You
Winter break had ended, and I'm pretty sure everyone dreaded entering the school building that day. The endless cycle of school, work, school, and more work continued and it started to warm up just a bit. People were already starting to count down till the end of the school year.
I rubbed my eyes tiredly and put my head down on the desk next to Connor. When I turned to look at him, he was staring blankly into the abyss. If he was high, I wasn't too surprised. Like I said, everyone dreaded going to school today.
"Y/N! Are you paying attention?" The teacher turned around and eyed me as I shot my eyes open. I nodded, quietly laughing it off along with other students. Connor jokingly shook his head at me, making my cheeks heat up with embarrassment.
As I leaned exhaustedly against my locker, the ruckus behind me made my eyes shoot wide open again. I turned around and saw Derek, who was almost cornering Connor.
"Get out of my fucking way," Connor said, his teeth gritted.
"Not until you tell me what Y/N's like," Derek snickered, "After all, she was my date and you-"
I started marching over to them and grabbed Derek's shoulder, making him spin around, "Get this through your thick fucking skull, you were the one who stood me up!"
The atmosphere became even more tense as murmurs filled the hallway.
"She got stood up by Derek?"
"He would never do that!"
"What? Yes he would!"
"What if she's lying?"
"Why is Connor Murphy there?"
It all flooded into my head like a never ending stream. Connor tried to shift around him but he just blocked his way.
Derek looked to me and then turned back to Connor. "While we're here Murphy, why don't we tell dear ole'
Y/N what you were doing at the back of the pub?"
"Shut your fucking mouth."
"What the hell are you talking about, Derek?" I asked as I crossed my arms, a little worried. He laughed as he moved out of Connor's way.
Part of me didn't want him to answer the question.
"Well," He leaned up against a locker with a cocky grin, "This happened around November. Your boyfriend went out to by some junk, and it just so happens that he was talking to his dealer about you. He confronted her about you and all that shit, and he stormed out. Kinda shocking he didn't come out with a whole grocery bag of weed. And did I mention that his dealer is your mother?" His voice raised at the end, making me shiver. Gasps and other comments could be heard from other people. It didn't seem like they were people anymore, they were just shifting shapes with cameras out waiting for something to happen.
Just let something else happen, anything but this.
He chuckled slightly. "Some boyfriend."
"You don't just fucking announce that!" Connor yelled.
I felt myself go numb. The feeling of having all eyes on me in this situation was unpleasant. When I looked at Connor after Derek left, he kept his eyes on the ground and he didn't dare look up.
And that's when the bell rang.
•••
There wasn't a single person not looking at me. I was like some kind of museum artifact that's been through hell and all people did was just watch. One guy made his way out of the crowds in the courtyard. He sat down and tilted his head. "Hi," He greeted.
"Hi," I said back, trying to smile.
"So your mom's a dealer?"
"I- uh, yea but.."
"Okay so I'm walking on thin ice here and I owe her. It's about 40 bucks and surprisingly, I don't have that. Can you like, talk to her? I just thought that-"
I relaxed my fists that I didn't know were clenched when a taller figure walked over. His bellowing voice caught our attention. "Don't fucking talk about it to her."
"But-"
"I said leave her alone!"
Connor was almost about one inch away from him before he scurried off. He took one glance at me before taking his seat, leaving room in the middle of the bench. The atmosphere became tense as people began to leave. Just like last time, it was just the two of us in the courtyard.
I drew in my breath as he spoke, "Y/N I am so fucking sorry. I didn't buy anything from her I just.." Connor stopped as he fumbled with his words. "You shouldn't have had to hear it from that asshat."
"You didn't have to do that! She doesn't need to know about me!" I gave him a piercing gaze but tried my best to keep myself relaxed. "The last thing I need is another fucking letter from her saying that you stopped over."
"I didn't know it was gonna blow over. You can tell the whole goddamn school that I'm crazy. You have my permission." He let out a scoff as he looked to the side.
"Connor, she could've hurt you!"
"Well she didn't!"
The wind began to blow, and we both probably hoped that it would blow this whole issue away.
"She still remembers your name." Connor said, trying to hide his face in his hand.
"What? Oh yea, I um, I know that." I gulped as I gripped onto the side of the bench.
Connor stood up, throwing his bag to the around to the side of him. "I have to go. I'm really fucking sorry." he said as he shook his head. "Y/N, to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if you broke up with me." I could hear his footsteps click farther away.
After replaying everything in my head and ignoring the constant buzzes from my phone, I finally called out, "Connor, I-"
When I looked up, I saw that he had already turned the corner.