A/N: So sorry to all my Monty/Ophelia fans, but this is the sad truth :( Let me know what you guys think of the chapter
"Oh my god...you look beautiful."
Ophelia couldn't contain her smile as she walked down the stairs. Her boyfriend standing in a suit just at the door, handsome as ever. The suit jacket hugged his muscles tightly, making him appear large. She was able to wear heels and still make it two inches under him. Montgomery was not the tallest guy in school, so she was glad she was under average in height.
"Thank you, Monty."
"Stand next to him for a picture" her mother instructed. Honor was standing next to her mom, smiling just as brightly.
"You look like a princess!" she told her older sister.
Ophelia blushes, happy, yet embarrassed by the compliments. "Thanks, Honor."
"Do I look like a Prince?" Montgomery asked.
Honor said, "Kind of."
Ophelia and Montgomery laughed.
Ophelia said, "Should we go to the restaurant?"
"No restaurant yet" her mother said, "Wait for Zach to get here."
"Zach?" Montgomery asked.
"Mom" Ophelia complained, "Wǒmen huì chídào. Tell Zach not to come."
"Hànyǔ zěnme shuō" her mother scolded.
Montgomery said, "Huh?"
Ophelia rolled her eyes. "I told her we would be late and she said she doesn't care. I'm sorry."
"It's fine" Montgomery said, "We can go straight there. We'll probably go out with people afterwards anyways."
Ophelia reached up and kissed him on the cheek.
When Zach arrived, he was with his mom, no date.
"Sup, Dempsey."
"Hey, Montgomery" Zach greeted. They fist bumped.
Their mothers greeted each other in Mandarin.
"What are they saying?" Montgomery asked.
Ophelia shrugged. "They are speaking way too fast for me."
Zach laughed at her. "Should have paid attention more during class."
Ophelia shook her head and laughed. "Whatever, Zach. You just had a crush on the teacher and you know it."
"The teacher at our school?" Montgomery asked, out of the loop.
"No" Ophelia explained, "We both had a private tutor together. It was a long time ago."
Montgomery bit his lip, eyeing Zach. "Mhm. So what are they saying?"
Zach hesitated. "They said we should have carpooled."
That was a lie, because only Zach knew that they were both talking about how Zach and Ophelia should have been each other's dates instead of Ophelia and Montgomery. He would keep his lips sealed about that until later.
Ophelia said, "They're right." Zach smiled to himself.
"Stand together" Zach's mom demanded, "Zach put your arm around her."
Ophelia and Zach hesitated. Ophelia let go of Montgomery's hand and walked to Zach. He put his arm over his shoulder, trying to ignore how the feeling of her smooth skin on his fingertips sent his heart racing. Montgomery watched him carefully.
Their parents snapped a few pictures and she quickly walked back to Montgomery.
"You're free time to go" her mother told her. She walked further into the house with Zach's mom.
Zach said, "I'll see you guys there."
Montgomery watched him leave.
Ophelia said, "Are you ready?"
He just stared at her. "Where's your sweater?"
"What?"
"I thought you were going to wear a cover over that? Or do you just want every guy touching you."
She frowned. "No ones going to touch me."
"Well, Dempsey just did" he snapped, "And he wouldn't have if you were wearing a fucking cover."
She sighed, realizing he was right. She asked, "But don't you think it looks nice like this?"
"Yeah, that looks fine...if you're looking to find someone to hook up with. Put some a fucking cover on. I'm not going with a girl who looks like she wants to cheat on me."
Ophelia sighed, rolled her eyes, and went upstairs.
"Here's your stupid tape back. I finished it."
Ophelia shoved the cassette player into Tony's chest. He looked unimpressed.
"You finished it?"
"Yeah" she said, unconvincingly.
He shook his head. "No, you didn't."
"Who even cares, Tony? I heard it once. I know my mistakes."
"You obviously don't" he told her. They were standing near his hallway, early before school. He looked around, making sure his voice was not in ear shot of anyone else. "I thought we were supposed to have lunch together yesterday. What happened?"
She shrugged. "I went to see Monty."
"You skipped school?" he asked, shocked.
She frowned at him. "You skip school all the time!"
"Yeah, but I don't have a 4.0, okay? Your grades matter, so does your future." He shook his head. "See what that boy does to you?"
She scoffed, "I'm the one who decided to skip. 'That boy' had nothing to do with it."
Tony put his hands up. "You're right. The fact that your boyfriend beat the shit out of another kid and was suspended for it had nothing to do with your motivation to ruin your future."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
She started walking away, but stopped quickly. She went back to Tony, pushing herself closer to him and against the locker. Confused, he turned around, to see Marisa.
"Haven't talked to her since the fight?" he asked.
"Of course not" she said. "I went crazy on her. How do I know I'm not 'on sight'."
Tony asked, "On sight? Who teaches you these phrases."
"Who do you think?"
Tony pointed to his car. "Meet me there during lunch."
Ophelia asked, "Why?"
"We're gonna go for a drive."
"Oh...my...God! You look so beautiful!" Hannah squealed when she finally saw her friend. Hannah looked pretty in the dress she had chosen for the Winter Formal, but Ophelia looked beautiful. She wore a more formal dress than Hannah did. It was almost floor length. It was the same one she had seen in Ophelia's bedroom, but it was much prettier on her body.
"Hannah, you look amazing!" Ophelia told her, "The dress is so much prettier than you described it!"
Hannah touched the black shawl Ophelia had over her shoulders, which matched nicely with her dark blue dress. Ophelia's hair was curled, and shiny. It ran down her back to mid length.
"Mine? No way! Look at yours! This is so pretty" Hannah told her, "Did you grab it because you were cold?"
She hoped her friend hadn't chickened off showing her bare skin.
"Yeah" Ophelia lied. "Who did you come here with?"
"Jessica and two of her friends" Hannah admitted. "I'm driving though, so I get to stay sober."
Ophelia rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. My boyfriend drove me here and then told me I'd have to be driving home."
"Your parents let him stay over?" Hannah asked.
"God, no! He sleeps in his car down the street."
Both girls laughed at that.
"So where is he?" Hannah demanded. "Where is the man I have been dying to meet?"
Ophelia said, excited. "I am allowing you one more guess. If you get it right I will...buy you breakfast before school on Monday."
Hannah suddenly looked more serious. "Damn, okay. Game on I guess."
Hannah scanned the crowd, looking through all the male faces. She prioritize the ones without a girl on her arm. Hannah suddenly caught someone behind her.
"Oh my god!" she said, "It's Zach, isn't it?"
Ophelia frowned. Looking behind her, she saw Zach walking up, smiling as he held out a drink for her. It was iced water.
He came and handed it to her. "Your mom told me I had to give you some water every half hour" he explained, "so you don't overheat. She thinks the number of people will cause you to sweat too much."
Ophelia, suddenly embarrassed, said, "Zachary Dempsey, I don't even sweat that much."
Hannah laughed. "Oh my god, I knew it! I thought you told me he wasn't!"
"He's not! And you already guessed him" Ophelia said, yelling over the music.
"Thank you" she said curtly to Zach. She gulped the water down and handed the empty cup back to him.
"I'll just throw it away for you too then" he chuckled.
Ophelia grabbed Hannah's arm. "Follow me!"
She guided her through the crowd. Hannah stayed silent, becoming more and more nervous as they neared a wall where she spotted Bryce Walker, Montgomery De La Cruz, and Justin Foley all stood, along with various other athletes.
Ophelia dropped her arm. She grabbed Montgomery, who was facing the other way, and pulled him to her side, squealing as she did so.
"Hannah, meet my boyfriend!" she yelled, excitement in her voice.
Hannah's mouth fell open. Montgomery De La Cruz. Ophelia was dating Montgomery De La Cruz.
"Hannah Baker" Montgomery said causally, looking her up and down. This was unnoticed by Ophelia, but very noticeable to Hannah.
"Do you know her?" Ophelia asked, excited at the prospect.
"Of course" Montgomery said causally, "Who would forget the girl who had the best ass in school?"
Ophelia choked. Hannah looked away quickly, uncomfortable and embarrassed.
"Monty!" Ophelia hissed. She dropped his arm, taking a step back from him.
"What?" he said, clueless. "It's literally a compliment."
Ophelia let go of Montgomery's arm, taking a step towards Hannah again.
"Ignore him" she said quickly, "He's stupid."
Hannah took a step back. "Actually, I saw a Clay back there. I-I think I'm gonna go talk to him real quick."
"Wait-"
Hannah has already left. Ophelia turned around, angry at her boyfriend.
"What the hell, Monty? You're so rude!"
He shrugged and said, "She loves to hear it."
"She didn't like being on that list, asshole!"
Bryce and Justin, beside him, laughed.
"Ooooh" Justin said, "Monty's in troubleeeee." His speech was slurred slightly from his consumption of alcohol.
"Shut up." He lightly punched his friend. "Let's go dance, O."
"I want to go apologize to Hannah" Ophelia told him.
"Your girlfriend's friends with Hannah Baker?" Bryce asked. "Meaning she walks around with the girl known for having the best ass? Damn, wonder how many people check out Ophelia while they're together?"
Ophelia cringed, disgusted at the thought.
Montgomery ignored it, trying to keep his cool.
"No, come on, one dance first" he insisted.
"No" she told him.
"Monty, you're being punished remember" Justin teased again.
Montgomery, embarrassed, reached forward and grabbed his girlfriend by the arm. She snatched her arm back. She scoffed, waking into the crowd.
She could hear his friends laughing at him while she disappeared in the crowd.
"Whatever" he said.
"You hurt, Monty?" Bryce said. He spoke in a mocking voice.
"No" he brushed off, "She's not the only bitch here tonight."
He set his sights on Courtney Crimsen. He stalked over to her.
It took Ophelia a few minutes to find Hannah. She was sitting on the bleachers.
"Hey," she started, walking up and sitting next to her. "I'm sorry about Monty. He doesn't think sometimes."
Hannah didn't respond to that. Instead, she asked, "How long have you been dating him?"
"About two years."
Hannah let out a dee breath. "Wow, I...I never would have guessed him. You guys...you don't seem like you'd be together."
She frowned. "Is he that bad?"
Hannah said, "Yeah. He is."
Ophelia said, "Do you...still want to be my friend?"
Hannah looked perplexed. "What? Of course. Ophelia, the reason I'm upset about Montgomery being your boyfriend is because I'm your friend. How can you be with someone so cruel to others?"
"You just don't know him" she tried.
Hannah shook her head. "I hope that's it. Ophelia, trust me, you're too good for boys who hang around people like Justin Foley."
"Hannah-"
"He's a piece of shit" Hannah Sadi, without remorse. "And I'm not saying that to be mean. I'm saying that so you realize. We're best friends, remember?"
Ophelia stayed silent.
Ophelia and Hannah sat together for a few songs. Ophelia trying to take Hannah's mind off the subject of her boyfriend.
Suddenly, a slow song came on above them.
"You gonna go find your boyfriend now?"
Ophelia glances at the opposite end of the gym. "You gonna go dance with yours?"
Hannah looked over, and watched Clay walking towards them.
Hannah asked her, "How did you know I liked Clay?"
She said simply, "We're best friends, remember? You go. I'll wait for you to get back."
Hannah nodded, smiling now. At least someone had been able to raise her spirits. She got off the bleachers and walked to Jensen. Just at the bottom, Ophelia saw Zach standing with two cups. She went to him and asked, "Is that for me, by any chance?"
Zach looked relieved. "Yeah, actually."
He handed her the water.
"You know I can just tell my mom you gave me water and you don't have to actually do it, right?"
"It's okay" he told her, "I don't mind seeing you."
She smiled, warmly. She drank the water, and handed it back to him. This time, he set it on the bleachers. "Hey, where's Monty?"
"I don't know" Ophelia admitted, "He, um, he said something rude to Hannah so I left."
Zach sighed, "Yeah I can see him doing that."
For a moment, they just listened to the song playing above them. The Night We Met.
He cleared his throat. "Hey, do you want dance?"
She looked surprised.
"Better than standing around" he said.
She thought about it. "Okay."
They walked forward, slightly. Ophelia put his hands on Zach's shoulder, having to reach a lot to make it there. Zach put his hands on her waist, trying not to notice just how perfectly her small figure fit in his large hands. They swayed.
Zach tried not to look at her cleavage, which was only visible to him because of how close they were together. Instead, he looked in her eyes, which seemed almost just as dangerous.
"You're tall" she muttered. He laughed. "You're short."
"Not short" she commented, "Just petite."
Petite was right. Zach bet he could easily fit his hand around her whole wrist. He glanced from her eyes to her lips. They were not petite at all. They were plump and full.
"You look beautiful tonight."
Ophelia, suddenly all the more confident said, "You know you're one of the most handsome guys here, right?"
Zach smiled at her, his hands, unknowingly to him, slipped down and rested dangerously low on her waist. It seemed to snap her out of the trance he put her in. She back away, moving his hands off her.
"Shit, I'm sorry-"
"It's okay" she said quickly. "I-"
"Ophelia!" Montgomery yelled, happy as he saw her. "Damn, where you been?"
He came closer. She could smell the alcohol off his breath. She suddenly became nervous.
"Monty, how much have you had to drink?"
"Not even that much" he insisted. "Come on, babe, it's a slow song. You have to dance with me now."
Ophelia was hesitant, but nodded. She reached to put her hands on his shoulders, but instead he flipped her around. He pressed her back to his chest, placing his hands on her hips and moving her with him, grinding.
Her cheeks flushed red, completely embarrassed now. She glanced at Zach, who was watching them now.
She tried to gently push him off. "Monty-"
He stayed on her. His lips found there way to her neck, kissing it once. He was moving way too fast for the slow song. His hands started traveling all over her. She could feel him hardening. It wasn't until he full on squeezed her butt in the middle of the dance floor that she elbowed him.
"Stop it!" she insisted. "That's it, Monty! Stop!"
He let go of her, finally.
"Damn, calm down!"
She took a step back. She spared one more glance over at Zach. He had seen the whole thing. She felt herself becoming emotional. She ran out of the gym.
"I had no idea Monty tried to dance with Courtney at Winter Ball" Ophelia told Tony, "that fucking bitch. I swear to god she would fuck anyone's boyfriend if it convinced people she was straight."
It was lunch time, and she had met Tony at his Mustang. He was driving out of the parking lot as he told her, "Monty is the one who went up to her, you know."
"I don't care, she should've known, don't dance with someone's boyfriend." Ophelia was feeling very territorial for no good reason. Maybe it was because focusing on him dancing with another girl would make her not think about what he did to her.
Tony drove them up a dirt path for about ten minutes before parking. He said, "You know I'm going to make you listen to the tape, right?"
Ophelia nodded. "I figured you would."
He asked her, "You know I listened to them all first, right?"
"Yeah. She gave them to you, right? To pass on."
"She did. And I'll tell you that these tapes were the most traumatic things I have ever listened to. But yours...it was different, Ophelia. I didn't just feel sad, I felt ashamed. And stupid. And blind."
"Tony..."
"I was shocked to hear your name, O. But then...when she said Montgomery hit you...it took everything inside me not to kill him that very day."
"Tony" she started, "she didn't even put the whole story. You only saw one side of things."
"What other side could there be?" he asked, "What his fist sees versus what your face sees? It's the same fucking story."
"It's not like he hit me all the time!" she shouted. "He made a mistake. One mistake!"
"So he only did it once?" Tony asked, unconvinced. She nodded. "I know you're fucking lying. Guys like that don't change. The ones who tried putting their hands on my sisters don't."
"Monty's different..."
He scoffed. "Okay. Let's see how different he really is."
He put the tape into the car's cassette player and pushed play. Hannah's voice shot into her like needles.
Oops. Sorry, Ophelia. Did I give away the secret you begged me not to? Well no one should be surprised. He has anger issues and no filter. I'm surprised I didn't find out sooner.
Winter ball was supposed to be a good night for me. I got to drive my friends in a new car, I would meet your boyfriend, I would dance with boys. Now, you know what boy I was most excited to dance with. But it didn't go as planned. Did you know your boyfriend interrupted us, Ophelia? That he accused me of having a girlfriend and trying coax people into having three ways with us? He also told me that if he ever saw me put a hand on you I would be dead.
Hannah laughed.
Can you believe that? Me putting my hands on you. Like he wasn't the one to be worried about? I think his exact words after that were "i don't want to see my girlfriend in one of your lesbian pornos". Like he would be lucky enough to get a copy of a porno if I made one.
It really shocked me how rude he was. Cruel. I still didn't know what he was capable of. It wasn't something someone was able to guess.
He told me Courtney was the one who ratted me out, so I went to find her. Confront her. And I did. I gave her a piece of my mind and I felt better. I kept marching down the hallway after that. I spotted you. In the furthest hallway from the dance, at a dead end. With Montgomery.
You didn't have your cover on. That's the first thing I noticed. Your skin was exposed, and his hands were all over it. He was grabbing your shoulder. I didn't go over because I felt guilty, like I was the reason you two were fighting that night. But then he...kept grabbing your shoulders.
I saw him shove you into the lockers. That's when I found out my feet were glued to the ground. Because I wanted to run to you, push him off you. But I couldn't move.
He was yelling now. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but he looked terrifying. You aren't short, Ophelia, but you were when you cowered in front of him.
Before I knew what happened, I saw him hit you. Right in the face. I guess it was more of a punch because blood exploded from your nose. Your scream rang through the hall, I felt it. It pushed me back, almost making me-
"That's enough!" Ophelia said. She pressed stop on the tape. "That's enough!"
"It's not" Tony said, "We haven't even started."
Ophelia shook her head. "I can't, Tony. I can't listen to it again" she begged, "if I listen I-I'll remember it again. I can't remember it again."
Tony pressed play.
-fall back. I ran behind the lockers, suddenly terrified for the both of us. You fell on the ground, but he just kept yelling at you-
"Stop!" she screamed. She covered her ears with her hands. "Stop! I know what happened!"
-I'm sorry I left you there, Ophelia. But more importantly, I'm sorry that I kept my promise and didn't tell anyone-"
Ophelia opened the door of the mustang. She made it only a few feet away before she fell, crying. Tony was quick to follow after her, kneeling down and hugging her.
"It's okay" he told her, "I'm right here."
She was sobbing now. "I wanted that night to be good too! I wanted that too! Everything I did that night was wrong! I made everything wrong!"
He quickly shook his head. "It's not your fault-"
"It is! It's my fault! I shouldn't have even gone! I ruined everything!"
"Ophelia, you didn't! Stop saying that!"
But Ophelia couldn't stop herself from crying. Just like she couldn't stop herself from remembering everything Montgomery did that night.
Ophelia was in the bathroom, cursing her boyfriend's name. "That asshole..."
Hot tears of humiliation fell down her face. She wiped them away, too angry to even cry.
"Woah, Tristano, what's wrong?" Jessica asked, walking in on her.
Ophelia scoffed. "My dumbass boyfriend."
Jessica said, "Wow, I haven't heard you swear in a while."
"Well, he hasn't made me this mad in a while."
Jessica pulled a flask out of her purse. "Here, take a sip."
Ophelia refused.
Jessica shrugged, taking one instead. "Alright, so what did he do?"
"He's just rude!" She complained. "I mean-he's always rude. But he's been really rude tonight. And he was grabbing me. I told him I don't like dancing like that."
"Like what? Grinding?"
Ophelia nodded.
Jessica laughed. "Okay, how about we get back at him then."
Ophelia looked at her, this time taking a sip of the drink when it was offered.
"Let's go grind!" Jessica suggested. "Both of us. I mean, if he wants to see it, he doesn't deserve to be part of it."
Ophelia chuckled. "No, he would get too mad."
Jessica smiled even more.
"You know what?" Ophelia said, "Let's do it."
Ophelia was not good friends with Jessica, but in that moment she was. They walked onto the dance floor. Jessica stood behind Ophelia. Ophelia didn't actually know what she was doing, but she prayed no one noticed.
Montgomery, across the room, standing with his friends again, hadn't yet noticed.
"Woah" Justin said, "and I thought they were hot by themselves...look at them now."
Montgomery looked, shocked to see his own girlfriend.
"What the fuck?"
"Damn" said Bryce, "if you were bothered by guys looking before..."
Montgomery looked at Bryce, only too see that his downstairs member had begun to raise. Montgomery's blood boiled. He marched over to Ophelia immediately, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her off the dance floor.
"Hey!" she shouted. Montgomery stopped when they reached the wall.
"That was hot!" Justin shouted at Jessica who was hot on their tail.
"We're not done" Jessica told Montgomery.
"Yeah, you are."
"No, we're not!" Ophelia said. She moved away from him.
"Come on, O. Quit it. You already hang out with Hannah Baker, you want everyone to think you're a lesbo too now?"
Jessica shook her head at his tone.
Ophelia shrugged. "Fine, I don't have to dance with a girl then."
Ophelia grabbed Bryce this time, putting herself against him. She was disturbed when she felt his hardness touching her, but she was more invested in upsetting Montgomery.
"Ophelia, I'm fucking warning you..."
Ophelia didn't listen.
Bryce put his hands on Ophelia's shoulders, and without permission, he removed her shall covering. Her shoulders, back, and chest now bare.
"Yeah, girl! Take it off!" Jessica yelled.
Bryce grabbed Ophelia by the waist, and Ophelia was starting to regret her decision. She looked at her boyfriend. His face had lost all expression. He was just staring at her, so intensely.
She had only seen him like this once before.
She pulled away from Bryce.
"Me next?" Justin asked, eagerly. Jessica laughed. "You don't gotta wait, you got me."
Ophelia started, "Monty, I was just kidding around."
She was facing him, so she didn't see Bryce move her shawl in front of his crotch, attempting to cover his intense hard on. But Montgomery did.
In an instant, Montgomery had Ophelia's wrist in his hand, and he had yank her towards him. She hissed in pain. He then pulled her with him, all the way out of the gym.
"Wait, Monty-"
"Shut the fuck up" he told her, scarily calm.
He dragged her through the halls. They came across a dead end. He pushed her into the wall.
"What are you doing, Ophelia?" he asked her.
"Look, I'm sorry-"
"You want someone else?" he demanded to know, "You want someone else touching you?"
"No!"
"It seemed like it!" He pushed her again into the wall. "Is that why you were acting like a slut? You want someone else fucking you!"
He grabbed her by the shoulders, this time throwing her into the lockers.
"Stop it!"
He grabbed her shoulders. "Stop? Like you stopped when you were rubbing your ass on Bryce's dick?"
She gasped, "I wasn't-"
"You fucking were!"
He looked her up and down. "You're dressed like a fucking slut too. You took off your cover, just so he could see you. Just so he could feel you."
"He took it off!-"
"You fucking let him!"
Montgomery grabbed her shoulders, brought her forward, and slammed her back into the lockers.
"Ow!"
"You want to fuck him?" Montgomery asked. "You want to fuck Bryce?"
"No!-"
It felt like a brick to her. Montgomery's fist felt like a brick. She had barely seen him bring his arm back, but his punch hit like a bring.
Ophelia screamed, so loudly she was surprised no one in the dance heard it. She fell to the ground. She saw a drop of blood hit the floor beneath her before she felt the blood dripping down her nose.
"You're a fucking slut!" Montgomery continued to scream at her. "I bet you did this on purpose, huh? So I would fuck you extra hard!"
She didn't say anything, she couldn't. The pain was too intense.
He kept yelling at her, but she couldn't make sense of any of it. The shock of his actions alone stunned her beyond the point of speech.
He froze suddenly, as they heard a door open. Montgomery picked her off the ground quickly. Bryce had walked into the hallway, bringing Ophelia's cover with him.
Montgomery paused.
"Go get it" he told her.
She hesitated. "W-What?"
"Go get your fucking shawl and cover the fuck up."
He pushed her towards Bryce's direction.
"H-He'll see..."
"Then he'll know that you were being a fucking slut and I had to do something about it."
"Please" she begged, using all the energy had left, "Please don't make me..."
Montgomery looked at her, mercilessly. "Go. Fucking. Get it."
Ophelia turned around, now facing Bryce. He was taken aback as she walked towards him, and he saw the blood streaming down her face.
She didn't speak to him. She just held out her arm, shaking. He placed the cover in her hand. She wrapped it around herself, as if it would keep her safe.
"Hey," Bryce said to her, softly.
Ophelia looked up at her, hopefully. Maybe he could take her away, take her away from Montgomery. Take her to safety until he calmed down. End this nightmare before it could continue.
Bryce glanced at his friend down the hall, then back at his bloody girlfriend.
"Next time, don't be such a slut, Ophelia."