Small Gifts

CHAPTER 1

"So, are you going to Jake's party this weekend?" Elle closed her locker with a loud clang and turned to me expectantly. "I don't know yet; I haven't decided. I might head down to the beach or something," I told her. "What? Noes! You can't miss this party! Everyone will be there!" The frown on my face told her that was precisely why I wasn't planning on going.  

"You know, Vera, for cheer captain, you sure are antisocial sometimes," Elle said sourly as she leaned against the lockers. I continued searching for my calculator tossed undoubtedly in the bottom of my locker. "I'm not antisocial. Jake just gives me a headache."  

Tutting between her teeth, Elle gave me a mischievous grin. "Trouble in paradise again?" "When has it ever been paradise with Jake?" I rolled my eyes. "So, you've broken up again? Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be back together before this weekend. It's always like that with you two." She said undoubtedly as she watched students passing through the hall between classes, barely interested in our conversation.  

"I doubt it. I'm really through with Jake. He's so exhausting to deal with," I huffed; my tone was resolute. "Oh shit. You're serious, aren't you." Elle snapped her full attention to me. "Yep," I replied with a pop on the p.

Finally finding it, I grabbed my calculator and stuffed it into my bag before shutting my locker.  "You know half the girls in this school will jump him the second they realize you're split up for good. You ready for that?" The concern was evident in her voice. As much as Elle was obsessed with popularity, she actually cared about me on some level. 

 "They already were. At least this way, I don't have to pretend it's not happening." I replied bitterly. My friend stiffened. "You know how these bitches are. They just run their mouth, trying to get under your skin. Trying to upset you because your boyfriend is the hottest guy in school, and they're jealous." "Ex-boyfriend." I corrected as I scrolled through my phone before handing it over to her.  

Elle's eyes went wide. I'd caught Jake red-handed with Kalie, the sophomore with serious envy issues, and took a picture for evidence. "Holy shit, Vera," she exclaimed while her eyes bugged out. "Elles, you can't say anything, don't tell anyone," I begged her.  

"You can't ask me to do that, Ver. She's ..." "Yes, I know," I cut her off, not wanting her to say it out loud. "You can't say anything, El. It'll blow up big. Kalie knew what she was doing. She's been jealous of me for a long time now. She's not innocent in this."  "I'm ... I'm so sorry, Ver. This is really fucked up. I won't say anything, but this could blow back on me for keeping quiet. I'll talk to Kalie. I don't think she knows what she's getting herself into," Elle promised. "I can't believe he did this," she continued.   

She pulled me into a hug, and I patted her back as thanks. Honestly, she was more upset than I was. Part of me was grateful I had a reason to get out of this on-again-off-again relationship going nowhere. Kalie was a perfect reason. Whatever Jake and Kalie did was their own business as far as I was concerned. I was seeing my way out of the drama.  

A sound in the hallway broke our attention as a guy I'd only seen a handful of times, Kai, I think his name was, pushed Mark against the lockers. "Why the fuck can't you just leave me alone dick head?" Kai yelled with a face full of rage.  

Mark looked like he wanted to punch him, but Jake grabbed his best friend's arm and said something before Mark and Jake both started laughing at the guy. A small crowd formed around the scene, and I lost sight of Mark and Jake. All I could see was Kai standing there with clenched fists. "Just fuck off," Kai said as he turned to stomp away, adjusting the bag that had slipped off his shoulder.  

Mark said something to the crowd, and everyone started snickering before breaking up to move through the hall. When the drama was over, Mark rushed to grab Elle. He spun her around before setting her back on her feet with a kiss.

A little pang started in my chest, worried about what would happen now that Jake and I were through. Elle was my best friend, and Mark was Jake's. The four of us were always together, but I couldn't help but wonder if I'd end up the odd one out.  I knew Elle cared about me, but this was high school. The allure of popularity and boys were a hard thing to compete with. 

Jake leaned against the lockers and pulled me into him like he often did. Even when we'd split in the past, he'd just ignore my protest and act like nothing had happened. I'd give in every time.  It would be so easy to just stick to the routine.  

Graduation was coming in a few months, and we'd be out of here. I could just pretend nothing was wrong until after graduation. Jake was moving halfway across the country for college, allowing a few hundred miles between us to make breaking up final. As easy as it would be to pretend everything was ok, Jake ignoring my boundaries proved that we didn't need to be together. I was tired of saving face. 

 I was tired of holding the status quo, of doing whatever others wanted me to do. I wanted to do something for myself, so I pushed Jake away and moved to put my back against the lockers closer to Elle.  

He rolled his eyes and gave an agitated huff, letting me know I was clearly being unreasonable. Apparently, he thought I wasn't serious when I said I wanted to break up. He never took me seriously.  

Elle side-eyed us but turned back to Mark, not interested in getting involved in our drama. "So, what was that all about just now with that guy?" Elle asked Mark. Mark's face lit up with glee as he leaned in to tell us a sordid tale.  

"Heh, get a load of this. I ran into the showers after the gym to grab the shampoo I'd left, and that Kai guy was still there. I turned around, not really paying attention when suddenly I noticed our man Kai is barely a man at all." He paused for effect before Mark held up his pinky finger, wiggling it for emphasis before he and Jake started laughing.  

Oh lord, boy drama. Who has the biggest dick and blah-blah. "Oh please, I doubt it was that small." I rolled my eyes, accustomed to Mark's taste for dramatics. "Oh, I can prove it." Mark pulled out his phone before unlocking it and handing it to me with a photo on the screen. 

 The photo showed dim-lit shadows of the showers where poor Kai was washing shampoo off his face, unaware that someone was taking a picture of him. My eyes went directly to the area in question. Sure enough, Kai was definitely on the small side. Of course, Mark's pinky display was an exaggeration, but I'd bet smaller than average. That was the kiss of death for a teenage guy.  

My eyes continued to look over the picture as Elle leaned over to see the image before backing away with a snicker behind her hand. "Omg, no way," she exclaimed.  

Focusing on the picture, I noticed Kai was muscular and surprisingly fit. His tan skin was slick, highlighting his physique as water rushed over his tight abs. Who would have known he had such a great body under his baggy clothes?  

My eyes roamed to his cock again; small, docile, and unassuming. I hadn't told anyone, but Jake was the only guy I'd ever fooled around with, and he was, well, the exact opposite of Kai. My curiosity about how different they were surprised me.  

The gang's snickers and crass jokes broke me out of my spell. Mark was carrying on, teasing Kai, and I felt my blood start to boil. I might not know Kai, but no one deserved to have their privacy invaded like this. No one deserved to be humiliated like this.  

My memories from my previous school before I came here flashed in my mind. Back then, I wasn't the prettiest girl dating the hottest guy. Mark teasing Kai hit too close to home. 

 I angrily deleted the picture and any others I found before Mark noticed what I was doing. "What the fuck, Vera!" Snatching the phone from my hands, he swiped through to see what all I had done. "It's rude to take pictures of people like that, Mark. You guys don't need to go around showing people shit like that." 

 "Who the fuck died and made you a prude?" Mark sneered, shoving his phone into his pocket. "It doesn't make me a prude to know how to respect people's boundaries." I shot back, getting frustrated. "Boundaries like deleting photos off someone's phone?" Mark barked angrily.   

"Oh, don't even act like it's the same thing," I narrowed my eyes at him, "besides, I did you a favor, dumb ass. What do you think principal Perkins would do when he found you spread pictures of another student like that? Yeah. You're a big bad football player with an awesome scholarship, Mark.  That's exactly why Perkins would love to write you up on sexual harassment charges and get your scholarship revoked." 

 Mark's spine went straight as the color drained from his face. "Gods, you guys can be so stupid sometimes. You think you're so untouchable, but we're 18 now. Shit like this sticks." I huffed as I pushed off the lockers and adjusted my bag.  

"Damn, Vera, he was just joking. He wasn't going to show anyone but us. Lighten up." Jake admonished. "Oh, so showing others private pictures that might be embarrassing is perfectly ok then?" I purred with a face full of mock innocence as I reached into my bag for my phone.  

Jake knew exactly what I had a picture of. Grabbing my arm, he forced my phone out of my hand and back into my bag. "Chill out," he growled in my ear before pushing me back to walk toward Mark.  

"No worries, man. It's over." Jake slapped Mark's shoulder and pulled him along with him towards the hall.  "Let's head to the field house and get with the coach. He'll write us a note to skip last period." Mark waved to Elle before flipping me the bird as Jake pulled him along. I just smiled innocently and watched them walk away.   

"So, I really can't convince you to come to the party?" Elle asked, turning to me when the boy drama sauntered off. "Not a thing," my tone resolute. "Ok, well, I hope you have fun this weekend, doing whatever you're going to do." She sighed before giving me a hug and then walking on to her next period.  

I didn't have a last-period class, having aligned my credits so I wouldn't have to stay the whole day my senior year. Heaving my bag on my shoulder, I walked towards the parking lot.  

CHAPTER 2 

Sitting in a little café two towns over, long after school had let out, I looked over my math homework. I confirmed the answers for the final time, pleased with the neat alignment of the numbers across the page.  

Satisfied, I closed my books and slipped them into my bag. I picked up my hot English breakfast tea and took a long sip. It was the cool thing to drink coffee, but I'd never really taken to the stuff.  

Thankfully, at Jack's Shack, no one I knew from school would be there, meaning I could do whatever I wanted. The little cafe mainly attracted an older middle age crowd this time of day; people with zero interest in some high school girls' drink choices. My friends would have found it boring, but I found it freeing.  Here, if I wanted tea over coffee, that's what I did. No expectations or worries of reputation. Free.   

My phone buzzed, and I saw a text message with Clarity and Kalie telling me the girls were headed down to the Eastwick pool. The Eastwick Raiders, the primary rival school's football team, were doing a water volleyball game. So, the girls were going to scope out the forbidden fruit.   

Small-town rivalries were taken seriously, and flirting with any Raiders was considered a mortal sin to Weston's general population, especially to anyone on our team, the Eagles. Which often meant anyone on the cheer squad sneaking over to the other side of the river was the ultimate deviant act and a Raider's ultimate revenge.  

It was a sport for a Raider to sleep with any Eagle's players girl. Since my boyfriend of the past year and a half, well now ex-boyfriend, was the QB - I was the golden unicorn of conquests. No, seriously, there was going pool about who could seduce me into their bed. I'd seen it all.   

Despite my popularity, primarily due to my catching Jake's eye when I first came to Weston Junior year, I didn't like the attention. I was shy deep down, though I hid it well.  

Unlike the rest of the squad, I didn't screw anything with a pulse. I didn't adventure out much in dating. I had chosen Jake; I planted my Jake-colored flag and stood under it. But when you look like a duck, quacked like a duck, everyone assumed you were a duck.

Being on the cheer squad and captain no less, everyone assumed I was into all the attention just like all the other girls. But instead, it made me cringe.  

At every mixed event, a Raider player would try to wiggle their way into my heart to get the ultimate goal. To fuck the Eagle's star QB and Weston hero's long-term girlfriend. It didn't matter how hot the Raider was; the whole thing was a turn-off to me. I was a person, not some conquest. 

That's the trouble with wanting something; you often find it isn't what you want after you get it. In middle school, I was this pudgy little nerdling with thick glasses and unruly Latina hair.  

I was the stereotypical wallflower story. Either completely ignored or made horrendously fun of. No middle ground. I was desperate to be accepted in the way only a teenage girl could. 

When I left my old school and came here, I went from the ugly duckling to the hot ass swan after finally learning how to master the flat iron, and my curves came in. Being half Latina had some benefits.  

Finally, I was getting the attention I so desperately wanted back then. The problem I'd come to learn all too late is that these people, these 'friends' and 'hot guys,' never saw me. Instead, they saw a social status, money, and a game to be won. I, the person inside, was irrelevant. I was surrounded by people yet still felt utterly alone some days.  

It was one good thing about dating Jake for so long. Everyone in school knew I was his, and the guys would leave me alone. Now that Jake and I were split for real, it would get around that I was single. I wouldn't have him to hide behind anymore. 

 Which is why I was not going to Jake's party this weekend. Not only did I not want to deal with him, but I also didn't want to deal with all the other guys nor watch all the girls throw themselves at Jake. The Raider's pool tonight was def out for the same damn reasons.  

Really, I just wanted to be left alone for a while. That is why I was sitting here at Jack's, drinking tea and doing homework on a Friday night. It was weird to not be at practice or at an after-school event. There was no party, sports, or outing with the girls to scope out the eye candy. Just me by myself, which seldom happened anymore. Solitude was still my friend, it seemed, even after all these years. It's funny how much I took it for granted before coming to Weston.  

I was sitting in the back corner of the café, taking in the quiet white noise of chatter from the mildly busy café. Suddenly, Lorena, Jack's long-employed waitress, caught my attention by a table near the front window.  

"Hun, you've been here over an hour. I don't think your friend is coming. You sure you don't want me to bring you out something?" Lorena's voice held sympathy as she spoke to someone, but I couldn't see behind her. I could hear a guy sigh in frustration. "Yeah, might as well. Go ahead and put in my order." The male voice resigned. 

"Alright, hun, give us twenty minutes or so," Lorena said gently before walking away to reveal a guy I recognized from the hallway this morning. Kai, I think that was his name. The guy Mark and Jake were picking on. I have no idea how I missed him earlier. I guess I'd been really focused on homework. 

He looked like he was having the worst day of his life, and I felt terrible for him. Fingers typing over his phone screen, he stared at his phone as if he could will the thing to respond, but it stayed silent.  

Surprised to see him so far from town, I watched him from the cover of my back corner booth. Jack's Shack was over an hour away from Weston in a tiny middle-of-nowhere town. No one came out here. I only knew about it because my aunt lived out this way. It had some of the best burgers and shakes anywhere but was one of those diamond in the rough kind of places that only the locals knew about.  

Kai sat the phone down before leaning back in the booth. Jaw bulging where he bit the inside of his cheek, frustration evident on his features. I watched him silently, being a creeper, but I didn't care. He couldn't see me from where he sat, so watching was no harm.  

I wondered if he was here for a date. He'd dressed up from his baggy clothes at school with his hair pulled neatly back from its usual casual curtain around his face. A single daisy in a glass on the table confirmed my suspicion.

Whoever his date was, obviously, they had stood him up. 

I had a guess as to why. This morning's little rumor mill via Mark probably murdered the poor guy's reputation with the ladies. Mark could be such an insensitive prick. I never understood what Elle saw in him other than to climb the social ladder. Maybe that's all it meant to her, but I still didn't like that my best friend was dating such a royal dirt bag.   

Kai sat restlessly in the booth as I watched him. His more form-fitting shirt showed his physique, usually hidden under a hoodie. Kai wasn't particularly tall, but he was stout. His deep tan skin and dark curling hair screamed islander heritage of some sort, but I didn't know where he was from. I didn't know anything about him.  

Keeping to himself at school and us not rolling in the same social circles meant I'd barely seen him around. Arms flexing, he flipped his phone against the table in boredom. The way his muscles bulged in his shirt made the image of him naked in the photo from Mark's phone flit into my mind. He did have sexy arms. There was something about strong forearms and wide, muscular thighs on a guy that got me going. Kai had both.  

The door to Jack's chimed as a group of older students with a school insignia I didn't recognize walked in. College kids, maybe? There were five guys and two girls with them as they walked up to the shake bar and took a seat. One of them, the largest guy, did a double-take Kai's way. 

"Holy shit, Kai? What's Kiki's brother doing out this way?" Kai's face melted into a scowl that told me this really was the worst day of his life.  

The big guy and his friends left the girls at the counter to walk over to Kai, slapping him on the shoulder in greeting. "Didn't think I'd see you back here, shrimp. Thought you moved off or something," the apparent ring leader said. "It's none of your business, Cooper," Kai was clearly not rolling out the welcome wagon for this Cooper and his minions.  

Cooper reached over and grabbed the flower from its vase, studying it. "Let me guess, you had a date," Cooper checked his watch dramatically, "and she stood you up?"  

"I said it's none of your business." With a growl, Kai snatched the flower back. I could tell this was about to turn into one of those dumb male pissing contests where the guys all started picking on Kai.  

Usually, I stayed out of this sort of thing, kept my head down, and stayed out of trouble. But maybe that was the problem with me. I tried to keep everything too clean, too neat, and orderly.  So, what had that gotten me? A year and a half relationship with a douche bag who fucked everyone else behind my back. It seemed like I needed to change life strategies.   

What hurt me wasn't that Jake cheated, that I barely cared about anymore. What hurt were all the girls who knew about it and never told me. No one stood up for me. No one tried to protect me. Even Elle wanted to cover it so we could keep our happy little besties group together.