Opposites Attract

James woke up to the sound of his mother slamming the door on his father. He lifted his messy head of hair from the soft white pillow and slowly managed to get out of bed. In the darkness of his room, he yanked on a pair of saggy sweatpants and threw on a black hoodie. James tried his best to distance himself from the violent argument happening elsewhere in the house as he crammed his feet into his shoes. He shoved his shattered phone and some cash into his pockets, left his bedroom, grabbed his untouched backpack, and slipped out of the front door.

His feet began to walk the familiar route to school. It was Wednesday, right? James couldn't remember. This was his first day back at school since the weekend, though, he knew that. Saturday night had been insane. Sunday night had been insane. Monday night had been insane. Jesus, the hangover had been a nightmare. James couldn't even really remember what he had taken, but the crash had left him feeling worse than he'd felt in a long time. He still didn't feel quite right. Drifting through the empty hallways, James realized that the day was already well on its way. He squinted at the clock, and then made his way to his third period class, gym.

He decided not to change and walked outside, climbing onto the bleachers. God, it was only September, and James was already dying for it to be summer again. He was casually watching his gym class play soccer when the teacher approached him. "Decided to show up today, Mr. Maxwell?" The gym teacher said, in his naturally arrogant, irritating voice. "It's only halfway through the period, why don't you go change into your uniform?"

James responded with a distant look. He cleared his throat. "Mr. Lenning, what day is it?"

"It's Thursday, James. Tomorrow I expect you present and dressing." James closed his eyes as the gym teacher strode away and returned to his soccer referee post.

James felt eyes on him and looked to his left to find a girl opting out of gym. Their eyes connected for a swift moment before her gaze darted away. James sighed softly and pulled his hood up, looking back out to the field.

Emma had special opting-out privileges. She was still required to be at gym class - but she was on the swim team - a diver to be exact - so she didn't always have to participate in gym. And the teachers loved her, so they always let her get away with opting out a few more times than she was technically allowed.

Emma was the perfect student. She had as high a GPA as she could; she worked as hard as she could and participated in as much as she could. It was sort of just expected of her. She was the innocent good girl - and she didn't understand anything but that.

Like this boy that was sitting on the bleachers as well now too. What was with him? She knew of him... James... Who didn't know of him. He was the model bad boy at school and stoners and other bad boys looked up to him; she just didn't get it. She didn't understand how someone could choose to be as bad as he was... But she assumed that it wasn't that important as long as he didn't affect her.

When their eyes met, she blushed lightly and looked away instantly. That was a bad habit - staring when she was trying to figure something out. She guessed that wasn't something that was exactly proper etiquette, but she was just trying to understand it... Maybe some things just weren't understandable. Some things were just a mystery.

Gosh, she was awfully pretty. He recognized her, but couldn't pin a name to her face. James knew she belonged with the example student crowd. Scuffing his sneaker against the bleachers, he tried to remember her name. He wondered how she would react if he were to introduce himself.

Talking to her would probably get his mind off of things, like the argument his parents had that morning, or the upcoming periods of school. He knew his teachers would certainly not be pleased - something he was entirely used to, of course, but irritated by. After all, it was going to be a long half hour if he didn't figure out something to do.

But man oh, man was he tired. Even though he had hardly been awake at all for two days, his body still wasn't recovered. James decided to take a nap on the bleachers instead of sparking up a conversation. She probably wouldn't want to talk to a bum like him anyway.

Yawning, James leaned back into the next row of bleachers. Immediately, he groaned, and sat back up again in pain. Lifting his hoodie and twisting his body around, James discovered a huge bruise on his back. How the hell did that happen? Maybe he had taken a hard fall. James glanced up, and caught the pretty girl staring at the bruise. He flashed a natural grin at her. "Is it really that bad?"

Emma kept her eyes off of him up until the point that he groaned and then she found herself looking at his bruise and she gasped. What had he been doing that he had gotten that.

When turned to her, she blushed and she looked at him with innocent eyes. "Uh..." She stated first and then looked down. "It looks...sore if anything. Big." She said and then shook her head. She wanted to ask where he had gotten it from but didn't know how to ask such a thing without sounding judgmental.

"You might want to be careful about that... It looks sore. It will probably hurt for awhile. What did you do to yourself?"

She looked up and her eyes met his. She looked away instantly. She felt weird making eye contact with him.

James watched her face with his gentle dark eyes, intrigued by her shyness. Did he scare her? He smirked a bit to himself, admiring her adorable pink cheeks. Snapping out of it, James dropped his hoodie so it covered his skin once more. He listened to her soft little voice carefully.

"To be honest," his voice was rough. James coughed into his elbow to clear his lungs somewhat. "To be honest, I really have no idea how it happened," he admitted. "I think I probably fell down?" he shrugged. He raised his eyebrow and smiled lopsidedly at her.

"It's sweet of you to be concerned," he said, thinking out loud. He tore his eyes away from her and looked out to the field again. He lowered his voice, "And you're awfully cute," he murmured, shamelessly flirting.

Emma could tell he was enjoying this. The way he smirked at her... In a way, it did scare her - because she had no idea what a guy like him was capable of at all. She wasn't into dating - so a guy like this, so cocky and confident, scared her the most.

She looked down as he dropped his shirt and frowned at the ground. The more he spoke, the more she knew the rumors were true and he was just as much trouble as they said he was. Look away - end the conversation now... But she couldn't - she was much too nice to be mean.

"You don't remember?" She asked and then shook her head. Se had never dealt with drugs or alcohol, so she certainly didn't understand - except the textbook descriptions.

When he looked out to the field, her eyes followed and looked away from him. "No prob-" she started and then heard another slight muttering from him. "What did you say?" She asked, wanting to clarify. No one flirted with her - no one wanted the kind of innocence she had.

"It's good to forget sometimes," James said gently. In truth, he was a little worried that he couldn't remember what happened. Had he been drinking? He rubbed the back of his neck, parts of the weekend flashed before his eyes. He remembered that what he had dropped was way too cheap to be pure, and came to conclusion that whatever that shit was laced with had to be the thing dragging him down.

James looked right into her bright eyes and smiled playfully. Something about her made him feel dark and dangerous. He loved the small thrill and rode it like a wave. "You're awfully cute," he repeated himself. A sly expression slid onto his face. "I mean really adorable. I'm not just saying that," he added, with a genuine flash in his eye.

Emma opened her mouth to respond and then shook her head. No - she couldn't make any remarks about his habits - that was a bad thing to do. Even though she hated drugs and alcohol, she couldn't blame him for liking it - and se couldn't be a snobby critical bitch either. She just nodded her head.

When he looked at her with his dark, mysterious eyes, she felt a sinking feeling. A feeling of doom. She should've just let it pass - making him repeat it showed some kind of interest - and the last thing she was was interested. She could only hold his gaze for so long before looking down every so often as she sighed, shaking her head.

"Don't say that.. I mean, thank you - but don't say that." She couldn't let him think flirting with her was okay...

She was against some certain choices of his - James could read it on her face, even if she didn't say it out loud. He noticed her eyes flicking away from his. James crept closer to her on the bleachers when she spoke. He rolled his eyes at her words, grinning.

"You are adorable though," he said, chuckling. "You've got this cute little blush. Might just make a guy like me crazy," He smiled a little, pushing the hood of his sweatshirt down and running a hand through his hair in attempt to make up for the lack of a proper combing in the morning. "Gosh, you won't even look at me. I won't hurt you,"

For a moment, he pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek, looking away. Slowly, he returned his eyes to hers, and the corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. "I'm James, cutie. What's your name?"

Emma was a little surprised as he slipped closer to her and it made her feel even more nervous to look at him. She gulped lightly and looked over the game, feeling a little worried about talking to him. She shouldn't be talking yo guys like him. Druggies and alcoholics - or a mixture of the two - were never good...

She heard his words and was surprised. No guy had ever talked to her like that before. Most just didn't pay any attention to her at all. She was too much of a goodie two shoes. "I won't not look at you..." She said as she still kept her eyes down. She ignored the beginning of his words, trying not to pay attention to it.

"I'm Emma." She said as she held his glance and she managed a smile at him. Might as well... talking was harmless.

"Emma," He said, letting her name roll out of his mouth. "Emma suits you," James said. He smiled back at her slyly, his deep eyes full of a certain playful evil. He could smell her perfume, it was light and wonderful. "Thanks for keeping me company," he said as the field began to clear. Though his words were gentle and polite, they came from a dangerous set of lips.

James stood up and winced, his body protesting. Carefully, he stepped down from the bleachers. Looking back at Emma, he said loudly, "See you around, cutie pie." A few heads whipped around, staring at him and at Emma. Oh, how he loved the attention. James winked at her and started off to his next class.

Emma blushed a little as he still spoke to her. She didn't really understand him or what he was about, but she certainly wasn't going to argue with him. Keeping him in a good mood was probably for the best, even though she didn't want to talk to him. "No problem." She said quietly as he got up. She didn't understand him at all. A)What was his interest in her? and B)She was the complete opposite of him - why was he even talking to her? The confusion scared her the most - because it shouldn't have mattered...

She felt bad as he winced when he stood up but when he turned back to her and spoke loudly, she gasped and blushed, looking away. She couldn't seem as if she was messing around with him - that would be a terrible thing. He wasn't the type that good girls got involved with. She couldn't get involved.. Besides, she didn't need any distractions - especially with someone like him. She just had to remember that; that was why she didn't get involved with other guys - and he was no different... worse actually.

James went to his locker, swinging the locker door back and fourth. It was a mistake to come to school, why would he ever choose to come to school... But, at least he got to talk to Emma. A crazy notion slipped into his mind, and he found himself wondering if he could make her go wild. She was the most genuinely innocent person he could think of, and toying with the idea of scratching her good girl record kept him entertained for the majority of the next period.

He almost felt guilty for thinking about her like that, though, which was unusual. Normally, playing with feelings was nothing but fun. There was just something different about Emma that inserted a little shred of shame in his heart.

James didn't think about her again until the end of the day. He saw her walking through the halls. With a small smirk to himself, James caught up to her and fell into step beside her. "Heyy, Emma," he said smoothly. "How was your day?"

Emma didn't know what to think about a guy like james. Totally not her type and she didn't know why he acted that way. Like seriously - what was the point of getting so wasted/high/whatever that you couldn't even remember how you got a bruise. Not a good idea of living in her perspective...

Somehow he stayed in her head though. She was intrigued, not emotionally but in some sort of anthropological way. What was with a guy that made him act like that? But curiosity wouldn't get to her - she wasn't going to get involved with anything like that.

And then he caught up to her. "Um, good?" She asked, trying not to say anything thaf would give him a bad impression. He scared her - that was where the curiosity stemmed from. She didn't understand a guy like him - and what he could potentially do to her was the scariest thing in her life.

"Um, good?" James repeated with a grin. How adorable, how innocent her facial expression was. She seemed scared. James didn't know how he felt about that, yet. He loved that she was a little frightened - but it sort of bothered him that he was entirely untrustworthy.

Gosh, was he ready for a high. As soon as he got home, he was lighting up. Maybe Emma would come with him - who was he kidding? She would never come with him, especially not if she knew smoking was involved. Actually, hell, it was worth asking. "You busy today? I mean, I'm just curious."

"Hey listen," James said, seriousness suddenly filling his voice. "If you want me to stop bothering you, I promise I will," he said, raising his eyebrow at her. "Just say the word,"

Emma rolled he eyes a little as he repeated her and then she sighed, shaking her head. She felt a little confused why he was even involved with her right now - why he was interested... If didn't make sense to her and she sighed, shaking her head.

When he asked if she was busy, she opened her mouth a little and didn't know how to answer. Was he asking her out? No - he couldn't be! It was weird if he was, especially because they were so different. They couldn't really fit together at all - it would be way too weird!

Emma looked at him for a moment as his mood switched and she shook her head. "Uh, no - I don't see any reason. You're not bothering me, so to speak." She said as she looked at him and she smiled widely.

"Oh, that's a huge relief," James said honestly. "I was kind of getting the vibe that you didn't appreciate my presence," he added with a little chuckle. Boy, messing with her was fun. She was such a good girl. It would be a shame if someone were to spoil that.

"You didn't answer my question, cutie," James said with a sly grin. "Doing anything today?" He cracked his knuckles and looked around. He caught a girl looking at them, whispering to her friend. He smirked softly as he turned back to Emma. It was already starting, the gossip about them.

"I would definitely steal some time of yours, sweetie, if you'd let me." James really wanted to go smoke, but he thought that maybe - maybe he wouldn't. Maybe he would watch a movie with Emma. Or get ice cream. Something cute, something that a genuine guy would do. He didn't really know what it was like to be romantic.

Emma managed a giggle lightly and couldn't help it. She didn't know why, but he was partially charming. She knew he was trouble - but the thought of savoring some curiosity and finding out about him was nice. She didn't know what interest he had in her or why but she was interested in finding it out.

"No, I don't think I'm doing anything today." She said with a blush. She could feel the people looking and that scared her. She knew what they were thinking - what was she, a goodie two shoes, doing with a guy like him? Everyone knew the way that he was - and the way he was highly sought after, if you wanted some trouble.

"I mean... I wouldn't mind." She said softly and then shrugged. "I just need enough time to do my homework tonight." She said with a smile to him. "Otherwise I'm free." She said bashfully.

James started to respond when his friend Mark slapped him on the back. "Yo, tweaker, wondered if you were dead!" Mark said with a cheerful laugh. Then, Mark lowered his voice and spoke again. "I need you to hook me up with the good stuff, asap," he said. Mark glanced nervously at Emma, worrying that she would snitch and wondering why the hell she was walking with James.

"Alright I got your back," James said. James knew Mark was asking for weed. Mark doesn't even know what real good stuff is like. "Swing over to my house at the stroke of twelve, princess," James joked, a devilish grin stretching his lips. Mark laughed a little too hard, and went on his way. Even James's friends were a tad scared of him, it seemed.

"Sorry about that, don't mind Marco Polo," James said smoothly. He looked into Emma's eyes. "I promise there will be enough time to do your homework, cutie," he chuckled. Innocence flowed from her - it was crazy. She was so ridiculously sweet. They walked out into the student parking lot. "Come on, lets get this party started," he said as he spotted his friend Jose.

"Jose!" he called. Instantly, Jose and the people he was with turned to look at James. James commanded a certain amount of power. He flashed a grin at everyone and gently took Emma's hand. "Mind if we get a ride?"

Jose raised his eyebrow at Emma, and said something in Spanish to his friends. They all laughed. "Of course, mi amigo," Jose said to James. Everybody climbed in to the tiny car. James slid into the backseat, but there was no room left for Emma.

"Come here, pretty girl," James said with a grin, patting his lap.