Monday.

The day I've been waiting for, but also dreading.

I can't wait to give Devin a piece of my mind about how he treated Lisa. But on the other hand I'd have to face Leo and I don't want to see the disappointment in his baby blue eyes.

Even though I didn't do anything wrong I still felt bad about what happened. Maybe I can corner Leo and force him to hear me out. If I just explained what actually happened he wouldn't have any reason to be angry with me.

But first I have to talk to Liam. Lucky me.

I was putting my empty cereal bowl in the sink when there was a knock at the front door. Dad and I exchanged a confused look before I went to see who was there.

Liam was the last person I would expect to be at the door, so when I opened it I was shocked to find him standing on the porch.

"Uh, hi?" I said, but it came out as a question. I'm sure he could tell just how confused I was to have him standing there, especially since last night he left to be with his sister and someone else had taken his place watching over the house.

"I should give you a ride, it's the safest thing to do right now." He explained his reason for being here, and I nodded in understanding.

Now I don't have to hunt him down to talk to him since he's right here and giving me a ride to school.

We silently walked over to his car after I told dad I was leaving for school, and once inside and buckled in, drove off. It was kind of awkward being alone with him after everything that's happened between us, especially since the last time I saw him was when he ruined my friendship with Leo. I was still mad at him for that.

"Does Leo know about the gang stuff?" I asked, breaking the tense silence.

I think Leo knows about Liam and Garrett being in a gang. When his parents came over for dinner and I spoke with him in the backyard he hinted at knowing the sketchy stuff his friends are involved in, and when I asked about it he said it's not his secret to tell. But I had to make sure Leo knew before I explained what really happened a couple nights ago.

I didn't want to tell Leo about that gang stuff if he didn't already know, he doesn't deserve to be pulled into all of that.

"Yeah, he knows. Why?" Liam answered and I let out a sigh of relief.

My friendship with Leo can be saved.

"If he knows about the gang stuff, that means I can explain why I was really with you." I explained, a triumphant smile spreading across my face.

He cussed under his breath and my grin widened for a second before a thought struck me and my face fell.

"Why don't you want Leo to be friends with me? Do you really hate me that much?" I asked, my voice almost a whisper.

Liam whipped his head in my direction so fast he probably got whiplash.

"I don't hate you."

I scrunched my face in confusion, "Why don't you want Leo to be friends with me then?"

He ran a hand through his hair and trained his eyes on the road before replying, "Do you really think Leo just wants to be friends with you?"

The confused expression didn't leave my face, "What do you mean?"

"Leo wants to date you. Not be friends with you." Liam said slowly, like he was explaining a difficult equation to a child.

Leo wants to be my boyfriend? Why didn't I realize that? It makes so much sense, he was flirting with me when his family had supper at my house. He's been really nice to me. He wanted to hang out this weekend.

Wait. Was that suppose to be a date?

I groaned at the realization and felt a million times worst for forgetting about the plan to hang out with him. Not only did I stand Leo up, but I've been unintentionally leading him on, haven't I?

Right now, the last thing I need is a relationship. Not only do I have to explain to Leo why I was really with Liam, and apologize for forgetting about him, I also have to make it clear that I only want to be friends.

"This is a disaster." I muttered to myself.

"You don't want to date him?" Liam asked, causing me to jump with a start. I completely forgot where I was and who I was with.

"I just don't have those kind of feelings for him." I explained.

Why am I even talking to Liam about this? We're not friends, I shouldn't be saying anything to him.

"Do you have those feelings for anyone?" Liam asked, completely catching me off guard. Why would he ask that?

"What?" I asked, thinking maybe I heard him wrong.

He cleared his throat and replied as we parked in the school parking lot, "Nothing."

Before I could ask again, he was out of the car and walking towards the school.

I exited the car too, feeling more confused than ever after that strange journey to school, and when I shut the door the car beeped signalling that someone had locked it with the remote.

"So are you guys dating or something? First you're spending the night with him and now you're coming to school together?" A voice asked, and I turned in the direction of the sound to find Leo standing not too far away.

This is just great.

"No, I don't even like him." I replied, hoping that would calm him down enough to hear me out.

He scoffed, "That doesn't make any sense."

I sighed, this was not going to be a fun talk.

"Can we go somewhere private? I have a lot to tell you." I said, crossing my fingers behind my back in the hopes that he would agree and make this a little easier on me.

Luckily my superstitious finger crossing payed off because he nodded and we silently walked away from everyone until we reached the deserted bleachers framing the football field.

"I know that Liam and Garrett are in a gang." I started, sitting down on the bleachers.

"He told you?" Leo asked, taking a seat beside me.

I shook my head, "Lisa was at a party and she needed a ride home really badly. I was her last option and my dad wasn't home so I called Liam and he picked me up. Then we got Lisa and brought her home.

"After that he was driving me back home and someone started following us and shooting at the car. We eventually lost them and he brought me back to the warehouse, which is where I spent Friday night."

"Woah." Leo whispered and it took me a moment to gather myself before I could continue the story.

"The next day I woke up to gun shots. The other gang found us and Garrett was shot. We got out safely and took Garrett to someone so he could get medical attention. He's okay now thankfully. That's where I was when you came over to pick me up." I finished explaining, and it felt good to talk about all of that. I needed to get it off my chest.

"I'm glad you're okay. But why did Liam call me and make it sound like you guys hooked up or something?" He asked.

I shrugged, "I asked him for your number so I could apologize for not hanging out with you, but he called you instead and made everything sound completely different than what actually happened."

"What an ass." Leo commented and I cracked a smile. He's right, Liam is an ass.

"So are we okay now? Because I really want my friend back." I said, making sure to bring up the word friend. I need to let Leo know that I only saw him as a friend, but I didn't want to be blunt about it.

"Yeah, I could never stay mad at you, especially for something Liam did." Leo replied, putting an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into a side hug.

•  •  •  •  •  •  •

The last period I have before lunch, I share with Devin Cook, so I decided to corner him after class to give him a piece of my mind.

Once the bell had rung I hurried out of class and when the jerk walked out of the room I grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the crowd of students.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his ugly face contorting in confusion as he pulled his arm out of my grasp.

"What you did to Lisa was really messed up. You shouldn't expect every girl to be willing to sleep with you, and you shouldn't say awful things to the ones that reject you. You can't treat girls like they're just objects for your pleasure. You should respect women you asshole." I ranted, and by the time I was done Devin's mouth was hanging open and his eyes were wide with shock.

I bet no ones ever told him off like that before.

"Cat got your tongue? Maybe next time you try to take a girl upstairs at a party you'll think twice and remember what I said to you. Girls aren't here for your pleasure, so stop treating them like they are." I continued when Devin stayed silent.

"Is everything alright here?" A new voice chimed in from behind me.

I turned my head in the direction of the sound and saw Liam standing close behind me. I didn't realize anyone was watching me tell this stupid jock off.

"No actually, this bitch thinks she can say whatever she wants to me. Maybe you can get her in check?" Devin answered, and I physically took a step back at the venom in his voice, accidentally bumping into Liam's chest.

"Woah there, she was just saying what everyone else was too afraid to say. And she's right, you should treat women right." Liam defended me, something I never thought would happen.

"What the hell man, I thought we were on the same side?" Devin said, squinting his eyes in a mixture of confusion and anger.

Liam scoffed, "We were never on the same side. Especially after I picked Lisa up from your party and I saw the state you left her in. Respect goes a long way, remember that."

After that Devin was again left speechless and Liam took that as his chance to leave the situation, so he grabbed my hand and pulled me away, thankfully, since I was rooted to the spot and unable to move on my own accord.

That lecture to Devin definitely didn't go like I thought it would, and I ended up with a very unlikely accomplice.

Once Liam saw that I was able to really focus on my surroundings again and walk without being led, he let go of my hand and a minute later we walked into the cafeteria, where we split and went our separate ways.

When I got closer to my usual table I saw that there were three people already sitting, instead of just Lisa and Stephanie. Leo was also sitting at the table, right beside my spot.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." I apologized as I sat down beside Leo.

"I forgive you." Leo teased, pulling me into a side hug.

"You two are the cutest." Lisa gushed, and I immediately tensed.

"We're just friends." I told her, which was also my way of making it clear to Leo that I didn't want to be more than friends.

"Yeah, best buds." Leo added, ending the hug and looking down at his food. He almost looked sad.

Maybe he finally got the message.

I looked away from Leo, feeling guiltier than ever, and caught Liam's eyes.

We looked at each other for a moment, and then he playfully winked and I directed my eyes back to my friends, trying to hide my smile.

—————

Shoutout to @janvixxxx for the amazing cover in the media!! I love it! Make sure to check out their profile! (it won't let me tag for some reason so I dedicated the chapter to you!)