Secretly In Love With My Highschool Bully

The Betrayal

Monday rolls in looking and smelling good.

I wake up, get ready for school, and somehow manage to keep a smile on my face through it all. I like school. It calms me and gives me a sense of purpose. I once told Ryan the same thing, and he looked at me like I’d grown a second head.

Ryan is what I call a total slacker. The guy has a terrifyingly high IQ, but he seems determined to waste it because I know that if he actually applied himself, he’d be drowning in A’s.

“Gavin, hurry up or you’re gonna be late on your first day!” Mom yells from downstairs.

“Coming!” I yell back before bolting out of my room and rushing downstairs.

I find Dad already seated in the car while Mom comes hurrying toward us carrying packed lunch boxes.

“Mom, you do realize the school has cafeterias, right?” I ask as I take the lunch boxes from her.

“Yes, I know, but today is your first day, so I had to pack something for you,” she says, looking at me like I’ve personally offended her.

I just smile sheepishly.

“Babe, aren’t you going to work today?” Dad asks over my head.

“Nope. I’m working from home today,” Mom replies.

Mom is a hotshot interior designer, and her schedule is pretty flexible since she owns her own company and all.

“Okay then. See you this evening,” I say, waving as I climb into the car.

“Bye, baby. Mommy loves you, and don’t forget to share that food with Ryan too. I packed for both of you,” she says while waving us off.

I inwardly cringe because my mom can honestly be a lot sometimes.

Dad drives out of the compound before glancing at me.

In our family, Mom is the quiet, unobtrusive parent, while Dad is the one who always wants to know everything about his child.

“Before you say anything, I don’t know, and I’ll tell you if I figure it out, okay?” I say the second he opens his mouth.

He simply smiles and shakes his head at me.

Not long after, we arrive at school, and he drops me off by the gate.

The SHIH building looms in front of me, and for a moment I feel intimidated by how massive it is. But then I hear a voice I know all too well screaming my name, and suddenly all my nerves disappear.

“Twinnieeeeeee!”

Ceci screams like there aren’t hundreds of people around us.

I turn toward her with a huge grin just as she rushes over and throws herself at me in a hug. I hug her back tightly.

“Good morning, Mr. Montez,” she says, peeking behind me.

Only then do I realize Dad still hasn’t driven off.

“Morning, Cecily,” he replies warmly.

“Bye, Dad!” I wave as he finally pulls away from the sidewalk.

Ceci hooks her arm through mine, and we start walking toward the school together.

“Soooooo…?” she says, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at me.

“What?” I ask innocently, pretending not to know exactly what she means.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks, giving me an all-too-knowing look.

Sometimes I genuinely wonder if this girl secretly lives inside my brain or something.

“No, babes. Don’t worry about it,” I reply. “I promise I’ll tell you when I feel like it, okay?” I quickly add when she doesn’t seem willing to let it go.

As first-year students, we’re summoned to the main hall for assembly, where we’re lectured about rules, regulations, school values, and what feels like every possible thing under the sun. By the time they finally dismiss us, it honestly feels like hours have passed.

Ceci and I immediately rush to the dean’s office to collect our schedules, and the fact that all our classes match makes us so happy that we practically start bouncing up and down.

As we leave the office, we nearly collide with the football team.

And Ryan.

I instinctively lift a hand to wave at him, but he pretends not to see me, which completely baffles me because before this whole avoidance thing started, we hadn’t fought or argued or anything like that.

It’s while we’re stepping away and the football team is crowding into the office that I finally get a glimpse of why Ryan has suddenly become so distant.

“Who’s that? You know him?” one of the guys—who seems to be the team captain—asks Ryan.

“Not personally. We’re neighbors,” Ryan replies casually.

For some reason, those words send a sharp pain shooting through my chest.

All this time, I thought we were at least friends.

Turns out we’re just neighbors.

“Figures,” the captain snorts. “He looks like a sissy. Stay away from him.”

I wait for Ryan to defend me.

He doesn’t.

And when no defense comes, I grab Ceci’s wrist and pull her away as quickly as I can while my eyes burn painfully hot.

“Why would Ryan say something like that?” Ceci asks once we’re far enough away.

I just shrug because the lump lodged in my throat won’t let me speak.

Ever since she met me, Ryan has always been one of our main topics of conversation. He was my first friend after we moved to Saber Hills, and I simply couldn’t not tell my new best friend about him.

Apparently, though, the sentiment was never mutual.

The acid swirling in my stomach is so bitter it almost makes me nauseous, even though I know my stomach is completely empty.

“Babes, no offense, but why are you reacting like this is a breakup?” Ceci asks cautiously.

I look at her strangely.

“Ryan was my…” I begin before stopping myself.

What exactly was he?

I swallow hard.

“Forget it. You wouldn’t understand,” I mutter with a sigh.

“Then explain it to me so I can understand next time,” she says gently. “But right now, we’re about to be late for our first class.”

She glances at her watch, and we immediately rush down the building and toward our very first high school class.