friends (rick riley and scott holland)(INDEFINITE HIATUS)

chapter three

So, as she mulls over how she got into this position and every potential outcome from this situation, she just breathes in deeply, assumes this false sense of "HEY! EVERYTHING IS JUST FUCKING PEACHY!", and hopes for the best.

Alexa, meanwhile, tilts her head to the side and continues to stare at Gwen like she can see right through her.

"Bullshit." The shorter girl declares, eyes narrowed slightly. "You just told me you were fine, and I've seen you sick—— " (A distant memory of her first time drinking lingers amongst the thoughts of social ruination and the loss of her best friends.) " ——and this isn't that."

"I slept with him, Lex." Gwen's voice shakes with the frustration that her friend can't seem to grasp the severity of the situation.

What could have happened at that party that was severe enough to push her into his arms?

It isn't like the list of guys who'd fuck her is short. The boys here at Eden Hall might be terrified to cross whatever line they think Rick and Scott have drawn in the sand, but she knows Golden Garden boys would be more than happy to climb fences for it. Brady Hoffner, their enforcer, has been trying since they were freshmen; and she once wrote a fake number on a band member's music folder.

Thus, in theory, she could have anyone she wanted. That's always been the case with her.

So why on Earth did she go home with Brody?

The vague recollection she has of Rick and his infuriating tolerance of Mindy's presence does very little to help her. Why would she go and sleep with his arch-nemesis over that?

"So?" Alexa snorts. "You'll just wait a few weeks and take some tests just in case."

The thought of little Brody babies sends a shiver down her spine.

Perhaps this is just divine intervention. A comedy for the gods. You're the child of an alcoholic, a voice says in the back of her mind, you're the idiot for even drinking in the first place.

"So, I'm fucked if anybody finds out about this."

(The redundancy of this conversation, albeit hushed, happening in a crowded hallway isn't lost on her.)

Alexa's gaze turns flat. "Gwen, you are eight feet tall, your boobs are perfect, and your hair is down to there. If I was you, I would walk around naked all day. I wouldn't be a cheerleader, I wouldn't be training to be a doctor —— hell, I wouldn't even bother to read." She's undeterred by her friend's wide eyes. "I'm sure nobody'll blink over this, babe, because if you're not at the top, then Mindy is, and nobody likes her except for... Mindy."

To that, the blonde has no immediate response. Her mouth opens and closes once or twice, but no words come to mind.

On one hand, Alexa is right. She is hot, and nobody likes Mindy. And that's relieving because she worked hard to get herself to this point. She dealt with the bitches of yesteryear and lived to tell the tale, learned quickly during her mistreatment that there were two people she could be and which one she had to be to survive high school in a place like this. The thought of losing all of her progress when freedom is so within her reach, no matter how delusional or unlikely, was far more likely to make her puke than four glasses of tequila.

On the other, Alexa isn't taking all of her worries into account. Alexa doesn't know the inner workings of Rick Riley like Gwen does. The only other person who could understand how delicate his temper is would be Scott, but she could never come clean to him, either. In order to cheat correctly, Brody had to fuck with Scott, too, and she's more than sure that there's a grudge there.