i'll never let you go || barnroe

chapter five

26.6.20

(a/n: sorryy guyssss i haven't updated in a while *cough cough two months cough cough* but like school work and shit yk)

After her final class, Linda made her way to her locker, encountering Gary again. He was awkwardly trying to clean his glasses with the bottom of his jumper when Linda arrived.

"Oh uh, hi Linda" he smiled a kind of goofy smile, you could see his braces with blue bands on. It was kind of funny how Gary was the literally nerd/geek stereotype but he was bound to be one of those guys who got an amazing job when they were older since he's so smart.

"Hi Gary...how was last period?" she replied, putting her key into the lock on her locker and turning it to unlock it.

"Well, business studies isn't the most fun subject..uh..what about you?" he questioned, closing his locker.

"I had psychology, it's sooo boring, I wish I could drop it but it's too late now I guess" she laughed slightly.

"You made any other friends?"

"Well Becky Barnes and Tom Houston went to the same middle school as me, and we talked at lunch, that's it" she stopped for a second, thinking about Becky, her laugh, the way she talks, her hair, her everything.

"Do you have a crush on Tom or something?"

Linda stood in shocked silence for a moment, that was such a random question that she was nOt prepared for.

"Uh...um...y-yes, yeah i do" she mentally shouted at herself for saying that, it's not even true, but at least people will think she's straight "don't tell anyone though"

"Oh..." Gary's face fell "he seems nice...and yeah of course I won't tell anyone"

"Thanks Gary, uh you're the best" she awkwardly did finger guns at him before cringing at herself in her mind, she then closed her locker, picked up her back and awkwardly walked away.

"Great, I just told an outrageous lie to my only proper friend at this school" the muttered to herself quietly as she speedwalked down the hall, exiting the school and trekking to the bus stop. Eventually, she got there, still replaying her conversation with Gary in her head and cringing more and more with every word that she said. She sat down to wait for the bus, she still had ten minutes until it got there.

"Oh hey Linda"

She jolted around to see Tom.

"Hi Tom" for some reason she just didn't like him, Becky deserves better than some dumbass who dresses like a 40 year old lumberjack.

"You take the 288?"

"Uh yeah" she said, still not being friendly with him.

"That's awesome, so do I!"

Linda was not pleased about taking the same bus home as Tom Houston.

"That's good, at least I won't be alone on the bus" the conversation seemed so awkward for Linda but Tom was acting like he didn't even realise. After a few minutes of Linda desperately trying to end the conversation and Tom continuing it, the bus arrived and Linda got on, putting in her earphones as soon as she sat down. If Tom tried to talk to her on the bus, she didn't hear it, she was too busy zoning out. Not even gonna lie she was thinking about Becky. After about ten minutes the bus came to a halt, she checked it was her stop, got off as quickly as she could. She took the shortcut through the alleyway, she took the same shortcut in middle school since the high school and middle school were close by. Then she heard footsteps just as she exited.

⚠️TW: SEXUAL HARRASSMENT⚠️

⚠️I'll put a short summary at the end so you don't have to read it if you would be triggered by that⚠️

"Hey there" he said to her, leaning against the wall to stop her from getting past. She took out her earphones.

"Okay fuck off I'm not interested" she once again tried to get past.

"Come on, be nice, what did I ever do to you?"

She stayed silent.

"You single?"

"No, I have a boyfriend" she lied. That day was just a never ending web of lies.

"Baby, he won't find out"

"Don't call me that you disgusting pervert"

"How rude of me...I haven't even introduced myself...the names Sam"

"Well, Sam, I'm not interested, I just want to go home"

"You wanna go back to your place huh?" He grabbed her waist. A tear fell down her face, she was petrified.

"I won't hurt you, baby, unless you're into that"

"LEAVE ME ALONE"

"Don't you trust me?" He grabbed her wrist, she went to scream but he covered her mouth, muffling her cry for help.

"Sam, what the hell are you doing?!"

Linda turned around but couldn't quite make out who it was at first since her eyes were blurred with tears.

"Oh fuck off nerd"

"This isn't funny, get off her!"

She heard a thud, then suddenly her wrist was pulled in the opposite direction. She wiped her eyes and saw Gary.

"Gary?" she looked at him before quickly looking behind her to see that Sam had given up. Gary pretty much dragged her along the sidewalk to get as far away from Sam as possible.

"Gary, calm down, he's gone now"

"Okay...sorry"

"Why are you sorry?"

"I don't know, I just feel like...you think it's weird that I-"

"Gary, you just saved me from that pervy bastard, thank you"

"You're welcome, so uh...do you want me to maybe walk you home?"

"It would be my pleasure" Linda said in a joking posh voice (although her voice is quite posh as it is)

⚠️summary: that motherfucker sam was being pervy to linda then gary saved her⚠️

(a/n: i like to think that gary and linda were absolute friendship goals in high school, but gary kinda liked her at one point but it was unrequited (sorry goldroe shippers))

*938 words*