The cafeteria drowned in a deafening silence as two voices emerged from the P.A system. Jeanne—particularly—stopped eating, setting down the sandwich before herself a little amazed at what she had heard. Her friends immediately looked her way at the sound of her name, shocked expressions written on their faces. Oddly enough, she kept her calm. Not even a blush dusted her cheeks nor her eyebrows show any signs of surprise.
"Yeah, right. As if I would ever allow myself to like her," Gilgamesh scoffed.
Jeanne sat silent, her ear tilted towards the speaker. A little surprised to hear the young man's voice. Once upon a time she had feared that the young man liked her; the time he leaned in for a kiss but teased her instead, for example. She did not take his statement to heart, in fact she preferred it that way; she never wanted to hurt him.
"Oh, I do hope so. How are things with her going?" It was obviously Grainne that was speaking to him, her high pitched womanly voice was hard to miss. She sounded coy as she spoke, "Does she believe you?"
Now this sentence was what caught Jeanne's undivided attention and caused her brows to furrow. She blinked, her eyes slowly looking up at the speaker as if she could even see him respond.
Arturia shot her a questioning look. No one said a word, albeit.
"I think she does." At the sound of his response, she began to search her mind for a reason to his words; something she could use to identify the tone of his voice and the meaning behind it.
A giggle filled the cafeteria through the speakers, soft yet menacing and laced in every inch and flow with venom. "It was cute how you played along with her. At first I thought it was adorable how she's so naïve and sweet but now I just think it's horrendous; truly repulsive."
The male remained silent, and so did everyone else; except for Arturia, who stood up from the cafeteria table at what the brunette had to say. Jeanne held her back.
"And of course!" Grainne spoke again, "Who would even like her? She's a poor little street rat. I am certain that Cú is only dating her because he pities the ugly thing."
Arturia felt the anger bubble up as everyone in the cafeteria gasped but soon turned into hushed giggles.
"Jeanne, don't listen to them."
Jeanne wasn't listening to the laughs of her fellow students; no, her mind was solely focused on what Gilgamesh had to say.
"Is there a concrete reason you called me here? Or are you simply hoping I talk about Jeanne the entire time? I thought you liked to speak of yourself nonstop..."
Grainne elicited an annoyed groan, "You want to know something, Gil," she breathed, "she'll never like you back. You are nothing. A meaningless scum who toyed with her feelings. In fact, everything you did for her was because I had to whisper it in your ear before you blew your cover. Do you think she will ever like you after you lied to her, manipulated her and most importantly after you used her? Here she thought you actually cared for her but oh, will she be sad when she realizes that you are just a big fake. Nothing new for you, though."
Jeanne thought back to the cheesecake outing they had, and the time they went to the Christmas festival. Her heart stung at even the slightest remembrance that they had together whether in History class or elsewhere. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Don't you have anything to say?"
Gilgamesh cleared his throat, "Yes, of course I do; I always do. So, what that I played her? You said so yourself; she would not like someone like me. Sure, it was fun while it lasted but do you really think I'm the one in the wrong here? Need I remind you why I pretended to be friends with her?"
"Enlighten me." She was amused, one could hear it evident in her voice.
Arturia had had enough of just standing doing nothing and thus, after shaking her friend's grip off her hand, she raced to the broadcast room while her best friend's eyes glossed over and soon turned red.
"Because I liked Arturia and if you don't recall I also did it for your unhealthy and, frankly, disturbing fascination to completely destroy anyone standing in the path between you and him. You are sick, in more ways than one and this revolting obsession for—" The P.A system was shut down abruptly, drowning everyone in confusion and awe.
Pretend, the simply word caused Jeanne's world to fall upon her, crumbling at anything that related to the blond boy. She had trusted him, forgiven him; she had basically had this idea of one of the sweetest friendships she had ever had only for her dream to be ripped into shreds. Her heart ached once again and she stood from the table once she had seen everyone's eyes were on her.
Her nose stung and her vision hazed over; she ran out of the cafeteria only hearing Guinevere call out to her as all the other noises faded away. Jeanne needed to find a way out; out of the school, out of the betrayal she felt, out of everything that was drowning her. She did not even pick her jacket up from her locker; she just bolted outside.
Arturia had made it to the broadcast room in minutes but her panting had tired her out from all the flights of stairs she had to sprint up. Grainne burst through the door, anger written all over her features and soon enough Gilgamesh emerged.
"Oh, and just to let you know," he called after her, "Grainne; I do like Jeanne. And whatever you said about her is meaningless because it's coming from you. You aren't that great as you make yourself to be! In fact, I would say you're pathetic and manipulative; don't think for a second that no one notices!"
Grainne turned back to him; her face lit with rage and irritation, "How dare you?! You are the one that's a manipulative and lying snake! I hope you rot!"
"Thank you; but snakes shed their old skin and I think I'm a better person now!"
Arturia watched the ordeal a little stunned at how Gilgamesh defended Jeanne but she felt a little glad he did. She watched Grainne storm off and afterwards turned her attention to Gilgamesh, who so casually slipped into his blazer—almost as if he had not roasted the brunette in front of the entire school (teachers included).
"Gilgamesh?" She blinked, nearly afraid of his change in character.
He was startled, stiffening up, "Oh, Arturia." He calmed, "How long have you been standing there?"
Arturia blinked, "What you said… did you mean it?"
"Of Grainne? Every word… and yes, I do like Jeanne."
She smiled at him—uncharacteristic of the way she ever treated him. "Thank you."
Gilgamesh furrowed his brows, taking a step back. "Why?"
Her smile fell. "For defending Jeanne."
He sighed, "Yeah, well…"
They were silent for a while and then he opened his mouth to speak. "Arturia…" he mumbled, "I recommend you take your distance from the Chemistry teacher…"
Arturia's eyes grew, it was her turn to take a step back. She choked, "What?" Her voice was strained, almost as if she had been screaming the entire day.
"With Grainne's little stunt; I can assure you that she won't let you two off the hook." He spoke, looking down at her and crossing his arms over his chest.
It wasn't long before a teacher joined them, taking Gilgamesh with her and leaving Arturia afraid of what else he knew.
"Hey, you're probably cold, aren't you?" Jeanne heard a voice next to her.
She was seated at the bleachers, arms hugging her knees and head slumped forward. Her cheeks were tear stained and she had been mid-sob when she lifted her head and looked through the cracks in her hair. Before her, she saw a tall man standing.
He draped his spring jacket over her and let it cover her head in the process. "You should be more careful; you might get sick."
"I'm sorry, sir," she mumbled, wiping a tear from her eye.
"There's no need to apologize." He took a seat next to her. "I know," he breathed, "that you probably want time alone. I would think it best that you aren't alone."
Jeanne shook her head. "You don't understand, Diarmuid, it's just like Grainne said I'm sickly naïve. I'm just so stupid to have believed him… I—I—"
He shook his head, although she couldn't see him. Hesitantly landing a hand on her back, he patted it. "No. I think you're very strong to do that. It's hard to forgive people, Jeanne, but I can assure you that it's worth it. I know you're hurt but if Gilgamesh did truly start pretending to be friends with you… it's not like that anymore."
She peaked through the jacket. "And how would you know?" She sniffled.
Diarmuid reached back into his pocket and soon returned with a small box in his hands. "Seems a bit overdue, but I think it's the perfect timing."
Jeanne pulled the jacket off from her head and looked down at his hands. "What's that?" She asked.
"Gilgamesh left it behind when you went to the Christmas festival. I've been holding onto it since."
"Gilgamesh? He left it? For me?"
"Uhm…Yes…"
Her eyes slowly drifted up to Diarmuid's, they were filled with light and even a bit of hope. She slowly took the present from his hands and looked at the small tag.
To Jeanne. You're welcome for the best date ever.
"You're not lying to me, right?" She furrowed her brows, quickly looking back at the Chemistry teacher.
He seemed scandalized, "What? Why would you say that? I would never lie to you."
Jeanne cracked a tiny smile. "I don't know… that sounds like something someone who was lying would say." She teased.
"I suggest you open it," he insisted, nudging her to continue.
Her attention returned to that white box with the ribbon holding it together and then she pulled at it. The golden ribbon coming undone on her lap. She opened the box and within it saw a small wooden angel and a beaded bracelet. There was a little post-it note beneath the gifts.
My little brother helped me make them; he said the girls in his class liked this sort of thing.
She brought a hand to her mouth and she teared up again.
"Oh, no. Please don't cry! I thought this would cheer you up." Diarmuid sounded worried and a little scared; he wasn't good at dealing with a crying teen girl.
She sniffled again, wiping her tears. "No, I—I'm happy. I'm really happy."
"Oh…" he mumbled.
"It's just that… It's that…" she rubbed her nose, "He put his time—something he values the most—into this. It's the most thoughtful gift I've gotten so far. It's…"
Diarmuid rubbed circles on her back, staying silent and remaining a support for her if she needed one.
She slapped her cheeks lightly and then stood from the bleachers. The spring breeze was chilly and it stung her nose aside from the fact that she had been crying. "Alright, I think it's time I go back."
Diarmuid lifted a brow, "You aren't going home?" He asked.
She blinked down at him, as he remained seated on the bleachers, "Of course. There's no way I could ruin my perfect attendance streak."
He sat amazed looking at how quickly she could recover from the entire ordeal. Jeanne was something, and he was glad that Cú had chosen the right girl and not gone after someone like Grainne, as was custom of him. "You're right." He stood up as she passed him his jacket. "School matters. But," he breathed, "if you need time to yourself, I wouldn't mind covering for you."
Jeanne's lips stretched in a bright smile, her cheeks still tear-stained, "You know, sir, you're a wonderful guy. Arturia is lucky to have someone like you."
Diarmuid blushed, coughing slightly and rubbing his neck. "I'm not that special."
"You're too modest."
"And you?"
"Ha, I'm just ordinary."
"Hardly…" he shook his head. "I think we should head back, I'm getting a little cold out here."
Jeanne laughed, "Yes. It's a bit chilly." She agreed and they made their way back to the school where Jeanne prepared herself to face the judging eyes of the entire student population. She took a deep breath and walked in through the door that Diarmuid had opened for her.
She could face it. She was strong.
"I fear nothing for God is with me," she mumbled under her breath.
~Author's Note~
Hopefully it was an interesting chapter for all of you. I am very sorry it took me very long to update. I want to be honest with you. I have been going through a lot of demotivation in my writing and just outright wishing to stop all together. But I'm slowly forcing myself to return to my writing because I know it's what I love to do. Anyways, enough about me, I hope you are all doing well!
Thank you for reading and I'd love to hear from you so that it could help me improve...
Sincerely, after such a long time,
~Ms. AtomicBomb