Euphoria

CHAPTER 8

*FINN'S POV*

Beep beep beep beeeeepppp-

Groaning, I slammed a hand down on my alarm and tumbled out of my bed. Monday. The worst. I grabbed my phone off my nightstand and saw Jax's name on the top of my notifications. Friday's events flooded back to me like an uncontrollable wave.

Tinsley.

I trudged into the bathroom, determined to take my sweet time today. But as I walked out into the hallway and saw my sister, I froze. She had her phone pressed to her ear and looked extremely disheveled. Her usually neat hair was sticking up at all angles and her eyes looked red, as if she had been crying all night.

I couldn't hear the person on the phone but as they continued talking, my sister started looking even harried. Sparing one more glance at my sister, I stepped into the bathroom and continued my morning in laziness.

*****

When I walked into school, as usual, the first thing I noticed was Tinsley's group of friends. They all looked disheveled and a mess, just like my sister. My eyes darted from one girl to another but I couldn't see Tinsley at all. My confusion grew as I walked up to Evan but didn't see Jax anywhere.

"What's up," I said as I got closer to him.

"Dunno. Some rumor's being spread about Tinsley though. Thought you might wanna know."

I frowned, confused. Was that why my sister looked so rough this morning? "What's the rumor?"

Evan just shook his head and muttered, "Rumors, man. They bring down everyone." I furrowed my brows, feeling confused and a bit annoyed with how my friend was acting.

The bell rang and Evan raised a hand to me in farewell. Oh well. I'll find out soon enough what's going on.

****

I slid into my seat in first period and looked down at my phone. I had sent at least ten messages and three voicemails to Jax but he hadn't answered one. He wasn't in school and definitely wasn't answering me. It wasn't odd for Jax to randomly disappear but I really wanted to ask him what happened after the party.

Suddenly, some guy I didn't know slid into the seat in front of me. I raised an eyebrow at him and he leaned across my desk, whispering, "So. How was the s*x?" My mouth dropped open in shock and horror.

"What?" I whispered back, still frozen in shock.

He let out an ugly laugh and sat back in the seat. "No need to pretend there, Finn. We all know what happened last Friday." He glanced around the classroom and that's when I noticed everyone was staring at us.

"Yeah. You know exactly what I'm saying. So stop gatekeeping her. Man up, Finn. Do spill."

His words brought my attention back to him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He raised an eyebrow in my direction, seeming unconvinced. Then he beckoned with a finger for me to lean forward.

"They say you f****d her until dawn. Until she was moaning and calling your name." I leaned away in horror, but he wasn't finished. "That's how you got her pregnant. And now, she's not at school. What a coincidence."

Shocked and absolutely disgusted, I stood up and smacked my hands on the desk in front of me. "I WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT."

But the guy just smirked at my outburst. "Oh we know, Finn dear. That's why we're all very, very, very surprised too." I could punch that smirk off his face right now. Just as I was debating if I truly should, the teacher walked into the room and my opportunity dissipated.

The guy in front of me slid out of the seat but not before stopping and whispering in my ear, "Hope you had fun."

****

I walked towards our usual lunch table and when I got closer, the loud chatter died down immediately. Everyone was silent and what was worse, was that all the seats at the table were occupied and my usual seat was taken by someone I didn't know. My eyes darted from one person to the next and something in me snapped.

"Seriously? Are you guys kidding me?" I glared at the people that had looked up at me in surprise. "You guys seriously think I would do something like this to the small girl that I talk to everyday and share my sushi with?" I stared down the guys at the table but they remained silent.

I huffed out a breath and nodded, "Fine. Be like that." Then I turned on my heel and left, pretending that I didn't give a f**k about them. But deep down, knowing that someone had tried to ruin me and Tinsley's relationship, made me see red.

****

The rest of the day was basically the same.

When I walked into my usually loud 6th period, the entire class was silent. Even Evan, who usually waved hello at me when I walked in, was quiet. I ignored them and tried to ignore the fact that Tinsley wasn't in her seat and neither was Jax.

I huffed out a breath. Were people really that naive? I looked forward at the board when suddenly the teacher turned on the projector and the first thing that popped out were the words, "Finn humped Tinsley."

I stared at the words in shock. I was frozen. I couldn't move. Horror and disgust flowed through me and the laughter that broke out through the classroom barely touched my ears. Finn humped Tinsley. Finn humped Tinsley. Finn humped Tinsley.

The words replayed over and over again in my head. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. I barely registered the fact that the teacher had turned off the projector and was trying to get the class to stop the chatter. The words were imprinted in my head and no matter what I did, they remained.

When I finally started getting my senses back, I realized everyone was staring at me. The teacher's lips were moving but I still couldn't hear anything. It was like I was underwater and drowning slowly. The only words I heard were, "Don't worry. He humped her." Feeling returned to me and I immediately stood up.

"I did not." Then I grabbed my stuff and walked straight out of the classroom, without a glance back.