Stepping up.

When Grace said ‘very soon’, I didn’t expect it to be THAT soon. I understood what she meant the moment we returned from the club room to our classroom. We heard some bickering inside even before we got in. It was mainly Amanda’s voice. We decided to stay outside for a bit.

“You’re absolutely insane if you think he really did it,” the blonde said. Lena was next to her and they were talking to two other girls and a guy. “I mean, come on! Even if you don’t know Oliver well, you know Grace and Sarah. Do you really think they’d let it go so easily if their boyfriend had actually cheated?”

The trio shared a look. “Now that you say that…”

“Exactly,” Lena agreed. “And besides, you know people in this school love to spread the stupidest rumors over the pettiest grudges. You don’t think someone’s green with envy that Oliver is dating some of the most gorgeous girls in school?”

“Awww, she’s always so nice…” Mila said, whispering.

“It could even be the other way around,” Amanda said. “Have you been to the coffee shop? Have you seen how blatantly flirty some of those girls are with the guy? I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the many he’s turned down got pissy and wants the girls to break up with him.”

“And on top of that…” Mark said, entering the conversation from a couple seats away. It was there that I realized that most of the classroom was listening in. “You don’t need to be a genius to realize that Oliver is not the type to pull that shit. The guy could barely speak until a few months ago, for fucks sake! And you know Abigail fucking hates Grace. Come on, it’s not that hard to realize this is a setup.”

We heard many murmurs of agreement. We also saw that the teacher was coming, so we hurried into the classroom. No one spoke another word about the subject after that.

Something similar happened during lunch break when I went to the restroom. I was in one of the stalls and overheard two familiar voices, Kevin and Ben, talking to some of their friends just outside.

“So Ben, do you think Oliver really cheated on his girlfriends?” one of the guys I didn’t know asked.

“No, I don’t believe it for a second. But why do you care?”

“I think Milana’s hot. If she breaks up with him I might have a shot, you know?”

“Well, good fucking luck,” Kevin said, laughing. “Those girls are crazy about Oliver, and it goes the other way, too. There’s no chance in hell Oliver cheated and even less of a chance they’d break up with him.”

“We once made Oliver uncomfortable in front of them and they almost hanged us,” Ben said, laughing as well. “There’s a bigger chance that those girls would LET him make out with another girl than there is of Oliver going behind their backs.”

“Are you serious? What’s with that guy?”

“Well…” Kevin coughed to clear his throat. “Don’t go spreading this around, but my girlfriend is really close with his girlfriend, right? Apparently Oliver is kind of a monster.”

“A monster? As in…?”

“In bed, dude!” Kevin laughed.

“He’d have to be, right?” Ben said, laughing with Kevin. “Do you think you’d be able to keep five women satisfied?”

“I can’t keep a girlfriend for more than three months, dude…” another one of the guys said.

Fuck me, this was mortifying to hear, and it was also the first time I’d heard that the girls had told Lena (and probably Amanda) anything about our… private time. That was also embarrassing.

Still, I was thankful. To Kevin and Ben as much as I was to Lena, Amanda and even Mark. They were all vouching for me. It wasn’t long ago that I didn’t have anyone who would do that. Maybe I didn’t have the multitude of friends the others did, but…

Yeah. I’d have to pay them all back for this somehow.

On a related note, it didn’t seem to be such a big coincidence that I’d overheard this sort of talk. The others said they heard similar talk, too. This was the new big gossip, after all. But… if it continued like this, it may not be for long.

I waited for the guys to leave first because coming out of the stall while they were there would’ve been stupidly awkward. After waiting a bit I washed my hands and exited the restroom. And yet, as luck would have it, I had another chance encounter. This time face to face with my long-time friend Julian. Eric, the music club’s drummer, was walking with him again.

Eric flinched and quickly looked away while Julian’s eyes seemed to shine.

“Well, well, well… You can’t keep yourself from being the talk of the school, lately, can you? When did you become such an attention-whore, Oliver?” Julian asked.

I felt my chest burning. That smug smirk that said he knew exactly what he’d done, what he was doing and that he was enjoying it all would piss you off too, I’m sure.

“No idea,” I told him. “Seems to me like there are losers out there more preoccupied with me than with their own lives.”

Julian’s smile went away, replaced with a glare that he tried to keep in check. Eric, behind him, had to stop himself from snickering.

“So rude. People are simply shocked that the unassuming, quiet guy they knew about turned out to be a cheating scumbag.”

“People get shocked by lies all the time. It’s why I don’t watch video shorts,” I said, shrugging. Then I looked him in the eye. “By the way… The talent show is getting closer. Have your arpeggios gotten better, Julian?”

His eyebrows shot up. “Eh?”

“Your arpeggios. I remember you sucked at them back in freshman year. Your picking and your pull offs weren’t all that great, either. I hope you’re not still showing off those basic tapping skills like they’re a big deal. You’re not so busy that you’re neglecting your practice, right, Mr. Lead Guitar?”

Julian was now openly glaring at me. It surprised me. I was only throwing crap at him from three years ago, yet it seemed to hit him like they were still sore spots. Had he really not gotten better in three years?

“Careful, Brooks. You’re starting to piss me off.”

I stepped forward, closer to Julian. Uncomfortably closer, until my chest was inches away from his. Julian was taller than me by a little over half a head. I had to look up at him, but I didn’t flinch. I put my hands inside my pockets and glared back at him. He seemed taken aback and took a single step back. I was shorter but my arms and my shoulders were at least twice his own. I had to believe that was helping me, but Thomas did say I could give people **** glares.

“Same to you, Jenkins. I know the crap you’re pulling. I don’t give two shits about the talent show, but get my girls involved and I’m going to be pissed for real. Don’t fucking test me, because if you do you’ll wish Grace Valentine got to you first. I’m done taking any more of your shit.”

Julian smirked. A shaky smirk. A front. “Threats, now, Brooks? You’re not scaring anyone.”

“Not a threat, Jenkins. Go back to practice your guitar. God knows you need it. Unless you’re planning to get into politics, in which case I don’t see much of a future for you there, either.”

I walked past him yet stopped to look at Eric. When our eyes met, the guy flinched even harder than before. His was pale, paler than he usually was, and looked at me with fright.

I walked away feeling exhausted and awkward. That had felt like one of the fights I had with Isabelle not long ago. And I meant every word.

…

Maybe Grace and Sarah were rubbing off on me more than I thought.