My Friends and My Bully Chapter 09

My Friends and My Bully Chapter 09

Chapter 9: Invitation

*Roman*

“Hi, Anna,” I said when the guys and I walked up to her.

Her eyes widened, and she fidgeted with the books in her hands. Anna studied Caleb, Aaron, Declan, and me. She didn’t return my greeting, but I didn’t let that deter me from what I had come here to do. I was going to ask her to make sure Hazel got to our party. That was my mission with this conversation. I had been studying the two girls today. I knew that in order to get Hazel to our party, Anna had to

come.

It seemed like Robert’s shy sister was Hazel’s closest friend at school. Hazel had latched onto the shy girl for reasons I didn’t understand. Maybe because Anna was surprisingly so strong? I wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter. I just knew that I had to get Anna to this party. I was finally admitting to myself that I was interested in Hazel. She was just so beautiful and sweet. It was hard to look away from her.

“How was your day?” I asked Anna, trying again to engage in conversation with her. She just averted her gaze and shifted her weight.

Damn it! Why was this girl so shy? Why didn’t she want to talk to me? Was it because I’d never tried to speak to her before? I sort of understood that, but she had never tried to talk to my friends and I either. At least I was trying to extend the olive branch. Not to sound conceited, but I wasn’t used to girls reacting like this to me.

Hazel shot me an annoyed glare for some reason while I was still trying to coax a reaction from her shy friend. What the hell was that about? Are Hazel and Anna mad at our little squad or at Piper?

“Piner chirped, waving at me obnoxiously.

I ignored Piper’s greeting. That was the best way to deal with her. She was just a spoiled little rich kid. I never liked her. Thankfully, Hazel stopped talking to Piper and came over to stand next to Anna. God, Hazel was so pretty. Her blonde hair was

in two low ponytails today, and I could see her face well. She was even more

gorgeous close–up.

“So, I don’t know if I have officially introduced myself to you yet. I know that we

have been going to school with each other for a long time and your Robert’s sister, but I wanted to say hi. My name’s Roman if you didn’t know,” I told Anna, who wouldn’t meet my eye. Then, I introduced Declan, Caleb, and Aaron to the two girls. Anna kept her eyes down during it. I wished the girl would at least look at me.

“I recognize you from somewhere else though…” Hazel said while staring at me with a thoughtful expression. After a moment, she clapped her hands, causing Anna to jump. “Oh, yeah! I’ve seen you at a tournament out in Grandville. You won, didn’t

you?”

I nodded and modestly shrugged.

Grandville was a city about thirty minutes away from here. I remembered the tournament she was talking about. It was one of my best days in fighting. The fact that she had seen me win and that it made such an impression that she remembered made me feel ten feet tall. Maybe I had a chance with her after all.

“You should have seen him at the tournament last week. He came in fifth,” Aaron teased with a glance my way. “Our Roman was way off his game then. His dad was

pissed.”

Son of a bitch. What happened to bro code? Aaron was trying to hurt my chances with Hazel or what?

“Yeah, well, you came in tenth place at the competition if I’m remembering correctly,” I shot back at him with a grin.

My friend’s cheeks heated, and he closed his mouth, while the other guys laughed

and teased him.

Anna was still quiet and looking at her shoes though.

“You did a really great job at the demonstration yesterday,” I told her. “My dad is really impressed with your progress. Where did you learn to fight like that?”

Anna still didn’t respond to me. Did she not speak at all? I should have asked Robert

about this before I started this conversation.

Hazel gently bumped her shoulder with Anna. Finally, the shy girl looked up. Her

face was flushed, and for whatever reason, my heart skipped a beat. Holy shit. That

girl was beautiful too. It was insane that I had never noticed her before now. Maybe

it was because she had her head down the whole time at school and kept to herself.

“Why are you asking for pointers?” Caleb asked me in a teasing tone. “Are you

looking for some secret moves to get back on top? It isn’t every day that the Beta’s

kid falls so far from grace.”

From behind me, Piper let out a pig–like snort. She walked up to our group and put a

hand on Caleb’s chest.

Great, now she was going to do what she did best–insert herself into a conversation she was not a part of. That was one of the main reasons I couldn’t stand her. Why

was she so nosy?

“Roman is the strongest fighter I’ve ever met,” Piper said in her nasally voice.

Even though she was complimenting me, her comment was annoying. I didn’t need her to stick up for me. Especially when Caleb had just been joking. Surely she knew how good of friends Caleb and I were.

Caleb shrugged off Piper’s hand.

“Whatever, Piper. I think Roman needs to train with a pack of wolf pups since he acts like such a child,” Caleb retorted.

Hazel and Anna let out adorable giggles at my friend’s joke. Even I laughed even

though I was the punchline. I was happy that Anna was coming out of her shell a

little bit. This was the kind of teasing the guys and I did every single day. It was part

of our friendship.

“Come on, Anna,” Hazel said and pulled on her friend’s hand. “I’m hungry, let’s get

something to eat. Bye, boys!”

The two girls walked away from our group. I couldn’t help but stare at Hazel’s ass as she walked away. She was wearing tight jeans that were going to be the death of

me.
“You totally blew it, dude,” Caleb said and shook his head at me.

His comment distracted me from checking out Hazel, and I turned to him with a confused expression. “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t invite them to the party. You didn’t get a confirmation that they would come,” Declan reminded me.

Shit! My brother was right.

“Hey, wait!” I yelled at Anna and Hazel’s retreating figures, jogging to catch up with them. “I have to ask you guys something.” A few of my classmates muttered under their breaths as I weaved in and out of them, but I didn’t care. I was a man on a

mission.

When I finally made it to the girls, Anna and Hazel turned around to look at me.

“Hey, will you guys please come to the party tonight?” I managed to ask. I sounded a little breathless, but I needed to get my question out before they left again.

I waited for their answer and superstitiously crossed my fingers behind my back.