Chapter 1: I Don't Care

Roxanne's POV 

"Okay, can you believe what I just heard?"

Charlotte's voice hit me before she even fully caught up, her sneakers squeaking against the corridor floor as she fell into step beside me.

"Good morning to you too," I shifted my bag higher on my shoulder and kept walking.

"You won't believe what I found out," she was breathless, her bag falling off one shoulder. "Tyson and Skylar are done, over. It happened three days ago, apparently."

"Okay." I kept walking.

"Okay?" She stared at me. "Roxie, they were literally the couple of the year. Everyone was talking about it at the east wing and Skylar is already out here posting photos with Hayden Cross well like Tyson was a limited edition she outgrew."

"Good for her," I said and kept moving. 

Charlotte jogged two steps to keep up. "That's it? That's your whole reaction?"

"What do you want from me, Charlie?" I turned the corner toward the sciences corridor, dodging someone's backpack. "You've been my friend for years and you still don't understand that some people simply do not care about Tyson Blackwood's love life. Some people have actual problems."

She kept up with me easily, which was annoying because she was wearing platform sneakers. "You're not even a little bit interested?"

"Nope." My voice was deadpan.

"Aren't you even a little bit curious?" She asked.

"Charlie..."

"Because the way Skylar moved on that fast was..."

"He deserved it." I shifted my bag strap. "He's been overdue for that for a long time. Karma finally showed up."

Charlotte went quiet for a long moment, which for her was basically a record. We turned into the main hallway, people coming across in every direction.

 "You know," she said finally. "I really don't understand why you hate him so much."

I stopped walking and just looked at her.

She blinked. "What?"

"Charlie." I stared at her. "Seriously?"

She spread her hands. "What? I'm just saying..."

"Charlie." I cut her off. "The guy is a jerk and a bully. He's been a bully since we were literally twelve years old and you've watched him be like this."

"I mean, yeah, he can be..."

"He's not can be, he just is." I started walking again. "He's always been that way and everyone acts like it's some personality quirk instead of him just being plain terrible."

"Okay," she made a face. "But a lot of people are awful when they're younger and get better."

"He didn't get better." I laughed once. "Trust me."

She was quiet again, but a different kind of quiet this time. It was like a thinking quiet and I did not like it.

"Is this still about what happened with David?" She asked carefully.

My jaw tightened and kept quiet.

"I'm not trying to start anything, I just..."

"Charlie." My voice came out flat. "You know what happened with me and David and you know Tyson is the reason it went the way it did."

She opened her mouth, then closed it. "I mean...not really."

"It doesn't matter." I said. "It was months ago, it's over, and I really don't care anymore. The point is he's a jerk, he's always been a jerk, and has spent years making my life harder than it needed to be and he's always walking around this school like he personally owns the air in it, so yeah, I'm thrilled he finally got a taste of something he didn't ask for."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "You say you don't care and yet you have very detailed opinions about..."

"I care about my Healing and Herbalism assignment that I have not finished." I shot her a look. "Plus, my suppressants, which I'm almost out of. Those are the things I care about."

"How much do you have left?" She asked.

"Like... three left." I said.

"You need to refill your suppressants," She said. "If you run out mid-week your scent's gonna be everywhere and you know how people get around here.''

"I have an appointment on Friday." I said.

"That's four days away." Her voice rose slightly.

"I'm aware, thanks." My voice was flat.

"I'm just saying." She said. "With the territory assessments coming up next week, everyone's already on edge. The last thing you need is..."

"I will be fine, Charlie." I looked at her. "I've managed before."

"You've complained about managing before," she looked at me. "You literally said last time that you could feel people noticing."

"I was just being dramatic." I said.

"That's my thing, when you said something you mean it." She tugged her bag back up her shoulder. "I'm just saying, maybe call and ask if they have an earlier slot."

"I'll think about it." I sighed.

"That means no." She shook her head slightly.

"That mean I'll think about it." I cut around a group of people standing in the middle of the corridor. "I'm more worried about the assignment. I still have finished the section on lunar-cycle herb and Professor Maxwell specifically said she was going to ask follow-up questions this time."

"You'll be fine." She gave a small smile. "You're always fine with Herbalism."

"I'm fine because I actually do the reading," I said. "Which takes time, which I don't have when I'm also worrying about..."

"Suppressants." She cut me off.

"I was going to say assessment prep, but sure, add that to the list too."

Charlotte smiled a little. "When's the assignment due?"

I groaned. "Today."

"Roxie..."

"I'm going to finish it before class." I checked the time on my phone. "I have like twenty something minutes."

"That's not enough time to..."

"It's fine, I write fast when I'm panicking." I dropped my phone back in my pocket. 

She stared at me.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"I'm just..."

"I know, I'm a disaster." I grabbed her arm and steered us around the corner, cutting toward the main corridor. "I'll fix the assignment, I'll sort the suppressants, everything is fine..."

I walked straight into something solid and lost the rest of the sentence entirely.

I stepped back fast, grabbed my bag strap before it swung off my shoulder, and looked up.

He was taller than I always somehow forgot. Tyson Blackwood looked down at me with those green eyes, unhurried and not bothered.

Behind me, Charlotte had gone completely silent.

"Hey, Pumpkin." He smirked. "I've been looking for you."