Destined... | Anthony 'Ant' Vaugn

006 Dicks and Sex

TW mentions of throwing up **

Estsway  

I drove to school with Spider, Dusty, and Ant, the familiar banter filling the car and mixing with the upbeat music blasting from the speakers. The morning felt monotonous, dragging through Modern History and Biology, where the teachers droned on about topics that seemed irrelevant to our lives. Each tick of the clock was a reminder of the ticking seconds wasted on dry lectures. But now, at last, it was lunchtime, and the energy was buzzing.

As I walked alongside Malakai and Ant, the three of us ambled through the oval, the sun casting warm rays on our faces, making the grass glisten with dew. I took a moment to soak it all in, gazing around at the bustling students. The laughter, the conversations, and the sounds of sneakers scuffing the ground filled the air. Suddenly, my eyes landed on something strange that made me stop in my tracks.

"Oh god, look it," I said, pointing toward Amerie, who was surrounded by a group of students, laughing a little too loudly and gesticulating wildly. She looked like she was trying too hard to fit in, her usually bright smile replaced with an exaggerated grin. "Is she in the Ha Ha club?"

"Man, map bitch has really cracked it," Ant remarked, shaking his head, a mix of disbelief and concern in his tone. Malakai let out a sigh of frustration, clearly annoyed with Amerie's antics, and started to walk away, not wanting to deal with whatever was happening.

"God, it's depressing," I said, frowning. "But she did it to herself." My heart sank a little as I watched her, realising how far she had strayed from the person I used to know."Oi, so you coming over tonight to play video games with Spider?" I ask, trying to steer the conversation in a lighter direction.

"Yeah, I think so, I can teach you how to play so we can do 2v2 against Dusty. You're obviously on my team," Ant said, feeling a genuine smile tug at my lips as I thought about the friendly competition.

"Yes! That'd be good, really good," I replied, excitement bubbling up inside me, the thought of spending time with Ant and the others lifting my spirits.

Just then, I noticed Darren and Quinni casting furtive glances at Amerie. A thought crossed my mind—maybe they knew why she was acting so strange. "Um, I gotta go," I said, glancing back at Ant and Malakai.

"Hey, where you going, Angel?" Ant asked, reaching out to pull me back gently with a playful smile.

"I'm just gonna talk to Quinni and Darren. See you later, aye?" I replied, returning his smile. He nodded, wrapping his arms around me in a quick hug, his warmth lingering on my skin. I pulled away, blowing him a kiss, and he responded with a goofy pout, making me laugh as I walked away.

"Hey, guys!" I called out as I approached Quinni and Darren. Darren immediately pulled me into a warm embrace, their familiar scent of cologne and laundry detergent wrapping around me like a comforting blanket. Quinni waved at me, her smile bright and welcoming.

"Hey Lina, how are you?" Darren asked, their voice filled with genuine concern.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just a bit worried about Amerie. Is she okay?" I asked, glancing back at her. "She looks like she's completely lost the plot."

"Yeah, no, she's fine. Just trying to get her mind off sex, you know? With the whole Dusty thing and how she's been in love with him for like five years. Then she found out that Dusty and her ex-bestie Harper hooked up, and he wrote a song about Harper. She ended up yelling at Harper, and now she realises she needs to stop thinking about sex and dicks," Quinni explained rambling, shaking her head, a knowing smile on her lips.