Zodiac High-The Series

9

Leo

I unlocked my phone for the thousandth time, checking to see if Libra had responded to my messages. Where was she? She'd told me we could hang out after she went to Virgo's, but then she never responded to any of my calls and texts. Was she okay? I decided to shoot her another text, just in case, when I realised that I could use her location to find her. I opened the Find My iPhone app, clicking on Libra's phone. My phone was eventually able to locate a signal at.... a beach?

I realised that Libra's phone was moving along the map-she was travelling home from the beach. Probably getting in some early morning surfing. I decided I'd go hang with Aries and Sagittarius-they were always a lot of fun. Putting my phone in my jeans pocket, I walked out of the house, kissing my mom goodbye.

.....

"What do you mean, she's not picking up?" Sagittarius asked again, looking confused. "I got that girl a Apple Watch for her birthday-is she not wearing it?" Sagittarius went off on a whole other tangent about the Apple Watch he'd given Leebs for her birthday. "Eh, she was probably surfing." I nodded before hearing a ring. "Oh, hey, it's Leebs!" I picked up, only to hear the revving of a motorcycle.

"Is that whose bike I think it is?" Sagittarius pronounced every word with force. We all crowded around the phone, listening. "Hey, by the way, aren't those the overalls you wrestled off the mannequin when we went shopping?" My heart sank as I recognised Scorpio's deep, alluring voice. "Oh, yeah! I mean, it was my size..." Scorpio chuckled. "Well, I think you look amazing in it." A pause before Libra started speaking. "Even better than the mannequin?"

I could hear the smile in Leebs' voice. "Way better." A laugh, followed by silence. The only sounds came from the engine of the bike. A random whoop from Libra, and then the phone hung up. I stared at the screen, unable to comprehend what I had just heard. They were together. He was with her and I wasn't. She ditched me for him. The words jumbled together until only one sentence was clear: She's with him. Aries was the first to react. To my surprise, she smiled. "They were meant for each other."

This triggered Sagittarius. "What do you mean, Aries? Scorpio almost got her killed! He made her jump off a damn cliff for him! Why would she go crawling back to him?" Aries stood, ready to defend her point. "Well, if you weren't such a hot head, you would've heard the whole story!" Sagittarius was on his feet too, towering over Aries. "Enlighten me, Aries!" Aries huffed. "I will." She paused, calming herself down.

"Scorpio was in desperate need for some cash when his mom left, remember?" Sagittarius nodded. "Well, he was only sixteen-he knew nothing." High school years had changed due a lack in maturity from students-freshman year was at sixteen instead of fourteen now. "He decided to use his earnings from a part-time job to make a profit. He searched for months until he met a guy called Carl Langford. Carl scammed Scorpio. He collected Scorpio's money, saying he was a banker for Westpac.

"Scorpio soon found out that Carl was a scam. He tracked him down. That's when he met the gangsters. They worked for Carl and kidnapped Scorpio. His dad was too drunk to notice. Scorpio negotiated his release by agreeing to kill a bank official for the gang. Once he was out, he didn't kill the official. He met Libra, fell in love and started dating her. The gangsters were watching him, and so they threatened to kill Libra. Scorpio made Leebs jump so that the gang wouldn't go after her. He then surrendered himself to save her."

Scorpio had risked his life for Libra. He'd protected her by making her jump off the cliff. My understanding of the devilishly hot flirt was all crumbling to bits in my head. Scorpio was just a teenager who'd gone through the worst things. "He saved her life?" Sagittarius echoed softly. Aries nodded. Sagittarius straightened out his back. "I owe him an apology, don't I?" he whispered. Aries nodded once again, putting an arm around Sagittarius.

While the two sat huddled together, I felt my heart shattering into millions of tiny pieces. I'd liked Libra so much, and I thought she liked me too, on account of how much she talked to me and took care of me. Heck, there was definitely some banter there too! But she'd loved Scorpio all along. Impossibly handsome, loving, intense Scorpio. I thought back to freshman year, realisation dawning on me. This is what being strung along feels like.

My stomach gave a guilty lurch as I recalled how I'd played Samantha. I'd flirted with her, kissed her, confessed to her.... And I was faking it the whole time. It was karma, really, that I'd end up falling for a girl who didn't like me back-in this case, Libra. I wanted to know more than ever what had happened at the hospital. I only remembered seeing a bracelet...

I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind, realising what I had to do. "I'll see you guys later." I hopped into my convertible, driving to number 76. I knocked on the door, waiting for a tall, muscled cheerleader to open it. "What do you want?" Samantha asked.

"I just want to say sorry."