On My Own Time

Chapter 16

"He did not!" Sara yelled with a gasp.

I was grumpy and nodded and threw my book inside my locker. When Max and I got to school we walked to my locker where Charlie and Sara were waiting. Max still hadn't asked anything but Sara immediately began to ask questions once she saw my face. She didn't stop asking questions until I just gave up and told her.

"Want us to handle him?" Charlie asked, linking her arm with Max's who was caught by surprise.

"Of course I'm gonna do something about it. Your mom is like another mother to me," Max said.

Max was very upset. He didn't like Caden at all and this just made him one of his enemies. Stairs were his first one, his cousin Jenny was the second one, and now Caden was the third. Congrats Caden, it takes a lot to get on Max's enemy lists and you're in top 3. Your reward is an uppercut.

"Trust me, all I want to do is grab this book and slam it against his face. I mean, my mom has done absolutely nothing to him and he has the audacity to act this way towards her? Screw him!"

"Want to fight cause he just walked in," Charlie said, patting my arm to look.

I looked over and saw him walk in with an upset looking Victor. They began to walk our way but Caden wasn't paying attention to us. He wanted to ignore me but that just pissed me off even more. My grip on my book tightened and Max had to grab my hand before I threw it at him. Victor caught sight of it but I really didn't care at the moment about his jealousy. How could he be with Caden after witnessing what he did to my mom?

"Hey, hey," Max turned me to face him and I accidentally turned my glare to him.

He chuckled and flicked my forehead to ease my face. It worked as I playfully scowled at him and rubbed the spot he flicked. I'd have to for sure get him back later for that. Screw him too.

"Can I talk to you?"

I turned and saw Victor there, a hard look on his face that was directed towards Max. When he looked at me his face softened but he still looked upset. Max unconsciously pulled me closer to him and Charlie crossed her arms, moving to stand in front of us. I gently got out of Max's hold and gave Charlie a nod to tell her it was okay. She gave a nod in return but still stared down Victor. Max, however, was staring at Caden who was glaring right back at him. Caden was just across, leaning against the lockers probably waiting for Victor. I looked up at Victor and without saying another word he grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side where there were no students around.

"Are you okay?"

I couldn't help the sarcastic snort that escaped my lips. How could I be okay? He was there. He saw it all. Yet he's still going to ask if I am okay? Yeah Victor, I'm pretty freaking great. 

"I'm fine."

"I'm sorry-"

"Victor, you really don't need to apologize."

"I saw your look when you saw Caden with me."

I looked down and he sighed. He moved his hand in a way that looked like he was going to caress my cheek but he second guessed it and retracted his hand instead. I didn't mean to put on a look of hurt. I didn't want to be out of the closet so why was I hurt? I silently cursed myself when Victor noticed the look I had and he once again moved his hand to try and caress my cheek but I moved this time, stepping back.

"I'll see you later," I said and walked back to Max, Charlie, and Sara. 

They didn't ask questions and instead followed me as I walked to class. We said goodbye to Charlie, Max's eyes lingering a second too long for even Sara to notice. She didn't say anything though and we walked into the classroom. We were quite early so Max decided to sit in an open seat at our table as he waited for the bell to ring. 

"My cousin is moving in."

"Oh my gosh! Do you mean hot Hector? Or annoying Alexa? Or is it religious Jenny?" Sara asked.

Alexa wasn't actually annoying but Sara thought she was because Alexa was very chirpy. She knew how to make people smile when they were feeling down. I actually quite like her and love when she visits. Hector was a gym obsessed nerd. I mean it. He was a major nerd and had the glasses and everything. He was also gym obsessed though and had a good amount of abs. He was our age and Alexa was a year younger. Jenny was also our age but she went to a Christian school. She was just like Max's mother, the bible was everything in their eyes. Which again, was okay to me. Believe what you want to believe. But Jenny would repeatedly shove her religion down Max's throat as well so Max doesn't enjoy time with her and became her enemy because his mother absolutely adores Jenny.

"Hector and ew, that's my cousin Sara."

"Still hot though," she hummed and took out her notebooks.

"Yeah, well, anyways, I got the news yesterday. I got it from my mom right after you left. Apparently he came out as bisexual to his parents and they thought it would be a good idea to send him to my mom instead of church camp or something."

"Yes! He's bisexual meaning I still have a chance," Sara cheered

"When is he coming?" I asked.

"He'll be here by next week. He's coming today but the transferring won't be until next week. He's lucky that we aren't too far into the year."

"That's good. He can suffer with us for the camping trip."

Sara groaned and I couldn't stop the laugh that left my lips. Sara hated camping but we convince her to go each year. The camping trip is a fun activity that the school saves money for for any student that wants to join. We leave on a Friday morning and come back late Sunday. Not many students go but Sara, Max, and I have been going since Freshman year. It's usually a PE teacher that takes us but lately more English and history teachers have been joining. We go on hikes, have campfires, sleep in tents, swim in the lake, and there's other activities like volleyball and stuff. It was actually a lot of fun.

"Oh yeah! I completely forgot about that! We need to go get the permission slips and turn them in soon before time runs out. I'll bring one for my cousin too. Though I don't think they are out yet, I'll have to check.

"Can't we just skip this year?" Sara asked.

"No," Max and I said at the same time.

She groaned but didn't argue any further. The bell rang and Max chuckled at Sara's behavior before going to his seat. Sara tried to talk me out of going this year but I was honestly looking forward to it. This trip was going to be the best out of all of them and I was sure of it.