The Mouse and the Tiger: Faking it

Eponine

You know what is worse than starting a new school Senior year? Starting a new school Senior year and immediately getting targeted by the resident Queen Bitch for no reason other than she was bored.

It was bad enough that I had to move to this backwater town in the middle of fucking North Dakota, thanks for that one Pops. But now I had to put a wannabe Regina George in her place before I had even located homeroom.

Or at least I was about to put her in her place until I got ambushed by some fuck boy in a leather jacket claiming to be my beau.

I suppose I had better explain.

I would love to say my day started well but that would be a complete fabrication. I snoozed my alarm one too many times and overslept, then I found that my dad had somehow shrunk my favorite jeans to a size that would be lucky to fit a toddler, and of course the car that I had been bribed with to move here was still a promise floating in the ether, waiting to be delivered upon.

So, I had had to forgo the hair wash and tease my dark curly hair into two tight buns either side of my head, I resorted to black track pants and a zip up hoodie as my first day outfit and I sprinted to catch the bus.

Now after finally locating my locker I found myself being flanked by skank number one on my left and shank number two on my right whilst their Queen Bitch cleared her throat pretentiously behind me.

“You must be new here. You clearly don’t know the rules.” She snarled at me whilst inspecting her immaculately manicured fingernails.

“I don’t care about any bullshit rules you think I need to follow just to make you feel like you’re a big fish around here thanks.” I threw back at her drawing gasps of horror from the side skanks.

Apparently, an attitude towards these hoe bags was unheard of. I was looking Queen Bitch up and down, analyzing her for weaknesses, before I showed them that I was the wrong girl to try and intimidate.

Her lithe legs were bare up to her mid-thigh where her royal blue pleated cheerleading skirt sat perfectly ironed. The vest top of the uniform was royal blue and white and the school’s initial’s ‘WVHS’ were emblazoned across her large breasts. Definitely surgically enhanced, I thought to myself as I moved my assessment up to her face. Her nose was perfectly proportionated between two dark brown eyes that were staring imperiously at me, giving the impression that she felt my value was less than the dirt on her shoes. She wore that specific amount of make-up that took hours to apply only to make it look like you weren’t wearing any make-up. Her long dark brown hair was tied up into a perfectly smooth high ponytail. In short, she was the epitome of a cliché cheerleader.

As I was gearing up to destroy this walking, talking, epitome of a bitch character from a teen movie he launched himself into the party. I am fairly sure he must have actually jumped to place himself between me and Queen Bitch so suddenly. I felt like a rabbit at the center of an ambush by a tiger.

“Minnie Babe! There you are! I told you I would wait for you by the office and give you the tour what are you doing here?” He cooed at me, then without breaking breath he turned to Queen Bitch “Brianna” then nodded to either side of me “Morgan, Stacy. I know you are keen to recruit my girlfriend to the cheerleading squad, but I really need to get her to homeroom now.”

Then he had looped his arm around my shoulders and steered me away from my now slack jawed and scowling welcoming committee. I couldn’t help but give them a little grin and a sarcastic wave as he pulled me away. This earned me a sideways smirk from him. Whoever he was he was enjoying this far too much.

Once we were out of the Queen Bitch and her cronies’ earshot, I shrugged his arm off me and turned to him “OK who the fuck are you and why are you declaring yourself as my boyfriend?” I fixed him with a glare dark enough to sour milk.

“Chill out Minnie!” he crooned at me “I’m Cash and I thought you might appreciate the rescue from the Bitch brigade before they eviscerated you for standing too close to their lockers.”

“One” I held up one finger “My name is not Minnie! It’s Eponine. And two” I raised a second finger “I was not the one about to suffer a disemboweling, I do not need you or anyone else to rescue me. I was about to unleash my wrath on those hoe bags, and I promise you it would have been their guts being mopped out of the linoleum”.

His smirk grew wider as he appraised me with desire in his eyes.

“Oh, so she’s a feisty mouse. Maybe I should have named you honey badger because you clearly have a habit of charging into a fight without any knowledge of your enemies. Or fear for your own safety.”

“I am not a fucking mouse or a honey badger!” I was scowling at him now and attempting to turn to storm away. But he grabbed my arm and stopped me.

“Wait. Just let me show you to your homeroom. It lets me keep up the façade for a few more minutes and keeps Brianna off my back for a couple more hours.”

“Oh, I see you weren’t trying to be a knight in shining armor at all were you?!” I snapped back at him triumphantly. “You just saw an opportunity to piss off your ex and figured you’d use the new girl to do it.”

He was shaking his head at me bemusedly. “Brianna is not my ex. She is obsessed with becoming my girlfriend, but I want nothing to do with her. I simply figured I could kill two birds with one stone and help you out of a sticky situation whilst avoiding her advances for a few hours. Now are you going to let me show you to homeroom?”

Finally, I acquiesced. Nodding slowly, I felt the need to add “I am only accepting your help in this moment because I don’t want to be late on my first day.”

Then of course when I showed him my schedule to locate the classroom, he smiled even wider.

“Looks like we are going to be spending much more time together Minnie.”

Fucking brilliant not only did I have to put up with this arrogant asshole in homeroom he also proceeded to point out the other classes we shared. Almost half of them. I would be stuck with his smirk most of the day.

Sighing and resigning myself to my nightmare fate, I followed him into the classroom just as the bell rang.

Following roll call and start of term announcements it seemed that homeroom was basically an opportunity for everyone to have a catch up. The cliques split off together and I was left at the mercy of Cash.

“So, Minnie babe, tell me a little about yourself.” He murmured in my ear as he pulled his chair uncomfortably close to mine.

“Leave me alone Cash.” I hissed back at him, acutely aware that the rest of the class was side eying us and jumping to cataclysmic conclusions about our relationship.

“Why would I want to do that little mouse? You are the most interesting thing to happen in this squalid excuse for a town in years.” I raised my eyebrow at him as he continued. “Besides I think we could do each other a favor and make this relationship official. It gets Brianna off my back and gives you some serious social standing in this school.”

“And what if I don’t care about social standing or about whether your stalker leaves you alone or not?” I purred back to him in my most seductive voice to hide the sting from the onlookers.

“Oh, you will care. The moment Brianna and her brigade catch up to you again. You stood up to them. They won’t stand for that. They are going to want to make your life a living hell. You need me, Minnie.”

Fuck. Was he right? I was new here. No one knew anything about me. I no longer had my reputation as a cold-hearted, not to be messed with hellion and I no longer had friends to back me up if I was outnumbered. But agreeing to this fake relationship with him seemed to be asking for trouble. Not just because it might put an even bigger target on my back from Queen Bitch if she thinks I’m dating the guy she wants. Cash oozed an aura of danger. And no, I wasn’t fooled into thinking that just because he wore a leather jacket.

The guy walked around school as if he owned the place. Crowds parted in the corridors to let him pass, kids looked at him with awe and fear on their faces. He was the picture of cocky confidence and self-assurance that only came with having proved yourself as belonging at the top of the pyramid over years. I knew that feeling. I had experienced that feeling back in Boston. He carried himself like a fighter, poised for battle at any moment. And worst of all he was unashamedly, undeniably attractive.

He wore his thick black hair cut short at the back and sides but longer on top so that the soft waves fell forward onto his face. This gave him a cheeky boyish air that I could immediately sense he used to charm his way out of any tricky situation. His eyes were a deep, dark green, glinting with mischief and carrying the ability to stare so deep into a person that it felt like your soul was being measured.

Then there was that smirk. The slight uplift to the side of his mouth that promised every kind of carnal pleasure including some that was probably illegal in 20 States. That single look would be enough to win the hearts of the entire female population of the school and probably half the town as well.

Finally, although his clothes somewhat disguised it, he had the body of a Greek god. I had felt the muscular tension of his arms as he swept me down the corridor earlier. I had been close enough to establish that his torso was equally firmly built and would undoubtedly look phenomenal without his shirt on.

Yup everything about this boy screamed trouble.

So, by all logical laws of the universe my next words should never have left my mouth.

“Fine. We will do this. But I have conditions.”