Painkiller

“What was that about?”

Rebel just shook his head.

“He just wanted to sit down.”

Rebel turned and looked at her. “He rubs me the wrong way, Rosie.”

He had this thing about “going on instinct” when it came to people. Maybe he was right at times, but without any interaction, especially in this instance she kind of got annoyed with him.

“Rubs you the wrong way?”

Rebel nodded and started eating, that wall he always had around him seeming even thicker than before. She may love him, but surely he knew how she’d been treated in the past, with little to no interaction from the assholes that were rude to her.

Hell, she’d said only a few sentences in the entire time she’d known Rebecca, but the bitch was on her constantly.

“But you didn’t even get to know him, or speak to him?”

Rebel sighed and stopped eating to look at her. “Rosie, you know I go off of my gut, and the moment I saw that kid, with his arrogant attitude and smirk he wore, he just rubbed me the wrong way.”

“Really Rebel?”

He lifted a brow after she spoke. “What?”

“It’s true, Rosie,” Rowley said. “That kid had this cocky smirk plastered on his face. He totally thought he was better than all of us.”

All she could do was roll her eyes, stand, and shake her head. “You guys are unbelievable and ridiculous.” Looking at Rebel, she didn’t know what had gotten into him, but she hated this side.

She loved him so much, was so head over heels for him, but he had a lot of issues to work out. If the guy had started shit with Rebel right off the bat she could have understood, but they hadn’t even spoken. Not one word.

She went to leave, because she was annoyed now, having been cast aside from her peers in the past, and feeling pretty shitty because of it. But Rebel reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her.

“Don’t be pissed at me, Rosie,” he said in a low, deep voice.

She smiled at him, but she knew it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I just need to go. If not I’ll start a fight and I don’t want to do that with you here.” She pulled her hand away and left the cafeteria, wanting to talk to Rebel more, to really break down his wall, but needing some air, too.

Maybe she’d let this get to her too badly, or maybe she was being overly sensitive? Either way if she didn’t leave she would have started shit with all of them, and a scene was not what she wanted.

* * *

“Fuck,” Rebel said, staring down at his food.

“Man, she got upset fast,” Max said, and Rebel lifted his gaze to look at the other guy.

“Yeah, because you know people have been shitty to her before, and me turning away the new kid probably triggered that for her.”

Max didn’t respond, and maybe it was the glare Rebel cast in his direction.

“She’ll get over it, man. Give her some time. Rosie’s a tough girl,” Rowley said.

All Rebel did was look at his closest friend. He was in love with Rosie, was a chicken shit for not telling her, but the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel uncomfortable or upset. But that new guy, yeah, he did rub Rebel the wrong way.

He always went with his gut, and for some reason the cocky air that surrounded that kid had Rebel on alert.

“I need to find out more about that kid and see why just looking at him pisses me off.”

“It’s not just you, man,” Rowley said in between shoveling fires in his mouth. “He seems arrogant as hell. I noticed that right off the bat.”

Rebel’s appetite was gone, and he pushed his tray away.

Max eyed it. “You not eating that?”

“Nah, have at it.”

Max grabbed the tray and pulled it closer to him. Rebel looked around the cafeteria to see if Rosie had stayed, but he knew she hadn’t. Rebecca was staring at him, and he curled his lip and looked away.

“Dude, she eye fucks you constantly,” Rowley was the one to say. “Be glad you didn’t stick your dick in that psycho. She seems certifiable.”

Yeah, Rebel saw that. “I’ll never be drunk enough to go anywhere near that.” If he could just have some balls and talk to Rosie, tell her how she made him feel, and let her in, his life would be a hell of a lot better. He knew that without a fucking doubt.

But he also knew he was a pussy for not manning up and doing what was right by her.

Chapter Five

Rosie sat outside, the sun bright, the air humid but warm. She closed her eyes for a second and just absorbed the light and heat.

Hey, maybe she’d even get a tan sitting out here?