Chapter 2
"For you to come back home," the caller blurted out.
"That would be the death of me" Shawn retorted, scoffing. With a curl on his lips, he was sure this was all part of his father's plan to get him to go home, and he was not about to back out now, not just yet.
Grinning, he took in the air of the environment. He was happy for today is the beginning of a new semester. He hoped it would bring new and happy things to him.
Hurriedly, he grabbed a pair of blue jeans and his favorite shirt, he did not want to miss the bus.
"A gentleman would give up his seat for a young lady" a voice hovering above Shawn's head had said.
Shawn lifted my eyes to a pair of one of the most beautiful eyes he had seen. When poets said the eyes are the windows to the soul, do not doubt it. With blue eyes widened, she threw up both hands.
“Now hold on a minute, you look surprised,” she raised a brow
"Well, some guts you have, telling me to give up my seat" I complained
"As every gentleman would"
"I never told you I was one"
"You don't have to, it's written all over you"
"Do I need to run from you?"
"If you want to, but I will find you," she probed and he offered her his seat.
"I have changed my mind, I'd rather stand," she sighed declining the seat Shawn was giving up, for her.
"But you begged..."
"I do not beg" she interjected
"Okay, you asked I give up my seat, and now, you say no?"
"You did not want to at first" she replied curtly
"And how would you know that?"
"Let's just say, I'm smart," she said and he scoffed.
With bug-out eyes and dreamy eyes, anyone could see Shawn was captivated by this beauty. He liked her already. Perhaps, in all of his teenage years, he is yet to find anyone that unnerved him as she did to him.
As is common with all men, being attracted to what unnerved them.
"Hello, gentleman" a voice had whispered behind Shawn.
It was her, the girl from the bus. He wanted to see her again, he wanted to see only her all day.
"At least, tell me your name," he begged with pleading eyes throwing her a smile. He had been told his smile had the charm and he was hoping he would do the trick.
"Do ladies still fall for smiles? Cos I do not. If you think that was going to woo me, it did not" she blurted
"Perhaps, I will try again"
"Well, good luck with that. I must warn you though, I am a very hard lady to please" She added
"And that I have seen. Your name..."
"Just call me a stranger"
"Stranger? Why?" He asked, he thought it funny.
"Well, two people meet, at first, they're strangers then, they fall in love and with time, they become strangers again. Strangers with each other's secrets. I try to not fall into that trap so I prefer to forever remain a stranger to a stranger"
"Wow! But surely telling me your name would cause no harm, would it?"
"I will tell you when you have impressed me"
"Hmmm. Can I...uh...I wanted to..." Shawn stammered, considering how tough she is, she probably would never want to hang out with a guy like him.
"I like your eyes. I mean, you have beautiful eyes" he mumbled, trying to distract her from what he wanted to say.
"You know, I think you're shy. So, let me help you. Would you want to go on a date later?"
"Yes!" He shrieked, he could not hide his delight.
"I knew you wanted to ask, learn to man up if you want to impress me. Always go for what you want" she explained.
"Where would you want us to go?" Shawn asked, fearing any more delay would cost him her.
"The Greens. I heard it's a great place"
"Oh, The Greens," he said clearing his throat. That place was way out of his budget but he cannot embarrass himself, not now.
"You alright?" She inquired
"Yeah, I'm fine"
"If you don't like the place or you think it's too expensive, we can go to another place"
"Oh no, I can take care of it"
"Good, see you then"
"I don't have your number"
"I'll text you," she promised
"But you don't have my number either"
"I know my way around," she answered and left.
He felt like he had just hit the jackpot, this beautiful girl with blue eyes would be going out with him. Yes! And he jumped for joy.
(At the restaurant, The Greens)
Shawn watched as she ordered the most expensive meal and wine. He was uncomfortable throughout the meal and could not say much. What was he thinking anyway? Surely, she didn't look cheap.
"You look bothered, is there a problem?" She queried
"No, not at all" he replied with a smile
"I know you are trying so hard to impress me and all. The good news is that you don't have to anymore, I'm impressed"
"You are?" He asked, shocked and surprised at the same time. Well, that was fast.
"I do not say what I don't mean. And you know the new hotel, the one a few blocks from here?" She asked
"Yes, what about it?"
"You see, I was able to pull some strings and I made a reservation"
"Really? That's great"
"I'm, actually I did that so the two of us would spend some time alone"
"Oh," he stuttered and gulped
"Come off it, you look flushed," and he knew she was right.
Using all of his savings, he paid for the meal and they walked towards the hotel.
(At the hotel)
Nervousness was not the word. He felt his heart wanting to leave his body, he was scared. He had never done anything like this before and had only watched movies. He had thought he would handle it well but here he was, shivering.
Slowly, she walked toward him and with one hand, drew him closer to herself. He must have thought he was dying for my breaths became short and his heart rate quadrupled.
Pressing her body to his, she locked her lips with his and it was like a fire had been set on his whole body. He was hot, wanting to take all of her.
"Take off your clothes and handle me like a man" she ordered and slowly, he did as he was told.
As soon as he had taken off his shorts and was stark naked, the door was pushed open. He tried to hide his privates with his hands but it was too late.
He was shocked to see that they were no other than the bullies. Could have been bearable if he had not seen the girl go over to the bullies' leader and kissed him uttering the word, "baby". Only then did he realize he had yet been made a fool of and played.
"Guys, take a video of him, of every part, do not miss out on any detail," the leader ordered to the rest of the boys.
"Please, don't do this. I promise I will never cross your paths again"
"Shut up, boy. Guys, take the video" he screamed and laughed with the rest roaring in laughter.
"Hey! Stop that! Right now!" A voice had said and they all turned to see a man in his fifties or sixties maybe wearing a tux, standing by the door.
Chapter 3 "Hey! Stop that! Right now!" A voice had said and they all turned to see a man in his fifties or sixties maybe wearing a tux, standing by the door. Heaving a sigh of relief and smiling was Shawn, he was grateful. Using one of his hands behind his back, he dialed a number hoping the old man would show up. "Yo, old man, this isn't any of your business. Now get out of here before I do something we both would regret" the bullies' leader implored the old man. The old man only shook his head and smiled. "Mate, you better tell this savior of yours to run along now," he threatened, turning back to Shawn. "You! I said, get out!" He screamed becoming angry. As he approached the old man, a few men in black suits entered the room. Only then did Shawn see a bit of fear and hesitation in his eyes which he quickly hid away. "What y'all want? This is my home, this is my city. Ain't nobody going to come in here and mess up my business. Now, I don't want to repeat myself, get out! Now!"
Chapter 4 "Hello" he started with the bullies watching keenly, about to find out what the "old pal" could do. "Looks like you lost network there pal. Need help with that, are you even sure you can handle a phone?" The leader of the bullies cajoled, grinning from ear to ear. This had sent the bullies roaring into laughter as they could not fathom how this old man and Shawn could pull this stunt with a few phone calls. Making them lose everything they have, surely this was impossible. Anyone else could have been a probability but not Shawn, he was a nobody, he had nothing and it would take him whole millennia to be able to pull this off. "Boss, they thought we would fall for this trick" one of the bullies nagged smiling. "Not even a baby would fall for it, you have to do better than this" another had gibed. Calmly, the old man dialed a number again. "Hello, I want the families of..." The old man continued. The bullies were beginning to lose their balance. Shawn saw the looks t
Chapter 5 "Young master, please do not tell me you have checked the internet" the old man begged. "Why?""I'll be with you shortly," He urged."Young master..." "Do not call me that, do not ever call me that" Shawn retorted"I presume that you have seen it then," the old man answered bowing his head in shame "How can I not? I'm the number talked about person on the internet as we speak, I am trending and for all the wrong reasons" "I take responsibility for it, I will tell your father it was my mistake. Please, do not take this to heart, I promise I will take care of it" "That is the problem. You all think that I need help and cannot take care of myself. Go on, go on and mess my life up like you always do. Just this time around, make sure you do it properly" "I'm sorry, young..." He said and must have remembered Shawn said not to be called young master ever again. "Didn't you collect all their phones and anything else they might have used?" "I did, sir. You saw me do it""Of
Chapter 6 "Shawn? Shawn! Where are you?" It was a lady's voice, what was she doing in the men's? "Hey! What are you doing here? This is the male section" "Shush," she said placing her fingers over her lips. "Who are you?" Shawn inquired "I know what the bullies did to you, and I am the one that will help you get your revenge," she explained."I do not understand, revenge? I never said I wanted revenge" Shawn puzzled "Who are you anyway?" Shawn inquired and she went silent"Answer me" Shawn yelled "You ask too many questions and worry too much. It's no wonder they were able to get you" She retorted "What does that mean?" Shawn queried, trying to control himself from losing his patience "For now, we have to figure out how to get you out of here," She thought "We sure do" Shawn agreed "Such an ungrateful son of a bitch" she jeered "How do we get out then?" "When classes are over" she answered simply "Are you mad? You expect me to stay here in the men's..." Shawn started bef
Chapter 7 "Okay, I think I can pull some strings" Shawn admitted almost cursing himself for doing so. "And about her, I can't forgive her. I am sure she has some secret she is hiding. I will find out and make her pay" Shawn promised "How?" She inquired, this was the part she liked best. "I hope you're smart enough to know you can't approach her by yourself?" She added"Of course, I know that. I am not that dumb" Shawn objected"You were dumb enough the first time" she jeered "She will pay, and well" Shawn smiled mischievously "You just do your thing and I will do mine" Shawn added "I am Leah, and I think we will be great partners" she stretched out her hand. Shawn was confused as to what the handshake was for. For the partnership or for having a deal. "We are strangers," Shawn said trying to remind her of her early advice "I won't forget that, now the problem is you. Can you remember to pretend to not know me?" She asked and just then they were interrupted by someone ente
Chapter 8 "What?" She repeated "Tom" she heard her voice playing over the video, moaning "Leah, the cam girl." Another guy jeered "Oh my God." Was all she could mutter and she ran towards where she knew she could find Tom "Tom." She started "I'm already on the phone talking to my dad's lawyer," Tom whispered "Um, I gotta go. Thank you, Derek." He finished "Hey." He finally turned toward Leah"How could you do this to me?" Leah asked, tears filling up her eyes"What? I didn't do this. I got hacked." And Leah scoffed "Easy, Mayweather." Tom taunted laughing"This is bullshit," Leah screamed "I'm sorry you feel that way." He responded (At the headmaster's office) "Will your mother be joining us?" The headmaster asked "No. She works nights, so she's asleep." Leah answered with her head bowed"Leah, I want you to know this brings me no pleasure. If you had just come to me when you saw the video, we--" The headmaster started "Oh, so this is my fault?" An enraged Leah asked "
Chapter 9 "You know I once punched a guy in the face for leaking my tape" Leah dropped"Is that your ex who leaked it? Is that why you punched him?""Are you gonna talk this entire ride?" Leah asked regretting why she even mentioned it"What happened to him? Your ex?""Oh, you know, what happens to every guy. Nothing. I'm the slut on probation,and he and his tiny little dick get away scot-free. They always get away scot-free." Leah lamented"Mm-hmm." Shawn nodded in agreement "I know what it's like to get screwed over by someone you thought you could trust. Hell, I know too much about betrayal. When I was 13, uh, I went to day camp with this girl, and she existed on this like…untouchable plane. She glowed. I pretty much already knewthat I liked girls, but I hadn't told anyone yet. But this girl, I guess I thought that if she liked me, it would validate my entire existence or something, and I finally talked to her, and… it was great. Like, she made me feel so free and confident and
Chapter 10 "We won't get caught. That's the whole point. No one knows we know each other, right? So no one will connect us to them, to each other. It's perfect.With my brains and your… blank slate,we can get away with this. Don't you wanna make her pay?" Leah asked Shawn with an evil smile. "I don't want to make her pay. I want to burn her to the ground." "Whoa. That gave me chills. Do you see this? My arm hair's up. Look at that. You're giving off some serious, like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction energy.But if we're gonna make this work…we have to fix…" Leah started "No," Shawn interjected "…this." Leah continued "I don't want to." Shawn objected "We have to do…" Leah continued, playing deaf to all of Shawn's pleading "Oh, please don't say a makeover." He begged. He was already running out of money and he still had a lot of bills to pay "…a makeover! Yay!""It feels so problematic." Shawn objected "It is, but it's fun! Let's start with her. She'll be a cinch. I can rui