Handkerchief

Chapter 5

Zayna didn't see Josh for a week. She heard from Joaquin that Mitch told him to do it.

It wasn't because Mitch asked him, she didn't care about Mitch. It was that Josh followed her. It hurt that he thought so little of their friendship.

"Cheer up, Z. Its almost your friendsiversary", Chris points out. He was right. In two days, it was the day where Josh and Zayna first met, the mark of their friendship. They both promised that they would celebrate it. She planned to give him something she thought about giving.

"You're right, C", she says and finally smiles.

"Darling, i always am",he says and she rolls her eyes at him.

The next day, her hands are practically numb from the sewing since she wasn't used to doing it. Her mother was the one who sews but now she wasn't home that much.

She goes to school with a smile on her face.

"Well, someone's in a happy mood",Chris says once he sees her.

"I finished it", she grins and shows him her gift.

"Really?",he teases

"Hey! I worked hard on that!", she says

"I know. I was just teasing you",he says,"he's going to love it"

"Speaking of him. Have you seen him?",she asks

"No. But I did see Mitch around. And where there's Mitch...", he trails off

"There's Josh", she finishes the sentence. She nods before running off to find Mitch. She saw her from a mile away...well not really. She was talking to one of her co-cheerleaders. Her blond hair tied in a tight bun. But even though Zayna saw Mitch, she was still looking for another person whom was no where in sight. Mitch waved goodbye to her fellow cheerleader and walked away. Zayna thought of following her.

What could go wrong,she thought

You could look like an absolute creep,her logical side said.

Meh, i don't really care.

And so she followed her, making sure to keep her distance so she wouldn't get noticed. It was strange because Mitch was going to the direction of school that, even after being here for four years, Zayna didn't even know existed. Finally, she stopped in front of a classroom door. Zayna ducked and hid by the lockers just as Mitch was looking if anyone was here. Once she notices that nobody would come, she opened the door and went in, quickly closing the door behind her.

Zayna left her hiding place and slowly approached the door. When she was getting near, she hesitated.

Was this worth it? Josh wasn't even here

She turned around and was about to walk away when she heard sounds of talking. She quickly glanced at the tiny window in the middle of the door. Mitch was talking to a guy, he looked older than her, probably a senior. Through their facial expressions,they looked like they were having a very heated conversation.

Zayna quickly ducked out of the way when Mitch was about to walk out towards the door. However, after a long time with still no one opening the door, Zayna risked it and peeked again. Her eyes almost bulging at the sight.

Mitch and the senior were in a very heated scene, but instead of talking they were sucking each other's faces of. She was making out with someone who wasn't Josh.

Anger pulsed through Zayna's veins but she reassured herself to stay calm. She had to tell Josh, even if it did break his heart. She couldn't afford to make him look stupid and be played. But she knew he wouldn't believe her if she didn't have proof. She quickly snapped a picture with her phone. She bolted away from there and quickly dialed Josh's number.

'Hello?'

'Josh? Where are you?'

'I'm at the school entrance. I was about to go home. Why?'

'Stay right there. I'm coming to you'

'But-'

She quickly ended the call and ran towards the school entrance. She spotted Josh leaning on the gate, the guard not even giving him a single glance.

"Josh!",she calls

Josh follows her voice and spots her. He walks towards her with a smile that Zayna felt a pang at her heart for what she was about to do.

I'm sorry if this breaks your heart, Josh

"Hey, whats up?",he asks

"I...",for some reason, all the courage she had to tell him suddenly vanished away and she suddenly couldn't speak.

"Hey, babe", she hears a high pitched voice. Mitch appears, her lipstick a little smudged, as she latches on to Josh and immediately kisses his face.

"Hey, babe", he says once she breaks away from the kiss. Suddenly, anger boils inside of Zayna.

"You seriously have the nerve to do that when you practically made out with a senior", she says. She noticed the shock and panic Mitch's eyes but she masks it.

"Zayna, what are you talking about?",Josh asks

"I saw her kissing with a senior in one of the rooms before she went here",she says and glares at Mitch.

Mitch looks at Josh and makes puppy eyes.

"Babe, i don't know what she's talking about. Zayna, how could you assume that", she fake cries on Josh's arm.

Zayna was about to take out her phone and show the picture when Josh speaks up.

"Zayna, thats enough!", he yells. Zayna froze. He never yelled at her before.

"Zayna, i don't know what has gotten into you but you got to stop this!",he says

A flash of hurt waved through Zayna, "You're taking her side? You're believing her over me? You didn't even asks for proof?"

Tears started to fall down Zayna's face. Josh was left speechless.

"Zayna...", he tried to say but Zayna shook her head. She threw something at him and he caught it.

"I guess friendship doesn't matter to you, Josh", she says and runs away. She didn't care if she bumped into some people, she just wanted to get away. Two hands gripped her shoulders. She tried to escape.

"Hey, Z. Whats wrong?",she looked up to see Chris. A look of worry can be seen on his face. Zayna cried in his arms. Chris hugged her and brought her to his car where they could talk in private.

"Do you want to go home?", he asks and she nods her head. They drove in silence. Once he parked in the front of her house,he asks her.

"Do you need a friend?", she nods her head. They head inside. Zara wasn't home. She was probably out with friends, Zayna thought.

They sat on her bed.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Zayna took a deep breath before she told Chris everything, tears filling up her eyes once again.

"Oh, pumpkin",he says and hugs her. They spent the whole day eating ice cream and watching Netflix, never speaking about any boy drama.

Zara arrived a few hours later, joining in on comforting her sister. Once it was time for Chris to go home, Zayna accompanied him to the front door.

"Everything gonna be okay, Z" he smiles at her.

"Chris, could you do me a favor?",she asks

"Anything"

"I'm going to send you the picture. Could you show it to Josh and bring him to the location where it was taken", she asks.

Chris looks at her, " You selfless, girl. You deserve so much better than this"

She gives him a weak smile,"...so does Josh"

Chris nods and enters his car. He waves goodbye before driving away.

"C'mon,sis. We have a heck load of Netflix to watch", Zara says.

Zayna has never been more thankful for her sister and Chris.