CHAPTER 15
Desperate Apologies and Meet Cutes

"Umm... hi." 

I frowned and closed my locker before turning towards the source of the sound. Cole stood there awkwardly with his hands stuffed in his pocket. 

My eyes widened as I took in his swollen lips, puffed up nose and the prominent red bruise to the side of his right eye, "Blake did quite a number on you, didn't he?" 

"In my defense, I was drunk and he was sober." He reasoned. 

"Fair enough." I shrugged, "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you." He said. 

"Talk to me?" I asked letting out a mocking laugh, "You can barely say a word with that limp mouth of yours." 

"I think I can speak very well." He said, ironically mispronouncing half the sentence. 

"You can't." I said, "But why did you want to talk to me?" 

"Did you hear the rumors?" He asked hesitantly. 

Oh yes, there are new rumors going on around school. Apparently, I had been cheating on my "boyfriend", Blake for months with Cole and we were finally caught in the act last night, which lead to the great fight between the two boys. 

"Of course." I replied, "And poor, innocent Terra had no part in it all. I'm the cheating whore who came in between you two." 

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't know that people would make a big deal out of it." He said, "If it makes you feel any better, I did correct a few people who were talking about it this morning. And I heard that Blake was doing the same too." 

"No, Cole. It does not make me feel better." I said, making him sigh. 

"I'm sorry again. Not only for the rumors but also for last night's behavior." 

"Apology not accepted. You can leave now." I said shooing him with my hands. 

"Please, Addy. I said I'm sorry." 

"And I don't care." 

"Add–" 

"Cole" I cut him off, "I have classes to get to. So, if you'll excuse me, I have to leave now." I said and started walking towards my class. 

A deep frown formed on my face as he started matching my steps along my side. 

"Leave me alone, Cole." 

"I will. After you accept my apology." He said. 

"If I accept it, will you leave?" I asked to which he nodded. 

"Okay, fine. You're forgiven." I said. 

He grinned and said "thank you" before walking towards his class. With an eye-roll, I entered the empty class. I sat on my seat at the back of the class before taking out my textbook and going through it. 

"Lynne!" 

I jumped from my seat as I heard Blake's voice ring right into my left ear. 

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I asked as I placed a hand on my heart, trying to calm myself down. "You're not in this class."

"You didn't answer my calls." He said as he took the seat beside me.

His face didn't look as bad as Cole's. All he had was a cut on his lower lip and a dark shade of red right below his cheekbone. 

"I don't even get your calls anymore because I blocked you after the eighteen times you called in the morning." 

"Why did you block me?" He pouted. 

"Because I didn't want to talk to you, Blake. Take a hint." 

"Please Lynne, let me explain myself." 

I huffed, "Go ahead."

"She asked for a ride home and I just couldn't say no. How rude would I have been if I just left her all alone at a party where she had no friends?" 

"I understand." I said.

His eyes widened in surprise, "You do?" 

"I do understand. All you did was show kindness to a girl who was in need of help. And you were too nice to say no to her." 

"Exactly!" He said, "I'm so glad you understoo–" 

"But by now, you should know that I have absolutely no value for kindness and helpfulness. You can go now." I said before turning my attention back to my textbook. 

"Please Lynne, you can't punish me for being nice." He pleaded grabbing my hand which I quickly pulled away. 

"Speaking of you being nice", I scoffed, "Did you see Cole today?" 

"No, why?" 

"Oh, no reason." I casually replied, "It's just that 'Blake's Nice' is written in bold all over his face." 

"He was asking for it." He mumbled.

"Really? I didn't hear him." I teased. 

"You know what I mean." He mumbled, "And are you seriously taking his side? He's the one who started it." 

"After you provoked him." I pointed out, "Besides, you didn't have to be so brutal with him." 

"I may have lost a little control in the moment of anger." 

"Moment of anger?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, "Why? Did Cole calling that bitch his hit a soft spot."

"No, because he– Forget about it." He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

The frown he wore on his face made him look very defeated and I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I brought my hand up and gently touched the bruise on the side of his face, making him open his eyes to look at me. 

"So, am I forgiven?" He asked softly. 

"No way." I replied and quickly poked my finger on the wound, making him wince. 

"Ouch, you're so violent." 

"I am violent? Cole would give other suggestions for that title." 

"Could you stop talking about him?" He asked annoyed. 

I chuckled and let my finger softly trail down the rest of his bruise until it reached the end. My finger then dropped down to the cut on his lip, causing him to slightly part his lips. 

"Does it still hurt?" I asked him softly and he lightly shook his head as a 'no', making me smile at him. 

I tried to not care, but it was harder than I expected it to be. After seeing Cole's face earlier, I was really worried to see how bad Blake would look. When he showed up in class, I was so relieved to see him that I wanted to just kiss him senseless, but I had to resist those urges. 

He watched me raptly as I traced his lip with my finger. He softly touched my hand and puckered his lips to place a kiss on my finger, making my heart race in an abnormal pace.  

"Mr. Vanderbilt!" Mrs. Davis' voice boomed all over the class, interrupting our moment. 

I quickly dropped my hand from BIake's lip before looking around the class that had filled up with students who were all staring at us intently. 

Blake gave her an irritated look before turning back to me. 

"You have this sick old hag as your teacher?" He whisper-shouted, making the students sitting around me snicker. 

"Am I interrupting something?" She asked.

He took a deep breath before turning towards her. "Yes, you are. Isn't that obvious?" 

"That's not how you talk to your teachers, Mr. Vanderbilt. And you are not in this class, so I want you out." 

"Patience, I'll leave when I'm done." He said and turned back to me. 

"Please forgi–" 

"Leave the class now!" Mrs. Davis ordered, "I already have to deal with you and your unholy words for two other periods today. I am not willing to spend more time with you." 

Blake rolled his eyes and looked at her, "The faster I'm done with this, the faster I leave. So, don't interrupt me." 

He then turned to me, "Lynne, I'm really sor–" 

"Leave, or I'll take you to the principal." 

Blake smirked before turning back to her, "You mean the same principal who falls at my family's feet? Good luck with that." 

"Blake, leave." I told him softly which made him turn his attention back to me. 

"But–" 

"Now!" I ordered. 

He slumped his shoulders, "Fine. I'll talk to you later." 

"No, you won't." I said shaking my head. 

He sighed before walking out of the class but only after giving Mrs. Davis one last glare. 

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

On my way to the parking lot after school, I found Cole leaning against his car, holding a single rose in his hand. When he spotted me, he gave a small wave but I ignored him and continued walking. 

"Addy, wait." I heard him shout. I groaned as I stopped in my tracks until he caught up with me. 

"What's wrong? I thought we were good." He asked. 

"We are good. But that does not mean that I have to be nice to you all the time." I said, making him chuckle.

"Of course. I guess I'll have to deal with rude Addy for a while." He said. 

"Yes, you will." I said before eyeing the rose in his hands. 

"Why are you making a fool of yourself and carrying a rose around?" I asked. 

"Oh, it's for Terra." He replied. "Every time we have an argument, I get her a rose and we sort out our problems. It's a tradition." He said, wearing a bright smile on his face. 

My face scrunched up, "What a boring tradition!" 

"But it means a lot to both of us. It's reminds us of the first time we met." He said as he twirled the rose in his hands.

"I don't want to kn–"

"It all started when we were eight." He began, "It was her mom's first day at my house and as I was looking out the window, I saw a little girl staring at a rose bush growing in the garden." 

"Look, it sounds really cute. But I don't car–" 

"I walked towards her and asked her if she wanted a rose. She said yes, so I went to pluck it but unfortunately, I got prickled by the thorn." 

"You took a thorn for her. How romantic!" I exclaimed sarcastically. 

"Yes, it is." He agreed with a grin, failing to notice my sarcasm.

"Then, she took a band-aid from her bag and carefully wrapped it around my finger before placing a kiss on it." 

"Is it over?" I asked but he ignored me and continued.

"Even though I didn't get her the rose, she thanked me for trying. And we have been best friends ever since. So, every time we fight, we fix our friendship with a rose." 

I gave him a bored look, "That's the lamest thing that I've ever heard."

He deadpanned, "Then how did you and Blake meet? I bet it's going to be really cute." 

"Oh yes, it is." I replied. 

"Asher and I were friends since diapers as our fathers went to college together, so he was the only person I knew when I joined school at the age of ten." I explained. 

"On my first day, he introduced me to his douche bag of a best friend, Blake who then said that I reminded him of a seventy-year-old cartoon character because of how light my hair was. It was love at first sight." I finished sarcastically.  

"He was an asshole even back then." Cole scoffed and I let out a single chuckle. 

I continued walking towards my car and Cole walked along with me.

"Why give her the rose at school? Doesn't she live with you?" I asked. 

"Yeah, she does. But if my mom catches us together, we're both dead." 

I smirked, "I love your mom." I said making him roll his eyes.

Once we reached my car, I was about to open the door to the driver's seat when he stopped me. 

"What?" I asked. 

"I wanted to talk to you about something." He said as he awkwardly played with a petal of the rose. 

"Umm... about last night.... I... umm...." I watched in amusement as he ran his free hand through his golden-brown hair.

"I was really drunk and upset that Terra liked Blake, so.... I-I... we.... you know....." 

I smirked at him, "I don't know, Cole. Do enlighten me." 

He gave me a pointed look, "Addy, really?" 

I laughed, "After the enthusiasm you showed last night, I didn't expect you to be so awkward about it." 

"Well, I didn't expect you to be so casual about it." 

I chuckled and shook my head, "Stop being so awkward and just tell me what you want to say." 

He took a deep breath, "Last night was a mistake. I'm sorry that I kissed you." 

"Don't be sorry. I thought it was really hot and sexy." I teased making his eyes widen and I laughed at the look on his face. 

"Chill Cole." I said once my laughter died, "I was just kidding. Let's just forget that it ever happened. Alright?" I asked and his face visibly relaxed. 

"Let's just forget that I made your dick stand so damn straight that it was ready to walk off." I joked and he shut his eyes tightly as he cringed, making me laugh in satisfaction. 

"The rumors were true?" Cole and I snapped out heads towards the annoying voice coming from behind us.

Of course.

Terra Hale.

Author's Note

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Signed,
Me