To everyone's surprise, Camilla was at school on Monday. She had to make arrangements with her teachers in advance for her schoolwork. The other students, unsurprisingly, had a lot of opinions about her presence which they whispered loudly in the hallways.
"I heard she's being sent to rehab for the rest of the year."
"I heard she's being sent away to Tarkenstan for good."
"Did you see her breakup?"
"I did! What kind of bitch dumps a boy who's begging you to stay?"
"Camilla Bronson, that's what kind."
Those students laughed.
Camilla was too freshly clean to deal with this. 'Just finish talking to your instructors and find Forger. Then you can get out of here.' Her instructors responses ranged from disappointed to annoyed to supportive to disgusted. She couldn't blame any of them.
Upon exiting her science classroom she saw Forger with his back turned to her. She put on her best HBIC face before approaching. "Forger," she called out when she was about six feet away.
He turned around cautiously revealing Dominic standing behind him. "Bronson."
Dominic stared at her in disbelief.
She had to force herself not to look at Dominic even though she desperately wanted to fix his upturned collar and pick the lint off his shoulder. "I don't deserve even this, but could I talk to you for a minute?"
Forger seemed to weigh his options. "Yes. Goodbye, Dominic." He stepped past Camilla and kept going.
She fell into step beside him. "Thanks. I'm sorry about what I did at the society. That wasn't okay."
"Why did you do it?"
"Seeing her with Dominic like that got to me. I mean, with how he felt about her."
He looked at her in a way that made her squirm to gage her sincerity. She was telling the truth, but he would need to have a talk with Dominic. "Thank you. I apologize for sharing your secret."
"That was pretty fucked up. You must be serious about Yor."
"Deathly."
She couldn't help the edges of her mouth quirking up. "I'm going to help you out. Call it penance. I know that you haven't taken Yor on an anniversary date yet. I'm guessing it's because you don't have the money to do what you want."
'Not quite. But that's an easier answer than trying to dance around the fact that we haven't actually been together a year.' He puts on an embarrassed face before opening his mouth to respond.
"That's okay. No need to talk about it. Here's the deal, Forger: I'll plan a perfect anniversary night for you two three Fridays from now, and you promise me you won't hurt Yor."
He had so many questions. "Why three Fridays?"
She sighed. "My parents are sending me to rehab for two weeks. Well, inpatient is two weeks. I'll be in outpatient for the rest of my life. But that doesn't matter. Do we have a deal?"
He stopped and turned to her before taking his left hand out of his pocket and reaching it toward her to shake. "I promise not to hurt Yor."
She smiled before shaking his hand. "I'm glad we understand each other." She turned and began walking away.
"Careful, Bronson. People will start to think you're a good friend."
She snorted. "Somehow I highly doubt that."
The rest of the walk out of the school and to her car she found herself smiling. Now she would have something positive to focus on and maybe look forward to. 'I'm going to give those peasants the best damn night of their lives.'
Loid hurried back to where he left Dominic hoping to catch him before the bell rang. 'What the hell is he doing having feelings for my girlfriend? Especially when he was dating someone else?'
Dominic's eyes were still puffy and face a bit red when Loid reached him. "Hey, b—"
Before Loid knew what he was doing, his fist was firmly pushing Dominic's face toward his right shoulder. "What the hell are you doing having feelings for Yor?"
Dominic held his face. "What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about! Are you trying to seduce my girlfriend?"
Dominic looked at Loid had suddenly become a cow. "What the fuck? No."
"What?"
"Look, I don't know what you heard, but I only have eyes for Camilla. I thought that was pretty clear."
"But she said…"
"Camilla mentioned me? What did she say?"
"She said you had feelings for Yor."
He furrowed his brow. "No, I'm pretty sure that I don't. No offense, I know you think she's the best woman to ever walk this earth."
"Oh. I'm sorry, Dominic. I shouldn't have hit you."
"No worries. I'd have a hard time not doing the same to someone who had an interest in Camilla."
"I thought you guys weren't together that long."
"We haven't been. You and Yor aren't the only ones to pine." He laughs. "I was so intimidated by her in junior high I couldn't look at her, so I looked at Yor because she was always nearby and unintimidating."
'Oh. That would probably convince junior high Camilla that he likes Yor.' "I'm sorry about you and Camilla."
"Thanks, man."
Loid clapped Dominic's back. 'Somebody's got to get these two back together.'