I'm Marrying The Asshole of My School?

Thankfully, Mom came to pick me up so I would have clothes to wear for school. I asked her, also, to bring a nice dress for tonight. I was planning on going to Emma’s so I could change, then walk over to Eric’s so we could take one car instead of two to meet them.
I walked into English class that day in a pair of my hippie jeans (you know the ones with all the hearts, words and peace signs all over them? The ones that like hug your hips and really flare and are torn and frayed out at the bottom? There’s always one pair in a girl’s drawer. Go on, look.), a black sweatshirt with the school’s band’s logo on the front, and my black sandals. Since I was normally early, I decided to go sit next to Rowen, who was looking a bit lonely.
“Hey there, stranger,” I sat down in the seat behind him, put my knapsack (which contained the dress) down and smiled.
His smile lifted my spirits for the day and he leaned over, planting a kiss on my cheek, “Hey, I heard you had no way home. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to get you; I was already clonked out by 9. I actually just found out this morning.”
“Its fine,” I patted his head, smoothing out the waves around his face.
“You sure?”
“Mhm,” I crossed my legs, “So I need to tell you something.”
“Yeah,” He asked.
“Emma and I are going on a double date with our “husbands” tonight so don’t wait for me. I haven’t seen Emma in like a week so I really miss her,” I rested my chin in my palm and looked at him, “Is that okay?”
“Sure,” He gave a crooked smile, “So how was sleeping over Eric’s like? I bet there was yelling.”
I laughed, “Sure was.”
He chuckled and rested his forehead against mine, “I bet you beat him up good.”
I shifted my eyes around suspiciously, “Maybe.”
We both laughed quietly to ourselves as more people began to pile in. It seems my friendship with him suddenly became a relationship. I think that the turning point was when he came to me beaten and bruised that night. We just automatically became a couple; first by our friends, then the school, and now by each other. It made my chest warm and tighten just thinking about it.

Rowen’s POV
(The only time we will see the inner workings of his mind when it comes to Isabella):

When she walked in this morning, Rowen felt a smile grow on his face. Even with her curly hair up in a messy bun, wearing nothing but jeans, sweatshirt and sandals, she was beautiful. He’ll never understand why she doesn’t think she is.
“Hey there, stranger,” She had said when she sat down in the rickety desk behind him. He turned around to look at her, his smile just widening as she smiled back.
They talked back and forth about last night and he watched as the dark pools in her eyes getting brighter as she joked about beating up Eric. Her face, though, was looking much paler then normal which was weird because she was pale as it is. He slid his hand around her face, cupping her jaw. Her skin was radiating heat but she didn’t seem to notice. She smiled and turned her head into his touch. Her eyes closed; the dark spiky lashes that surrounded her even darker brown eyes fluttered against her smooth cheek. He kissed her forehead noting the warmth.
“I’m so tired,” She muttered from between her pink lips; the same lips that he’s never kissed but were hoping to soon. So lush and warm they were against his cheek and forehead, he’s fantasized about them against his own lips.
“Why are you tired?” He felt her small hand wrap around his wrist.
“Not enough sleep,” She muttered, eyes still closed.
Rowen let his thumb stroke her cheek back and forth, “Take a nap because we’re probably not gonna do anything in class today.”
She nodded, “’Kay.”
Her voice was so distant and childish, his chest tightened. He loved this girl and she doesn’t even know how much. “Baby?”
“Mm,” She murmured.
“I love you,” He said, smiling softly when she opened her doe eyes and looked at him, fully awake.
“Y-you do?” She stuttered.
He nodded, “I do.”
Her face went from shock to confusion and happiness in a matter of seconds. “Rowen…”
He placed his finger against her lips to silence her, “I know you might not right now, but when you’re ready to tell me your true feelings, no matter what they are, I’ll be here waiting.”
She sighed, nodding and kissed his finger, “I’m gonna head to my seat before-”
“Isabella, please sit in your right seat,” Mr. O said walking in to class.
“-Mr. O sees me,” She finished, smiling.

AFTER SCHOOL, I WAS sitting on the fence waiting for Eric or Emma, which ever one came out first. I noticed a few people looking at me odd, which I couldn’t blame them; I had a two foot Central Bearded Dragon perched on my shoulder, his long tail wrapped around my arm. You’re probably wondering why I have one of these on me. Well, my Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Evangelou, was going on vacation and she wanted someone to take care of Astrid for her. So, I volunteered forgetting that I was going on the date tonight. A couple of giggling middle school girls came up to me as I was handing over the pieces of banana he wanted.
“Oh my gosh, like, is that real?” The blonde one said, staring at it.
I rubbed Astrid under his chin and he seemed to like it, “Yeah, he is.”
Their big childish eyes widened and the shortest one, the brunette asked, “Can I touch him? I mean, like, will he bite?”
I shook my head, “Not really, unless you provoke him. He’s very gentle.”
She hesitantly let her finger brush the top of his head and he moved it towards her touch. I smiled, “He likes you; which is odd for Astrid because he hates everyone.”
“Then why is he perched on you looking very content?” The blonde asked, sardonically.
“Easy,” I said, letting him grab a piece of apple from my hand, “I have food.”
She rolled her eyes, “Come on Ashley, let’s go.”
The blonde and her clone started walking away and the brunette, Ashley, smiled at me, “Sorry, I really think lizards are cool. Don’t tell anyone though.”
I shook my head, “I won’t.”
She waved goodbye and ran to catch up to her friends. I looked down at Astrid, “I feel bad for her. Those other two probably don’t even like her.”
His head bobbed a little in response.
“Izzy!” Emma ran up to me and then eyed Astrid, “What’s Mrs. Evangelou’s lizard doing on your shoulder?”
“He’s not a lizard, he’s a bearded dragon.” I said and Astrid grumbled, “See? You hurt his feelings.”
I scratched under his chin and Emma laughed, “Wow, a little attached aren’t you?”
“Maybe I am,” I hopped off the fence and took Astrid from my shoulder and kept him securely in my hand, his tail wrapping around my forearm, so he wouldn’t fall and hurt himself.
“How does Mrs. E think you’re gonna take care of it when you don’t even have a cage?”
“She dropped all the stuff off at my house,” I said. “Oh, and can I come to your house so we can get ready together?”
“Sure!” She exclaimed.
“Just give me a minute, Mom needs to get Astrid for me,” We stood at the corner talking, “So how’s your husband?”
She rolled her eyes, “Don’t even get me started.”
“That bad?” I asked, feeding Astrid a bit of dandelion leaves.
“Uhg, I swear that boy could marry himself if it was legal.”
I chuckled, “Well, how’s the marriage then?”
“Miserable,” She grumbled, “We hang out every friggin day! All he does is stare at himself or flirt with other girls! It’s sickening.”
I nodded, “I understand that.”
Astrid tried wiggling in my sweatshirt’s front pocket and I pulled him gently back up into my arms. Emma sighed, “I wish Mr. O would have given me a different partner. He’s so hard to work with!”
“I definitely understand that one,” I chuckled, as Mom pulled up in front of us in her ’64 Ford Mustang.
I walked over and opened the door, “Hey, Mom, here’s Astrid, make sure he doesn’t jump or fall because he could hurt himself.”
She nodded, taking Astrid and the fruit and leaves in her lap, “All right honey, when should I expect you home?”
“Uhm,” I looked back at Emma, who shrugged, and then back at Mom, “Around eleven.”
“Okay, I’ll see you when you get home.”
I closed the door and she drove off.
“Let’s go babe!” Emma grabbed my arm and dragged me down the street.
“Emma, I’m wearing sandals,” I whined, “No rushing!”
All she did was laugh as we ran down the side streets towards her house. I wasn’t as athletic as her so I had to really run to keep up with her, “Emma!”
“We’re almost there,” She said as we rounded the corner and down her block.
“Can we…please stop…running,” I huffed out.
“Okay,” We stopped and I doubled over, gasping for breath, “You could have asked sooner.”
I glared up at her and she smiled sheepishly. “Let’s go.”
Her house stood out from most of the dull ones here. Her mother is still in a hippie kind of state of mind; we think she’s just losing it, and so she made the house a bright blue color with purple doors and windows. An array of flowers circled the large old Victorian house (the house itself stood out amongst the modern looking houses on her block) and a beautiful walk way led up to the front porch. Ever since I could remember there was this one freaky lawn gnome that would watch you everywhere you go. And her Mom still has it!
We headed up the stairs, Emma grabbing the mail, and into the house. When you first walk in, the stairs are up against the wall on the left, the living room archway is right across from that and a bit more into the sunny hall way was the kitchen. Emma called, “Mama Dearest, we are hooome!”
There was a big commotion in the kitchen and then out pops her mother, flour all over her low bell bottoms, her Pink Floyd tie dyed tee shirt, the chocker she’s had since she was our age, and the tassel belt that was hung low on her hips, “Hey there Sunshine!”
“Hi Mama,” Emma hugged her, getting flour on her blue summer dress.
Emma’s Mom spotted me and came over to give me a bear hug, “Oh my dear, I haven’t seen you in forever, Moonbeam!”
She lifted me off the ground and swung me around one revelation before putting me down again, “Hi, Mrs. Smith.”
“How are you,” We walked with her into the kitchen.
“Very good,” I said settling down into the cushioned chair along with Emma, “You?”
“Life’s been very mellow and groovy with my little Sunshine out of the house,” She took a seat across from us, cup of herbal tea in her long thin hands. If I smell correctly, I believe she’s drinking green tea.
“Mama, you’ve always wanted me out of the house since I was a child,” Emma laughed.
“Well, I wanted you to live your life the way you wanted, not held down by The Man,” She nodded to herself and took a sip of her tea.
“Wasn’t that what you said when you married Papa?” Emma furrowed her eyebrows, jokingly.
“Your Daddy’s a good man, free and high spirited, he still is.” Mrs. Smith smiled behind her mug, “That’s what drew me to him in the first place. He was the only one not having a hash brownie.”
“Mama! You didn’t do drugs did you?” Very hypocritical of Emma to say, but still.
“Oh my, never,” She exclaimed placing her mug down, “I may have been a hippie and a rebellious teen but I never did drugs.”
Emma smiled, “Okay, good.”
Her Mom smiled, and glanced at the clock, “Shouldn’t you two go get ready now?”
Emma jumped out of her seat after looking at the clock and we rushed upstairs, grabbing our bags in the process. We flew past the old pictures, her Mom and Dad’s bedroom, the bathroom and finally to her room down the hall around the corner and to the right. Her room was a huge pentagon shape. The walls were white with doodles and posters all over; the rug was a warm beige color. In the middle of her room was her bed, the bathroom on the left and next to the bed on the right was the door that led to her balcony that wrapped around the outside of her entire bedroom. On the right side of the room were her two mahogany dressers, one wider the other taller.
We shucked our bags on the bed, “How long do I have till I have to get to Eric’s?”
She looked at the clock on her nightstand next to her bed on the left, “About an hour and a half.”
“Righty-o,” I grabbed my bag and headed into the bathroom, letting Emma have her privacy to change.
I set the bag down and pulled out the dress and hung it up on the hook on the door. Taking a deep breath, I took out the heels that were buried in the bottom and began pulling off my clothes, leaving only my black bra and matching lacy panties. So, I stood there, in front of the dress, in only my undergarments, thinking how I got to this point. It seems so long ago that I had first met Eric…and now I’m his husband, so to speak, and we’re going out on a double date. For some reason, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I finally was able to have him open up to me about his past and I hoped he won’t be the same old Eric like before he told me. I fingered the velvet cloth and sighed, “What if he never changes?”
“Izzy, are you done?” Emma called.
Without keeping my eyes off the dress I called back, “Almost.”
For the second time today, I felt like something horrible was about to happen. My eyes were furrowed as I slid the dress on and zipping it up in the back. I stared at my self in the full length mirror; the dress hugged all my curves, thick straps, softly fell off my shoulders and the back scooped down near the curve where my back met my butt. It was short enough that I felt sort of uncomfortable; a several inches above my knees (which wasn’t that big of a gap because I had short legs). The heels were black three inch open toed revealing my deep red nail polish that matched my fingers. Slowly I worked the hair band out of the bun and let my hair tumble down around me in a big curly mass.
I turned to the mirror above the sink and applied my makeup; black eyeliner and mascara and a bit of clear lip gloss. Emma called out again, “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” I muttered to myself. I pushed off the sink and collected my things, placing them in the bag. I said louder, “Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute.”
I opened the bathroom door and into the bedroom. Emma was sitting on the bed, legs crossed waiting for me. She had her hair crimped and a little silver butterfly clip held part of her back. She wore a knee length, silver satin dress with spaghetti straps and a V neck. On her feet were silver stilettos with a thick ribbon wrapping around her legs and tying in the back of her calves. She put on black eyeliner and mascara with faint glimmering silver eye shadow.
She was beautiful, “Oh my God, Emma, you’re so beautiful.”
Emma hopped off the bed and came to me, wrapping her hands around mine, “Thanks, but you’re the knock-out. Eric is going to love you. Oh! Here, hang on.”
I watched her rummage around her drawer and finally pull out a Victoria’s Secret body mist bottle. She came back over and sprits my neck, my wrists, and the back of my knees, “It’s called Honeysuckle Belle.”
Good name for it; it was a faint sweet smell that didn’t over power no matter how much you put on, “It smells so good.”
“I know, I live by their body sprays,” She giggled, grabbing a different bottle; Vanilla, and sprayed it in the same place she did for me.
Clasping our hands again, Emma looked me dead in the eyes, “Isabella, you look stunning and I doubt Eric will even remember his own name when he sees you.”
I smiled slightly, “Remember…that’s such a funny word. Thank you Emma, I’ll see you in an hour. I hope your husband finally gets a look at you and sees what he’s missing.”
She gave a bright smile, “Yeah, but that’s what Brendon is for. As is Rowen for you.”
I nodded and headed to the door, thinking about the sudden change in Emma’s attitude. Shaking my head, I clicked downstairs and out the door, saying goodbye to Mrs. Smith and down the block.
Why did Emma act like that? Why is the bad feeling coming back? I sighed and turned up the street towards his house. As I got closer, the butterflies in my stomach got bigger and started fluttering rapidly. My fingers shook as I walked up his porch and opened the door.
“Oh my God,” My eyes widened and I placed a hand over my mouth to cover my gasp.
Eric on the floor, naked, that Amber girl naked, on top of him…I tried to move, to say something, but everything inside me shut down. The butterflies were gone; the fire pulsed to life instead. How could he do this to me? The tears began to flow free down my cheeks, the make up ruined. He finally looked at me, his eyes held shock, surprise, and oddly enough sadness. I shook my head, the tears getting faster as my anger grew, “How could you do this to me?!”
Amber jerked back in surprise and ran into the bathroom to get something on. I literally was shaking with fury, the tears still pouring down my face, “Why?!”
Eric stood up, grabbing the throw blanket and wrapping it around his waist, lifting his arm to reach out for me, “Is-”
“NO!” I yelled, “You don’t get to speak to me!”
He let his arm fall to his side, hand forming a fist. My bottom lip began to quiver, “After all that we went through…you betray me?”
“It’s not like that, Isabella,” He began to say.
“Then how is it?!” I hollered, keeping hold of my anger and hatred.
He in turn became angry at me, “Why are you getting angry at me?! This isn’t a real marriage! Isn’t that what you told me before?!”
My eyes narrowed, “So you have sex like a half an hour before we go out to eat!?”
He stalked over to me, every inch of him radiating anger and fury, “It’s not like you’d have sex with me!”
That’s when everything became a blur; I felt myself let go of my self control and I remember slightly punching him in the jaw. I think he went down but I couldn’t remember because I was already out the door, and dialing Emma’s number.
She picked up on the second ring, “Izzy?”
“Men never change,” I muttered, not wanting to yell anymore.
“Are you all right?”
I didn’t answer; only hung up and headed to her house.
Once an asshole…always an asshole.