Can't Resist His Charm

He's back

Monday morning, I see Damian in school. He nods when he sees me but does not smile and just turns away. I am relieved to know he is safe and unharmed like I had been thinking over the weekend. I detect no limp too when he walked away and I had seen no new visible sign of new bandages or wounds. I had not even gotten a good sleep from all the worrying I had done. I frown and wave but he ignores me. Two seconds later I understood why.

“You are still friends with the fr*ak,” I hear Natalie say behind me. My ears could not believe what I had heard and I turn around to see, yup she had indeed said it. “You’re too nice Bry,” she continues on saying as she walks by me and to her locker.

I stare at Natalie, beyond shocked but she returns my stare, hers with disdain, however. And to think Damian thought she was too good for him. I see Stephanie and Bryce behind her glaring at me too. I slam my locker door shut and turn away, walking to my class. What the heck is going on with Natalie?

The third period is almost over and Damian has not even looked over at me once. Whatever it was I know it had something to do with Natalie and I am mad with her. I could not believe that my best friend was even uttering the words I heard her saying earlier.

Two weeks go by and Damian still does not speak to me. Mel says he has been giving her the cold shoulder too. He no longer comes to the home she volunteers at either. I know why- Natalie. He just smiles with us and goes his way.

I stopped by his work once but he ignored me.

After class today, I follow him out into the stairway and tell him we need to talk. He ignores me, so I pulled his hand up with me as I walk up to the rooftop, two floors up. He resisted at first, trying to pull his hand back but eventually gives in when he sees two girls staring at us.

“Where are you staying?” I ask him as soon as we reach the top, releasing his hand.

He sneers his mouth, folding his hands across his chest.

“I’m serious. Do you know how worried I was? Still am?”

He stares at me, arching an eyebrow but stays silent walking over to the railing and looking out onto the far-away buildings.

“I searched for hours. I texted you…called you and you just switched off your phone?”

“So what?” I hear him say.

“So what? You should reply and say you were okay, you i***t!” I shout and he turns around to look at me, a furrow between his brows.

“Your feign concern-”

“Feign?” I pull his shirt by the collar and his eyes widen but he does not shrug away. He just looks at me. “I could not sleep! I kept thinking that your father came for you and I had no idea- hey, just let me know where you are and that you are okay-”

“I’m sorry,” he mutters. It was my turn to be speechless and I scrutinize his already bruised face to see any sign of mockery before I slacken my hold on him. I noted there were no new scratches on his face which means that he probably was just sleeping elsewhere.

“Where were you?”

“I went back to my apartment.”

“That filth?”

I see his jaw muscle working and he grabs my hand that was still on his shirt and says, “Filth is my middle name,” then he pulls my hand off.

“Damian, I did not mean it that way.”

“I know, but that’s how it is. I have nowhere else to go to,” he walks back in the direction of the rooftop door.

“Come back home,” I whisper harshly as I look at his retreating back.

“Why?” he paused but did not turn back.

“I want you to,” I clarified for him. I know he is thinking that I pity him when I did not. The truth is I actually missed him.

“What about Natalie?”

“What about her?” I contested.

“She’s your friend-”

“Damian if my friend belittles my other friend, should I not take a closer look into that friendship?” I admitted my feelings towards Nat then. I had definitely been rethinking our friendship but I was willing to give her time to sort herself out.

“She’s your best friend, Bryan. I don’t want to come between that. She hates me and you can’t have me lurking around you-”

“Lurking?” I laugh dryly. “You’re the brother I wished I had dude. Even Gloria misses you,” I yakked out and he turns around then with a smile.

“I miss her too. That coffee.”

I am so overjoyed to have him back home that I throw a little get-together that night with everyone- Natalie included but only when Damian okayed it. I honestly would not have minded if he had disagreed with it. My parents were asleep but they did not mind as long as we kept the party in the pool room and nowhere in the house.

Yes, beer is present as well as a bottle of tequila.

Natalie gives Damian the stink eye the entire time but everyone ignores her and welcomes Damian back to the crew. He warms up to them and even apologizes to them about keeping his distance before. They all understood him and just waved it off as I had explained to them the situation with Natalie.

They all agreed she was being a b*tch.

I looked at Natalie all night and it was very obvious she was still hung up on Damian. When she thought no one was looking her eyes devoured him. Mel and Gail had noticed it too and they stared at her while she stared at Damian as he splashed around in the pool with the others.

“What do we do about her?” Gail Ann coughed out as she swallowed another shot of tequila, wiping her mouth.

Mel sucked on a lime as she took a swallow too, “She looks like she wants to kill Lucy, doesn’t she?”

Lucy was another one of Mel’s friends and she had her arms around Damian’s neck at the moment. And they were soaking wet. Lucy in a pink bathing suit and Damian in a trunk pants alone.

“Hey buddy,” Fuzz saves the day when Gail signals him, pointing to Damian. We had all decided earlier to save any sort of trouble from happening between Nat and Damian but it seems that the four other girls we had invited over had crushes on him as well.

“Bloodbath,” Gail Ann giggles as we look at another girl wading towards Damian when Fuzz got Lucy away. Natalie was fuming but pretending to not care as she still bad-mouthed him.

“Gosh, he just attracts hussies, doesn’t he?” Natalie says as she joins us looking at the pool.

“Weren’t you a hussy a while back?” Bruce, another classmate pipes in and I almost choke on my beer. Nat's face grew a crimson red and she glares at me. “Unless you think that you are the best thing to happen to him?” Bruce continues in. “I went out with you twice Nat, you are no peach.”

We all stare at Bruce.

I think we were shocked that Bruce spoke that way to her. He said what we all wanted to but friendship prevented us from doing so. Also, big surprise to learn that she went out with Bruce too.

“Whatever, this party sucks Bryan. I’m leaving and if you continue to invite trash over,” she rolls her eyes as she looks to Bruce, “I will not return, k?” and she storms off.

“Good riddance,” Tony puts in as he walks over to us in the sitting area and grabs a few beers before walking back to the pool and sitting on the edge, hands out the beers.

The fun was about to start with the wet blanket gone.