Guilty

Juliette

I'm sure everyone's eyes bulge out of their head when we see Max walk across the field to meet up with his friends. 

I know I choke on the chicken I was eating. He looks like a walking corpse. His lip is busted and both his eyes are black and swollen. 

"What are you staring at?" Zane asks, looking up from his computer. 

I point to Max, I'm sure out of the corner of my eye I see Zane smile but that can't be possible. 

"Heard he got mugged outside of school," He says dryly, yeah he looks concerned about it. 

"He hasn't left campus all week," I reply, my curiosity peaking. 

"Well some rabid students are walking around," Zane says, giving me a pointed look which earns him a glare. 

"Oh add that down, mental illness is a reason people kill," I say. 

He groans extremely dramatically and says "Why can't we do something interesting like...how sex impacts the brain?" 

"I suppose we'd use you as a case study." 

"I suppose we'd use you too," Zane fires back. 

I hate how quickly he always manages to find a comeback to everything I say. It's an impressive yet unbelievably annoying skill he possesses. 

"Just write it down okay!" I say annoyed, and a little embarrassed. 

He is somewhat right, I haven't done anything sexual in a year and I haven't even had sex since I was nineteen.

Though I'd rather slam my head into an oven than ever admit to Zane he's right, about anything. Especially my sex life. 

We glare at each other in silence when a shadow suddenly falls over my papers. I turn around and see Christine standing there like butter wouldn't melt. 

It would probably curdle in her presence. 

"What are you two doing here having lunch together? The next thing I know someone's going to tell me the earth is round, or hell is warm.." She says laughing. 

I'm glad she has a nice laugh because there's space where her brain should be. I do take some small delight in the fact Zane is staring at her his mouth open in alarm. 

"Oh, Chrissy what do we owe the pleasure of your company for?" I ask her. 

She looks down at me and snarls her lip, she reminds me of a rabid chihuahua. 

"I was wondering if Zane would let me borrow his notes for criminology class, I'm so worried I'll fail the test." She purrs at him, leaning forward and giving him full access to view her cleavage. 

I mean, if I had tits like hers I'd have them out at any given opportunity. 

"Sure, you wanna get them now?" He offers. 

"Oh no, I have a little meeting to run to, but maybe I could stop off at your dorm and...collect them?" 

The offer is crystal clear: let me suck your dick. In your room. 

"I don't let people in my dorm room," Zane replies, I glance at him interested. 

That is pretty strange, makes sense why he's always haunting the corridors belonging to the girls. 

He probably has a couple of bodies in his closet.

"Oh then come to mine?" 

"Sure," he says though he makes it sound like a chore. Maybe sex is a chore for him. 

What a beautiful problem to have. 

She waltzes off and I continue taking notes. 

"Your judgement is suffocating me," Zane says, without looking up. 

"I don't care about your sexual activity. The day I do hell might get warm." I say dryly, typing extra hard on my computer. 

I have no idea why I'm bothered but the idea of the two naked together makes me feel all hot and uncomfortable. 

"Are you jealous?" he asks. 

I scoff and shake my head, "Nauseated." 

"I was going to say, that for you to be jealous you'd have to feel something for me other than hate," Zane says softly. 

I do not like the way he's looking at me. 

"Hell will FREEZE over before that happens," I say grabbing my things and leaving. 

*****************************************************************

 "Please stay seated, the test will begin in a moment," the teacher calls out to the class after handing out our exam papers. 

I barely breathe as I glance at the clock. 

Breathe, breathe stay calm. 

I feel something jab at me from behind and I turn my head around to see Zane. 

"I forgot a pen, can you give me one?" Zane whispers behind me.

I hand him one quickly and face the front again, eyes trained on the clock. 

"It doesn't work," he whispers. 

I roll my eyes, a movement I do too often in his presence. 

"Lick it then." 

"I'm not licking your pen." He replies, outraged. 

"Fail then you fucking idiot," I whisper to him. 

"Don't cuss at me because you couldn't be bothered to stock good pens." 

"Are you-" 

"Miss Castalia and Mr Ivory do I need to send you both out to flirt in the hallway or will you shut up and start your test?" 

I turn around quickly and look down at my paper, my cheeks embarrassingly red. 

I open my paper and my heart sinks, I can't answer the first question. Or the second, or the third, or even the fourth. 

I don't understand, I studied for this test. Why can't I remember anything? 

It's like my whole mind is blank and I can't call any of the information I spent hours teaching myself to the front of my mind. 

When the bell rings, I grab my things and run out of that class. 

For the first time, I could barely answer a single question. 

"How'd you do?" Zane asks falling next to me. 

I might burst into tears in front of him and then I really will have to drop out. I ignore him with a shake of my head and I barge out of a side door.

God, Christine is going to do better than me on the damn test because she got Zane's stupid sex notes from him. 

This thought causes me to burst into tears the minute I enter my dorm room.