Dare me to

I took off my helmet and walked into the school, looking around at the unfamiliar hallways and faces. I spotted a beautiful girl standing at her locker, her dark brown hair cascading down her back, her green eyes sparkling with a kind of curious brilliance. I took in her petite shape, her delicate features, and smirked to myself before taking a deep breath and walking over to her. “Hi, I’m lost. I’m trying to find Ms. Gilmore’s class,” I said, my voice slightly higher than I intended it to be. She smiled, nodding her head. “Sure, I can show you where it is. Come with me,” she said, motioning for me to follow. As we were walking up the stairs, I couldn’t help but let my gaze wander down to her butt. I felt like such a creep for even thinking about it, but I couldn’t help myself. I quickly slapped myself in my head for being so idiotic and turned my attention elsewhere. Soon we arrived at our destination, and I flashed her my beautiful fangs with a sly smirk on my face. She blushed a little and started twirling her hair, which seemed like it was some kind of nervous habit of hers. I couldn’t help but laugh at her shyness and I said, “Thanks beautiful.” before I started walking away. I sat down in a chair before a girl with blonde hair came forwards and uninvitedly sat on my desk. She leaned forwards her red lipstick shading her lips, and I could already tell she was trouble. “Hi babe. New here?” She spoke in a way that sounded as if she was trying to pick me up. I nodded and coughed a little from her overpowering perfume. “Cold?” She asked, probably because of the coughing. “No, it’s your perfume,” I spoke sarcastically, barely able to contain my annoyance. She chuckled, seemingly unaware of the rude tone in my voice. She put her arms on the desk and looked at me with a smirk. "Maybe we could kiss until the teacher comes.” She spoke, with an absolutely ridiculous look on her face. “I don’t even know your name.” I spoke, looking away in an attempt to show my disinterest. You could practically hear the awkward silence hanging in the air as we both made attempts to look busy. Soon the same girl who had helped me to this class came in and sat beside me, breaking the tension. “Ruby, you know if the teacher catches you then you’ll be sent to detention again.” She spoke, in a tone that was both scolding and pleading. Ruby got up and walked away, but not before shooting me a look that seemed to say, “try not to miss me too much”. I looked at the girl and crossed my arms over my chest. “Ruby’s throwing herself at me in class.” I spoke, a frown crossing my face. “She does that to everyone,” she spoke kindly. I smiled at her. “I’m Dean by the way.” I said, extending my hand. “Shadow,” she replied, shaking my hand gently. “That’s a cute name,” I responded, noticing how her cheeks turned pink with the compliment. She looked away from me, her gaze lingering on the ground before she finally met my eyes again. “Thanks,” she replied quietly, a shy smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. I glanced at Ruby, who seemed to be looking at me with loving eyes. I scoffed and turned back to Shadow, a hint of frustration in my voice as I asked, “How long does it take for her to move on from her crush?” Shadow sighed before responding, “She’s in a relationship with a guy named Noah, and it usually takes about six months before she falls back in love with him. I’m not sure why she keeps going back to him, but I suppose it’s just her nature.” I nodded, understanding, but still feeling a bit of bitterness towards the situation. The teacher soon comes into class, and after three more classes, the time comes to lunch. I’m walking with a girl named Jess, who I had gotten to know better in the third period class. She seemed to be a pretty cool person, and I noticed her walking a little closer to me than usual. Thinking to myself, I couldn’t help but smirk as I realized what she was implying. “You’re the new hot guy in school now,” Jess said playfully, as we entered the lunchroom. I couldn’t deny that I was flattered, but I was also slightly annoyed by the attention of the girls. She let out a deep chuckle. “I mean come on! You ride a motorcycle! That’s pretty badass!” She spoke with a hint of admiration in her voice. I shook my head and smiled. “If you want, I’ll take you for a ride sometime. You’ll have to be brave though,” I joked. Her eyes met mine and she grinned. “I think I’m brave enough for that,” she said, her voice full of confidence. We both laughed, and then she suggested nicknames for each other. “I like Tiger for you! What about Mouse for me?” She beamed with enthusiasm as our food trays clattered on the table. I spotted Shadow sitting alone and I waved at her. She came slowly and sat on the opposite side of the table. “Hey. Who’s this loner?” Jess joked, though I could tell she was trying to be friendly. I responded, “Her name is Shadow.” Shadow looked down and back up at me with a look of insecurity on her face. “Hi,” she whispered. “I’m Jess! Isn’t Dean hot? He rides a motorcycle!” Jess spoke, though her words were met with a lack of response from Shadow. I could tell she wasn’t comfortable with Jess’ carefree attitude. I cleared my throat and tried to break the awkward silence. “Shadow. What food do you like?” I ask. “I like fried chicken,” She spoke calmly. Jess chimed in with a laugh, “Don’t we all!?” Shadow smiled a little but didn’t respond. I shifted in my seat, not sure if my question had made her uncomfortable. I quickly redirected the conversation. “I like rice,” I spoke. Jess pushed me on the shoulder playfully as she ate some mashed potatoes that was on the school tray. “Dean,” She spoke with a playful tone, “You’ve got to expand your palate. No more just plain rice.” I smiled, thankful that Jess had lightened the mood. Shadow looked up, her face brightening a bit. Jess leaned forward and spoke to Shadow, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “So Shadow who do you like in this school?” She spoke, her eyes full of amusement. Shadow’s cheeks reddened as she stuttered out “Justin.” Jess shouted out with a mocking tone, loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear. “HA! YOU LIKE JUSTIN!?” Shadow looked down, embarrassed, as the other students laughed and teased her. Jess made a show of rolling her eyes and shaking her head. “Don’t you think you’re a bit young to be thinking about boys like that? You should be focusing on your studies. ”I frowned and nudged Jess hard, my face contorting in anger. “Stop being so harsh to Shadow. If she wants to like someone then let her. You have no right to ask those kinds of questions and expect no answer. Do you think you have some sort of divine permission to judge people? I don’t think so.” Shadow looked up her eyes filled with Shame. I clenched my fists in frustration. “I think it’s best for you to not talk anymore Jess. That was so rude of you to ask the question and expect no answer. I don’t know why you think it’s okay to be so cruel and to make someone feel ashamed of who they like.” I stood up and looked down at her. Jess chuckled. “Don’t you think you’re doing too much? You’re not her savior. You think you’re on top of the world, but you’re just like Shadow.” I spoke, feeling a little irritated. “Dean, shut up,” Jess said, her voice full of warning. Ignoring her, I asked, “So Shadow, do you want to go to a library?” She nodded and quickly stood up, as if eager to get away from Jess. I followed her in silence, with Jess giving me a few looks of disapproval as we left her.