~My Teacher Hits Me~ (Book 1) [Rewritten]

Chapter 12: The Bonds of Friendship

Rylan watches silently as Blake leaves the restroom. She hates him; her feelings are beyond words. Just keep smiling and pretend like nothing is wrong, she tells herself. Rylan takes a minute, composes herself, and then heads back to class. She ignores Blake as best she can for the rest of the class. When the bell rings, Rylan meets Tuck at the door to Art class.

"Hey." She smiles, happy to be greeted by a familiar face.

"Hey. You seem stressed. Are you alright?" Tuck asks, concerned. He knows something is wrong.

Rylan sighs as the two enter the classroom. "No, but I can't stop everything in my life because of a few problems."

They sit down and she can tell Tuck wants to say more. Rylan waits.

"Dani has been acting strange since this morning. She keeps telling me nothing is wrong. I thought maybe you'd know something. I was hoping you'd fill me in."

Rylan knots her brow. She's pretty sure this is about Mr. Quinn. "I'm sorry, Tuck, I don't know anything. It's probably nothing like she says."

"No. I'm not convinced." Tuck shakes his head and stares at Rylan suspiciously. "And you're a very bad liar."

Rylan bites her lip and tries to think about how to get out of telling him the truth without lying more. Dani made it clear she doesn't want Tuck to know.

"Rylan, what do you know?" Tuck presses.

"I hate to sound selfish, but I can't tell you. It's not that I don't want to—" Rylan tries to explain.

Tuck interrupts. "I love her, Rylan. So if something is wrong, you need to tell me. Now."

"I can't." Rylan persists, hating that she can't just tell him.

"Why not?" Tuck demands.

Rylan flashes back to Mr. Quinn's warning, remembering why she didn't want to tell anyone in the first place. "Because I know what you'll do."

Tuck pauses, trying to comprehend. "What does that mean?"

Rylan stays silent. She has said too much.

"What does that mean, Rylan?!" Tuck says more forcefully.

"Nothing." Rylan attempts to end the conversation. She tries to focus on molding the clay on the table in front of her, but Tuck won't let up.

"Rylan, please. I won't do anything rash, just tell me." Tuck places his hand on Rylan's forearm to get her to focus on him.

Rylan tries not to look at Tuck. She knows she'll break down if she talks about it, especially after the ordeal with Blake in the bathroom. She made Mr. Quinn lash out at her and subsequently at Dani. All of this is her fault. And if she tells Tuck, not only will Mr. Quinn probably find out she and Dani are telling people, but Dani will be mad at her. She'd always thought Tuck to be the more rational of the two boys, but Dani insists she only tell Cas for now. Rylan battles with the voices inside her head for a moment, and then turns to Tuck.

"Don't put me in this position." Rylan pleads.

"What position? I just want to know what's going on."

"The position where I have to choose between what my best friend wants and what you want." Rylan snaps.

"We're all friends, Rylan. You're my friend too."

Rylan pauses and softens her tone. "I know. I'm sorry. Look, I don't want to tell you if she won't. It's probably better if you hear it from her anyway... when she's ready to tell you."