Taming the Bad Boy Was a Mistake Chapter 02

Taming the Bad Boy Was a Mistake Chapter 02 The Octopus Balls
[Pick up the phone.] [Where are you?] [Why wouldn’t you let me pick you up?] [Natalie Clark, is this a silent treatment thing?] The last one was from five minutes ago: [Come down.] I didn’t even bother tying my shoes. I just threw on a jacket and bolted downstairs. Under the streetlight, Dylan was completely soaked. He’d clearly run all the way here. He stared daggers at me, his eyes bloodshot. Before he could say a word, I caved on the spot. “Sorry! My phone was on silent! You were in the middle of a game, having a blast—I didn’t want to mess that up, so I just grabbed a cab back…” After throwing out this combo of being “understanding,” I looked up at his head with anticipation. Damn it, why did the Annoyance meter go up by another point?! After hearing me out, Dylan’s fierce expression softened a bit but his face was still as sour as a lemon. He shoved a box of octopus balls, which he’d been protecting from the rain into my arms and sneered. “Great. You’re really thoughtful now.” “Good thing you’re not mad. Take this and go eat it. It’ll get fishy if it gets cold.” Before, I would’ve clung to him and refused to leave until he kissed me downstairs. And I mean a full French kiss. If he didn’t, I’d throw a fit. But the truth was, he actually hated public displays of affection. Thinking about that, I hugged the box and nodded obediently. “I’ll go up now. You should get some rest too.” I turned to run off as soon as I finished speaking. A burning hot hand wrapped around my wrist. Dylan yanked me back, leaning down to kiss me. I freaked out. Instinctively, I turned my head away and shoved my hand hard against his chest. “No!” Dylan froze mid-move. His dark eyes bore into me, his voice hoarse. “No?” I swallowed hard and put on a righteous face. “We’re in public! It’s a bad influence! The System— uh, I mean, my teacher said we need to watch our behavior!” Those were his exact words when he used to reject me! I was literally doing what he wanted! Dylan stared at me for a long moment. The light in his eyes slowly dimmed. Finally, he let go and gave a bitter, self-mocking smile. “Fine. Whatever you say.” “I don’t care.” Over the next few days, I engraved the word “obedient” into my soul. If he didn’t text me, I didn’t bother him. If he took forever to reply, I texted back fast and never asked why. When he asked if I wanted to hang out on the weekend, I said sweetly, “If you’re tired, just sleep in. You don’t have to go out with me.” The way Dylan looked at me became more and more off. It was the kind of look you’d give someone who was about to dump you like trash. To turn things around, I decided to go big. “Dylan, go dye your hair.” We were eating, and Dylan froze mid-bite. “What?” I said sincerely: “Your white hair looked awesome. I shouldn’t have made you dye it black, or made you button up your uniform all the way. Just be yourself—I love any hair color on you.” For the first time, Dylan’s perpetually annoyed face showed confusion. “You said… you hated my wild look.” “Who said that?! I love your wild side!” I lied through my teeth, showering him with fake praise. Dylan was quiet for a long time. Finally, he gave a low “Mm.” The next day, he actually went and dyed his hair. Not white. A flashy, eye-catching silver-gray. With his perpetually disinterested face, he looked unreasonably, devastatingly hot. His bros were all cheering, “Dylan finally woke up! That’s how a real bad boy should look!” I looked at the Annoyance meter still stuck high above his head. No tears. Just pain. Dude. I’m doing everything I can. What the hell are you still annoyed about?