Little Miss Nosy

Chapter 36- Give Me a Break

Chapter goal: 15 votes and 5 comments.

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"Oh how the tables have turned..."

Nick stood at the end of the hallway with a smile so big you would've thought he discovered buried treasure.

He laughs as if this is some joke and looks between Bella and I. "I didn't mean to interrupt-"

"Then leave." Bella snaps from behind me. "We were in the middle of something," she says and grabs my upper arm.

"You wish," I scoff and pull away from her. The look of hurt in her eyes had me feeling a bit remorseful. But that was quick to vanish as the thought of her trying to break up my relationship resurfaced.

"What are you doing here?" I ask Nick.

He holds up an orange bathroom pass and walks towards us.

"I could be asking you two the same thing."

"I didn't-"

"I know," he says and nods his head. "I heard everything."

Nick didn't seem to be arrogant today, which is strange because I'm used to that being his everyday default mood.

"Are you gonna tell Peyton?" I ask.

Not that I would ever hide this from her. I'll tell her what happened later but when she finds out, it needs to be from me. There's no telling what she'll believe if it came from him, and especially Bella.

"No man, of course not. It's none of my business. What? I have a heart you know," he adds after seeing my confused expression.

I would expect Nick to go running straight to Peyton after what I did to him and Carmen. Even though they're two completely different circumstances.

"Excuse me," Bella says.

With Nick here I almost forgot she was standing there.

"You need to leave Ashton alone, Bella. He's with Peyton and she doesn't deserve this."

"How hypocritical of you," she retorts. "If I recall correctly, Carmen was with Trevor before you came into the picture. Did Trevor deserve it?"

He glares and takes a step towards her. "That was different. She wasn't happy with him."

"What a pathetic excuse," she scoffs. "You're no better so don't act like you are."

Nick diverts his attention to the floor, at a loss for words. As much as I hate Bella, she was right. Trevor didn't deserve what Nick and Carmen put him through. Nick is no better than Bella.

But he's on my side for now and I have to keep it that way.

"You know, this school isn't that big. I might run into Peyton next period and accidentally let this little...incident slip," she smirks.

I step forward and grab her arm more roughly than I intended.

"Don't you dare say anything to Peyton or I'll-"

Nick pulls me away and gets in between the two of us. I never break eye contact as she pouts and rubs her arm close to her chest.

"Hey, Ashton," Nick snaps in front of me. "You don't want to do anything stupid, okay? Think about Peyton."

The thought of my girlfriend brought me back to reality.

I wasn't going to let Bella ruin what we have.

"Just stay away from me," I snap and Bella inches back, seeming to finally get my point.

I push pass her and head down the hallway, sighing once I realize I'm gonna have to get a late pass.