"Hey, [Y/N]," Theo Raeken, your lab partner, came up to you while you were piling books by the ton into your locker. He kissed your cheek sweetly, and you smiled in response as you closed your locker shut tight.
"Hey, Theo!" You exclaimed excitedly. He was one of your closest friends since he had arrived in Beacon Hills, despite what others thought of him. You didn't like to include yourself in such drama, so you busied yourself by making new friends each day. "Did you finish the lab worksheet?"
"Yeah," he nodded, and he began to walk you down the hallway towards your next class, "I couldn't have done it without you, though. I'm so lucky to have you as a lab partner."
"Aw, thanks," You smacked his shoulder playfully. Mockingly, you placed a hand over your heart, pretending to look completely in shock at his words, "Is Theo Raeken actually being nice to me? Wow, I must be one lucky girl."
He laughed along with you, shaking his head slightly, "Pretty sure you're the only person I'm nice to. And I know a lot of people."
You giggled again before you caught sight of your English classroom right in front of you, and because the two of you were close, you playfully kissed Theo on the cheek and said your goodbyes before racing inside your English class. Hopefully, you weren't as late as you were yesterday. You slid into your seat beside another close friend of yours, Jackson Whittemore. Today, he had a stone-cold expression on his face as he ignored all eye contact from you. Sighing softly, you focused on the chalkboard in front of you instead of worrying about him. Meanwhile, the boy couldn't help but steal glances from you, although he was in a particularly angry mood.
Thankfully, the period ran by quickly, and you were soon flying out the door, but not before Jackson could latch his hand onto your arm. You whipped around almost immediately, the boy now so close to you that you could smell his leftover cologne. Gulping down your anxiety, you spoke nervously, "Jackson, what's wrong?"
Instead of replying to you, he tightened his grip on your hand, nearly dragging you out towards the emptying hallway. You two rounded a corner before he finally let go of your wrist. "I need to talk to you," Jackson spoke sternly.
"Yeah, no kidding," you scoffed, "I didn't think you dragged me out here to make gingerbread cookies."
"Listen, [Y/N], you need to stay away from Theo. He's dangerous," Jackson spoke nervously, fidgeting with his thumbs before readjusting his backpack higher up on his shoulder. His words took you by surprise, and you raised your eyebrows before replying.
"Excuse me? You don't tell me who to hang out with, Jackson," Your blood began to boil. Jackson's anger began to kick in as a well, and you knew that now there was no point in fighting back.
"Theo Raeken is a lying asshole! All he'll ever do to you is hurt you," He continued on with his rant, and you rolled your eyes, knowing that Jackson was just being a typical asshole.
"Theo is one of my best friends, Jackson," you argued, "Why can't you just leave him alone? What has he ever done to you?"
"He's an ass, [Y/N]. You think I'm rude and mean? He's worse than me, [Y/N]. You're just too far up his ass to believe it," Jackson scowled slightly, and his words nearly felt like a slap in the face to you. You didn't know Jackson felt this much anger towards Theo - and all you wanted to know was why.
"He hasn't even done anything to you! Why do you hate him if you hardly even know him?" You crossed your arms over your chest, and suddenly, Jackson walked closer to you, causing you to step backwards and for your back to press against the cold wall.
"Just trust me. He's not good for you," Jackson whispered slightly, and you inhaled a deep breath from the proximity you two shared. "You deserve better, [Y/N]."
