Nico Vaughan, the junior class "Nice Girl" wants to be free from her abusive and obsessive ex-boyfriend.
Valen Henford, the school's resident "Rich Guy meets Bad Boy" wants to spend his senior year with the girl he's been in love with for years.
W...
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"I may never find words beautiful enough to describe all that you mean to me, but I will spend the rest of my life searching for them." (John Mark Green).
|◁ II ▷|
Rachel has her phone out, and West is still gone. Nico is talking to me about her newest obsession song. That leaves Amber and Rikkard to interact.
Not that I'm not listening to Nico, but I am curious.
Rikkard seems to be making some effort, and I hope it's just to see if he should try to move on or not. I really like Nico, but her best friend isn't the best person for mine.
"So, how's your day going?" Rikkard asks.
Nico quiets down beside me, her fingers messing with the bracelet that's on my wrist. Our arms are still positioned beside each other on the table.
"Good," Amber responds, fiddling with one of her lunch containers.
"Well, that's good," Rikkard responds.
"Yep."
The lunch bell rings, and I stand up, patting Rikkard on the back. "Rikkard..."
He stands up, too, his voice quiet. "I know. I'm done. I can make myself stop... I just need time. And distance. I'll be okay."
Nico takes my arm as we walk out of the cafeteria. "Hey, why don't I meet you in English?"
I give her arm a slight squeeze, and she heads off to English. I can't help but miss her hand on my arm. I love that she does that, even if she also does that to her friends and her brother.
Rikkard and I walk the opposite direction, towards his class. With all the people around us, moving and giving dirty looks, we stay quiet. We find a quiet spot near his classroom. The small area is the size of a smaller classroom, but it's filled with lockers and cubbies.
"It's hopeless," Rikkard starts. "You were right."
"I never said it was hopeless," I utter slowly. "But she doesn't seem in to you. You deserve a girl that likes you for you—a girl that will treat you with respect. Amber isn't going to do that for you, especially not when she's still infatuated with West."
"I swear," Rikkard shakes his head, a meager smile on his lips. "You're a hopeless romantic."
"Poetic bastard," I remind him.
A freshman guy walks in with a freshman girl, both giggling until they see us. The guy mutters an apology and takes the girl's hand, leading her out of the room.
