Forever With Me

chapter 13

Song Name: Killing Me by Conan Gray

chapter 13

       I've barely reached my locker on Monday morning when I hear students standing nearby gossiping about Lyle cheating on Zali with their best friend. It just happened on Saturday, and it happened outside of school so I'm surprised people at school know about it. I hope this doesn't affect Zali too much. It's already going to be difficult for him to see Lyle and Daphne at school. Hearing people talk about it will just be even more of a constant reminder.

       I grab what I need for my first period class before I close my locker and head to the school's cafe to get a coffee and a pastry. I find Zali there so as soon as I get my order, I walk over to the table he's sitting at. He's writing in a notebook with a textbook out in front of him. He stops and looks at me. "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to sit down?"

       I hesitate before I sit beside him. "So, uh... How are you doing?"

       "With what?" Zali asks, going back to writing in his notebook.

       "You know, with the whole... cheating thing." I don't know how to tell him that I've already heard people talking about it. I don't want to make things worse for him even though I'm not the one gossiping about it.

       Zali is silent for a few moments before he says. "I'm doing fine."

       "Really?" I ask, feeling a bit of doubt because of his hesitation.

       Zali sighs. "Not really, no. I already saw Lyle and Daphne together today. They weren't doing anything affectionate but it was still hard just seeing them together. Like they don't feel any guilt for what they did."

       "Have they tried talking to you?" I ask.

       "Not yet, no," Zali says. "They probably will today. They've been texting and calling me all weekend until I blocked their numbers. Nothing they say will ever make things better, so I'm going to have to do my best to ignore them."

       "Yeah..."

       Zali looks at me, his eyebrows furrowed. "What is it?"

       "It's just..." I hesitate to tell Zali what I heard, but then I realized it would probably be better for him to hear it from me instead of just so happen to pass by someone gossiping about his break up. "I was at my locker when I heard people gossiping about Lyle cheating on you with Daphne so... People here already know about it."

       "Oh. I know."

       "You do? Did you already hear people talking about it?"

       Zali takes out his cell phone and unlocks it. He opens up an app before handing it to me. It's an Instagram post from a user called SummitViewPrepDrama. The picture is Zali and Lyle with a broken heart covering them, the crack running in between them. The caption reads Rumour Has It: SVP's favourite senior couple, Vezalius and Lyle, have split up because Lyle has cheated on him with their best friend, Daphne. Is there really no more loyalty nowadays?

       "What is this?" I ask, handing the phone back to Zali. 

       "Our school's drama page," Zali says. "It's run by students. No one knows who. They're probably the reason everyone is already talking about it."

       "That's invasive."

       Zali shrugs. "People would have found out about it sooner rather than later when they see me avoiding Lyle and Daphne, especially if they choose to go public with their relationship. The comments are tearing Lyle and Daphne apart, so it's more humiliating for them than for me."