"So you and Jaden, huh?"

When I shut my locker, Zack is standing in front of me, arms crossed. I'm honestly surprised. I've been avoiding him like wildfire.

"I thought you didn't like him," he adds snidely, keeping his face unreadable.

My fingers interlace with each other. "We're friends," I reply simply.

"I'm not stupid, Amelia," he says. His tone, his eyes... they're all accusatory.

"What do you mean?" I ask tiredly, trying to fend him off as soon as possible. It's not good for me to be around him.

"Now that the QB's single, you must be really fucking happy. You don't have to deal with my shitty attitude anymore." He runs his tongue over his teeth. "You know, I thought you were different but you're just like every other girl. You just want a D1 boy to get you clout and buy you shit." He looks dead at me. "Just like Brad said."

My body freezes. Every muscle in me tenses as the urge to slap him rises in me.

Hold it in, Amelia.

"What did Brad say?" I ask lowly.

"How you only talked to him when he was D1 bound but cut him off when he was dropped from the team."

I look him straight in the eyes. He looks betrayed, which is pretty ironic.

"And you believe him?" I ask.

Zack's jaw clenches and he looks away. "Since Saturday, you suddenly cut me off and spend all your time with Jaden." His gaze rests on me. "I connected the dots."

For some reason, he looks genuinely hurt, which makes me want to scream and cry with frustration at the same time. Disbelief and disappointment in him flood through me. I don't know why but I expected him to know better.

"Brad doesn't know what he's talking about." Collecting myself, I remember to spin my lock to reset it. My hand closes around my lock. "Why is he even talking about me? He hasn't spoken to me in a year."

Hold it in, Amelia. Getting emotional doesn't solve anything.

"Amelia, he told me about your date. How you just left him after finding out he was dropped."

I can't hold it in.

"I left HIM?!" I say. "He left me stranded in a deserted parking lot where he brought me to have sex. Then he got pissed when I said no so he spread rumors about me and called me a desperate, ugly whore who no guy would ever want to fuck. Did he tell you that?"

I sit down and lean against the locker. Tears start to burn in my eyes and I'm doing everything to stop them from falling but a few roll down my cheeks anyway.

Zack's face falls. "Fuck. Amelia, I'm so sorry. I-"

"How could you even believe that? Do I seem like that kind of person to you?" I exclaim.

"No, you don't." He sits down to match my eye level. "I'm sorry. I'm a dick." He moves forward as if to touch me but recoils when I flinch. I start to sob harder. It's been so long since I cried, I can't even control it.

"You're such an asshole." I sniffle. He's not even the main person I'm mad at.

"You're right. I should've known he was lying. I'm sorry."

I wipe my tears messily with my wrist. "I would... I would never... I would never just talk to you or anyone else because..." My sobs increase and I can't even get a sentence out.

"I know," he says softly. "I just... I don't tell people these kinds of things a lot and all of a sudden you ghosted me and... Please don't cry."

I let out a big breath of air. It feels good to release some tears and I'm starting to calm down.

"Brad's a fucking dipshit," he says angrily. "I'm sorry he did that to you."

I shrug. Zack sits against the locker beside me and we sit in silence side-by-side for a while. My mind is at rest until I remember the time.

"Don't you need to get ready for practice?" I ask worriedly.

He turns his head to look at me. "It can wait."

I toy with my fingers. "I'm sorry for not replying to you. I didn't think you'd care." I honestly didn't and I hope he doesn't have an explanation because I don't really have one besides I'm trying not to catch feelings for you.

"It's okay," he says.

We should leave, both of us, but I allow myself to rest a little longer before standing up.

"You aren't going to be late to practice, are you?" I ask, urging him to follow suit.

He shakes his head. "Don't worry about it."

I pull out my hoodie from my backpack and slip it on, shivering a little in the process. When I look at my reflection in my phone, a laugh escapes my lips. "My eyes are swollen," I tell him. "If I go home, my mom will be up my ass."

"Then don't go yet," he suggests. "Stay till you feel better."

Pressing my lips together, I nod against my better judgment. He looks over and I hold my breath as he reaches out to straighten my hoodie strings.

"There you go, princess," he says with a grin. I crack a smile and we both stand there, not saying another word.

A/N: Votes and comments r much appreciated :) thx for reading everyone!