Friend Zoned

Chapter Fifteen

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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yeah so Hayden and Brandon are both huge asshole's." I finish telling the story to Brynn as we walk through the door to lunch. We haven't talked since homecoming, because I locked myself in my room and cried all weekend. I was just so stressed and overwhelmed I had such a big breakdown.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀I'm good now though. I've accepted the events of Friday and I know how I will handle them and everything. A clear mind is key.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Do you want me to fight them?" Brynn asks me dead serious. I have to bite my lip to hold back a laugh but a little giggle still escapes.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀I do smile though, which I hope that Brandon and Johnny see it. To know I'm unfazed by how they both tore my heart out a couple days ago. Well, maybe I'm not completely unfazed, but you can't let them see you cry, right?
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Brynn we've been over this, I don't want you fighting any teenage boys for me." I laugh as I put emphasis on the word 'any'. Brynn is truly the best, best friend ever.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Okay, okay...fine." She answers with a small sigh. As we are about to approach our normal table I turn the other way. Brynn follows me without even questioning it.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀I sit down at one of the only empty tables in the cafeteria. She comes and sits next to me leaving a little space between us since we have a whole table to ourselves.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Wait, why can't you just ask Hayden to leave our table?" Brynn asks as she sets her lunch box down. I haven't told her about the fight yet.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Cause Johnny and I got into a fight too." I explain, and I have the urge to grab my necklace, but obviously it's not there. I wonder if Johnny has thrown it out or not. The thought makes me want to cry.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Oh my gosh...that's why you're not wearing your necklace." Brynn says as if she's just solved a puzzle. I nod slowly, because even thinking about it makes me upset. Thinking about Brandon and Hayden makes me angry, but Johnny just makes me feel empty.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yeah I gave it back to him." I tell her and her jaw slightly drops. All weekend I've wanted to grab my necklace over and over and I felt so much worse every time I remembered it's not there.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"But you have had that since---"
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I was six years old...believe me I know." I finish Brynn's sentence looking down at the table. I quickly glance behind me and I see Johnny sitting at our table. He looks sad, like really sad. It's weird for him considering he's always laughing or being goofy.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Nadia is trying to talk to him but he keeps shrugging her off and looking down. I can tell he's making her mad, but he doesn't seem to care. I glance at Hayden who's smiling and it makes me sick to my stomach. That's when I decide I'm not letting him get away with this.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I'll be right back." I quickly tell Brynn, as I close my lunchbox. I hear her ask me something, but I'm completely somewhere else. My mind is focused on the task ahead.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀I swing my leg over the bench as I stand up. At first I feel a little dizzy, but I compose myself and suddenly I feel...confident. I feel like I can conquer the world.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Without even a glance back I began walking towards Hayden. With every step I became more sure of what I am doing, and before I know it I am almost there.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀As I walk by Johnny, I see his eyes trail on me, but he isn't my problem at the moment. I walk up behind Hayden, and tap on his shoulder.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Oh...hi Kenz." Hayden says turning his head around to face me. He seem confused but not necessarily surprised. Everyone at the table is starring at me but I couldn't care less.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"You're such an asshole." I say through gritted teeth to him. I'm not wasting any time trying to jump into this conversation, I'm not letting him get away with what he did. The day I was waiting for, the day where I'd look at Hayden and feel nothing has come, except all I feel is anger and hatred.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"What?" Hayden asks probably not realizing what I'm talking about. I see Annie's eyes on me as well, but I don't care.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I swear to god Hayden, you're so pathetic. Telling the football team that I had sex with you, like I'd ever in a million years do that with someone as vile and mean as you." I tell him feeling more angry every second. I don't even really know what I'm saying but I know it has to be said.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I didn't...who told---" Hayden stutters his words trying to make an excuse, which just proves to me that my information is correct. Which honestly makes me feel even worse. There was a part of me hoping it was a lie I guess.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Don't play dumb Hayden, you lead me on, kissed me, got together with the girl you actually wanted to be with and than humiliated me. Your such a fucking asshole...please-please tell me why you hate me so much as to do something like that?" I ask a mix between furious, sad, and curious all at once. I feel a small tear slip down my face as I immediately wipe it off.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I...I don't know." Hayden stutters again. I know that everyone at the table is starring at me, and maybe even more people than that but I don't care, not even a little bit.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Okay." I say cooly which I think is the scary part. It's like when your so furious that you become calm, and it freaks everyone out, including yourself.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀I take a deep breath trying to steady myself, as I reach my hand over and grab his drink. It's a strawberry and banana smoothie. I grasp the plastic cup in my hand as I pick it up swiftly.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Without thinking, I bring the cup over his head and dump it onto him. The pink drink falls onto his head down his face. It doesn't exactly make me feel completely better, but it's funny as hell.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"What the hell Mackenzie?" Hayden basically yells as he tries to wipe it off his face. I look behind him at Annie who's sitting there looking confused and frustrated at the same time.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀I see Nadia and Ruby starring at me with wide eyes out of the corner of my eye. I don't even bother to look at Johnny though as I turn back around and leave.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀As I'm walking away someone reaches out and grabs my arm. I stop and turn my head to see the pair of emerald green eyes I was specifically avoiding.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"What?" I snap as Johnny loosens his grip on my arm. He looks at me sympathetically, like he's sorry or something, but I don't care. I know he had no idea but the whole Brandon and Hayden situation because neither of them would be stupid enough to tell something like that to my best friend.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"What were you talking about? What happened?" Johnny asks concerned referring to what just happened. For a second something inside me just wants to hug my best friend and forget everything, because I have so much going on in my life right now. I remember what happened though, and resist that urge.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"None of your business." I answer as I continue walking, as a single tear falls down my face, because as much as I'd love to hate Johnny right now I don't. I hate Hayden, and I hate Brandon or I at least dislike them more than I knew possible. Johnny though, I can't hate him, I'll never hate him, because I love him as a friend and as more.
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