The bell finally rings and I can't wait to get out of here and away from Jared.
"Meghan!" I hear him call after me.
Just keep walking, just keep walking! I think to myself.
I feel a hand on my shoulder and I turn around, "What?" I say harshly.
He chuckles, "Seems like someone holds grudges"
"Hell yeah, I do! You took my book bag and put it at the top of the damn flagpole last year!"
"Whoops, my bad, your highness," he snorts in my face.
"What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be with your friends, getting drunk or something?" I ask.
"I want to actually do something with my life, thank you very much. I don't want to waste my life away drinking," he replies.
He checks his phone quickly, "Well, see you next time," Jared says abruptly, going in the opposite direction.
I see Xander walking my way and run to him and give him a hug and he wraps his arms around me.
I'm about to cry, I just know it. "I want to get out of here." I say, my voice cracking about halfway through the sentence.
"Okay. Let's go to my dorm room." He says sincerely.
"Okay," I say. It's all I can say without bursting out crying.
We leave the building and he picks me up and carries me the rest of the way.
He sets me down on his bed and closes the door. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"
I shake my head and run to hug him. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here. Nothing can hurt you, Meghan, nothing can hurt you." He repeats until tears stop streaming down my face.
"Thanks Xander," I whisper between short, quiet sobs. "I don't know what I would do without you."
I really don't. My other best friend goes to a different college. Her name is Lyric. She's a music major at Juliard.
We lay down on his bed and stay there until I can talk about what happened.
He stands up and starts pacing. "Who the hell does this guy think he is?!?" Xander almost yells. "Want me to beat his ass for you, because I would gladly do that for you."
"No. You would jeopardize your place on the football team. I won't let you do that." I stand up and set my hands on his shoulder.
"Look at me." I say and he obeys. "You will not hurt him. Okay?"
"Fine," He sighs. "Why won't you let me protect you?"
"Because I can handle it," I say.
"Fine."
"Okay. Let's go get something to eat. Does McDonalds sound good?"
"Yeah, I guess, but beating that kid up sound even better."
"No. Bad Xander." I say while giggling.
"Fine. I promise I'll leave him alone."
"Good. Now let's go."
We get back to the dorms and he drops me off at my dorm with another big hug.
When I walk into my dorm, I see that the place has been trashed.
My roommate is trying to pick everything up, but I just have to ask, "What happened?"
"I have no clue," Emma says. "I have no clue."
