Chapter Four
Ash
He ignored me. One second he was fingering my fucking messages, probably thinking about me just like I was thinking about him, and the next, he was ignoring me again. Fuck him. I’ll just jerk off on my own then. Still, this wasn’t about to go away. My feelings for him were only growing stronger.
It bugged me all night though, and by the next morning, when I was wearing that goddamn stuffy uniform again, and walking the halls, I kept an eye open for him, because I was about to make him pay for it.
“Heyyyy the King’s back!” That was followed by some of the guys chanting my name, but after a brief moment to enjoy the cheering, I locked eyes with that fucker, Cal, and stormed in his direction.
His eyes widened with panic just as I crashed into him, knocking him back into his locker with a loud clang.
“Jesus, Ash!”
I locked a hand around his throat and leaned close.
“That’s the last fucking time you ignore me, you repressed little shit.”
“Ash! People are staring!” Yeah, I could fucking feel their eyes on me, but wasn’t that just like him to care more about what people might think?
Cal struggled to push me away and I shoved him back again, grinning when he groaned with pain as his elbows crashed back against the metal of the lockers.
“Ash!”
“Next time I text you, you better fucking answer me, you hear?”
He closed his eyes, his head pressing back against the closed locker door. My eyes locked on the shape of his jaw, and the tiny scar near his bottom lip. I wanted to suck that lip and, maybe if we hadn’t been interrupted, I would have.
“Guys, the head’s coming this way,” Gary Lester warned me, as the crowd started to dissipate, our shield from that bastard’s eyes fleeing the impending disaster.
“This isn’t over, Cal. Get used to me being in your life, because I’m going to be all over you.”
“Ash, get the fuck off me and stay away! I don’t want you near me.”
“What?”
“Boys! What’s going on here?”
“Get off me, and get lost, you fucking perv.”
Perv? I drew back my arm and punched him right in his smug mouth, and my second punch was delayed only by strong arms grabbing hold of me and dragging me back.
“Get your fucking hands off me before I end you!” I screamed at the person holding me, spinning and shoving them back, drawing my arm back again to punch whoever the fuck it was. Oh shit. The headmaster.
This time the meeting didn’t go as well as last time. Can’t say that was a total surprise.
“Expelled? Come on, please. There has to be some kind of recompense we can offer, some kind of resolution,” dad Dory practically demanded of the head-asshole. Mum was wringing her hands in front of her like this was a big deal, but it fucking wasn’t.
“I can’t have someone so volatile and violent among the student body. He’s a danger to his classmates.”
“This kid he allegedly punched, did he start this? Where’s he? Where the hell are his parents right now?”
The head laced his fingers in front of him on his desk. “The other student was his victim. As was I. Let me just make that clear to you. Your son turned on me, and tried to punch me.”
“Bullshit,” I hissed, glaring at all three of them as their eyes landed on me. “If I wanted to punch you, I’d have fucking punched you. I showed great restraint.”
The head sighed, but truthfully, he really didn’t look like he was sorry to say this.
“As you can see, he’s unrepentant, unapologetic, and lacks remorse for all of his actions to date.”
“Wow, you realise those words all mean the same fucking thing, right?” And they say I’m dumb.
“ASH! Shut up and leave this to us!” Dad Dory yelled at me.
“There’s nothing left to say. I’m very sorry to have to do this to you again, but your child is no longer enrolled at this school, and we’d like him off the premises as soon as possible. If he’s seen here again, I’ll call the police.”
Shit. My parents stood up, and dad grabbed my arm, dragging me up from my seat. I was nearly as tall as him, but he had plenty of muscle on me right now. One day I’d be stronger though. One day nobody would be pushing me around.
“Let’s go. You’ve really done it this time, Ash.”
Callum
I saw them leading him back out of the school, and I know he saw me, because he fixed me with a fierce glare and flashed a middle finger at me.
I think they’d planned to get him out before classes ended, and we were filling the hallways, but maybe it was always meant to happen this way, so we’d lock eyes, and I’d see his malice for me.
I felt guilty though, because I’d never meant for him to be expelled. That was clearly what had happened, since his parents stopped with him at his locker, and they cleared out the few things he’d stashed in there, and he slammed the door with a loud bang.
What would happen to him now? He had to finish the school year and complete next year, along with his exams. How would that be possible now?
I knew his sister had ended up being homeschooled after she was expelled from here, so I guess that would be the plan for him too.
How awful it must have been for his parents to be dealing with a second child of theirs being expelled from school.
It’s pretty rare, to be honest, for any kid to get expelled, but he did try to punch the headmaster, so yeah, I guess there was no other way it could go down.
“Are you okay? I heard that prick punched you!” I groaned as Brenda from my English class joined me at my locker.
She was always flirting with me, and touching my arm, and stuff, and I just wasn’t interested.
I should be, but I’m just not. Cool fingers touched my cheek and I flinched, turning to see her pulling her hand back.
“You’re going to have a nasty bruise there.”
I glared at her, and shoved my books in my locker. I didn’t need them for the next class, since we’d be changing into gym stuff.
“Yeah, doesn’t hurt.”
She followed me down the hall, instead of going for her own class, whatever the hell it might be.
“Why did he hit you? Is he bullying you?”
Was he? It seemed like something more. Something a little sinister, if I’m honest. What did he want from me exactly?
It seemed like he was intent on being in my life, but aside from having some mutual friends, I had no idea why it mattered to him.
Or maybe I was just fooling myself, trying to pretend he wasn’t looking for more than friendship.
He was too intense, too intent on spending time with me.
He sent me dick pics, for heaven’s sake!
“No. He was just, I don’t know, being a bellend. You should get to class.”
Why did I feel like I wanted to text Ash that evening to see if he was okay?
Even though he’d been expelled from school, he might still be able to train with us in the football club, since it’s not run by the school.
Was I nervous to see him? Afraid? Excited?
I had no idea. He was the quintessential bad boy, but his behaviour around me was unnerving, because he was showing the kind of interest he should be aiming at girls.
Was he sending them pictures of his genitals too? I had a feeling it was just me.
My mum had fussed so much over the bruise on my face when I got home, but for some reason, I didn’t tell her it was Ash, because news had already reached her of his expulsion, and she already thought he was a ‘demon child’ because of his strange parentage.
He had three parents, for heaven’s sake.
Three. How did that even work? None of them were married, which was another sticking point for my parents, although they all used the name Cross, as if they were all married.
I went to take a shower, but my head was still full of thoughts of Ash, and his terrible anger, and the way he seemed to always be watching me, or following me.
There was something enticing about that, even though such an idea was forbidden.
Was my interest in him more than as a friend?
Was that why I was struggling with his persistence?
Was it because I didn’t want to push him away as much as I did, as much as I knew I had to?
I ignored the fact that thoughts of him were causing stirrings within me, because the sad truth was that I couldn’t be interested in him, as a friend or anything else.
My family would never allow it, and if I was caught getting too close to him, I’d probably get sent away to live with my uncle, and he was even stricter than my parents, even more obsessively faithful to his church, and their restrictive, bigoted ways.
That was the last thing I wanted. I just had to toe the line for a few more years, then I could get my freedom.