tw: sexual content

"Fuck! Holy...fuck!"

Zach gripped Ophelia's hip tightly, and used his strength to move her. And he moved her perfectly.

Ophelia was on top of Zach, and she was leaned forward, her hands on his shoulders. She wondered if her weight hurt him at all. She was never able to tell. He always had such happy expressions on his face.

It was almost a week after Bryce's funeral, and Zach had decided to skip football practice that day. He figured he wasn't needed, anyway.

Instead of going to practice, he went to Ophelia's house. Ophelia's empty house.

Ophelia was still grounded, because of her arrest, and because her mother found out about the incident with Montgomery's father. But her mother loved Zach, so he was always allowed over.

And Zach was grateful. Especially at times like this.

Zach and Ophelia had been working on homework, but that quickly stopped when Zach put his hand on her thigh. It was a turn on for Ophelia, seeing how large his hands were, especially on her body.

So doing homework turned into having sex. Not that either of them minded.

Ophelia could tell Zach had finished when he gripped her hips tightly, and then he slowed his movements, breathing deeply, eyes closed, head thrown back.

Ophelia smiled. His grip on her softened. She leaned down further, and kissed her on the lips, before getting off of him, and laying next to him.

"Fuck," he said again.

She snuggled into him, and kissed his cheek, before grabbing a blanket and pulling it over the two.

She put her head on his chest, smiling to herself.

His body felt so hot against her skin.

He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her.

"I love you," she told him.

He was still panting. "God, I fucking love you."

She giggled.

"How was that?" he asked her. "Like, for you?"

She looked up at him, and kissed him softly on the lips. "I loved it."

He laughed, and shook his head. "C'mon, Ophelia. Really."

"What?" she smiled. "I liked it."

Zach bit his lip. "But did you..."

Ophelia sighed. "I told you to stop worrying about that."

Zach groaned. "Ophelia-"

"Hey, hey, hey," she told him. "It was perfect. Let's leave it at that."

But Zach didn't want to leave him at that. It bothered him almost every time they had sex, because he was never sure how she felt about it.

Hannah Baker was the only other girl Zach had been intimate with, and she was able to make herself finish when she was on top. And Zach could please her when he was on top. Either way, they would both finish, nearly every time.

Zach just wished Ophelia would be okay with him being on top. He was sure he would be able to make her feel good then.

The day after Bryce's funeral, things were tense between him and Ophelia. He thought it was still because of the fact she learned he turned in her statement against Montgomery. And the fact that he had gone to see Bryce homecoming night.

But slowly, she got over it. Montgomery getting arrested was a good thing. And she believed Zach was in the right to go tell Bryce off. She didn't approve of him deleting her text messages, but she trusted that he only had the best intentions.

Ophelia told Zach she blocked Scott. He was glad. He was also glad she didn't bring up the fact she knew Zach had turned in the statement, no Scott. Zach didn't want him knowing he had that advantage. He also didn't want Scott to bring up other things. Like the fact he bought Ophelia that necklace. That stupid necklace she wore every day.

Zach wanted to throw it away, but it had been fixed somehow. So he just tried to ignore it as best he could.

Things went back to normal for them, almost. They went back to doing what normal couples did, which was have sex. And Zach loved it.

But he felt like Ophelia wasn't as into it. She had never been as into it.

Zach couldn't blame her. Obviously, he was doing something wrong.

So the next morning, before school, in the locker room before morning practice, Zach spoke with Justin about it.

"Dude, don't worry about it," Justin told him in a whisper. They were the last two left in the locker room, but Zach still wanted them to stay quiet. "You and Ophelia started having sex, what, a few weeks ago?"

Zach nodded. He leaned against a row of lockers just across from Justin. "Homecoming night."

Justin brushed it off. "You just haven't figured out what she likes yet. You will. I mean, if you'd been having sex a few months I'd be worried. A few weeks, no. All girls are different in terms of what they like."

Zach seemed unsure. And he seemed inexperienced. Especially when talking to Justin, who had been sexually active since he met him freshmen year.

But Justin, who had been with so many girls, telling him it wasn't his fault, made him feel better.

Zach told him, "That's the thing. She knows what I like."

Justin laughed. He spoke like it was obvious. "You're a guy. You want your dick in something. That's it."

Zach winced at the language. But he supposed it was true.

"Plus, I'm sorry you have to hear this, but she dated Monty. She probably had to learn about the male anatomy faster than she wanted to."

Zach's face fell. He asked, hesitantly, "What does that mean? She told me he never forced her into anything. Sexually, at least."

Ophelia and him spoke about her relationship with Montgomery in great detail after they got back together after Spring Fling. She didn't want to talk about their sexual relationship, and that was fine with Zach, because he didn't want to hear about it. But she told him she was never forced to have sex with him. Or forced into anything sexual.

Not that she remembered.

But the both of them recalled the polaroids of her in the clubhouse, unconscious and undressed. Ophelia never wanted to speak of it.

Zach wondered if Justin heard more.

"No, I don't think he would force her into anything. But, you've met him, and you know how dirty minded he is. And foul mouthed."

Zach chuckled. "Foul mouthed? You sound like a teacher scolding an eight grader for saying the word 'fuck'."

Justin laughed too. "Yeah, I went through that quiet a few times."

Zach wondered if Justin was telling the truth, and that it just took time to learn what girls wanted. Or, maybe, Zach couldn't please Ophelia the way Montgomery could.

"Have you ever, you know, not made a girl..." Zach drifted off.

Justin waved his hand. "Totally. Especially with girls I've never hooked up with before."

Zach felt relieved.

Justin told him, "I mean, it's not that big of a deal as long as she's finishing somehow."

Zach frowned. "What do you mean?" Finishing somehow?

Justin was the one confused now. "Like, after sex, when you go down on her."

Zach's eyes widened slightly. "Wait...go down on her?"

Justin's mouth dropped open. "Dude, you haven't been?"

Zach huffed. "How-How was I supposed to know I'm supposed to do that?"

Justin snapped in a hushed whisper, "Well, what the fuck have you been doing to make her finish?"

Zach snapped back, "I haven't been! That's why I'm asking you about it!"

"Zach are you fucking-" Justin stopped himself and took a deep breath. He started, now more direct, "Zach, what the fuck have you been doing for the past few weeks? After sex, when she doesn't cum, what do you do?"

Zach shrugged. "I don't know! We do something else."

Justin slapped his tshirt in the bench. "Something else? Like, fucking math or something? Zach!"

Zach ran a hand over his face. "I didn't know-"

"If you have sex, you're supposed to make her cum. If you don't, then you eat her out. That's how it goes, that's why girls put up with us."

"How the hell-"

"So you've been fucking Ophelia for weeks, finishing, and then giving her nothing in return. Are you fucking stupid?"

Zach turned away for a moment, running his hand through his hair. He then leaned down, gripping his crutches tighter.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know there's shit you do after sex?"

Justin groaned. "Zachary! I've seen your dick, man. You're packing. What's the problem?"

Zach shook his head. "Don't be looking at my dick, Justin! And I-I don't even know how to do that. At least, not well."

"So ask her," Justin said, like it was obvious. "She'll tell you what she wants. It's not a fucking secret."

Zach felt so stupid. "Shit-fuck-dammit-"

Justin watched his friend beating himself up.

So he added onto it.

"Get yourself in check, Zach. Ophelia's got a fat ass now. Plenty of other dudes are looking, and I bet you damn well they'd go down on her."

Zach scoffed. "Ophelia wouldn't...wait, why the fuck are your checking out her ass, Foley?"

Justin shrugged, but with a playful smile. "I don't be looking. It just...hard not to notice-"

Justin took a quick step back, laughing, as Zach came closer. "Okay, okay. Sorry."

"Go do your fucking drills," Zach told him, nodding outside to where practice had started.

Justin kept laughing. "Alright, alright. Don't be too upset, okay? Besides, at least you know one thing for sure."

Zach asked, "And what is that?"

"She loves you, man. Because she sure as fuck isn't with you for the sex."

There was distance between Ophelia and Zach. She didn't know if he had noticed.

Ever since she found out about him lying to her. Lying about turning in her statement, lying about where he was on Homecoming, and honestly she suspected there may be more he was keeping from her.

She wasn't sure how much she could trust him anymore.

Even with Zach's good intentions, there was a distance between them, and Ophelia didn't know if it could be fixed. Ophelia didn't believe Zach like she used to. She trusted him in the sense that he would never harm her, and that he would always do things in her best interest. But she didn't trust that he would always tell her the truth.

She saw a different side to Zach that she had never seen before. Last year, she would never even think Zach would go on her phone, deleting things. But maybe it was Bryce that brought out this anger.

No. Zach had been angry at Scott too.

Ophelia knew that Zach had gone to Scott's graduation party, and hit him. But she could rationalize that in her head.

Scott kissed her. It only made sense Zach would get mad. He could have done a lot worse than hitting him. Montgomery would have done a lot worse, anyway.

Ophelia tried not to think of Montgomery. Or of Scott. She was done with that part of her life. She only wanted to look forward to her future with Zach.

Zach was good to her. He had always been good to her. And he always looked out for her.

Especially at school.

Especially around Tyler Down.

He was a weird kid. He had always been a weird kid, but everyone was weird in their own way. That in itself was harmless.

Bringing guns to a school dance, with a hit list, was not harmless.

Tyler was still at school, taking photos. Stupid fucking photos like he had done all his life. Why was he allowed to go back to his life like nothing happened?

Ophelia didn't understand it. She wished there had been some kind of consequence. Something that got to Tyler, something that made sure he never tried that shit again.

But no. The only thing that stopped Tyler from killing someone, was Clay's hope he wouldn't.

Clay treated Tyler like a friend. He stuck by his side nearly everyday. It was would seem nice to Ophelia, if Tyler hadn't once pointed a gun at him.

That morning, before first period, as Ophelia was walking with Zach through the hallway, they had an encounter with Tyler.

He hadn't tried to be noticeable, but he always seemed to be. Especially with that damn camera of his.

Zach had noticed it, not Ophelia.

Maybe because Zach had become a little insecure, and because he had been looking around to see if any guys were looking at Ophelia's 'fat ass'. He saw Tyler, in the distance, taking photos of them.

Zach reacted quickly, rushing towards him. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Ophelia had been holding Zach's arm, and was surprised when he forced himself out of her grasp.

He moved fast. Surprisingly fast for a boy on crutches.

"What the fuck?" Zach said again.

He picked up one of his crutches, and pushed Tyler with it.

Tyler stumbled back, frightened. "I-I'm sorry."

By the time Ophelia got there, Tyler was shaking.

The whole hallway seemed to stop to watch them.

Ophelia was embarrassed. She thought her days of an aggressive boyfriend making a scene were over.

"What happened?" she asked, wondering what caused this reaction.

"You're really taking pictures of us?" Zach asked Tyler. "Like we don't know what kind of sick fuck you really are?"

"You tell him, Dempsey!" a boy in the hallway yelled, laughing. That boy didn't know the real cause for Zach's words.

"I'm sorry," Tyler gasped. "It's-It's for-"

"Yearbook, I know," Zach scoffed. "I'm done with that bullshit. No more fucking pictures of us."

Ophelia pulled Zach's sleeve slightly, to tell him to back off. Zach pulled away from her.

"Okay, okay," Tyler breathed. "I-I'm sorry."

"Zach, he said he's sorry," Ophelia told him. Honestly, she hadn't been angry in the first place. Creeped out, but not angry.

Zach leaned into Tyler's ear and whispered, so only the three of them could hear, "Remember that I know what you did. And I'm not keeping your fucking secret if you keep fucking with us."

"Zachary!" Ophelia snapped, pulling him away. She frowned at him.

Tyler looked like he was going to cry. He straightened himself up, and covered her face. Ophelia found this odd. His reaction seemed...familiar.

"I won't, I won't," he spoke quickly.

Ophelia forced herself in front of Zach.

"It's fine," she told Tyler, "Just...we don't want any fucking pictures."

"Okay," Tyler breathed. "I-I'm sorry."

Ophelia turned back to Zach, and grabbed the front of his crutch. She practically pulled him away.

"What the hell was that?" she said, quietly, as they left.

"He was taking our picture."

"He's on yearbook," Ophelia said. "I mean, yeah, it was weird, and I didn't want him to. I mean, I get yelling at him, but...I don't think you should be bringing up...what happened..."

"Why not?" Zach asked, confused.

Ophelia just said, "I just don't. It feels weird to talk about."

Zach almost scoffed. "Well, I haven't forgiven him for it."

Ophelia frowned. "I haven't forgiven him either. But, c'mon, how does it make sense embarrassing him in front of everyone? That'd just make him hate us more."

And humiliation would only make him feel the same anger he felt on the night of the spring fling.

"I'm not scared of him," Zach told her. "And you don't have to be scared of him either. Not with me around."

Ophelia told him, "I'm not scared of him when you're around." That's why she could handle seeing him. Because she was with Zach. "Just...please, don't do that. Don't snap on people like that. It's not you, it's..." It's Montgomery.

Zach exhaled. "I'm sorry, okay? He just freaks me the fuck out. Fucking psychopath."

"He freaks me out too," Ophelia admitted. "But, I trust Clay. And Clay says we don't have to worry. So I'm just going to keep my distance. And keeping distance means not screaming at him in front of the whole school."

Zach looked away, guilty.

Ophelia sighed, "But thank you for, you know, defending me."

"Of course," he told her.

Ophelia reached up and kissed him. She smiled when she pulled away.

"It was sweet. And I like your sweet side more than anything else. Got it?"

Zach sighed. "Yeah. I'll do better, okay?"

Ophelia smiled again. "I'll see you at lunch?"

He nodded. They went their separate ways. Zach was almost at his first period when Montgomery suddenly came in front of him.

Zach groaned. "What, Montgomery?"

"What the fuck happened in the hall?" Montgomery asked him.

"What?"

"With Tyler. What happened?"

Zach didn't even realize he had been there. "Nothing. He was just bothering Ophelia."

"Bothering her how?"

"Just being a creep," Zach told him. "I dealt with it."

Montgomery scoffed. "Barely."

"Excuse me?"

"You didn't even touch him," Montgomery said. "Or rough him up at all."

And Tyler was so easy to intimidate if you just got a little physical.

"Don't worry about it," Zach told him. It wasn't Montgomery's business.

Or was it? Since Tyler had wanted to go after Montgomery as well that night. But Montgomery didn't know that. And he didn't need to. The more people who knew, the harder it would be to keep a secret.

Montgomery asked Zach, "What was he doing?"

"Nothing," Zach snapped at him, angry at his intrusion. "I told you. I dealt with it. Leave it alone."

But Montgomery didn't want to leave it at that.

He had been talking to someone in the hallway when Zach suddenly charged at Tyler, until Ophelia forced him away.

It reminded Montgomery of how many times he went after Tyler for bothering her. That stupid guy didn't learn. He was still messing with her, still taking photos, after all this time.

After all Montgomery had done.

Montgomery recalled what happened the year before. Back in April of the last school year, he had beaten Tyler, and accidentally drowned him. If Kenneth hadn't been there to redecorate him, Tyler might be dead.

Montgomery let Tyler off easy after that. He picked on him still, but he didn't touch him.

That wasn't enough, apparently. He just didn't fucking learn.

Zach wouldn't do anything. He barely touched Tyler and Ophelia freaked out.

Montgomery wouldn't have stopped, because he didn't think Tyler responded to verbal threats. He responded to physical ones.

So Montgomery went looking for him.

He felt awful that school day. Because of Bryce, because of his father, and because of fucking Ophelia.

But this...this took his mind off things. And it gave him a way to let his anger out.

Montgomery found Tyler walking in the hallway during fourth period. He just happened to step out at the same time. Tyler hadn't seen him, so Montgomery stayed a few steps back.

And then Tyler walked in front of the bathroom. Montgomery made his move.

Montgomery ran up on Tyler, grabbing his jacket, and forcing him into the bathroom.

Tyler yelped, and then screamed as he entered the restroom.

"Shut the fuck up," Montgomery snapped at him.

He threw Tyler to the floor.

Tyler scrambled away. Montgomery looked up to see a younger student exited the stall.

"Beat it," he told them. They left immediately.

Tyler began breathing heavily, almost hyperventilating. He began looking around the bathroom.

"W-W-What are you-"

Montgomery mocked him by saying, "W-W-What-shut the fuck up."

Tyler picked himself up, and threw himself into the wall, cowering into the corner.

"I hear you've been bothering Ophelia," Montgomery said. He dropped his backpack to the ground.

"N-N-No-"

"Bullshit!" Montgomery snapped. "Everyone fucking saw you. What were you doing, huh? Taking more pictures to jack off to, you fucking pervert?"

Tyler covered his face as Montgomery got closer. "No!"

"How many fucking times have I told you to leave her alone?" Montgomery asked.

Tyler didn't respond, so Montgomery grabbed his jacket again, and threw him to the ground. Tyler screamed.

"Don't you remember what happened in here last time?" Montgomery asked, tauntingly.

Of course he did. Tyler couldn't forget it, no matter how hard he tried. Montgomery traumatized Tyler. It was hard for him to drink water, wash his hand, take a shower, and even use the bathroom. But Montgomery didn't know, and he probably wouldn't care if he did.

Tyler couldn't even go into the bathroom at school without having a panic attack. He would try to hold it until he got home. If he couldn't, he would go outside in the bushes.

All because Montgomery De La Cruz saw him as an easy target.

Montgomery rolled up the sleeves of his flannel, and Tyler became terrified.

"This is the last fucking time I'm gonna tell you to leave Ophelia the fuck alone."

Montgomery clenched his fists.

"And this time, you'll fucking listen."

"Why does Tyler have a black eye?"

Zach was sitting with Justin and Clay in the library. He looked up, confused. "Tyler has a black eye?"

Ophelia clutched the straps of his backpack tighter. She nodded.

Clay sat up straighter. "I saw him earlier, he looked fine."

"He didn't have one this morning," she told them.

Zach just shrugged. "He probably pissed someone off."

"Wait, someone hit him?" Justin asked.

"How bad does it look?" Clay asked.

"I don't know. Like a black eye," she tried to explain. "Puffy?"

"Why are you asking me about it?" Zach asked him.

Ophelia gave him a look.

Zach caught on. "You think I hit him?"

"You were mad at him," she pointed out.

"You told me to leave him alone. I listened."

Ophelia bit her tongue. He didn't listen often.

Clay stood up. "I should go check on him."

"I'm sure he's fine," Justin said. "He can wait until after school. This test is next period." Justin tapped the textbook in front of them. Clay needed to do good so that he could cheat off of him.

Clay sighed. "I'm not taking that chance. I'm going to go check on him."

Ophelia watched Clay pack up his stuff, before taking off.

"Who would hit him?" Ophelia asked.

Justin shrugged. "Everyone? He creeps everyone out. He's bullied a lot."

Ophelia shook her head. "But, I didn't know people got physical with him. Just..."

Ophelia stopped suddenly. Just Montgomery. That's the only person she had seen.

"Just who?" Justin asked.

Ophelia shook her head suddenly. "Nothing. Um, I'll be right back."

Ophelia suddenly backed out of the library.

Justin turned to Zach. He whispered, "Did you hit Tyler?"

Zach shook his head. "No. Did you?"

"No." Justin thought for a moment. "Monty?"

Zach groaned. "Shit, probably. He was asking about him today."

"Do you think we should be worried?"

Zach admitted, "I'm always worried about Tyler."

Justin whispered, "Clay thought Monty did something to him. And that's why he did it."

It, as in, almost shooting us the dance.

"I don't know. Monty does shit all the time. It's never caused Tyler to act out."

Justin shrugged. "Maybe it finally got to him."

Zach thought about it. "He did go after Montgomery specifically. But he also went after Ophelia. Ophelia hardly did shit to him."

But Montgomery loved Ophelia. And that had been obvious to everyone.

"Did you do something to Tyler?"

Montgomery was in his fourth period teacher's class room still. Coach Kerba was the teacher. And he didn't like the fact Montgomery stepped out fir so long during the period. He was staying late to read over what he missed on his 'long break'. But Kerba stepped out. So he sat alone.

Until Ophelia came in, and stood at the door. She stayed far away, like he would jump out at her.

Montgomery scoffed. "The fuck do you care about Tyler?"

"So you didn't?" She pressed.

Montgomery leaned back in his seat and shrugged. "Who cares, O?"

She blinked. "I care." How could she not? She knew what he was capable of. So she cared who made him angry. "Yes or no?"

He shrugged, like he didn't care. "Yeah. Slapped him around a few times."

She felt her shoulders fall. "W-What? Why?"

"So he'd leave you alone," he told her, simply. He looked back to the assignment in front of him.

"He was leaving me alone," Ophelia snapped at him, suddenly angry.

"You're welcome," he breathed.

Ophelia scoffed. "You-" She stopped to take a deep breath. "I should tell the principal what you did."

Montgomery chuckled, and looked back towards her. "For what? Tyler won't snitch on me. He's too scared to."

He hoped.

Tyler had been too scared before. And that shit last year was worse.

Ophelia didn't know what to say to that. So she just said, "Leave Tyler alone."

Montgomery shrugged. "I'll leave him alone when he leaves you alone."

"That's not-" Ophelia stopped, and scoffed. She dared marching closer, so she was in front of his desk. "You're not in invinsible anymore, Montgomery. You're on parole. And-And if you mess with him again, you're gonna go to prison."

Montgomery laughed at her. "You're not gonna say shit."

She was infuriated. "You don't know that-"

"Where does Zach think you were Homecoming night?" Montgomery suddenly asked.

Ophelia stilled, and took a step back.

He took her silence as an answer. "Exactly. You didn't tell anyone about that. You sure as fuck won't tell anyone about Tyler."

Ophelia gulped. "I-I wouldn't be so sure about that-"

Montgomery suddenly stood up. He didn't move closer, he just stood up. But it scared Ophelia enough for her to stumble back to the door.

"You think I care who finds out I messed with Tyler? What about when Zach finds out you cheated on him?"

Ophelia flinched back. She became angry. "I didn't-"

"Actually, twice, right? You let Scott kiss you first, didn't you?"

Ophelia took another step back. Even though she would have rather gone up to him and slapped him.

"No. H-He kissed me."

Montgomery just chuckled. "Okay, O." He then told her, "You know, I'd forgive you for that shit. Zach wouldn't."

Ophelia's eyes turned hard. "You'd forgive me? Like how you forgave me for dancing with Bryce at the winter formal. Fuck you, Montgomery. I know all your bullshit lies."

The teacher for the class, also the football coach, Kerba, suddenly returned.

"Sit your ass back down, De La Cruz," he told him, coming in and seeing the scene before him.

Montgomery frowned, and sat down.

Kerba stepped into the hallway, bringing Ophelia with him. "Are you alright?" he asked her. "Did he do anything to you?"

"No," she said quickly.

Kerba debated whether or not he believed her. He decided he did, and he sent her off to lunch period. Kerba went back into the classroom, and sat next to Montgomery.

"You need to be less aggressive with people."

Montgomery almost laughed. "Coming from my football coach?"

"You cannot act that way towards women," he told him.

"Ophelia doesn't care," Montgomery tried to say.

Kerba sighed, leaning back. "It looked like she cared."

Montgomery just looked back at the assignment in front of him.

Kerba noticed his distress.

"How have you been, Monty?"

"Coach, I didn't do anything to-"

"No, not with that," he said quickly, "With Bryce. How have you been with Bryce's passing?"

Montgomery felt himself deflate. "Great. I've been great."

There was an obvious edge to his voice.

Kerba clasped his hands together and asked, "Did you go to the funeral last week?"

Montgomery exhaled softly. "Yeah."

Kerba frowned. "They're still saying that...someone killed him."

Montgomery's eyes hardened. "I don't know about that."

Kerba sighed. "I'm just saying, it's a tough thing. I know he was a big part of your life."

Montgomery gulped. "I guess, yeah." He said with anger, "Those fucking rape girls protested his funeral. With, like, banners and shit."

Kerba shook his head. "Yeah, I heard. How'd you guys take it?"

Montgomery admitted, "It pissed us off. I mean, they didn't even know him. It burns me up, ya know?"

Kerba sighed. "Yeah, I get it. You loved him."

Montgomery hesitated. "Jesus, I didn't-why do people keep saying that?" It wasn't manly to love another boy.

Kerba leaned in closer to him. "Look, he was your brother. And you loved him. And it fucking hurts. It's all okay, man."

Montgomery stared down at his hands for long moment, before looking back over to him. "Yeah. It fucking hurts."

Kerba then said, "And I know how much it must hurt to see Ophelia back at Liberty, dating Zach, since I know you loved her too."

Montgomery hesitated. "What do you know about that?"

"A lot, man. I've been here a long time. I saw you two grow up together. I saw how much you meant to each other."

Montgomery scoffed. "Not fucking much apparently. She hopped on Zach's dick before I even processed that we were broken up."

Kerba ignored the foul language for the moment. "I'm not a fool. I know what happened between you two." Montgomery stilled. He continued, "Everyone knows what happened. And you can try to blame that girl, or you can take responsibility for yourself and change, so that you never have to lose someone in the same way again."

Montgomery shook his head. "I'm not gonna feel the same way for someone again anyway. Not even if I wanted to."

"That's not true," Kerba tried to say. "Break ups are hard at your age. But you get over them. I promise you." Kerba then told him, "I'm speaking to you because I feel for you. I want you to be better, so that you don't have to worry about your temper in the future."

"My temper's fine," Montgomery snapped.

Kerba pointed to his hands, and the red of his knuckles. Unknown to Kerba, they were from hitting Tyler. "I'd say otherwise."

Montgomery crossed his arms, hiding his hands.

"I know of a support group," Kerba admitted. "One that can help."

Montgomery scoffed. "I've tried that anger management bullshit before. It doesn't fucking work. It's just their way to get our money."

Kerba started, "It doesn't cost money-"

"I don't need any programs telling me how fucked up I am and how there's something fucking wrong with me. Enough people tell me that for free."

Kerba noticed his shrunken demeaner.

"There's nothing wrong with you, Monty. Sometimes it's just hard getting to your best self. Trust me, I know-"

"How would you know?" Montgomery snapped. "You have a family. People care about you. You know what I have? A fucking football team. And once I graduate, I'll have nothing. Just a family who can't wait to throw me out."

Kerba felt saddened by his words. "I've met your little sister. She's kind. And she loves you."

"She loves me because she has to," Montgomery scoffed. "Because the world tell her she has to love her brother. You want to know who actually chose to love me? Bryce and Ophelia. And they both hated me in the end."

Kerba, for the first time, understood the complete abandonment Montgomery felt.

"What about Scott Reed? He came back for the funeral, right?"

Montgomery just nodded. "Yeah. He came back."

"You two don't love each other?"

Of course they did. They admitted it to each other last school year, but it was never said again.

That had been the first time Montgomery heard someone say they loved him since Ophelia.

He hadn't heard it since.

He wished he could hear it again. From someone. From anyone.

Montgomery struggled to say, "I'm not some faggot."

Kerba sighed. "I know. I'm not insinuating that. But he's your brother too."

Montgomery said, "Zach used to be my brother. Justin used to be my brother. They hate me now, Scott will too eventually."

Kerba frowned. "Do your really think so?"

He did. He honestly did.

Montgomery had decided it was good Scott left for college. It would take longer for Scott to get sick of him.

"I don't need friends," Montgomery told him. "I have my team now, but I know once I leave here I'll have no one. And that's fine with me."

Kerba didn't believe him. "Is it, though?"

Montgomery looked away. "You said you knew what happened between me and Ophelia. So it's what I deserve, right?"

Montgomery had planned on having a family. But one with Ophelia. He planned on having children with her, them getting a house, them being happy. Hell, she even told him she wanted try for twins. He fucking read articles about how likely that was. He did that for her.

He didn't want a future with anyone else.

He didn't want that family with anyone else.

It was pointless worrying about it, because he knew that no one else would want a future with him anyways.

"Who did that to you, Tyler?"

Clay had entered Tyler's dark room at school to find him. Tyler was hanging photos on strings with paper lips. His black eye was obvious, even against the red hallow. Clay could also see a split lip that Ophelia hadn't caught before.

"It...doesn't matter," he mumbled quietly.

Clay sighed. "You know I'm not gonna take that as an answer, right?"

Tyler winced. "Lay off, okay? Imma get it enough from my parents tonight."

Clay watched him carefully.

"Did Montgomery do that?"

Tyler spun to face him. "Where'd you hear that?"

If it was getting around, would Montgomery think he told someone? Would Montgomery get mad at him?

Would he hurt him more?

Clay explained. "Ophelia saw it and got worried. I just assumed, you know?"

Tyler felt slight relief. "Ophelia was worried?"

Clay nodded. "Yeah."

Tyler turned back to his photos. "Tell her not to be. One punch isn't gonna make me wanna..."

They both knew what he meant.

"I think she was worried for you," Clay explained.

Tyler stayed silent.

Clay decided to ask, "Why her?"

Tyler looked back again.

Clay specified, cautiously, "Why did you want to...you know. Why her?"

Tyler looked to the ground for a moment, before looking back at Clay.

"You're right. Montgomery messed with me. He always messes with me. He always...takes shit too fucking far. And-And I wanted to hurt him. I really wanted to hurt him. But not just physically, mentally, like he had done to me for fucking years. And I..." Tyler tried to calm himself down. "...I knew that he loved Ophelia, even though she was with Zach by then."

Clay processed what he said. "You wanted to hurt Ophelia in order to hurt Montgomery?"

He just nodded. "I'm sorry."

Clay moved closer to Tyler.

Tyler just continued, "She had never really done anything to me. Not compared to anyone else. Not compared to Montgomery."

Clay formed. "And what did Montgomery do? I mean, for you to want to do that."

Tyler gulped. He couldn't talk about it. It was too hard to even think about.

"Just everything."

Fucking everything.

"Charlie, next question's for you."

Zach sat with a few boys from the football team in another end of the library after school.

They all sat in a circle. Charlie sat up, smiling. "Alright, I got this one."

Zach smiled slightly, and then quizzed him. "Red 25, wide shoot."

Charlie looked down at the playbook in front of him. Suddenly, he wasn't so confident. "Um, quick sling to you?"

Montgomery laughed, so Charlie quickly changed his mind. "I mean, to the tight end?"

Montgomery shook his head. "No. Three wides, backs block, so you have time to read the defense, then I release, so you throw it to me."

Montgomery spoke so quickly, and so accurately. It amazed Charlie.

He was so talented at recognizing all these plays.

But Zach disagreed. "Almost. Backs block, you read the zone, you have two wides in crossing routes." Zach's the phone buzzed loudly on the table. He grabbed it quickly, wondering if it was Ophelia.

Ophelia had gotten a new phone recently. The other on broke for some reason. He had been waiting for hers to finish installing so she could text him her new number.

Zach was glad she had a new number.

Certain people couldn't contact her any longer.

Zach continued talking as he glanced at it, and saw that the message was just from Clay.

"You've got two wide and, uh..." he drifted off as he read the message.

How convenient that just yesterday Ophelia had mentioned she hadn't seen Tony in a while. Now, he knew why. Clay informed Zach that Tony was just arrested.

"Uh, one of them will be your first option, okay?" Zach continued staring at the phone.

Montgomery glanced at it, wondering what had been so important to stop practice.

Suddenly, Montgomery reached forward and snatched Zach's phone from him.

Zach reacted quickly, reaching to grab it back. But Montgomery leaned out of his way, and because of his leg Zach couldn't stand to get him.

Zach ran a hand over his faces, stressed that he now knew about Tony.

"What, expecting any illicit photos?" Montgomery joked. He read the text, and his eyes widened. "Holy shit! They arrested Tony Padilla?"

"What the hell?" Zach snapped at him, as he was able to snatch his phone back.

"Shit," Charlie muttered. "For Bryce?"

Montgomery looked at Zach angrily now. "What, you were gonna keep that a secret, Zachy?"

Zach scoffed. "Tony didn't do anything. He wouldn't."

Because Zach knew for a fact Tony wasn't at the pier.

Montgomery was unconvinced. He looked to the players around him and said, "He totally would. The kid's a thug."

Zach shut him down. "No. He isn't. He has, like, integrity." Zach scoffed when he said, "You're the one that deserves to be in jail."

Montgomery glared at him.

Zach brought up, "Aren't you missing practice next week for a meeting with your parole officer?"

There was a chuckle that ran through the players. It angered Montgomery, so he said, "Aren't you missing a practice to get more erection pills?"

One of the boys snorted trying not to laugh. Zach glared at him again.

Montgomery looked at Charlie. "Charlie, who would you trust to have your back? Me, or that faggot Padilla?"

Charlie laughed. "Wait, Tony Padilla's a fag?"

Honestly, it surprised him. Tony was so masculine. Maybe it was possible to be gay and masculine after all.

"Charlie!" Zach snapped. He hated Montgomery calling Tony that, and he hated that Montgomery was rubbing off on Charlie. "Be better, shut your mouth, and listen."

Montgomery make fake jerking off motions with his hand, insinuating that's all that Tony did.

"You got five days to learn an offense," Zach told Charlie.

He looked back and caught onto what Montgomery was doing. He snapped at him. "Save that for home."

Montgomery laughed with Charlie.

"Keep laughing," Zach said. "With your grades, you've got the most to lose if we have a bad season."

Montgomery's smile dropped. Because he already knew that.

"I guess you can just convince your girlfriend to get Hillcrest to throw the next game," Montgomery suggested. "Looked like she was pretty friendly with those boys anyway."

Zach didn't let Montgomery get to him.

"She was asking me about Tyler too," Montgomery brought up. "Maybe they've got something going on too. I mean, what does she do now that's she's not preoccupied with Hillcrest."

That did bother Zach, but only because he didn't want Ophelia to worry about Tyler.

"She's busy," Zach brushed him off.

Montgomery chuckled. "Busy with what? Fucking the-"

Zach was fed up. He didn't let him finished.

"Actually, she's busy fucking me."

The boys around him 'ooh'ed.

One asked, "Damn, who fucks her better? Zach or Monty?"

Zach rolled his eyes.

Charlie spoke up, "She probably doesn't, like, compare them."

Montgomery shrugged. "Why not? She obviously knows it's me. I'm the one with the dick that works."

Zach hated how that was constantly brought up. So he edged him on, "How well does it work at that size?"

They boys laughed. It was obvious by Montgomery's smaller height, others things would be smaller as well.

Montgomery's smile dropped. "Seeing as the only other girl that let your fuck was Hannah Baker, I'd say a lot better."

Zach narrowed his eyes at him.

Diego, a boy with the team, pointed to their shoes, "Zach wears a size larger than Montgomery."

Him and a few others laughed.

Montgomery shifted in his seat. "Doesn't bother me. She was still choking on my shit."

Charlie's eyes widened at his words. Charlie was not sexually active, and it was crazy to him how casually boys talked about this stuff.

Zach huffed. "I doubt that."

Montgomery laughed. "Bet she hasn't even gone down on you yet."

Zach felt embarrassed. And that caused him to speak out of turn.

"She has, actually."

The boys around him looked impressed.

Montgomery called his bluff. "Bullshit."

Zach almost laughed at his expression. He seemed so upset.

"So, what's she like?" Diego asked. "Monty says she's a pro."

Zach felt uncomfortably now. Because he didn't know how she was.

Zach shrugged. "She is. Not a quitter either, if you know what I mean."

He threw that in to sound more accurate. They seemed to like that detail.

"Is she loud?" another boy, Holden, asked. "Some girls get loud with it."

Zach looked at Montgomery when he said, "She's loud when she'a gagging."

Zach didn't know if that was the right thing to say. Honestly, he didn't know if girls were supposed to gag while going down on boys. Wouldn't that hurt them?

But everyone liked his answer. They started laughing, and kept bringing up other experiences with other woman.

Montgomery stayed silent, scoffing at Zach's words.

Zach smiled, and his eyes drifted away from Montgomery. His smile dropped as he spotted Marisa. He hadn't even realized she was in the library. But she was staring at him, listening.

She heard everything he said.

"I think Montgomery was the one who hit Tyler," Ophelia confessed to Zach when they arrived back at her house that day.

Zach just shrugged. "Probably."

Ophelia didn't like his dismissal. "Maybe as his football captain, you should do something about it."

Zach frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You could threaten to sit him out of a game," she suggested, "Until he learns how to treat people right."

Zach thought about it. He realized for the first time that he did have the power to threaten Montgomery in that way. But he wouldn't. He wouldn't use that threat over someone like Tyler.

"I'll talk to him," Zach promised. He bit his lip. "Did you see him today?"

Ophelia kicked her shoes off at the front door. "Kind of. I told him to leave Tyler alone. He was an asshole about it. Of course."

"He's always an asshole," Zach said. He then asked, "Did you...see Marisa?"

Zach wondered if Marisa told her what they were talking about in the library.

"Just during PE," she told him. "She had to go to the library for something."

"Mmm," Zach mumbled. He knew that. He saw her there. And he knew she saw him too.

"I just think since you technically have power over him, you can force him to calm down sometimes," Ophelia continued. She set her bag on her coffee table and sag on the couch. He sat next to her, listening.

"I could try," Zach agreed. "I don't know how much power I really have."

He thought back to what had been bugging him. "Actually, just today, um, he brought something up. Something about you actually."

Ophelia stilled. "What do you mean?"

Zach tried to explain, "He was just saying stupid shit, like, saying how you never went down on me-"

"Shit, I'm sorry," Ophelia told him sudddnly, cutting him off. "I hate that I've been putting you in this position."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

Ophelia sighed. "I'm sorry that I had done more with him than I've done with you yet. He's-Hes infuritating and I'm sorry he brings it up."

"It's not your fault," he told her, surprised in what direction this took.

She brought up, "I tried, remember? You..." she winced.

They both remembered that. Her trying to touch him at school, but him being unable to perform.

Zach cleared his throat. "Well, I'm sorry I haven't done that to you yet, either."

Ophelia almost laughed. "It's okay. I'm not too upset about that."

This confused him. "Why?"

Ophelia bit her lip. "Look, don't say anything, okay? It'll just cause trouble."

Zach sat up straighter. "What is it?"

"I never really liked that," Ophelia admitted.

"Oh?" Zach found that strange. Justin made it seem like it was so normal.

Ophelia took a nervous breath. "Or, maybe I just didn't like him doing it?"

Zach couldn't help the smile that grew on his face. "What, you mean he wasn't good?"

"Not really," she said, hesitantly. "Montgomery hooked up with a lot of girls, but he didn't do that with anyone. When we started dating, he tried to say he had, but...it was obvious he didn't know what he was doing."

Zach moved closer. There was a larger smile on his face now. "Wait, wait, wait. He was bad at it?"

Ophelia bit her lip. "I don't know if bad is the right word. He would just...not know what to do. And he would get frustrated, so he would get rough, and it was just..." She sighed. "...it was exhausting kind of."

Zach looked away, but Ophelia already saw it.

"Are you laughing?" she asked.

Zach covered his mouth. "I'm sorry. It's just...he's so cocky about it, Ophelia."

Ophelia let out a chuckle. "Yeah, I guess he is sometimes."

"I mean, I thought I fucked up by not doing that. But he wasn't even good at it."

"Maybe it's just me," Ophelia told him. "Maybe I just can't enjoy it."

Zach looked at the clock on the wall. "Your mom took your sister to the mall, right?"

Ophelia nodded. "Yeah."

"What time will they get home?"

She thought about it. "At least an hour. I'm not sure."

Zach came ever closer, and he arm was suddenly around his shoulder.

"Maybe we could, you know, try it."

All other conversations were off their minds.

She bit her lip, smiling.

"What, like, now?"

"Why not?" he asked. He had already become excited.

Ophelia's face grew bright red. She felt his touch. He pulled her closer.

Her heartbeat picked up as she felt his free hand touch her knee.

"We could go upstairs," he offered. He drew his hand higher up her thigh.

Ophelia began breathing deeply. She smiled.

"We could, you know, go all the way. If you'd rather."

Go all the way. Ophelia cringed. What an outdated phrase. She hoped it didn't make her seem dorky.

Zach smiled down at him. "I think I'd rather do something for you. Just for you."

She felt his fingers caressing the button of her jeans. Goosebumps rose on her skin.

"Are you sure?" she breathed. She could see his excitement. She would feel bad if he didn't get some enjoyment out of it.

"I'm sure," he told her.

She bit her lip. "Maybe after I can, you know..." she glanced down, and boldly moved her hand on top of him. "Maybe I can do something for you too."

She gasped as he gripped her harder.

"Let's worry about you first, okay?"

He spoke so sensually, it was so sexy to her.

"Okay," she breathed.

He leaned over and kissed her.

He felt bad for lying, and telling his team that Ophelia had gone down on him before.

But two hours later, he wasn't a liar anymore.