"You could've put more effort into it Liam." Miss Anderson says as she hands Liam back his grade for our art assignment- the one Courtney and Megan ruined of mine when they decided to drench me in muddy water.

I bop my leg up and down nervously as I wait for her to hand me back mine. After what feels like forever, she walks up to me and gives me a wide grin.
"Your work was exceptional, Sophie. Especially given the circumstances." She puts a white piece of paper down on my desk and I pick it up, looking at the mark scrawled in red.

My face breaks into a grin as I read it.

A+

I literally squeal.

I can't wait to tell Alex about this!
When the bell rings, signaling the end of the day, I quickly pack my things up and rush to my locker.
I grab the library books in it intending to exchange them. I sent Alex a message earlier, letting him know that was where I was going and that he could go in without me, Rachel would pick me up, but he said that he'd wait.

The smell of the dusty library makes me sigh in content and I bask in the silence of it. There's a few kids scattered here and there either looking at books or making out in the dark corners but it's rather empty. People don't tend to spend their time here willingly.

I put my book on the return stack and walk on the maroon carpets in search of a new book. I pull out a few, none of which are truly appealing and I sigh. I just need one book. I usually take more but since I've being so preoccupied lately, I haven't had time to read as much as I usually do. However, my mom always told me that we must make time for things we love and since I love reading, I try and read when I can.

I pull out 'The Hunger Games' and smile in victory. I'm not a huge fan of it or anything but it was a good movie. The plot line was pretty cool. However, I have to say that Divergent is still my preference.

With the book in hand, I walk up to the counter where Mrs Henderson- the elderly librarian- is sitting behind the desk, typing away at her computer.

"Hello Mrs Henderson," I say softly, handing her the book so she can check it out for me. Her eyes move away from the screen and connect with mine. Her eyes are enlarged by her glasses and the skin around them crinkle as she smiles at me.

"Hello, Sophie. How are you doing, dear?" She asks just as soft. It is a library after all. She puts the book into the system.
"I'm great and you?"

She chuckles, "I'm alright. So, only one book today?"

I smile. "Yeah. I've been busy lately so I haven't had much time to read." I explain. Mrs Henderson nods as she licks her chapped lips and logs the book in before stamping it and handing it back to me.

"Here you go, dear. Have a good afternoon."

I take it from her wrinkled hands and give her a heartwarming smile. "Thank you Mrs Henderson. You too."

She smiles before getting back to work and I leave the library, slipping the book into my backpack. I check the time on my phone and realise I was in there for a good twenty minutes- the reason the school is so empty.
Alex should have really just gone off without me. I don't want to stop him from doing whatever it is he wants to do after school just because he's my lift.

I slip my phone back into my pocket as I walk down the eerily silent hallway. This part of the school is always the quietest for some reason. As I walk, the only sound that can be heard are my footsteps. Well, that is until I turn down the hallway and hear a few bangs and yelling. I halt and try to listen but I can't make out anything. I turn around and walk in the other direction before turning left.

That's when I see it.

A blonde head of hair and a toned muscular back is faced towards me, Chris's hands balled into fists.
But the boy in front of him pushes him back making Chris stumble.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, Johnson?" Alex yells. I can't see his face but the occasional flash of his brown hair and leather jacket along with his voice let me know it's him. Then they start throwing punches. Chris slams Alex into the locker and mumbles something to him just as Alex throws a hard punch at Chris who stumbles back. When realization hits me I rush forward, intending to stop the fight.

"You little fuck." Chris sneers, wiping blood away from his lip which Alex just smirks at. As I'm about to reach out, Chris punches Alex in the gut making him hunch over in pain.

"Stop!" I yell and Chris looks at me, surprise lighting up his features.

"Sophie? What are you doing he-"
He's cut off when Alex's fist collides with his face once again and Chris falls from the impact.

I gasp and look at Alex who scowls at Chris before his eyes float to mine. "Sophie?" He asks and then, almost as if remembering something, he frowns. "Sophie."
His eyes snap back to Chris and he walks forward, pulling Chris up by the collar as I stand in shock.

What am I supposed to do?

"Stop!" I shout but Alex nor Chris listen. I run forward and grip Alex's arm. He looks away from Chris briefly and meets my gaze.
"Put him down, Alex." I ask pleadingly. He seems hesitant as he looks between me and Chris who smirks smugly.

"Alex." I press and his jaw twitches before he pushes Chris back. Hard. Chris trips over his own feet, almost falling before regaining his balance. I look between the boys who are standing, breathing heavily while they glare daggers at each other.
"What the hell is going on?" I hiss. Chris looks at me in irritation.

"This twat over here-"

"Watch your fucking mouth, Johnson," Alex warns.

"Both of you, stop! Damnit!" I yell, stepping between them. However, I make a point to stand closer to Alex.Chris looks at me with an emotion I can't quite decipher.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Chris?" I yell, my arms flying around. He frowns.

"What's wrong with me? Are you kidding me, Sophie? You left the Elite for the Rebels." He starts and I roll my eyes.

"Get over it-"

"You left me for him." He says painfully. I freeze, my voice getting lost somewhere in my throat. The hurt that flashes through Chris's eyes makes my heart clench.

"What do you mean?" I gulp nervously.

"Why would you leave me if you liked me, Soph?" He asks.

My eyebrows draw together. "Like you? Chris," I say, not knowing what to think "what are you going on about?"

He frowns before he shakes his head.

"Let me spell it out for you, Soph." Alex says from behind me making Chris look at him and clench his fists. "Your friend over here, well, didn't only see you as a friend."

I gulp. "Is this true?" I ask softly.
Chris purses his lips before he nods and my mouth falls agape.

"Oh my actual fuck." I say. "What the hell, Chris?"

I don't know why I'm angry; why it bothers me. I mean, its Chris. I shouldn't be upset but for some reason I am. Usually girls would be flattered if a guy told them something like this but I don't. He doesn't have the right to say something like that.

He frowns at me. "What do you mean?"

I run a hand over my face.
"Why would you like me?"

His expression turns stoney.
"Sorry that I can't choose who I love."

Love.

One word. Yet so much depth.

The world stops spinning and I shake my head. "You don't love me, Chris."

He nods. "I do."

"No! You don't!" I yell.

He frowns. "Why are you so upset about this?"

I laugh. "Because you weren't real with me, Chris! I wasn't real with you and you know that! Now when I show who I really am, all you can do is criticize me! Is that love Chris?" I ask, tears brimming my eyes. "Huh? Is that what you do those you love?"

He looks at me blankly.
"I thought you felt the same way!"

I recoil in shock. "What on Earth would give you that idea?" I shout in disbelief and he stared at me for a second before licking his lips.

"I assumed you felt the sparks too."

I pause before letting out a small laugh. "There are no sparks, Chris. I don't love you like that."

Chris looks at me with no emotion in his eyes. "I thought that maybe you did." He mutters. He averts his gaze and I feel my anger sizzle away.

"I'm so sorry, Chris. But I just don't see you like that." I say
softly. He snaps his head to me angrily.

"Don't say that when you're busy fucking around with Rosewood, Sophie."

"We're not doing anything." I mumble.

"But you chose him over me, huh? What is it about him that you like so much, Sophie?" He asks, crossing his arms over his chest. The pain and hurt in his voice is now replaced with anger.
"The way he plays girls? Or the way he'll bang you without any hesitation?"

"You fucking son of a bitch." Alex takes a step forward but I cut him off before be can do anything.

"Don't you dare," I spit "go on as if you don't play girls, Chris. You're just as much as a player. At least Alex is honest when he's with a girl and lastly, we are not doing anything! What it so wrong with me being friends with him?"

"We all know you're not friends."
He retorts.

"Yes, we are! Stop assuming things!" I yell.

"You chose him over us!"

"Because he chose me over popularity!" I shout.

Silence fills the space and Alex pulls me back. I feel my eyesight begin to become blurry again.

"I cared so much about you, Chris. I still do. But I found myself somewhere else. If you really cared, you would have supported me; been there for me. But you weren't and that's okay because you put the Elite before me and there's nothing wrong with that, but you can't be mad that I put Alex before you."

My eyes sting with unshed tears but I refuse to cry in front of Chris. I refuse to show any weakness.

He stares at me and I suddenly feel like I'm looking at a stranger. This is not the Chris I know. This Chris is misunderstanding, impulsive and selfish. The Chris I do know is loving, kind and sincere.

This is not the same Chris Johnson I came to know as my best friend.

He shakes his head and I feel Alex put a hand on my shoulder.

"I love you, Sophie. You made a mistake moving to them but I'm willing to help you back in. I'm giving you a second chance to choose me, Sophie. To get your old life back."

I shake my head and I give him a sad smile. I take a step back and hit into Alex's chest.

"I'm sorry, Chris." I say softly and Alex intertwines our fingers from behind. Chris purses his lips and nods, hurt evident on his face.

He starts walking backwards before he stops and says "I love you." He then turns around and walks away leaving me drowning in emotions. I watch his retreating figure before he turns and disappears down the hallway, running a hand through his hair.

I guess he's officially disappeared from my life too. Everything between us is over. Even the little hope we had left of regaining our friendship.

A tear rolls down my cheek as I stare at the hallway he walked down. He loved me. Chris Johnson loved me. Maybe the reason why I felt so mad was because I didn't want to hear those three words coming from him.

"Sophie," I hear Alex say softly. I am switched back into reality and I sniffle, wiping at my eyes before I turn around and face him with a strained smile.

When I catch sight of his bruised up face, it falters though.
"Shit," I mutter, my eyes gazing over his face. He has a dark bruise forming on his jaw, a bruise on his cheek and a small cut on his other cheek.

I couldn't focus on Chris's face due to all my emotions but since I know Alex got in more punches than Chris, I also know that Chris probably looks worse.

I grab his hand and pull him to the girls bathroom.
"Why are you bringing me in here?" He asks me as I grab a paper towel and wet it. I push him against the sink and he winces a bit but slumps back nonetheless.

"Sorry," I mumble as I touch his cheek. He lifts a finger to the cut first and looks at the blood.
"You just got a little cut." I say, pushing his hand away and getting to work.

"Exactly, just a little cut so you don't need to clean it." He answers in the silence. I shrug, heat rushing to my cheeks under his scrutiny.

"Sometimes it's the little things that hurt the most." I answer. We fall back into a silence and my mind falls back into overdrive.

The words exchanged with Chris were so heavy. It was like everything was left out in the open and we threw a lit match at it. We watched the fire grow but it ended up burning us. Burning me.

Alex pulls my hand away and pulls me closer.
"It's okay if you're hurt, Soph." He says gently. I purse my lips and look away. I don't want to cry.

He clips my chin between his fingers and pulls it so that I am looking at him. I stare at him, my eyes beginning to water.

He stands up and pulls me into his chest and I feel the tears roll down my cheeks.
"It's okay, Soph." He whispers.
"It's going to be okay."

I grip his t-shirt in my fists and sob into his chest.
"I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't mean to." I say.

"I know you didn't." He cooes.

"Then why do I feel so guilty?" I ask, pulling back. Alex looks at me with pursed lips.

"Because he said some hurtful things, Soph,"

I shake my head. "Maybe I am a horrible person."

Alex frowns, "You are not a horrible person, Sophie. I promise."

I blink rapidly. Why does this hurt so bad? I didn't even mean to hurt him. Goodness, I didn't even know he felt this way.

"Do you love him, Sophie?" Alex asks me. I look at him straight away, taken aback by his question.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

He looks at me intensely.
"You know what I mean."

I gulp. "No. Not like that." I answer soflty. Something like relief floods through his eyes but it's gone as quick as it came.

He nods. "Well he should understand that you can't choose who you love either."

That for some reason gives me a bit of comfort.

I nod and he sighs, "C'mon, lets go." We leave the bathroom and school before getting into his car and driving to Sunny Smiles. However, I just can't shake this feeling that I'm the one to blame for Chris's pain.

For all of this.

****

When Alex pulls up outside my house, I feel mentally and physically drained from the days events. Rachel kept asking me what was wrong and I told her that I'd speak to her later because I was originally planning on calling her when I got home but at this rate, I'll probably end up passing out before I get to do that.

I unbuckle my seatbelt and grab my backpack from the back as Alex gets out of the driver side. He opens my door and I roll my eyes playfully which he chuckles at. He walks me to my front porch in silence, only breaking it once we're in front of my door.

He stares at me and I stare back, wanting to hug him tightly for always been there for me.
He gives me a small smile.
"You okay?" He asks.

I take in a sharp intake of air before nodding.
"Yeah. Thank you, Alex. For being there for me. Once again." I chuckle lightly and he does too, giving me his charming grin. "I'm always here, alright?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

I purse my lips and nod. "Yeah. I know." He smiles at me once again although it seems like he wants to say more. However, he decides against it and settles with tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear before giving me a small smile.

The whole drive here, I couldn't stop the curiosity of what caused the fight between the two boys to flood my mind. Alex seemed pretty pissed and although I know he is not too fond of Chris, I don't think he'd be violent for no reason.

"Can you tell me what sparked the fight between you and Chris?" I ask him softly and he purses his lips. He swipes his tongue across his bottom lip and his eyebrows scrunch together.

"He was talking shit about you and I guess I lost it." He shrugs. I try to ignore the pain that I feel when I think of Chris bad-mouthing me. I can't imagine him doing that but I know Alex would never lie to me. I give him a sad smile.

"Thank you for defending me. You didn't have to though."

Alex gives me a boyish smile.
"I'd do anything for you."

My breath catches in my throat and I feel my heart thump harder in my chest.

"Goodnight, Princess." He says softly before walking away, down the porch. I watch his car drive off before opening the door to my house and walking inside. The beautiful aroma of food wafts up my nose and my stomach grumbles in hunger.

"Mom?" I call out, walking into the kitchen. My mom looks over her shoulder at me from the stove and she grins.

"Hey, sweetie. How was school?" She asks, stirring whatever is in the pan. I shrug, dropping my backpack on one of the stools before pulling one out behind the kitchen island and taking a seat.

What am I supposed to say? That my best friend beat up the guy I secretly like only to tell me that I've hurt him and that he loves me?

Yeah, no. I don't think that will go down well.

"It was fine. I'm just really tired." I answer vaguely. She frowns but before she can pester me more, I change the subject.

"So, what's for dinner?" I ask, smelling the air. "It smells amazing, mom."

She chuckles, "Chicken stir-fry. That okay?" She responds.
I smile, nodding.

"Anything by you is amazing," I compliment her. She rolls her eyes.

"I'll be right back, I'm just going to go get changed." I inform her.
She nods and starts humming to herself as I grab my backpack and make my way to my room.
When I open the door, I throw my bag on my white, wooden desk before my wall catches my attention.

More specifically, the wall that has all my pictures on. And of course my mind draws me to the one of Chris and I, sitting on the hood of his car while I laugh at a joke he makes and he grins at the camera with a naughty glint in his eye.

To think those days are long over.

I tear my eyes away from it and head to my closet, pulling out a large, black baggy shirt and pair of sweat shorts before putting my hair into a messy bun and running downstairs to where my mother is adding more spice to our food.

"I'm back," I exclaim, taking my original seat. My mom mixes the pan one more time before turning around and drying her hands on a dish towel.

She chuckles.

"So, how was work?" I inquire. She shrugs, leaning against the island.

"It was alright. Although it's getting quite busy since exams are coming up."

"I can only imagine." I respond.

"Speaking of final exams, are you ready for yours?" She asks me.
Ready? Ha. I've hardly even thought of that. My mind has been preoccupied with other stuff.

I shrug. "Can you ever be?" I deflect.

She laughs, her ponytail bouncing. "Good point."

Fifteen minutes later and food is sitting in a bowl in front me.
After saying grace with my mother I dig in, basically scoffing the food down in pleasure.

"This is amazing." I say in between bites.

My mother chuckles. "I try."
I grin at her and we talk over trivial things, me trying to dodge anything that regarded school so I mainly asked her questions.

When I finish up, I place my dish in the sink and head up to my room to complete my homework. Before I do that though, I decide to call Rachel and tell her what exactly went down today. I owe it to her. I close my door and fall on my bed, back first. I place my phone to my ear and after two rings, Rachel picks up.

"I've being waiting for this call all afternoon." She says and I chuckle slightly before falling silent.

"Sophie?" She asks after a second or two.

I swallow the lump in my throat. "Yeah?"

"I'm all ears." She says.
I nod despite her not being able to see me.

And then I tell her everything.

Woah. Chris loves Sophie? That's some spicy stuff, am I right?

Did you guys enjoy this chapter? Let me know what you think!

Also, can we please take a moment to admire the beautiful cover that Xinnamone made for me? I'm so happy I could cry man. I mean, it's bloody incredible!

If you guys need a cover or anything graphical, you should definitely check out her shop. She's hella talented.

Thank you for all your support!

Quick Q: Do you think that Sophie had a right to be angry at Chris?

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