Scorpio

"Okay, fine, talk."

Those were the first words that came out of Libra's mouth when we were finally alone. I'd honestly expected something else. I'd expected her ice-cold facade to come crumbling down. I'd expected her to hold me close and tell me I was loved. I'd expected her to apologise for her behaviour. For sticking around Leo. Instead, she took a seat in the janitor's closet, examining her nails. When I didn't speak, she looked up, blinking. "I don't have all day." I rolled my eyes, sighing.

"Libra, I'm sorry. I-I wasn't thinking, I got carried away, it just hurt too much-"

"Save it. Scorpio, I know you didn't mean to. I know you were going through a lot. And I know that I'm probably never going to experience pain like that-"

"Please, just listen. I get it; we need to sort ourselves out first before we can even give the relationship thing a second shot. And trust me, I know better than anyone that I need to sort myself out, set myself straight. I was this close to being sent to juvie-you know it was your dad who convinced the Feds to let it go? He's trying to secure me into his custody, because even he knows that you're all I have left. Like it or not, Libra, you're my family now. I have nobody else."

"I-okay."

"I'm not done. I get that you don't want to be with me right now, but there's something I don't understand. Why him?"

From the way Libra looked at me, I knew she knew who I was talking about. Leo. It killed me, seeing Libra with him. Seeing him laugh alongside her, comfort her when she was down, be there for her. Seeing him take my place. Seeing 'the other guy' from a distance, wishing it was me there instead of him. Why, of all people, had she chosen him? Why did it have to be obnoxious, pushy, arrogant Leo, of all people? What was it about him that appealed to Libra?

"Because, Scorpio, I need a constant in my life right now. And, well, Leo's been the one and only thing in my life that hasn't changed in the past twelve months."

"Yes, but why do you think he's so right for you?"

"Because, Scorpio, he has one thing neither you nor I will ever have: he's a giver. We're both takers."

"He's not a giver! He's a star-studded, big-headed jock who's never going to amount to anything in his whole life!"

"Take that back, Scorpio! Leo is smart! He is full of potential! He's so kind and giving! And, above all, he's shown his loyalty time and time again, which is a department you lack in, if I'm not mistaken."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Who are you kidding, Scorpio? You might be many, many things, but loyal is not one of them."

"Well, you're one to talk, deserting your comatose boyfriend for some airheaded quarterback!"

"He is not an airhead!"

"Really? He doesn't how to do much apart from look pretty and throw a ball!"

"Are you seriously dragging him into this right now, Scorpio?"

"Yes! Yes, I am!"

Libra let out an exasperated groan, throwing her hands into the air. She was clearly irritated with me. If she'd had any ounce of forgiveness left in her, it was gone now. Even I knew I'd lost her for good this time, and that broke my heart. I knew it was just a first love, a high school romance... but it had meant so, so much more to me. I'd honestly seen a future with her-a future where we graduated together, built a life together, died together. And now, one little argument in the janitor's closet would ruin what could have been happily ever after.

"Seriously, Scorpio? What's really going on here?"

"I asked you why you went to him. You haven't answered. You also haven't told why you abandoned me while I was in a coma for him!"

"You were in a coma for three months, Scorpio! You really expect me to close myself off entirely and wait for you, not knowing when you were going to wake up?"

"That's what a loyal person would have done! You're acting like my whole coma doesn't even matter!"

"And you're acting like it's someone else's fault that you went into a coma in the first place!"

She immediately knew she'd said something wrong. Sighing, she softened her expression and tone, looking me dead in the eyes.

"Scorpio, you said you wanted to talk. What you're-we're-doing right now is not talking. You're just blowing insults at Leo, who's not even here, just because-"

"Because what, Libra? Because what?"

"Nothing."

"Come on! Say it, I dare you! Say it!"

"Fine!"

I smiled nastily at her.

"Because he's the better man!"

I had to admit, it hit differently. I'd never thought hearing those words would shake me this deep to the core.

He's the better man.

I knew he was, and yet, here I stood, insulting him. I was too proud to accept it, too stubborn to tell Libra that he was better than me. Honestly, all I wanted was for Libra to take me back. I wanted to come crawling back to her like the vulnerable mess I really was. Because, deep down, I was still that same scared little boy I had been the day Mum had left. I wasn't a sparkling, golden pedestal figure like Leo. I wasn't anything beautiful or special on the inside, which was why I tried to make up for just that in the outside. But, somehow, he would always outshine me.

Leo.

The king of Varsity High.

And now, thanks to my brashness, he'd finally have his queen.

"You know what? I try so hard to hate you, and yet-" I stopped her with a kiss, causing her to go limp in my arms. She'd known. She knew that even though we were so bad, so mad together, there was something that kept us from letting go. I would never understand what, but right now, I was so grateful for just that.

Libra pulled away, clearing her throat. "I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore." Planting a kiss on my cheek, she began to reapply her lip gloss before sighing. "I'll see you around, I guess."