222Ginger Beer
By: justalilcrazy
Seven Years Ago
It was a perfect day outside – the vast sky was deep blue, cloudless yet had a hint of the rays of sun which were warming up the atmosphere in the park, and the birds were merrily chirping away as the little children in the park were screaming and laughing, playing and having fun with each other.
It was just the kind of day Shane Wells hated.
What was a ten year old supposed to do in a park? With nature? It was so…boring. Shane would want nothing more but to have a big television in front of him with a couple of video games. But, no, his mother just had to force him to go to the park where she could chat with her friends.
He sighed, and looked ahead.
Layla Smithson was sitting quietly on the grass, reading a book. Shane rolled is eyes. That Layla got on his nerves. She was so decent, and nerdy, that it was irritating. She always listened to her parents, never asked for anything outrageously expensive, and always did everything her teachers told her to. He would know; he was in her class.
But, thankfully, he was older than her. That meant he was stronger.
Unfortunately, their mothers had been the best of friends in college, so he had to see a lot of Layla, and that certainly did not please him very much. But the best thing about her was that she was so vulnerable. He could push her buttons and pull her leg anytime. All she would do was burst into tears and Shane didn't mind that.
He hated girls, anyway.
He was suddenly struck by a brilliant idea. A magnificent one. He was bored and Layla was in front of him. What better way to pass him time than to irritate her? He looked around, juts to make sure if the coast was clear. He could see a woman taking her dog out for a walk, a couple of kids trying to build their very own castle with toys, and a man reading a newspaper.
He craned his neck to see beyond all that.
Ah. He finally saw his mother, laughing away with Layla's mother. She was hardly noticing him, or even looking towards either Layla or him, so that was a good thing.
He walked up to Layla.
'Hey, twerp,' he said loudly, standing in front of Layla. If he stood in front of her, he thought it made him stronger because he was overshadowing her. It meant that he was holding all the power at the time.
And that left poor Layla, all weak and defenseless.
Layla looked up and glared at Shane. 'Go away, Shane,' she mumbled, 'I'm trying to do something here.'
'You're reading a stupid book,' he said, knowing Layla's love for books. The more he irritated her, the better.
'It's not a stupid book. You're just too stupid to read it. You wouldn't understand it anyway,' said Layla bravely. Shane rolled his eyes.
'Yeah, like I wouldn't understand Famous Five. A story about five people who go on different kind of adventures. Yeah, I've seen the books on your bookshelf. Malory towers and all those boring boarding school stories. Please, I have better things to do.'
Layla frowned. 'You don't have better things to do. If you do, please go ahead and do them. Leave me alone,' she said, putting on the glare which was especially reserved for Shane. Shane didn't think Layla glared very much at all, but he managed to irritate her so much (score!) that he thought she must have a particular glare reserved for him.
The angrier, the better.
'I read your diary, you know,' said Shane, with a smirk on his face. 'I know what you want the most.' Shane remembered reading her diary. He had told everyone that he was going to the bathroom and quietly sneaked into her room. He knew she hid her diary under her pillow. So he took it and started reading it.
It was pure genius.
Layla frowned. 'When did you read my diary?'
Shane rolled his eyes. 'That's not the point. I know what you want. You've always wanted to try the taste of Ginger Beer.' When Shane had first seen that, he burst out laughing. What kind of secret dream was that?
Layla gulped. 'That's not true,' she said, narrowing her eyes. Or a lame attempt to, anyway.
'Of course it is,' said Shane, still smirking. 'That's your deepest secret, Ginger Beer.' He loved the way she was going red in embarrassment. It meant he was irritating her successfully.
Layla glared at him. 'Don't call me that,' she said. Shane grinned evilly to himself. If Layla hated the name so much, then he would always call her that.
'But I'm right, aren't I? You want to taste Ginger Beer,' he taunted, knowing it would annoy her.
'So what if I do?' It's not like it has any alcohol anyway,' she said, trying to be haughty, but failing miserably.
'Of course it does,' lied Shane easily, 'it has alcohol and you want to have it. Yeah, you're probably going to become a drunkard when you grow up. You know, living in a cardboard box on the street, having bottle after bottle. You won't go to any university and you'll never be able to complete your education. Meanwhile, all your friends would have graduated from college and will be taking on big jobs and you won't care, because you'll have your alcohol to give you company.'
Layla's lower lip trembled. Bingo. Shane silently cheered for himself. If her lower lip trembled, it meant she was about to cry.
And that was great.
'You're lying!' declared Layla, her eyes welling up. 'You're mean, Shane!' Her voice quivered.
'I'm speaking the truth. That's what's going to happen to you, Ginger Beer,' said Shane, trying to put on a look of pity. He was really enjoying it, so it was rather hard. But, thankfully, he managed.
'Stop!' exclaimed Layla, standing up as well and pointing her finger towards him. 'You don't know what you're talking about. Just shut up and leave me alone!' She angrily wiped her tears on the back of her sleeve.
'Of course I do, Ginger Beer. You're going to end up lonely,' said Shane, relishing every word.
'No, I'm not! I'm going to have someone who loves me!' she said, practically wailing.
'You're not. You're never going to have anyone who loves you so you can stop giving yourself false hope,' said Shane. He couldn't understand why girls existed. Girls were stupid. They could do nothing but cry and scream all the time.
'Shut up, Shane! I bet you're going to be the one who ends up alone! Nobody loves you. Nobody ever will,' said Layla, the tears freely flowing down her face. Shane hid his smirk. She finally started crying.
'Of course people love me. Who will ever love someone like you, Ginger Beer?' asked Shane, raising his eyebrow.
'I hate you, Shane! Just stay away from me!' cried Layla, taking a few steps back.
'Well, I hate you too, Ginger Beer,' said Shane, giving her a nasty look.
Just then, the mothers decided to show up. They both rushed up to Layla, to see if she was okay. But they were also used to it. Every time Shane and Layla were alone, they would start fighting and Layla would cry.
'Oh Shane, look what you've done,' said Shane's mother, clearly disappointed with her son. 'You've made Layla cry! Layla, honey, what happened?'
'He started it! He told me that nobody would ever love me!' said Layla, pointing an accusing finger towards him again.
'It's all right, sweetie,' said Layla's mother comfortingly, 'a lot of people love you and always will, okay?'
Layla sniffed, but nodded.
'Shane, why do you always pick on Layla? She's such a sweet girl,' said Shane's mother, staring intently down at son.
Shane shifted uncomfortably. 'Easy target,' he muttered.
'He's so mean! I was doing nothing to him. I was just sitting and reading my book when he came up to me and purposely started irritating me,' complained Layla, stamping her foot angrily on the grass.
Shane rolled his eyes at her. All the girls were the same. Tattle tales. Layla glared right back at him.
Both the mothers started laughing after seeing the looks of rage on each of the ten year olds faces.
'They'll never change, will they?' asked Layla's mother, shaking her head.
Shane's mother smiled. 'No, I doubt they ever will.'
A/N – New story! This was all seven years ago, so the next chapter will be in the present, when they're seventeen. It isn't a very long chapter but this is the way it's supposed to be.
Plus, if I added extra, it would just make it boring! Anyway, I've always had the idea for this story, and now, I've finally decided to put it up.
Oh, and a lot of you were probably wondering about the title, right? Well, the title has a big part in the story - because that's what he calls her to irritate her. Sigh, how I wish I was ten again.
Don't forget to review, okay?
See ya!