Hello everyone.
Sorry for not posting the last two days. I was arrested during a protest. It wasn't anything dramatic, just a bad timing, luck, and being in the wrong place when things got heated.
On one hand, I feel responsible for missing updates. I know I never promised daily chapters, but skipping two days still hits my conscience.
On the other hand, joining the protests was the right thing to do. As a citizen, it felt important to stand up, to be present, to not stay silent when things matter.
I'm okay now, just tired. Chapters will continue as usual. Thanks for your patience and for sticking around.
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I was already gone before they reached the sidewalk.
Darcy's call came just as I was swinging back toward home. I let the wind carry me past the last rooftop before tapping the answer button, voice groggy, playing dumb.
"What?"
"Wow. Okay," She hesitated. "I was gonna thank you?"
It sounded more like a question. I groaned.
I rolled my eyes, pretending I had just woken up from a nap and not just saved her from government goons and a Thor-induced headache. "I just called a friend and told her you were there. Didn't think it would work. But no problem."
She paused. "Right. Lucky you have friends in weird places."
"Yup," I said. I was about to hang up before she could toss anything else in, but her voice came quick.
"Wanna meet?"
I faked a deep sigh. "Now?"
"No, no. Tomorrow?"
"Okay. Send me the time and place but after school, okay?"
"Got it," she said, then hung up like she was worried if she stayed longer, I would change my mind.
After doing some Spider shit, I went home, crashed on the couch, and slept through the night like a corpse that had clocked out of superhero duty. The next day, I threw on the first set of clothes that smelled less like sweat and more like fabric, and bolted.
School was already buzzing by the time I got there. Midtown had this way of smelling like hormones first thing in the morning. Some junior was already crying on the phone near the gate, and a couple of band kids were fighting over a broken saxophone.
I passed through the front and spotted MJB leaning against the fence near the school entrance, with her back. Yellow hoodie over her uniform. Hair tied back. She had a coffee cup in one hand and the look of someone who didn't give a damn in the other. Jessica was nowhere to be seen.
MJB noticed me before I could pretend I had not seen her. She raised her cup slightly.
"You look like a depressed raccoon," she said.
"Good. That means I look better than yesterday."
"Debatable." She took a sip. "You always show up this late?"
"Only when the morning tries to murder me with weather and responsibility."
I nodded at the way she was leaning on the fence, "Did Adina spank your ass so much so you cannot sit?"
MJB raised one eyebrow, sipping her coffee like she was deciding whether to laugh or murder me. "She didn't spank me. She just gave me the kind of talk that makes your soul file for emotional divorce."
"So she went full mom."
"She went full West Indian auntie. Biblical disappointment, layered with guilt, sprinkled with passive-aggressive Bible quotes."
"Sounds like cardio for the soul."
She clicked her tongue, stared at the school doors, "Jessica refused to come today."
"She still pissed?"
"More like done. She barely spoke after we got home. Mom asked if she wanted dinner, Jess just stared. Then went to her room. Door shut. Lights off. No music."
"Did you talk to her?"
MJB's mouth twitched. "I tried. She told me to leave her alone."
"That worked? I am surprised."
"I am not gonna sit outside her door like a stray cat. I am not built for this therapy sibling arc."
"Maybe knock again. This time with snacks."
"She hates snacks."
"Everyone likes snacks."
"She likes silence."
I rubbed the back of my neck. "You gonna say sorry?"
She sighed, loud. "Yes. But not because I feel guilty. Because she looked like she was gonna cry, and I don't know what to do when people cry. I panic. I offered her gum and called her a drama queen."
I stared at her, deadpan. "You are a bitch."
MJB blinked. "Excuse me?"
I stepped forward. "You are one insensitive bitch. You know she went through some nasty shit. I thought maybe you said what you said by accident, maybe it slipped and you felt bad. But no. You are a spoiled brat, jealous of a traumatized girl who got attention for five damn minutes, and now you cannot cope."
Her mouth opened. Nothing came out.
I kept going. "She got dragged into something none of us could even survive. She wakes up in someone else's house, with memories that probably feel like nightmares stapled to her spine, and the first thing you do is throw jokes at her about being tied up."
MJB's jaw tensed. "I didn't mean it like that."
"Then why are you still defending it?"
She looked away. "Because I was joking. I make jokes. That is what I do."
"No, you do that to avoid saying real shit. You hide behind sass and sarcasm and think it counts as personality."
Her eyes narrowed. "You don't know me."
"I know enough. You call her grumpy, call her boring, act like she is the problem. But she is the one trying to breathe through trauma without turning into a grenade. Meanwhile, you are throwing matches because you cannot stand the fact that this week isn't about you."
MJB's lips pressed into a line. Her grip on the coffee cup tightened. "She does not talk. She does not let anyone in."
"She just met you. And you made a rape joke five days into knowing her. What exactly did you expect? A group hug?"
She flinched. Her fingers twitched. "I said sorry."
"No. You said sorry with an insult attached. 'Sorry but I meant it in a feminist way.' That isn't an apology. That is a TikTok caption."
Her tongue clicked. "It isn't like I knew what happened."
"You live with her. That isn't an excuse. That is a confession."
She pushed me. So hard, her coffee sloshed. "The fuck you know?"
I grinned coldy. "Clearly more than you do."
[System]: Honey, that was a—
Then I turned and walked. I entered class and dropped into my seat, tossed my bag under the desk. 'I don't give a fuck who she was. Target, cousin, cousin's mom's headache. Whatever. Have you ever seen me bend over or go out of my way to make girls fall for me?'
[System]: You are making me so wet.
Teacher came in, muttering about late submissions and printer errors. He passed out worksheets like they were candy no one wanted. I flipped mine open, wrote my name, started answering without thinking. Half the questions were review. Easy enough. I could have done it while getting kicked in the nuts.
In the lunch break, Zoey found me first. She sat down next to me without asking. Cassie and Trixie were already at the table. Trixie raised her brow when Zoey dropped her tray. Cassie didn't say anything, just glanced sideways like she was trying to decide if starting a fight over seating was worth it.
Zoey leaned her shoulder against mine, too casual. "Missed me?"
I kept chewing my fries. "I saw you yesterday."
She smirked. "Still missed me."
Cassie picked up her juice and sipped louder than necessary. "There were other tables."
Zoey didn't move. "Yeah, but this one had Peter."
Trixie stirred her salad like she was considering stabbing someone with the fork. "You got a thing for him now?"
Zoey shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe I just like stealing seats."
"Steal someone else's," Cassie muttered.
Zoey tilted her head, looking straight at her. "Why? You got dibs?"
I looked down at my tray. My chicken nuggets were the only thing not involved in this territorial war.
Cassie dropped her fork. "I sit here every day."
Zoey leaned forward. "So does Peter. I don't see him whining."
Trixie raised a hand, palm up. "Oh my God, are we seriously fighting over who gets to breathe near him?"
Zoey grinned. "Yes. Yes, we are."
Cassie leaned in. "I am not fighting. I am just saying there are other places to sit."
Zoey leaned back. "And I chose here."
I tossed a fry in my mouth and said nothing. Nothing I said would help. They would twist it either way. Say I was leading someone on. Say I was ignoring them. Say I was being a tease. This was shark-infested water. Best I could do was stay float.
I have seen this script so many times. They would all spread their legs for me next Friday. So, I just ate. I even stole from their trays.
Zoey tried to grab one of her fries back. I slapped her hand like she was a fly. She pouted. Cassie rolled her eyes and moved her salad farther away. Trixie took a sip from her drink and stared at me like I was a rabid dog they were all pretending not to feed.
"Do you even like any of us?" Zoey asked.
"I like food," I said, chewing her fry.
"That isn't what I asked."
"I heard what you asked. I just answered the important part."
Cassie grabbed her water bottle and stood up. "I am not doing this today."
Zoey shrugged. "Good. One less competitor."
Cassie didn't respond. She walked away. Trixie stabbed her salad and muttered something that sounded like, "Fucking circus."
Zoey leaned closer. Her perfume smelled like a teenage attempt at seduction. Too much fruit, not enough sense. "So, you wanna come over later?"
"Why?"
"My parents aren't home. Pool. I got snacks."
"Sounds like bait with wet consequences."
She grinned. "So yes?"
"No, got things to do."
Zoey deflated like her ego sprung a leak. Trixie smirked so wide her fork almost missed her mouth.
"Too bad," Zoey muttered, stabbing a fry like it personally betrayed her.
"Guess you ain't the favorite after all," Trixie said, not even pretending to whisper.
Zoey leaned back, crossing her arms. "You are just mad he didn't take your soggy-ass salad."
Trixie flicked a crouton at her. "Least mine ain't dressed in desperation."
I ate another fry. Not mine. Cassie's. She left it behind. If she didn't guard it, it was fair game.
"Pool's clean," Zoey tried again, a little quieter.
"Good for the bugs."
She gave me a dead-eyed stare, then looked at Trixie. "You know what? I bet he only says no to keep us competing. Probably jerks off to the thought."
"Bitch, that is called winning," I said, wiping my hand on her napkin. "Try it sometime."
(.)(.)
When I was walking to meet Darcy and Jane, my phone buzzed. I checked it, half-expecting some boring school notification or spam ad for protein bars. Nope.
It was from Zoey.
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You can read up to Chapter 95...
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