Bella's POV
The bell rings, sharp and loud, and the hallway erupts as students head for their lectures.
"How was yesterday?" Ginny smiles knowingly as we walk into the classroom.
"Great." I said casually trying to hide my red cheeks.
" Yh, I noticed. I saw how happy you walked into college today. Your cheeks were still really red from whatever happened yesterday." She teased.
"That's a lie." I huff, rubbing my cheeks.
"But yh, yesterday was sooo… nice. Dylan's so sweet." We take our seats.
"Your right, he's really sweet. Hmph!!" She explain cuddling herself. I raise my brows in confusion. "What?" I ask, turning to her.
"I mean… he's my best friend," she said quickly. "And I've saw the way he acted with his girlfriend."
My smile fades. "He had a girlfriend?"
"Yeah. He didn't tell you? They were so in love. She was his everything."
"No, he didn't tell me." I say quietly.
Before I can say anything else, the lecturer walks in.
"Good morning, students. Today we'll be learning about the growth of microorganisms."
I try to focus, but my thoughts are all over the place. That's when I felt it.
Someone staring at me.
I turned back slowly and I was right.
"Who's this creep now?" The guy sat a few rows away, leaning back in his chair like he owns the room. His gaze fixed on me and it definitely wasn't friendly.
He looks familiar but I don't remember where I've seen him. I'm pretty sure he wasn't here yesterday.
When our eyes meet, he doesn't look away.
My stomach tightens a bit. I force myself to look away.
"Hey, Bella," Ginny whispers. "You okay?"
"Yeah," I murmur. "Just distracted."
I look back once more, this time he's grinning…. widely. I cringe as he winks at me. "Some people are just so infuriating." I think before facing the lecture.
------
We're heading toward the café when a voice stops me.
"Hey…. You." The weird guy from earlier leaned against the wall, arms crossed, this time, three other guys stand beside him. I ignore him and keep walking.
"Bella," Ginny says under her breath, grabbing my arm. "Wait."
"What do you think your doing?" She asks
"Umm, thought ee agreed on getting a snack at the cafeteria. I'm…"
"You can do that later, just go answer him first." She cut in.
" You mean, that dude. I don't know him. Give me one good reason why I should go answer him?"
"I'll give you the reasons, just go answer him first….Bella please go answer him." She says urgently.
"Okay, fine. If that's gonna make you happy, I'll just go talk to him."
I walk towards the guy, I regret it the instance I get closer. He's really intimidating. He looks like he could own New York City, he's green eyes never met mine, they're beautiful, so beautiful. No, he's beautiful, it looks almost unnatural. I snap out of my thoughts when he steps away from the wall. "Look, who finally came…you kept me waiting, no one does that." He smirked, stepping closer. It took everything in me, to stand still.
I roll my eyes at his words. "Who does he think he is."
"Dude, she's pretty." One of the other guys said.
"So," he says, his eyes dragging over me slowly, "you're the new girl."
I step forward, keeping my voice steady. "I'm Bella." I extend my hand.
He laughs like I just cracked a joke. Then instead of shaking it, he grabs my wrist and pulls me toward him.
Before I can react, his lips press against mine.
The world freezes.
"Nice name." He whispered in my ears.
Shock hits me first….then anger. I shove him back with all my strength.
Slap…..
The sound echoes down the hallway.
"How dare you?" I snap. "Who do you think you are?"
The corridor goes completely silent.
He touches his cheek slowly, staring at me like he can't believe I had the audacity.
"I'm not one of those girls you can mess with," I say, my voice shaking but strong. "Try that again and you'll regret it."
I turn to leave but he doesn't let me.
He grabs my arm and slams me hard against the wall, his face inches from mine. I choke from the impact.
"Do you know who you just slapped?" he says calmly. "You just made the biggest mistake of your life."
I wrench my arm free. "Let go of me."
"You will regret this," he continues, unbothered. " You don't mess with fire without getting burnt." He tuck my hair behind my ears.
"I always get what I want…. always." He adds.
I meet his eyes, my heart racing but my voice steady.
"I don't care who you are," I say. "You don't scare me."
"Let me go, freak." I pulled my hands away then walked away.
Behind me, everyone phones are raised. They were mumbling, some laughing. And the creep? He just smiles, a smile I couldn't get out of my head.
"Com'on Ginny, let's go" I puled stunned ginny away from the scene.
"Bella! Bella! " she calls
"What? Ginny what now? I did as you wanted right?" I let go of her hands.
"Bella, you just made a huge mistake. Do you know who you just slapped in public?"
"No," I reply. "And I don't care."
"That's Rick Dawson," she whispers.
"So…."
"You still don't get it, bella. In this college, Rick is called the king. He's the most popular and the richest kid in college. His mother owns this college… and more. She's like one of the richest person in this country. Rick and his friend have always ruled the school. Everyone here answers to him."
I scoff. "Then maybe someone should've taught him what consent means."
Ginny looks terrified. "You're not listening, you need to apologize."
I shake my head. "Hell no…Never."
"I don't give a damn about who he or his mother is, she's at fault here, clearly didn't raise her son right. The other girls allow themselves to be used by him because things are easier for them, they're rich and can easily find solutions to any problem. But in my case, my parents work day and night for this, so I'll get a good education and not so an egoistic, entitled, spoilt brat use me as a puppet.