Aveena
Three days later
“Brie’s Snapchat story?” A laugh shoots out of me as I shadow my best friend up the stairs leading up to her room. “No way?”
“Yes way.” Dia sneers. “It’s all everyone’s been talking about. I can’t believe you haven’t seen it yet.” Dia pushes the door to her closet bedroom and launches herself onto the single bed shoved into a corner. I’m not making fun of her room, it literally used to be a closet.
Dia comes from a family of six, and her dads ran out of room when they adopted their youngest last year, so they had to improvise. We’ll all be leaving for college in a few months, hence Dia giving her parents the green light to move her into this shoebox until then.
“Five bucks says Xavier dumps Brie for this.” Dia pats the empty space on her bed. “Get your ass over here.”
I oblige, sitting cross-legged on my best friend’s bed while she pulls out her phone and opens the Camera Roll.
“I screen-recorded her story before it disappeared,” Dia explains, scrolling through pictures of her and Finn smiling, hugging, kissing—mind you, these two are still claiming to be just friends. It takes her a moment to find it amongst all the cute couple shit.
“Gotcha,” she says and enlarges the video.
Brielle Randall, cheerleader, student council president, and expert mean girl, pops up on the screen, flaunting the Snapchat puppy filter. This has to have been taken when the teacher stepped out. Pouting, Brie fluffs her long, fiery red hair with one hand and puckers her lips to the camera with the caption:
#IHaveNoSelfieControl
I don’t see it at first—neither did Brie, ironically.
Until Dia plays it again.
And I spot them in the background.
Xavier and Finn.
Completely unaware of the phone pointed at them, the boys exchange knowing looks as Xavier points to the backpack at his feet and kicks it closer to Finn so he can peek inside.
They are so obviously up to something it’s no wonder the school put two and two together in minus ten seconds. Xavier inspects his surroundings for witnesses—not thoroughly enough, obviously—and plunges a hand inside his backpack. The video cuts just as he’s pulling out the stink bomb.
Yep. That’ll do it.
Good luck proving your innocence, bud.
I know I shouldn’t find humor in other people’s misery, but the irony of His Majesty Xavier Emery getting his ass exposed on social media by his own girlfriend is unreal.
“What happened? Did they get suspended?” I bite back a grin.
“You didn’t hear?” She sounds shocked.
I scoff. “I’m sorry, do you not know who you’re talking to?”
Dia knows damn well I can’t keep up with school gossip. This girl is the reason I know anything these days.
“Right.” She chuckles. “Xavier took the fall. Swore Finn had nothing to do with it. That’s the official story, anyway.”
“He did? Why?” I can’t conceal my surprise.
“I’m guessing to save his buddy?” She shrugs. “Finn said they were going to cut him from the team, so Xav stepped up. That’s so Xavier.”
I abstain from telling her what I really think of Mr. Nice Guy. It’s like the whole school—the whole town, really—shares an undying passion for blowing smoke up Xavier Emery’s ass.
Understandably so.
They don’t know him like I do.