Ophelia brushed down her hair, using the mirror she just placed in the center of her locker door. Her locker, mostly empty, only contained a water bottle, two notebooks, and a cup of pencils. It was the first day of sophomore year, and she was excited.
She put the mirror up first, and then pinned up a photo of her and Montgomery just below it. She smiled at it. Her eyes flashed to the mirror, where she saw Montgomery walking up. She didn't turn around, she let him come up behind him.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and lowered his head so they were both seen in the mirror.
"Damn, look at you, O. You want another boyfriend or something?" He motioned to her outfit and face done up with makeup.
"Monty, I am dressing to impress," she told him. She smoothed down her green shirt.
"Me too," he told her, "But I'm just here to impress you." With his free hand, Monty reached into his varsity jacket pocket and pulled out a pink flower. "Here. My little housewarming gift for your locker."
Ophelia turned around with a smile and kissed him on the cheek. She took the flower and put it in the cup of pencils she had. "Very sweet, baby."
The color looked familiar to her. "Where did you get it?"
He shrugged, and leaned against the locker. "Around."
"Around?" She wrinkled her nose in an amusing way. "Did you steal it?"
"Ophelia, Ophelia, Ophelia," he said, shaking his head. "You can't steal nature."
Ophelia smiled, observing the flower. "It's from out front isn't it?"
"Wrong. It's from a house I passed on the way in. They had tons, they won't miss it."
Ophelia kissed him, this time quickly on the lips. "Well, thank you. I'll keep it forever."
"Hmm," he said, "I don't know how long flowers live. A few years?"
"No," she said, "After being picked they live a few weeks at most. But I'll press it when it starts dying. That'll save it."
"It's really weird you know so much about plant life," he mentioned. "But it's cute too."
"It's weird you don't know that flowers die after being cut," she mentioned. "But it's cute too."
Ophelia smoothed her hair down, staring at herself in the vanity mirror. She was in her room, finishing her makeup before school. She wore it simple that day. Foundation and mascara. She stood, her dress falling, resting just below her knees. It was a button up dress, short sleeves. Dark blue.
Her door creaked open. Her father stepped in. He looked her over. "You look beautiful, mija."
She smiled softly. "Thanks, dad."
He told her, "Your boyfriend is downstairs."
Her father looked slightly upset, as usual. He didn't like the fact that Ophelia couldn't drive, and that she had to either walk or rely on someone to take her to school.
Ophelia asked, "Can you send him up?"
He looked unconvinced.
"I'll leave the door open, dad."
He thought about it. "Alright. I don't want you two upstairs for more than fifteen minutes, alright?"
"Of course."
Her father left the room. Ophelia grabbed the lipgloss off her dresser and put it on quickly, before her boyfriend arrived upstairs.
He came in with a bouquet of flowers in his hand.
"Hey, O," Zach greeted. He held out the flowers, "These are for you."
Zach stood in her room, tall and handsome, in a dark blue shirt that matched the color of her dress.
Ophelia smiled as she took the flowers. She wasn't sure what they were for, but with Zach there didn't need to be a reason. He bought her flowers a lot. He could afford it.
"This is very sweet, Zach. Thank you." Zach leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
"Are you ready?" he asked her. "I was thinking we should go a little early. Alex is coming back today."
"And Jessica," she reminded him. "But yeah, I'll go put these in water and then we can head out."
Zach reached up and touched her hair, which was curled. "You look cute today. I don't think you've curled your hair in a while."
She took his hand in her, and held it. "I had time. I woke up really early this morning."
Ophelia recalled ubruptly waking up when it was still a bit dark out. She was unable to fall back asleep. Too nervous for the day ahead.
Jessica has been out of school for a few months. She couldn't handle being back. Ophelia understood more than anyone the need to get away and hide yourself.
She called Jessica on the phone that morning, and told her to not listen to what people said, and to try to keep her head up through everything.
She didn't tell her what people were saying yet. She would tell her today. Maybe today she would be ready.
Ophelia and Zach made their way downstairs. Ophelia put her new flowers in a vase, while Zach said goodbye to her father.
"I want her home right after school," her father told him.
"Dad, he has practice, remember?"
Her father looked unconvinced. "And when does that practice end?"
Zach said, "Well, seasons pretty close, so when it starts to get dark."
Her father looked between them. "Alright, don't be stopping anywhere after that."
"Yes, sir," Zach told him.
At Liberty High, things weren't as calm. No one else was having a good morning like Zach and Ophelia.
"Thought it was gonna settle."
Montgomery and Bryce were in the locker room. They had gone there for one reason only. To inject themselves with steroids for their upcoming morning practice.
Montgomery was angry. Angry at the Baker's. Angry at fucking Hannah Baker. And angry at Ophelia.
She had been subpoenaed for Hannah Baker's trial days ago, the trial that was supposed to have ended months ago, and she never mentioned it to him. The trial started that morning, and it's the first he heard about it. She shouldn't fucking told him.
Ophelia had broken up with him back in the beginning of November. It was March now. She hadn't waisted time in choosing Zach. He learned about their relationship in February, and learned later that it had actually begun in January.
Montgomery felt betrayed by Ophelia, and by Zach, and by fucking Bryce who admitted he knew about it longer than he had.
Bryce tried to be the peacekeeper, wanting both Zach and Montgomery to remain friends. He had no idea how fucking angry Montgomery was when Bryce would invite Zach and Ophelia to continue sitting with them at lunch, and inviting them out with them, knowing damn well how upset it made Montgomery. How much it hurt Montgomery.
And Bryce expects him to act nice. To be a friend to Zach. Montgomery tried. He was usually in a good mood at school anyway, and he would joke around with Zach to try to keep things light. But when Ophelia was there too it was hard. After everything that happened.
She should've fucking told him. Not just about when she started dating Zach, but when she got subpoenaed. Her testimony involved him. They were in it together.
He knew why she didn't, though. He hadn't been the kindest to her after learning about her and Zach's relationship. But he felt his anger was justified. Who the fucks breaks up with their boyfriend of two years just to date someone new one month later?
"Don't worry about it," Bryce told him. He had the syringe in his hand. He squeezed the top, letting a bit of liquid out of the needle to get rid of air bubbles.
Montgomery scoffed. "What is that Cory Jensen gonna testify?"
Bryce paused and corrected him, "Clay."
Montgomery rolled his eyes. He didn't give a fuck what the guys name was. But he recalled being corrected by Ophelia months ago.
Bryce lifted Montgomery's shirt out of the way, and Montgomery pulled his shorts down a bit so that Bryce could inject him in a spot that wouldn't be seen.
Bryce inserted the syringe, and Montgomery cringed slightly as he was injected with the steroids.
Bryce answered his question by saying, "Don't know and don't care."
Montgomery groaned slightly as his body ached with the unfamiliar chemicals.
"Yeah," he said, " but all that Hannah Baker shit will get dredged up all over again."
"My dad's got the trial covered," Bryce assured him, "We'll figure it out."
Montgomery was upset that Bryce wasn't as worried as he was.
He decided to mention, "Well, now Jessica Davis is coming back to Liberty is that a fucking coincidence?"
Bryce brushed it off, "Again, man. Don't know. Don't care." Bryce slapped Montgomery on the chest with his baseball hat. "Don't worry about the fucking trial, man."
Montgomery scoffed. He mentioned, "Zach isn't fucking here. Hasn't shown up for morning practice in a few days."
Bryce shrugged. "Coach says he's been excused. That's fine by me."
"But do you think he's testified-"
"Monty, Jesus, why the fuck are you so worried about this?"
Because Montgomery had done things Bryce didn't know about. And because he thought he got away with it, until now. Now everything would come back to light again.
He would talk to Ophelia, he decided. It would be the first time in months that he approached her on his own. The first time since Hamlin's.
"Let's just go. We don't need anyone coming in here," Bryce told him.
Montgomery grabbed his glove from his locker. He spotted the closed envelope at the back of it. He had taken down the photos of him and Ophelia that used to hang in his locker and put them in there.
He had never taken them home. Part of him figured he would be able to put them up soon enough.
But four months later, they were still broken up. Montgomery reached to grab them. He should throw them away. It's fucking obvious how she feels, and it was obvious that he wouldn't get her back.
But when he grabbed the envelope it felt like it burned him. Montgomery shook his head, bringing his arm out and shutting the locker.
Maybe tomorrow he could let her go. But not today. Not yet.
When they left Ophelia's house, Zach opened his car door for her. She loved his car. The seats were comfortable, and it was a closed roof. She didn't have to worry about her hair flying everywhere on the way to school.
"So do you want to eat with Alex and Jessica today?" Ophelia asked.
Zach hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe once they've been back and things settle down."
Ophelia only nodded. She knew how sensitive things were with Zach's friends right now. How hard he was trying to stay neutral with Bryce. With Montgomery.
Zach reached over and put his hand on Ophelia's thigh. Smiling he asked, "You think your dad believed we're practicing until sundown?"
Ophelia laughed. "It makes sense. I think sports teams used to do that back in his day."
He squeezed her thigh, causing goosebumps to run up her legs. His smile caused even more. He moved his hand up and down her leg a few times. He knew how much she liked it, and how much it drove her crazy. When they hit a red light, she leaned over and kissed him.
Zach's parents were out of town that week, along with his sister. They planned on spending time alone together. They hadn't been able to in a while. Ophelia's dad came home the month before, and that caused a strict curfew and even stricter reasons she could be allowed to leave.
He had always been a strict father, but once he returned home, and learned that Ophelia had not only been subpoenaed to a hearing, but now to a trial, he was much more controlling than usual.
The trial...
The one no one thought would actually happen. Ophelia tried not to think about it. Zach had told her that they shouldn't let it bother them too much. But for some reason, it seemed to bother him a lot. More then it seemed to bother her.
She didn't know why. Zach barely knew Hannah, and his crime was not that bad.
Ophelia spotted Alex and Jessica walking into Liberty High when they were pulling into the parking lot.
"Oh my god, he has a cane," Ophelia mentioned.
"Yeah, it's fucked up," Zach told her. "But hopefully he'll be off of it soon."
"How long have you been helping him with physical therapy?" Ophelia asked. She knew Zach went to his house to help him a few times a week, but wasn't sure how often they actually did physical activities.
"A lot. He's getting better. Come on, let's go catch them."
Alex and Jessica were in Liberty High and down the hall by the time Zach parked and they got out. Zach jogged down the halls a bit when finally spotting Alex. He caught up, and took Alex's backpack off his back. "I'll take that."
Alex rolled his eyes, annoyed at her boyfriend. "I can carry my own books."
Zach laughed it off. Alex was limping far too much to be able to properly grip his bag. "Well, clearly you can't. So let me help. Don't be a dick."
Ophelia greeted Jessica with a hug. "How are you doing?"
Jessica smirked. "I would be better if you didn't betray me. I thought we said we weren't dressing cute."
Ophelia blushed, looking down at her outfit. "I'm sorry. I forgot. Me and Zach have plans later."
Jessica glanced at Zach. "You do, huh?"
"But you look really good, Jess," Ophelia told her. "If anything, I'm the one that's being showed up."
Jessica said, "Well, I'm just glad to see you. I'm sorry I couldn't come over or anything."
"Please, don't worry about that. I've been fine."
"Yeah, but after the whole Hamlin's situation-"
Ophelia cut her off, abruptly. "Actually, how's your dad, is he alright with you being back?"
Zach noticed the change in subject, as did Alex.
Jessica sighed. "Barely."
Zach decided to try to lighten up the mood. "Well, welcome back guys!"
Zach stood next to Ophelia. It still surprised her sometimes how much taller than her he was. Taller than Montgomery.
Jessica smiled. "Thank you!" She had a lollipop in her hand, and Ophelia noticed it had already turned her tongue red.
Alex smiled forcefully. He then said, "I meant to ask you guys about my note."
"What note?" Zach asked.
Alex brought out a piece of paper, and tried unfolding it with one hand by waving it up and down. "My suicide note."
Zach reacted quickly, moving his hand over it and forcing it out of view. "Jesus, put that away." He glanced around.
Alex looked at him like he was stupid. "It's not radioactive."
Ophelia glanced at him. Zach sighed, looking around for teachers once more before telling him, "I know it's just...we're not allowed to talk about suicide. Or you. Or Hannah."
Jessica leaned against her locker. "Says who?"
Zach sighed again. "Says the school."
Ophelia clarified, "They made a rule about it after you..." Ophelia hesitated, suddenly embarrassed by her phrasing.
"After that day," Zach finished for her, "And if you talk about it on campus, you get suspended."
Alex scoffed. "That is so fucked up."
"Yeah," Zach agreed. Ophelia nodded.
Jessica turned her head, and suddenly snapped back towards them. "Oh shit..."
They all looked ahead to see Bryce's group walking their way. Him, Montgomery, and Scott Reed. Zach glanced at Ophelia, then Jessica, before grabbing Alex by the arm and attempting to turn him around.
"Hey, lets go," Zach tried. "Who do you have first period? Mr. Wood?"
"Yeah," Alex said, in a strained voice. "But I can't turn that fast."
Jessica found Zach's fleeing strange. "What are you running from, Zach?"
He hesitated, glancing at Ophelia again. "Nothin'."
"Hey," Bryce called when he spotted them. He was excited to see people that dreaded seeing him. "Jess, Alex, welcome back, you guys."
Montgomery smiled as he walked past the group. "'Sup, Alex? Jess?" He noticed how Ophelia looked dressed up. She was matching colors with Zach. Montgomery reached out and touched Ophelia's curled hair, knowing it would get under Zach's skin. "Lovin' the style today, O."
Ophelia flinched away from him. Scott sent Zach a wink. "Don't worry. You're lookin' cute too, Zachy."
Montgomery laughed, hitting Scott on the chest as they continued walking.
"What the fuck?" Jess muttered, noticing how friendly everyone was being.
Alex just shook his head, not believing their friendly behavior. "Seriously? "Welcome back"?"
"Alex, stop," Jessica pleaded. "Look, I'll see you guys after third."
"I'll walk with you," Ophelia volunteered. She looked at Zach and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning around and standing by Jessica.
Jessica smiled now. "We'll take the long way then. It's gonna be a good day."
Alex turned and watched as Montgomery and Scott were laughing and messing around with each other. Pushing each other. Bryce was smiling too, all while his very presence had the power to completely break Jessica's spirit.
Montgomery looked over and saw Alex watching him. His smile disappeared.
Alex was confused by it. He didn't remember why he was upset with Montgomery, but he knew he was. He couldn't remember anything, even though Jessica explained the tapes to him. He knew what Montgomery did to Hannah, to Ophelia. But there was something else. He just couldn't fucking remember.
"Why the fuck were you being so cool with those guys?" Alex asked him.
Zach looked down. "Let's just get to first, man." Zach noticed Montgomery staring. Not at him, at Alex. "Hey man, are you okay?"
Alex looked away, now down at his cane. "I'm fine."
When they got to Alex's class, early before anyone else, Alex asked him, "Can you tell me why the fuck Bryce looks so happy? Like everything's fucking normal?"
Zach clenched his jaw. "Because everything is fucking normal for him."
Alex shook his head. "But people know, right? They know what he did? Like, Justin told everyone, didn't he? That's what Tyler told me."
Zach muttered. "Fucking Tyler." He looked around again to make sure no one was in hearing range once two more students entered the classroom.
Zach began, "Look, they know Justin accused Bryce of...raping her." Zach struggled to even say the words. "But the thing is after Justin left and Jessica stopped coming to school, Bryce just spun the whole story. He said that they hooked up and that she, like, wanted it."
"What?" Alex was livid. How fucking stupid were these people? "Then why would Justin say all that shit?"
"Bryce said that Jessica felt bad for cheating on Justin with him."
Alex shook his head, seething, "Such a fucking asshole."
Zach told him, "With you guys coming back and all maybe it's best that we...just don't poke the bear, you know? Let's just try to get things back to normal."
Alex disagreed. "I don't think there is a normal anymore."
Zach scoffed. "Tell me about it."
Alex looked at him. "And you're still friends with them? Bryce and Monty?"
"We play baseball together," Zach explained, "I just don't want anything to be awkward between any of us."
Alex asked, "Yeah, but didn't Montgomery, like, fucking abuse Ophelia or some shit? Isn't it awkward for her anyways?"
Zach sat down as more people began coming in. He leaned over and said, "She says it isn't."
"You and her are dating now, right?"
Zach nodded. "For a little over three months now." He said it with a smile. He was happy about it. Proud of it.
"It's not weird hanging with your girlfriend's ex boyfriend?"
Zach rested his hands on his lap and cleared his throat. "It is. But I push through it. For the team. It's what she wants, anyway."
Alex asked, "Why the fuck would she want that?"
"I don't know."
Alex saw him hesitate.
"What happened at Hamlin's?"
Zach's head snapped in his direction. "What the hell do you know about that?"
Alex said, "Jesus, man. Calm down. I don't know anything about that. But Jessica mentioned it earlier."
Zach just put his hands on the desk in front of him, and shook his head. "I don't know. Ophelia won't really tell me."
"What the fuck? Really?"
He explained, "I mean, she did tell me. She said she ran into Montgomery over there and he freaked out of some shit. Because he found out we were dating. But I don't know, she won't really go into detail."
Alex asked, "Did he ever do any fucked up shit? Tyler was with me when I was recovering. Told me he would probably leak something or try to embarrass her. Did he do any of that?"
Zach shook his head, but then stopped, and nodded stiffly. "Kind of. Not to the whole school or anything. When he found out we were dating he sent the baseball team chat a picture of him in bed with some girl. He said it was a girl from another school but it was fucking obviously Ophelia. I could tell."
"What, like naked?" Alex asked.
"Yeah. But you could just see her back."
"Why would he lie and say it was someone else?" Alex asked him. "He sounds like he's acting fucking crazy for no fucking reason."
"He wanted me to see," Zach told him. "He wanted me to see her in bed with him."
Alex leaned back. "Jeez, did Ophelia flip?"
"She doesn't fucking know," Zach said. "And don't tell her. Alright? She has a lot to worry about, she doesn't need this too."
Alex heard the bell ring above them. He looked at Zach, only to see he hadn't moved at all. He was looking down, concentrating hard.
"Dude," Alex said, "This isn't your class."
Zach snapped out of his trance. "Fuck!" He grabbed his bag and ran.
"Hey, I need to go to the bathroom real quick," Jessica told Ophelia.
Ophelia started to go in with her.
"No," Jessica said, "I can go to the bathroom myself, I promise."
Ophelia looked offended. "I'm not allowed to go with you. What about girl code?"
Jessica laughed and said, "Girl code doesn't count when someone's on their period. I might be a minute so excuse me."
Ophelia laughed too. "Okay, okay. Go ahead. Sorry."
She leaned against the wall, and took out her phone to pass the time.
"Hey, Ophelia."
Ophelia almost dropped her phone because she was so startled.
"Jesus Christ, Tyler."
"I always say 'hi' before talking," he complained. "How else am I supposed to come up to you without scaring you?"
Ophelia rolled her eyes. "You can just not talk to me."
He ignored the snide comment.
"Did you get a subpoena?"
Ophelia felt like they just had this conversation. "Yes, I did. But I don't feel like talking about it." She didn't want to think of it at all.
"Look, I'm just looking out for you, okay?" Tyler said. Ophelia looked at him, because his voice sounded sincere. "They brought up shit I didn't know they knew about. They definitely have more than you think."
Ophelia shrank down a bit.
"Hey," he said, softer this time, "Let me know if people start any trouble with you, okay?"
"What trouble could they cause?" Ophelia asked him. "I'll do what I did last time. I'll just deny."
Tyler frowned. "Someone is blogging the whole trial. I think they wrote down what I said. Even if you deny it, people will still hear the accusations. Everyone at school will."
Ophelia bit her lip, hesitating. "Why are you telling me this?"
Tyler said simply, "Well, because I believe you. I believe you didn't want to hurt Hannah. I know I've been a nuisance in the past, but I want to help you, and Clay."
Ophelia felt grateful towards Tyler. She didn't know that was actually possible.
"Thank you," she told him, honestly.
Two girls exited the bathroom, laughing.
"That was so awkward," one of them whispered, "She was like crying."
"Fuck," Ophelia whispered.
She went into the bathroom quickly, without another word to Tyler.
"Jess?" she called. She heard the sniffles coming from the third stall. Ophelia stood outside the door, "Jess, are you okay?"
Jessica opened the door. She pointed inside. "Have you seen this?"
Ophelia stopped in and looked at the door she was pointing at. Ophelia froze, reading the words she hadn't seen before.
'Jessica Davis=Liar'
'Slut'
'Drunk Slut'
'Drunk Cheater'
Ophelia's mouth fell open, shocked. "Jessica, I'm so sorry. I swear I never saw it."
Jessica wiped her eyes, sniffing. "But you heard it, didn't you?"
Ophelia didn't know what to say. She had heard it. But she didn't know Jessica would have to come face-to-face with it so soon.
"What have they been saying?" Jessica demanded.
Ophelia sighed. She ran a hand through the top of her hair. "Bryce kind of started the rumor that you and him, like, hooked up. That you cheated on Justin with him. And then Justin found out and...you lied. You said he raped you so Justin wouldn't be mad."
Jessica looked to the floor and balled up her fists. "What the fuck is wrong with him?"
"I don't know, Jess, and I'm so sorry-"
"And you and Zach still hanging out with him?" Jessica asked.
"Zach is," she told her, "I'm just hanging out with Zach."
"With Bryce. And Jaime. And Scott. And Montgomery. You still hang out with Montgomery?"
"It's complicated-"
"It's not. He hit you. Bryce raped me."
"I know, and it's fucked up. But Zach has scholarships on the line and he wants to be friendly and..." Ophelia took a breath. "Look, I just don't want to force Zach to stop hanging out with people because of me. I mean...Monty kind of used to do that."
Jessica looked to the floor, and then back up to Ophelia. "I'm sorry about that. But, you and Zach are dating now, right? He doesn't have a problem with it? With knowing what he did to you?"
Ophelia rubbed her arm up and down. "I told him it doesn't bother me. I mean, I think it's good, in the long run. I think if I stayed away, it would be harder for Monty to get over things. He seems...okay now."
Jessica looked unconvinced.
Ophelia said, "Maybe not okay. He's never really been okay. But he's better."
"What about what happened at Hamlin's?"
Ophelia shook her head, quickly. "Look, Zach doesn't really know about that, so please don't say anything."
"You didn't tell him anything?"
Ophelia said, "I told him I ran into Monty, and he figured out we were dating and freaked out. I didn't tell him about the coffee or anything else."
Jessica asked, "So you and Montgomery are cool now or something?"
Ophelia shook her head. "I mean, he acts like we are. But I don't think so. He's different. I can't get into his head the same way I used to. It's like he's shut me out, he doesn't want me to know what he's thinking. One day we're at school and he's talking to me like we don't know each other, and the next he's texting me saying-"
Jessica looked at her. "Saying what?"
Ophelia looked away. "Saying he wants me dead. Shit like that."
"What the fuck? He said he wants you dead?"
"It's when he gets drunk. It fucks him up."
"That's not fucking okay," Jessica told her. "A man With fucking anger issues says he wants you dead. What the fuck does Zach have to say about it?"
"I didn't tell him," Ophelia confessed. "He just...he has so much to worry about already."
Jessica turned and grabbed paper towels out of the dispenser and blew her nose in them. She touched up her makeup quickly in the mirror. "This school is fucked up."
"Trust me, I know," she mumbled.
Jessica turned to her and asked, "Well, what the fuck am I supposed to do? Walk around with Bryce? Pretend he didn't rape me and then call me a fucking cheater for it?"
"I'll be with you the whole time," Ophelia promised. "And when you're ready to tell someone else-"
Jessica shook her head. "I just don't understand you, O."
She didn't know what else to say. "I'm sorry."
Jessica asked her, "So are you and Bryce friends too?"
"No," Ophelia told her. "Trust me, I try to never even talk to that guy."
Jessica brought her bag over her shoulder. She fixed herself one final time in the mirror.
"Alright. I'm ready." She headed to the door. "The bell's about to ring. So you should just head to your first instead."
"I can still walk with you," Ophelia tried.
"I'm good," Jessica told her. She took a deep breath and reminded herself, "Today's gonna be a good day."
Zach had been looking for Clay all day, and finally found him in passing period. Thankfully, it was before lunch, before he met with Ophelia.
"Hey! Clay!" He ran time catch up with him.
Clay was moving slowly, unphased by Zach's worried voice. "Hey, Zach."
"Were you in court this morning?" Zach asked him.
"Yeah." He let out a deep breath. "I couldn't anymore of take Tyler's lies so I left."
Zach was confused. He had seen the blog about the trial was posted, but only read the first paragraph so far.
Clay stopped at his locker, and Zach stopped with him. "So how is this gonna happen? Is everything gonna come out?"
Zach was nervous. Beyond nervous. He told Ophelia not to worry about the trial, but Ophelia didn't have much to worry about it. She had to fear what Montgomery did to Hannah coming to light, but there were people that knew about it. It wasn't a secret.
What Zach was terrified of, was his relationship with Hannah coming out. When they dated, kind of. He didn't know if they were actually boyfriend and girlfriend at the time, and he still wasn't sure. But they had slept together. A lot. That would be a big deal in a case like this.
Clay looked rattled, unsure why Zach was asking him this. "How the fuck would I know?"
Zach was slightly upset by his careless answer. "Well, when do you testify?"
Clay hesitated. "I don't." And he was ashamed he didn't. He wanted to do more, but he couldn't.
"What?" Zach was shocked. "Why would they call me and not call you?"
The knew. They had to know about Zach and Hannah. Why else would they want him? Over Clay, the boy Hannah clearly had feelings for?
Clay wanted to get the conversation over with. "I don't know and I don't care."
Zach was perplexed. This isn't the same Clay that wanted to handle everything himself last semester. "How can you not care?"
Clay closed his locker, having enough. "I care about my girlfriend, and I care about my grades, and let's plenty."
Zach was offended, suddenly. Yes, he had been letting his grades fall further than they should, but was Clay hinting that he didn't care about his girlfriend? That he didn't care about Ophelia?
Ophelia. She didn't deserve what happened to her. She was too kind, and she didn't deserve to be on the tapes in Zach's opinion. It should have been Montgomery's tape. Zach felt Hannah was too harsh bringing Ophelia into it and saying she's a reason why she killed herself.
Ophelia didn't deserve to find out about Hannah by anyone else. It should be from him. But he didn't feel ready. He wanted Ophelia to know he loved her before that happened, so she could be sure that Hannah wasn't still in the back of his mind, like she was in Clay's.
He was terrified it would come up on trial. And he would have to tell the truth.
"When you're under oath, they can ask you anything, right?" Zach asked.
Clay just scoffed. He was upset, and frustrated, and Zach's questioning was not helping. "You stole a fucking note. It's not like you raped her. What are you worried about?"
Zach ignored his last question. "What about the tapes? What about the tape you made?" He was desperate for any reason to not have to testify. For his secret with Hannah to stay a secret.
"Why are you still hanging around with Bryce and Montgomery?" Clay asked him. "What do they have on you?"
Zach sighed, feeling like he's been getting the question too often. "I'm not hanging out with them, okay? I just-I have to play baseball with them."
"Why the fuck are you putting Ophelia through that? Having to see Montgomery everyday after what he did to her, or used to do to her."
"Why is everyone acting like I'm forcing this on Ophelia? She told me she was okay with it. She understands-"
"Girls lie," Clay told him. "They'll say they're fine when they're not." It was clear to Zach that Clay was thinking of someone else when he said this. "Shit, Zach. Montgomery fucking roofied Hannah, and Bryce raped her while she was conscious and fighting. Why the fuck do you want your girlfriend around all that?"
"You don't get it, Clay," Zach insisted. "All this shit was going away. Bryce has a girlfriend, he's getting better. Montgomery isn't such a fucking tool anymore. Things were finally going back to normal and I was just hoping that this trial didn't fuck up everybody's life."
Clay shook his head, disagreeing with everything he just said. He turned away from him. "Well, too late."
"Ophelia, you don't have to follow me everywhere. I'm not gonna break down."
Jessica took a sip of her water bottle. She handed it to Ophelia for a moment and then tied her hair into a ponytail.
She was walking Jessica to her cheer practice.
"I know," Ophelia told her, walking with her. Jessica took the bottle back. "But, listen, your new team captain is...she's dating Bryce, okay?"
Jessica frowned. "What? Why the fuck would anyone want to date him?"
"He's manipulative," Ophelia explained, "He's convinced everyone that's he's innocent. That he's some great guy."
He wasn't that cute either, in Ophelia's opinion. His manipulation overshadowed looks.
"Disgusting," Jessica muttered. She wasn't just angry, she was hurt.
"Look, don't be mean to her," Ophelia asked of her, "She doesn't know anything. I'm sure if she did-"
"She does know," Jessica told her. "She just chooses not to believe it. Everyone that heard knows and just refused to believe it."
Ophelia agreed. The two made their way to the cheer team. Ophelia hesitated as she spotted Marisa. Marisa saw her at the same time, sending her a glare.
Ophelia watched her whisper something to her friend. And then they both started laughing. Ophelia felt insecure as she wrapped her arms across her chest.
"Oh, right," Jessica said, noticing. "Have you guys talked at all? Since you, like, slapped her?"
Ophelia shook her head. "I've tried not to see her a lot. I know she talks about me, though. She..." Ophelia hesitated.
"What?"
"She tried to hook up with Montgomery. After we broke up."
Jessica almost said 'ew'. "Really? What about Anthony?"
"They broke up. I think a little after what happened."
Jessica was disgusted. Not with the breakup, but who she tried to heal herself with. "So she goes after Montgomery?"
"Yeah, but Monty rejected her and shit. It hurt her feelings. She tried telling people I was cheating on Zach with him, and that's why he said no."
Jessica just shook her head. "People believe anything here."
"I don't think anyone believed her. She's not Monty's type."
Jessica guessed what she meant. Marisa wasn't Ophelia.
"You can go," Jessica said.
Ophelia felt bad she came out here.
Jessica quickly explained, "I just mean so Marisa doesn't start anything. Thanks for coming with me. Sorry that I snapped at you."
"It's okay," Ophelia told her. "I understand. When I came back to school, after Hannah, I didn't want to talk to anyone."
Jessica looked down. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."
"You tried," Ophelia told her. She joked, "I'm just glad you're easier to get through to than I am."
Jessica gave her one last smile before jogging to the cheerleaders on the field. Ophelia cringed as she saw Chloe greet her. Across the field, she caught sight of Zach playing baseball. She saw Bryce, who was pitching. He kept throwing badly.
She noticed his gaze fell on Jessica, then her. She quickly looked away. Ophelia decided to just wait for Zach near the locker room. She didn't want to watch practice today.
"Zach, my man, you and Ophelia doing something special tonight, or what?"
Zach looked over to see Bryce came up behind him in the locker room. Zach shut his locker, now fully showered and dressed already.
"Why you think that?" Zach asked him.
Bryce chuckled. "I mean, you used conditioner in the shower. And you took like fifteen minutes. And I just saw you put on some cologne. I can smell it from here."
Zach began to become embarrassed, his cheeks turning slightly red. He wondered if the smell was too strong. No, he only put on one dab. At least it smelled good. It was expensive.
"We're just hanging out," Zach told him.
"Hanging out?" Bryce asked. He laughed. "Didn't you say your family is gone until tomorrow?"
Scott, another baseball player, walked over from his locker a few rows away. "Hey, Zach. Make sure you get verbal confirmation, alright man?"
A few other players laughed. Scott has referenced something said a few hours ago before practice. Mr. Porter had sat everyone down to go over consent and safe sex. It was boring, and dramatic, and many of them didn't listen.
Montgomery was facing away from them, into his locker. He stayed silent.
Carlos said, "Yeah, what the fuck was all that? Jesus, one bitch claims rape and we gotta listen to an hour lecture on what consent is?"
Bryce groaned, "Fucking Mr. Porter taking everything so seriously."
Zach told him, "Well, rape is serious Bryce."
Bryce nodded. "Yeah, I know. But obviously no one here does that shit."
Zach just looked at him. "Yeah, obviously."
"So tell us," Carlos continued. "You fucking Ophelia tonight?"
Zach didn't want to talk about this. He wanted to change the topic entirely.
But honestly, he did want to. He was hoping to. Ophelia had been warming up to the idea of sex. He would never pressure her, but he noticed she was becoming more and more intimate when they would make out.
The week before, while they were watching a movie with her parents upstairs, Ophelia reached beneath the blankets and touched him. He didn't finish, he didn't think she was planning on finishing him off. But it felt nice. And he could tell she wouldn't have been opposed if he asked her to keep going.
Montgomery suddenly slammed his locker shit, turning around to join the conversation. "Yeah, Zach. You fucking her tonight?"
He spoke in a neutral tone, but Zach saw the anger behind it.
"Not your business," he told him.
Bryce said, "Come on, Zachy. Montgomery used to fuck her too. He could give you pointers. You guys could trade secrets."
The boys in the room laughed, except for Zach. He was upset they were speaking of Ophelia that way, but he was also embarrassed. Because they hadn't had sex before.
Montgomery noticed the look he had. "Wait a minute, has Ophelia not let you hit it yet?"
Zach turned even more red. He didn't respond.
"Holy shit," Bryce said. "Has she been blue balling my boy?"
"I knew she turned into a fucking prude," Montgomery mentioned.
"Wouldn't that mean you made her that way?" Zach mentioned. "She loved sex until she dated you, and she decided she had enough of it?"
Scott had tried taking a sip of his water, but choked on it after hearing Zach's words. Bryce let out an extremely loud laugh, which caused the rest of the players to join in.
Montgomery was embarrassed, and now upset. A terrible combination for him.
"You're too nice to turn her on," Montgomery told him. "She likes to fuck rough."
"I knew it," Scott said. He let out a happy breath. "There's just something in her eyes. I know she crazy in bed." He turned to Zach. "You guys gonna take a break soon? Or open the relationship? Help a man out?"
"Chill out, white boy," Carlos told him. "And leave Zach alone. It's hard for a lady to get over a Latino lover."
Montgomery high-fived him. "You know that's right."
Zach grabbed his bag, stuffing it with what he wanted to take home.
Montgomery walked up to him, and handed him something. A small box of condoms. "You need these?"
"Yes!" Bryce yelled. "This is what we need! Our men coming together. Helping each other. This is what Coach was talking about."
"Coach was talking about baseball," Zach said.
Bryce shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not."
Scott grabbed the box from Montgomery, putting it in Zach's bag for him since he had not reached out to grab them. "You just take these and use them wisely," Scott told him.
Zach was embarrassed even more. He looked away, not noticing how angry Montgomery actually looked.
Zach threw his bag over his shoulder, now desperate to get out of there.
"Good luck, Dempsey!" Bryce shouted as he left.
Ophelia was standing just outside of the locker room. Zach was startled by how close she was. He was worried she had heard something.
"You ready to go?" she asked, innocent of their conversation.
"Yeah," Zach said, rushing her before anyone came out. "Come on."
He opened his car door for her, and handed her his backpack to put in the back as he peeled out of the parking lot.
"What's this?" Ophelia asked. She noticed a purple box through his slightly open bag.
"Nothing!" he said quickly. But she had already pulled it out.
She froze.
"Fuck! That's-That's a joke. Scott put it in there."
"Scott Reed?"
"I'm sorry," Zach told her, quickly. "I don't know what happened. They just started talking about you coming over. Because of my cologne-"
"Cologne?" she asked, even more confused. She suddenly smelled his. It was pleasant. She liked it.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I guess that's, like, a sign that people have sex?"
Ophelia looked even more confused.
"Not that we're having sex!" he said quickly, "They just-they just thought it. Not because we are. I mean, they just-"
Ophelia cut him off again after she opened the box. "Scott Reed gave you an empty condoms box?"
Zach suddenly shut up. He looked over. "It's empty?"
Ophelia pulled something out. A small piece of paper.
"'You Wish. Fuck you.' What the hell? Scott's kind of mean."
Fucking Montgomery.
Zach grabbed the box and tossed it in the back. "It's stupid. Ignore it."
Ophelia bit her lip. "Did you, like, tell them we're going to have sex?"
"No, Bryce just guessed it. I guess because my family is out of town and you're coming over. The perfect time in a guy's eyes, I guess." Zach shook his head. "I'm sorry it came up."
"It's okay," she told him. "I know those guys are jerks. I'm glad you didn't bring it up."
Zach was thankful she understood.
"It is kind of the perfect time," Ophelia mentioned.
"What?"
She explained, "To have sex. Since your parents are out of town. It would be the perfect time."
Zach looked over at her, taking his eyes off the road for longer than he should have.
"A-Are you serious?"
Ophelia smiled, reaching over and grabbing his leg. She could already see his excitement. "Yeah. I'm serious."
First chapter of Season 2 ?
Ophelia and Zach are trying their best to protect each other, but this trial will be bad for everyone
Also, we will be seeing a lot more of the newer characters, like Scott and Chloe
Hope y'all like it! Tried to leave a kind of happy ending for the first chapter because the next ones might not be so happy ?
Also please no season 4 spoilers! Haven't been able to watch it yet