Right Kind Of Wrong Part 1:
Never Give In
Author's note: Ryan McCarthy and the rest of the cannon characters from the movie Never Back Down don't belong to me. Everything else does. This is going to be the first part of my series called Right Kind of Wrong which is where I pay all my favorite bad boys up. I hope you like it. Please read and review. This is my final alteration to the story. i won't be changing it again. Thank you everybody for having so much patience with me. I sincerely hope you like this story.
"If you gonna be the best, you have to take out the best".
His father's words echoed in Ryan's head as he stared down at the Cyprus Hill High School Cafeteria from the first floor. The students swirled about in the ground floor, resembling a pool of water that had been stirred vigorously with a stick. They talked noisily as they found their friends, looked around to see who was looking at them, the various clichés absorbing their members, all under the stupid illusion that they were where the action was. They weren't. The first floor was the actual center of power, where Ryan and his friends sat and all the power, naturally, rested with him. He was, after all, the undisputed king of Cyprus Hill. Not only was he the best looking, the most popular and the richest guy in school, he was, more importantly, the meanest and dirtiest fighter Cyprus Hill had ever seen. It was understood that Ryan McCarthy always won.
That is, it was…till Jake Tyler shifted to Cyprus High. Ryan's gaze hardened as he focused on his nemesis who was sitting on a table on the ground floor along with everybody else. He was surrounded as usual by his sickeningly loyal companions; his devoted girlfriend who was also Ryan's ex: Baja Miller and his best friend cum No.1 fan Max Cooper. Looking down at them, Ryan seethed inwardly as they joked amongst themselves, laughing and generally having a damn good time at his expense. He watched Baja lean over and kiss Jake on the mouth, both of them looking at each other lovingly before turning to laugh at something Max was saying, his fingers clenching into fists. Baja was another thing Jake had stolen from him. Before Jake, Baja had been more than happy to be Ryan's girlfriend. In fact, she had become the hottest girl in school only because he had shown an interest in her. Without him, she would have continued to walk the hallways like a silent ghost, ignored by everybody else. Even Max had once worshipped the ground Ryan had walked on, always chasing after him and trying to impress him with his pathetic fighting skills.
But Jake's coming had changed all that. Not only had Baja had dumped him for Jake in front of everyone, Jake had later publicly insulted him and challenged his supremacy by defeating him in the Beatdown. And now seeing the two of them cuddling up cozily made him want to throw up, not because he cared for Baja, but because everyone knew that in Baja's mind, Jake was the winner, not Ryan. Even Max, who used to curl up in fear in front of Ryan's anger stood up to him.
Although, everybody still feared him, his rule wasn't as absolute as it used to be. He could see the doubt on his friend's faces, the barest glimmer of hesitation anytime he went in for the fight. Worse, he could see it in his own eyes when he looked into a mirror. Jake had taken away things from Ryan he valued most; self-respect, power, prestige, authority…and victory. People were now beginning to think that they were as good as Ryan McCarthy. And that was something Ryan couldn't allow.
Jake was going to pay, Ryan thought vengefully, he just needed to be defeated again. Ryan had no doubts about winning, he had been practicing long and hard and Jake was out of shape; he had stupidly given up fighting after the Beatdown. He needed a little reminder to make him remember that he was inferior to Ryan in every way that counted. Once Jake was defeated, Ryan predicted, drumming his fingers on the green Formic Table top, things would go back to the way they were before.
The only glitch was, Ryan's fingers paused in mid-air, poised to strike, that Jake refused to fight anymore. No matter how provocative Ryan was, Jake never rose to the bait. He claimed that he had given up fighting for good and that he was sticking to that promise. Ryan didn't believe him. According to him, Jake just didn't have the motivation anymore. And that was something Ryan was more than happy to provide. It was just the matter of finding the right motivation.
And honestly, he was getting tired waiting for it. He scanned the cafeteria restlessly his razor-sharp mind searching for a solution when, suddenly, as if in answer to his prayers, he saw a petite brunette make her way to Jake's table. His eyes widened as he watched her lean down and kiss Jake in front of a smiling Baja before sitting down next to him. She didn't look familiar. Even from where he was sitting, he could see that she was pretty hot. But what really interested him was how much attention Jake was paying her. The two of them obviously knew each other well….interesting, Ryan thought, his cold gaze beginning to gleam.
Without removing his glance from the new comer, he called out to one of his most loyal friends, "Brandon, find out who that new girl is". Ryan didn't have turn around to know that Brandon would be talking to the girls and finding out. The people in his group may be rich spoilt brats but they could be counted on to know everything about everyone. Sure enough, within moments, Brandon came back.
"Her name is Anna Maddox. She's Tyler's first cousin or something. She's recently shifted to Orlando and is living with the Tylers. And…" he paused, trying to remember the other details, "She's a senior and today's her first day at school." Ryan gave him the slightest of nods to show he'd heard. Brandon immediately melted away, knowing that it was better to stay away from Ryan whenever he was in one of his moods.
Staring coldly at the petite brunette, an icy smirk curved the ends of Ryan's sculpted mouth. Now wasn't that interesting. Jake had a sister who'd just moved to Cyprus High. Maybe he should introduce himself to Anna Maddox. It could be the start of a beautiful friendship…one that would end in Jake being exactly what Ryan wanted him to be…ready to fight.
x-x-x
"So how's your first day going?" Baja asked Anna as they walked to class. Anna jumped slightly, startled out of her thoughts. Cyprus Hill was taking a lot of getting used to. Not to mention her brother's super hot girlfriend was more than a little intimidating. When Anna had first met Baja, she had been completely tongue-tied. Even in a simple white sundress and her hair in a pony-tail, Baja looked like she belonged to the ramp, or well, at least a movie set. Standing next to her, dressed in a sleeveless green top and jeans, Anna really felt out of place.
Even though she and Max had tried their best to make Anna feel comfortable, Anna couldn't help but feel like she was an interloper in the group. She'd had no idea that Jake would have not only settled into his new life but was thriving in it. Ever since he'd moved to Orlando after his father's death, Jake had sort of drifted away. She guessed that maybe he'd needed time to deal with things and settle into his new life. Now she was proud to see that he'd managed to get out of the destructive cycle he had been caught in and formed friendships with people who really cared about him. Not only did he and Baja look like they were completely head over heels in love with each other, Jake had a really good friend in Max too. The three of them looked complete on their own and if she was honest, Anna felt a little jealous. She and Jake had grown up next door to each other and had even attended the same high school in Iowa and had not only been siblings but best friends too. Their mothers were sisters and when Anna's parents got divorced when she was five, she and her mom had shifted to the Tylers' neighborhood. Since then, the two of them had been inseparable. When Jake and his family had moved away, Anna had been really upset. But when her mother told her she would have to go abroad with her for a year, her mother was a translator, Anna had flat out refused. Her mother wouldn't hear about her moving in with her dad till she completed her senior year, so they'd compromised, and Anna had come to live with the Tylers. She'd hoped that maybe she and Jake would hang out together and be as close as they were earlier but now she realized that Jake already had his best friends. It would just take a little getting used to, Anna thought, mentally shrugging away the hurt.
"Anna?" Baja waved her hand in front of Anna's face. Anna realized with a start that she still hadn't answered Baja. Trying to smile convincingly, she said, "It's been alright."
"You're handling it much better than I did" Baja remarked. Anna thought she sounded sincere but it was a bit difficult to imagine that a confident and friendly person like Baja would have any problems making friends.
"Really?" Anna asked, her voice disbelieving. Baja slid an amused glance at her and said, "yeah, really. My first day, I wanted to run away within five minutes of walking into this school."
"But you stuck it out" Anna completed for her, looking at Baja with new interest. Maybe she'd underestimated Baja. She was beginning to see that there was a lot more to Baja than met the eye. She had more substance to her than being just a pretty face.
"I had to" Baja shrugged matter of factly, "To be honest, the first month was hell. I didn't have any friends and I used to eat my lunch all by myself." Anna raised her eyebrows in shock. That was the last thing she'd been expecting. Feeling a pang of guilt for being so judgy, she smiled, genuinely and said, "Then I'm really lucky I have you guys. I would to hate be alone here." And then as a group of girls passed by, who glared at Baja and completely ignored Anna, she shuddered "Really hate it." Tilting her head in their direction, Anna asked, "Are they all like that?"
Looking at Anna quietly for a moment, Baja replied dryly, "No, they're worse." She and Anna burst out laughing at that, earning a lot of curious glances from everyone. And more than a few admiring ones from the guys. Anna noticed that Baja hadn't even realized. She really was alot cooler than Anna had initially thought. She felt a little more relaxed than she had earlier and Anna knew that it was mainly because Baja had gone out of her way to make her feel comfortable.
"We're here" Baja announced as they stopped outside a classroom. "If you need anything just give me a call." Anna nodded, smiling gratefully at Baja as she started heading into the class. "And Anna?" Anna stopped and turned towards Baja, a questioning look on her face. Baja just smiled "I'm really happy you're here". Anna was surprised at first but then smiled back as she said, "I'm happy to be here too" and she meant it.
x-x-x
"For this year's project, you're all going to pair up" Ms. Sterne, the English teacher declared, "And no, Mr. Keating" she looked pointedly at a boy who had raised his hand, "you can't choose or change your partners" the class collectively groaned at this. Ms. Sterne continued pacing, completely unruffled. "I will be handing out numbers to everybody. Who ever has the same number will pair up and will remain paired up for the rest of the year" she emphasized as another deep groan rose from the class, "Now, each pair will decide on a play you will be working on. And you better work fast because class ends in ten minutes and plays will be allotted on first cum first served basis"
Ryan just rolled his eyes as Ms. Sterne dropped a chit with a number scrawled on it on his table. He didn't care about any stupid project. His partner would be doing all the work anyway. But what did interest Ryan was the fact that Anna Maddox was in his English lit class. Now he just had to make sure that she was his partner for the year. And then everything else would fall into place. His mouth curving slightly at the thought, Ryan went back to studying his 'partner'. She was sitting next to a window in one corner of the class. Apparently, Ms. Maddox belonged to the wallflower category. Throughout the class, he'd noticed that although she'd been paying attention throughout class, she'd never made a move to answer any question or talk to anyone. She didn't fidget or text under the table. He found her stillness intriguing. In his experience, girls either gossiped about someone or fixed their makeup or flirted with whichever guy was closest. Baja had been different in that she'd never really flirted with other guy when she was with him. All she wanted to do was hang out with her little clique of friends who ironically, were the first people to ditch her when she started dating Ryan.
Anna, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to everyone else around her as she began writing something on her paper. The sunlight falling on her hair made it gleam reddish brown and it fell in a straight curtain down her back. She had flipped it off one shoulder and Ryan could only make out her profile. Still, he could see that although she wasn't as beautiful as Baja was, she was pretty. Good, he thought with satisfaction, it just made his work easier. Ms. Sterne passed by her table, dropping another chit there. Anna looked up, a small frown creasing her forehead as she studied her chit. Ryan shifted in his seat, angling himself so that he could see the number written on the chit. It was a 5.
Finally glancing at his chit, he cursed under his breath. 8 was scrawled across the sheet. How the hell was he supposed to find the other person who had 5?. It would be like finding a bloody needle in a haystack! He thought angrily although his face betrayed none of his furious thoughts. He nodded and grinned at something Brandon was saying but he didn't really pay attention to him. Not that Brandon noticed. He wasn't really gifted in the intellect department.
"You may find your partners now" Ms. Sterne announced dramatically. Ryan didn't budge from his seat as the class erupted with activity. He kept his gaze fixed on Anna, looking for anyone who was heading in her direction. Just then, someone jostled his shoulder. Ryan turned his head to glare at the offender "Watch it" .Taylor, the unlucky culprit turned white as he realized who he'd bumped into. "Ry-Ryan! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I didn't see you-" his hands were trembling so badly that the chit fell out of his hands and on to Ryan's table. Ryan's eyes widened fractionally as he saw it number 5 written on it.
"I'm going to take this" Ryan said as he smoothly took Taylor's chit and gave him his own. Taylor didn't protest but nodded gratefully, relieved that Ryan wasn't going to hit him. Although he was disgusted at how pathetic Taylor was, Ryan just smiled coldly, "Thanks". Taylor slumped in relief when Ryan passed him only to turn white again as Ryan gripped his shoulder hard and said in an extremely pleasant voice, "Bump into me again and I'll kill you" and with that, Ryan made his way to Anna's table. He didn't pay attention to how everybody immediately made room for him to pass, not daring to bump into him. He expected it.
As he neared her seat, Ryan begun to realize that Anna was far prettier than he had thought. She wasn't beautiful like Baja but rather ordinarily pretty. Still, there was something about her that made you look a second time. She had even features framed in an oval face, a broad forehead and a small nose in which a small stud twinkled. Ryan found it extremely sexy. He'd never really liked facial piercings on girls before but Anna was an exception. Tearing his gaze away from it, he studied the rest of her. She had high cheekbones and a full mouth which she had pursed, tapping it with her pencil as she studied the list in front of her. Her face ended in a slightly pointed chin which looked stubborn. Ryan had to admit that with her surprisingly creamy complexion and the graceful sweep of her neck, he was really looking forward to seeing her face properly.
As he reached her chair, he pulled up another one and set in next to hers with easy strength. Slipping into it, he placed his chit on the table, next to hers. He waited for her to look up at him with beautiful golden brown eyes before he smiled and said, "Found you"
x-x-x
"Excuse me?" Anna asked her voice unintentionally husky. She was having a little bit of a hard time understanding how a blonde Greek God had suddenly dropped into the seat next to hers. He was without a doubt the best looking guy she had ever seen. Taller than most with chiseled features and golden hair, he belonged to a painting of angels. On second thought, Anna thought, taking in his sculpted mouth and devilish blue eyes, he looked like he would be more at home in the fallen angel category. Anna would have been to be completely out of it to not recognize that there was something about him; a sort of powerful aura that separated him from everyone else. He looked like a leader rather than a follower. He was probably one of the popular guys in school if not the most popular guy. He was definitely the kind of guy Anna ran a mile from. But here he was, dressed in a black shirt that hugged his shoulders and showed off a red tribal tattoo around a muscled bicep along with khaki shorts looking disturbingly sexy. This guy was definitely trouble.
"I'm your partner for the project" he explained, flashing a devastating smile which revealed equally devastating dimples. Why was everyone one in this damned school so ridiculously good looking? She thought with a flash of annoyance. It felt like she'd walked on to the set of some high school movie and not the Disney version. Tearing her eyes away from him, Anna looked at the two chits he had picked up from the table. Her heart sank as she noticed that number 5 really was scrawled across the both of them. How was she going to work at close quarters with him for a whole year? He was beginning to affect her already! Her stomach felt fluttery and her cheeks had gone red and that was just the beginning! And she couldn't even change her partner!
"Alright" she replied with admirable calm. Sliding over the sheet she'd been working on, she added, "I made a list of plays we could work on. You can…" she began politely but trailed off when he scooted his chair even closer to hers, his thigh brushing against her own. Anna swallowed as she was distracted by his cologne. It wasn't musky but cool and crisp; it reminded her off the sea. She was guessing it was Davidoff's Cool Water, one of her favorites. Pulling herself together, she completed, "You can pick whichever one you want. Unless you want to work on one not on the list" But he wasn't listening to her. He was intently studying the list and Anna had free reign to look at him without being caught. She was intrigued by how golden his skin was, he must spend all his time in the sun, she thought absently. It had probably bleached his hair to its present goldeness. !
"Let's do this one" he decided, tapping a finger against one of the names she had neatly written on the sheet. Hoping that it wasn't the one play she was dreading working on him, Anna looked at where he was pointing. Her heart sank yet again as she saw that it was. How could she work on Romeo and Juliet with him? It was such a beautiful passionate play, highly emotionally charged and one which she didn't want to work on intimately with him of all people. But she didn't really have a concrete reason to refuse him either so she just shrugged carelessly, "Yeah sure"
He looked at her intently for a moment, as if he had somehow sensed how much she really like the play but thankfully he didn't say anything. There was a moment of awkward silence and Anna rushed to fill it "So do you have any plan on how we should work at it?" She mentally winced at how geeky she sounded. But he didn't seem to mind, turning his head to look at her, he said, "Why don't we meet after school to decide? There's this little shack on the shore of Lake Eola which isn't so crowded. We could work there, nobody would disturb us"
It's not a date Anna, she cautioned herself. Her heart was already beating fast because his face was just inches away from her own. Had it been anyone else, she would have just been annoyed at the intrusion on private space but now the problem was entirely different. "I'm sorry I can't…?" she trailed off as she realized she didn't even know his name. As if he read her mind, he grinned, extending his hand, "I'm Ryan"
"Anna" she placed her hand in his. His hand was warm and dry and Anna's hand felt supersensitive wherever he was holding it. She quickly removed her hand from his and was a little irritated when she saw the amused look on his face. Was she really that transparent? "I'm sorry Ryan" she tried out his name, "but I have some plans with my brother today."
"Is he in our school?" Ryan asked, "Your brother I mean". Anna nodded "Yeah. Jake and I are first cousins actually but we grew up next door to each other so…"
"Jake? As in Jake Tyler?" Ryan clarified, a questioning frown creasing his forehead. Maybe Ryan knew him, Anna thought to herself. "Yeah. You know him?"
He smiled a little, as if he was enjoying a private joke, "We're not friends, if that's what you're asking. But I've seen him around." Suddenly, he stood up, hoisting his bag over his shoulder, "I think we should register our names with Ms. Sterne. We better hurry before someone else grabs the play" Anna looked at him, puzzled at his abrupt behavior. Men! She thought, shaking her head. As they headed towards the teacher's table, Anna gradually became aware of a flurry of conversation going across the room. What was disturbing was that Ryan and she seemed to be topic of gossip. Before she could ask Ryan what was going on, they had reached Ms. Sterne.
"So what are the two of you doing?" she asked, her hands clasped together excitedly. Ryan and she exchanged a dry look, something that oddly thrilled her before he replied, "We're doing Romeo and Juliet." Suddenly there was pin drop silence in the class. What is with these people? Anna wondered, completely perplexed. Ms. Sterne just wriote their names down along with the name of the play. Damn! Anna thought disappointed; they would have to work on this play after all.
Meanwhile the class had gone back to talking amongst themselves but this time the buzzing of whispers was even louder. Anna shot Ryan a glance to see what he thought of it but he was completely rapt in watching Ms. Sterne enter their names in her permanent record. He seemed to relax a little when she was done. This is one strange school, Anna thought, and its getting stranger by the moment.
"Now" Ms. Sterne said in a brisk businesslike tone, "I expect an excellent project from you two." Anna mentally drifted away as the teacher started talking to Ryan about something. Today had been so different from what she had expected. The only thing she wanted was a quiet beginning in her new school and to hopefully overcome the breach between Jake and herself. Family was a big thing to Anna, especially since her own parents had split up. Her biggest fear was losing people important to her. Jake's leaving had pulled the rug out from under her feet and despite how glad she was that he was thriving in his new life, she couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't completely over the moon about her being here. She had to stop doing this, Anna reproached herself, of course Jake was happy she was here! Why wouldn't he be? He'd even promised to take her around Orlando after school! She was just being insecure and stupid!
"There" Ryan said suddenly, snapping her out of her thoughts, "It's done" . Anna's gaze flew to his "I'm sorry?"
"I was saying..." Ryan began, as he guided her back to their table, his firm grasp on her elbow making her skin tingle, "thats it done." Looking deep into her eyes, a smirk playing around his lips, "Its permanent now. We're going to be together for a whole year and no one can change it."
"Oh, you mean the project" Anna laughed shakily, wondering why she suddenly felt uneasy. "Yeah, yeah we are" The bell rang just then and Anna grabbed her bag, anxious to leave his presence. Everything about Ryan was way too intense. Sticking her hand out, she smile awkwardly, "Nice meeting you...Ryan"
Instead of shaking her hand, Ryan just held it in his warm one. Anna almost jumped as she felt his thumb brush the soft center of her palm. But a quick look at his unaware face made Anna think that she must have imagined it. That is, until he smirked, "I'm very happy I met you. I'll be seeing you around".
author's note: Thank you everyone for reading this chapter and having so much patience with me! I really hoped you liked it! Ryan in my story is a little colder and not as big a show off as he's portrayed in the movie. Please review and tell me if you liked it.
