Murphy’s Law

Chapter One

I’ve always hated Murphy’s Law. I mean, what kind of a stupid ass person invents an even stupider ass law about how everything and anything can go wrong? Why couldn’t he just invent something helpful, like… oh, I don’t know, maybe a law that states that everything and anything can get better? I mean, that’s something everyone wants to hear, right? But no, he had to go all pessimistic on us.

Jesus Christ, what’s crawled up his ass and died?

Okay, so I might be slightly bitter. But it’s not like you could actually blame me. If you went through all the drama I went through, in just three months, you would be bitter, too.

But I’m getting way ahead of myself.

It all started one slow Monday morning. It was lunch and I was sitting with my best friend in our usual table, the one all the dumb ass basketball players inhibit. But this time Sean, my best friend, had managed to kick them out. He wanted me to ‘meet’ his girlfriend. Which probably meant that he actually liked her, which also meant that she was a major pain in the ass. But, hey, it’s his choice, not mine. It’s not like he can help the fact that he is unable to date a decent girl. It’s always dumb, blonde, bimbo’s for him. But I’m just his best friend, what would I know?

Anyways, the girl he chose this time is a total whacko. Well, big surprise there. She was basically just like every other girl he brought up to meet me. Tall, long legs, big boobs, tight ass, platinum blonde hair, and big, bright blue eyes. Your usual everyday cheerleader. Though I don’t really remember seeing this one dancing around with the rest of the cheerleaders on any of Sean’s games. But then again, it’s not like I pay them all that much of attention.

What was her name again?

Sandy? Mandy? Candy? What was it? I can’t seem to remember it.

“But he was, like, totally hotter in, like,” she went on babbling to herself. I smiled politely and nodded my head, pretending I was listening to her while I’m actually trying to remember her name. “High School Musical 2. Not that he wasn’t, like, hot in Hairspray – because he, like, was. But he, like, looked so much, like, hotter in High School Musical, you know? Like –”

Man, doesn’t that girl ever shut up? She’s starting to give me a headache.

I held back a scowl and turned to my so-called best friend. He won’t be my best friend anymore once I’m done with him. I know he’s doing it on purpose. I know he just brings them over because he knows it bugs the hell out of me. And the knowing grin he just cast my way confirmed all my previous thoughts.

That boy’s as good as dead.

This time I didn’t hold back the scowl. It’s not like I could actually stop myself. They were both just so irritating.

I turned to see if what’s-her-face had noticed my scowl. She didn’t. She was too busy talking to herself to notice.

Hold on –

I looked from Sean to his girlfriend and then back again. A lazy smirk slid across my lips. Well, boy, two can play this game.

“Yes,” I suddenly said, startling them both. I wasn’t sure which one of them was startled the most, Sean or what’s-her-face. “But did you, like, see Orlando Bloom in, like, Pirates of the Caribbean? He was, like, hot – like, totally yummy.”

She didn’t even hesitated, she just nodded her head vigorously, eyes wide with what I assumed was seriousness and went, “Like, totally.”

She probably didn’t even agree with me. She’s just saying this to suck up to me. It’s a well known fact in Rosemont high that you wont last a day with Sean Walker if his best friend, aka yours truly, didn’t like you. Which isn’t true, let me tell you. And the girl sitting opposite me is further proof of it.

I grinned, a sudden thought striking me. Well, it’s not like anyone else is going to provide me the entertainment I need. “And Brad Pitt is, like, so disgusting.”

She didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, totally disgusting.”

I scowled, then tried again. “And so is, like, Jesse McCartney.”

“I know!” Man, this girl’s good.

“And Zac Efron is even more disgusting. He’s, like, so ew!”

She hesitated. “Yeah…”

I grinned and increased the pressure. She’s crumbling; she’ll give up in no time flat. “And Bill Gates is the sexiest man alive!”

She gagged, but then added anyways. “Yeah… he is.” She said, but she didn’t sound as convincing as she did a moment ago. My smirk grew.

“It’s like,” I went on, knowing what and how to make her break now. “He’s so freakin’ sexy. Whenever I see a picture of him I get, like, so hot and I, like, totally want to jump his bones. He’s, like, sex on legs.” Beside me, Sean looked way beyond disgusted and irritated.

However, his girlfriend wasn’t quite ready to give up, yet. She just shifted uncomfortably in her seat and nodded, albeit grudgingly. I gotta admit, that one’s tough. I’m starting to like this girl.

“And those glasses,” I moaned, causing Sean to flush beside me and his girlfriend to flinch. “Oh, god. They’re so fucking sexy.”

The girl stood up abruptly. “Yeah, um… I…” she stuttered. “I – I gotta go!” then she made a mad dash out of the table and towards the cafeteria entrance. I grinned; mission accomplished.

“Did you really have to do that?” Sean whined pouting adorably beside me.

I shrugged. “Was she gunna last long?”

He hesitated.

“See?” I told him. “I did you a favor. Now you don’t have to go through all that trouble with breaking up with her when you get bored – which, my guess is, would be sooner rather than later.” He scowled but didn’t argue with me. He knew I was right, and he hated it when I was.

There was a slight pause at which I had the feeling that Sean was holding something back; as if he wanted to say something but wasn’t quite sure he wanted to know the answer or even ask the question. I gave him an impatient look. “What is it? Spit it out, boy.”

He flushed and then cleared his throat, his eyes looking everywhere but at me. “Do you really have a thing for Bill Gates?”

I gave him a, what I hoped to be – but probably wasn’t, secretive look. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

The rest of the day dragged on slower than I had hoped it would. I was just about ready to knock the damn teacher, just to stop her incessant voice from droning on and on and on, out cold when the final bell suddenly went off, signaling the end of yet another day. I all but flew out of the room. Leaving the rest of the class chuckling softly with amusement behind me.

I ignored them and went straight up to my locker, where I was sure that Mina was waiting for me so we could both head out to the basketball field and wait until Sean finished practice. And true to my predicament, I found Mina waiting for me in front of my locker, looking around for any sign of me and looking rather impatient. I took my sweet time in getting to her. Making sure that my steps were lazier than usual, just to piss her off. Needless to say, it worked.

“Is it true?” was the first thing she said to me once I was close enough to hear the hiss. I should’ve been surprised. I mean, what kind of a way is that to greet one of your closest friends? But I wasn’t. I was kind of expecting that much.

You see, there’s something you should probably know about Mina. She has this weird obsession with Sean and she believes that she’s actually in love with him. And no matter how hard I try to convince her that she’s not in love with him – that she’s in love with the idea of being in love with him, she wouldn’t even waver. Her mind was made up, or, rather – as she loves to point out – her heart was. I, of course, don’t believe that she’s in love with him. Infatuated? Yes. In love? Not a chance. We’re too young, for one.

Besides, the cheesy romance novels she’s been reading might have finally got to her. If she just listened to me and put the darn books down, she wouldn’t be in this predicament.

“Is what true?” I asked dumbly. I had a pretty good idea about what she’s talking about, but she doesn’t really need to know that.

“That Sean broke up with his girl friend.” She said her voice tight with the effort she was putting to hold her excitement in.

I nodded, unable to hold back the knowing smile that spread across my lips.

Mina eyed me warily. “He brought her to meet you, didn’t he?” I nodded, confirming her thoughts. “And you freaked the hell out of her, didn’t you?” my grin was the only respond I could give her. She broke into a grin, much like my own. And patted my head, much like someone would pet his or her dog. I didn’t mind though.

“Auta girl.” She cooed.

“Glad I could be of help.” I said as I started walking towards the basketball field, with Mina on my side.

As soon as I stepped foot in the basketball field I was swamped by a pair of strong, muscular arms and spun around in circles. I didn’t even need to look up to know who it was. He laughed a deep and throaty laugh, and I would’ve joined him had I not been too busy gasping for breath.

“Put me down, you big goof!” I chocked out, wiggling between Jason’s arms in my failed attempts to free myself from his clutches. Sometime I really hate the fact that all my friends are on one team or another; they’re all so athletic while I’m not. It’s not even like I can help it. I mean, it’s not my fault that I have absolutely no balance, I was born clumsy.

After one last spin, he finally let go of me, albeit hesitantly. I stepped back from him and took in his appearance. His dark auburn hair, that was usually spiked, was now flat against his forehead with sweat, and looking almost black. His green eyes sparkled with the mirth that always seemed to be there. Even drenched in sweat, the boy looked good. I was jealous.

Hold on… Drenched in sweat?

I looked down at my clothes, and sure enough. There were sweat spots all over me. I tugged at my shirt and brought it up to my nose so I could smell it – it reeked.

“Jason.” I drawled in warning.

“I should start running shouldn’t I?” he asked, probably knowing the answer already. My only respond was the burning glare I sent his way. But it was enough; it got the message across. Jason scrambled away, running as fast as his long legs would carry him – which was a lot, considering how tall the boy was. I knew I would never be able to catch up with him because: a) he’s the fastest runner in the basketball and track team. And b) because I’m considered a midget when compared to him – or anyone else on the team for that matter.

I stopped dead on my track and watched as Jason went on running. He didn’t even notice that I wasn’t behind him. No, he was too busy laughing his head off at me. I had to pinch myself to keep myself from laughing and alerting him.

I just stood there waiting for him to round the corner so I could pounce at him and finally get my payback. My arms were spread in front of me and my body ready to pounce any moment. Then he was in my reach – I was sure that if I had extended my arm out I would’ve been able to touch him – but I couldn’t do anything, because a pair of arms had wrapped itself around my waist and pulled me back against a hard chest.

I squealed. Wiggling out of his grasp was not an option, I knew. I’ve tried doing that way too many times, and it didn’t work in any of the times. Especially when it was Sean that was concerned. But I was sure that it wasn’t Sean that was holding me back this time. Instead, I had a feeling that it was a certain rival.

I tilted my head slightly upwards so I could see the owner of the pair of arms that were currently trapping me, and sure enough, I found Brandon Anderson giving me his trademark irritating smirk. I scowled. The last thing I needed right now – or ever, really – was Brandon getting on my case.

“So how’s my favorite little girl doing?” he asked.

I tried wiggling out of his grasp, even though I knew that it wouldn’t work. “I am not a little girl.”

“If you say so.” he said finally releasing me.

“Well, I do say so.”

I felt a hand clasp around my arm and tug me backwards. I didn’t even struggle. I would have taken any excuse to get away from Brandon, that’s how much he irritated me.

“Let’s go.” I heard Sean say, his voice was tight, and I was sure that if I turned around I’d see that his jaw was clinched and his teeth gritted tightly, with that little vein popping out from his jaw. Something that tends to happen a lot in Brandon’s presence, I noticed.

I nodded. Ignoring that little nagging voice in my head that was telling me to do otherwise. I mean, he had no right to boss me around, right? But I’ll let it slide this time. “Okay.”

“Where to?” Brandon inquired, genuinely curious.

“Why?” Sean snapped, clearly not in the mood for Brandon’s games.

Brandon shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s just a question.”

“Well,” Sean started as he dragged me away. “It’s none of your business.”

We met Mina halfway through the way to the parking lot. She was waiting for us with a way too cheery attitude.

“Hey, Sean!” she greeted cheerfully. Then her eyes shifted towards me in a quick glance before turning back to Sean. “Hey, Jess.”

“Where to?” Sean asked, looking at me.

“Baskin Robin’s?” I suggested. He nodded his head and we headed there, with me riding in Sean’s car and Mina on hers.

Twenty minutes, or so, later we were at Baskin Robin’s. I ordered my usual chocolate chip cookie dough with hot chocolate fudge and chocolate sprinkles on the top, while Sean had his usual butter Peanut Butter 'n Chocolate ice-cream with the same toppings I had, and Mina got the Very Berry Strawberry ice-cream. We chose a little table to the side and sat there. I tried making Sean sit next to Mina as subtly as I could, but, somehow, he ended up sitting next to me instead. I just shrugged it off and dug in.

I managed to eat two spoonfuls of the icy heaven when we were interrupted by one of Sean’s teammates. Guess which one. No, come on, guess.

Brandon Anderson.

Can it get any worse?

“Well, well, well.” he said with a grin as he approached us. “I’ll be. If it isn’t our own Sean Walker, and his little girlfriend.”

I rolled my eyes. “I thought I told you I’m not little.”

He gave me a once over, his eyes lingering on my… “package”? Then he smirked. “Little you’re not, my dear friend.” He pulled a chair and stuck it between Sean and I before settling himself in and wrapping an arm around me. “Little you’re not.” He repeated.

Guess I was wrong; it can get worse.

Sean’s eyes hardened and he turned to glare at Brandon.

Way worse.