3 Simple Steps

SEVEN: They Took a Dictionary and Used the Most Stupid Words.

SEVEN: They Took a Dictionary and Used the Most Stupid Words.

"You were right. I was stupid," An anguished, broken voice told me.

I fought the urge to drop my pencil and throw up.

"Um, I...yeah. I mean, um..." I stuttered like crazy and looked down at my wooden desk. 

Did Joel seriously just tell me I was right? The poor boy looked at me and blinked slowly, his red-rimmed eyes so lifeless that it just killed me.

"She's a freaking...I don't even know. How could she be so heartless? I loved her so much and she threw it all away for some pretty boy who ended up dumping her after an hour."

I stumbled up and snatched a tissue from the front of the room. As usual, the class was a mess and the teacher didn't even bat an eye from her computer. Oh, how I loved math. I handed the delicate paper to Joel and watched as he just wiped his nose with the back of his hand. My heart was breaking in two and there was nothing I could do but sit there and listen.

"It's okay...I mean, if it's any help, she never really was capable of realizing what good things she had," I lied.

Really, though, Genesus couldn't care less about anything she had. She was a spoiled brat who could always just replace what she had lost. Joel nodded as if that made the most perfect amount of sense. Honestly, I was used to seeing all of Genesus' exes being so depressed over their oh-so-incapable-of-happening breakup; I found it pathetic that they were too stupid to realize she was a big Bitch who didn't care about anybody. But seeing Joel depressed over her...well that tugged on my heartstrings.

For a while Joel remained silent, looking down at his hands. "Thank you, Alexis" He breathed out at last, his stuffy nose making him sound funny.

I was taken aback, and I only blinked my tired and black-rimmed eyes at him. Last night had been Hell for me. And the night before. After dinner had gone surprisingly well, my mom had of course dropped Cas off at the Simons. I remembered his scared and desperate face.

"No. I can't stay here. I have to stay with you." He had said, practically digging his fingernails into my arm.

At first I brushed it off as that he was scared to see his "parents" for the first time...but after I fell asleep, I understood 100%. Horrible nightmares kept haunting me, making me jolt upright, my face drenched with sweat and my sheets tangled around me. My heart would race, and I sobbed because the nightmares were so real. It hadn't helped that my mom had taken me to see my grandparents the following day, so that meant I was going to be Cas-free for another night. I was paying for the nights apart more than I had thought.

"Uh, yeah...for what?" I finally mumbled to Joel, shaking away the bad thoughts.

The inconsolable brunette boy leaned his elbows on my desk and rested his chin in his hands. "For listening to me. You're the only one taking me seriously. Everyone else only laughs at me," He said, his hazel eyes glossy and red.

I could feel my heart being squeezed, and I resisted the urge to reach out and brush his choppy hair out of his face.

"Yeah. It's no big deal."

"No, it is. I think we could even be friends? I mean, to show you that I'm grateful and sorry for saying those mean things to you the other day..."

O-kayyy, maybe this was his sudden depression talking or something. I only stared at him in confusion and remained silent.

"You should sit with us at lunch," He continued, seeing my sudden discomfort. "Um, I see that you're always sitting alone..."

It took all my willpower to not jump up and kiss him. I'd been waiting for this my whole life. Being friends was a start! But then I remembered Cas. Ah, but he always ditches you, I reassured myself. He had his friends and now I was allowed to have mine. I was going to show Genesus that her breakup with Joel only made me powerful, not vise versa.