Semua Bab Pucking Hate You, My Bully Captain : Bab 51 - Bab 60

Zach’s POVThe supermarket in my hometown hadn’t changed much in the years since I’d left. The fluorescent lights still buzzed overhead like tired insects. The aisles smelled of stale bread, cleaning solution, and the faint sweetness of overripe fruit.I’d only gone in for a few basic groceries, milk, bread, just something to stretch the days at home before I had to face campus again.My mother had offered to go, but I needed the air. And a change in my routine now that my life was no longer so sad and filled with gloom.The basket felt heavy on my arm as I moved down the canned goods aisle, and searched through for the things on my list. The news that Damien had been removed and the accusations dispelled still felt surreal, like something that had happened to someone else.And the fact that it was Ryder who had done that. Stood up for me. There was so much gratitude mixed with questions that only he could answer, but I wasn’t ready to face him. Not yet. Not until I could process the

Ryder’s POVThe drive to our hometown stretched long and familiar, every mile pulling memories from the corners of my mind like threads I’d tried to forget, faded but stubbornly knotted. The tires hummed against the cracked asphalt of the old state highway, the kind of monotonous rhythm that let ghosts slip back in uninvited. I knew the route by heart: the gentle curve past the abandoned orchard where we’d once snuck beers after a game, the weathered billboard advertising the county fair that hadn’t changed in fifteen years. I’d driven variations of it in my head for years after Zach transferred, from family trips to imagining what it would be like to run away, to find him and make things right, the radio static crackling with half-remembered songs from those tense bus rides home after away games.The highway gave way to smaller roads, golden fields of late-summer corn swaying under a heavy sky that threatened rain but never quite delivered. The quiet suburban sprawl felt both comfort

Ryder’s POVThe jocks scattered like the cowards they were, muttering curses and shooting dark glances over their shoulders as they disappeared down another aisle, their footsteps fading into the store’s ambient buzz. The supermarket returned to its normal hum with carts squeaking, and a distant page over the intercom but a few curious shoppers lingered, pretending not to stare while clutching their baskets tighter. I turned to Zach, the protective fire still burning hot in my chest, refusing to cool. He looked rattled, hood pulled low, shoulders tense and drawn up like wires about to snap, basket clutched in white-knuckled fingers like a shield against the world. The sight of him like this, after everything we’d been through, twisted something deep and vicious inside me.“You okay?” I asked, voice softer now, rough around the edges. I reached down and started gathering the cans that had fallen during the confrontation, the metal cool and slightly dented against my palms, placing them

Ryder’s POVThe creek felt suspended in time as the sun dipped lower, casting long golden shadows across the grass that stretched and warped like reaching fingers. Zach sat across from me on the blanket, the bouquet of roses resting carefully beside him like a fragile bridge between past pain and whatever came next. The food was mostly untouched, wrappers shifting in the light breeze, but the conversation had shifted from raw confrontation to something quieter. Deeper. We were talking. Really talking. For the first time in what felt like forever, the words carving careful paths through the minefield between us.I took a slow breath, the cool evening air filling my lungs, and gave him more. This time with the full humiliating details of Damien’s aggressive come-on in that dimly lit dorm room, the handsy insistence, the vicious retaliation that had nearly cost me everything with my family and the team, it was difficult, but enough to let the truth breathe.“… so that’s it, Damien tried

Zach’s POVThe lecture hall buzzed with the usual energy of students shuffling papers, chatting about weekend plans, and the faint hum of laptops powering on.I sat toward the middle this time, not the back row I’d claimed during the worst of days. The air was breathable these days, and I was going to breathe in every bit of it now that whispers that no longer followed me like a shadow.Professor Staks entered with his usual brisk stride, loafers clicking against the floor, his long dark beard neatly trimmed. He set his notes on the podium and surveyed the room with that sharp, appraising look that always made everyone sit a little straighter.“Good morning, class, and welcome back to this lecture. Uh, before we begin today, I want to take a moment to commend all of you for your hard work this semester. The submissions were very impressive. So much so that some of them stood out.”A ripple of anticipation moved through the room. I kept my eyes on my notebook, pen tapping lightly again