Chapter Seven
1276 Words
Ryan’s POV
I read the headline again.
‘RYAN WALKER AND ZOEY BENNETT: RIVALS OR SOMETHING ELSE?’
My thumb hovered over the screen as I stared at the second picture. Zoey was halfway out of my car, one hand holding her bag while the other rested against the door. Whoever had taken it had been standing across the street from her house.
That bothered me more than the caption.
I zoomed in on the background, searching for anything that might tell me who had been there, but the picture was too dark. There was a parked truck near the curb and the edge of a building behind it. Nothing useful.
My phone rang.
Mason.
I answered. “Please f*****g tell me this isn't true.”
“It is buddy. But f**k, I knew the post was going around. I didn't know there were pictures.”
“Who took them?”
“If I knew that, I would have told you already.”
I looked back at the screen. “How long has it been up?”
“Not long.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“About twenty minutes.”
I sat back against the driver's seat and rubbed my forehead. “Has Zoey seen it?”
There was a short pause.
“You're asking about Zoey before you're asking what people are saying about you?”
“Mason.”
“Fine. Yes, she has probably seen it. Ava shared it in one of the student council groups.”
I closed my eyes for a moment.
“What are people saying?”
“You really want to know?”
“No, but tell me anyway.”
“They think you're dating.”
I looked at the picture again.
“That is ridiculous.”
“I know.”
“And nobody thinks it is strange that someone was sitting outside her house taking pictures?”
“That part is getting buried under the rest of the gossip.”
I tightened my grip around the phone.
“I'm going home.”
“You should probably sleep.”
“I was planning to.”
“Good, because tomorrow is going to be terrible.”
The call ended.
It was.
By the time I walked into Ridgeview the next morning, the post had already spread across half the school.
I knew before anyone said anything because conversations kept dying whenever I passed.
Mason was waiting beside my locker with his phone in his hand, and the expression on his face told me he had been enjoying this far too much.
“Don't.”
“I haven't said anything.”
“You're about to.”
He pushed away from the locker. “I was going to ask how your date went.”
“It wasn't a date.”
“That answer sounded very rehearsed.”
I opened my locker and shoved my backpack inside. “Someone posted pictures of me dropping Zoey home. That's all.”
“That's not all.”
I looked at him.
He held out his phone.
A screenshot of the gossip page filled the screen. The original headline had already been shared hundreds of times, and the comments underneath were worse.
One person had written that the two schools should stop pretending the rivalry mattered.
Another had said I had finally found someone who could keep up with me.
Someone else had posted, ‘Captain Walker has a type now.’
I handed the phone back.
“This is getting stupid.”
“It got stupid the second someone started taking pictures.”
“That is what I'm worried about.”
Mason's expression changed.
“You think somebody is doing this on purpose?”
“I don't know.”
“But you think they might be.”
“I think whoever took those pictures wanted people to see them.”
He nodded slowly.
“That is different.”
Before I could answer, someone called my name from across the hallway.
I turned.
Zoey was standing near the entrance with Ava.
She looked straight at me.
Then at Mason.
Then back at me.
Ava said something to her, but Zoey barely reacted. She walked toward us, holding her phone against her chest.
“Can we talk?”
Mason looked at me.
I nodded.
He took the hint and walked away.
Zoey waited until he was gone before speaking.
“I hate this.”
I looked at her phone. “I know.”
“No, you don't.”
Her voice was quieter than usual.
“Everyone at Evergreen has seen those pictures. My debate coach asked me whether there was something going on between us before first period.”
“What did you tell her?”
“The truth.”
She looked at me.
“That we were working on the festival.”
“And did she believe you?”
Zoey gave a humorless laugh.
“She wanted to.”
I didn't know what to say.
She looked down at the floor before continuing.
“The worst part is that people are already using this against me.”
“How?”
“Someone posted that I only got the festival position because I'm trying to get close to the Ridgeview captain.”
My jaw tightened.
“They said that?”
“Yes.”
“That is not true.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you letting them get to you?”
Her eyes snapped back to mine.
“Because you don't understand what it is like to have everything you've worked for reduced to some stupid rumor.”
The words landed harder than I expected.
I lowered my voice.
“You're right. I don't.”
She looked away.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I said, “But I understand what it feels like when people decide who you are before they bother asking.”
She looked back at me.
Something softened in her expression.
“You really do?”
“My whole life.”
The warning bell rang, but neither of us moved.
Zoey glanced toward the classrooms before looking at me again.
“We need to fix this.”
“I know.”
“Not tomorrow. Today.”
I nodded.
“I'll meet you after school.”
She hesitated.
“Where?”
“The community center.”
“Fine.”
She started walking away, then turned around.
“Ryan?”
“Yeah?”
“Don't read the comments anymore.”
I almost smiled.
“Were you planning to?”
“No.”
She gave me a doubtful look.
“I mean it.”
“So do I.”
She walked away before I could say anything else.
I watched her disappear into the crowd, then noticed Mason standing several feet away, waiting for me.
He walked over slowly.
“You two have gotten very comfortable having serious conversations in the middle of hallways.”
“We were talking about the rumor.”
“I figured.”
He shoved his phone into his pocket.
“There's one more thing.”
“What?”
“Someone created another post.”
I frowned.
“Already?”
Mason nodded.
“This one isn't about the pictures.”
He pulled out his phone and turned the screen toward me.
The new post had only one sentence.
‘IF THEY WANT EVERYONE TO BELIEVE THEY ARE TOGETHER, MAYBE THEY SHOULD STOP PRETENDING THEY AREN'T.’
I read it twice.
Mason watched my face.
“What does that even mean?”
I looked toward the doors Zoey had disappeared through.
“I have no idea.”
But the words stayed in my head long after I walked into class.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD