The new girl - Elmax

Chapter 44 : Apologies

Dustin and Will were entering the school together. Since Will came out to his friend, he was feeling a bit more confident and comfortable, especially with him. And, apparently, Troy didn't tell anyone, which relieved the young boy. But seeing him at his locker stressed him. He stopped while Dustin was still walking until he turned to look at him.

- "Hey bud', what's wrong?" the curly-haired boy frowned.

Will showed him with his chin.

- "Don't worry, I'll be with you."

Will pinched his lips together and nodded. The two boys approached his locker, Dustin ready to reply with his arms crossed.

- "Um...Hi," Troy shyly said.

- "What do you want!?" Dustin sharply asked.

- "I...I wanted to apologize to you and to Will..."

The two frowned to each other before looking at Troy again.

- "I, I know I've been a real asshole with you, I've, I've insulted you and humiliated you just...to be accepted by the wrong persons. I have no excuses for what I've done and I'm sorry for taking you away your confidence and for treating you like if...you were nothing...I don't expect you to forgive me, I just wanted to apologize...um...thank you for listening..."

Troy cleared his throat one last time, more by embarrassment than by necessity, before leaving the two boys.

- "It was...weird," Dustin stated.

- "Uh...yeah, yeah, it was!" Will frowned.

A bit further, Mike and Max were arriving near them with the same confused faces.

- "Did Troy apologize to you?" Max asked.

- "Yeah! You too?" Dustin answered.

- "Yes, what happened?" Mike frowned. "I mean, why now?"

- "I think it's because of Jane," Will intervened. "Monday morning, there were sextoys on her locker, we took them off and Troy took them and went to Alban and yelled at him."

- "Really!?" Mike and Max exclaimed with the same surprised tone.

- "Yes, he seemed really mad!"

Max and Mike found nothing to answer, they just nodded. On their way to their classes, they saw Beverly and Lucas listening to Troy. Both seemed as surprised and lost as them when they heard him. When Troy had finished, the redhead and the black boy joined their friends.

- "Did Troy apologize to you?" Beverly frowned.

- "Yes," the four others answered.

- "It's...weird," Lucas said.

- "It's probably because of Jane, he likes her more than Alban," Mike told.

- "Yeah maybe...well, at least he is not a problem anymore!" Bev stated.

The group nodded, all agreeing with this. They didn't know Troy's real motivations but he seemed sincere and would probably stop bothering them. While the boys were ahead of the group, debating about a new game, Bev and Max were walking behind them, murmuring.

- "So? How was it yesterday?" Bev asked with a low voice.

- "It was great, we had a lot of fun and she was very relax," Max explained with a smile.

- "It's cool, you know what that mean? She is feeling great with you, it's a good thing."

- "Yeah, maybe, but I don't know if it will be always like that, maybe she was just in a good day."

- "(rolls her eyes) Can you stop being so pessimistic? You spent a good night, she spent a good night, that's all that matter!"

- "Yeah you're right, it was a good night."

After their morning, the party and Jane met at the lunch table with the same orange paper in their hands.

- "It's a party, you're going?" Mike asked, sitting next to Jane.

- "Nope, I don't like parties," the girl answered.

- "Really? Why?" frowned Dustin.

- "Too much people which means too much possible problems, and those people are not my friends, it would be weird if I would go to their house to dance and drink whereas I don't like them."

- "It's...a good reason," Will stated.

- "But if we go, you come?" Lucas insisted.

- "I, I don't know..."

- "It's on a Friday, you are all free," Beverly remarked.

- "Yeah, but I prefer staying at home, it's not very my thing."

- "Don't force her, if she doesn't want, she doesn't want!" Max intervened.

- "Yeah, we know, but it would be better if she would be there, that's all," Mike told. "You have one week and one day to think about it."

- "Okay!" Jane grumbled.

Jane wasn't a party girl. The only parties she went was to find some girls, but the atmosphere was a bit oppressive and if you don't drink, like her, it could become really boring. But Mike and the others didn't seem to be the kind to drink until coma, so why not, she would think about it.

- "Jane," Will called. "Did you ask Troy to apologize?"

- "Apologize?" Jane frowned. "For?"

- "For bullying us."

- "He did!?"

- "Um, yes, this morning."

- "Cool, it's a good thing, right?"

- "Yeah, of course, it was just...surprising," Lucas told. "I don't know what you did to him but he changed."

- "I don't think I have something to do with it."

- "Are you kidding!?" Mike intervened. "Since the sextoys on your locker-"

- "Sextoys!? What sextoys!?" Jane frowned.

The other members of the party killed him with their eyes while the black-haired boy was red of embarrassment and didn't know what to answer.

- "This is what was on my locker on Monday, right?"

They all nodded, embarrassed. Jane didn't say anything, she kept eating like if it was normal. She didn't seem embarrassed or anxious, just not surprised.

- "You're not mad?" Dustin asked.

- "No, ruining my books was worse, at least I didn't see the sextoys thanks to you, so...I think it's fine."

Will and Dustin smiled to each other, a bit proud of them. Thanks to them, she had less stress. On their way to their classes, Jane met Troy and decided to go to him.

- "Hey, I've heard you apologised, it's great," the girl smiled.

- "Um yeah, I did," Troy answered. "And I would like to apologize to you too, to make you feel bad about your...you know."

- "Homosexuality?" Jane said with an amused smile. "It's not a bad word, you can say it."

- "Yeah, sorry. Anyway, I hope Alban and the others will stop bothering you."

- "I hope too, but I don't think so..."

- "Yeah...me neither...but if you need anything, I'm here for you."

- "Thanks. It won't be too hard in the Football team now?"

- "Maybe, but I probably won't stay in the team," Troy told.

- "Really? Why?"

- "Because someone made me realize it wasn't something I really liked," the young boy smirked.

Jane smiled too. She remembered the conversation they had had in the bus during their school trip and was happy his friend was beginning to think about himself than what the others could think of him.