The Tapes; A 13 Reasons Why Fanfiction

The Good Person is Indistinguishable from the Bad

Y/n's POV

Zach and Justin were doing football drills in the gym with the team before school, and I was waiting for them to finish up so that we could walk to class together. However, just as the three of us were getting ready to leave, Ani and Clay walked in to talk to us. Clay had a grim look on his face, and to me that meant he had to tell us something bad. And I was right. The two of them explained that Bryce had been found. Well, his body had. It was pulled out from the water by the pier, and right now, the police thought he had been murdered. 

"Did they say what happened?" Zach asked. 

Clay shook his head. "That's all we know. I just wanted to get to you guys before it hits the news." 

At that moment, a sudden feeling of nausea washed over me. I could feel the bile rising up my throat, so put a hand over my mouth and ran to the nearest trash can. Right as I got to it, I gripped the sides of the can and threw up everything I had eaten for breakfast, which, thankfully, wasn't that much. The bitter taste of vomit burned the back of my throat, and I cringed at the after taste it left in my mouth. I stayed at the garbage can for a moment to make sure I wasn't going to throw up again, and once I was sure I was fine, I took a few steps back. 

"Y/n," Zach started and hobbled towards me on his crutches. 

"I-I need a m-minute," I stammer out and exit the gym. My feet carried me to the football field bleachers, and I took a seat on the lowest one. Tears fell from my eyes, but no matter how many I wiped away, more appeared and dripped down my cheeks. I unzipped my backpack and pulled out a photo, staring down at it as I cried. The photo was taken last spring at the first baseball game of the year. Bryce, Monty, Zach and I were standing together, smiling. While the picture brought back good memories, it also made me cry even more.

"You okay?" Clay questioned and appeared in front of me. 

"No I'm not fucking okay, Clay," I sniffle. "It's not something I'm proud of, but Bryce used to be my friend. He was a good friend too. He always made sure I was okay, and he helped me through some hard times. Even after what he did to Hannah and Jess, I thought he could change, you know? Be a better person. I knew he had a good heart because I had seen it. No one else saw that, but I did. I still do."

An hour later, I was walking the halls of school when I bumped into Jessica. The two of us hadn't talked in a while for some reason, so I wanted to change that. I changed direction, and then jogged to catch up with her.

"Hey, Y/n," Jessica greeted. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to say hi. It's been a minute since we've talked. I just wanted to check in and see how you're doing," I confess.

"Well, ever since Bolan announced that Bryce was dead, everyone's been staring at me as if I'm gonna make some big reaction or something," Jess shared.

"Sorry," I apologize. "I'm sure it'll get better soon. Oh, and before I go, I wanted to tell you that I'm gonna make sure to take down the student council posters for the homecoming game after school today."

"Hey, Jess. I heard the news that you made student body president. Congrats," I wish her and give her a hug.

"Y/n, you know the results for that election were like weeks ago, right?" Jess quizzed.

"And you know that I don't pay much attention to politics, right?" I counter jokingly. "How was the first meeting?"

"All Bolan and the athletes wanted to talk about was Powder Puff," Jess spoke. "I mean, girls in bikinis? Seriously?"

"You do know that I participate in Powder Puff every year, don't you?" I remind her. "It's the biggest fundraiser for Liberty during the spring season."