The One Without Words

❀ chapter twelve | rock obsession ❀

Jack looked tenser than ever with Seth's arm awkwardly draped around him, but he didn't move away. Didn't look at any of us. I glanced at Eli, mentally asking what the hell was going on, but he gave me a one-armed shrug.

"I don't think I understand," I said.

"Neither do I," Megan mumbled.

It'd been a week, and if still no one knew about the pepper spray incident with Seth's former frat boy posse, it meant only one thing—Seth, for once in his life, had actually kept his mouth shut.

"Is this some kind of joke?" I asked, then turned to Jack. "Or are you just letting him pretend to be your friend?" 

"It's not pretend," Seth said a little too quickly. "All the times I made fun of him, pushed him around, it was just a test. I was just testing him to see how much he could handle. He passed."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "He passed by punching you in the face."

"Hell yeah," Seth said with a forced grin, his jaw tight.  

"And his reward for passing the test is the wonderful privilege of being friends with you."

"I'm doing him a favor." He slapped Jack lightly on the back, and Jack flinched. "If people start seeing him hang around me he won't be just some weird quiet kid anymore. He'll be one of us."

"I'm sorry," Megan said. "But he doesn't even talk."

"We'll make him talk," Seth snapped.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, Seth, and then he'll be able to tell everyone about how you're only hanging out with him because your college friends ditched you."

Silence. Eli moved his overgrown waves away from his brows and looked down guiltily even though this had nothing to do with him. Jack shrugged away from Seth's arm, and Seth glared at me like he'd send the devil after me himself if I didn't keep my mouth shut.

I remembered his words on the bus that night: If this gets out to anyone, I will destroy you.

I smirked at him as he glared at me. For now, I'd make him squirm a little. If Seth was rich, maybe I could blackmail him for cash, but unfortunately, the guy was broke as hell after always blowing his money on his car.

"You're okay with this?" I asked Jack. He finally glanced up at me, and I felt a shift in the air between us as he, surprisingly, nodded.

"You're okay with this," I repeated. "You're okay with the fact the only time Seth's decided to be decent to you was after you punched him."

"Wow, Romy," Seth mocked. "Why didn't you defend him like this all the times you stood by and watched as I called him names? It was a test for you all too, all you losers." He looked around at everyone in the table. "And you all failed. You all just stood by. Hell, you even joined me in making fun of him. It was only you, Romy, that didn't do anything. But that's the thing. You didn't do anything even though you knew it was wrong. That's even worse."

"It being a test isn't an excuse," I said. 

"I know it's not. But I don't really care."

I stared at the school building, for once counting down the seconds for the bell to ring. Usually, Megan and Eli would be talking, making jokes, coming up with strategies for her beauty pageant thing, but with Jack here, they simply stood around and absently scrolled through social media. Were they feeling... guilty? Was that a thing people felt?

"So, mute boy," Seth said, tearing the silence apart. "You're coming to Eli's party on Friday, right?"

"What?" Eli asked, looking up from his brand new IPhone. "He's not invited. And it's next Friday... my mom's still mad at me for last time."