"So... how was the rich people school?" O asked me from where he was sitting in his back yard.
I threw my backpack down on the patio table, groaning as I sunk into the chair beside him. I didn't bother answering, I just grabbed the beer he was drinking and took a swig.
"You're not supposed to be drinking, Zane." Cassidy reminded me from O's lap. I wanted to roll my eyes at her, but out of respect I refrained. She didn't need to tell me that. I've heard it enough. It's not like I had a problem. I don't have a drinking problem. It's just one of the many conditions my parents had set for me, if I wanted to continue living my cushy life style, as they had put it.
"I'm guessing it didn't go great." Gavin said, his eyes darting between me and the beer in my hand.
"It was fine." I told them, ignoring the mocking smiles on their faces. When I told them I was leaving Hawkings for West Bridge, they told me I would last longer at the reform school. They said I wouldn't last a week without hitting someone. They knew how I can't stand the type of kids that go there.
"Meet anyone interesting?" Cassidy mused, she leaned forward as she spoke, plucking the beer from my hands. This time I actually did roll my eyes at her.
"No. I met exactly who I expected to meet. Except for this one guy. His name is Cain. He seemed pretty cool, though I have my doubts from his friends. They were all... typical rich kids I guess. Except one of them." I remembered Seren as I let the words out.
The entire lunch period, she barely said a word. She didn't join in the conversation that the girls were having about some party they had all went to last weekend. She only answered when she was spoken to. There was tension in the air around her, like the kind of tension that happens after you have a big fight with someone and you pretend none of it ever happened. The tension that you can feel in the air. No one else seemed to notice though. No one else was awkward. They acted like it was all normal. I didn't try to speak to her. It's not that I didn't want to, of course I wanted to. She just seemed a million miles away.
"Zane?" I heard O say, snapping me back to reality.
"What?" I asked him, noticing now that all my friends were looking at me.
"What's got you so lost in thought?" Gavin asked me.
"Or who." Cassidy chimed in, her eyes narrowing at me.
"Nothing. I was just thinking about one of Cain's friends." I told them truthfully.
"Yeah? And who is she?" Gavin asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Who said it was a she?" I said, and I heard the defensiveness in my own voice.
Gavin chuckled, shooting his eyes towards O. "Are you joking? That's the same expression O wore after he met this one." He jerked his thumb at Cassidy, who laughed silently, bringing her hand up to stroke O's cheek.
"Fine. It was a girl, her name is Seren, and seriously guys... I think she's the most gorgeous person I've ever seen, in real life and on social media." I told them, and her face came into my mind as I spoke.
It had to be a crime to be that good looking. It wasn't fair.
"Hey..." Cassidy started, in fake offence.
"Besides you, Cassidy. Of course." I said, causing her to laugh.
"No offence, Zane, but you think that about every girl, until you sleep with them." Gavin said, shaking his head.
"Not this one. I'm serious." I assured them. "I wouldn't be surprised if she was famous, like a model or something."
"So what? Is she your next conquest? What about Holly?" Cassidy asked me as she brought her own beer to her lips, taking a gulp.
"What about Holly?" I said, flicking a piece of lint off my shirt.
"What do you mean? Aren't you two still together?" Cassidy titled her head at me.
"No. I told her that the day I got expelled from Hawkings. It's not like we were really ever together. We were just friends." I had made that clear to her, I think. I'm pretty sure anyways.
"Friends who fucked? Like every weekend?" Gavin chuckled as he said it.
"She knew what it was." I reminded them, shrugging. Holly was okay. She was pretty, she was smart. But she just wasn't it for me. I thought I had made that known to her.
"Yeah, no. I don't think she knows that, bro." O told me. "She was talking about you at school today. Telling everyone that you were still together even though you were going to West Bridge now."
I shrugged again. "That's not my problem."
"Zane." Cassidy said sharply. "It is your problem if you're still leading her on."
"I'm not leading her on." I said with a straight face.
"Are you still texting her?" Cassidy asked me, but I guess my face gave her enough of an answer because she continued without waiting for my words. "Exactly. Are you planning on still sleeping with her?"
"Why does that matter? If she wants to sleep with me, and I want to sleep with her, then why is it a problem? It's not like I planned on asking her to marry me."
"You know why it matters, you asshole. Especially if you want to pursue this other girl. What's her name? Sarah?" Gavin chimed his two cents in.
"Her name is Seren." I said, and I hadn't realized how sharp my tone was until the words were already out. I don't know why it annoyed me that he called her Sarah. Sarah didn't suit her at all. "And I'm not pursuing her."
"Yeah, sure Zane." Cassidy laughed out, as if I was lying to myself.
"I'm not." I was firm in my answer. It wasn't going to happen.
"And why not? She has a boyfriend?" O asked me.
"I don't know. Maybe. I kind of got the vibe that she was seeing one of the guys in the group. This guy named Jax. He stared at her the whole time I sat with them. And then, the guy Cain I was talking about, he's got a massive crush on her. A girl like that, it's hard to believe she's not dating someone." I told them.
It's not that her having a boyfriend was the problem, per say. I've pursued girls with boyfriends before. I'm sure I'll pursue girls with boyfriends again. The problem was that she was so far out of my league, it was funny. She was out of everyone's league. Seren was in a league all on her own.
I flashed back to lunchtime again. Even though Seren had barely said anything the whole time, she somehow still managed to be the centre of attention. Everyone found ways to look at her. But Jax, he seemed to look only at her. He watched her in everything that she did. She didn't seem to mind, hell, she didn't even seem to notice. Cain did the same, but there was something different in their stares. Cain looked at her like he appreciated her, like he just couldn't help himself by being transfixed by her beauty.
Jax looked at her like he was waiting for her to do something he didn't approve of.
"Sounds like a powerful girl." Cassidy hummed out.
"You have no idea. I'll try to find her on Instagram later. Seriously, I bet she has like a million followers. It wouldn't surprise me at all."
I felt like they didn't believe me. They would if they saw her. Instantly, they would know.
"So, Zane. We were talking before you got here." Gavin changed the subject, and I noticed the way his demeanour changed.
"Okay..." I said hesitantly.
"It's coming up on the 6 month anniversary... of Henry." He continued, looking at me hesitantly, like he was waiting for my reaction, and he expected my reaction to not be good.
I felt the way my body tensed up.
"We were thinking about going up to the cliffs." O interjected. "Having a couple drinks out there, for him you know. He loved it there."
"Nah." I said instantly. "I'm busy that day."
"No you're not." Gavin frowned as he spoke.
"Whatever. I don't want to. I don't want to go there ever again." I grabbed the beer again.
"Zane. You can't be angry at him forever." Cassidy said gently.
"Why not?" I asked them. Why couldn't I be angry at him forever? He was gone forever. He left me forever.
"It's not healthy." Cassidy continued, and she was frowning at me too.
"I'm not talking about Henry anymore." I told them, hating the concern on their faces. "If I never have to talk about Henry again, then I'd be perfectly happy."