Letterman Jacket

19.5 / forty days before

The rest of the day passed without incident, but walking amongst the people whispering in my presence brought an undeniable anger in me—knowing that these were possibly the same students who had the nerve to kick me down with words and threats. For the sake of my own sanity, I did my best to control my temper.

In the middle of history class in the afternoon, my phone buzzed with a text from Theo. are you alright?

He'd heard about what happened. I typed a response under the table. I'm okay, thanks for checking up. sutton promised they're bringing the issue to the principal.

When I didn't immediately receive a reply, an anxious feeling crept up on me. I knew how Theo got when his anger got the best of him. I sent another text. please don't tell me you're thinking of doing something. you'll get in trouble so stay out of it.

they said they'd hurt you.

I swallowed hard. I'm fine.

i just want their names. give me sutton's number or i'll find her myself.

I shut my eyes. I loved Theo. I really did, and I knew he loved me too. I just didn't know how much until now. theo, please. don't get involved. leave it to the principal. if you get in trouble...listen to me for once, theo, please.

My brother's response was instant. i'm not going to hurt them. i promise.

I wasn't sure if I believed him, so I left our conversation at that, and wrote a message to Sutton. She promised she wouldn't give Theo the names until she'd assured my brother that their punishment from the principal would be enough.

To say the least, I was emotionally exhausted by the time biology rolled around. It must've shown on my face because Nico left me alone and kept quiet as we worked on our lab sheets.

Once I was done, my handwriting barely illegible with how lazy I wrote the answers, I placed my head against my forearms and closed my eyes while Mr. Finch waited for everyone else to finish. My mind shut down as I rested.

A sharp movement and the sound of a scraping chair jolted me awake. The green-eyed boy had his arm raised, fingers gripping the wrist of a familiar-looking girl who stood close to me with wide eyes. Nico's features were drawn together in irritation. "Do you usually bother people who are sleeping?" he asked through gritted teeth. "Leave."

"No," I muttered tiredly, rubbing my eyes. "It's fine." It was only then I'd realized that class was over and the other students had left. It was just Nico, the girl, and I.

Begrudgingly, Nico released her wrist and turned away.

"Sorry," the girl said timidly, not sounding very sorry at all as she brushed a stray strand of dark hair away from her face. The lines of her jaw were uneven, eyes too big, and there were freckles dotted across her cheeks. "Class was dismissed and I wanted to talk to you alone."

I raised an eyebrow. "Okay...what about?"

"Say it here," Nico grumbled in a low tone.

Big eyes seemed afraid of Nico by the way she flinched a bit. I wanted to laugh. "Okay...listen, I was the girl who won Dispatch last Friday."

I was speechless for a second until I remembered I needed to respond. "Oh," I mumbled, knowing now why she looked familiar. "Right. Hi."

"I just wanted to say that I'm really glad Faust said yes," she said with a grin. "I wanted to know how it felt like to kiss him for ages—and oh God, you're so lucky—well, not so lucky now, though? Don't worry, we can share him if that's what you're wondering—"

My lab partner stood abruptly, scaring both me and the girl. Nico towered over her with his height and broadness as he stepped closer. Though I couldn't see his face, it was as if I knew his green eyes were blazing. "I'm giving you three seconds to fuck off."

"O-or what?" she stuttered, backing up a few steps as she raised her chin.

"Look." I stood and wrapped my fingers around Nico's forearm to pull him back a little. He stumbled a bit with his steps and tensed under my hold as if my touch burned. "Faust isn't a toy we're going to 'share'. You kissed him during the game, and that's fine, but what's not fine is the fact that you're assuming how things are going to go from here just because you won the pathetic game and earned Faust's attention for a second. You've got three seconds to fuck off."

Big eyes scurried away with her tail tucked between her legs.

Nico cleared his throat. I looked up at him and noticed the tips of his ears turning pink. His eyes strayed from my own, and I figured he was probably embarrassed with the way I handled the situation. I grimaced. "Too much?"

He cleared his throat again and tugged his arm, the one I just now realized I was still gripping. "Let go," he mumbled.

"Oh." I did. Immediately. My nails had left crescent marks on his skin. "Sorry. I didn't realize I was still...yeah. Sorry."

Nico ran a hand through his hair and looked away. "No, not too much," he said, answering my question.

"Thanks," I muttered, fiddling with my fingers. "Thanks for passing my lab sheet too. And for not waking me up."

He grunted in response.

The silence of the empty classroom was getting louder as each second passed. I swallowed hard and jerked a thumb towards the door. "Well, if that's all then—"

"How are you...ah, holding up?"

My cheeks flamed. "It was a rough day."

He nodded. "If Faust were here—"

"But he isn't," I interjected, gaze meeting his. "He's sick."

Nico's eyes questioned me as he tilted his head. "Is that what he told you?"

My eyebrows rose. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," he snapped, jaw clenching. "All I'm saying is that if Faust were here, he'd have gone to extreme measures to make sure those fuckers who threatened you would never be able to look at you again. I'd do it for him if I didn't know you wouldn't want to tell him, even though he'll find out in a couple of hours anyway."

I stared at Nico. "How do you know that I wouldn't want to tell him?"

"You're not that kind of girl," he drawled lazily, a corner of his mouth pulling up to a half-smile.

"And what kind of girl am I, Nico Romero?"

"In...Faust's eyes? One that's worth everything."