CHAPTER 37: officially a match and eyes everywhere

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I arrived in school that day with Owen and for once in my life, I've never been this happy. It felt as if it had been raining for a while and now it was sunny. Now that it was getting closer to Christmas, the weather was cooling and the days weren't that warm anymore. I actually think it might snow soon as well.

"God, I actually think it's cold enough that my dick might freeze," Owen told me that day as he drank the last of his coffee before throwing the cup into the recycling bin. I arched an eyebrow before turning to look at him in which he simply shrugged, "I'm not kidding."

"Well, when that happens, don't forget to holler," I told him simply although the thought alone of his dick freezing and falling off does sound quite funny. He just rolled his eyes at me before his arm flies out to wrap itself around my waist. Anyone who would look at Owen now wouldn't know it was the same notorious gang leader that they've heard about.

"Well, if it isn't the lovebirds. Try to keep public PDA to a minimum. I think everyone would all benefit from not getting their eyes gouged out due to a couple eating each other's faces off," Kelly's voice spoke as we turned to see her stood there, a smirk on her face. It may have not been noticeable, but I could see the tension on her shoulders as if she were carrying weights upon them.

Owen could notice as well and to be honest, he was currently slightly cowering behind me. What a baby, I thought, a small grin on my face. Kelly was scary when she was out of it and it struck a fear of God to everyone. I pushed Owen forward, shoving him to the side.

"Surely, she doesn't scare you," I whispered to him as she walked off, waving back to us. I waved back whilst Owen stood me in front of him for protection. Kelly would never hurt a fly and I knew that. The fact that Owen's practically terrified of her is telling me Liam was the least of my worries.

Darren, oh Darren, he sure is in for one hell of a shock. Who knows what Kels could be planning in that pretty little head of her's?

When I got to the classroom, Owen headed off to God knows where and I walked in. There were other students already in the classroom. Pieces of artwork hung on the walls of the classroom as well as clay projects on the side with a few pieces of art that hadn't been put up yet.

I headed to my table and sat down upon the stool, tucking my skirt underneath me as I placed my folder on the desk. I opened it up and flicked through each page to get to the correct one.

"Fuck, where's the blue paint? Lucy, have you seen the blue paint?" one of the students asked. I looked up and Peggy was walking around the classroom, looking around her with a pallet of paint in her hand and a paintbrush behind her ear. She was one of the best artists in our school, always volunteering to do the background and scenery for school productions. She had shear talent and great creativity. Let's just say she always thinks outside the box in her work.

"It should be where the rest of the paint is. I mean, that's where I last saw it," Lucy retorted back to her. Little did they know, our class has had a shortage on blue paint ever since we started our ocean topic and ever since Peggy's been finishing her final piece project, which consisted of a lot of blue.

"Girls, just get a new bottle of blue paint from next door and please, don't use too much. We're already on a shortage as it is," our art teacher spoke as she rushed to the print room quickly, a bunch of cries coming from it, "and don't forget to close the door after. That room stinks of dampness! I don't see why the school hasn't fixed it yet! Gosh, they can never do anything right!"

All of us took one glance at each other and I shook my head, smiling. Mrs Lloyd was one of the creative arts teachers who recently came back from maternity leave. Usually, she would have a babysitter look after her baby, but at very short notice, she couldn't make it so she decided to bring her baby to school with her. Mr Lloyd occasionally came in on his breaks to look after his daughter whilst his wife worked and little Summer, who was the cutest little baby I've ever seen sometimes watched us work and made giggly noises whenever Luke, one of the other art students made funny faces at her or drew her a bunny rabbit or elephant.

I had begun my work with the water colours, making sure every detail was suitable to my taste and satisfaction. Mrs Lloyd eventually returned to the class, cradling little Summer in her arms as she settled on the chair at her desk.

There was a peaceful silence in the class, something which we always had. Our focuses remained on our art as we did our own things. I enjoyed the subject because there was an endless amount you could do with the stuff you're given or allowed to use. With endless possibilities, you could create anything plus, having to not stress out about anything except the paint going out of the pencil lines.

My paintbrush drifted on the paint before running over the canvas in a shade of red, pink and slight peach. My project was half done and I think I could be done in about two or three lessons. As I ran my brush over the canvas again, I heard a knock on the window behind me. I jumped slightly and turned to see Owen at the window in his gym kit.

My hand swerved slightly when I jumped and now there was a big line of pain on my canvas. Are you shitting me right now? I rolled my eyes, turning to Owen before turning back around. Mrs Lloyd headed out of the room again with Summer and I glared at him, sticking my middle finger up at him. I stood up from my stool and headed to the window where I opened it, my eyes piercing at him. My artwork could be ruined thanks to him.

"What the hell are you doing?" I whispered sharply. He smirked down at me, one arm leaning on the window sill as he looked at me with mischief in his eyes, "can't you see I'm busy?"

"Oh, but I wanted to see you," he said, pouting at me mockingly. This guy, I swear. I jabbed a finger in his face, trying not to lose my shit right now as he just mocked me with his eyes. God, he's good at that.

"Tell me why you're here because I swear to God I'll—ah!" I pulled my finger away when he ran his tongue along it and wiped it on my skirt. I grimaced in disgust as that smug look only brightened. He may be cute, but he sure is getting on my fucking nerves, "you better leave and no, I will not go with you so please, for my sake, I'll see you later."

In the end, he just nodded before jogging off, probably back to the changing rooms where he won't be targeted for skipping the lesson. Before my teacher could catch me talking to someone I wasn't meant to, I sat myself back on the stool as if nothing had happened.

By the second part of the lesson, I began to get bored. I always did after a while and it was a habit I couldn't get rid of. That boredom would soon disappear when I heard Peggy and Lucy talking about one of my friends just a few seats diagonally to my left. They weren't really trying to keep it a secret seeing as even Luke on the other side of the classroom could hear them.

"To be honest, he kind of deserves it. Kelly's a babe, but Darren...er...not so much. Have you seen how many girls he's played? Kelly won't let him get away with it," Peggy rambled on to Lucy who just nodded, fixing the position of her sculpture before responding back, not taking her eyes off of her art.

"Hm, I was with Kelly this morning. I don't know what it is, but she has something up her sleeve. Crafty girl she is, of course she does. Her shoulders were tense and she was zoning out. Honestly though, I can't wait to find out what she's going to do."

This wasn't the first time Kelly had done something like this. Revenge was what she did best and everyone knew it. Her bitter past had allowed her little remorse for those who didn't deserve it and her mouth spilled a lot of words that shook anyone to the core. When she's angry, she's scary and that's why guys are so intimidated by her. To be honest, that's why everyone's intimidated by her even Owen and Jaxon.

"Hey, Brielle, you're friends with Kels, aren't you?" I looked up from my work and nodded as Peggy continued, "well, I'm guessing you've heard by now what's going to happen. Do you think Darren's going to get his ass kicked? If so then I'm totally in for watching."

She seemed so excited by the idea as if she would love nothing more and to be honest, I would agree. He deserved whatever punishment he was getting for hurting my best friend. I'm not entirely sure how Owen would feel about all of this, but I'm guessing by how much Darren annoys the shit out of him that maybe he wouldn't care too much. I mean, they've gone through worse, right?

"Kelly's capable of anything so I don't know. She's unpredictable like that." I smiled as the two girls just nodded. I really need to consider keeping an eye on Kelly in case she actually kills him.

"You should've been there when my brother threw the ball on the ground. It bounced up and hit him in the face," Owen exclaimed as he chuckled lightly.

We were walking through the park that afternoon. There were children there in the basketball courts playing some games. All of them were young, but they all ranged from different heights to the different faces.

I giggled lightly as he walked slightly ahead of me with a relaxed grin on his face. See, this is what kind of life I wish I could have. The one where I'm not running away from anyone or anything and the one where I'm not always in the dark in everything, never knowing what could happen next.

It was relaxing. Like a holiday.

"Oh, lord, it was hilarious," Owen told me again, turning back to look at me. His grin drops slightly as he grabs a hold of my hand, "something's bothering you."

I looked up in shock and quickly shook my head. Nothing was bothering me per say, but there was definitely something on my mind. My life had changed so much since I met Owen. Meeting him when we were younger, we clicked immediately. We loved the same things and wanted one thing in life. A bright future.

It felt surreal to even be where I am today with Owen. I thought after our fight, I'd lost him forever because our lives took different paths and we had become so different. Yet, even after everything, we could make up again by a simple incident that escalated so quickly.

I would hate to admit it, but Liam and Miranda had a big part to play in getting us together again. If Miranda didn't torment me with every ounce of shit she spat in my face, Owen may have not protected me or helped me. If Liam hadn't come up to me that night, Owen wouldn't have protected me. Even if it doesn't excuse the fact he touched me, Owen would've never come to my aid. It was strange enough that he came and protected me alone. As soon as I realised that it was exactly like before, everything made sense. I mentioned that Owen was like a 'comfort blanket' to me and nothing's changed since then. He helped me when I needed him the most and soothed my worries that stressed me out.

My eyes fluttered up to his as he just looked at me weirdly. I gripped his hand back in return, a relieved smile on my face as I pulled him along with me.

"The only thing bothering me is the fact that life is good right now," I told him, grinning so happily, my cheeks were going to hurt soon. Owen looks surprised for a second before realising it himself. With a shake of his head and a deep chuckle from him, we made our way on the dark concrete that laid underneath our feet.

"God, blondie, you're right. Before, my life used to be so shit, I wasn't too bothered whether I died or not and since you've entered my life, all I've ever wanted to do was live and live and keep on living." I turned in surprise at his declaration. It was out of nowhere and a strange time to be saying it as if he could hardly believe it himself, "you've made my shit worth of a life so much better, doll. Thank you...and..."

He pulled me back with his hand and his arms wound round my waist. My chest lands against his as his hands land on my waist. There was a glint in his eyes that looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Owen's lips were so close to mine, so close in fact that our noses were brushing against one another. His hot breath fanned my top lip as my tongue darted out to lick my lips.

"Go out with me."

I'm sorry?

Come again?

What?

Please repeat that.

I looked at him as if he had told me he was pregnant or something. I was so shocked, I didn't notice the fact that Owen's hand wasn't on my waist anymore but cupping my face.

"W-Wait, what?" he just asked you out, stoopid. You have to say something back otherwise he'll think you're a weirdo.

Oh shit, yeah.

"A-As in go out, go out? Like coupley go out? Go on dates go out? Dating go out—"

"Yes, all that coupley shit," he answered back to all my questions. Huh, he really is being serious. I honestly thought he was joking. We talked about it and about everything and we agreed he would ask me on a date once this was all over. Still, he wasn't asking me on a date. He was asking me out, which was a completely different thing. I'm guessing he could see the hesitation in my eyes before his brows soon furrowed together, "look, I like you. You like me. Let's date."

Only someone like Owen can make something so romantic be so simple, I thought. I mean, he did casually come up to me once and say 'you, me, closet because I'm horny' but still. A sentiment that barely took much effort and I understood why. Inheriting you're father's vulgar and blunt tongue really won't help in some cases.

"So what do you say? Don't leave me hanging here." he scoffed as he looked down at me. Owen was never someone who got nervous, but in this moment of time, he was definitely nervous. It's kind of cute. The furrow of his eyebrows brought out the nerves he was feeling as his fingers delicately traced the fabric of my school shirt.

"You seriously can't ask me something like that so casually and expect me to not be shocked," I told him in which he only rolled his eyes. His arm tightened around my waist as he sighed, pressing a small delicate kiss on my cheek.

"Come on, B, I asked for an answer, not the psychology of human emotions." I shoved him back slightly, giggling before coughing slightly. He used to tell me how he supported every decision I would make despite being the choice he didn't want me to pick. The real question was am I really going to risk my old routine for something new? Something genuine? Something that wasn't going to end in me getting my heart crushed again?

After Jordan, I had sworn an oath to never end up like that again. I wasn't going to allow myself to get hurt and even if it was partly my Jordan's fault, I couldn't stop blaming myself. Love had completely ruined me. My dad stopped loving me and so did Jordan. Every man in my life stopped loving me, but ever since Owen's started annoying the shit out of me, I feel as if all that love I yearned for from the years before disappeared. I wasn't going to wish someone loved me if I knew they didn't. Dad left for a reason and so did Jordan.

Maybe this is the light at the end of the tunnel for me. All I knew is that if I didn't choose to take this chance, I may never find out.

"You dick," I told him. He smirked as he continued to wait for my answer. I really loved to build the suspense up. It made everything funnier and it entertained me an awful lot, "but...to answer to your question...yeah, I'll go out with you. It's a deal, blue eyes."

Owen's grin broadened as he lifted my up slightly on my tiptoes, lips crashing down upon mine in a heated kiss. Oof, is it hot in here or is it just my cheeks reddening from a hot guy kissing me?

I spotted him placing a kiss on her lips, her smile happy as he grinned, holding her in his arms. Oh, just wait until the boss hears about this. A smirk appeared on my face as I got my phone out. I continued to stare out of the car as my phone rung.

"What? I'm busy." Liam snapped as I put the phone on speaker, "this better be good or you'd be better not coming back to the base."

"Sir, they're official. Owen and that brat of his. They're together." I could sense Liam stopping everything he was doing to sit down in a chair, an evil grin on his face, "it was only a matter of time. I think it's time we put our plan into action."

"You're right. Get all the details finalised with my father and I'll finish up here." he ordered me as I answered back, my voice serious.

"Yes, boss." ending the call, I turned to Oscar, who sat there, smoking a cigarette and grinning, "so what now? Just say the word and we'll begin."

"My son is right. Time to take this town from those naive kids once and for all." there was a glint in his eyes, one so deviously obvious and I smirked before rolling the windows back up and starting the engine. I stepped on the pedal and drove off, the wheels squeaking on the concrete.

It was time our gang got some justice from all of the selfish civilians this town had. Just wait until they get a taste of their own medicine. Summer View was supposed to be ours and they've taken it from us in plain sight and now, it was time for revenge. I'll make sure they're sorry for everything they've done.

END OF CHAPTER 37

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