Dont F*ck With Me

Chapter One: Cassie

"God, do you ever eat anything besides that stupid apple?"

I had never actually heard nails scratch a chalkboard before, but I'd bet every penny I owned that they sounded just like Liza's voice from across the lunch table.

"God, Liza, do you ever actually shut up?" I rolled my eyes at her as I set my fork down, "I mean, holy fuck, how does one person genuinely think they have that much to say? Take a damn breath already."

Liza's face blushed red and the whole table fell quiet for a moment. After approximately ten very awkward seconds had passed to let Liza wallow in her embarrassment, I switched topics.

"Anyways, I heard that perhaps somebody got up to some fun this weekend?" I threw a very obvious side glance at Gen and she took off on some story time about whatever God-awful adventure she'd had yesterday.

To be very fair, normally, I'd be listening to her, but right now I was more preoccupied with making sure Chloe was okay. To everyone else, she probably looked fine, and I was proud of her for that, but I knew how much those comments could get to her sometimes. Food was always something she'd struggled with and, while we'd always managed to pass off her "apple a day" for lunch as a trend, I knew she worried that someone would catch on one day, that her cover would slip.

Fuck, I hated Liza. I couldn't pretend I didn't know why we hung out with her though, as shitty as it was having to listen to her speak, it was absolutely better than whatever petty hell she'd raise if we dropped her.

I sent a side-eyed glance to Chloe, the kind that I knew only my best friend would be able to decipher, and she shot me her typical rehearsed smile back, the one we'd nicknamed the "pretty-princess" smile back in freshman year. Damn it, that wasn't good.

"Shit, I have a couple of books I need to return before the bell rings." I announced to the table, "But you" I send a pointed look at Gen who'd still been telling her story, "are definitely finishing this story for me in English today. I'm far too invested to miss out on the end at this point."

Gen smiled at me, reassuring me that she would as I stood up, grabbing my backpack from the table and slinging it onto my shoulder.

"Come with me?" I shot Chloe a mock begging face and the table giggled as I offered my hand out the way the love interest always did in those trashy "Breakfast at Tiffany's" era movies.

"Who me?" Chloe dropped her jaw in a Marilyn Monroe impression that the table absolutely ate up, "Why, I'd be honored." She took my hand, gliding to her feet in a way that was a little too realistic to be ironic anymore, and we took off for the library.

The second we'd left the view of the table for the empty hallway to the library, I dropped my regular act. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She must've been able to see it on my face that I didn't believe her, "Seriously Cas, I'm fine. I promise!"

I held my gaze on her face, searching for a sign she was lying to me, but I couldn't find one.

"Fine." I sighed, rolling my eyes, "Might as well actually go to the library then. Oh shit, wait."

I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the bathroom in the hall, ducking down to check the bottom of the stalls once we got in there.

"Did you...?" She didn't finish the question since I hadn't finished checking the stalls yet, but I nodded as I began kicking each of the stall doors in just to double check (Yes, I could push them with my hands but it's a public high school bathroom and that's disgusting). Once I confirmed the bathroom was empty, I pulled off my backpack, balancing it on the edge of the sink as I dug through for the paper I was looking for.

"Here. I couldn't figure out number 7 so what's there for that one is just my best guess. Maybe you'll get some partial credit, I don't know."

"Dear God, I love you." She grabbed the paper from my hand.

I laughed, jokingly flipping my hair over my shoulder, "I know, whatever would you do without me?"

She laughed too, ducking into one of the stalls to start memorizing the work on the page as I dropped my backpack to the floor and pretended to fix my hair in the mirror so I could keep watch.

It wasn't that Chloe was dumb, far from it actually, it's just that I happened to be a lot smarter, so I helped her out. Honestly, the hardest part was the first couple weeks when you had to figure out when the teacher's made the tests and where they stored them afterwards. The rest was just a matter of grabbing a copy and filling it out. Of course, it did mean that we never took math classes together. Classes with multiple choice tests were fine to take together, and honestly sometimes we wouldn't even bother doing all the extra work if we sat near enough to each other, but math classes would've been too obvious. It's why she's in regular calc this year instead of AP seeing as there's only one section of it. I did feel kind of bad about that, but I made it up to her by writing her college aps, so I think we're probably even.

The bathroom door opened, and some random sophomore walked in, Anna maybe? I don't know.

The second she saw me her eyes went wide. I smiled at her, warmly this time which was different for me, "You don't have to look so scared. I promise I don't bite." I paused for a second before widening my smile like we were sharing a joke, 'Well, not first, anyways."

She laughed, clearly more relaxed now as she walked into one of the open stalls.

God, people are so predictable.