11. Seth

I hope you're proud.

Who does she think she is? My mother? Jesus, not even my mother talks to me like that.

I fall back onto my bed and heave a sigh. How can this person turn my whole life around in the matter of a week? A freaking week! This is insane. My life has been more eventful/messed up in the last week than ever! Ok, that might be an exaggeration but this is no good... I won't let this girl walk all over me. She thinks, she's all that, pointing her finger at others and always trying to 'fix' everything. 

Don't fix what isn't broken, is what I say.

"I don't like her," Paulina pouts as she throws herself on top of me. "I don't like her if you don't like her."

"Don't say stupid stuff like that, Poppy." I snap.

"I'm not stupid!"

"Then don't say stupid stuff." She huffs and gets off my bed, crossing her chubby arms in front of her chest. Her bottom lip pops out in a quiver and her forehead creases slightly, "Don't cry! I'm sorry. Ugh..."

This is all Arya's fault! She should have never come here in the first place and now this is what I've got. Poppy doesn't do well with strangers... especially my friends.

She's the main reason why I don't bring them here anymore. The only friend Poppy can deal with is Brice. Whenever I try to bring others over, my little devil of a baby sister either throws a fit or chucks my mothers beloved China at them.

My head pounds terribly so I twist around to grab one of the pain killers, placed neatly in a box on my nightstand. I pop it into my mouth and swallow it with a sip of water.

Poppy frowns, "You feel bad still?"

"Hmm..." I rub my hand across my face and pat the space next to me on my bed.

Paulina hesitates for a second but jumps onto my bed, sitting next to me. She scrambles to her knees and wraps her arms around my neck. I can't suppress a smile and start rubbing her back.

"Look, all of this is grown-up business and I need you to just forget about it, ok? This girl, Arya, she puts her nose into peoples business even though it has nothing to do with her. She is annoying-" Before I can continue my rant, Paulina pulls away to furrow her brow at me.

"And she cusses."

"That she does! Just... forget this ever happened, ok? And not a word about this to anyone!"

"Yessir," she salutes, holding her chubby hand to her forehead and giggles. "What were we talking about again?" She taps her chin with her index finger.

"I need you to forget about-" I start again, about to explain the whole thing once more when Paulina bursts into a fit of giggles.

"I was acting like I forgot, silly!" Poppy laughs and like a flash, she is out of my room, slamming the door behind her.

I admit, I feel a bit guilty for making Arya look bad in front of Paulina. Not for Arya's sake of course but because Paulina already has problems trusting people in general. But since I'm not planning on bringing Arya back here it doesn't really matter.

None of this matters. 

As soon as Monday comes around, everything will be back to normal. I will go to school and I will be the old Seth. The Seth that everybody knows. The Seth that has got me this far. 

There is no way I'm letting this girl mess with me anymore. She's done enough. If anything, this has motivated me even more to show her how things work around here. She doesn't seem to quite get it yet. On Monday, she won't have her cousin, watching out for her. 

I'll show her "proud".

The weekend drags on endlessly. I spend most of my time in bed, slightly hazy from pain killers and ignoring my phone all together. When Monday morning finally rolls around, I almost feel excited to be going back to school!

I am now sitting in my car, Paulina in the back, waiting for the traffic light to go green.

"The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, ROUND AND ROUND!" She sings cheerfully, dancing in her seat.

"We're not even on the bus!" I interrupt like I usually do, glancing at her through the rearview mirror.

"Fine..." She clears her throat dramatically. "The wheels on the CAR go round and round, round and round, round and round."

"Much better."

I drop Poppy off at the day care and drive off towards school. I'm still much too early but I can't be bothered to drive around town any longer. I need to get out of this car and back into my natural habitat. 

As I pull into the schools parking lot, I realize that I'll probably have all eyes on me. I mean, I usually do anyway but today it's going to be even more than usual. Nobody really knows what happened at the game and I'm sure, they're dying to get it out of me.

Great. Oh well, I guess, that's what popularity comes with. I should be used to this by now.

Walking the hallway this early feels odd. Something just feels off. This used to not be the case. I used to walk this hallway with my head held high. No matter what!

Whatever happens at home, no matter how shitty I feel, I usually manage to forget about it all as soon as I enter these halls. But not today.

For some reason, there is a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach that something is going to happen today.

Something bad.

"Way to ruin my morning." I hear someone mutter as I enter the usual classroom. 

I'm not surprised when I see Arya at the front of the class, not in her usual seat. I roll my eyes at her  and walk past her. Of course I don't expect her to sit next to me after what happened but, even though I should be thankful, it kind of irks me. It's like she thinks, she has the upper hand. Maybe she feels like she can control me. But she can't. And that's exactly why I'm not playing after her rules.

"This seat taken?" I ask but before she gets the chance to reply, I already slap my books on the desk and slip into the seat next to her.

"It is now." She mumbles under her breath, clearly annoyed.

Glancing at the clock above the door, I realize that it's still ten minutes until class starts. The perfect time to kick my mission into gear.

"So, you've been fighting it pretty hard, huh?" I say in a mocking tone, turning my chair a little so I'm facing Arya.

Instead of answering my question, she opens her notepad and starts writing, ignoring me completely. She's good at this game. But I'm better. In the matter of a second, the notepad is snatched away from under her hands. A winning smile forms on my face and I can only imagine what she's thinking right now. Maybe she'll finally understand how things work around here.

"Stop being such a damn child!" She hisses, looking around the classroom that has started to fill with nosy students.

"Why? It's fun!" I chuckle and flip open the notebook. 

What I see shocks me for a second and I can feel my jaw drop. My eyes try to focus on the sketch before me but before I can truly register what I'm seeing, the notebook is snatched from my hands. Arya stuffs it into her bag and gets out of her seat.

"Stop being such a fucking asshole, man! What do you want me to do? I already switched seats and yet here you are!" I get out of my seat as well but can only stare at her, dumbfounded.

"Do I have to drop this class? Is that what it takes to finally get you off my back?!" She slams into me as she heads for another free seat at the back of the class, leaving me alone at the front. I can hear people oo-ing and chuckling from behind me so I turn to glare at them for a second before sitting back down in my seat.

The sketch flashes in front of my eyes once more and I sigh.

In conclusion, instead of showing her who's in control here, I just proved that I'm a complete and utter asshole. Not that anyone has ever denied that but I really don't need anymore proof of it myself.

Multiple pairs of eyes are burning holes into my back right now and I would love to turn around and tell them all to mind their own business but I've had enough stress for the rest of my life. I'm fucking pissed at the world right now and I know that if I confront these people, I probably wouldn't be able to hold anything back... and that would have a really ugly ending.

"Seth! What is up your ass today?" Brice slaps my back when we enter the cafeteria.

"What's up yours?" I snap, annoyed.

"Dude..." He abruptly stops walking in front of me and puts his hands on my shoulders to stop me as well. "I'm your best friend. We've been best friends since kindergarten. If shit is on your mind, you know you can tell me!"

"Stop being such a goddamn chick." I try to avoid his eyes and step away but he digs his fingers into me. "Seriously, Brice, let go of me."

And that's what he does. He throws his hands up in the air and lets out a frustrated sigh, "Talk to me again when you pulled that dick out of your ass because I can't be bothered with this shit. I'm not gonna be your fucking babysitter. If you have something to tell me, you know where I live."

He storms off and my appetite is now officially down the drain so I leave the cafeteria. It's not like I could sit down at my usual table anyway... way too awkward. I hate fighting with Brice. He is like my brother and I like knowing that he will always have my back... But of course, me being me, I have to burn every single bridge that I ever built in the matter of two weeks. 

My hands pushed into my jean pockets, I stroll through the school hallways, facing the ground. 

Instead of worrying all the time, I should really start concentrating on my school shit. If I don't get my act together, mom will officially get me taken off the team and dad will tear my shit up. That man doesn't joke around when it comes to my career. 

He just can't accept the fact that I don't want to spend my life in a suit, pulling people through court. That's just not me.

"Oh no, that's fine, don't worry about it." I hear faint voices a couple feet away from me and I look up to see Arya a few feet away. She's kneeling on the ground, picking up her phone, notebook and some paper. Some dude is hovering above her, trying to help her but she won't let him. I quickly I hide behind some lockers.

"I should've watched where I was going." He apologizes. "Sorry. Here, let me help you up." When I peak around the lockers, he offers her his hand and I have to suppress to urge to roll my eyes.

For some reason, it makes me smile, when she pushes herself up without accepting his help. She brushes herself off and gives him a quick, friendly smile. She turns before he can say anything else and leaves, clutching her notebook to her chest.

I'm about to come out of my hiding and turn the other way, so I won't run into Arya but that's when I hear the dude, calling out for her. Immediately, I twist back around to find him running after her. They're now farther away and I can't make out what they're saying anymore.

For a split second, I wonder if I should get closer but then they'll definitely see me. Maybe I can use that to my advantage, though. I have never seen that kid before but he probably knows me and when he finds out that Arya is involved with me, he'll never even look at her anymore. 

So instead of walking off, I confidently stride towards the two of them. My eyes furrow when the guy puts his hand on Arya's shoulder and she flinches away slightly, wrapping her arms around her torso. 

"Ay!" I call out, making the guy turn around to face me. The look on his face, the smugness and the slight mischievous smirk has my fingers curling into fists involuntarily. 

Wait... I do recognize him. He is definitely in one of my classes, "Ethan... right?"

"History. Yes." He finishes my sentence for me, making me snicker.

"Right. Now, why would you be touching... that?" I sneer at Arya who tries to avoid eye contact with me at all cost. Looking like the deer in headlights, I'm surprised she hasn't run off yet. Ethan, standing behind her firmly must have something to do with that. 

"What do you mean 'that'? Surely you're not talking about her?" Ethan positions himself in front of me, squaring his shoulders. He is a good two inches taller than me but he doesn't scare me. For all I know, I could probably take him out in a second.

"What if I am?" 

"She has a fucking name, idiot!" He curses, nostrils flaring. When I glance at Arya, her face is beet red and she looks like she'd rather be swallowed up by the ground than continue standing here with us.

"So? Have you looked at her? She's more of an animal than a girl. She doesn't deserve to be called a name." The words form easily in my mind and I speak them with such venom, when my eyes flicker towards Arya, the expected crushed expression is clear.

Ignore it.

"Look, Seth," he spits out my name as if it's an insult, making me furious. "I don't know what you think you have on this girl but she surely doesn't deserve to be treated like that! Nobody does. Just because you get everything shoved up your spoiled ass by mommy and daddy, doesn't give you the right to judge others."

"Are you done, Ethan?" I mimic him, trying to contain myself.

"Are you done torturing her?!"

"Torturing her?" I lift an eyebrow at Ethan and then look at Arya with a smile. "She had this coming, my friend. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. You don't know me or her for that matter. You don't know what happened between us-"

"Nothing happened between us!" Arya spits, her voice unusually angry. That's the first time, I've heard her this angry. It makes the hairs on my arm stand up and a cold shiver go down my spine.

"Oh don't worry. Nobody is going to get the wrong impression here. They know I would never touch something as disgusting as you." Her eyes burn into mine but I can see the insecurities eating her up from the inside. What I saw in her notepad just moments before flashes in front of my eyes and I bite down on my tongue, my jaw clenching painfully.

"If that's what makes you sleep at night, Seth. Fine. Keep making fun of me. If it really boosts your ego and makes you feel better about yourself, I surely can't stop you." She sighs and waves me off, once again taking control. "But leave other people out of this. You're going too far. These games, I can handle them but others might not."

Her eyes flicker over to Ethan who scoffs a little, a smile tugging at his mouth. His gaze never leaves her face.

"Whatever, piggy." I snap.

"I hope you're proud!" She echoes yesterdays statement but this time it sounds sincere. Like she really hopes that I feel good about myself whilst literally torturing her.

She shakes her head at me and rolls her eyes before stalking off. I do the same thing but in the other direction, leaving Ethan behind.

As I turn the corner, I feel like a rock has been placed in between my lungs. What is that feeling? I feel like something is weighing me down...  I had just gained back a little of my control, why am I feeling so utterly terrible about it? And how come I could still feel Arya's eyes burning into mine? 

I'm definitely going insane...