The Tapes; A 13 Reasons Why Fanfiction

Bryce and Chloe

Y/n's POV

Being on a team means a lot more than people may think. I mean, you spend so much time with the other members that you become a family. Girls get comfortable with each other. We gossip, we talk shit, and we talk about our crushes. But a brotherhood is different. Stronger. There's nothing else like it.

"There he is! Great game tonight, Zach," I praise and give him a small hug.

"Thanks, Y/n," Zach returned as his parents walked over to us.

"You were amazing out there tonight. I'm proud of you," Mr. Dempsey confessed and pulled his son in for a small hug.

Zach smiled. "Thanks, dad."

"Why haven't you had Y/n over in a while? It's been ages since we've seen her," Mrs. Dempsey spoke.

"Because Y/n is busy, mom. She's got volleyball and school and who knows what else," Zach reminded her. "And why don't you ever complain about seeing my other friends?"

"Y/n is my favorite," Mrs. Dempsey admitted. "Speaking of, Y/n, why don't you join us for dinner tonight?"

"Oh. Um, thank you, but I should probably be getting home," I say.

"Why? Your parents are working tonight," Zach pointed out. "Which means you have no excused. Please." 

"Okay. Sure. That sounds nice," I reveal. "I'll meet you guys back at your house."

The bell rang signaling that class was over, and I stood up, swinging my backpack over my shoulder. I handed my paper to Coach Rick, Zach right behind me. However, before we could leave, Coach Rick stopped us.

"I'm surprised to see you in school today, Zach," Coach Rick disclosed.

"Well, I figured my education was more important than sitting around a court room all day," Zach told him.

"Of course. Plus, you can't play ball without that average," Coach Rick added.

"Listen, Coach, I-"

Coach Rick cut Zach off. "Look, you had a disagreement. That happens sometimes. Brothers fight. That doesn't mean they're still not your family."

Zach shook his head. "Those guys aren't my family."

"What about me?" Coach Rick posed. "Wasn't I there for you last summer? Didn't we figure things out together? How to be strong for your family? How to be strong around Y/n when you felt like your life was falling apart? Zach, do you think you can be there for me and for your team now?"

"You don't get to do that. Just because you were there doesn't mean you can..." Zach trailed off. "If you were any kind of father to this team or anyone, you would have stopped their bullshit years ago. That means I quit. Lets go, Y/n."

"Do you want to talk about what just happened?" I quiz as Zach and I walked down the hallway hand in hand.

"Not really," Zach replied. "I don't regret it. I couldn't stand being apart of that team. I'm not like them, you know?"

"I know," I confirm. "You're so much better than they are, Zach. Seriously. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Y/n," Zach breathed out. That night, I got a text from Justin who told me I needed to meet him at Clay's house. When I got there, I found Clay and Justin in Clay's room sitting around a table that had at least a hundred polaroid pictures on top of it. And all of them had been taken at the Clubhouse.

"Hey, guys," I greet. "What's up? Justin, your text sounded urgent."

"This is gonna be hard to look at," Justin warned me before extending a photo out to me. I took it from his hands and stared at it, not knowing what to think. The picture was of me sitting on a couch with my legs resting on the knees of another person whose body couldn't be seen. I was wearing an unknown person's lettermen jacket, and I was holding a beer up in the air as if I was cheering it. 

"Oh god. I knew it. I knew I'd been here. I just couldn't.....Oh my god," I exhale, my breath starting to come out evenly. "What the hell happened there? Why can't I remember anything?"

"I'm sure everything's gonna be okay," Clay assured me.

"How is any of this okay, Clay? How am I supposed to process this? What am I even supposed to do with this? I need to talk to Zach. I'll talk to you guys later," I mutter. After exiting Clay's house, I climbed into my car and started the drive to Zach's. Within minutes, I was on his front porch knocking on the door. When Zach saw me standing there, he frowned.

"Hey, Y/n. What's up?" Zach asked.

"I have to show you something," I insist and push past him to get inside. Zach followed me into the living room, and I set the Polaroid down on the coffee table, taking a few steps away from it. Zach inched forward to have a closer look, and for a few seconds, he just stared at it, not saying a word. "Can you say something? Please. I'm kind of freaking out here."

"What do you want me to say?" Zach countered softly. "I can't even think right now."

"Zach, I don't remember that at all," I tell him. "What if something happened to me in there? What if...." 

"Hey," Zach murmured and took my hands in his. "We're gonna get to the bottom of this, okay? I'm gonna talk to some of the guys and figure this out." The next day at school, I walked down the hallway to see that Bryce's gang of jocks going up against a few others including Clay, Justin, Tony, Zach, and even Alex. I saw Monty tackle Zach to the ground, and I was not one to just stand by and watch my boyfriend get hurt, so of course I had to step in. I dropped my backpack on the floor and made my way over to them, taking a deep breath.

"Hey Monty," I assert and tap him on the back. Monty stopped punching Zach and turned around to look at me, and as soon as I had a good shot, I drew my fist back and punched Monty straight in the nose. He was dazed for a second, but he recovered quicker than I thought. Monty got up from the floor and slammed me against the locker, causing me to hit my head hard.

"Are you going to remember this, Y/n? Because I sure as hell will," Monty stated. 

However, before he could punch me in the face, he was tackled to the floor again by Zach. I wanted to jump in and interfere, but I couldn't. All I could think about were the words on the pictures that I found in my locker and backpack. And then I remembered what Monty had just said. It was him. He put the pictures there. He knew my locker combination, and he was in a few of my classes, so he had access. Suddenly, the fire alarm went off, and all of us exited the building. I thought that meant we were all free from punishment, but of course, that wasn't the case. When we were allowed back into the school, anyone who threw at least one punch was put in detention. Once we were finally allowed to leave, most of us headed to the court house to watch Chloe testify against Bryce. Apparently, there was a picture of her unconscious in the Clubhouse, and Bryce was naked on top of her.

Chloe: It's in the woods, behind the field. It's this secret place that you have to be invited to, unless you're on the baseball team.

Dennis: And who invited you?

Chloe: Bryce.

Dennis: When you got to the Clubhouse, do you remember what happened next?

Chloe: A little.

Dennis: Just tell us what you can.

Chloe: It's kind of a blur. We listened to music, and then we, um, we started drinking and smoking pot.

Dennis: So, do you remember these photos being taken?

Chloe: No.

Dennis: So you don't remember having sex with Bryce Walker?

That's when Chloe went silent. I saw her look at Bryce across the aisle from us, and at that moment, I knew that our plan to reveal Bryce as a rapist had failed. Everything we had done was for nothing,

Dennis: Um Chloe, you don't remember having sex with Bryce Walker?

Chloe: No, I do. I remember.

Dennis: You remember what?

Chloe: We had sex.

Dennis: But you you don't remember Bryce asking for your consent, correct?

Chloe: No, I do. I remember that now. We were drinking, so I had forgotten, but I wanted to.