The Chemistry Test

28. memes and cuddles

Day Twelve

Normally, I wasn't one for revenge.  I hated making anyone feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable, or misjudged, or hurt.  Usually, I tried my hardest to see the best in people, look on the bright side of things, and give others the benefit of the doubt, however, this was an exception. 

Damon had cost me my best friend.  And now, he needed to pay for it. 

If he thought he could get away with publicly humiliating three of my closest friends in front of the entire student body, he had another thing coming.  Unfortunately, my measly 120 pound frame wasn't super intimidating--especially upon confronting the 6'5'' giant of a boy--which was precisely why I needed Zak's help.

Despite his polite silence for moral support over the phone yesterday,  he seemed to have understood the gravity of the situation, and he wanted to help in whatever way possible.  In the moment, I'd been such a mess that I'd spilled my guts out about my filming of the video, which is why I was meeting him before rehearsal to give him a better idea of the plan moving forward. 

The only appearance Mark had made today was showing up in homeroom, but even then he'd only stayed long enough to murmur something to Mr. Nipps and shuffle hastily out of class.  I'd tried to meet his eyes, give him an apologetic look to warrant a conversation, but he'd stormed past me and out the door without making eye contact. 

Although heart-wrenching, it was exactly what I would have expected. 

Lunchtime was painfully long without friends sitting with me, but I couldn't seem to find Gwyn or Hunter anywhere on campus, leaving me to sit in the courtyard with my grilled cheese sandwich and anxious thoughts alone. 

I had to come clean to everyone eventually, or else it'd weigh on my conscience for months.  They needed to know the truth--all of it--including throwing myself under the bus for the sake of absolute transparency. 

Once they knew Damon was behind all of this, they'd understand.  Hunter was one of the most loving and compassionate people I'd ever met.  Not to mention, he was my brother's mentor and tutor, so not only was our friendship at stake, but so was his job, and he loved Emett and I too much to let our relationships go.

As for Gwyn, it could be a little more tricky to gain her trust back.  As the girl in the scandal, she had quite a lot more riding on her reputation than Hunter.  Her dating history hadn't been the cleanest from what I'd been told, but Mark had been her shot at redeeming a more respectable girlfriend status.  Safe to say she blew it. 

I had to hope and pray they'd both come around.  I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I lost all my friends because of one stupid video. 
It's not like I could escape it after the assembly, either.  Each time I opened any sort of social media, my classmates and peers' pages were filled with posts, tags, memes, and retweets showing the footage on repeat in a never-ending eyesore of online mockery. 

I deemed it my own fault, which meant that it was my responsibility to make things right.  I was going to fix this.  I had no other choice.

In the grand scheme of things, Zak was the easiest one of the bunch to confess to, which was why I had started with him and was working my way up to the others.  He'd also been the only one who'd seen--rather, heard--me completely broken, and was there for me in my darkest moment. There was no taking that back, and at this point, I didn't want to.

Zak was leaning against a steel beam outside the theater when I came treading through the Lawn of Misplaced Flowers.  His wispy dark hair was disheveled and his bright eyes curious as he smiled up at me.