"So you fucking left me for the bitch with the dead parents!" I look up when I hear that stupid cunt Kelsey talk about me.
First of all, how the fuck did she know about my parents being dead, and second of all who the fuck does she think she is for just yelling that in front of everyone. I look to my left and notice Lina looking at me with sadness and soon enough everyone else begins to stare at me as well, including Xander.
"Fuck you" I mutter before I shove right past her and away from everyone's whispers about me.
"Ari wait!" I hear Lina yell for me, I turn around and face her while quickly wiping away my tears.
"I'm fine Lina, really." I try to assure her but by the look on her face, I can tell she does not believe me whatsoever.
"It's okay to be upset about this Ari," She says as she sits next to me on the bench and gives me a tight side hug.
"I'm fine Lina, it just caught me off. That's all." I say and then we both look up and see Kelsey dramatically running out of the gym.
"It's cold Arya, let's go back in." She says as she grabs both my hands and leads me back to the gym.
As we walk in, I can feel a shit ton of eyes on me and it just makes me wanna run back outside and stay out there for the rest of the night.
"Hey, are you okay?" Xander says as he rushes over to me, puts both of his hands on my cheeks, and looks down at me with concern. God his hands feel so warm on my face and I can't help but blush a bit.
"Yeah! I'm fine." I say trying to sound as believable as possible. Clearly, that doesn't work since all four of them are staring at me with the same look of pity. Someone shot me.
I despise pity. All my life everyone around me has always seen me as some sort of charity case. After my parents died a few years ago, all my friends and everyone around me started to treat me differently, it's like they were walking on eggshells. I mean yes, of course, my parents' death did take a toll on my mental health and I did shut some people out for a while but after a few months, I was able to bounce back and try to get my life back together. The only person who never changed the way they acted towards me was Ryan.
"Let's go get you something to eat and drink" I hear Jesse say when I finally look away from Xander. Xander and I make our way to the small snack bar and when I turn back to ask Lina something I notice her taking Asher's hand and dragging him towards the dance floor. Awwww!
"I'm so sorry for what Kelsey said" I look back and see Xander looking at me with sad eyes.
"Xander...I already told you, it's not a big deal." I shrug.
"I know but still..." he says.
We all grab a few things from the table and make our way to one of the many tables scattered all around the gym.
"Uhhh guys, is that...Madison?" I ask
The guys look at each other in shock before they quickly whip their heads in the direction of the back of the gym.
"Oh fuck" Jesse says as he pinches the bridge of his nose.
"Bro I thought we got lucky and she moved without saying goodbye to anyone...guess not." Xander sighs.
By the looks of it, she looks pissed and after following her gaze, it's so obvious that she's staring daggers at Ash and Lina.
Asher and Madison dated for years, they were the "it" couple of this school everyone wanted a relationship like theirs. However, one day something happened and they just broke up which caused Ash and Madison to both go missing for a while. From what I heard, the news of Madison cheating on Ash with one of his closest friends hit him so hard, he ended up leaving the state just cause he was so depressed. After a few months, however, he returned and acted as if nothing happened but he also returned covered in tattoos and a newly formed smoking habit. As for Madison, she never came back...until now.
"Should we tell Ash?" I asked. The guys both looked at me as if I had two heads and quickly shook their heads no.
"Wanna dance?" Jesse asks as he stands from his seat and reaches out a hand.
"Yes...only if Xander comes too. I don't want you sitting here alone, you were the most excited for this stupid dance so you gotta dance with someone." I say before I grab both Jesse and Xander's hand and lead them both towards the middle of the dance floor where Ash and Lina already were.
Once we get there, we realize that we didn't think this through since we have no idea how we are gonna slow dance since there are 3 of us. But, soon enough we just form this awkward triangle-looking thing and just link arms as we sway back and forth to the song.
"Jesse, why do you keep looking behind you?" I ask. I swear this man looks as if he's getting ready to get tackled or something.
"What? Oh it's nothing I just think we have danced enough, let's go home!" he replies before he starts to drag us off the dance floor.
"Huh? I don't wanna leave man. What's your prob-" Xander was cut off by someone.
"Jesse...can I talk to you?" Liliana Zu asks. Personally, I don't have a problem with the girl but I do know Jesse despises her and so does almost every other person at this school. Then again, I have never really talked to her so I can't say much.
"Oh...uhh...I'm kinda in the middle of something right now Lili." He replies without even sparing her a glance...I don't even think he blinked.
"I can- I can see that but it's important." She says as she puts her hands on her hips. And just like before, everyone's eyes are once again on my friends and me.
"Can't this wait, Lili?" Jess says...no BEGS her.
"I mean unless you want your friends to hear about what happened last Friday and how you threw-" She was quickly cut off when Jesse let go of Xander and me and grabbed Lili's hand, dragging her out of the gym.
"I- I'm not even gonna ask," I say with a laugh. I turn away and begin to make my way back to our table when all of a sudden Xander grabs my hand and twirls me right back to him, making my back hit his chest.
"And where do you think you're going?" He asks before he twirls me again so I am facing him.
"Oh- um...well I thought you wouldn't want to dance anymore now that Jesse is gone," I say while looking at the floor. Get a grip, Arya! He just laughs a bit before he wraps my arms around his neck and his around my waist. I wouldn't be surprised if my cheeks were as red as a fucking cherry.
"I- I never got to say this but thank you for sticking up for me," I say when I finally look up at him.
"You don't need to thank me, Ari, I fucked up once at the diner and I promised myself I would never let anyone or anything hurt you again. In fact, I should be thanking you. Without you, I wouldn't be passing math. Without you, I'm not sure I would even be able to graduate and go to college. You're the first person who's made me feel genuinely smart. So thank you Arya Ali for being my angel in disguise." WOW. He didn't stutter once. I was in shock, I mean I didn't even know how to reply. That was by far the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.
But...what did he mean when he said I was the first one who made him feel "genuinely smart". He is smart and it pisses me off when he calls himself stupid because I know he isn't! He just learns differently from others. What I have learned is that Xander is more of a visual learner, he enjoys pictures, diagrams, and videos rather than reading and writing notes. I learned that pretty quickly actually. So, after our first tutoring session, I went home and grabbed an extra notebook so I could turn all my notes into some sort of visual for him to understand and if I couldn't create a visual, then I would find a video of someone explaining. Once I gave him the new notes. I kid you not, I saw his face light up like a damn Christmas tree and it made me really happy. I genuinely care for Xander and it makes me so happy that he's excited about passing calculus.
"Xander..." I start but there are just so many things I want to say that my mind just kinda blanks.
"That shocked huh?" He laughs before he twirls me again. I laugh it off but in reality that's probably my biggest problem. I suck at expressing my emotions and feelings. That's why my last relationship went to shit.
After my parents passed away and after I noticed how my friends started to act towards me, I stopped showing my emotions because I was too scared it was just gonna drive people away. Like I said before, my OWN friends felt as if they had to walk around on eggshells when they were with me, even after I had accepted the fact that my parents were never coming back. It got so annoying too, anytime one of my friends would bring up something their family did for them, everyone would stop talking and then just turn to look at me with pity. Do you know how annoying that shit gets? I always told them that I didn't care but they just continued to do it and then they eventually just dropped me as a friend because apparently, I was "too depressing". I wanted to kick each of their asses but I didn't...mainly because Ryan wouldn't let me but also because they were never worth it.
After a while though, when it was just Ryan and me, I started to overthink a lot and think that maybe I was overly emotional and hard to talk to. That's why I hid the fact that my parents died. When I moved to this school, I wanted a fresh start, I didn't want people looking at me like I was this emotional and unstable wreck, I wanted people to treat me like a normal person. I wanted friends who didn't feel uncomfortable talking about the family trips they took during the summer and what their mom got them for their birthdays. In fact, hearing about other people's happy memories with their families makes me happy. In no way would I ever want any of my friends to think that I was ever envious of them and their families. As I said, I accepted the death of my parents and I have never been happier with my amazing grandma. But now that that stupid bitch Kelsey told the whole fucking school, it looks like it's back to the pity stares.
"Arya...ARYA!" I quickly snap out of the mini trance I'm in and look up at Xander.
"Jesus! Are you okay?" He asks
"Haha yeah I'm fine, I was just thinking about something," I reply, he just gives me a questioning look before he looks away. Seconds later I see his jaw drop. And I mean drop...all the way to the damn floor.
"What? What is it?" I whisper before quickly turning my head around and letting out a small squeak.
"Holy shit!" I whisper-yell.
"I KNOW!" He yells. And there it was, my bestie Catalina Faye playing tongue hockey with one of Las Flores's most handsome bachelors. Go best friend!
"No kissing!" We both look back and see one of the chaperones yelling at Lina and Asher. They look back at us and the four of us start to laugh.
"Wanna go to Ivory Miller's party after this?" Xander asks. A huge thing to keep in mind...I hate parties. Despise them.
"Oh umm do you?" I ask.
"I'm not sure...I'll go if you do." He says. Ugh, I was hoping he would just answer. I don't want to say no because he looks like he wants to go but I hate parties and Ivory.
"Sure," I say. I hope one of these fucking snowflakes fall and hit me right on the head.
"Great! We can go together and after I can-" He was cut off by a pissed-off Asher.
"Sorry to interrupt but can I borrow Xander for a sec?" Asher asks as he's already dragging Xander away.
"I mean you're already dragging him away so..." I say as I turn to face Lina.
"What was that all about?" I ask
"No clue. One second we were all over each other and the next he looked at him like I had a huge pimple on my face and ran off." She says, her voice sounding sad. I quickly grab her hand and drag her to the bathroom to wipe away her tears.
"I'm sure he just got nervous or something." I try to reassure her.
"I- I guess you're right but he just ran away!" She says angrily.
"Listen to me girl... men are by far the stupidest creatures on this planet. If Asher can't see how much of a prize you are then he's a goddamn moron." I say which causes her to laugh a bit.
We continue to talk when I notice someone getting out of the stalls. I look up and that's when I see Madison glaring at us in one of the mirrors. She catches onto my stare, looks right into my eyes, and sends me a wink.
Oh shit...
----------Skip to Ivory Miller's Party----------
"I can't hear myself think" I yell over the music. Someone get me the fuck out of here, I rather be working at the diner.
"Arya shut up you're so dramatic. Just have fun and let loose!" Xander yells from right behind me. Let loose my ass. I feel like I am one step closer to getting chlamydia. I have no idea why I let this kid drag me to this party. Technically it's my fault for agreeing but this all wouldn't have happened if he didn't just decide in the first place.
After Lina and I had left the bathroom, we met up with the boys and by boys, I mean Ash and Xander. Apparently, my lovely date had an important "band meeting" and had to leave. The four of us took the limo back to Xander's penthouse and then switched to Xander's Range Rover so we could head to the party. While we were at his penthouse, Lina and I were able to change into something a bit more comfortable.
The car ride was so awkward. Lina and Asher wouldn't even look at each other and it was so obvious that Xander knew something I didn't. He kept looking at me through the mirror but I just looked away. Once we got here, Asher and Xander ran straight to the alcohol while Lina and I headed outside to find somewhere secluded so we could talk.
The poor girl is an emotional wreck and I don't blame her, Asher is drunk out of his mind and he's letting other girls flirt with him. Xander however is only on his third drink and has come out several times to check up on Lina and me and try to convince us to come inside since it was cold. Finally, it got way too cold so Lina and I finally came inside and started chatting with a girl named Cassie and her girlfriend Ava. They're both so sweet and they make the cutest couple.
"Don't worry girl! Asher is a fucking loser!" Cassie slurs. The three of us laugh at her drunkness.
"Ok girls, as much as I can talk about guys like Asher being the reason as to why I became a lesbian, I gotta take this girl home. Talk to you on Monday?" Ava asks as she struggles to keep Cassie upright.
"Totally!" We say.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Do you wanna come with me?" Lina asks.
"I'll be right here. Enjoy your pee." I say as she makes her way to the restroom.
After a couple of minutes of standing here, I suddenly feel arms wrap around my waist.
"What the-" I was cut off when the arms suddenly made me turn over to face them.
"Hey, doll" I look up and see the fucker himself. Nate.
"What the fuck do you want? And let me go the fuck!" I yell as I try to push him away.
"You thought embarrassing me in front of my friends was cute, didn't you. I'm not gonna lie, Arya seeing you all angry and flustered made me feel some kind of way." He smirks as he forcefully grabbed my hand and dragged it down over the crotch of his jeans. I feel my eyes start to water and I feel like I'm gonna throw up,
"Not such a fucking big mouth this time huh? I bet you act like you hate me when in reality you just want me to fuck-" He was cut off when someone grabbed me away from him and dragged me behind them.
"What the fuck is your problem?!" I look up and see Xander shoving Nate, his face full of anger.
"Calm down Mitchell, we were just having fun...weren't we Ari? The whore was asking for it anyways I mean look what she's wearing!" Nate replies while looking over Xander's shoulder and sending me a wink.
That's when all hell broke loose
Xander ran towards Nate and tackled him straight through the damn pool table. The whole party stops and everyone stops to witness the fight between Nate and Xander. The two of them kept throwing punches at each other but Xander's was actually landing right on Nate's face.
"What the fuck happened?" I look to my right and see Lina running up to me but I was too shocked to answer.
Soon enough, it took five football players to keep Xander from running back over to Nate and tackling him again.
"Get the fuck off of me!" Xander yells as he makes his way out of the house.
Lina and I quickly make our way out there to make sure Xander doesn't do anything else...like kick the mailbox.
"Xander! What the hell happened?" He turns around and makes his way towards us or should I say me and completely avoids Lina's question.
"Are you okay? Did that fucker touch you? I swear to God if he touched you I'm-" He was cut off
"No! No, Xander he didn't do anything. Fuck! Forget if I'm okay, ARE YOU OKAY?" I ask as I quickly grab his face and check the cuts all over his face. He just shrugs and starts walking towards his car.
"Oh hell no! You are not driving! Give me the keys." I say as I step right in front of him.
"It's fine Arya I'm-"
"I don't remember asking. GIVE ME THE FUCKING KEYS!" I yelled. This guy has defended me twice tonight, the least I can do is fucking drive him home.
"Get in the car, Lina," I say. She pauses for a second probably hoping to see Asher come out but he never does. She just sighs and gets in the back seat. Before we even got into the house, Asher told us to not worry about giving him a ride home.
I finally back out of our spot and make my way to Lina's house. Once we get there, I watch as she miserably grabs her things and makes her way into her apartment. Then on the way to Xander's house, he suddenly stops me
"Is there- Is there any way I could stay at your house?" He asks nervously.
"Oh...uhh may I ask why?" I ask. It's not that I don't want him to come over, it's just that I don't want my grandma getting the wrong ideas and teasing me for the rest of my life.
"My parents would kill me if they saw me come home like this and I just...I don't feel like being alone tonight." He says the last part quietly. I look to my right and just smile at him.
"Of course, you can stay the night," I say. I watch as a sigh of relief passes him. So, I turn the car around and make my way back to my house. Before we get out of the car I stop him.
"Thank you...again Xander." I say as I hear my voice crack. Oh god, not again. I watch as worry passes through him but it's like he read my thoughts because instead of asking if I'm okay again, he just grabs my hands and slowly drags me over the center console and right into his lap. I felt my cheeks heat up immediately.
"I told you this once and I'll tell you again. I will never let anyone or anything hurt you ever again. Okay? You, Arya Ali are way too fucking special to me." He says as he gently grabs my chin and makes me look into his eyes. Fuck, he really has a way with words.
"I- okay," I whisper and that's when I feel my tears start to fall.
Xander quickly wraps me into his arms and hugs me while I let all my built-up emotion finally drain out of me. He's the first person other than Ryan and my grandmother to see me genuinely cry. Not like crying while listening to a sad song or watching a sad movie, I mean genuine tears. We stayed in this position for almost an hour before I finally pulled away and noticed the mess I left on his shirt.
"Oh my god! Your shirt!" I gasp.
"Ari, it's just a shirt. You think I give a shit?" He laughs which also causes me to laugh. We look at each other and I feel his thumbs wipe away my tears as he drags me close to him and gives me a kiss on my forehead. I just smile and give him one last big hug before I finally find the willpower to slide out of his arms and out of the car.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," I say as I grab Xander's hand and lead him towards my front door.
----------Author's Note----------
Ahhhhh! Don't kill us! I know we took forever to update but finally, we did it! Anyways, hope you guys are doing well and we hope you're enjoying the book! Love ya <3
-Pradabagg
Word Count: 3795