I have no ride back home…”

“I got you” she nods her head her grin still intact. And I ignore the flutters in my tummy; it was only because I didn’t have to deal with Logan. Not that I was excited to spend time with Cainine, no.

“Holy shit, remember when I said I was just sore. I was wrong, I think you broke me.”

What? Cainine and I both turn to look at the source of the foreign voice and I am not surprised when I see her red-head “friend.”

“Oh, didn’t realize you were talking to someone.” Didn’t she now? She smiles at me and I smile back nodding to myself before I look at Cainine the smile never leaving my face. It wasn’t a friendly smile. It was an awkward on, I didn’t ask to be in this situation.

“Well, I am” Cainine shoots her a glare clenching her jaw “And I…”

“Hey, I’m Tia, you?” the girl ignores Cainine and introduces herself to me.

“I’m Flame, nice to meet you” the red-head looks at Cainine eye brows raised and smiles at me even wider. What’s going on?

“It’s very nice to meet you” she winks at me and I nod slowly looking away. It feels even more awkward now for some reason.

“Okay, what the fuck do you want?” Cainine breaks the weirdness when she turns to the red-head whose name I hadn’t gotten and quite frankly didn’t care much for.

“Oh, I wanted to ask you for a favor” she pokes Cainine playfully.

“What?” Cainine pushes seeming as uncomfortable as I was, now with a small frown on her face.

“I need a ride home” she pouts. Oh, how fucking convenient.

“What? Why?” Cainine frowns harder and I feel my face twisting into a frown too.

“Because you…” she pokes Cain on the chest staring right into her eyes and I grit my teeth. “Owe me… you’ve literally torn my dress into shreds.”

Wow, this is information I did not need to hear.

I think I should be going now, all of this is none of my business.

“Umm… I’m going to go” I say already turning to walk away.

Logan is better than this, in fact anything is better than this. So, she thought it was proper to come ask me for my phone number then- Ugh was this a joke she and her dumb friend decided to play on me just because? I wouldn’t hold that past her, but I was above all this.

“But Sparks-” Cainine calls out and I turn to look at her my eyebrows raised “The ride?” This is absurd, way absurd. She still wanted to go on with that dumb joke?

“Oh, I think she needs it more” I point her friend and turn, leaving without another glance or word.

I guess she was still sleeping around.

Damn it, of course she was, it’s Cainine for fuck’s sake. What did I expect? And who was I to expect anything? She had a life and I wasn’t part of it. Two make out sessions and a beautiful night meant nothing to her.

“Come on Sparks!” I hear her yell.

Why is she wasting her breath on me when she already has that girl?

“I’ll see you” I call out unable to even look back to see their stupid faces, they were probably mocking me right now. I walk out the huge campus doors and let out a sigh looking around for Logan’s stupid face.

Cainine’s POV.

I turn and glare at Tia, looking as angry as I felt.

Had I just been… Rejected? What?

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I whisper harshly.

She made this happen, it was her fault, if she would have just stayed the fuck away from me.

“So that’s Flame?” Tia smirks “She’s cute… I just never pinned you to be a sucker for that type.”

Sucker? What did these people see that I didn’t, I’m not a sucker for anyone.

“What the fuck do you want?” Tia was beginning to irritate the hell out of me.

“And her name is Sparks?” she whispers tilting her head a bit “You called me that today.”

My brain is fucked up; I won’t make any excuses for that. Maybe I needed therapy, but then again, that never really works on me.

“And so?” I raise my eyebrows.

I ignore her grating voice as she goes on nagging and an image of Sparks’ back facing me as she walked away flashes before my eyes. She fucking walk away from me without a single glance back. And that, “I’ll see you” oh she’d see me alright.

This was fucking personal now.

I look over at the doors she just walked through and huff. She thinks she’s so much better than me.

She knows she is, Ali.

“Are you even listening?” Tia’s voice tears through my thoughts and I look away from the doors and back to her.

“I don’t have time for this bullshit right now. I have to head to work” I point the doors.

Before she can speak, I turn and leave hoping to find Sparks. She has something that belongs to me and I always get what I want. Don’t care how, I will get it.

No one just walks out on me. Once was enough.

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