Chapter XXIII: Down in the Dumps

Britt spent that night at my house, and we got along better than we had in weeks. All the tension that had built up between us since I started working for the Savvonskis finally came crumbling down. At last, we had a real talk.

Britt explained her uncharacteristic behavior, and I admitted that I'd been afraid of losing her to a boy. I also told her about the day Josh had slapped me. She told me she had read the note I left in her locker.

Then she brought Ashton up again, and I was forced to admit the reason I had been fired. She seemed to find that amusing, although I found it more confusing than anything. We talked and laughed until midnight, and then I drifted into a deep sleep.

When I awoke to the sound of my alarm clock, I found that Britt was already awake. The sight of her reminded me what had happened last night, and I hastily got up. "Do you have anything to wear?" I asked her when she looked up at me from her spot on the floor.

She shook her head slowly, so I pointed toward my dresser. "You can pick something out of there."

Instead of going to my dresser, she sat there, staring at my bedpost. "I have to do it today."

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I wondered aloud, "What do you mean?"

"I have to face him."

"Oh." Sobered, I sank down on the edge of my bed.

"He's probably going to laugh at me."

That made me scoff. "Then laugh at him!"

Finally, she looked up from her daze. Traces of amusement in her eyes, she agreed, "With pleasure."

I nodded, satisfied. Rising to my feet again, I yanked open the door to my closet. "If you're going to serve it to him, let's make sure you look good."

Britt and I headed to school together like two soldiers on a mission. It was only Britt who could do the breaking up with Josh, but I knew she needed all the support she could get, so I stuck by her side as much as I could.

Thankfully, I wasn't the only person who had it in mind to join forces with her cause. Later that day, as I was on my way to lunch to meet with Britt, I was joined by Dave. He came up alongside me, his hands stuffed in his pockets awkwardly. "Hey, Maine."

I smiled at him, grateful for the company. "Hi, Dave."

"Are you doing okay?"

Somewhat confused, I side-eyed him, until I remembered Ash had gone to see him the other night after I'd revealed what Josh had done. "Yeah, I'm doing well."

He offered me a close-mouthed smile. "Good. Ash told me about—you know."

"Mm." I wasn't sure what else to say.

"I'm really sorry about him."

My lips twitched into a smile. "At least now I know." Before he could respond, I changed the subject. "Britt's breaking up with him today."

His eyebrows rose for a millisecond, before he pulled on an expression of feigned indifference. "And?"

"And," I said, "I think you should be there when she does it."

He looked down at his feet, "I'm not sure she'll want me there."

"Why not?"

���I'm the one who got them together."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Please. She would have gotten her way no matter what—and she couldn't possibly hold that against the 'legendary David Simons.'"

He nearly cracked a grin. "Well, if you insist."

Nudging his elbow, I nodded toward the cafeteria. "Showtime. Come on."

We had almost reached the door, when he said from behind me, "I heard you got fired."

Glancing back, I saw that he was smirking. Rubbish. "Yeah," I muttered glumly. "That happened."

I tried to ignore his smirk as I turned back to the cafeteria and stepped through the entrance. I spotted Britt almost immediately. She was looking around anxiously, but when her eyes landed on me, a relieved smile fell on her face.

Making sure that Dave was still behind me, I approached Britt. Her smile faltered when she noticed who was with me, but I knew she wasn't upset. "Hey, Maine. Dave."

I returned the greeting, before addressing the elephant in the room. "Are you ready to do this?"

Her smile was traded for a grimace. "No?"

Sighing, I put a hand on her shoulder and tried to reassure her. "You've got this, Britt. He won't know what hit him."

She just stared through me, panic building up behind her eyes. Dave seemed to sense her panic, for he stepped forward without prompt. "Britt," he said her name softly, snatching her attention. "You can do this," he promised. "You got him; you can get rid of him."

Britt stared at him for a moment. "But—he's your friend, isn't he?"

Dave hesitated, glancing over at Josh's table. In a distant voice, he muttered, "He used to be." After a second, he cleared his throat and returned his attention to us. "Uh—you should probably—"

He was saying something, but I stopped hearing. I stopped hearing because, just as my eyes drifted toward the other end of the room, I saw Ashton Savvonski enter the cafeteria. I didn't have to touch my cheeks to know I was blushing���and he hadn't even seen me yet. This is bad, I thought as I looked back at Dave and Britt.

I hadn't seen him since yesterday afternoon. Since his dad had yelled at him to go downstairs. Since he'd kissed me.

A second later, Ash was standing right next to me, not seeming to notice any of my discomfort. "What's going on?" he asked as soon as Britt and Dave looked at him.

Britt glanced my way before telling him. "I'm ending things with Josh."

Ash paused, and I could feel his own gaze on me. I refused to look at him, although I knew why he was looking at me. He knew better than anyone else what I'd been going through because of Britt these past few weeks.

Right now, he was probably wondering how Britt had gone from yelling at me over the phone last week to standing next to me this week. He was also probably a little curious as to what Britt was thinking about him, after I'd told him about her suspicion that he was a druggie.

But he didn't ask. "Good."

Britt narrowed her eyes as she looked between him and Dave. "You both think I should do it?"

"Hell yeah," they answered simultaneously.

Britt half-smiled until Ash directed his next question at her. "What changed your mind?"

"He cheated on me."

It didn't matter that she had already told me—my jaw still tensed. It was Dave who reacted the most though. "What?" he asked in a raised tone, surprising us all.

Britt stared at him for a second before answering, "Yeah. I caught him with Aimee Sutherland."

Dave bristled at the sound of the girl's name. Aimee was one of the girls who had been at the carnival with Britt and the boys the other weekend. I'd noticed then that she had a certain attachment to Josh, so it was really no surprise she'd gone after him.

I noticed that Ash had put his hand on Dave's shoulder, and I was somewhat relieved. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from an angry David Simons.

Before we could find out, I turned to Britt. "You ready?" She grimaced as she glanced across the room toward Josh. "It's now or never."

Some of Britt's hesitation seemed to fade at my words. Shooting me a grateful look, she took a deep breath and exhaled. Then, a nervous smile flitting onto her lips, she determined, "Time to ruin this punk."

With that, she stepped away from our gathering and marched toward Josh.

From our place about twenty paces away, Dave, Ash, and I watched as my best friend came to a halt in front of her soon to be ex-boyfriend. I could only see some of what was going on, but it was enough to know that Britt was not about to be charmed.

As soon as she stopped in front of Josh, he reached out and grabbed her hand as if to pull her toward him, but Britt wrenched her hand away. Josh looked at her in surprise, as did everyone in their vicinity.

It was probably the first time in the past three years that someone had publicly pulled away from Joshua Presley. Especially if that someone was his girlfriend.

Britt was going full-speed ahead of the crowd at this point. In a voice loud enough for practically everyone to hear, she announced, "We're over." Even I was somewhat floored by her boldness. The nervous girl from a few seconds ago was gone.

Josh was not getting it. He played it off with a laugh and made another grab for Britt's hand. She yanked it back a second time and repeated, "I said we're over."

Either Josh was thick or he was just in denial, for he still did not accept her words. Laughing a little louder this time, he rose to his feet and advanced toward her. "No," he said as if it were a joke, "we're not."

When Britt said her words for the third time, Josh finally demanded to know why. I swallowed hard, waiting for her response. Not faltering for a second, she told him loudly, "Because you're a lying cheater. And you know what else? You're dull. You're just so boring."

If I had shifted my focus from Britt and Josh, I would have seen the shocked expressions of practically every student in the cafeteria. This was probably the first time in Central Meadow High's history that someone had told Joshua Presley that he was "dull." Whether it was true or not didn't matter. All that mattered was that it had been said—and right to his face.

Josh was less than impressed. Losing just his cool just a little bit more, he retorted, "I'm the best thing that ever happened to you."

Britt still wasn't giving in. "No," she spit in his face, "you're the worst."

Josh scoffed, wounded arrogance flashing across his face. "You're nothing without me."

I almost stepped toward them, but Ash's hand landed on my shoulder, warning me to wait.

"No, I'm not," Britt replied coolly. "But you are nothing without your crowd of fangirls."

"Amen," I muttered under my breath.

His eyes losing any trace of humor, Josh looked around before saying in a loud voice, "Well, how would everyone like to hear that this slut here bribed me to go out with her?"

There was only so much Ash could do to hold me back this time. Stepping out from under his grasp, I shouted, "That's not true!"

Heads turned my way, but the only one I really cared about was Josh's. Sneering, he shot back, "I think I know the details of my relationships better than you do."

"I think I know my best friend better than you do," I returned, striding toward him carelessly. The sound of footsteps behind me told me I was flanked by Ash and Dave.

Josh looked around as if he were being pranked. Then he let out another laugh. At me, at Britt, at anyone. But he seemed to find Dave and Ash the most humorous. In disbelief, he wondered aloud, "Did you guys become this geek's slaves or something? Go screw yourselves!"

"You are such a jerk!" Britt hissed from his side. "I can't believe I ever saw anything in you." Josh sent her a cool look, the laugh no longer on his lips. "They're people, Josh. We're people," she told him, gesturing to the whole cafeteria.

"They are people," he said, following her gesture. "But you four—" He pointed to us. "—you're not people. You're just a bunch of clowns."

A few people in the cafeteria hooted, but a girl two tables down snapped, "Shut up!" A few others nodded their heads in agreement.

That only goaded Josh further, and he spit out another sarcastic laugh. "My friends treat me like trash and this is how you react?" He addressed the whole room. "Where's your loyalty?"

I could hardly believe him. Loyalty? How was this a matter of loyalty? This was a matter of putting a lying cheater in his place—screw loyalty. "Where's yours?" I asked him in turn.

Josh trained his gaze straight on me and smiled. "Why should I be loyal to back-stabbers?" I opened my mouth to reply, but he beat me to it, "You know, I was going to give you the benefit of a doubt, Eilerts, but now I see that you're nothing but a liar. How about you quit spreading lies and accept the truth?"

���What truth?" I scoffed. As if he could talk to me about truth.

"I already told you!" Josh exclaimed, amusement gleaming in his eyes. "Your best friend bribed me to date her! You know why? Because she's a little—"

Dave lunged forward and grabbed Josh by the collar before he could even finish. "You two-faced son of a—"

"Dave!" Ash and I both leapt forward, but Dave had already punched Josh in his maddeningly perfect face. Dave wasn't playing games—his punch sent Josh spinning a full circle and crashing into a congregation of chairs.

A few startled cries rang throughout the cafeteria as Josh crashed into some poor kid's lunch tray. His torso covered in sloppy joe mix, Josh flailed his arms around to grab hold of something stable, but Dave had already seized him again. Pulling him to his feet, Dave stuck his face close to Josh's and spit through gritted teeth, "I always knew you couldn't fight."

Josh was practically seething, and when he opened his mouth to speak, blood trailed from his nose to his teeth. He snarled a few curses at Dave before growling, "Is that whore really worth it? Is she really worth our friendship?"

I bristled, my gaze shifting to where Britt was standing. She appeared to be frozen in place, her eyes wide with horror. She'd wanted him to pay, but I wasn't sure this was what she'd imagined. My heart hurt for her, but it also hurt for Ash and Dave. Had they really just lost their best friend of four years?

Dave answered my question a second later. His knuckles white from clenching Josh's collar, he shouted in Josh's face, "You were never a friend! Someone who acts like this is no friend of mine! You can't treat everyone like garbage and get away with it!"

Josh's eyes took on a delirious glint as he choked out a laugh. "And what about him?" he said, staring past Dave at Ash. "Isn't he a douchebag just like me?"

For once, Ash did nothing. He just stood there, meeting Josh's gaze steadily. For a second, his calm surprised me, but I realized as my eyes ran over his face that he was doing exactly what would drive Josh mad. For once, he was not the one using his fists.

"No." I heard Dave's voice again, and my head snapped in his direction. He was still holding Josh in his tight grasp, but he appeared to have calmed somewhat. Now he was fueling most of his anger into his ragged breaths. "Ash is nothing like you," he hissed at him.

A month ago, I wouldn't have believed him, but now everything had become clear. Ash was nothing like Joshua Presley.

Maybe that would explain why he made his next move. "Dave," Ash said, taking everyone by surprise. "Let him go." My eyes widened, as did Dave's.

What was Ash doing? Was he siding with Josh? I wanted to trust him, but his request was still questionable—not that punching Josh was any less questionable. Dave hesitated but let go nonetheless.

Josh smirked the second he was released. For a moment, I was sure that Dave would punch him again just for his smug expression, but Ash had other plans in mind. He walked over to Dave and, grasping his friend's hand, he covered it with his white T-shirt. I took me a moment before I realized what he was doing. He was cleaning Dave's hand.

Josh could hardly believe the spectacle before him. After staring for a moment, he let out a short laugh and looked around the room. "See? Just a bunch of sissies."

He wasn't the only one who could play this game.

Ashton laughed as well, looking completely at ease. Then he dropped Dave's now clean hand and stepped right in front of Josh. Staring him straight in the eye, he said mockingly, "Who's the one with the bloody nose?"

I almost did a double take. I thought he was—

My thought train came to an abrupt halt when Josh tried his own fist. I more saw Ashton's head reel back than I actually saw the punch, but the result was equally shocking.

"Ash!" His name on my lips, I jumped toward him to catch some of his weight. His head fell against my shoulder for a second, and then he was pulling himself up again. He didn't look at Josh. Instead, he met my eyes frantically and whispered, "Get out of here, Maine!"

Ash didn't wait for me to catch up to his words. Instead, he reached out and pushed me away just as an irate voice boomed across the cafeteria.

"Presley and Savvonski! Get out of my cafeteria! This instant!" Mr. Hardy had arrived. He was late, but he was angry—and he was far past putting up with school brawls.

Josh was irate when he realized just what Ashton had done. He had gotten himself punched just so that Josh would get in trouble. Dave didn't look ecstatic about the situation either, for Ashton had become the scapegoat by wiping Josh's blood on his shirt. But he wasn't about to dishonor Ash's sacrifice, so he stood back and said nothing, a pained expression on his face the whole time.

Britt stood beside Dave, her own displeasure showing. I wasn't sure what my face looked like, but I felt certain it was not a pretty sight. My insides were churning enough to stir a storm onto my face. It only worsened when Mr. Hardy began leading the boys away.

Ashton kept his face straight and followed the principal willingly, but Josh wasn't finished. He turned to look at us one more time, but his gaze really only reached me. And I was the one he glared at devilishly while mouthing the words, "You did this."