Afraid•Niccolo Genoveder Rossi •

fifteen

|Serena|

I was fucked.
And I mean I was fucked.
The moment that door clicked open I just knew it was over.
That Marco was going to lose his ever loving mind.
I didn't look too terribly innocent.
I was half standing up with Niccolo holding my chin.
And we definitely weren't far enough to make up a story.
Marco saw.
He saw it all.
The whole thing.
Fuck.

|Niccolo|

Well shit.
That's all I could think about.
Actually, I quite like the situation.
He finally knows now.
I won.
Even if there wasn't a competition.
I. Still. Won.

|Serena|

I immediately step away from Niccolo.
"Hey Marco..... How'd that test go...?"
I ask, knowing that asking didn't make me look too terribly good.

"Dunno. I just circled random answers knowing damn well I wasn't gonna get them anyhow." He answers, looking at the two of us.

Caught in the act. Very incriminating if I do say so myself.

Marco walked to the desk beside me. I saw Niccolo's jaw tighten a little. "So... Are you two finally gonna tell me what's going on or are we just gonna gaslight and gatekeep?" Marco finally says, eyeing us.

"It was nothing." Niccolo spat quickly.

"You seem to like using that phrase a lot, don't you?" Marco rebounds, crossing his arms and looking him dead in the eyes.

Niccolo's jaw tightened. "What?" He says, stepping closer to him.

"You two just stop it! This is fucking ridiculous!" I say, closing the gap between them. "If you like her then how about you tell her and not drive her fucking crazy and say it was nothing and then kiss her again! There's other ways y'know!" Marco retaliates, pulling me next to him.

"Oh yeah? Do what? Wait for her like a dog just because she's your best friend?" Niccolo shot.

Marco's face widened. "I am not in love with her if that's what you think! You stupid bastard! And piece of advice, if you want her, just tell her! Don't take her on some wild ass goose chase a d expect her to come around! You're not that irrisistable! You're an arrogant tyke and you don't respect Serena! You don't even know her! You don't know her strengths or weaknesses, or her favorite color, or what she's done! All you know is that she looks beautiful and she retaliates!"

Marco yells, stepping in front of me. "Oh yeah? Where were you that night when she was locked in that damn room? Where were you that night at the party? You don't know what she went through!" Niccolo roars, slamming his hand down on the desk.

"You're right! I wasn't downstairs drinking with you guys! I was realizing how shitty of a friend you were! Where were you when she came sobbing out of the house and needed a ride home? You weren't the one who gave her medicine so she could sleep that night! You weren't the one who saw the girl with her shirt all ruffled and the sleeve torn! I did! I drove her home! I gave her medicine! I told her that she was enough and that horrible guy didn't know her value! You did nothing!" Marco yells, a vein showing in his neck.

"You don't know her at all." Marco said quietly, before sitting back down. Niccolo stood there, at a loss of words.

Marco did all of that.
Marco helped me.
Niccolo didn't.