Ugly - Jaira Burns
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Two years earlier...

"Hey, what are you doing sitting at that table? You're my boyfriend now, sit with me at our table," I say in irritation to that nerd, holding my food in cafeteria.

"I'm not sure if I should. Other boys already look at me with daggers in their eyes, it will make it even worse and also, I'll look like a pigeon in between you all hyenas," he says innocently not even looking at me, still sitting at his table.

He's good with words.

I keep my food at his table, bow to his level, catch his lips onto mine and start kissing him. He's caught off guard, but then he opens his mouth and starts to respond with his tongue. I sit on his lap, close my eyes and start using my tongue too. His mouth tastes something like butterscotch, which turns out to be my favourite ice cream flavour. My hands entangled in his hair and his on my waist.

I break from it and say in a very low voice,"Nobody can say anything to you except me, okay?"

He nods.

"Now, I'll eat at your table," I sit at one of the chairs around his table and start to eat. "Well, what's your name?"

"Ethan," he replies.

I'll have to say, Ethan, for a person with braces, you're a good kisser.

                 ------------------------

Present...

I open the dorm room door for Kelsa, just to see her standing with a dirty smirk on her face, hands on her hips and swinging around.

"I knew. I knew you would open the door even before I said Jack Robinson, if I mentioned about it to you," she says wickedly. "Well, now as I'm thinking about it again, I should have kept it for another time to have an upper hand on you," she tsks, " I wasted my element of surprise."

Anger flaring over my face, my fists, closed tight and my knuckles start to turn white. Alexis and Jenny come to stand on either side of me.

"What do you want, bitch?" Alexis outbursts on her.

"Oh, look who's here, Hayden's little cute sister who can't get enough of Jayden, right?" Kelsa again says.

I want to cuss at her and punch her face so hard, but I can't. I'll have to calm down and handle the situation in the way which I'm taught to by my therapist.

"Excuse me, can you tell me what do you know about me? Because as much as I know about myself, I don't have a habit of interfering into other's business and I definetly don't roam about, trying to break through one's door and hold possession for something which definetly isn't mine," I speak without giving a break.

Two girls walking past our room stare at us after listning to us and make sounds of Ooo's.

"Bitch, did you get burnt?" one of them asks faking a sympathy towards her as the other one laughs.

That made me proud of my comeback.

"This is not over, Hawkins," that's the last words from her as she leaves.

Seriously, I should make myself used to those lines since everybody says that to me, I think. Seems like I have quite a few unfinished business with many.

"That made my day, girl," the latter one from them says, still laughing as they make their way towards their room.

I close the door. With a smile and a feeling of proudness, after a very long time, I walk towards the bed and sigh.

"Girl, you're good with words," Alexis comments.

"Learnt from the best," a very small smile comes up on my face as I speak.

"And who might that best person be?"

"Ethan," I say as I remeber the first time when I thought of him to be a person good with words.

"I'm sorry, who?"

"The boy who loved me, was nice and got nothing but torture and struggle in return," hair on my arms rise as I remember back of those days

I shake my head to remove those memories which possibly had gotten dumped somewhere inside me, maybe for a quite while but now have resurfaced.

                  -----------------------

"Like, why does that bitch has to be so mean?" Jenny asks sounding exadperated.

"Because she is Kelsa and nobody else," Alexis replies with a little smirk.

"What about Kelsa, sis?" Hayden asks Alexis while eating off his chicken lasagnã that we are in a diner.

"You know Hayden, that mean, shit-faced bitch came to our dorm room, banged at the door like some lunatic person and threatened Bernice," Alexis speaks, infuriated.

"Tell me more," Hayden becomes curious. God knows why.

"Well, uh--," Alexis looks at me, not knowing what to tell next as Hayden doesn't knows the 'sins of my past'.

"It's a long story actually. Just know that she threatens me by something that she shouldn't be knowing about my past and wants me to be around....a 100 miles of radius away from Nathaniel," I say the rest part dryly.

Hayden's face seems to be kind of mortified and looks somewhere between me and Alexis. And then he stands up abruptly from the table.

"I-I think I forgot to do my assignment due tomorrow. I'll have to get going. See you guys," he says distraughtly and leaves in a hurry.

"Well, that was quiet surprising," Jenny states.

"And irresponsible. I mean, that's what happens when you fidget around whole week with your 'so-called' friends and girls and forget about your assignments," a feeling of responsibility reflecting in Alexis' voice.

"Is that our Alexis ?"

"Anyways," she rolls her eyes.

                  ----------------------

We reach Hayden's room as Alexis, being his sister, felt pity for him and wanted to help in whatever way she can.

Alexis opens the door by the knob as I and Jenny are behind her talking amongst ourselves.

"What the fuck, Hayden," Alexis screams and we both walk closer to the door to see what made her scream.

"What is i-," I stop mid-sentence as I see inside the room.

It's a quite surprising scene, if I must say.

I never expected to see the brother of my best friend with the girl, whom we just spat shit about in front of him, lying half naked and having a hot make-out on the bed.

Surprises do happen.

"What the hell, get out," Hayden yells and puts on his shirt.

Kelsa sits up and starts wearing her clothes too while giving us a dreadful look.

"I won't," Alexis says trying to hold her laugh, "OMG. This is your assignment due tomorrow?"

"What?" Kelsa asks wryly, looking at Hayden.

"Who knew my brother would be dating a snoby bitch whom I hate the most. Or maybe loathe," Alexis says mockingly.

"Well, the feeling is mutual. And no, we aren't dating," she says offensively.

"We're not?" Hayden looks disappinted.

"No, we're aren't. I love Nathaniel, not you. You are just my--what's that called-a toy."

"A toy? Well, fuck you and get out of my room," he spits at her.

"Didn't you already do that. And for the latter part, I was just gonna go from here. Can't stand these rats over her," she gives a side look at Alexis and me.

She walks out of the room with her head held high and shoulders back. Thinks she did something award winning. Total bitch.

"I would want an explaination for that," demands, Alexis.

"Later on, please. I need some rest and time alone," he replies.

"As you wish."

We too head back to our respective rooms.

Too much drama for a day.

                 -----------------------

"I'm sorry for the bad I've done," I feel very small in front him.

"As if that 'sorry' of yours can change anything," he says in wrath." What's done is done. You can't bring my life back to normal."

"I know, I-"

"No, you don't. You can't bring me back to my people. I'm gone for them. But I'm not for you, I'll haunt you till the day you die."

"No, please don't do this. Please, I promise I'll do everything and anything I can to make it all normal."

He is facing me as he slowly walks backward to the end of the cliff.

"Good try, but as if you can," he says lastly with empty and emotionless voice when his one foot is no longer on the ground and he falls from the cliff.

"Nooo..."

I wake up.

"Hey, bernice. What happened?" Alexis asks worriedly.

"Nothing," I try to shove it off.

"Looking at the amount of sweat you've got, seems like you were having a realy heavy sex dream. With Nathaniel," she winks and starts laughing at the statement." Well, sorry for my inappropriate-ness."

"No, truthfully, it helped me loosen up," I smiled, "Just saw a sort of nightmare."

"You wanna talk about it."

"Not really."

"Ok, whenever you feel like."

"Thanks."

It's around 3 in the morning, so I decide to sleep some more although I know I might not be getting some. Not after such a dream.

             ------------------------------

"I still can't stop laughing," says Alexis between small giggles.

"Yeah, that was kind of unexpected," I think of yesterday.

"Hi, Bernice." I turn around to face the owner of the voice.

"Oh hi, Nathaniel," I greet him.

"I was thinking if you're free today?" He asks so confidently, his one hand at the strap of his bag and the other in his pocket.

"Yeaahhh," I stretch it a little thinking, why did he ask. "Why'd you ask?"

"Our coffee date yesterday didn't go as we expected. So, I thought that we could hang out today. You and me?"

I look towards Alexis just to find her exitedly nodding and asking me to say yes."Ok, sure, why not?"

Wait. I said yes so exitedly as if was just wanting a chance, I think to myself. Even when I made myself clear that I won't do it.

Don't trust him.

I think back about that message.

That can just be a prank, I try to console myself.

"Ok, meet you outside the college at 5," he gives a very attractive smirk and leaves.

"Yeah," I say breathly after seeing that smirk.

He then gives a wink, turns around and leaves.

"HOLY MY FUCKING SHIT, BERNICE, he just asked you on a date," Alexis squels.

I cover her mouth for I don't want Nathaniel to think that I like hime. As if I don't.

"God, shut up. It's not a date you fool, he said hang out,"I try to correct her.

"But he also said coffee date which you were refusing to be the last time I checked," she grins.

"You won't shut now, will you?"

"You think?"

"No."

And with that, we move towards out wing.

                 ----------------------------

I get dressed in a floral blue summer dress and hair down with one twist on either side.

I walk out of college campus and see Nathaniel outside, leaning against the wall, one leg on the wall and being busy with his phine while his one hand is inside his pocket.

Oh, how I love that stance!

I walk towards him greet him chirping-ly.

"Hi."

"Oh, hi," he slides his phone into his pocket after realizing I was standing there.

"So, where are we going?"

"You can wait," he says with a little frown as he heads towards a motorbike.

Oh yeah, now that's something I call fun.

He gets on the bike and motions me to get on too as he wears the helmet and gives me one too.

I put on the helmet and get on behind him.

"Ready?" He asks.

"Yupp, totaly," I answer exitedly.

He revives the motorbike and heads to God knows where.

After 15 minutes of fast ride, he parks the bike.

I follow him as he stops in front of the icecream shop.

"Which one do you wanna eat?"

"Butterscotch."

He asks the shopkeeper as he buys the same for himself too.

When we are out of the shop, we start talking about random things and walk aimlessly.

"Okay, let's play a game. You'll run and I'll catch you," he suggests. We're done eating our ice-cream long time ago.

"Fine."

"1, 2, 3, run."

And I run.

I run as fast as I can, sneaking a glance in backward directions a few times to check how far he is from catching me, laughing and enjoying.

"You won't stay away from me for much long," he screams.

Now, I feel his shadow lingering near to me and my legs becoming heavy just when he holds me from behind by my waist as my legs swing up.

"I told you so," he says in my ears as he lands me on the ground and turns me to face him.

"You can't resist to stay away from me," he says again.

I breath heavily, first, because of running. And second, because of our proximity and his words.

I look up to glance at him. It's dark now and the moonlight on his is just doing right things to his face.

He stares down at my lips. And I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel my heart skip a beat.

I stare at his lips now. Our faces come closer and closer as at last there's no space left and our lips finally collide. My hands go straight to his hair while his remain at my waist.

Our kiss starts with a very slow pace but soon I feel his tongue on my lower lip asking for entrance.

I grant him access by opening my mouth. And fight my tongue too to feel his mouth. My body is on fire for God knows what reason.

He tastes like butterscotch.

I don't know if he tastes so because I ate butterscotch icecream just know or because he ate that too, I think.

I anyways love this flavour.

Or maybe because it's his natural mouth taste. Just like Ethan?