BOYFRIEND

DRE'S P.O.V

(PRESENT DAY)

I'm going to kill those girls. No one is going to stop me— not even my boyfriend.

I tap my desk angrily, my eyes never leave the clock.

Class isn't over till fifteen minutes.

The English teacher is up front. Her class drags on for so long.

She had given me a warning when I begged her, just recently, to let me leave earlier.

I have to leave, the rumours are spreading again.

Dre's a whore, she's always stealing people's men.

𝐼'𝑚 𝑛𝑜 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑒!

I never did any of those things—well, not all of them.

Except for the time when Russell kissed me during lunch. Or the other time when Evan and I made out when I was his calculus tutor. Or that one time when TJ begged me to suck his—

I stop myself.

Maybe I am a whore.

𝐹𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑛𝑜!

All of those boys were single when it happened.

All those boys came to me.

So why am I the villain?

Because those girls can't control their boyfriends, they need someone to blame. And that someone is always me.

I am not going to let that happen. I'm done letting it slide.

I'm so sick and tired of being treated like this. I'm finally going to stand up for myself.

Besides, I have a boyfriend, so their accusations were false.

I wouldn't cheat on my boyfriend.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I take it out.

Speak of the devil. My boyfriend sent a text.

𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑑, 𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛, 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦?

Fuck that. I'm going to take those girls to hell for what they did. They outnumbered me, but with the rage I feel, I'm convinced I can fight them all.

I know for sure I'd win.

Five minutes left.

The English teacher is already giving out homework.

Any moment from now.

My phone buzzes again.

It's still my boyfriend.

𝐵𝑎𝑏𝑒, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝.

That's right, my scholarship.

Fighting can jeopardise my scholarship; it can destroy my whole future.

All the extra classes I take for extra credit. Sleepless nights of studying to maintain my already high GPA. All the effort I made to get into Luiton University, the best school of medicine and surgery in the country.

It'll all go down the drain if I fight.

Well, I say fuck the scholarship.

My mind is made up, and the second the class is over, the girls are in for it.

The bell rings.

I bolt out the door.

Jasmine Richards, Cyan Bennett and the devil herself, Maddie Celeste.

I know where they'll be, in the girls' locker room, getting ready for cheer practice.

My phone starts ringing, it's my boyfriend.

"What is it?" I answer.

"Andrea, just calm down, okay. I'm coming to get you, just wait for me," he begs.

"No, I'm done waiting."

"Just calm down, babe," he pleads. "You could get hurt."

I end the call. I don't need to hear this.

I head to the girls' locker room when out of nowhere someone grabs my arm, pulling me into an empty classroom.

"Let go of me," I say angrily.

The door slams shut. For half a second, I think it's Maddie.

Then he turns round.

"Luke?"

The moment I see him, everything collapses.

Tears spill down my face before I can even stop them.

He steps closer instantly.

"I thought I told you to wait for me," he says quietly.

"I can't wait, Luke. They do this to me all the time," my voice begins to break.

Luke says nothing, drawing me near him.

He runs his hands through my hair before pulling me towards him.

"You can't fight, you know that," he whispers, while I sob on his chest.

He's right.

Maddie will destroy me.

Kick my ass to the curb.

"You're fragile," Luke adds.

I'm tired of feeling this way, like I can't defend myself.

Luke finally pulls back, wiping my tears with his thumbs.

"I'll handle it," he says.

"How?" I ask. "Will you fight them for me?" I ask eagerly.

"Of course not, but I'll handle it," he says.

I look at him, unconvinced.

"You trust me, don't you?"

I nod without hesitation.

𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒.

"I'll take care of you," he assures me. "Let's go."

He holds out his hand, and I take it.

Luke walks me out of the room.

"Andrea," someone calls from a distance.

Luke steps aside, letting go of my hand.

It's Nathaniel Collins, my boyfriend.

"Babe, are you okay?" he asks, drawing me in for a hug.

"She's fine now," Luke answers him coldly, before I can even respond.

Nate pulls away to study me, ignoring Luke.

"I'm fine, I was just so angry," I admit.

"Okay. Where have you been? I looked everywhere for you?" Nate asks.

"Where have you been, Nathaniel? Aren't you supposed to be here with her?" Luke retorts.

"Luke," I say, trying to ease the tension between him and my boyfriend.

"I'm here now, that's all that matters," Nate says.

Luke scoffs.

"Babe, were you crying?" he asks, concerned, now seeing my damp face.

"I'm fine," I tell him, not wanting him to worry further.

"She's fine because I was there. Try being a better boyfriend," Luke says, walking past us.

Nate wants to say something back.

"Please," I beg Nate. "He was just trying to help."

Before Nate can respond, I pull away to catch up with Luke.