Chapter 11

Zach’s POV

Brittany walked up to where the three of us stood then stopped. Her eyes fell on Ryder and I could see her visibly debating on how to react with him there. 

Suddenly, she rushed animatedly to his side, grabbing his arm and pulling him away from me and I noticed his expression shift to one of particular disinterest. 

“Babe! You can’t keep hanging around him, I told you. He’s a virus, didn’t you get my texts?” Her whiny voice was not half as irritating as the weird pout she was giving him. 

“I’ve been in class.”

She scoffed. “Well you don’t have to worry, I’ve made it my personal mission to keep your reputation intact.” Her eyes switched to me, turning to pure ice.

Ryder sighed heavily, shrugging his arm off her grip. “Yeah, I’ve got another class in ten minutes so I'll see you after school or something,” he said, walking away.

“Alright, hun. See ya.”

Well that was hard to watch.

Glancing at my watch, I made to leave when Brittany stopped me.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”

I paused, exhaling before turning to her, Gigi still by my side. 

“What do you want?” I slurred.

Brittany folded her hands and shifted her weight to one leg, taking a moment to eye me over.

“I think I should be the one asking you what you want with my man?”

My lips thin into an amused grin. “I’m not doing this with you right now, Britt.”

“Oh, you are. Because I need to understand why you keep following him around like a fly and coming up with these weird schemes. Tell me, are you obsessed with him?”

Now it’s Gigi’s turn to scoff. 

Brittany’s eyes move slowly to her. “And who are you?”

“I’m the girl who’s going to tell you to keep your man in order. Zach’s got a lot on the line  here, and I won't let him get caught up in your spoiled rich kid drama.”

Brittany chuckled, her blue eyes sparkling with genuine amusement. “I should keep Ryder in order?” she turned to the girls behind her who snickered in response and then back at us.

“If Zach has so much to lose, then maybe he should prioritize that over trying to get into a straight boy’s pants. I mean he’s so pathetic and he doesn’t even know it.”

Silence fell, but only for a moment as the sound of Gigi’s palm slamming against Brittany’s cheek echoed through the dense hallway.

My jaw hit the floor.

“Say one more stupid thing about my friend and watch what I do next.”

Briattny’s friends huddled close, holding her up as her hand plastered to her face. Slowly she looked up at me and Gigi, face red and eyes hot with fury. 

“Oh, it’s on now, bitch!” Was all I heard before she lunged at us, but Gigi was faster, ducking at the last minute and shoving Brittany to the floor before grabbing my wrist and bolting.

Brittany yelled after us but I could hardly hear anything over the adrenaline pumping in my veins, we ran until we were out of the building, stopping only when we were sure no one was coming after us.

I leaned over to catch my breath but immediately burst out laughing so hard that it became impossible to breathe. Gigi joined me and the next thing we were both begging each other to stop.

“Oh my God, why did you do that?” I asked between breaths, grinning so hard it felt like my face was splitting.

Gigi fell to the lawn, throwing her hands back to hold her weight. “I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to show you how easy it is to bite back.”

I joined her, tossing my bag down next to me. “That did not look easy at all,” I managed through a chuckle.

“Honestly it wasn’t, but it felt so good!”

“It did!” I screamed. 

We remained there for a few more seconds, slowly catching our breaths as the exhilaration calmed down.

“Just know that I'll always have your back, Z. You don’t need to take bullshit from those bullies anymore.”

My heart swelled as I nodded, no one had ever stood up for me like that. It felt so genuine. “I know, and I won't.”

“Promise?” She held out a pinky finger. 

“Promise,” I said, wrapping mine around hers.

“Alright,” She started, getting up and dusting her palms. “I’ve got to get back to class, but if you come across Brittany or Ryder, you know what to do right?”

I didn’t exactly have a clear picture but I nodded anyway, a newfound strength washing over me. “I do.”

“Good boy,” Gigi nodded before adjusting the strap of her purse and strolling off. I watched her walk off into the distance, the wide smile never leaving my face as I wondered what I did to deserve such an awesome friend.

My watch timer beeped on my wrist, pulling me back to reality.

“Shit!” I glanced at my watch, there’s no way I would make it to the other end of school in time and I had an assignment due.

Hurriedly, I rose to my feet and scrambled to grab my bag, already heading towards the entrance when I heard a familiar voice.

“Thought that was you.”

My head turned before I could stop it and my legs stopped moving, in the same instant my heart began to beat a different rhythm as the sun fell nicely on his perfect features and shiny white teeth. 

I could definitely get used to that smile.

“Hey Damien,” I said shyly as he walked up to me with a frisbee in his hand.

“Hey.” He licked his lips and I felt a rush down my groin.

“Wanna toss?” He held up his frisbee and all thoughts of heading back to class vanished in an instant.

How the hell was I supposed to walk away from such a beautiful boy.

My bag hit the floor. “Sure thing.” 

Damn, this certainly can’t end well for me.