My Bad Boy’s Ego — Chapter 36

I found myself being dragged down the same mall that Landon and I went to not too long ago; with a wild Isaiah tagging behind us. Sighing as I held my hand out in front of me, I acted in defeat as he pulls be towards random stores that I've never even heard of. I tried to convince Landon that Bella probably had something in her closet for me to wear, but he did nothing but hush me and explain how important and formal this party was supposed to be.

Couldn't relate, it's just a party.

"Just pick one, and let's go home," I whined, slightly tapping my feet against the floor as I see him dig through the few glistening dresses that were hung on the rack.

He ignored me, "What size are you?"

"I don't know," I mumbled, "Two?"

Landon shoots me a look of disbelief as he pulls out a random dress, holding it out in front of me. I smiled in amusement as his fashionista side starts seeking through. I looked over my shoulder revealing Isaiah, who was absolutely clueless as to how dress hunting actually works. I was on the same page.

"Is this where they really buy their dresses?" Isaiah muttered.

I gave him a shrug as Landon tosses him a glare, "Really, Isaiah? Your family is just as rich as mine, you know how these parties work."

Isaiah mocked Landon's shrug and shook his head, "Yeah, but I never knew dresses cost over a hundred. They all look the same."

"Here, try this on," he says, ignoring Isaiah's presence as he pulls out a long white, sparkling maxi dress. It was an expensive piece, I was able to tell the moment we walked into the store; before he even laid eyes on the dress.

"No, no," I put my hand up defensively as I looked at the dress of money.

Landon shrugs, "Alright then," he simply responded as he drags the dress towards the cash register.

"Wait, you don't have to buy it for me," I called out, following behind him as I grabbed the bottom of the dress that was dragging against the carpet. It was too pricey for it to be dragging around in the store.

"Do you want to buy it?" Landon rebutted, tossing the dress over the counter as the cashier grabs the dress carefully and scans the card.

I slipped my body between Landon and the register, attempting to block him from paying, "I can borrow a dress from Bella. I'm sure she's going to have something I can wear for the night."

My idea slapped me in the back of my head as Landon rests both of his hands on the counter, locking me between his arms.

"Aubrey," he releases a smile of dominance as he peers over my body, "I told you already, it's not just a party."

"Yes it is," we hear Isaiah said as he was casually third wheeling our little affair.

"Isaiah, please," Landon was quick to get annoyed. He turned half of his body around, lifting one of his arm up to hold Isaiah back from fishing anymore excuses.

Taking this chance, I slipped out of the little jail cell and revealed a lost Landon, who soon to check out the dress.

Isaiah and I exchange glances as to how extra Landon was acting.

"Is the party really a big deal?" I asked Isaiah.

He finally releases a smile and nods, "Yeah."

The more I listen to these two argue, the more confused I am with the plot.

"Okay, Aubrey," Landon turns behind from his seat.

Isaiah and I argued over riding the shotgun. Unfortunately, Isaiah caught me by surprise when he told me that he could easily back out of the scheme Landon had planned out. I took defeat and seat in the back of Landon's Ferrari with my arms cross and a pout across my lips.

Both of their eyes were peering towards the backseat, as Isaiah allows Landon to scold me about the upcoming event.

"Isaiah will pick you up at seven, party starts at eight."

"But why-"

"You're dating the son of the host. You have to be there early to greet his parents and all that jazz," Landon shrugs casually, "tradition."

"You got that right," Isaiah butted in.

Landon sent Isaiah a glare for almost the thirtieth time, revealing nothing but an amused Isaiah sitting in the passenger seat.

"I'll come along a little later around eight thirty. The Carthys never arrive on time. I'll try to meet with you guys a little earlier, but to be sure I will arrive with Charles, however and I'll find a way to introduce my uncle to my best friend's date," Landon points at the both of us.

"Okay," I trailed off.

"And we'll figure out the rest from there," Landon concludes, earning a look of satisfaction from Isaiah.

I rose and eyebrow and exhaled in complete stress. Tonight is going to be a fun night.

- --

Six forty-five came along and I found myself panicking with my attire. I had my dress on but never really had the time to take a complete look at it in the mirror. I was sitting at Bella's vanity table, doing my makeup and she was attempting to do my hair.

"Bella! Hurry, Isaiah's going to be here in fifteen!" I screamed in panic, throwing mascara onto my lashes.

"I'm trying!" she calls back, tugging on my hair almost viciously at this point. Instead of complaining from the pain that was spiking on my scalp, I was more appreciative of Bella for her effort in putting this ball of tangles together.

Ten minutes has passed, and I've finished my makeup. Bella finished my hair with a side fishtail braid, that matched up with my minimalistic makeup. I took a deep breath and stood up, sliding my feet into a random pair of flats that Bella has picked out for me. Walking around in heels didn't sound like a good idea especially if the dress was going to cover my feet anyways.

"Oh wait," Bella starts, "The tag is still on your dress."

Bella reached behind the v-backless dress and unclipped the tag. Her face froze, as her lips fell apart. She stares at me with shock, however I was too busy packing up my stuff to even bother paying attention to what she's looking at.

"What?" I half-heartedly asked, as my attention was peered on top of my pile of clothes. Walking over to the pile, I quickly folded the clothing before setting it on the edge of Bella's bed.

"This dress is really expensive," Bella mumbles, setting that ag carefully on top of her drawer.

I scoffed sarcastically, "Landon didn't let me argue about it."

"He's a really nice friend for offering you that dress," she smiles, walking towards me as she observes the dress wrapped along my body, "It looks very nice."

I shook my head and casted her an assuring look, "No way I'm keeping this, I'm going to return it to him after this party."

Bella nods, "So, you're going to Isaiah's party because?"

It just occurred to me that Bella was stuck in the darkness. I didn't explain to her anything about my family, and anything about Landon's plot to help fight the debt. I pressed my lips together in a thin line and slightly felt guilty for not catching her up with the details.

"Because," I started.

My phone started ringing as my contact name clearly states 'Isaiah' in bold letters.

"I'll tell you everything later, I promise," I panicked and quickly jogged out of Bella's room, closing the bedroom door behind me before she was able to sneak in an 'okay' through the cracks.

Almost in fast motion, I skipped down the stairs and out the door. I brushed the loose strand of hair behind my ear as in front of me laid a single white Tesla; who's door automatically opened upwards.

I was caught my surprise and jumped back a little. Isaiah sure doesn't flaunt his money around like this.

"Hey Aubrey," Isaiah calls out through the door. He was formally dressed in a gray suit, with a burgundy colored tie. His hair was gelled back nicely, unlike his originally messy hair he always has in school. He had a gold-plated watch that was clinging onto his wrist as on of his hand casually rested on the gear shift.

My eyebrows were still furrowed in surprise of this luxury car.

"We don't have all day," he broke my chain of thought, sending a soft chuckle along my way. I shook my head and proceeded towards the car, sliding into the passenger seat as the door came down and softly closes itself against the frame.

I had my eye on the door as if I just saw an alien from another planet. Better yet, an alien car.

"It's not mine," Isaiah smiles at me as she presses the button to start the car. The soft engine turned on, as if it wasn't on at all. I was amused by how fancy a car can actually get.

"I have a soccer mom van," he concludes, slightly laughing at the reference.

I found it ironic and funny how a person with clearly so much money, is so humble and accepts the fact that money doesn't mean anything. It's probably because Isaiah had a passion for soccer, something to keep him distracted from money; aside from his best friend. I laughed at his joke and shook my head.

He drove; or well the car drove, us into the highway and towards a restaurant that was rented for the party.

"Is there anything I should know about your family before I go and meet them?" I asked him, curiously.

"Well, my parents are pretty nice. They'll just accept you as one of my dates. Just say we met at school through Landon or something," Isaiah smiles confidently.

"Why am I going as your date again?"

Isaiah sent me an 'are you serious' look before sighing in response, "Because it will be less obvious if you come as my date. If Charles sees how much we actually really like each other, it'll hurt my family if we all found out about Charles's little schemes. Then it all goes into this big 'Should I hurt my allies's son to keep the money' type of thing. To conclude, just follow our lead and we should be fine."

"What if your parents believe that we're actually dating?"

He pauses, before looking over at me, "Well that sucks for them, doesn't it."

I was taken aback by Isaiah's answer but finally tried to settle myself down. There was no point on dwelling on the fact that this plot line might not work out, but it was too late to back out now. I sighed as I watched all the cars we sped past.

Soon enough, we ended up in front of a big cruise ship with the name 'Chaser' printed in beautiful calligraphy on the side of it. I was starting to feel lost. Isaiah didn't turn out to be someone who I thought I knew, he definitely had a lot more to him than just an innocent boy who loves soccer.

My door opened as I saw Isaiah holding his hand out to me. Faking a smile, I grabbed his hand as he pulls me to my feet. We interlocked out fingers as he presses the button on his keys, closing the door and locking the car. In silence, we both walked towards the ship and onto the dock that leaded us towards the basement.

"Carthys family called in and told us they'll come in around nine. They have some business to attend to beforehand," a voice echoed through the fancy wooded area, "So I guess we'll have to wait before sailing."

"Mom?" Isaiah calls out to the voice, pulling me behind him as we strolled into the spacious basement. There were shelves with wine, top to bottom of the ceiling, and big couches laying around that made this place look more like a lobby.

A lady with dark black hair, that was pulled into a slick bun turns around and greets her son by planting a fat kiss on his cheek. He leans down to accept the kiss before tugging me in front of him.

"This is Aubrey," he started, "She's a friend back from school and I wanted to introduce you two." Isaiah had his hand resting on my lower back, rubbing it as the warmth of his hand assures me that it's okay to trust his mother.

Before I was able to formally greet her, a big smile gaped across her face as she threw her arms around my shoulder, "Great seeing you, Aubrey!" The smell of her luscious perfume caught my attention as to how young she also looked considering that she was a mother of a high school senior.

"I was hoping for him to bring you home, he's been talking about you for quite a while now," she whispers in my ear, pulling back as she sends me a playful laugh.

Although I had a smile on my lips, my head was utterly confused as to where this conversation was going. I glanced over at Isaiah who was currently busy greeting the rest of his family member; catching eyes with me before sending me a soft smile.

What?