Chapter three | The plan for change

Chapter three | The plan for change

Sprawled on the light blue sheets of my single bed, I stared up at the glow in the dark stars. My childhood fear of darkness was the reason for their presence. Sometimes it was funny considering how darkness helped me calm myself now.

The first day as a high school senior year had exhausted me to my core. The problem was with getting used to spending hours in school after the rules free summer.

Should I play some video-games or hang out with Connor and Navya? I contemplated as I ran a hand through my hair.

In the emptiness of the house, the sudden tapping caught my attention. I turned my tired eyes towards the source. Not bothering to get up, I looked at the weird window that did nothing except give me peeks inside the Crimson residence next door.

Yes, Cynthia Crimson lived next door. No, we weren't friends secretly, just acquaintances with greetings here and there. We were never friends, to begin with. Maybe because the first time we met, I broke her dinosaur toy. We never got along after that.

Being the high school queen's neighbor was certainly a disadvantage for me. Late night parties were disturbing because her parents were rarely home.

I don't even want to mention the number of times I had witnessed her naked. She didn't seem to care about it, but I did. So, I began keeping my curtains closed.

As the tapping continued, I sighed and got up from my comfortable heaven. Pushing the curtains aside, I pulled my window open.

There she was, tapping on her bedroom window, trying to gain my attention. Her perfect appearance was still to the point, even after the taxing school hours. With light brown hair gathered in a high ponytail and face painted to perfection, she was another beauty at our school. She too had a hoard of fans buzzing around her.

Leaning forward through the window, I poked my head out.

"Yes?" I asked with a bored look on my face.

She pursed her painted pink lips and narrowed her eyes in my direction. A few seconds of staring match later, she scoffed and then sighed. With a curl of her palm, she gestured for me to come over.

At this, I raised a questioning brow because this was something new. We had never hung out at each other's houses, even after years of sharing the same locality. Reason? We were worlds apart. Her social circle was on a different standing than mine, both inside and outside the school.

"Come ober noo!" she said, the voice muffled by the glass of her window. Even if her words were muffled and intangible, it was easy to understand what she wanted.

She stomped on the spot, trying to emphasize her demand.

I would have almost laughed at her childish action if my mind wasn't so occupied with curiosity. So nodding in her direction, I closed the window and grabbed my converse, slipping them on over my Marvel socks-clad feet.

I locked the front door behind me and crossed the distance between our houses.

Cynthia swung the door open before I could ring the bell and beamed, her hand reaching out to grab mine. With power I never knew she had, she tugged me to her bedroom.

I followed her upstairs to her room as my eyes fell on her huge family photograph. A family of four looked right back at me.

She pushed her bedroom door open and shoved me inside. My eyes took in every detail of her bedroom.

Watching this room from many feet apart through a window was an unfamiliar experience than watching from up close. The walls were a shade of white that didn't make you blind as the light fell on it. The room had a small fancy mirror on the wall, with bulbs on its frame. The small study table on the corner was filled with pages, books, and magazines. What caught my attention most was the neon sign hanging right above her bed that read heaven.

As she closed the door behind us, I turned towards her with a bland look.

"What do you want, Cynthia?" I said, cutting straight to the point.

She rolled her eyes at my words and made her way to her bed. She patted the space beside her as she sat down with her legs crossed.

Giving in to her invitation, I settled myself on her bed. Her mattress was soft. So soft that it could give you backaches.

"First of all, It is 'Cyn' as in 'sin', not Cynthia.?" she said, gesturing towards herself. "Second, it is not about what I want, but it is more about what you want."

She was talking riddles, so I gave her a confused look at her words. "What?"

"Everyone knows that you like my best friend Andrea, maybe borderline love her. But she never sees you in a romantic way because you are not a bad boy." Putting the last words in air quotes.

My cheeks colored with a pale shade of pink as I felt mortified about my feelings being this oblivious. I mentally cursed the pale skin I inherited from my mother's English genes for making my blush more obvious.

She chuckled at my reaction and leaned closer to my face. With a slim finger, she poked my cheek, earning an annoyed growl from me.

"Cute," she said and leaned back. "Anyway, I will help you turn into her dream boy. I will teach you how to be a bad boy," she spoke, letting the bomb drop.

For a few seconds, her words silenced me. I repeated them in my mind, making sure I heard them correct.

I raised my eyebrows at her confession. The first thought that plagued my mind was: Why did she want to help me? What was she gaining from this? Deciding to voice out my question, I framed my next words carefully.

"Why? Why would you help me?" I narrowed my eyes at her, contemplating her reaction. "What do you want from me?" My gaze was sharp, daring her to lie on my face.

An enormous grin spread across her face, and she winked my way. "Smart guy," she said, moving her eyes across my appearance. The scrutinizing look was alarming. Suddenly, I felt very much aware of my clothing.

Her eyes returned to mine as a calculating look passed through them.

"I just want my best friend to date a nice guy, not some boy who doesn't understand her worth. She deserves better... So, yes, I am doing it out of the goodness of my heart, just for my friend, but," I narrowed my eyes. "Free Organic Chemistry tutoring would be appreciated too."

I lean back on my arms as I gave her offer a thought. My eyes focused on the college logo stuck on her vision board as my thoughts drifted to a faraway place.

Should I do this?

Will Andrea notice me after becoming her type?

Isn't it wrong that I am changing myself for someone else?

I nibbled on lips and tried to make sense of the jumbled mess of my thoughts Cynthia had created in my mind. Meanwhile, she patiently waited for my reply, gazing up at me with her cocoa eyes. Expectations laced her stare, making my mind more of a chaotic mess.

"Huh?" I said as I registered, she said something.

She rolled her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh.

"I said that this might be your only chance at a relationship with Andrea. Otherwise, she will never notice you, and friend zone you like the nerd who is also her lab partner. So, this arrangement is your only chance at a relationship with her." Her voice held the matter-of-fact tone as she tried to convince me.

For a few seconds, I found myself distracted by the varied hand gestures that followed her words. As her words registered, the fog in my mind disappeared.

Somehow those words struck a chord inside of me, but one question still bugged me at the back of my mind.

"Why me?" I said, staring directly through her eyes, looking for any form of deceit. "Why me? I am not the only guy who crushes over her."

A soft smile lit up her face, and the calculative look in her eyes softened. Her shoulder slumped, and she sighed. It was as if she dropped a mask from her face.

"While we might have been ignoring each other's existence for so long, being your neighbor it was impossible not to notice the type of guy you were. For you, the personality matter more than looks. You like her looks too, but are more attracted to her inner self. You like her for being the amazing person she is, not just her body. That is where the biggest difference comes between you and all other boys, including Jacob." Her voice was soft as she explained.

I couldn't help but smile at her reason. The way she passionately talked about it just showed how much she cared about her friend. It was like seeing a whole new side of her. From the past 18 years of my life, especially the past three years, I had seen her popular girl face. So, now observing the other side of her was refreshing and gave me a whole new perspective about her personality.

Gulping, I ran my tongue on my lips. A sudden decision sprang up in my mind. Collecting all my willpower, I matched her expecting gaze. My heart was thudding erratically with excitement. A confident smile curled my lips, and I nodded my head.

"Teach me,"

A smile slipped onto her face.

"Teach you what?"

I leaned forward and met her mischievous eyes.

"Teach me how to be a bad boy."

Somewhere deep inside, I knew my life would never be the same after this.