Clarey

I angrily shoved all my textbooks inside my locker. I was seriously pissed at Evan for ditching me that Friday night. I slammed my locker shut as hard as I could, but as soon as I was about to walk away, I suddenly remembered the gift card I bought for Andrea, my co-worker at the restaurant I was working at.

"Ah, crud." I muttered.

I went back, but for some sheer dumb luck, I struggled to get my locker open, thanks to the stupid locker combination. I've been using the same locker combination since Freshman year of high school. Why am I struggling now? My temper rose and I banged the locker with my hand.

"I hate you." I groaned, pressing my forehead on the cold metal locker. It made my head a little cooler. Deep down, it was clear as day where my frustration started.

"Here, let me help you with that." Evan appeared next to me with a playful grin on his face. What a coincidence. I'm a damsel in distress and he just came out of nowhere as a hero. He gently pushed me to the side. I gave my locker combination, and I don't know what he did, but the jerk somehow managed to open it.

"Thanks." I said dryly, rolling my eyes at him. He thought he could win me over by doing good deeds? Well, sorry, pal, no brownie points for you today.

I grabbed the gift card, closed my locker and started to walk away fast.

"Hey, babe, how're you doin' today?" He kept following me through the school hallway. This boy was seriously like a little lost puppy.

"Did you get my message?"

"Yeah, about that... I'm really, really sorry," I stopped to face him with my arms crossed. Any word that comes out of his mouth is probably a lie. "CJ, come on, I'm serious. I'm really sorry!"

I snickered, shaking my head. "You're lucky," I whispered. "You are so lucky that you're still alive."

"Well, you see what happened was—"

"No, no, no. Let me talk," I said quickly, cutting him off. "After you ditched me that night, I swore to myself—"

His eyebrows knitted together in a disapproving frown. "CJ, I was there that night. Lance just talked me out of it, I swear. Please, I'm not lying."

I started walking away from him, completely disgruntled.

I let out an exasperated breath. "Excuses, excuses. You're just tryin' to make a fool out of me, Evan. Well, guess what? It's not happening!"

He grabbed my arm to stop me. "Why don't you just listen to me for once?"

"Well, I did, didn't I?" I shook his arm away. There was a lot to unpack here, that's for sure. "I gave you a chance. I stuck around and found out."

"Please believe me," he pleaded. "Ditching you wasn't my intention."

"Evan, I know you pretty well," I said, crossing my arms. This time as full-on goblin mode. "You're just trying to make a sucker out of me. For all I know, you probably just want to get into my pants."

He gave me a disgusted look. "What the hell are you talking about? You know that's not true, CJ, I would never—"

"Typical jock," I started wobbling my head side to side, and tried my best to mimic a guy's voice. "Oh, look at me! I'm the most popular guy in school, I'm a football player, and everyone loves me."

"Are you finished?" He asked.

"No, Evan, I'm just getting started," I pursed my lips as I moved closer to him, gazing into his gorgeous green eyes. "You think you could just have anything you want with just a snap of your finger? You may be rich and handsome, but let me tell you this," I paused. "You're not going to get me. Capisce?"

He placed his hand around his neck, color burning his cheeks. We noticed that we already have an audience around us, specifically his team mates.

"Yeah, that's right," I smirked. "Now get your sorry ass out of the way. You go near me again, you're fucking dead."

"Evan, you just got burned!" Seth Corleone shouted.

"By a tomboy!" Lance added and they all erupted in laughter and wolf whistles.

I wanted to smack the shit out of Lance since he was practically worse than Evan. After giving them the stink eye, I left Evan glued right where he was.

Honestly, I was a bit shaken up from what I just said back there. I mean, come on, I wasn't a violent person, for crying out loud. I'm just a mere photographer from Bonita Verde high, the tomboy from across the street. Everyone knows that.

Now here I am threatening the most fucking handsome, not to mention, popular guy in high school. Seriously, he was a complete package. He has the looks, the brains, the brawn, the money, but the only bad thing about him is...

He's a complete asshole.

If he could only turn off the asshole mode in him, maybe things wouldn't be as bad.

*

"Order number fifty-three!" Mrs. Cooper shouted over the kitchen counter. I went to pick up the tray of cheeseburgers and fries. As I was placing them down on the customer's table, I heard the entrance door bell and guess who I saw?

Yes, you got that right. It was the prince of BV high along with his posse. He was scanning the room like he was hunting for his prey. I glanced at the clock. Great, I still have a few minutes left before my shift ends. How convenient. Why couldn't they come thirty minutes later? I nervously placed each plate on the table in a hurry before Evan got the chance to see me. But too late, I think he already spotted me. I could see him now looking straight at me.

Crud. I must get out of here.

Having Evan's eyes locked on me almost felt like a blow torch. It was chaotic. I tripped over someone's shoe, causing me to knock over a glass of lemonade on a customer's shirt, then spilled a whole bowl of spaghetti on an old man's head.

All because I was in a hurry.

What a night!

Andrea was the only server with me that night. Just when I was about to leave, she asked me to fill in for her because her stomach was a little upset and she needed to use the potty real quick.

"Really?" I groaned, throwing my hands up in the air. "Oh, great, now I'm stuck taking Evan's orders."

I peered over the counter, taking deep breaths. Just as I thought, Evan had chosen the spot where he could see me go in and out of the kitchen. Smart boy. Well, I could see him now looking straight back at me. He was sitting with his team mates, Lance, Reece, Roman, and Seth. None of the cheerleaders were there, so thank goodness for that. I seriously couldn't stand those girls.

I took a deep breath. You can do this, Clarey. As I was chanting inside my head, the song "Eye of the tiger" came on. I laughed at how perfect timing that music came up. I really needed it to pump myself up like I was about to get in the boxing ring.

Hilarious.

I plastered on a fake smile as I walked up to them. "How are you lovely boys doing today?"

I sound so pathetic. My brother, the annoying Corey, would probably laugh his ass off if he ever found out about this.

As usual, I took all his friends' orders first. When it was time for me to take Evan's order, his cocky side erupted once again.

"Hey, babe. You know what my order is, the usual." He wiggled his eyebrows and then winked at me.

I snickered. "Oh, yeah, of course." As I turned my back, I was already cursing under my breath, my nose fuming like a dragon's.

A few minutes later, I came back with their food. After placing their orders on the table, I left Evan's triple fudge banana split by itself on the tray. I stared down at Evan. He was grinning devilishly back at me. The little prick doesn't have a clue on what's about to happen.

"Uhm, aren't you going to give me my order?" He asked as he stared at the dessert on my tray.

"Oh, yeah. Just a second, babe." I lifted the banana split off the tray as slowly as possible.

They were all looking at each other questioningly.

And what comes next will definitely go down in history. I started to pour his triple fudge banana split ice cream all over his head.

"What the fuck, CJ?" He yelled, quickly sliding out of his seat. He grabbed a table napkin to wipe all the ice cream off his face.

All the customers were now staring at the fiasco I just made.

"You're welcome." My lips twisted into a smile and I trudged away proudly like I just won the jackpot. I deserved to win an award for this, damnit.

I went straight to the back room, taking my apron off. My eyes stung so bad. I went to the restroom and splashed my face with cold water. The manager, who was my aunt, began knocking on the door nonstop demanding for me to come out and explain what had just happened.

*

Outside, I sat down on the wooden bench and waited for Trevor to pick me up. He would pick me up a few times a week so I could save on gas.

"What the hell was that all about?" It was Evan, sans the ice cream. He looked cleaner now with a light blue sweatshirt.

"Payback's a bitch, aint it?" I smirked.

"CJ, I already told you I was sorry!"

I just nibbled on my bottom lip, refusing to talk to him. Trevor's truck finally came into view. Evan glared at the truck and shifted his eyes back to me. Trevor came out and opened the door for me. I immediately got up from the bench and ran toward the truck. Evan shook his head in disbelief when he saw me give Trevor a peck on the cheek. You should've seen his face! I wish I was able to record moments like that. It would have been epic seeing his confused face repeatedly.

"CJ!" He shouted. He ran a hand down his face.

I ignored him, flipping him the bird. "Let's go, Trevor."

As we drove away, Trevor held my hand. "You okay?"

I took my hand away from him. Trevor holding my hand was a bit on the uncomfortable side. I wasn't happy doing this, just so you know. He was my best bud ever since kindergarten, nothing more.

"You dumped ice cream on Evan's head?" He chuckled. "That was freakin' awesome."

I suppressed a smile. "Wait, how did you know about that?"

"Uh, social media, where else?" He snickered. "Someone had it up as their status."

Wow, gossip sure travels faster than the speed of light. Do you think the whole student body knows? I'm sure they all do. I've risked so much just to get back at him.

"Hey, do you think he bought the whole you-and-me-dating thing?" Lance glanced at me.

I shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. Just by the look on his face earlier, I'm sure he's quite convinced."

Trevor held my hand again and gave it a squeeze. "Why don't we make it official? It'll be way easier."

I shot him a glare and swatted his hand away. "Shut up, McAllister. You signed up for this."

Yeah, he did. He was the one who formulated the whole idea to make Evan jealous. I thought it was a great idea to play around with him, and it's about time we turn the tables on him once and for all.

"Clarey, I was only kidding." He laughed.

I took a deep breath as I massaged my temples. Dumping ice cream on Evan was nothing compared to what I'm about to do to him next. I'm going to hit him right where it hurts.

My target?

His heart.