The Know It All.

Part 9

^Riley of coarse.

Riley's pov:

It's been about three days, which means it was time to go back to school.
I think it's safe to say that I was not excited in any way possible.
How can I be?
Everyone thinks I'm a rapist by now.
I think If I saw Rose, I would seriously punch her.
She took it beyond far this time.
Removing all these thoughts out of my head, I got off my bed and took my time getting ready.
I went with a plain black shirt and skinny jeans, keeping it simple, wanting it to scream that I don't give a fuck.
I went downstairs and said good morning to my parents, having my mom ignore me still.
I didn't know how long she was going to keep that up for, but I hated it.
I left the house and started making my way to the hellhole I call school.
Being there, just looking at it was depressing me.
I groaned and made my way through the crowd of people, ignoring the looks I was receiving already.
I knew this was going to happen. I just wish people could be subtle about it.
I made sure I kept my head low, just so my eyes won't make contact with anybody's.
Once I did eventually look up, I noticed Brandon standing at the end of the hallway talking to someone.
I had to avoid him. I didn't even want to think of how awkward it was going to be if I didn't.
Pretending like I didn't see him, I made my way to class.
It seemed like I was early as the class was half empty.
I greeted my teacher, seeing the pitiful smile she gave me in the process.
God. I don't want to know what she's thinking.
Quietly, i walked over to my seat and sat there, starting to count down the seconds the moment I did.
Corbin turned around to look at me, cracking me a smile.
I waved my hand at him. "Welcome back" he said through a chuckle.
"Thanks" I replied, wondering what he's actually thinking.
Probably just trying to be nice to me.
He was a cool person though.
The class started getting more packed with students, Aaron not included thankfully.
"So tell me, are you like an instagram model or something?" I heard him asking, with the most curiosity on his face.
I had to laugh. That was such a nice thing to assume.
I shook my head. "No" I answered, "but I do have have a lot of followers" I added, taking out my phone and showing him.
I had more than a hundred thousand. I had no idea why, but most people assumed they're fake anyway.
"Damn" he exclaimed, taking out his phone as well and following me.
"That's dope man" he said, causing me to smile thankfully.
By the minute, more students would come in and just stare at me blankly.
I knew this was going to happen.
"Fuckin rapist" I heard some kid saying as he passed by me, not bothering to keep his voice down.
I heard him clearly, which is exactly what he probably wanted.
I bit on the inside of my mouth and tried ignoring that, but I couldn't.
It sucked. Nothing I say will prove my innocence in this.
I couldn't show anyone that I was weak though, so I kept my head up high and kept a straight face.
Best I could do right now.
I saw my teacher walking my way, getting me all nervous for some reason.
"The principal needs you in his office" she told me with a brief smile, which did nothing to ease the butterflies I got in my stomach.
What could he want from me right now?
I smiled back at her, and didn't waste any time leaving my seat and the classroom.
As I was making my way to the office, I was met with Aaron, who seemed pleased to see me.
In a bad way that is.
I tried ignoring his presence and continued walking, not even glancing his way for another second.
Surprisingly, he let me go without annoying me any further.
I knocked on the principal's door, then opened it once I heard him say come in.
Looking at him, I realized just how much I hated him.
I took a deep breath in, before i went in in and took a seat.
"Good morning Riley" he spoke.
"Morning" I said dryly.
"I called you here to apologize to you, for the accusation I made having no proof what so ever" he said, shocking me to an extent.
What made him realize he was wrong from the start?
"Rose's father is the football coach here" he said, my brows shooting up curiously.
"When he heard the story from his daughter, he approached me and told me to suspend the person behind it" he went on. "No, he wanted you expelled" he corrected.
"Now I couldn't say no to him, especially after seeing Rose like that all weeping and crying", he took a second of silence.
"I have no idea why she did that, but one of her friends in the cheerleading team came up to me and told me the truth" he continued.
I was going to ask him about what the unknown girl had told him and why she had done it. Who it was, and how much I wanted to thank her already.
"She told me that during the same time Rose accused you of hurting her, they were in fact hanging out together outside of school" he explained. "so it made no sense at all".
Those words made me so happy.
The truth is finally revealed, and there is nothing else I wanted right now.
"Now, I have called your parents and gave them my proper and deepest apologies" he assured me.
"I will take care of Rose and find out the reason she is doing that".
I wanted to so badly tell him, that I knew the reason she was doing all this.
But it would sound insane, because it is in fact, insane.
"Mr. Berwin, can I ask who the girl is?" I asked, hoping he'd tell me.
"She said she wants to remain unknown, so I can't" he replied, and I understood.
Probably didn't want the drama. But whoever she is, she really helped my ass and did a god job staying away from the trouble.
"That's all I wanted to tell you. If you need anything, you can always come back and tell me" he offered, which I wanted to so happily decline.
But I didn't. I was pleased now.
"Thanks" I simply put it.
"Get back to class" he dismissed.
I got up and wasted no time leaving his office.
At this point, I didn't care what people thought.
My parents, my mom especially, believes the truth now and that's all that mattered.
It felt like a lot of weight had been lifted off my shoulder.
"Riley, hold up" I heard someone calling behind me.
I knew who it was.
I turned around, smiling once I saw him.
Brandon.
"Principal Berwin just apologized to me" I told him excitedly.
I couldn't contain my enthusiasm.
He smiled widely, almost like he was shocked.
"No way" he exclaimed.
"Yeah he said someone had told him the truth" I didn't know how to explain it to him.
I was just happy.
"That's great" we both chuckled, and before I could process what he was doing, I felt him wrapping his arms around me.
I didn't care at this point. His hug was comforting, I needed it.
He let go of me, seeming pleased by my chill reaction.
"Totally unrelated, but there's a class barbecue going on after school today" he said.
"Everyone's gonna be there, so I was wondering if you wanna go with me" he suggested, sounding questionable as he said that.
I thought about it for a second. Everyone I hate, which is the whole class, will be there.
Did I really want to go?
Ah screw it, I don't care.
I nodded. "Let's go" I said.
He smiled pleasingly. "Great, let me walk you to class" he offered, and so he did.
It wasn't awkward at all, I was actually happy we were comfortable with each other once again.
Once we had made it to class, we were met with Aaron, who was standing outside hopelessly.
I tried not to laugh in his face.
It seemed like the teacher made him go outside for god knows what reason this time.
Not surprising.
Brandon rolled his eyes once he saw him, but grinned once he noticed me looking at him.
"I'll see you later" he said, giving Aaron a dirty look before he left to his class.
There was ten minutes left of this hour.
Was it worth it going back in?
Maybe this was my chance to have one humanly chat with this guy.
He was quiet. Not saying anything to me, or Brandon who had just left us.
It was weird as hell.
"Why are you out here?" I asked, almost hesitant to do so.
He seemed pissed, which he was almost half the time.
"I said some dirty shit to her that got her triggered". He actually answered me, with no negotiation at all.
"Why do you care?" he asked, turning to look at me with a helpless look on his face.
"I was just curious" I said. I didn't want to be mean and tell him I didn't care.
He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "My dad's gonna kill me" I heard him utter under his breath.
I was speechless.
Was he possibly telling me that or just talking to himself?
I feared asking why he was saying that, because I expected it to tick him off.
Instead, it didn't.
"Why would he?" I asked, raising my brows in a curious way.
"He's a crazy bastard" he told me.
He wasn't being clear, but holy guacamole.
He's actually talking to me and almost opening up, like a normal human would.
Did I want to ask even further or was this enough?
I had no idea at this point.
"Wanna talk about it?" I asked, just in case.
Aaron had an unexplainable look on his face.
His eyes were sad, not angry and filled with hate, but sad.
He bit on his bottom lip, and I couldn't help but look.
I mean any girl, or guy would. Right?
"Do you actually care, or are you asking to spread the words?" he asked, and that question broke my heart.
I had no reason to spread words if they meant something to him, and it seemed like a huge matter.
"No, I care" I assured him.
He seemed taken aback by that, but thankfully it was enough to convince him.
"It's complicated. Principal Berwin's my dad" he said that through a scoff.
I furrowed my brows. It took me a while to register that in my brain.
The principal's son.
How the hell did I just find that out?
They are and look very similar now that I think about it.
"What's complicated about that?" I asked, trying to get an explanation out.
He made it sound like it was bad thing, but it shouldn't be.
"Everything. okay?" he sounded miserable saying that.
"It's a mess, you just won't understand" it sounded like he was trying to dismiss the subject.
"Just tell me and we'll find out" I made it seem like a challenge to get him to tell me.
I could tell how furious he was getting by the minute.
"Only if you want to" I added immediately, not wanting to push him to his edgy limits.
"He's fucking trash, that's what he is" he spoke angrily. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect myself from someone like that who I ashamedly call my dad".
I could not form any words.
What did he mean by protect himself?
How bad is his father, because he sounds really darn awful right now.
"Does he hurt you?" I asked, trying not to show the worrisome in my voice.
I wouldn't want that for anyone, especially not Aaron who I'd last expect that to happen to.
"I'll never let him touch me, or anyone that even tries" he blurted.
Right now, I feel like I'm talking to a whole new and different person.
This boy next to me, was not the same mean and emotionless boy everyone knows.
He sounded broken and lonely, like he wanted someone to vent to.
That someone being me, one of his recent targets.
"Whatever it is he's doing and continues to do, I'm sorry you have to go through it" I found myself comforting him.
I couldn't help it.
"I know you don't like me and I'm probably the last person you'll come back to when you wanna talk to someone, but either way, I'm always available".
Maybe all he needed was someone like that, someone he can share his feelings with.
Aaron looked at me with a weird look in his eye, a soft look.
One that was pulling me in dangerously.
I've never seen him look like this, and i never would've expected him to listen so carefully, but he was.
I wish he'd always be like this.
I wish this time never ends.
But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
The bell rang, dismissing the students from their classes.
Little by little, the hallways started getting more crowded with students.
Aaron coughed, trying to rid us from the quiet atmosphere.
"Let's pretend we never had this chat, please" he last told me, before he passed by and walked away from me.
He actually said please.
I knew he was going to say something like that.
Figured he hated looking weak and soft, but in these ten minutes we shared, he was different.
I don't know why I felt kind of happy knowing that I might be one of the few people that have seen this side of him.
I wish I can pretend like I wasn't a little bit attracted to him just now, and want to know more about his mysterious life.