Fate

Chapter Sixty-One

Chapter Sixty-One

I'd never been one to speak up too often but right now my mind was pushing for me to do whatever I could to help the two boys in front of me when they didn't want to help themselves. Letting them get into trouble and get into fights with each other was something I could not handle.

"It was me, sir," I uttered and everyone turned to look at me.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"I am the reason they got into a fight."

"Ariel-

I silenced Zayn by continuing.

"They came to Kaylin's house to visit me, both of them while mom was there too. They were both trying to help me and I asked them to leave. The two of them have been so worried about me I think it's made them upset. Since they've been on edge I think that caused the fight."

"That shouldn't be fighting regardless Ariel and you didn't make either of them fight," Eric frowned.

"What made them almost fight was off school grounds though right? It was an argument and it never actually came to blows. So you couldn't punish them for it right?"

"It's true it didn't happen but we'd like to ensure it doesn't. Obviously, these two are not going to learn a lesson if I keep giving them chance after chance. Special treatment will not be tolerated here. You should both know that."

"We do sir," Miles frowned.

Zayn started to open his mouth and I spoke.

"I'm sorry it was my fault. Just don't punish them."

His mouth was pressed in a thin line as he turned from me to his dad. Eric looked between the three of us for a moment and he appeared to be deciding something. I looked down at the ground rubbing my wrist. The air in the room was almost completely nonexistent. I was aware of Eric in front of me, Miles beside me, and Zayn behind me again. Talk about pressure.

"Ariel you may go back to class now. Thank you for your time," he said finally.

I nodded standing to my feet and headed for the door eager to leave the room. Then I turned back once I reached the door. "Can Zayn come back with me? I mean he's in class there too."

Why had I done that? Especially in front of Miles. He was looking at me now concern in his eyes. Actually, they were all looking at me and I was embarrassed. Leave it to me to say something stupid to have everyone looking at me strangely. Eric shifted in his set.

"Go on ahead. He'll be back shortly," he promised me.

"Okay," I said quietly finally leaving the room.

It felt almost worse now to be heading back to class without Zayn. Or for that matter knowing Miles wasn't heading back to class either. Right now I wanted to talk to both of them about everything that had happened. Whether it was actually about me or not. I hated being worried about them and not knowing what was going on. I just hoped Zayn would hold his tongue for once.

Had Melinda known something about this when she'd confronted me this morning to taunt me? Something told me she didn't but I couldn't be sure. She wasn't exactly angry like she would have been if she'd known right? When I reentered math Mrs. Hollowell was looking at me alone with all the students. I took my seat and gave Liam and Maggie a look promising to tell them everything after class. I wasn't really looking forward to that either. My thoughts drifted to Alec.

This morning he'd barely even spared me a glance and hadn't spoken to me. Not that I'd spoken to him either but still. Usually, he made a point of speaking to me to at least say hi. Perhaps he felt guilty about all that happened or he thougth I was a problem child. Or at least a child with a problem. That was a relatable concept if I'd ever heard one. Mrs. Hollowell assigned us a load of homework and I wondered if it was her way to get at me. About that time Zayn strode in unbothered.