Lend a hand

"She… has a photo of me. A photo of me in my underwear," Regina confessed in a lower tone.

The room fell silent. They stared at each other. Regina watched him intently, trying to read something on his face: malicious amusement, genuine surprise, maybe even a spark of glee. But all she found was calm.

"Don't laugh," she warned quickly, even though Andrew had shown no intention of doing so.

"I'm not laughing," Andrew replied with a slight shrug. "But seriously? You, the self-proclaimed queen bee, falling for something so... basic," he added.

"It wasn't basic! And I don't self-proclaim myself as the queen bee!" Regina defended herself, a flash of indignation in her voice.

"Whatever… How did that picture end up in Veronica's hands?" Andrew asked.

Regina ran a hand through her hair, clearly uncomfortable. "It was a... mistake. Well, more like a trap," she admitted, averting her gaze.

"I was… chatting with Alan," Regina began, her voice dropping slightly.

"Alan, the senior wide receiver?" Andrew asked, more curious than concerned.

"Yeah, him," Regina nodded.

Andrew crossed his arms, letting his mind assess the situation. Alan was friends with Jason. But unlike his friend, Alan actually had some talent. Of course, calling it "talent" was generous, considering the level they played at.

'Talent for someone playing at Palisades School,' Andrew thought.

Their school was in the fifth division, a place where standards were intermediates. You couldn't compare a Division 1 or 2 team with a fifth-division one.

Alan was good in that context, but Andrew saw him as someone who would never be able to play at a first, second, or even third-division school.

Andrew knew the receiver was close to his limit. With Alan in his senior year, his chances of improving were minimal. He lacked the discipline and passion needed to stand out.

For someone like Andrew, whose focus, talent, and ambition were light-years ahead, Alan was just an average player.

Andrew's arrogance, though evident, wasn't baseless. After all, in his past life, he had led his team to the state championship final in the highest division of all. In this new life, his skills as a player had reached an entirely new level.

That's why he had received offers from multiple schools of the highest divisions. He could have easily transferred, but he chose to stay at Palisades.

He wanted a challenge. He wanted to prove that he could transform a fifth-division team and take it to a level no one thought possible.

Repeating the same path as in his past life would be boring, and if he managed to achieve his goal here, he would attract far more attention from college scouts and the world in general, as the feat was significantly more difficult.

"I thought Alan was really interested in me. But what I didn't know was that I was actually talking to Veronica the whole time," Regina continued, her voice laced with frustration and embarrassment.

"You seriously didn't realize? Alan isn't exactly the most poetic guy," Andrew said, looking at her in disbelief. The manipulative queen bee, so blind… for love?

Regina huffed, visibly annoyed. "I know! You don't have to rub it in. Veronica knew exactly what to say. She pretended to be him, and I fell for it. And now she has that photo of me."

'Blackmailing someone with an intimate photo… You really hit a new low, Veronica,' Andrew thought.

"What does she want in return?" Andrew asked.

"That bitch wants my position as cheer captain and for me to be her subordinate," Regina replied, her brows furrowed, filled with anger toward Veronica.

"Will you help me?" Regina asked.

"And you expect me to believe all this just because you say so? You're as manipulative as Veronica—if not more," Andrew said.

The story sounded believable, but he preferred to stay out of these annoying affairs. He was no longer the guy who cared about sparing other people's feelings.

"I'm not making anything up! It's the truth," Regina said, offended.

Andrew raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Then prove it. Show me the conversation."

Regina's face turned red immediately, something completely unusual for someone like her.

"What?! No way I'm showing you the photo! Are you some kind of pervert or what? I'm not letting you enjoy that!" she said, stepping back as if facing a predator.

'Is this how you ask for help?' Andrew thought, sighing internally.

"Then I won't believe a single word. I'm not interested in getting involved in your drama without proof," Andrew said with a shrug.

He turned around, ready to walk away, but Regina, visibly frustrated, stopped him.

"Alright, alright! I'll show you, but only so you see that I'm not lying. Don't you dare say anything or make a comment, got it?" she said as she pulled out her phone and searched for the conversation.

After a few seconds, she handed the phone to Andrew.

Andrew began scrolling through the messages, his eyes moving quickly over the text exchange between Regina and Alan—though in reality, it was Veronica using his phone.

Eventually, he reached the photo.

'She wasn't lying,' he thought.

Regina watched him intently, searching for any change in his expression—perhaps surprise, discomfort, or even lust—but to her frustration, there was nothing. Andrew's gaze remained calm and curious.

This irritated her more than she expected. "That's it? You have nothing to say?" Regina asked, both annoyed and confused.

Andrew shifted his eyes from the phone to her and handed it back with a calmness that only made her angrier. "What were you expecting? It's just a picture in a bra. It's not that big of a deal."

"Idiot! How can you be so cold? You see the most beautiful girl in school in a bra and don't react? Are you gay?" Regina asked, gripping her phone tightly. She couldn't accept that Andrew felt no attraction to her body—one of the things she prided herself on.

"Most beautiful? Pippa is prettier. And no, I'm not gay," Andrew said almost lazily, unwilling to have this conversation.

"Your life won't be ruined just because someone sees a picture like that. There are worse things," he added.

"So? Are you going to help me or not?" Regina asked, dropping the previous topic.

Andrew took a few seconds to answer. He remembered how his kindness and his need to care for others' feelings had led him to date Veronica—a mistake that had only harmed him. He had decided to stop being the "nice guy" who always put others first.

"No," he finally replied.

"What? Why not?" Regina asked.

"Karma. You're no saint, and I'm sure you've spread rumors to hurt other people. Maybe you're not as extreme as Veronica, but that doesn't change what you've done," Andrew said.

"You're just going to watch my life get ruined and let me be humiliated?! Don't you have any principles?" Regina asked, furious and shocked by his refusal.

"Do what Veronica wants, and your picture won't spread. As for losing your spot as cheer captain, you reap what you sow," Andrew said, turning on his heels and heading for the door.

Regina was left alone, motionless, with Andrew's words echoing in her mind.

Her last hope had vanished. She had thought Andrew was a good guy, that his strong principles would make him help her without hesitation.

'Was I really so naive to think someone would give me a hand?' Regina thought as her breathing became unsteady and a hollow feeling settled in her chest.

The friends she had were only there because of her popularity—she couldn't rely on them for this. She was alone.

Regina gripped her phone tightly, staring at the screen without really seeing it. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

A sob escaped her lips, breaking the silence of the empty classroom.

What terrified her the most wasn't losing her spot as cheer captain or becoming subordinate to Veronica. What truly shattered her was the thought of that photo spreading, of everyone at school seeing it.

Even if she did what Andrew suggested and gave in to Veronica's demands, she knew that witch would still spread the photo once she had secured the captain's position.

That would be the next step in solidifying her rise as the most popular girl—while branding Regina as nothing more than a pathetic slut who sent lingerie pictures.

Suddenly, the classroom door opened again.

Regina flinched, quickly lifting her head, tears still staining her face. She saw Andrew standing in the doorway, watching her with a neutral expression.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked, wiping her tears and trying to sound strong.

"I was outside, listening," Andrew replied with a sigh.

"Are you here to mock me?" Regina snapped defensively.

"Don't accuse me so quickly. I just changed my mind," Andrew said.

"What? Seriously? Why?" Regina asked, surprised, a flicker of hope returning.

"The reason is mine to keep. Now tell me, do you think the photo is only on Alan's phone?" Andrew asked.

"I suppose so. The conversation was just between his phone and mine, and I never sent it to anyone else. Why do you ask?" Regina said, confused.

Andrew let out a small huff, as if debating whether to explain something obvious or save himself the trouble.

'Well, it's 2008. Teenagers here don't back up files or store things in the cloud. Least of all Veronica, who probably only knows the basics of modern tech,' Andrew thought.

Most likely, the photo was only on Alan and Regina's phones. At most, Veronica might have sent it to herself to make sure she had a copy. Andrew needed to confirm that as well.

"We'll delete the photo from Alan's phone, and while we're at it, I'll check if Veronica sent it to herself. If she doesn't have any copies, problem solved," Andrew said as if it weren't a big deal.

"Why would you go that far?" Regina asked, narrowing her eyes at him. She wanted his help, but she hadn't expected him to go as far as getting Alan and Veronica's phones just to erase the picture.

She had assumed he would just talk to Alan—who was surely aware of the situation—and ask him to delete it. After all, as team captain, Andrew had the most influence in the locker room.

Andrew watched her for a moment before answering, his expression unchanged. "I'm just helping you get rid of the photos. Do you want my help or not?"

Regina didn't say anything at first, but after a heavy sigh, she muttered, "Fine… thanks."

"What was that? I didn't hear you," Andrew asked, feigning innocence.

Regina pressed her lips together, visibly exasperated but also feeling a small sense of relief that Andrew had actually agreed to help.

"Thanks!" she repeated louder, her tone a mix of irritation and genuine gratitude.

"Much better. I'll handle it today—wait for an update," Andrew said, turning to leave the classroom.

Just as he was about to step out, he threw out one last comment. "Oh, by the way, red looks good on you."

His tone was light and teasing—his own little revenge for the time Regina had tried to blackmail him.

Andrew didn't turn around to see her reaction, but he was sure he had caught her off guard.

Regina felt her face heat up instantly, shame washing over her. "Andrew!" she shouted, her voice a mix of anger and embarrassment.

In the photo, she had been wearing a red bra.

Andrew simply raised a hand in a careless wave as he walked away without looking back. His smirk widened when he heard her flustered yell.

Regina, still red-faced, stared at the door where Andrew had disappeared. Her heart was pounding, though she wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or something else.

'Was that… flirting?' she thought, confused.

Andrew's casual attitude threw her off, and that frustrated her more than she was willing to admit.

If Andrew knew what was going through Regina's head at that moment, he'd probably be banging his head against a wall. His intention had never been to flirt—not even close. It was just a bit of teasing, a small payback for her past blackmail attempt.

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