Tamed by the Bad Boy Next Door

Shutting Out

The two other girls were dumbfounded as they stared after Colleen’s figure disappearing into the crowd.

“…What was that about?” Remi commented.

Meanwhile, Ainsley’s face had crumpled.

“Oh God…” she said, sounding absolutely horrified. With her eyes tearing up, she turned to look at her friend. “Remi, I… I think I really messed up.”

…

As they slowly walked out of the campus, with Remi worriedly insisting they get something to eat, Ainsley explained exactly how she had “messed up.”

Jay and Colleen, they really did love each other, and Ainsley—oh so blithely—she had ruined things for them.

What Lewis told her earlier had made sense and she remembered it. Even if Ainsley wasn’t in the picture, Colleen’s issues could have still manifested themselves in other ways, leading to this same outcome.

But Ainsley didn’t really know if that would have been the case, did she? In fact, given Jay’s personality, it seemed like it would have been impossible for this kind of thing to happen if Ainsley wasn’t the one specifically involved.

Whether it was only out of self-consciousness or not, the guy simply wouldn’t have had eyes for anyone else.

Thus, Ainsley wholeheartedly believed this was all her fault. There was no acceptable excuse for what she had done to those two innocent people in love.

“What should I do, Remi?” Ainsley asked, wiping at her eyes with the base of her palm over and over again. She was doing it so hard and so frequently that the skin surrounding her eyes was red in no time. “How do I get them back together? They both think it’s their fault when it’s not.”

“I don’t know about that, Ains,” Remi replied cautiously. “I kind of agree with that other guy you talked to. This happened because those two were not ready for a relationship yet. Colleen even knows that herself.”

Ainsley stubbornly shook her head. “Yes, she knows that, and that’s why she was so careful in choosing this time around. Jay is the right guy for her—I have no doubt about that. There would have been no problem at all if they didn’t have the bad luck of crossing paths with me. I’m just… I am so, so sorry…”

With Ainsley so close to breaking down, not caring at all who saw her crying on the streets, Remi decided to change plans and walk her friend back to her apartment instead. Neither of them would be in the mood to eat anyway.

Ainsley was still shedding tears and sniffing loudly by the time they were in the corridor outside her unit. Just then, Seb happened to be preparing to go out to eat with some of his friends. He stopped short of opening his door.

…

“You sure you don’t want me to stay with you?” Remi asked while waiting for Ainsley to fish out her key.

Her voice thick, Ainsley answered, “I won’t be much fun to be around right now… Thanks for coming with me, Remi. I’m sure the others are free now. You should go grab something with them.”

Remi nodded in understanding. “We can bring back food for you if you want.”

“…I don’t really have an appetite. Be careful getting back.”

“Yeah.”

…

On the other side of his door, Seb waited until the other girl’s footsteps had receded before finally stepping out.

He was just in time to see Ainsley’s door closing. He didn’t think she saw him or heard his movements.

In the same way he had hesitated to come out when he heard Ainsley and her friend talking outside, Seb didn’t leave at once.

He told himself he was just waiting to hear Ainsley’s lock clicking, but sure enough, no such sound came.

‘This girl…’ Seb thought, seemingly fed up as he found himself approaching his neighbor’s door.

He knocked.

Thinking her friend had returned, Ainsley was quick to open it. Teary-eyed as she was, however, she immediately scowled when she saw who was on the other side of the doorway.

“What do you want?”

Seb didn’t beat around the bush.

“I heard from Lewis,” he replied. He kept his own expression neutral. “He said you also went to talk to Colleen.”

Ainsley’s scowl deepened. “You heard me say that to Jay too, but I guess it’s more believable coming from someone else, huh?”

Seb held himself back from snapping and only replied, “I guess.”

Ainsley glared and scoffed angrily.

“What’s it to you anyway?” she asked. “So what if I did talk to her? You don’t even care about them.”

This time, Seb did frown. “Was she the one who made you cry?”

When she heard that question, Ainsley could only stare at him in disbelief for a moment.

Then she said sarcastically, “That’s right, ‘cause that’s all girls know how to do—fight each other over boys all the time.” She moved to close her door. “Leave me alone, Sebastian. You’re the last person I want to see right now.”

“Wait.”

Before he knew what he was doing, Seb had already raised a hand to stop the door from closing on his face. For a brief instant, Ainsley’s red and puffy eyes widened in alarm, then she was glaring angrily again.

Seb didn’t care. He was just glad to discover that Ainsley had enough sense to see someone like him as a threat. Not that he would do anything to her, but it’s always better to be cautious.

He only asked, “So who made you cry?”

“It was me, Sebastian,” Ainsley answered, all out of patience. “I made me cry. Are you satisfied? Let go of my door—now.”

But Seb made no move to do so.

“Listen,” he said. He sounded confused. “I’m really trying to understand here. Is it that big of a deal that it would even affect you this much? We’re all still so young. We’ll meet more people when we get older. And even if Jay and Colleen do get back together, there’s no guarantee they’ll stay together for a long time.”

“Well, there’s your problem right there,” Ainsley replied. Despite her tone, however, she no longer felt as angry. “You’re assuming everything is doomed, so why even start. I don’t think age is the issue here. It’s about connection. Yeah, we’ll all meet others, but what use is that if the connection isn’t always there? That’s what the rest of us hope to have, Sebastian. That’s the rare thing Jay and Colleen had, and I ruined it.”

When Ainsley finished speaking, she exerted force on the door to try to close it again. This time, Seb didn’t stop her. He released his hold on the door, but even he was surprised when Ainsley still didn’t close it all the way.

She was looking at him dubiously as she asked, “Is there anything else you want?”

Seb’s response was to ask back, “What do you plan to do about them?”

“Do I look like I have any clue? I’ve already talked to them, but they don’t even want to see my face. I’m all out of ideas.”

Nodding, Seb started to step away. “Let me know when you do think of something,” he said.

“Why should I?” Ainsley asked with a frown.

Seb paused and hesitated.

“…If there’s anything I can help with, I’ll give you a hand.”

“Hoho,” Ainsley said sarcastically, an eyebrow raised in doubt. “How nice of you.” All at once, her expression became serious. “But I meant what I said earlier—if I ever need help, you won’t be the first person I’ll ask for it. Just worry about yourself, Sebastian.”

With that, she finally shut the door all the way.

But despite the unpleasantness and discomfort he was feeling, Seb didn’t leave until he heard the lock click.