Nick didn’t get far from Alejandra when the intercom crackled to life. “Nick Larsen. Come to the office, please. Nick Larsen.”

He closed his eyes, aware that there was an ache between his eyebrows from how much he glared this past weekend. He opened his eyes, the ache intensifying as he headed toward the office. They would keep calling for him until he arrived.

When he got there, he threw open the door, not caring that it was almost hitting the wall. The secretary glanced up. “Yes, hello, Nick. Vice Principal Stower would like to talk to you.”

His angst was deep, but he still understood what that meant. This wasn’t just talking with the vice principal, this was talking to the guy currently charmed by Akshi. Nick rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to push aside the anger. “Is he going to be talking to Evelyn, too?”

The secretary went back to tapping something on her computer. “That’s the plan, yes. He assumed it would be easier to talk to you separately.”

Nick dropped his hand, not bothering to give any more information as he moved through the small office to the propped open door. He barely glanced at Mr. Stower before sitting down across from the desk, folding his arms tightly. “What?”

Akshi was there, slithering in the office, watching Nick with a curious air. Nick had to ignore him. His mind was a jumbled mess. This thing with Rafael had dwarfed all his other problems, but they were still problems. He still needed to pretend he couldn’t see Akshi.

Grizzizzik’s father.

Mr. Stower was organizing papers on his desk, giving Nick a wistful look. “I will have you know Rafael isn’t here today. It sounds like he is recovering from an injury. From a fight. Instigated by you.”

Nick folded his arms tighter across his chest. He didn’t start the fight. Rafael did three years ago. There was no way anyone would believe him, though.

The vice principal waited for Nick to answer, but he refused. Mr. Stower sighed. “I’m simply making sure it’s ended. I have an appointment set up with Rafael and his mother to figure out the next steps. To make sure he will be safe coming back to school. That you won’t…”

Nick thought of plenty of things he wanted to do to Rafael, but he was also aware they made him sound like Grizzizzik. Instead, he closed his eyes to force calm into his voice. “I won’t.” It was short. Simple. It sounded far more threatening using a calm voice than what he meant. Akshi turned his head, studying Nick, a flicker of recognition that caused a smile to grow on his face. Nick refused to react to that, though he kept glaring at Mr. Stower.

There was little the school could do between Rafael and Nick. Their fight happened over the weekend, not on school grounds. Rafael hadn’t gotten the police involved, and might not ever, which was a relief in its own right, but there was still the fear he would.

So, unless Nick punched him again on school grounds, this interview couldn’t last much longer. Judging by how Akshi was leaning close to his face, studying his glare, Nick didn’t want to stay.

“Alright, well…” Mr. Stower rubbed the side of his head. “Thank you. I truly hope we never have to visit again.”

Nick stood up. “Feeling’s mutual.” He almost grunted it as he left the office.

His mind was working so fast it was turning numb. So many things were happening at once, but he pushed everything else aside. He needed to find Evelyn, to warn her about Akshi being in Mr. Stower’s office.

He pulled out his phone and called his sister. This was an emergency. He needed to find Evelyn. He’d have to think of another lie for Walt later.

***

Evelyn felt the weight of the story the moment she walked inside the school. The way some students stopped talking when she walked down the hall. This was gossip of the juiciest kind, and Elmwood High savored it before searching for more to devour.

How many people knew the full story, Evelyn wasn’t sure. Perhaps none of the stares or the whispers were about her, but she couldn’t shake the feeling. This was a small town. Gossip traveled fast. Nick was a prime example of that.

None of her cheer friends came to find her. She never saw Derek and Alejandra on most mornings. Nick offered to hang out with her in the morning, but she declined.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

She scrolled through her phone when she accidentally bumped into someone. “Oh, sorry.”

The boy turned, then recognized her at once. His eyes went huge as he backed away. “I… I’m so sorry. I didn’t see… this was all my fault.”

Evelyn frowned as she watched the boy turn and sprint down the hall. Confusion trickled into her face, scrunching up her nose. It was one thing to know exactly what happened, but a different thing to wonder what kind of story was being passed around.

Her phone vibrated in her palm, and she looked down to see Nick calling her. “Nick?”

“Where are you?” He sounded angry. Panicked. Worried. There were a lot of emotions in his voice.

“Upstairs by the literature hall. Why?”

“I need to talk to you before they call you to the office.”

Right as Nick said that, the intercom crackled above her. “Evelyn Larsen, come to the office. Evelyn Larsen.”

It echoed on Nick’s side of the phone. “I’m almost there. Just wait for me.”

“Okay.” She saw him coming up the stairs and gave a pathetic wave as she ended the call. Nick took the stairs two at a time, catching up with her.

“You’re going to meet with Mr. Stower. Akshi will be there,” Nick said. Evelyn played with her hair, dread filling her stomach. She didn’t want this right now. “Just…” He trailed off, and she dropped her hands.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Evelyn-”

“I’ll be fine!” It came out sharper than she meant. This entire thing was painful. Akshi possibly knew she could see him. But she didn’t want to worry about that. She wished she didn’t have to. All weekend, she imagined what would have happened if she told someone years ago. Dealing with this situation with Rafael, then trying to save their characters, it would make her lose her mind.

“I will be close. I can call Grizzizzik if I need to,” Nick said.

Evelyn shook her head as she headed toward the stairs. “Never call Grizzizzik. Not here in Elmwood High while his father is in the same building. It’s a death wish. This is…” she groaned, rubbing the side of her eye to not mess up her make-up. This was going to tear everyone apart. Her friendship with Rafael was already gone. Now that the truth came out, their little friend group would undoubtably take sides. All the while, these characters needed to get back home. They needed them united, but she could not be around Rafael anymore.

“Evelyn Larsen, come to the office, please. Evelyn. Larsen.” The way the secretary said her name, it almost felt passive aggressive.

“I’ll be close. I won’t call for Grizzizzik, but let me know.”

She rubbed her upper arm as they got closer to the office. “I will.”

Nick stopped walking as Evelyn continued her trek to the office. She walked inside, already seeing the open door and Akshi’s snake tail.

“I’m here,” Evelyn said.

The secretary gave a sad smile, then pointed toward the open door of Mr. Stower’s office. Evelyn nodded, then did everything possible to keep her cool as she walked inside. Her fingers trembled slightly as they found the armrest before she slid into the chair. “Hello, Mr. Stower.”

“Ah, Evelyn. Hello.” Despite the fact she knew Mr. Stower was currently being charmed by Akshi, she acknowledged there was some sadness weaved in his voice. “Look, Evelyn, I want to be one hundred percent open and honest. We are all incredibly disheartened by Rafael’s actions toward you years ago, and we want to make sure this school is a safe environment for all parties.”

Her throat closed up. It was incredibly hard to keep eye contact. “Thank you, sir.”

“Should this ever happen again, I hope you feel safe telling us right away so we can take the proper measures,” Mr. Stower said.

Because when it came down to it, there was nothing they could do. Not to Rafael, not to Nick. Both caused pain, and the only thing they could do was make sure it didn’t happen again. She cleared her throat, doing her best to sit up straight and not look scared as she voiced her thoughts. “There isn’t much you can do, is there?”

Mr. Stower’s sigh sounded defeated. “Not much, no. And for that, I apologize.” Evelyn watched, the pupils of his eyes turning that sickly green color. “But we can let you meet with our school counselor. She’s excellent at what she does, and I really think you could benefit from talking through what happened.”

The fear in her gut brought the words out her mouth faster than she had time to process them. “No, thanks.”

Mr. Stower frowned. “No, thanks?”

If she hadn’t seen the sickly green color in his pupils, she would’ve taken that offer, but this was Akshi’s plan. Her mental wellbeing was too important for her to follow along with a plan Akshi created. She’d make her own.

“I mean, I don’t mean any offense to the school counselor, but my parents are looking into a therapist of our own.” She made a mental note to text Lydia as soon as they were done with this meeting.

Mr. Stower sighed. “I suppose as long as you’re getting the help you need.”

“Yes. I am. Is there anything else you need?” She almost regretted asking that question, because the need to leave the office weighed on her heart.

“I… yes, I need…” Mr. Stower’s eyes were still a sickly green.

Evelyn ignored his stammers and stood up. “Thank you, Mr. Stower.”

She headed for the door. Akshi slithered in front of it, staring right at her, but Evelyn was annoyed enough to keep walking. Instinct told her to stop and move out of the way, but she wasn’t supposed to see Akshi. She marched right through him, feeling nothing. Her steps were purposeful, an emotion she didn’t feel, as she moved out of the office right as the bell rang. She didn’t get far before seeing Nick.

“Evelyn?”

“It’s fine. I still ignored Akshi,” Evelyn said.

“Okay, well, keep me posted.”

Evelyn sighed as the rush of students began. She pulled out her phone and texted her mom to ask about getting a therapist away from school, away from Akshi. “You kind of have your own problems to work on, Nick.”

He didn’t say anything to that, because she was right. Their friend group was fractured before, but now it was officially broken. And somehow, they had to take care of their characters.