A Dirty Game - Chapter 9

Sooooorry Guys for the wait. I have been really busy. Anyway the other day I read this book the other day; Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. It was bloody AMAZING. I really suggest it, although it is one of those great uncensored books. Still, it's fantastic.

And (Thanks to Sam M-R) I just wanna remind people that, that mad person who comments on your great stories as Latoya? Yeah...That's me =]

Thanks to Brooke, Floppy Disc, Sam M-R and Ren =] Your comments were greeeat and they made me smile so much.

Enjoy xxx

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.
Judy Garland

~*~*~*

Ruby stalked out of the cafeteria with a huff. How fucking dare Romeo blank her like that? She scowled and briefly wondered where Braiden was. Romeo had hurried into the canteen just now and right past her. He'd sat down at a table in the far end and pulled out his phone. Ruby walked over and tried to talk to him but he didn't even acknowledge her. Once more he had made a fool out of her.

She was walking around the building in the hope that the little ache in her heart would go away. The fact that her dad had left still pained her though she was trying not to think about it. It was only lunchtime, about two or three hours since talking to Braiden. A girl in front of her was sitting on the ground, knees tucked in, reading a book. Ruby stopped and looked at her. She looked happy. There was a little smile tugging at her lips as her eyes flicked hungrily over the words. Ruby wished she could get pleasure from doing simple things like reading. As if sensing her, the girl looked up. The smile dissapeared.

"Am I blocking your way?" she asked politely and started gathering her bag. Ruby kneeled down and put a hand out to stop her.
"No" the girl looked startled "You're not"
"Um...Ok"
"What are you reading?" Ruby asked and settled down besides her. The smile was back in a flash. As if the words were a switch.
"Oh. I'm Sacha by the way. It's called Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman, It's absolutely amazing" she gushed.
Ruby laughed.
"What's it about?"
"This boy called Elio right, he lives in Italy and his father invites a scholar every summer to be a house guest. So this man called Oliver, he gets accepted. And when he arrives, Elio falls in love with him. And then, oh an then after a while he finally admits it to Oliver. I'm on that part now. It's so passionate and emotional..." she trailed off, her eyes dreamy.

Ruby smiled and glanced at the book. It sounded great. Her kind of book.
"Can I borrow it after?" she raised an eyebrow. Sacha glanced up and laughed.
"Sure. Just don't damage it, cuz I'll have to kill you then" her eyes twinkled but her hands tightened protectively over the book.
"Of course not. What year are you in? I don't think I've seen you around"
"Oh, I'm uh, in sixth form like you. I just don't really stand out" she muttered into the books pages.

Ruby tilted her head. Really? Sacha was a pretty girl. She had delicate features, stormy blue eyes and a rosebud mouth. Light brown skin and a slight build. Sacha stared back.

"Well, trust I'll be looking out for you from now on. I like you" Ruby smiled.
Sacha's eyes widened slightly, then she grinned and nodded.
"Ok"
"Good. Listen I've got to go, but I'll probably see in next period, bye" she stood up.
"See ya" Sacha called.

Ruby walked off but stopped and looked over her shoulder. Sacha was reading the book again. All of a sudden she punched the air and grinned, then turned the page, drinking it in. Ruby turned and walked off, a warm feeling in her heart. Now that was a true friend if ever, and also a girl well into her books. Maybe she could get to become good friends with Sacha. Ruby rounded a corner.

"Rube!". Her steps faltered. Was that Braiden's voice? She looked around. She couldn't see him.
"Rube! Up here!" he called again. She tilted her head up, and her mouth flopped open.

The school was about seven or eight storeys high. And those storeys were BIG. But yet, Braiden was leaning over the edge of the wall that ran around the roof, grinning and gesturing for her to come up. Was he mad? She was not going up there...

Ruby knocked on the fire exit door and Braiden pulled it open. She pushed him out the way, shut it and leaned against it, breathing heavily.

"I...hate....you" she gasped in between painful breathes. He grinned cockily and stepped forward.
"No you don't" he whispered playfully and then danced away. Ruby watched with wide eyes.
Was he on drugs? He stopped over by the wall, and settled down on a manky blanket to watch her. She pushed herself up and tottered over.

"What are you doing up here? And you can't expect me to sit on that thing?" she asked, hands on hip, breath fully caught. He nodded and patted it.

Reluctantly, and sighing deeply, she lowered herself onto it. He laughed.
"See? I knew you could do it!" he chirpsed in a fake Disney voice. Ruby laughed a little.
"Pure madness" she muttered. She lay back and stared at the clouds. He copied.

"How did you get up here?" she asked.
"Easy, jimmied the door"
"Ok, why are you up here?"
"To cheer you up"

Ruby turned her head and was shocked to see that his mouth was about a centimeter away from hers. She jerked her gaze from them to his eyes, ignoring the sudden urge to close the distance.

What the hell? She hissed to herself.

"What?" she murmured.
"Well, I knew you were upset. And this is the major space. No one else here to crowd you. Beautiful view" he smiled. Ruby forced herself to focus.
"Oh, Well thanks" she turned her head back to face the sky.

"Are you feeling okay now?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think I just made a new trustworthy friend" she answered.
"You have changed a bit" he speculated.
"Huh?"
"Nothing"
"Hmmm, sure" she rolled her eyes. He chuckled.
"I heard it's your birthday next week" he added.

Ruby shrugged.
"A lot of people heard"
"Yeah I know" he said distantly.
Ruby giggled.
"Oh I get it. You wanna know if you're invited to my party" she accused.
He widened his eyes innocently.
"Of course not"
"Oh my god, yes you do!"

Braiden laughed and nodded.
"Okay. I do. So?"
"Yeah. Everyone is. I want a full house" she smiled.
"Hmmm....risky. It'll get trashed" he told her.
"Who cares? I can get a cleaning company in the next morning" she dismissed.

He raised an eyebrow.
"If I was a rich girl, nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah nah, If I had all the money in the world..." he sung under his breath. Ruby dug him in the ribs.
"Hush. I might as well use it to my advantage" she grinned.
"Popcocky" he insisted in a British accent. Ruby laughed.
"Dumbarse, it's Poppycock actually" she corrected.
"Ooh, of course it is" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"You have a dirty mind" she giggled. He shrugged.
"If the brain fits" he winked.

"Anyway, i'm gonna be 17 and I want my own car" she looked up again.
"Jeez. I knew it. I am older than you"
"What? No you're not!"
"Yes I am" he taunted.
"When's your birthday?" she got up on one elbow.
" Fifth of July"
"Hah. Only by a few months" she smirked.
"Actually a year and a few months" he smirked back.
"What? That can't be!" she smiled.
"It's a long story" he warned.
"I got all lunch" she said, copying his words from break time. He shrugged.
"Short version is I blew up a car and got held back a year"

Ruby stared at him. He looked serious, though his playful smile was there and his eyes were twinkling. She narrowed hers.
"What? Were you like, part of the Taliban or something?" she joked.
"Jeez, no. Nothing like that"
"Then what? Tell me the long version" she punched his arm. He cocked his head to the side.
"Ok, but don't tell anyone. When I was fourteen, I had this paper round, right. I only did it cuz I needed the money. My family were going through a rough patch. Anyway, there was this guy, number 97, I remember. He used to complain to my 'boss' that I never put the newspaper in the letterbox. It drove him crazy, which was exactly why I did it. One day Ravi, my boss, got pissed off, and fired me. He was sick of the complaints. I was so annoyed, in fact I was blazing with anger. And I wanted revenge like you wouldn't believe. The money I got from that round was surprisingly good. I waited for the kid who replaced me to put the paper in the guy's letterbox, pulled it out, and hid it in the garden. Then I hid behind his car and watched him search for it in the rain, in his crusty boxer shorts and slippers. God, he was a sight Ruby" Braiden laughed. Ruby listened, fascinated.

"Anyway, about five minuted later he still couldn't find it and he stomped into his house. I could see through the window he was getting his car keys and putting a coat on. So I pulled it from behind the bins, got a match out – don't ask why I had them – and without even thinking about it, lit the paper on fire, and stuffed it into his exhaust pipe. I'm telling you, it went up like a Christmas tree. I couldn't stop laughing. Unfortunately, he saw me and rang the police. I wasn't dumb enough to run, so I waited while he ranted and raved. I got put into a young offenders for six months and when I got let out they decided to punish me even further by holding me back a year. Hence why I'm 18 in a few months" he finished. Ruby stared. Was he for real?

He laughed a little nervously.
"You alright?" he poked her cheek. Ruby let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

"You dark horse" she joked. Braiden snorted.
"Braiden the Rebel" she wrote in the air and they laughed together.
"If only" he muttered.
"You have a Past" she stated.
"What?"
"I don't have a Past. It's just normal life. You're lucky. You're interesting. People ask you about your life and you have something to tell them. Something to stop them in their tracks and make them wonder about you. About who you are" she murmured, staring at a cloud shaped like a dog.

Braiden hmmed.
"Maybe I do have a Past. But Ruby, you have a Future. That's a whole lot better than what I've got to offer" he told her. She shifted her gaze to his.
"But who wants a Future?!" she cried.
"That's what rich people always say" he chortled.

Ruby noticed that his eyes crinkled in the corners.
That when he was staring right at you, as he was doing now, as intensely, you felt he could see right into your very being.
Could read you like a book.
She stared back, wondering how he could make her feel like this.
He shifted closer.
How could he make her feel like this when she was supposed to be miserable?
Ruby's eyes dropped to stare at his lips.
She wondered what they would feel like against hers.
What it would feel like to run a hand through those golden curls.
His warmth was seeping into her, making her shiver and shudder before he'd even touched her. He was almost there, and frustrated, Ruby pushed herself towards him.

And then the lightening crackled.
The thunder roared in her ears.
It could easily have been mistaken for her heartbeat, except Braiden looked up. And Ruby's lips touched nothing but thin air and...rain. She glanced down and groaned.
It hadn't been his warmth seeping into her skin. It had been rain, the sodding wet rain, seeping and spreading into her school jumper and also her new suede boots.

"Fuck!" she screamed.