Thirty-Two

"I still can't believe you actually got suspended," Buddy laughed as he drove us to school.

I shrugged and smiled, unable to help being proud of myself.

"Some girls videoed you screaming at him and sent it around the school. A lot of people are pissed at Jett. Misaki even broke up with him in front of everyone in the cafeteria," he cackled. "She was totally trying to shame him for his behavior."

"Glad to know I will now graduate a legend," I smirked, flipping my hair over my shoulder.

"Aw, come on. You knew you were going to graduate a legend no matter what. Especially now with this band of yours. People will know your name, and everyone will see just how amazing you are."

"Yeah, right. Half the girls will still hate me since we're friends. Now they're going to be pissed," I snorted. "Oh well. They can suck it."

"Ladylike as always."

I snapped my fingers. "Always, bitch."

We laughed as Buddy pulled into the Dunkin Doughnuts drive thru and bought me a mocha and him an iced caramel. "What do I owe you?"

"A beautiful smile," he teased.

"I will spill this over your head."

He may have laughed, but he knew I would. Only if he truly warranted it, though.

"How's Devon holding up?"

"Not good," I winced.

"Panic attack?"

"I mean, he's freaking out. It's bad."

"God, how bad was it?"

"He was texting me all night and ever since I woke up. If he calls me, then it'll be real fucking bad."

"At least people overheard why he punched Jett." He tsked. "I hope he shits himself when he sees Devon's back. And when Devon gives him the death glare- Ooh, it's going to be awesome."

"That's the exact opposite of what we're going for," I stated. "We don't want Devon to punch him or anyone. We're trying to get his anxiety under control so he can focus on his studies, graduate, and then go to Med School."

"Med School? Like, to be a doctor?"

"Yeah. He's still trying to decide between adult and children, but I think he's leaning more towards adult. Possibly even low-income families."

"Really?" he asked, surprised. "I never pegged him for a doctor."

"Neither did I, but when he told me, it made sense. I can see it, and I hope he makes it."

"Do you know where he's going to apply? I don't think there are any Med Schools near us."

"No, he'll probably go out of state, but I'm not that worried. He can always come back and visit, right? I can go visit him."

"And you'll have your band to deal with," he smirked. "No college for you. You're just going straight into the music scene."

"Exactly. No safety nets. I'm going to make music my full time career. Even if I have to be the drummer in a jazz band at a cigar lounge, I'll do it. I don't want to do anything with my life but music."

"And if you need to, you can always become a music teacher."

"Or give out private lessons, since I will not be waking up at four every morning for work. Not unless I have to for touring." I took a sip of my coffee. "What about you? Still planning on Drexel?"

"Yeah. I should hear from them in a month, as well as all my backup schools." He frowned as he glanced at me. "Are you going to be cool with me being out of state?"

"Of course. I'm going to miss you like crazy, but I'll visit. And you're going to come home for the holidays to see your parents. This is what it means to grow up. You part ways, but if you're good enough of friends, you'll keep in touch."

"Yeah. I plan to send you a shit ton of Mario Maker levels."

"Fuck you," I snorted.

As we pulled into the parking lot, I spotted Devon's car parked a few cars down. He must have needed to come in early due to him being gone for so long and needing to meet with his teachers and apologize for missing class or something. I wasn't sure. For all we knew, he could have already been in Buddy's English class, waiting for the class to start. I just hoped he wouldn't be hanging around with any of his old 'friends.'

"You see him?" Buddy questioned.

I shook my head. "I see his car, but not him."

"Let's go look for him. I mean, he might be hanging out with Darcy," he said as we walked to my locker.

"Or Callie."

"Callie?"

"Yeah, he joined the Clubhouse's writing group. They're-"

My coffee was slapped out of my hands, and I was pushed into the locker, the lock piercing my shoulder blade. I stared at Frankie Biggby's face, who snarled as he leaned in closer. He was there when I kicked Jett the other day. He was pissed on his friend's behalf, which I wasn't going to blame him for. But I wasn't planning on apologizing, either.

What I did plan to do was act as tough as possible and confuse him, because it would piss him off and get him to back down. Buddy may have been by my side, by with Chester Greenwald breathing down his neck, he couldn't help me out of this. Compared to Chester, Buddy was a stick.

"My coffee," I grumbled as I stared at the empty cup on the floor. "You owe Buddy two bucks."

"Shut up." He slapped his hands on both sides of me and glared, cornering me into the lockers. "Do you think it's fun to be kicked in the balls?"

"Not as much fun as it is to kick balls," I smirked. "Jett deserved it. Ask any girl with morals, and she will tell you he deserved it. Just like he deserved to be punched by Devon Quid."

"You're a cocky bitch now, aren't you?" he snickered. "Think that your boyfriend being here is going to protect you?"

"I know where I stand, he knows where he stands, and now Jett knows where he stands. I don't think you can get pissed at me for stating the truth. But I know that if you lay your hands on me again, you'll get in trouble, too."

He scoffed. "I didn't touch you."

"You just did so you could push me into the wall. Should I take off my shirt and show you the bruise?" I slapped his hands away from me and shoved him. "Now, back the fuck off. I don't care about what sort of justice you're trying to serve. Karma will get me for whatever wrong doing I did. You don't need to speed up the process. Now give me two bucks for the coffee you just dropped."

"Bitch, I am not paying you for your stupid coffee."

"Fine. Be a dick."

That may have been too far.

"What the fuck did you just call me?"

Frankie was tossed against the adjacent lockers, and I gasped as I stared at Devon. He seethed as he glared at Frankie. "What did you say to her?" he barked.

"Fuck off, man," Chester demanded, strutting up to Devon before being grabbed by him. Chester's eyes widened in fear, regretting saying anything.

I yanked at Devon's right arm, and Buddy grabbed the left. We pulled him away from the two, who stopped and stared at us. "No, let him go," Frankie demanded. "Let's have a fair fight."

"Devon," I warned. His eyes were darkening, his jaw tightening. He was going to defend my honor, but he was just going to get in more trouble. He was going to be expelled if he kept it up, and that was exactly what they wanted. They wanted the security cameras above us to catch him throwing the first punch and demand he get expelled. I wouldn't let that happen.

Standing between Devon and the jocks, and I grabbed Devon's cheeks and forced him to stare at me. We locked eyes, and I inhaled long and exhaled the same. He breathed along with me, soon cupping my own cheeks. He closed his eyes and ducked his head before reopening his eyes to gaze at me and smile.

When he looked up at Frankie and Chester, I glanced back to find them staring at him incredulously, along with a large group behind them. Darcy and Callie stood next to Buddy on the side, waiting to see if anyone was going to punch someone.

Wrapping his arm around my back, Devon pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms tight around me. "Don't mess with Mel again. Don't touch her. Don't even look at her."

"Why not? You're going to punch us otherwise?"

Devon said nothing. Based on the look that instantly appeared on both their faces, they knew Devon was serious. Frankie and Chester ducked their heads before walking away, but a majority of the crowd stuck around.

Buddy cleared his throat. "Do you want to head class now?"

Devon nodded, but before he walked away, he leaned down and kissed the top of my head. His lips lingered. I heard a few coos behind me, and it wasn't just from Darcy and Callie. When he lifted my head to gaze at me, he murmured, "I'll see you after class."

I nodded, and Devon quickly rubbed my shoulder before stepping up to Buddy and walking with him to class. I spun around and faced Darcy and Callie, and they rushed up to me, as did a few other girls.

"Oh, my gosh! Are you and Devon Quid dating each other?" someone gasped.

"I guess so," I whispered.