Denying the Bad Boy:Tattooed and Pierced, 2(10)

She could practically hear him gritting his teeth on the other end.  Lance may appear calm and socially perfect when others were watching,  but she knew the real him. Get a few drinks in him and it was like  watching a grotesque science project. Her quickly morphed into Mr. Hyde.  Of course that wasn't why their relationship had ended so badly,  although she should have dumped his ass for that alone. She should have  left him the first time he yelled at her while he was drunk, and said  some very hurtful things, but back then he was all she knew, and she was  such a naive teenager that his apologies had smoothed out things that  should have not been fixable. Since starting at OSU she had come to  realize a lot of things, mainly that she didn't need a man in her life  to feel whole. She supposed that was the only thing she had to thank  Lance for, because if they hadn't broken up the way they did things  would have been very different in her life, that she was sure of.

"I'm not asking for anything more than you're willing to give. I just  want to be your friend again, like we were before everything happened."

What pissed her off the most was the fact Lance had never once told her  he made a mistake. It was bad enough she had caught him screwing her  best friend, but even worse when she found out all of their "friends"  had known about what was going on. So there she had stood, watching in  disgust as the boy she thought she had loved had sex with someone she  had thought was her closest friend. Hell, she thought a lot of people  cared about her, but it was funny and depressing to realize she had been  wrong in all of that. He had apologized, begged her, and promised her  that he would never do it again. In the end she had walked away, and she  would be eternally thankful she had been strong enough to do that back  then. No longer would she be everyone's verbal punching bag. No longer  would she allow a man to walk all over her, and smooth it out with a  simple "I'm sorry". The only thing he had been sorry about was the fact  he had gotten caught. That had been the last time she saw any of those  so called "friends".

Mary may have gone back home since then, but she made sure to stay clear  of the people she used to associate with. These years had taught her a  lot, and that was she could only rely on herself, and that people wore  many masks.

"Lance, I really do have to go. I'd say it was nice talking to you, but  I'd be lying." He stuttered out something, but she hung up and threw her  phone back in her bag. The only thing she could think about as to why  he was calling her was because he was most likely not with Brittany any  longer. Her whole body tightened as she thought about her once best  friend. Last she heard, from Margo because her sister couldn't stop from  gossiping when she came into town, was that Lance and Brittany were  still going strong. They both deceived her and deserved each other.

Just stop thinking about it. You've gone this long without them  intruding on your life, and don't let them start now. She stood, no  longer in the mood to research at the library, and headed back to her  place. Mary wasn't much of a drinker, but she could really use one right  now. But maybe a good workout would do her some good instead?

Ten minutes later and she was closing the door to her room and sitting  on the edge of the bed. Her phone started vibrating, but when she saw it  was her mom she threw it back in her bag. There was no surprise that  she was calling right after Lance had talked to her. In fact, she  wouldn't put it by her ex to try to get her mom to talk her into seeing  him. That had been a big problem with him when they were dating, well,  one of the problems.

Looking back on her relationship with him she realized there had been a  lot of things she had been ignorant of. Her phone rang again, but she  didn't bother looking at it. When her mother was angry enough, or  desperate, she was persistent.

After changing into a pair of stretch pants and her workout shirt, Mary  grabbed her backpack and shoved a change of clothes in it. She headed  out of her room and into the kitchen where she stopped when she saw  Darcy sitting at the table looking pretty rough.                       
       
           



       

"Hey."

Darcy glanced up, her mascara creating dark rings around her eyes and  her normally blonde spiral curls looking especially frizzy. It was late  in the afternoon, and she knew her roommate should have been in class.  "You okay?" Darcy leaned back and ran her finger under her right eye,  effectively smearing the mascara even more. "Hey, what's wrong?" Her  normally peppy and outgoing friend looked pathetically sad, and that was  the first time Mary had ever seen her this way. Darcy sniffed, and a  fresh batch of tears filled her eyes right before overflowing and making  black tracks down her cheeks.

"I just got into a fight with Dane." By the tone of her voice Mary knew  there was more, and could only guess what it was that would make her  usually lively friend so upset. She looked up at Mary, and the tip of  her nose became redder at the same time her nose scrunched up and she  cried harder. "I heard from Meghan that he fucked some sorority chick  last weekend." Well, Mary could relate to that, but didn't say anything  until Darcy was finished. "I confronted the asshole, and he didn't even  deny it. He even had the balls to blame the whole thing on me because he  said I didn't get freaky enough for him." Darcy's voice was rising now,  and Mary leaned back, giving her a wide berth. "I mean, fuck, how much  freakier did he want me to get? I let him-" Mary held up her hand and  shook her head, stopping Darcy from finishing that sentence.

"Uh, no, just no. I can imagine what the two of you did when I heard the headboard slamming against the wall."

This had Darcy smiling, but then immediately she started crying again.  Crap, she should have just kept her mouth shut. Mary moved closer and  wrapped her arms around Darcy's shoulders.

"I really liked him, Mary, like really liked him."

"I know." Mary didn't really know, but was trying to empathize with her  friend. Honestly she had seen more guys come in and out of Darcy's life  in the short time they lived together then she thought was even  possible. She didn't judge, and knew her roommate was enjoying life,  which was something Mary wasn't doing. Darcy angrily wiped at her  cheeks.

"I know what you're thinking." Darcy pulled away from Mary and sniffed.  "I have had a lot of boyfriends, but I thought he was The One. Turns out  they are all the same, Mary. These guys only want one thing, and that's  pussy." Mary was used to the crude way Darcy talked, but never had she  heard so much pain and anguish in her voice.

"I'm so sorry. If it makes you feel any better I can relate to what you're going through."

"Really?" Darcy sniffed again, and Mary reached in her backpack for a  tissue and handed it to her. "Thanks." Darcy blew her nose, and Mary  couldn't help but smile at how manly it sounded.

"Yeah, I really do know how you feel." She didn't go into details with  Darcy, but then again her friend didn't ask her to elaborate. "It sucks,  but I can tell you that it gets better over time, and you'll find  someone that treats you the way you deserve."

"Yeah, I know." She leaned back and looked at Mary. "To think I'm crying  over some pompous prick." She shook her head and heaved a big sigh.  "Maybe you'd want to go out with me this weekend, help me forget how  shitty men are by getting drunk and dancing like no one is watching?"

"Uh." Mary wasn't really into that kind of scene, but by the way Darcy  puffed out her lips, gave her a wide-eyed stare, and all but begged her  without words to go with her, she knew she couldn't say no. Mary hadn't  had anyone to talk to or help her forget about what Lance did all those  years ago. If she could help Darcy forget about what an asshole Dane  was, then she was all for it. "Okay."

Darcy's whole demeanor changed. She clapped her hands together and  stood. "I'm excited now. Fuck that asshole, and fuck the guy who broke  your heart." Darcy couldn't have said it any better.





Chapter Six



Alex slammed his fist into the red, scarred punching bag. His knuckles  were sore from hitting the damn thing over and over again, but he  welcomed the pain. Sweat had made his short hair drenched, and beads  slid down his bare chest. He swung out with his right fist, and then did  the same with his left. He felt the tightening of his muscles as he  tensed and put all his power right into the bag. Keeping on the balls of  his feet, he did a few moves, making sure his body stayed warmed up.  The sounds of guys fighting surrounded him, and the smell of sweat and  testosterone filled his nose. This was why Alex came to this  hole-in-the-way gym, where the roughest of the rough trained, and where  he could let out all of his aggression. The gyms around campus were  usually filled with the same ‘roided-out jocks who had big heads and  small dicks. How many fights had he gotten into with one of those pricks  because they had started shit with him for not wiping down the machine  fast enough?