Chapter 25: Cheer.

Chapter 25: Cheer.

"Wait up, Vee." Zachary says as he grabs my arm.

"Let go." I yell at him.

"No." He says, pulling me to his chest. I hit him hard on his chest and he flinches.

"Let go of me." I scream.

"Can't you see that I want you." He yells out of nowhere, shaking my hand as he talks.

I just stare at him in shock.

"That's the problem, Zachary. You don't want me enough to be in love with me. C'mon, who are we fooling? We were on borrowed time. Time's up." I tell him before I pry my hand out of his firm grip.

I walk to the front porch and I see Hannah sitting on the swing. I take a seat on the empty swing beside her.

We sit in silence before Hannah says "Well, this night was an epic fail."

"Tell me about it." I chuckle.

"I know things have been horrible between us, but I want my best friend back. Life has been miserable without you, Vee." She blurts out.

"I thought you were looking out for your cousin'" I say, air quoting the word cousin.

"Yeah I was, but let's just say family can be toxic sometimes." She says with a sad smile on her face.

"I'm sorry about Sasha though. That was such a dick move on Chad's part." I tell her.

"You know I'm not even mad at him." Hannah says, looking at her fingers.

"You're not?" I ask her, shocked.

"Sasha is a whore, no doubt. But we weren't together when that happened." She points out.

"I can't say the same for Zachary and I." I tell her.

"What happened?" Hannah asks.

"He hooked up with Stephanie three weeks ago." I tell her and she gasps.

"For real?" She asks me and I nod.

"Yeah and I..." I say and my voice breaks as the tears start to spill. "I know that I should just move on because it's what's best for me, but I can't." I say, sniffling.

"You can't or you won't?" Hannah asks me.

"I can't. I keep defending him in my head." I say, wiping my cheek.

"Why?" Hannah asks me in confusion.

"Because I love him. I keep trying to tell myself that I don't, but I do." I say, trailing off.

"This is so complicated." Hannah says.

"Can you give me a ride home please?" I ask her.

"Can't. Stephanie's my ride." She tells me.

"It's cool. I'll go find Ashton." I tell her as I stand up from the swing.

"Stay safe, Vee." Hannah yells as I enter the house.

COURTNEY'S POV.

"What a show." I say as I sip on my cherry cola.

"Do you always have to be a bitch, though?" Adam asks me.

I roll my eyes at him.

"Yes, because bitches get things done." I tell him, plastering a fake smile on my face.

He just looks away and I smile.

Everyone around the campfire starts to leave and I internally groan at how lame this party was. I decide to walk to my car and I start walking when I see Zachary up ahead. I walk faster until I am almost beside him.

"You don't look too good." I tell him and he stares daggers in my direction.

"Just saying." I tell him, raising my hand in fake surrender.

"Go away." He says, clenching his jaw.

"Look, you don't have to act like that around me. We're friends, aren't we?" I say as I reach out to touch him, but he stops my hand.

"Don't." He says, squeezing my hand.

"You're hurting me." I tell him and he lets go.

"Look, I'm sorry for being a bitch tonight and at every other party, but I just can't stand the sight of the two of you together." I tell him

"Well, good job because you may never see us together again." He tells me.

"What happened?" I ask him.

"Are you serious right now?" He asks before he scoffs.

I look him dead in the eye, my face devoid of any emotion.

"You. You happened. You and Stephanie have succeeded in ruining my life." He says, running his hand through his hair.

"You don't have anyone to blame but yourself. You're a shitty human being, Zach. You kept on lying to her and we had to tell her." I point out.

"I was going to tell her." He yells.

"No, you weren't. And I didn't want what happened between the two of us to happen between the two of you. I care about you, Zachary. As hard as it is to believe, I do. Hell, I loved you once. The truth is, you need to figure out what you want or you're going to lose everything. But look on the bright side, you still have a baby on the way." I say, smiling.

He just glares at me and I flash him a coy smile before I walk away.

VALARIE'S POV.

I am trying to sleep, but the constant tapping on my window is so off-putting, that I can't even close my eyes.

I get out of my bed and I look out the window and I see Zachary standing on my front porch.

Oh no.

He can't do that.

What if my mother sees him?

I rush downstairs as fast as I can and I get a glance at the clock, it's 3:14 am.

What is this boy thinking?

I walk out of the front door, silently closing the door behind me.

Zachary walks up to me and I roll my eyes at him.

"Make it quick." I tell him.

"Stephanie had the baby. It's a boy." He tells me and my heart drops.

"How is that even possible?" I ask him, in shock.

"I don't know. She called me an hour ago but I'm too scared to go." He tells me.

"Why? That's your son. You should be proud." I tell him.

"Not if you're not by my side." He says and I fold my arms.

"Why do you need me now? You didn't need me when you were hooking up with Stephanie three weeks ago. Did ya?" I ask him.

"Look Vee, I was so stupid and it happened. I'm not going to deny it, all I'm asking is that you forgive me." He begs.

"No, okay. I'm not going to be that girl that you always come back to after you're done wandering." I tell him.

"Just one more chance, Vee." He pleads.

"What difference will it make? I'm leaving this devil town anyway." I say.

"Congratulations on your baby though." I tell him before I enter my house.

***

"Hurry up, Valarie or you'll be late." I hear my father say from downstairs.

"I'm coming, Dad." I tell him.

Can he just chill?

Today is graduation day. I feel fulfilled and also accomplished, but in the back of my mind, there's this emptiness I feel. It's probably because I'm going to miss my friends.

"Maybe it's because you miss Zachary." My subconscious says.

No way.

That boy is dead to me.

"Valarie Nicole Stone for the love of God, get down here." I hear my mother yell.

"Coming mom." I yell back as I clip my silver bracelet on my wrist.

I walk down the marble steps and I almost trip when I get to the bottom.

"You better not fall. That dress cost six thousand dollars." My mother warns me.

Who even wears a fancy dress to a graduation? I know people whose dresses cost five hundred dollars and under. My mother is just a spendthrift and a big show-off.

"Oh, you look so beautiful." My mother squeals before she hugs me.

I bet.

"C'mon, it's already half past ten. We have to leave now." My father tells us and my mother and I hurry to the car.

***

"Valarie Nicole Stone." My principal says into the black microphone.

I walk up to the stage and I collect my diploma and I shake my principal's hand. I fake a smile as my mother takes a quick picture.

I scurry off the stage and walk back to my seat. Shortly, Zachary's name is called. He's the last person. He collects his diploma and then hugs the principal. He whispers something into Mr. Hatcher's ear and he nods.

Mr. Hatcher walks up to the mic and says "Zachary Henderson would like to say a few words." And I let out an uncomfortable groan. This can't be good.

Zachary taps the mic twice before he speaks.

"I know I'm not the valedictorian or anything, but I just want to say a few words." He sighs. "Barkridge High made me who I am. A bully to some." He pauses pointing at Thomas Lee, who he bullied sophomore year. "A friend to others." He says, pointing at Chad. "A quarterback." He says and his teammates cheer him on.

"A confidant to many." He says smiling, thinking of something in his head.

"What I'm trying to say is, Barkridge made me who I am. Yes, I'm a recovered drug addict, yes, I've had "daddy pay my way out" a lot of times. But I'm still loyal, I'm still dedicated and I'm still me. Barkridge helped me kill the old Zachary and gave birth to the new one. This Zachary is so much better. He is responsible and committed and learned how to love. He learned how to love football, he learned how to love his team and he learned how to love a girl with brown eyes and brown hair." He says and the crowd goes "aww".

"Maybe I'm a deadbeat, maybe I'm a waste of time, but in the end, I know that I wasted time in the overhyped halls of Barkridge High." He says and his teammates clap and cheer for him as he walks off the stage.

Who knew that Zachary could be smart?

"Not me" My subconscious quips.

"Okay class of 2020, I need you to be on your feet." Mr. Hatcher says into the microphone.

The whole graduating class stands.

"Turn your tassels from right to left." He orders.

We do as we're told.

"You are now high school graduates." He says and we all cheer as we throw our graduation caps in the air.

Everyone starts spreading out as the call for photographs is made. I walk to where my classmates are and I stand in the middle, beside Adam as I pose for our graduation photos.

Goodbye Barkridge High.