Chapter 5 #2
“Class is over, children,” he said frantically, starting to pack up his belongings. “Go home. I will inform Principal Evans of your excused absence.” The drowning situation terrified Mr. Miller the most out of everyone in the class.
Nobody objected to the free pass of leaving school early. None of us would be able to concentrate on school after what just occurred, anyway.
Hero, Ayden, and I stayed in the classroom, watching as Mr. Miller and the students left. There was only silence for a few minutes until Ayden broke it. “How could you do this?”
“I don’t know.” Hero shook his head.
“You don’t know?” Ayden scoffed. “Seriously? That’s all you have to say?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I at least expected an apology or something.”
“I’m not apologizing,” Hero said flatly, turning his head away from us.
Ayden clenched his jaw, walking to the door. “Peps, can I borrow you for a moment?”
I looked at Hero, hoping he would say something.
“You don’t need my approval,” he said. I nodded, although he wasn’t looking at me. I followed Ayden out of the classroom.
Ayden stared deeply into my eyes. “You don’t still have feelings for him, do you?”
I shifted my gaze to the floor. Love doesn’t just go away. I still loved him. I didn’t have to say it out loud; Ayden knew.
“You can’t be serious, Peps.” He ran his hand through his wavy blond hair. “You deserve better than someone who doesn’t even care about your safety. You’re perfect, and he’s going to ruin you.”
“Perfect?” I asked, shaking my head. “Nobody’s perfect.”
Ayden extended his hands and grabbed ahold of mine. “Then you’re the closest thing to perfect. You need to snap back to reality and realize that he’s dangerous.”
“You act like me and him are dating.” I let out a small chuckle. “I’m not going to stop being friends with him, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Why not?” he asked impatiently.
“He needs someone to be there for him. His uncle just died, for Christ’s sake, Ayden.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You need someone too, Peps. You were close with his uncle too, right? You lost him just as much as Hero did, yet I don’t see you lashing out like he did.”
Because I already lost my parents, I wanted to say.
“He isn’t as mentally strong as I am,” I said, breaking free of his grip. “I need to be there for him.”
“Would he be there for you?”
“Would you?” I shot back.
“Yes,” he breathed, surprised I would even ask that. “You had a whole panic attack in there and I helped you, remember? Or was your mind solely on Hero the entire time?”
Ayden was right. He had always been there for me.
“I’m sorry,” I exhaled. “I don’t know what came over me just now.”
“You’re trying to defend Hero,” he answered. “But you shouldn’t.”
“Is that all you wanted to say?” I crossed my arms, averting my gaze.
“No.” He took a step closer, mere inches apart from me. He whispered, “I love you and I won’t let that maniac get close to you.”
My eyes widened and my stomach had butterflies. Was I developing feelings for Ayden? No, I couldn’t. I couldn’t have feelings for both of my best friends. This feeling was strictly for Hero.
I took a step back. “Love? As a friend, right?”
“No.” He fidgeted with his rings. “More than a friend.”
I stared at him. “We should…we should go back inside.” I gripped the door handle, but Ayden grabbed my arm before I could twist it.
“Let’s leave him,” he pleaded. “Please.”
I shook his hand off and opened the door. I walked over to Hero, Ayden following closely behind. Hero stared at Ayden, narrowing his eyes.
“We need to talk.” I leaned over Hero’s desk. He reluctantly nodded.
* * *
Lecturing him for about thirty minutes, I explained healthier ways to cope. Ayden would only chime in when he had some criticism on Hero’s actions, which was actually extremely often. Hero mostly ignored him and only answered me. But eventually, Hero got sick of being criticized.
“Leave if you have nothing better to say,” he snapped.
“No.” Ayden narrowed his eyes.
I glanced behind me, where Ayden was standing. “You’re really not helping out here.”
“He’s a psycho!” He wagged his finger at Hero. “He needs therapy, not your help!”
Hero shot out of his seat and gave Ayden a death stare. I just stood there. Ayden’s right, isn’t he? Who am I to believe I could help someone?
“Every therapist was once a kid,” Hero said sternly.
“But she isn’t one currently,” Ayden shot back. “That isn’t her job.”
“But what if she enjoys doing it?”
I never thought about it. A therapist. Was that something I could be?
“I do like to help others,” I replied. I wanted to help Hero. I wanted to help Violet. I wanted to help.
“It’s settled then,” Hero said, folding his arms.
Ayden stormed out of the room without a word, slamming the door on the way out.
“Can I ask you something?” Hero asked, and I returned my gaze to him. I nodded and he continued, “What did he say to you earlier, outside of the classroom?”
“He asked if I still had feelings for you.”
“Do you?” His eyes pierced through mine.
I swallowed. “Yes.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“That’s what Ayden said too,” I said, lightly chuckling, “but you shouldn’t think that way. What you did was a mistake and it won’t happen again.”
“Ayden said that? I’ll punch—”
“Don’t,” I cut him off. “He just cares about me.”
“What else did he say to you?” He scoffed.
“He…he didn’t say anything else,” I said, avoiding eye contact.
I couldn’t possibly tell him that Ayden asked me to stop being friends with him. And I didn’t want to admit that Ayden had a crush on me, either. I wanted to forget that. I wanted to forget my own developing feelings for him.
“I’ll just ask him myself then. I’m sure he would love to tell me just to make me mad.”
“No, don’t,” I pleaded. “Don’t you want us to be a happy friend group again?”
“It’s way past that point, Pepper,” he sighed, his hair covering the top half of his face as he reached down for his backpack. “I don’t want to play pretend with that prick.” He swung his backpack over one shoulder and shook his hair back, some strands of his hair still covering his forehead.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Home,” he said. “I would rather be at home than have this stupid friend-group convo with you.”
I watched as he swiftly walked over to the door. “Wait,” I called out. “I’ll tell you, okay?”
He stopped in his tracks.
“Ayden likes me,” I breathed.
Hero looked over his shoulder. “Not surprising.” He faced forward once again and exited the classroom.
Ayden liking me was not surprising? Why did he say that?