Alejandra walked toward the school building Monday morning, remembering a time when she and Rafael used to walk into school together. Despite kicking himself off the football team, Rafael was hanging out with Hazel as much as he could.

Today, she missed Rafael because she needed to know how Nick was doing. Check if the rumors were true. To see in real life what she read in the group text last night. Grizzizzik had attacked Nick, and she wanted to make sure he was okay. But she didn’t want to be the one to approach him, because things had never really been the same since September.

Alejandra went to open the doors when she paused, glancing up at the roof. It didn’t take her long to find out why. There were three gargoyles on the roof, still as statues. Elmwood High never had gargoyle statues. She had a bad feeling about what they might do if she stared at them long enough.

She threw open the doors and hurried into the school.

Honestly, things had been weird for her in the group. Maybe she was the only one who noticed it, but Nick and Rafael were actually… friends? Was that a word to describe what they were now? They certainly weren’t enemies like they were the past three years. Both of them were far more relaxed around each other. They actually talked to each other cordially. A month ago, Nick kept looking at Rafael like he was imagining how to break his neck. Now they were working together, and Alejandra felt like she was out of the loop.

Attending the sessions this past weekend was surreal. Rafael, Derek, Nick, and Evelyn had taken the steps to move on and work together. Alejandra was falling behind, and she was confused. Why had Rafael dismissed her concerns? He knew better than anyone how terrifying it was for her to witness Nick be violent. Rafael had excused it away, happy that Nick at least didn’t murder him. How could Rafael think that was grounds for forgiveness? To not even accept an apology.

That, she realized, was the core reason everyone else had moved on. No one else believed Nick needed to apologize. With Nick and Evelyn, she understood why they didn’t think so. With Derek, she felt far more surprised. But Rafael? She was completely dumbfounded. How could he possibly think that Nick should get away with this? After everything they experienced with Jack? And then to go back to being… friends? That was still such a weird word. She couldn’t believe it. She didn’t want to.

Despite her anger and frustration, Nick was now hurt. She wanted to at least check on him, but she was also still mad at him. Maybe this was what she needed. Acknowledging that she didn’t like that Nick got hurt. Perhaps this was the first step to move past the hate she felt.

Laughter grabbed her attention, because she recognized that laugh. It was Rafael’s and Derek’s. She went down a less crowded hall and saw them together. Derek, Nick, and Rafael. Like old times. Talking. Laughing. Hazel walked out of a classroom, and Rafael reached out to hold her hand. Even Hazel didn’t seem to mind being around Nick.

An unease swirled in Alejandra’s gut. She didn’t belong there. But… she wanted to. That ache made her wonder if she was still justified in her hate. Instead, she felt embarrassed. She should leave. She had her information, after all. Nick, despite his eye a deep purple, was cracking a joke with Rafael and Derek. He was fine.

That deep purple eye moved, and Nick’s gaze fell on her. “Oh, hey Alejandra.”

“Hey,” she said, not looking at him. She was afraid the frost that had become too commonplace whenever she thought of him had entered her gaze again. She didn’t want to point that frost at Nick anymore. Nick had a black eye. He had a horrible Sunday night with his father accusing him at every turn of something he didn’t do.

Rafael turned, raising an eyebrow. “Alejandra?”

She shook her head, feeling a part of her heart cracking. But perhaps it was the hardness over her heart. “I’m glad you’re okay.” She didn’t want to mention Nick’s name. Yes, she was glad Nick wasn’t hurt any worse, but that was about all she could do.

Nick blinked. “Yeah, um… thanks. I am.”

Rafael cleared his throat. “Hey, Alejandra, Evelyn just left to check the front office. Can you go meet up with her?”

Alejandra furrowed her brow. “What?”

“We all promised to watch Nick this week, and we don’t know if Akshi’s back from the dead yet. If so, Evelyn shouldn’t be alone.”

“Right.” She didn’t dare look at anyone else before heading toward the front office. For the first time since this entire thing started, she did not feel the flutter of fear in her gut when she headed toward the office. It was mostly hurt.

Why was she hurt? It was a question she asked herself that somehow made anger pop in again. It had a simple answer. Nick showed a side of violence that she never wanted to see in anyone ever again. Maybe Rafael deserved a punch in the face. No doubt it was awful what he did to Evelyn. But a punch wasn’t all Nick did.

Alejandra closed her eyes, seeing Nick that night. The memory that burned into her mind with perfect clarity. Nick’s livid look. The way he didn’t hesitate when Rafael fell to the ground. Nick’s foot stomped on her brother’s ribcage, trying to crush it. Rafael’s shouts of pain, even as he tried to muffle them. Derek and Tyler had to pull Nick away because he wasn’t stopping. Why didn’t he stop?

“Alejandra?”

Her eyes flew open in a panic. She wasn’t in trouble, but she knew the surprise was obvious on her face. She cleared her throat as Evelyn stood there near the front office. Alejandra felt far more shame about her anger in Evelyn’s presence than in anyone else’s. Alejandra stuffed her panic under a rock and tried to smile.

“Hey. Um, I was here to make sure… Mr. Stower… Akshi… we didn’t want you to be alone,” Alejandra said.

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Evelyn smiled as she slipped her phone in her back pocket. “Thoughtful, thank you. I’ve already checked. Still no sign of Akshi. Thank god.”

“Good. Good.”

“I was going to tell the guys. Do you want to come?”

“No,” Alejandra said, again looking down. “No, I’ll… go practice some Spanish with Señora Florez.”

Alejandra started to turn toward Señora Florez’s room when Evelyn took a huge step to be in front of her, blocking her path and smiling brightly. “Hey. I just want to make sure you can come to us whenever. Or… any one of us individually if you need.”

Clearly Evelyn picked up on Alejandra’s anger of Nick. Alejandra tried to hide her nerves, but she kept glancing at the floor, straightening her glasses. “Yeah. I know.”

“Good. Because you can.” Evelyn reached out and patted Alejandra’s arm. “This is hard, and I want you to know you’re awesome, and we’re happy to have you as part of the group.” Evelyn then hugged Alejandra tightly.

She had no idea what to do except return the hug. Alejandra closed her eyes, knowing the invitation was there. An invitation to not hurt so much. One she was very tempted to take.

Evelyn broke away, smiling. “Can I walk you to Señora Florez’s classroom? Just to be safe.”

“Yeah, yeah. That’d be nice. But… then you’ll be alone when you walk back to the guys.”

Evelyn nodded. “Guess I didn’t think about that. Is it alright if I hang out with you in Señora Florez’s classroom?”

“Yeah. It’s always a party in her classroom.”

Evelyn laughed as the two of them headed toward the math hall. Alejandra realized maybe it wasn’t everyone she was supposed to start hanging out with. Maybe it would be easier to hang out with one person at a time. For whatever reason, she felt the most comfortable right now with Evelyn.

It was a start.

***

Derek had finished lunch on Wednesday and was talking with Jeff. Eric and Bailey were arguing about something, and Jeff and Derek had a secret bet going about whether they’d take a break from their friendship or proclaim their friendship was stronger than ever. Since Beauty and the Beast auditions were still a month away, Derek was betting on the latter.

“Dude,” Jeff whispered, almost in awe.

Derek glanced at Jeff, then noticed he was looking at someone down the hall. Derek craned his neck, then his eyes widened as he saw Hazel walking down the hall with Annie, specifically looking for someone.

Derek moved back in Jeff’s shadow, taking a few deep breaths. Be cool. Be cool. Be cool. They’re human. Treat them like such. He then straightened and walked a bit out, knowing Hazel and Annie must have a reason for coming to where the drama students were.

“Hey you two. Need anything?” Derek asked.

Hazel’s eyes fell on him, and she looked relieved. “You! We need your help!”

Derek tried to smile, but not too brightly. “Of course! How can I help you?”

Hazel turned to Annie, shooting her an encouraging smile. Annie was wringing her hands, glancing at Derek. “Sari, uh, my elf fighter, she’s… she’s level three now. I… I don’t know what kind of subclass to choose.”

“Ah! Fighter subclasses!” He grabbed his backpack, pulling out his CCNC player’s handbook. “Those are fun!”

The worry seemed to drain from Annie’s face, and instead a smile flickered across her face as she looked at the player’s handbook in Derek’s hands. “Do you… carry that around with you?”

“Obviously.” Derek flipped it open. “I am president of the CCNC club. I take my job seriously.”

Annie giggled, and Hazel smiled as she leaned against her. “See? I told you he’d help.”

Derek smiled, then something caught his eye. He glanced right between Hazel and Annie to see Emma walking down the hall. Emma had her arms folded tightly, and he fully expected her to glare. But she wasn’t. In fact, she stared at Derek with one of the most miserable expressions he’d ever seen. The Emma he knew would be right next to him, making passive aggressive remarks to Hazel and Annie, making sure everyone knew Derek was hers, and hers alone.

But they weren’t dating. Right? They had their miserable date on Sunday night, and now it was Wednesday. He had checked up with her on Monday, and they both agreed that this was an unbelievable level of toxicity that neither one of them wanted to continue. Derek reminded her once again that she needed to stay away from Pippa and Akshi, who she only understood as Asher. She agreed, and they parted ways. They never specified they weren’t dating anymore.

Also, helping Annie did not imply that he wanted to date her. Sure, she had gorgeous black hair and brown eyes. He didn’t know her well, but they had CCNC in common. Despite his infatuation with cheerleaders, he wasn’t about to ask Annie on a date right after helping her with CCNC. There was a certain amount of desperation to that he wanted to avoid.

Derek tore his gaze from Emma and looked at Annie. “Are you interested in any subclass in particular?”

Annie, who was oblivious to who Derek was looking at, grabbed a lock of her hair and started running her fingers through it, stretching out the curl. “Um, Eldritch Knight? I had some questions about it.”

“Perfect.” Derek flipped to the page.

“I haven’t played CCNC, and Rafael suggested I start with a fighter, since it’s the easiest. But I’ve been curious about the magic system,” Annie said.

“Eldritch Knight is a killer build, no pun intended,” Derek said, finding the page he needed that described the Eldritch Knight subclass. Emma passed by him, and Derek forced himself to glance at her once again. Make sure her pupils weren’t red. This was Emma. One hundred percent Emma. And she looked miserable.

Hazel glanced at Emma, a slight frown on her face, then caught Derek’s gaze. He forced himself to look back at Annie, smiling as he handed her the handbook. “For now, I don’t want you to worry too much about the entire magic system of CCNC. People get overwhelmed because they don’t understand how a sorcerer uses mana when they’re playing a bard, and things like that. Your GM will worry about the others. You just focus on your character.”

Annie seemed to relax as her eyes bounced over the pages. Until the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. She looked up at him with those brown eyes. “I know we had CCNC club this morning, but is there some time I can ask you questions about this? Because… I have a lot of questions, and Evelyn suggested you.”

May Evelyn be blessed with three nat twenties in a row, Derek prayed to the dice gods.

“Of course. I know you guys are getting super busy for the last football game of the season this week, but I’m free tomorrow morning if you want to stop by here and chat,” Derek said.

Annie closed the book, handing it over and giving him a smile. “Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then?”

“I’ll be here,” Derek said with a smile. “Also, I realize now I perhaps asked too much out of you two.” He glanced at Hazel specifically. “CCNC nerds are lovely, but we can be a bit overexcited with cheerleaders. If you ever feel unsafe, let Señora Florez know. She’s extremely protective of CCNC and is committed to making it a safe space for everyone.”

Hazel nodded as Annie smiled. “Thanks, Derek.”

Derek watched the two of them leave, the cool, relaxed demeanor melting away to one of shock and awe.

“Duuuuude,” Jeff said.

“I’m accomplishing my goal. Cheerleaders are attending CCNC club!” Derek said.

“See!” Eric moved up to him. “Project reverse kiss the girl was a success!” He and Baily gave each other high fives, though Baily’s was far less enthusiastic. She focused enough to give a high five, but glanced at Derek.

“If you don’t want this imploding in on you, you better make sure Emma is okay with it,” Baily said.

“What are you talking about?” Eric asked, shocked. “Those two are done. Their date on Sunday was a disaster, and Emma clearly hates him!”

“Yeah.” Baily glanced down the hall of students. “But if you don’t play this right, she could go into full revenge mode.”

Jeff gave Derek a side eye. “Never. Kiss. Crazy.”

Derek sighed, hanging his head as he moved forward to his next class. “Learning through experience sucks.”