Pure of Heart / l.h ✔️

46

~Seraphina's POV~

Enzo set his tray down on the table as he and I arrived at lunch together, taking a seat beside me. His arrival made all the guys look up at him and greet him enthusiastically, grinning at him. They must've known something was up when he didn't greet them or even smile back at all.

"What's wrong, dude?" Keith asked curiously, looking at him with confused eyes. Enzo scooted his chair in and I avoided looking at all of them as I pulled off my backpack, grabbing my lunchbox from inside and pulling it out. As I set my backpack on the back of my chair, Enzo spoke, his voice hard and angry. "We all need to talk." He said flatly, not touching his food as he looked them all over.

They all must have noticed Enzo's hard tone of voice, making them all raise their brows, seemingly confused. I wanted to protest because I didn't think this was necessary at all, but I knew it was futile. He'd do what he wanted, as he wanted.

"Uh, okay." They all agreed reluctantly, continuing to eat their food while waiting for him to say what he wanted to talk about. He glanced down at me and I set my lunchbox in front of me on the table, beginning to fiddle anxiously with the end of my dress. "I'm sick of you guys harassing Seraphina." He said bluntly. "You either knock it off or go find another friend because I won't stand for that shit anymore." He firmly added, his gray eyes filled with frustration as he scanned his eyes over his group of friends. They all sat there silently as he made his anger perfectly clear to them all, Dennis' lips fighting a glad smile as he met my gaze.

None of them said anything, just looked at Enzo with their lips in thin lines. They didn't seem angry about him saying this, or at least that was what I thought until my eyes landed on Keith, who was now glaring at me as if this was my fault. Weirdly enough, though, he was the only one at all who seemed angry. Not even Malachi was mad, and I was always sure that he was the one who hated me the most.

The silence that overtook our table was broken by, surprisingly enough, Malachi himself. "We're sorry." He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned into the table more. I bit my lip and stared down at my closed lunch box, not saying anything or even looking at them. Enzo gently nudged my arm with his elbow, making me look up at him, frowning. We peered at one another for a moment and I smiled softly. "Thank you." I said quietly, unzipping my lunch box and taking out my peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Enzo grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, like Luke threatened me, I'd kick their asses too if they insulted or harassed you anymore. I'm tired of it." He said honestly, making me smile. It was sweet. "Thanks." I whispered.

"Who the hell is Luke? We don't even know a Luke." Malachi snorted, having been listening in on Enzo and I's conversation. I went to shake my head at Enzo, not wanting him to tell them, but he said it before he even noticed I was shaking my head. "Her boyfriend." Enzo answered, making me sigh deeply and awkwardly look down again when everyone's eyes flitted to me in surprise. "You have a boyfriend?!" Malachi squawked, beginning to laugh, as if he thought Enzo was telling a joke.

I scowled at him and he cleared his throat, seeming to realize that he was being a little mean and that this was, in fact, not a joke. He frowned and cocked his head. "Well, if you have a boyfriend, why have I never seen you with him at school?" He asked, furrowing his brows. I glanced up at Enzo, unsure if I wanted to talk about this, but he just smiled gently, as if to encourage me that it was all okay. "Um, he's not in high school." I admitted softly, taking a bite out of my sandwich so I wouldn't have to talk as much.

The silence that came showed how surprised by my news they really were, probably not expecting that.

"Uh..." I heard Malachi begin slowly, making me look up at him. "How old is this guy, exactly?" He asked, looking a little confused. I smiled slightly. "He's twenty six." I answered, causing him to nod. Eight years was a bit of a big age gap, I knew that, but I also didn't think it really mattered much.