Zeke slams the helpless boy against the lockers.

"How dare you do that. Who the fuck do you think you are? The President?"

"I-I'm sorry," the boy cries, eyes widened in fear.

"Zeke! What the hell are you doing?" I pull him from the guy he was crushing against the lockers.

"This guy fucking bumped into me and didn't say fucking sorry. Can you believe that?"

Is he being fricking serious right now.

I turn to the scared boy and help him pick up his books that fell, "Are you okay?"

He nods and gives me his best smile. My heart breaks.

Poor kid.

I straighten up the crushed collar of his shirt and fix his dorky sweater. "All better. Sorry about him," I nod towards Zeke who's currently death staring me.

"Thanks," the boy lets out before walking away.

I turn to Zeke. "You're insane!"

"Why were you helping that fucking square?"

"Because you were picking on him for no reason!" I shout.

"It wasn't for no reason! He walked into me!" He shouts back.

People in the corridor stare. Ugh mind your own business, you bunch of attention seeking cunts.

Damnit, Zeke. You got me in a bad mood now.

I turn on my heel and walk towards Zoey's locker.

"You'll never guess what Zeke just done," I say, leaning against the lockers.

"I heard," she laughs, "You guys were shouting pretty loud."

"Ugh! What an asshole."

"Me?" She closes her locker.

"No, Zeke. He's bringing out the worst in me. You know, he made me call the people staring the C-word. It was in my mind, but still."

Zoey smiles, "Maybe one day you'll love how he brings out the worst in you. Maybe he'll bring out the best, too."

I stare at her, "Why would I ever love that he makes me angry and annoyed?"

Zoey shrugs and the bell rings. We say goodbye and I go to Art class.

+++

The day goes by, and soon i'm sitting in my last class for the day. Chemistry.

Mason sits beside me, smiling cheerfully. "Hey."

"Hi," I feel awkward after the kiss.

"We need to talk."

Oh God.

"...About the, you know..." He continues, hesitantly.

"It's okay, I understand."

He furrows his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"You had been drinking; it was a mistake. I get it."

He starts shaking his head, "What? Marnie, no. That's not what I was going to say."

"It's not?"

"No. I'm glad it happened. I mean, I like you, like a lot, and-"

"Everyone quiet please," Mr. Kennedy shouts over the class.

"I'll talk to you later," Mason whispers to me.

+++

Once the bell rings for the end of the day, Mason and I walk out of the school.

"Okay, so," he begins, "what I was going to say was-"

"Hey, Mason," Zeke smiles a fake smile and slings his arm around my shoulders.

Oh God.

"Zeke..." Mason says, looking at the assholes arm.

"What a coincidence seeing you here."

"How's it a coincidence? This is school," I ask while pushing his arm off of me.

He fake laughs, "Isn't she just adorable?" He asks an annoyed looking Mason, "Oh, have you seen her bedroom? So weird right? I mean, I was expecting the walls to be covered in study notes and bed covers and decorations that say 'I heart school', but instead, there were pillows with 'Live Laugh Love' written on them. Ironic considering she doesn't really laugh, or love, and she definitely doesn't live."

What did he do, analyse every object in my room?

Mason looks speechless.

"Wait," Zeke says in his fake voice, "You haven't seen her room yet, have you? Man, she must not trust you like she trusts me," he gives him a fake sympathetic smile.

This mother trucking asshole.

"Well, I better go." He walks backwards as he talks, "Nice chatting with you, Mason."

He winks at me before turning around and heading to his car.

Mason and I look at each other, both a little stunned.

"What – how has he been in your room?" Is the first thing he asks.

"He wasn't there for long. I didn't even let him come in, he just did. You see, it was when he walked me home after we hung out and my mom-"

"I thought you guys weren't friends? He embarrassed you in front of everyone, remember?"

"Yes, and we're not friends. I was with him because I-"

Shit.

I can't tell him that I babysit Zeke.

I look across the parking lot and see Cole, Isaac and the asshole himself, standing at his car smoking, and staring directly at me.

"- because I, I um, saw him. And he walked me to my house."

Mason looks at me, knowing i'm lying.

Damnit why do I have to suck so bad at lying.

"Oh," Mason looks around awkwardly. "Look, I need to go. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

I nod, feeling bad.

He walks away.

I am going to kill Zeke.

I stomp over to the asshole and push him against his car, then start hitting his chest like a crazy person.

"Why...the...hell...did...you...do...that?" I say between hits.

"What are you talking about?" He says, laughing as he tries to push me away.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Zeke Blakely!" I stop hitting him and stand with my arms crossed.

"What'd he do?" Cole asks.

"He told Mason some bullshit, and now-"

"Oh my God," Zeke interrupts, looking at me as if there's a huge spider on my face.

Oh, God, is there?

"You just swore!" He drops his cigarette and puts his hands on my shoulders, his mouth wide open.

"Now look what you've done! You've driven me to swearing! Soon i'm gonna be in rehab with drug problems because of you!"

Cole and Isaac laugh.

Shut up.

"Chill the fuck out, Satan. I did you a favour. You're just wasting you time on that douchebag."

"He's not a douchebag. And i'm not wasting my time on him – we were just talking before you interrupted!"

"Yeah, it's amazing how fast things can go from talking to fucking."

"You'd know, wouldn't you," I mumble.

He hesitates before speaking again, this time in a colder tone. "It was also payback for what you did earlier today," he walks over to the driver seat door, "Next time stay out of my business." Then he gets into the car and shuts the door.

Silence fills the air. Cole looks around, and when he meets my eyes he laughs awkwardly. "Men, what can ya do?"

+++

"I slept through that entire math class, and when I woke up I discovered that I had missed like one hundred pages of notes."

I laugh at my best friend. "My worst nightmare."

We sit at our usual table in the cafeteria with our food trays.

After yesterday's argument with Zeke, Zoey came to my house and I ranted about him to her, getting my frustration out. I think I'm chill now, and Mason said hi to me when I passed him in the corridor this morning, so at least I know he isn't mad at me.

A couple of minutes later, Cole and Isaac come over with their food.

"Hey, babe," Cole says to Zoey as he sits beside her – Isaac sits on the other side of Cole.

Zoey blushes.

The problem with being with hot guys is that they could melt your heart with just one word.

"Where's Zeke?" I ask without thinking.

Isaac nods towards something, and when I look I see Zeke with his tongue down some blondes throat.

I think I just lost my appetite.

"Gross," Zoey speaks my thoughts.

Cole says something but it comes out as gibberish as he tries to speak with his mouth stuffed with hamburger.

"What?"

"I said," he finishes chewing and swallows, "what's with you chicks thinking that making out is gross?"

"It is gross," I state, "It's like using that persons tooth brush, and all the people who've kissed them's toothbrush."

Cole screws up his face in disgust. "Then I guess I better stop kissing Zeke."

"It's not nice to talk about me while i'm not there," asshole says, sitting down next to me.

Zeke smirks at me. "Hey, wanna hear a poem I wrote for you?"

This can't be good.

"Sure."

He clears his throat. "Roses are red, violets are fine, I'll be the six, if you'll be the nine."

Cole and Isaac start laughing, whereas Zoey and I just stare at him.

"Creative as fuck, bro, gotta give you that," Isaac puts his hand up and high-fives Zeke.

"Asshole," I murmur then take a bite of my sandwich.

Zeke raises his eyebrows, "You didn't like it?"

I shake my head. He pouts.

Adorable.

No; asshole.

"Zeke, you have some desperate slut on the side of your mouth," Zoey says, referring to the lip stick from the girl he was kissing that is smeared on his mouth.

He wipes it off with his hand, then steals the apple from my tray and takes a bite.

"You now owe me two apples," I say, thinking back to the time he made me drop my apple when he pretended to ask me out on a date.

He smirks, knowingly. "I'll repay you one day."

+++

It was now Friday, and I was heading to Zoey's car, ready to go home, when I came across Mason – leaning against the car.

We haven't had a real conversation since the Zeke incident, so I was surprised to see him here.

"Hi," I say, stopping in my tracks.

How did he even know this is Zoey's car and that she takes me home every day?

He smiles. The dimples.

"How are you?"

How am I? I don't know?

That's such a hard question.

Instead of telling him about my constant stress and anxiety, I just say, "I'm good."

"I'm sorry I haven't spoke to you much this week; I've been busy with practise and stuff..."

"It's fine, really. I wasn't expecting you to after what Zeke said."

"You guys have been... together a lot more lately."

"Yeah, him and his friend just sort of... show up everywhere," I laugh, "And Zoey has really hit it off with his friends so..."

It's true, Zoey and Cole have become closer, their friendship consisting of bitching about other people and touching way too often for friends if you ask me. I guess that's just both their ways of being friendly.

Isaac also, has become closer to me. He sticks up for me when Zeke says something too mean, which I admire.

Zeke though, is still an asshole.

"Are you free tonight?" Mason blurts out. He laughs nervously, "I just thought I should say it before someone else interrupts us."

Was he asking me out?

"No, I'm babysitting tonight, sorry."

"What about Saturday?"

"Yeah, I think i'm free then."

"Well, um, would you like to... See a movie with me?"

Oh my God.

Naturally, me having trust issues and all, I suspect that this is just a joke. I don't understand why he's suddenly took such an interest in me.

"You don't want to?" He says, disappointed after I don't answer.

"No, it's not that, I just..."

"You like Zeke."

"What? No! Of course not!" I sigh, "You never even spoke to me before, and now your asking me out. I'm confused, because nothing's changed about me."

He nods, "Look, I know we've never spoke, but I always saw you around and thought you were pretty, but I never knew you. After that day you were pranked with the sand, and I saw you with those guys and it gave me a chance to talk to you. And I like you, I really do, Marnie. I wish I had spoken to you sooner and had you in my life a long time ago."

I try to figure out if I should trust him. After what he just said, how could I not? He doesn't seem like he's lying.

"So... Do you want to?"

After a moment, I smile and nod. "Yes."

+++

Later that night, I am playing dolls with the girl I'm babysitting.

She is the Princess and I'm playing her little sister. Weird considering she's five and i'm seventeen.

My legs are cramping from sitting on this floor, so when I get a text I use it as an excuse to sit on the couch. She barely notices and happily continues playing.

The text is from an unknown number.

hey ;)

who is this?

your daddy

I roll my eyes and save the number as 'Asshole'.

how'd you get my number, Zeke?

maggie gave me it. And how'd you know it was me? What if this was you dad?

that'd be pretty impossible considering he's dead.

What... really?

I ignore him.

nerd?

nerrdddd ??

answer me

Then Maggie texts me.

hey it's zeke, ANSWER ME.

Oh, this boy.

+++

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- e