Purée

Guarded

### Chapter: Confrontations and Revelations

The dining hall buzzed with morning activity as I sat across from Mattheo. The atmosphere was tense, and I could feel the remnants of yesterday's arguments lingering. I was still fuming when Tom made a sharp comment.

"Says you," he said with a smirk.

"That was one fucking time, one!" I snapped, pointing at him.

"Still did it," he said, casually stirring his soup.

"If you needed a bigger gob, there's someone behind you with the right proportion," I shot back, my frustration boiling over. I stood up abruptly, my chair scraping loudly against the floor as I stormed away.

"Do I even want to know what that was about?" Mattheo asked, glancing after me.

"Your brother's dick," I shot back over my shoulder.

"So no..." Mattheo lit a cigarette, clearly unfazed.

I stared out the window, watching the trees sway gently in the breeze. The tranquility outside seemed at odds with the turmoil within me. My thoughts were interrupted by Caitlin's voice.

"There you are... with her," Caitlin said with a sneer.

"Remember the tree moment?" I asked Mattheo, though he turned away.

"No, not happening," he said firmly.

"Why?" I asked, crossing my arms in defiance.

"Fuck no. When you cross your arms, you're plotting something. I'm not falling for your blackmail. Go find your brother," Mattheo said.

"He's someone I can hear the bitch from out here," I whined.

"That's never stopped you before. Go!" Mattheo urged.

"Shouldn't have told you that. Fuck's sake," I muttered, heading back inside. I needed to find Regulus instead. If he was in class, it was likely Herbology. I made my way to the Herbology greenhouse, peeking through the door. I knocked softly and waited.

A girl rushed out, looking flustered, and I walked in. "Regi," I said with a smile.

"And how did I know it was you?" he sighed.

"Because you saw me at the door. Anyway, I was outside, and Mattheo came to check on me. Then your sister showed up, wanting me to walk in on my brother. But I'd already walked in on him—no, that was someone else. Shit, I should have gone to him. Anyway, I need a new buddy partner," I explained.

"So your boyfriend's not going to be mad?" Regulus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My who? Come again, what? I don't have a boyfriend?" I replied, confused.

"Turn around," Regulus whispered.

I did as instructed and was greeted by an awkward sight. "The actual fuck, Regi, no!" I turned back to him and slapped him lightly. "Bitch!"

"You two almost got married," Mattheo cleared his throat.

"Shut the fuck up, making me lose all my buddy friends," I said, dragging Joshua along.

"I'm not your friend if we're related by blood," Joshua said, his voice flat.

"Exactly. My last hope—if you ditch me for some girl again, she'll be in a ditch," I threatened.

"Woo, so scary, getting threatened by my sister for the millionth time," Joshua said, shaking his head.

"Have you ever wondered why it's only you going to jail after saying that? Not me?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

"Should it?" he asked, confused.

"You dumbass, she's placing your DNA on the body she buried in a ditch," Tom said, slapping Joshua on the back of the head. "Three strikes and you're in jail for a couple of months. That'll be on my record too!"

Joshua began hyperventilating. I placed my hands on his shoulders, looking him dead in the eye. "Don't... fucking... ditch me," I said firmly, handing him his inhaler.

"He has little attacks; he doesn't need that?" Mattheo asked, puzzled.

"He thinks he does. If he fucks with someone's truck that's got intelligence, he'll definitely need it," I explained.

"Quit calling it that," Regulus said, holding hands with a girl. Excuse me? What?

"One-on-one," I said, smiling and dragging Regulus away. "What the fuck was that?" I demanded.

"A human of the same gender as you?" he replied, nonchalant.

"Holding hands? If you're like that with someone, you can't do that with anyone else. You're still in kindergarten, you don't know what love is!" I shouted.

"You've never felt it. Fuck, you know what it is?" he retorted.

I fell silent, my anger momentarily quelled. "Fuck you," I said, wiping away my tears as I walked past him to the others.

---

In the common room, Mattheo and Tom looked at me with curiosity.

"Was that speechless?" Tom asked.

"No, it wasn't. Dude, what the hell happened?" Joshua asked, clearly bewildered.

"We were talking about me and Angola, holding hands. She said I was in kindergarten and didn't know what love was. I said the same thing back, and she told me to fuck off, meaning it's your fault. What the hell did you do?" Regulus turned the focus on Joshua.

"I was jealous she found a boyfriend first, okay?" Joshua admitted reluctantly.

"You killed him, didn't you?" Regulus asked, his eyes narrowing.

"You what?" both Tom and I asked in shock.

"I didn't think they were madly in love. So, the idiot me killed him with my hands in front of her. She didn't talk to me for a whole year," Joshua explained.

"Holly fuck. You both lived in the same household and she ignored you for an entire year!" I said, astonished.

"Because she moved out and never spoke to me since... until a year ago when she told me she was coming here," Joshua added.

"Glad I'm not either of you right now," I said, patting their shoulders. I turned and left, feeling the weight of the situation heavy on my shoulders.

"Your getting us out of the mud," Joshua said, dragging me to her dorm.

"Fuck sake," I muttered, resigned to my fate.