Amber

Oh the joys of high school. Modified school skirts, painted makeup, hair styles stiff with products and my favorite, the cheap fumes of knock-off designer perfumes.

I groaned as I walked into the canteen. I hate people. I shouldered a few middle schoolers who didn’t get out of my way; sure they hadn’t seen me coming, but that was no excuse.

I glanced at the table that Jax and I had been sitting at for a week or so. What a surprise; he wasn’t there. He hadn’t come home last night either. Shocker. I think he was avoiding me. I’d already apologized. What did the boy want?

I dragged my feet to the canteen line. Oh, how I hated this. For the first time in a while, I actually had to get my own lunch; Jax wasn’t around to get it for me. I wondered if he was just running late. Would he sit with me today? Should I get him something?

Standing in line, I glanced over the busy canteen area.  My eyes paused when I noticed his toned back to me, a black t-shirt hiding his well-developed muscles. So, he was here. Looks like my theory was right; he was avoiding me. What a tool.

I stepped forward as the line moved. One little outburst and he cuts me off. Slumping my shoulders, I stepped forward again. I untangled my sunglasses from my hair and pulled them down, covering my eyes, hoping it made me invisible.

“Amber?”

Snapping my head over my shoulder, I narrowed my eyes at Andy, one of Jax’s minions.

“What?”

He flinched slightly from my tone, shaking his head, “Um, I was just um… you know… ummm….”

I gestured for him to hurry up and get to the point. “Spit it out Andy.”

“You know my name?” he gawked. “You know my name!”

“You just repeated yourself,” I said as I cocked my head to the side. “You knew my name. I didn’t make a big deal out of it.”

“Well, I… you...” He rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s different, “he said finally.

“Oook.” I arched an eyebrow at him, before turning back around.

See, this just proves my point. High school students are stupid. Well, apart from me and Jax.

A finger tapped me on my shoulder and I snapped my head around again.

“What?” I barked, my voice a deadly hiss. Could he not see I was unfriendly? Again, stupid.

“I wanted to ask you something?” Andy grinned at me like I wasn’t giving him daggers under my sunnies. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Anything, everything and something in between,” I replied.

“Well, what time will that finish, because there is a party tonight, you know, celebrating the win.”

“What win?”

“Our win! We beat the Sebastopol team last night and because the game was on a Thursday, we couldn’t party, so we’re partying tonight. You keen?” He grinned again and flicked his brown hair from his eyes.

“Keen for a party?” I questioned.

“Yeah.” His eyes lit up with hope.

“I don’t drink with infants.” I turned my back to him and took a few steps, catching back up with the line.

“Don’t bother Andy, Amber is a bitch like that,” Jax said behind my back, and I whipped around to face him.

“Excuse me?”

Jax crossed his arms, standing next to a disappointed Andy. I wished he would wipe that disappointment off his face. It was bugging me. It made me feel… guilty.

“I said you’re a bitch,” Jax said with ease, looking at me with a bored expression.

“I think we both know you’re the bitch in this relationship,” I scoffed, and then panicked as the words left my mouth.

Jax smirked at me like he had just caught me in love with him or something.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” I snarled, and then flung back around, gritting my teeth.

“Sure you didn’t,” he muttered under his breath behind me.

“Hey Jax, are you sitting with us today?” Linda’s voice was soft and sweet; everything she wasn’t.

I kept my eyes glued to the smelly person in front of me. Couldn’t they all just piss off? I was cringing in embarrassment here. Who did Linda think she was anyway? It wasn’t like she was pretty or anything.

I shot a look over my shoulder and saw her link her arm through his crossed arms. So he had a thing for high school students or something? Don’t do it Amber. I could feel my mind ticking evilly but, like always, I didn’t, no, I couldn’t stop myself.  

“So, this party Andy, what time is it?” I faked sweetly.

“Um, nine it starts?” he looked confused. Dude, if I was him, I would be too. “Why?”

“I will join you after all. I don’t have any plans,” I replied as I shrugged my shoulders.

“Do you want me to pick you up?” he grinned like a happy little child.

“Aren’t you planning on drinking tonight?” I arched an eyebrow and he nodded his head. “Well, that doesn’t make much sense, does it? How about I just meet you at your house and we can catch a taxi together?”

“You? At my house?” he spoke so slowly, I was beginning to re-think this. Wait Amber, stay focused.

“Um yeah. That cool?” I turned to face him. “If not, I can, you know, meet you there, but I don’t know where it is.”

“NO NO!” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “That works fine.”

I nodded my head and then glanced at Jax, who was glaring across the canteen at who knows what, but Linda’s arm was still linked through his.

“You going tonight Jax?” I smiled. I had this innocence thing down to a fine art. He stopped glaring into the distance and looked at me.

“Perhaps,” he muttered and locked his eyes with mine, clearly wondering what I was playing at. Poor boy couldn’t keep up with me, even if he wanted to.

“Babe, you said you would go!” Linda tugged on his arm, my theory now proven correct. He had lined her up for a quickie. Scum much?

“Yeah, you should go,” I said as I cocked my head to the side. “In fact, you should bring El, she would love it.”

Linda frowned at me and asked, “Who is El?”

“His girlfriend,” I said nonchalantly, brushing it off like I was talking about the weather. “A really good friend of mine.” I looked Linda in the eye, “Like a sister, I would do anything for her. You know…” I trailed off.

Fear flickered in her eyes, and she unclamped herself from Jax. Looks like my reputation hadn’t softened. Did I care about him cheating on El? Hell no. But Linda having her paws all over him bothered me. So sue me, I did it for myself, and to ruin the quickie he had lined up.

Jax shook his head at me and his glare could’ve shattered glass, but I shrugged it off and turned my back to him. He wanted to be a jerk; I was just paying him back.

“Actually, I was thinking of inviting the boys, you know, Cole and the gang,” Jax said behind me, his statement sounding awfully a lot like a threat.

“Oh yeah, they would enjoy it,” I replied coolly, taking him up on his bluff. The boys wouldn’t care if I went to a high school party; they knew it was like childcare anyway.

People spewing their cheap alcohol they had stolen from mummy and daddy’s cupboard, then grinding drunkenly into each other. And then there was always that girl, crying when she found her player of a boyfriend cheating on her.

“So come to my house tonight… early if you want,” Andy whispered in my ear, before winking and walking off.

Dude, if he thought he was getting lucky, he had another thing coming. I wouldn’t be getting that drunk. Well, I hoped not.

“My brother wanted me to give you this,” Jax said as pulled on my shoulder, spinning me to face him, and then stuffing a piece of paper in my hand. “Seeing you have no standards, I thought I would pass it on.”

His eyes screamed hate, but his posture screamed jealousy. I took a step up to him and he froze, as my chest touched his, leaning into his ear. “Accept my apology,” I purred, my voice a seductive swirl. 

After his insult, he would have been expecting me to punch him, scream at him, all the things I would normally do but he was jealous and I knew it, so I had the upper hand.

I felt his body tense as I leaned against his chest. We ignored Linda’s scoff of disgust, and the fact that I’d just lost my place in the queue. He placed a hand on my lower back and leaned into my own ear.

“Mean it, and I will.”

I pulled back and cocked my head, to look him in the eye. “I did,” I whispered.

“You don’t mean anything. You only think of one person. Yourself.” He arched an eyebrow as if willing me to challenge him.

That wasn’t true! How dare he stand here and call me a cold hearted bitch!

“You know what Jax?” I pulled myself away from him, his hand falling off my back, “I must have standards, because the last time I checked, I hadn’t screwed you.”

I didn’t wait for his reaction; instead I stormed off, leaving the uptight, screw-anything-that-walks, self-centered, pathetic bikie behind.

As I slammed the canteen doors open, it hit me how hungry I was. Stupid man had cost me my meal. Now I hated him even more.