A Newfound Home - Adopted by Josh Dun

Twenty-øne

V I C T Ø R I A
Monday morning, Josh dropped me off and I spotted Max by the door, looking at his phone.

I walked by and he glanced over, doing a double-take and running to catch up with me. "Hey, you can't just walk past me without saying anything!" I smiled and looked up at him.

"Yes, I can. It's obvious you look for me by my hair color." He had a look of defeat. "How was your weekend?"

My smile faltered and I looked down. "It was tough," I explained what happened to him and he frowned.

"I'm so sorry that happened. I warned you about her." I shrugged, opening my locker to stick my books in and a piece of paper fell out.

I picked it up and unfolded it.

Will you go to homecoming with me?

Check the box

Yes

No

It didn't have a name on it.

"Do you have a pen?" I looked up at Max and he dug one out of his backpack, handing it to me. I checked my answer and handed the pen and the paper to him, walking away.

"No?!" I turned around, amused by his disappointment.

"I don't do football games. You should know this by now." I walked back to him.

"I meant the dance, you doof." That's a real thing? I remember hearing about it in movies and shows, but I didn't know high schools actually do it.

"Oh, then hand that back to me." I took the pen and paper and circled my answer, handing it back to him.

"Why no?! C'mon!" He walked with me to my class.

"Because there are several other girls you could ask that aren't me. Besides, why me?" He stopped me and I faced him.

"I know that if I don't take you, then you'll just stay home. It'll be fun, please go with me." He was so close to me, that people were shooting us looks as they passed by.

"Okay, fine! But I'm not gonna like it!" He rolled his eyes and we parted ways, going to our classes.

♡

Ruby encouraged me to sit with them at lunch. When I got to the table, there was no sign of Ryan, Tony, or Lily.

I sat between Ruby and Ethan and watched as Allison tried to throw an olive at Joey's mouth. "You guys are idiots," Ruby commented, snorting when an olive hit Joey's eye.

"Hey, have you guys seen Tony or Ryan or even Lily?" Ruby pointed and I followed her finger to see Tony, Ryan, and Max talking.

"I hope it doesn't end in a physical fight, but I'm hoping for a slap or two." I pushed Ethan and he smiled.

Moving my gaze away, I saw Lily sitting at Max's table next to David.

"Why's Lily over there?" Ruby dropped her pineapple and dropped her voice to a whisper, "Ryan and Lily broke up."

I was shocked.

"Do you know why?" She nodded and smiled. "Somebody went to the office to inform the faculty of Lily's actions towards you and some other kids, especially what happened this weekend."

How did she find out what Lily said?

"How did you?" Ruby cut me off. "I overheard her saying it to you. I told Ryan and he ended it. That's why she's sitting over there."

I smiled and poked my fork into one of her pieces of pineapple. "Were you the one who went to the office?" She shook her head and motioned toward the three boys.

"Hey, what are we talking about?" Ruby pointed her fork towards Lily and we watched as one of the teachers practically dragged her out of the room.

Tony and Ryan sat down and Max smiled at me. "You're welcome." I shot him a look, realizing what he meant.

"You went to the office?" He nodded. I got up and gave him a hug, the guys making noises to mock me.

"No one should be treated that way, no matter what." I sat back down, after thanking him a million times.

"So what's up with you three? Still hate each other's guts?" Joey questioned. The boys shook their heads.

"No, we talked it out. We're chill now." We heard Max's name being called by Peter and Max went to his table.

He looked back at me and smiled, which I returned.