Day Thirteen

To SaltySweetSassMaster: I know that you're mad. And you have every right to be. I should have never trusted Damon, and that's my fault. He tricked me, and I want you to know that he's gonna pay for it. I won't let him get away with this. You're my best friend, and I love you, and that's more important than anything else. If you don't believe me, let me show you.

The theater. 2:30.

Please, Mark. Let me make things right.

zo <3

Delivered

He'd turned off his read receipts, that's how I knew he was still mad.

I couldn't dwell on it, though. It was up to Mark whether or not he wanted to come, but I needed to at least let him know I was trying my best to make it up to him.

Today, I needed an extra dose of confidence. I wore my makeup as war paint, eyelashes coated with black mascara, lips stained a deep pink, a stark contrast to my light hair and fair skin, and dressed in ripped black jeans and a white tank. To finish the look, I borrowed a pair of my mom's old combat boots, giving my frame a good couple inches. It was a complete 180 from my normal pastels and converse sneakers, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well it suited my agenda.

I looked as fearless as I felt. Nothing--no one--was going to get in the way of my plan.

"Damn, hottie." Gwyn gasped as I sat down in homeroom, taking the seat normally occupied by Mark. Her mossy eyes looked over my outfit, an impressed smile sketched into her red lips. "You go girl."

"Thanks," I blushed, cocking my head over at her. "I'm glad you're here, Gwyn."

She reached over and squeezed my hand, "It's for you, girlie. I'm here for you." I smiled and she leaned back in her seat, running a hand through her platinum locks. "There's literally no other reason I'd show my face in this hellhole."

We laughed, acknowledging just how crappy our peers and teachers at WBHS had been throughout this debacle. Gwyn deserved better than the relentless hate that had been thrown at her during our high school years. Although she and Hunter were equally responsible for their secret relationship, Gwyn had taken the brunt of the backlash from the video, which was far too much nastiness for one person to bear on their own.

Which was why we were taking a stand. This wasn't just about me, or Gwyn, or Hunter--or even Mark-- it was about all of us.

----

I didn't want to eat alone again. The lunchroom was buzzing as usual, and as I made my way through the line, I caught murmurs and whispers about the chaos during the assembly, Gwyn and Hunter's affair, and Mark's sudden disappearance.

It was all anyone was talking about. In my two years at WBHS, I'd never seen the student body so caught up on drama. Especially not my drama.

I got the sense eyes were on me, but when I looked around, everyone's eyes scattered away from my gaze--except for one shining pair of blue from across the room.

Zak's lips broke out into a smile. He was perched atop his usual lunch table, surrounded by friends, his arms folded over his knees. He tilted his head at me, giving me a little wink.

I smiled and hurried through the line, grabbing whatever sandwich was available and treaded over to him, catching my name spoken by peers as I passed by.

"Hey," he gave me a huge smile, blue eyes filled with excitement. He hopped down from the table and sat on the bench, making some space between him and Mike for me to sit. I squeezed between them and greeted the group, who all welcomed me with smiles.

"Wow, look at you." Zak whispered, his breath warm against my bare shoulders. "Ready to kick some ass, huh?"

I blushed, bumping my arm against his. "I hope so." I looked down at his hands, suddenly aware of the fact that his arm was unencumbered by the sling he'd been wearing all week. "Zak, your arm."

"Oh, yeah." he chuckled, holding it up for me to see. "It's feeling better. I don't have to wear that stupid thing anymore."

"That's such good news."

"Nice of you to join us, Juliet." Mike smirked over at me. "I have to say, our boy looks pretty happy sitting next to you."

"Dude," Zak laughed, reached behind me to slap Mike's shoulder. "Shut up, bro."

"Ooh, the cripple's getting brave." Mike laughed. "First day without your sling and you're already throwing slaps."

Zak rolled his eyes and smiled over at me, shaking his head. "This guy. Reminds me, is everyone still on board with the plan?"

I looked around the table, where other conversations had come to a halt. The boys nodded, their eyes flickering over to mine, while Melanie and Andrea giggled over their cell phones, clearly unaware of anything outside their bubble.

"Mhm," Mike hummed, his chubby cheeks filled with a sandwich bite. "We're good to go, captain."

"Awesome," Zak smiled over at me, slinging his arm around my shoulder. "She's the captain of this operation, though, not me."

My cheeks flushed as he pulled me in closer to him, unable to contain the smile on my rosy stained lips as his hand snaked around my waist.

I was the captain now.

----

For once, the theater was quiet.

It was technically Gorveau's prep period, so there wasn't supposed to be a class in at this time, anyway. Gorveau usually took off to the local juicery, Juice It Up, before rehearsal, leaving the entire building empty.

Luckily, I knew where he left the spare key.

I reached up to the top of the doorframe, my fingers clasping around its cold metal edges. I jammed it into the lock and opened the glass door, slipping inside the dark building.

Too easy.

I paced through the darkness, up the stairs, each creaking underneath me as I made my way up. Backstage was like a field of monsters under the cover of darkness, odd set designs and stage props looming in the distance, but everything came into focus once I flipped the light switch.

Biggest of all was the vertical lift platform, which our stage workers used for set design in order to reach the second floor and fix the tops of our backdrops. And by stage workers, I meant Damon.

He was supposed to be here any second now. Damon was responsible for arranging the stage how it was meant to be during rehearsal, and my plan depended on him showing up on time.

I slung my backpack off my shoulder and tossed it over by the lift, where it sunk next to one of the wheels. My phone buzzed in my back pocket, and I pulled it up to reveal a text from my chemistry companion.

Zak Riley: Everyone's here. We're at the back.

Zak Riley: Ready whenever you are.

I swallowed hard, shooting him a quick text back before rummaging through a stack of wooden planks in the corner of the main room.

To Zak Riley: Almost ready (:

I lifted a couple two by fours off of the longest plank, which had been buried underneath the random pile of wood. It was heavier than I thought, but nothing I couldn't manage. I propped it up on the wall, where it stood a good foot taller than me, perfect for what I needed.

It was time to get the payback all of us deserved.

In the far end of the building, the familiar sound of the glass door opening silenced my every move. Heavy, loud footsteps thundered across the linoleum floor, and I whipped out my phone.

To Zak Riley: It's go time.

I grabbed the plank from the wall and, with all my strength, slammed it against the floor, sending a loud, thudding echo throughout the building.

"Help!" I screamed, lying onto the floor and pushing the plank aside. "Somebody help me!"

"Hello?" Damon's thick voice called into the building. "Who is that?"

I rolled over onto my side and kicked the plank away, projecting toward the wall to amplify my voice. "It's Zoe! Please, someone help, I'm hurt." I grabbed hold of my knee, pulling it into my chest. "Help!"

"Where are you?" His footsteps grew louder as he clambered up onto the stage. "Zoe, where you at?"

"Backstage," I called, and his steps grew closer until he ducked underneath the curtain and spotted me. "It's my leg, I-I think I broke it."

His caterpillar eyebrows furrowed as he kneeled beside me, studying my face and my clutched knee. "What happened?"

I swallowed hard, forcing tears to well in the pools of my eyes. "I-I forgot my b-backpack, and I was running to go get it, and I tripped over the table." I let out a sob, clutching my leg closer. "It hurts so bad."

His narrowed eyes flickered over to where my bag was sunk behind the lift. "Okay, just, uh, hold still--"

The back door flung open and everyone rushed in, footsteps clambering all around us.

"Get him!"