Misunderstood (Neighbor from Hell (YA) 1)

Jonathan snorted at that. “He shouldn’t have touched Mikey.”

“True,” their father murmured in agreement.

Speaking of Mikey…

“I can’t accept this,” Sebastian said as he reluctantly went to hand the iPad to his father.

“That’s your decision but I think you’re making a mistake,” his father said as he considered Sebastian.

“I only make things worse for her,” Sebastian said, placing the iPad on the bed.

“Not according to her mother,” his father said, making him frown.

“What are you talking about?”

“You make her happy, Sebastian,” his father said, sighing heavily as he stood up, “but then again, the same could be said about her.”

Chapter 43

“Stupid Sebastian,” Mikey mumbled sadly as she sat there, staring out the window while her math teacher tried to explain…well, she wasn’t exactly sure what he was trying to explain since she’d stopped listening when he decided to add the alphabet to today’s lesson.

It had been a week since she told Sebastian that she was done and…nothing.

He hadn’t called her, emailed her, or even asked his brother or sister to pass on a message to her and that was it, she guessed. He didn’t want to be friends anymore. That was fine with her. More than fine. In fact, she was glad that he wasn’t talking to her anymore since it now freed her to find a new best friend.

A better best friend.

She’d find someone that loved baseball almost as much as her, who liked watching movies, and who wasn’t so damn serious all the time. The more she thought about it, the more she liked this idea. She’d find someone who didn’t hog the bed, not that she would let anyone else sleep in her bed. He also wouldn’t steal her food or drive her crazy, and he…

Wouldn’t be Sebastian, Mikey thought miserably. She missed the big jerk. She considered sneaking into his room as soon as she got home so that she could talk to him, but her pride wouldn’t let her. To be honest, she really wasn’t sure that she could handle hearing him tell her that they shouldn’t be friends again.

God, she hated this.

She–

“Mr. Vargas, please send Mikey Campbell to the office.”

–was in so much trouble, Mikey thought, biting back a wince when every set of eyes in the room turned her way. Really hoping that this wasn’t going to end with another phone call to her parents, she cleared her throat as she stood up, grabbed her bag, and after noting all the sympathetic winces aimed her way, Mikey headed for the door.

It was probably nothing, Mikey told herself as she headed for the office, but…

She was definitely in trouble.

Over the past two weeks, Mr. Jenkins had been watching her every more, waiting for a chance to make that expulsion dream a reality. Not that she could blame him, especially since the entire school heard about the meeting that ended with the Superintendent screaming at him. Besides the fact that the Superintendent had been furious to find out that they’d intentionally put students at risk by leaving the gym door propped open to catch Sebastian, there were also several videos going around on the internet of their arrest and of her being carried out to an ambulance.

That hadn’t ended well…

At least, not for Vice Principal Jenkins and if he had his way, and she was really hoping that he wasn’t going to have his way, Mikey would end up paying the price to

o. He’d tried to argue for suspension, detention, probation, and finally when none of that worked, he’d settled for glaring. Thankfully, she only had another month of school left before she could move onto high school where she could be miserable all over again, Mikey reminded herself as she turned left and found herself wondering why Mrs. Blaine was here.

Before Mikey had a chance to ask her what was going on, Mrs. Blaine said, “You’re late,” and with that, she gestured for her helper to push her toward the front doors.

Not really sure what she should do, Mikey glanced at the front office and when she saw Mr. Jenkins standing there, glaring at her, she decided that it would be in her best interest to see what Mrs. Blaine was kidnapping her for. Decision made, she quickly headed after Mrs. Blaine and–

Found herself staring at Sebastian, who was standing across the street, looking absolutely miserable. Good. He should be miserable, Mikey thought as she followed Mrs. Blaine across the street and when they reached Sebastian, she kept going because he could rot in hell for all she cared. There was a heavy sigh, and then she found herself picked up and thrown over the big jerk’s shoulder. She didn’t bother asking him where they were going because, quite frankly, she wasn’t talking to him at the moment.

“Are you still mad at me?” came the hesitant question that had her glaring at his back.