The Bully's First Love

The Bully, Displeased

"So how'd you sleep, Kane?" Finn grinned at Rohan as he plopped down into his seat in front of him the next day.

Taking his cell phone out of his pocket, Rohan gave him a glare. "What's it to you?"

"Ah," the blond haired boy drawled. "I see you woke up on the wrong side of the bed again."

"Don't mind him." Ashe sat next to Rohan and slouched down in his seat. "He's always like that in the morning. I blame the sugary cereals he eats for breakfast."

"And I don't understand how come you're always so sleepy," Finn shot back. "If I didn't know you since childhood and know you were lazy since birth, I would have thought you were always tired because you and Blanche kept yourself up every night with a certain late night activity."

Ashe threw his notebook at Finn's face and the latter yelped in pain. Rohan rolled his eyes and put his headphones on his ears.

Idiots.

He felt someone poke him and glanced at Ashe. Ashe had the side of his face on his arms and he gestured for Rohan to pull his headphones down.

"How's the cat?" Ashe asked him once he'd removed them.

"It's okay," he mumbled.

"It?" Finn's brows knitted. "Don't you know the cat's gender?"

Rohan ignored him.

Ashe ignored his best friend too. "Did you take it to the vet yet?"

"The vet?" Rohan lifted a brow.

"To have it vaccinated and stuff."

"My friend gave me that cat," he pondered irritably. "I'll ask him if he's already taken the cat to the vet when I see him later."

And when he did see Skull, Rohan was going to strangle him for leaving the damn cat with him.

When Rohan got home last night, the cat was sitting on the entry, staring blankly and creepilyat him. Rohan knew through his research that when a cat stares at you and then blinks, that's affection. But if it doesn't, it was asserting its dominance and was possibly feeling aggressive and could attack.

Rohan stared at it, bracing for an attack, cussing the hell out of Skull in his head.

But then it blinked and mewled, pattering over to him to rub against his pants.

There and then, Rohan decided cats were creepy as f**k and he was getting rid of it as soon as possible.

His decision became absolute when he saw the cat's litter box.

"I can text you the address of my cat's veterinary clinic if you want," Ashe suggested. "It's just a few blocks away from school."

Rohan nodded. "I'd appreciate that."

"Um, excuse me but I think you're forgetting little old me here," Finn was saying as he waved a hand between Rohan and Ashe. "And since when did you exchange numbers? Why didn't you get mine, Kane?"

The same reason Rohan was trying to ignore him right now.

It was because he was irritating as f**k and would probably send him stupid messages.

"I'm going to sleep," Ashe mumbled, tucking his face into his folded arms. "Wake me up when school is over."

"Oh, no, you don't." Finn shook Ashe's shoulder. "We have the witch for first period, remember? You'll get scolded again."

Ashe lifted his head to glower at him. "You are so annoying."

"And you are so frustrating! Even Rohan pays attention to class."

"Are we using Rohan as a yardstick now?"

"He's a boy genius. Of course I would."

Rohan was about to pull his headphones back up again when Finn said that. His eyes sliced to him and they narrowed.

"What did you say?" he spoke with a growl.

Finn blinked and twisted his head to look at him. "I said a lot of things. You have to be more specific."

"You called me a boy genius."

"Oh that," Finn said, leaning back. "I heard the teachers talk about you when I went to the staff room yesterday. They were talking about how you chose to be on the academic track and that you had straight A's since you were in your mother's womb."

Before Rohan could answer, Ashe spoke up.

"Finn, why do you have to exaggerate everything whenever you open your mouth?" he sighed.

Finn acted like his friend didn't speak and went on, "You've just destroyed my belief of geniuses, Kane. Because you don't look like a genius. You look like a thug with all those piercings. I know the school policy on accessories is very loose but don't you think those are too much?"

"And you're about to destroy his tolerance for dumbasses, Finn. I suggest you stop talking right now."

"Why aren't you in any club, Kane?" Finn persisted, tapping his desk. "Ashe might look useless but he's in the arts program and his paintings always win every competition. I'm in the swimming club and even though I said I wasn't on the team, I will this year." He face suddenly lit up. "Oh, oh, you should go with music. That would sound cool. We could be the amazing trio of North High Academy."

"You should really cut down on the sugar, Finn," Ashe scowled at him.

Finn scowled back. "And you should start eating more sugar, Ashe."

"Enough," Rohan stated softly and the two stopped yapping at each other.

Rohan was pissed.

The two friends may not have noticed but everyone in the room was staring at them. Though he knew that coming to this school would make him a subject of gossip, he didn't want to be always the f*****g center of everything. But with this two around, he was finding it hard not to be.

He didn't care if he was letting them see he was pissed. Then again, he never tried to stop letting people see how he felt. Life was exhausting enough with all the bullshit people kept trying to feed him. It was a waste of energy, expending effort trying to hide much of anything.

"I don't know what exactly you two are trying to do here," Rohan began in the same pissed tone. "But I'm not interested in making friends. I want to be left alone. I don't want to belong in anything. So stop sticking around me and piss off."

Ashe and Finn flinched.

He still didn't give a f**k.

Ashe looked at Finn. "You made him angry. You deal with him." Then he buried his face back into his arms.

"What? H-Hey, don't sleep." To Rohan, Finn said with a nervous chuckle, "It's hard not to stick around you, Kane. This class has a seating chart and we're going to be seatmates for the whole year. Hey, Ashe, come on man. Work with me here."

Still pissed, Rohan put on his headphones and stared out the window.

**********

"So let me get this straight," Nick said in between bouts of laughter, "You pissed off Rohan Kane?"

Finn glared at him. "I didn't piss him off. I was being my cool self. He just suddenly blew up."

"Cool self?" Ashe lifted his head off the table. "He was making fun of Rohan. He should be glad Rohan didn't blow his face off with a punch or two."

"And he could totally do that," I said, pushing my glasses up my nose. "I've seen him fight bigger guys and win. He floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee. The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see," I ended in a dramatic whisper.

"What's this little girl doing here?" Finn gave me a look that implied I'd lost my mind.

In fact, everyone was looking at me like they had just noticed I was sitting with them. It was true. I had just wiggled my way into their table in the junior section of the cafeteria and had planted my butt next to Nick unnoticed.

I knew Ashe and Finn through Blanche. And simply put, I didn't really like Finn. He was always the voice of reason and a stickler for rules. But he could also be annoyingly cheerful like me and funny. I still had to make my mind about him.

Sighing, I propped a hand up and rested my chin against my palm. "Shut up, Finn. This is the only way I can hear about what my brother has been up to."

"Ex-stepbrother," everyone chimed and I shot them all a dirty look.

"I thought you waited for him in the stairwell after school yesterday?" Ashe asked. "You didn't get a chance to talk to him again?"

"He didn't show up," I grumbled.

Finn smirked. "You mean he escaped from your evil clutches again."

I shot him the dirtiest look I could manage.

"Don't bully Schuyler." Nick winked at me. "Have you had lunch?"

"Yep." I glanced at the mountain of food on his tray. "Are you sure you can finish that?"

"We have a new training coach. Practice is going to be hellish this afternoon so I need all the sustenance I can get."

"And you can get that from burgers?" Finn frowned in disapproval.

"Don't nag, Goodall."

"I'm not nagging. I'm just saying you need fruits and vegetables in your diet."

"I'll eat vegetables when they taste like bacon."

"You'll die young with that kind of mindset."

"Wow. I didn't know you carrot all for me."

Ashe shook his head with a low laugh as he listened to his friends.

While Finn and Nick were busy arguing about food, someone touched my head and I turned around to see Blanche sitting on the empty seat between Ashe and me. Ashe kissed her cheek and held her hand. She smiled at him then looked at me.

"You're wearing your glasses," Blanche noted.

I showed her the sheet music my music teacher had given me earlier. "I've been browsing them before I came here."

"Is that for the new musical?"

"No. This is just for practice. I'm going to compose the music for this year's musical play once I meet up with the lyricist and theater teacher later."

Finn and Nick promptly stopped arguing about food and everyone's heads all turned to me.

"You're going to be the composer?" Blanche asked once she got over her surprise. "Emmy, that's... that's big news."

"That's great news." Nick leaned sideways to ruffle my hair affectionately. "Congratulations, Sky."

I didn't want this to be a big deal. Of course I was ecstatic when my music teacher informed me of this opportunity. And I would be lying if I didn't expect it. All these years of playing the piano, learning and creating music, all of it was for this very opportunity.

But I was feeling a bit antsy. Although I didn't doubt my talent, I doubted my ability to create something that would attract the people. I may have won competitions but this was different. A whole lot people were going to be relying on me.

And what if the audience didn't like the new musical? It would all be on me.

I didn't show that however.

"What did you guys expect?" I shrugged haughtily. "I'm a musical genius. There's nothing I can do."

"Except follow rules," Finn inserted.

"And learn restraint," Ashe grinned.

"And know how to cook," Nick laughed.

I scowled at them and stood up. "You are all jerks. I'm leaving."

"Take this." Finn held out a small bag of chocolates to me. "My Dad came home from his business trip to the Philippines last night and brought lots of these yummy peanut milk chocolate treats."

See? He wasn't making it easy for me to completely dislike him.

"Thank you," I told him.

"Here is yours Blanche. You can share with Ashe."

Blanche beamed at him. "Thanks, Finn."

"What about me?" Nick asked in outrage.

"Here's a protein bar for you."

"A what?"

Knowing this was going to turn into another argument, I left their table as quickly as I could.

**********

Fuck him.

Emilia Schuyler wasn't going to give up.

All week long, Rohan had to dodge her a f**k of a lot like a moron. He even had to steer clear of the toilets of the main building because she'd almost got him not once but twice.

If Ashe hadn't caught her the second time, the little i***t would have gone inside the male toilets.

And if Blanche hadn't distracted her by asking about some musical, Rohan would have had to escape through the toilet windows for the second time.

He couldn't go to the cafeteria, she would be waiting for him.

He couldn't even go to the library, she had the student monitor promise her that they would text her if they see him.

And he definitely couldn't down the stairwell because every after class, she'd be standing at the landing. Going down the other stairwell at the other side of the junior floor was useless because she still would have a clear view of him and would just run to him. And he didn't want to have to avoid her by running like a fool.

Once, he even had to escape through the windows, almost giving Finn a heart attack when he suddenly began climbing out after third period. If Ashe hadn't slip him the keys to the staff stairwell, he'd probably kept having to parkour down the side of the building.

He didn't know why Ashe was helping him. After all, the things he said, Ashe was still talking to him, even helping him deal with Emilia. Rohan didn't know why he was doing it when his best friend Finn had completely backed off. But he didn't ask and Ashe didn't ask for his gratitude back.

It was Friday.

Finally.

Leon had invited him to his place for a little get-together and that was where he was heading. f**k knows he needed to unwind and relax after all the s**t he'd been through because of her.

He thought it was the end of what was turning out to be his daily avoidance of Emilia Schuyler.

But, as he was leaving school, he saw her standing by the iron-wrought gates of the school, obviously waiting to ambush him.

Damn, but she was persistent.

"Got you," she cheerfully said.

Got you.

That's what she used to say whenever she found him.

And at those words, Rohan decided to be seriously f*****g pissed.

"What the hell?"

Emilia didn't even look the least put out at his hostility. "Do you want to have dinner while we talk?" she asked with a bright smile. "It's been awhile since we've hung out together so our conversation might go on and on."

Fucking hell, how could someone be so thick?

"I'm not having dinner with you," he ground out. "And I'm not talking to you. Step back and let me pass."

At this, her smile dropped and she sighed, "God, you're so stubborn. It's just a conversation, bro - I mean, Rohan," she quickly amended. "And dinner."

"I'm not being stubborn. I just don't want to talk to you. Now move."

Emilia didn't move.

Instead, she took two steps toward him, saying, "Rohan, I'm just concerned for you."

"I don't need your concern," he clipped.

"I can't help it," she persisted. "With everything that has happened to you-"

His head jerked back, his anger escalated and he cut her off, shouting, "Will you just f**k off?"

Emilia took a step back. That same spasm of pain from years ago went through her features but this time, this time Rohan felt no guilt.

"Aren't you tired of chasing after me all year? Because I am. I'm so f*****g tired of seeing your face. I'm so f*****g tired of this bullshit game you're playing, following me around and being everywhere I am."

Her face hardened and her shoulders straightened. "I'm not playing a game with you. If you had only just talked to me—"

"For what?" He leaned into her and to her credit, she didn't flinch. "We have nothing to talk about. Our parents have already divorced. The ink's f*****g dry. We're done playing family. What do you still want from me, Schuyler?"

"Rohan—"

Rohan's eyes snapped to her best friends who were standing a few feet away from them. "I've never hit a girl in my entire life but if you don't take her away, I will f*****g smack the s**t out of her."

Immediately, they grabbed Emilia away from him.

"He's not going to do it, Cassie. He's just kidding. Rohan, come back!"

But Rohan had already turned around and left.

**********

"I saw that you know."

Rohan turned his gaze from the window and looked at Skull. Skull's usual cheery face was strangely blank as he drove the car.

"Saw what?" Rohan asked Skull.

Skull glanced at him. "You and Schuyler."

Something sharp pierced through the left side of his chest.

Then he looked back out the window, refusing to think about Emilia.

"Just drive, Skull," he muttered darkly.

For some reason, Skull had insisted on taking Rohan home from school, or to wherever they planned meeting the rest of their friends every day since he found out he'd transferred schools. When Rohan asked him about it, Skull disgustingly told him he couldn't last a day without seeing him before hugging him fiercely. Rohan learned never to ask again.

"Fine," Skull sighed. "Don't talk to me."

Rohan gritted his teeth and turned his head to glare at him. "You want to talk? Let's talk about the damn cat then."

Skull was quick to say, "Shutting up now."