Towering over my five-five frame, he frowns down at me. "What do you want, Peaches?"
"Still calling me that, I see." Awkwardly, I clear my throat when he simply stares. "I just want to say thank you for taking me home and, um, carrying me up to my room when you could've just left me in a ditch somewhere."
His frown deepens. "I'm not an asshole."
My eyes flare wide. "That's not what I mean."
He sighs. "Move."
"Um, excuse me?"
"You're in my way," he says, impatience lacing his tone.
"Oh, right." A flush rises in my cheeks as I step aside, watching him walk away. And here I thought we were already friends. Guess not.
Quinn appears in front of me, giving a perplexed look. "What on freaking earth was that about?"
"I was just asking him about something," I lie, leading the way to our first period, AP Government.
Liam and Peyton are both in there so, yeah, torture. As much as I don't want to see them, I don't have a choice. Unless I ditch that class—but that's not happening.
I always sit beside Liam, but after what he did, there's no way I'm going anywhere near him. Which means I need to find a new seat.
Peyton has apparently solved that problem for me. When we reach the class, she's already in my seat and appears to be in an intense conversation with Liam.
My heart gives a painful twist at the sight of them together, and I avert my eyes so I won't burst into tears and humiliate myself. Having them see me at my lowest point is the last thing I want to happen.
"Oh, look. It's the cheaters," Quinn sneers in an intentionally loud voice.
They both raise their heads at that. Liam's eyes find mine, and I watch his face pale then morph into guilt.
For a moment, his expression tells me he wants to approach me. But it's gone in an instant, and he doesn't even attempt to move from his seat.
I pull my eyes away, making a show of glancing around to find myself an empty seat.
"The one next to Parker is empty since the cheating slut just vacated it," Quinn tells me, and again, not bothering to lower her voice.
I bite my lip to keep from laughing, especially when Peyton shoots her a glare. I glance over to the seat next to Parker. Should I take it? We're not exactly friends. He made himself clear about that just five minutes ago. I don't think he'll be happy to have me there. But then, do I really have a choice?
"Okay. I'll take it."
"Are you going to be okay?" Quinn asks just as one of her fellow cheerleaders, calls for her.
"Yeah," I nod. "Go sit with your squad." Then reluctantly, I approach the seat next to Parker who quietly watches me. "Hey."
He nods.
Progress, I guess.
Everyone keeps glancing between the four of us—Peyton, Liam, Parker and me—even as the class starts. They probably think that Parker and I are together now. Maybe they're assuming that I've officially switched boyfriends with Peyton.
Suddenly, I feel nauseous. It feels like the walls are closing in around me. I need to get out of here. I need to stay away from them as far as possible. Which is why I'm one of the first to leave the moment the class ends.
"You looked so pale back there, S. I thought you were going to pass out," Quinn tells me, frowning with worry, when we meet at our lunch table hours later.
"To be honest, I thought so, too," I admit.
Brayden gives me a sympathetic look. "Did Peyton try to reach out? To at least explain herself?"
I shake my head, remembering the hard look on her face. "She didn't even look apologetic."
"What about Liam?"
Liam at least looked guilty. For a brief second in that class, I assumed he was going to approach me. But the moment simply passed, like he thought better of it. It was as if he already accepted the fact that we were over, and he didn't feel the need to fix things between us anymore. Why didn't I notice that? He'd been clearly feeling that way for a long time.
"He didn't try at all." I stare at my lasagna plate, my chest tight, the hunger no longer there.
"Seriously, screw them," Quinn grits out, shooting daggers at the cheer squad table, where Peyton is sitting. "They're both shitty people and they deserve each other."
Brayden shifts on the bench, looking suddenly uncomfortable.
"What is it?" I ask.
"She tried to talk to me."
Of course, she reached out to him. While Quinn is closer to me, Brayden has always been closer to Peyton—who I grew up with. She and I were childhood friends. Not necessarily the best of friends, but we were pretty close. Then Quinn and I hit it off freshman year while Peyton became friends with Brayden. Soon after, the four of us started hanging out together, turning into a tight unit over time.
Now, Peyton had fractured that unit. She broke my relationship. Is she planning to do the same with our friends? Does she hate me that much?
"And you entertained her?" Quinn accuses Brayden. "You know what she did to Sawyer."
He glares at her. "I didn't have a choice, okay? She ambushed me. It wasn't like I actively sought her out."
I hold up a hand to keep Quinn from retorting. "What did she say?"
Brayden shrugs. "She just asked if I wanted to hang out and talk."
Quinn refuses to be stopped this time. "She had the gall to talk to you, but not to Sawyer?" she hisses. "I can't even with that bitch."
I blink at her. While I appreciate that Quinn is showing support for me, I can't help wondering if she secretly hates Peyton. They had their fair share of disagreements in the past—their personalities always clash—but didn't seem to be serious.
Before I can quiz her about it though, my eyes dart across the cafeteria, landing on Liam
