| torn up

~ chapter 17 ☁️

'Willow!'

I wince at the shrill shriek that exits Asha's mouth upon the sight of me with the 4 other boys, raising my palms slightly to cover them over my ears momentarily.

'What the hell are you guys doing to her?' Piper fiercely demands, eyes shooting lasers at all the males near me as they both march over to where I'm standing.

'I'm fine, guys.' I try and protest, frantically shaking my head at them to try and let them know it is not what they think.

'Where's your phone, Willow? We've been texting.' Asha asks urgently, eyes searching mine once she comes to a halt next to me.

'Oh, it's on silent and I put it in my bagpack.' I giggle nervously, avoiding her eyes when I remember I had indeed done this earlier when I was finishing up with my locker.

'Oh my god, is this him?'

Panic grips me at the sound of Piper's sudden and accusing tone, and I turn to see her aggressively eyeballing them all- her eyes notably focusing in on Dominic's unsuspecting form.

I sense how the guys' demeanours instantly change at her seeming allegation, their figures all tensing as they begins stealing alarmed side glances at me.

'No, Piper, it's not what-'

'It is, isn't it? My, my, Dominic Hastings, I would have never pinned you the type.' Piper chips in, eyes narrowing at him.

I can't say I'm shocked to find that, unlike me, Piper actually does know who he is. He is popular after all, and Piper loves to know the ins and outs of all the latest rumours circling the student body.

A sense of alarm flows through me at her jibe, the guys aren't even trying to hide their harsh stares at me anymore. And I can see why, Piper's naive words probably seem so triggering and all knowing to the unsuspecting boys right now. It's almost laughable, really at how this situation is playing out.

What's not laughable though is the fact that my neck will probably be in for it if the secret does accidentally end up being exposed right now. I don't dare to even look in the direction of the boys in fear I'll catch one of their murderous leers. I can practically feel their glares burning a hole in the side of my face right now.

So I swallow, taking a breath to prepare myself before I open my mouth, quickly acting before anyone else can say anything.

'Yes, Piper. This is the boy I saw doing a drug deal with A-Alexander.'

I try to say it calmly with chest and confidence, choosing to uncharacteristically keep my eyes on Dominic's the whole time as I hope he'll hear not only the words I'm saying, but also the ones I'm silently trying to get through to him.

A moment of quietness passes. Piper and Asha's stares are still as daring as ever but it is obvious the air between the rest of us has completely changed. From the corner of my eyes, I can see the other boys swap uneasy glances with one another and it seems they have thankfully gotten the message I was trying to get across through my hard tone and intense gaze.

Dominic, on the other hand looks downright offended.

'Deal?' He screeches, his eyes as wide as saucers at my lie.

I visibly flinch at the sheer volume of his shout, not having expected him to have had such an outraged reaction. But then again, I guess it's not everyday you get (and wrongfully so) accused of engaging in drug dealing at your high school, right?

I begin to fear for my life when he proceeds to open his mouth again, internally begging to god he doesn't accidentally say something he shouldn't in his state of disbelief. Luckily, Haider seems to cotton on quickly to this and successfully sets to defusing the situation.