𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐂 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄 | marcus arguello

chapter fifteen. addicted

Marcus may be faking it like everyone else, but he was still one of the good ones.

Suddenly, the cafeteria got quiet. Andi looked at the rest of the Preps confused but realized their attention was elsewhere. All of them had their eyes locked on the Rats' table in anticipation.

Dread filled the pit of Andi's stomach as she saw Chico start toward them from the Soto Vatos' table. The day before was the first day of legacy hazing, or as Andi liked to call it, Hell Week. The Rats got off relatively scot-free. Aside from Billy's bandaged fingers due to the rat trap.

Apparently, it had just been quiet because the legacies were plotting. The calm before the storm.

"Qué hubo? Qué hubo?" the Soto Vatos leader started. "How's lunch? Special recipe today." He paused as realization struck the table that the legacies had fucked with their lunch. Even from her spot, Andi could see and watched with disgust as Billy pulled a long rat-tail from his food. "Rat. The other white meat," Chico ended with a nasty smirk.

Laughter caught like wildfire around the cafeteria as the Rats began to spit out their food and make a mad dash out of the room. Even though she knew her food had not been tampered with, any appetite the blonde may have had was gone now.

Marcus was the last to leave, calmly standing. He shot a glare at Chico as he turned to leave, somehow managing to keep himself from spitting out his sabotaged lunch.

Andi wanted to follow him, to check on him and make sure he and the rest were all right. She started to stand when Simon grabbed her shoulder and pushed back into her seat. "Stay here," he warned her. It was not malicious. It was not a demand. He was honestly concerned that she was going to be pulled into the Rats' drama. "Now is definitely not the time you want to be associated with them."

"Screw all of you. I'm not associated with anyone, remember? I can do whatever I want because I'm not in any stupid gang. I'm not a Prep, and I'm sure as hell glad that I'm not!" she seethed, standing up. Before she left she bent down to look Simon in the eyes. "Did you know that was going to happen?"

"No... Well, n-not exactly. I knew that Chico was planning something for lunch, but I-I didn't know what," Simon stuttered, not expecting her to be this upset. "Look, I'm sorry. You usually don't care that much during Hell Week."

He was right. She usually did not care. This time she did though. Now she knew the Rats. She got along relatively well with Petra in class. Billy was a nice guy. Lex was still an asshole, but hey, there was not much she could do about that.

The real reason she was so upset though, and she knew it, was because Marcus had been targeted. He was the kid that literally threw himself into the line of fire so his friends would not suffer. He looked out for others in a school where selfishness was rewarded. And all he ever got in return was people fucking with him all the time. It upset Andi more than she was comfortable with. It upset her because she cared about him.

Without another word, afraid she would say something to Simon she could not take back; she grabbed her bag and left the cafeteria in search of the boy who, in just a few days, had managed to break down some of her walls.

***

Marcus followed Billy and Lex out of the bathroom, the two raving about their plan for vengeance. He wanted to join in, but his impulses were tamed when he thought of Denke's warning. He would lay low. He would pick his battles.

"Marcus!" a familiar voice called out. Andi hurried down the hall before stopping in front of him.

He would have smiled at her, however, the cafeteria incident only brought up mixed feelings. Shabnam had expressed concern over their friendship earlier, making Marcus question their relationship and increasing his paranoia. But then, why would she offer to help him and, a day later, be a part of the plot to haze him and the other Rats? It did not make sense but he was wary all the same. Was everyone at this school just playing him?