I F-ing hate you. - Skephalo

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

TW: Swearing, Mentions of abuse

Zak

I gently tugged my hoodie sleeves down my arms, letting them hang past my fingertips.

I stepped into the school and looked around quickly for Nick.

I spotted him down the hallway and sprinted towards him.

"Nick, I need help. My mom took and broke my phone- she threw me in the basement last night she-"

"Hold on. I'm about to get a date with this hot girl from the party."

My heart sank as I watched him smile and tap away on his phone.

"Nick, please- My arms are all bruised from her, and I-"

"Dude, it's not my problem. Figure it out yourself." He rolled his eyes and gave me a dirty look.

I froze as I continued to stare at him.

"Nick, this is serious. I need a safe place to stay, and I need to call-"

Nick interrupted me a third time, raising his voice and glaring at me with mean eyes.

"Just shut up! You're literally so annoying! Just suck it up!"

The hallways went quiet as I felt hundreds of sets of eyes on us.

I stared at the ground and pulled my sleeves down again, wishing I could just disappear.

After a minute of silence, students' whispers soon turned into the loud chatting that had previously filled the hallways.

Nick glared at me before dragging me to a bathroom.

He threw me in and stood against the door.

"What's the deal, Zak? Ever since the party, you've been a walking shit-show."

I backed away from him, and for the first time, I was scared of him.

"I'm sorry- It's just things with my parents have been rough and-"

"Okay, what do your parents have to do with school? You could at least try to be happy around the school. You know we have a reputation to keep up around here."

"I'm in serious danger- My mom's abuse is starting to get physical, and I'm scared to be at home-"

I lifted one of my sleeves to reveal dark purple bruises across my arm.

"These are all just from last night. I'm scared for today."

Tears filled my eyes as I continued to stare at my bruise-filled arm.

Nick stared at me with a disgusted look.

"What the fuck. Those things are ugly. Cover them back up. And make sure no one sees those- It'll throw you to the bottom ranks for sure."

I blinked a few times, causing a tear to fall down my face.

"You seem so concerned about popularity when I'm in fucking danger- Do you even care about me?"

Nick's eyes met mine as I quietly spoke my last few words.

"Listen, I'll make a deal with you. If you get Clay back to us and convince him to pretend the whole George shit was a joke, I'll help you."

I stared in shock as I processed his words- How would I get Clay back? Why would I get Clay back? But if I don't- I have no one else to turn to. Nick's my only chance.

"Deal."

Darryl

"Dude, why did you ditch us last night?" Clay asked.

I rubbed my arm and looked at the ground.

"I don't know. I'm still kind of processing the whole Zak-situation." I muttered.

Clay paused.

"I get it. I mean, sometimes I think about trying to be his friend again. But the bad outweigh the goods."

I nodded and continued walking.

"I'll see you later at lunch. Have fun in sculpture."

Clay smiled before running off to the third floor.

I sighed and turned around to go to my science class.

Everything is so screwed up right now. Clay is nice. So is George. But down inside, I still can't get over all the bullying he had done to my friends and I. I mean, I get it. He did it to try to fit in with Nick and Zak. But he still did it. And if I'm being honest, I think everyone else forgave him too quickly.

My thoughts were cut off when I stepped into the science classroom to see kids standing around in groups.

Shoot. The project. I'm going to have to present it with Zak.

I awkwardly walked in and sat at my usual seat next to Zak.

We both sat in silence, and I swear I could hear my heart beating even through the screams of the other kids.

"I'm sorry."

I glanced over at Zak before rolling my eyes and looking to the other side of the room.

"Yeah, right. This is probably just another one of your tricks."

Zak grabbed my arm and stared me in the eyes.

"Darryl, I'm truly sorry. I know you probably never want even to see me again, but please. Just give me one more chance."

I looked into his hurt eyes and then looked him up and down.

I sighed before pulling my arm away and focusing on the other kids.

"We'll talk later. But I swear to god Zak, this is your last f-ing chance."

He smiled slightly as the teacher started talking, and the groups began presenting.

Eventually, we went up and did our presentation, and we did decently well. Zak seemed like he knew what he was talking about, and he surprisingly did all the work he said he'd do.

We walked back to our seats, and I gave Zak a quick little smile.

"Meet me after school at my car. We'll talk then." I whispered, my heart pounding with nervousness.