Mr. Popular and Me

Chapter 2

Evan's POV

I've never been so eager to get home before. I couldn't stop watching the clock, waiting for the day to end. As soon as I got home I threw my bag on the floor beside my door and flopped on my bed, glad to be back in the comforts of my bed once again. I let out a sigh of exhaustion. Today was so annoying.

More than usual that is.

Everywhere I turned there he was, the lunchroom, all my classes, but I guess he always has been. He’s just never recognized me before. I wished it would stay that way. Waeland is becoming a very big problem. Why won't he leave me alone? I've been at this school for almost two years and he's never tried to talk to me. No one's ever tried to talk to me before, actually, and I don't like it. Not one bit.

I reluctantly got up from my bed and huffed my way downstairs. Once I got to the bottom, my dad walked through the front door.

Well, tried to anyway, he staggered his way into the living room and fell face first onto the couch. My dad grumbled under his breath and turned his head towards me, his eyes lighting up immediately as they always do.

"Heeeyy! Kiddo! Have you made dinner yet? I'm starving!" He said as he pushed himself off the couch, trying to hide his drunkenness. I rolled my eyes and walked over to him, not understanding why he tries to hide it when it’s so obvious.

"No, I haven't yet, but you need to lay down. I can tell you're drunk. Here, let's get you some water." I told him as I wrapped one of his arms around my shoulder and I put one of mine around his waist to support him. I helped my dad get to the kitchen and set him down in a chair. Walking to the fridge, I grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to him. He mumbled a thank you as he drank the water slowly. I nodded and returned to the fridge to get out the ingredients for dinner.

Yes, I can cook. It may be considered to be a “girl thing”, but I think it’s a good skill for anyone to have. My mom taught me when I was younger. She used to teach me all kinds of things being the only child and all. That was until she left anyway.

I guess that's why Dad is such a drunken mess all the time. It really hit him hard since he didn't expect it and he had no clue why. I didn't either. At least, not at first. I didn't take it nearly as hard, though since I knew it was coming. I could tell because she was acting really strange and dropping hints every now and then.

I shook my head at the thought, deciding to stop thinking about the past and focus on not cutting my finger while I peeled the potatoes.

After I finished cooking and gave my dad his plate, I took mine upstairs with me so I could do homework at the same time. I have a paper due tomorrow and I'm definitely not turning it in late. If I do my grade will be deducted by ten percent. I may hate school, but I need to get good grades.

I want to go to college so I can get a good job so I can take care of my dad. To do that though, I have to have perfect grades and perfect attendance and try for decent behavior so I may get a chance for a scholarship. I sure don't have enough money for college, so that's my only way to get there and ensure that I have an okay future. I mean, he's been taking care of me my whole life, so I feel like it's my job to take care of him when I can.

I turned on my PC and started working on my essay first to get it out of the way.

Four hours. After four hours of thinking, writing, and solving problems, I finished all of my homework. I looked at the clock on my nightstand to see that it was nine-thirty pm. It wasn’t too late, but I was tired from dealing with people all day so I decided to get ready for bed.

Getting up from my desk after packing away all of my homework in my backpack, I made my way to the bathroom with a change of clothes and a towel. I glanced at the mirror when I entered, capturing my reflection. My brown eyes looked a bit darker than normal, black even. Probably from being exhausted from all the human interaction today. The dark brown hair on top of my head was a total mess from me running my hand through it in frustration. Overall, my body just looked tired.

Sighing, I got ready to shower.

Whenever I was done, I left the bathroom to head back to my room. On the way, I decided to stop and check on my dad. Knocking on the door lightly, I heard no answer so I peeked inside. I saw him sprawled out on his bed, sleeping. I slowly closed his door and went to my room.

Laying on my bed I looked up at the ceiling and started thinking about school. I wonder if Mrs. Willow will still be angry with me tomorrow. Not that I really care, just that it's annoying. I also wonder if Waeland will talk to me tomorrow...

Wait. Why am I thinking of him? He's just an annoyance that I wish will go away. I hope he doesn't talk to me tomorrow, or ever again, I'll probably punch him in his pretty face. Pretty? No, I said that wrong. He wasn't pretty. Just an annoying jerk.

I rolled over on my side and decided to let my tired body rest as sleep swept over me.

Beeeep-

Beeeep-

Beeeep-

I woke up to the sound of my alarm's annoying shrill ringtone. Groaning, I reached over and turned the stupid alarm off. I rolled out of bed. Literally, and met the cold hard wooden floor beneath me. "Hello, floor..." I mumbled and pushed myself up slowly, standing and I trudged my way to the bathroom. I turned on the shower and began to undress. I slipped in the shower and let the cold water wake up my muscles and mind.

I brushed my teeth and wrapped a towel around my waist as I made it to my room. I grabbed a navy blue long-sleeves shirt and a pair of old faded jeans. On my way out of my room, I grabbed my grey beanie and vans. I didn't bother to try and fix my hair, not like I was trying to impress anyone. Especially not anyone at that hell hole of a place. 

I grabbed my backpack and looked down the hall to see my dad's door open and his room empty. I guess he already left for work, even though I'm sure he has a nasty hangover from drinking so much yesterday. I sighed and slowly walked downstairs and out the front door, locking it behind me.

It was a quick walk to the school, quite unfortunate if I might add, so I arrived in a matter of minutes. Walking through the front doors I smelled that awful smell that I hated. I grumbled as I made my way to my locker.

"Hey, friend!" I heard a terribly familiar voice that made me cringe in displeasure. Why... I thought he wouldn't bother me today. And why is he calling me his friend. I am certainly not his friend. So, I decided to ignore him. I kept walking towards my locker, pretending I never heard the moron.

He then grabbed my shoulder and turned me to face him. "Hey, did you not hear me?" Waeland asked, looking at me with slight disappointment in his eyes.

"No, I did hear you, but seeing as I am not your friend I didn't respond." As soon as I finished my statement his bottom lip curled out in a small, cute pout. Which was not attractive on him at all.

"But you are my friend. I asked you yesterday and you grunted in response. Which I took as a yes. So we are friends." He concluded and I rolled my eyes.

"I probably grunted because I didn't care or I wasn't paying attention. And I still don’t care," I stated, hoping to hurt his feelings so he'll go away. But oh no. He just grinned. Which confused me.

"If that meant you don't care, then that means you don't care if we're friends or not. Therefore, we can be friends because you don’t care either way." Before I could say another word and argue against him, Waeland patted me on the shoulder. "That's great! I'll see you later, friend." And with that. He left. Leaving me standing in the middle of the hall.

What the hell is wrong with that guy?! I screamed in my head. I just told him several times we weren't friends! So why the hell..?! I groaned aloud and continued my walk to my locker, in an even worse mood than before.