{26}

Chapter 26: (Olivia's POV) It was now lunch and we were heading to the cafeteria. I was with Skylar because I just had a class with her and Ethan I think had gym class. We got to the cafeteria and sat at our table. Within a few minutes, Daniel and Austin showed up but Ethan wasn't with them. Austin doesn't actually take gym, he takes music so he didn't have this class with Ethan anyway from what we just heard. "He was still in the boys' locker room when I left," Daniel shrugged. "Who else is in your gym class?" Skylar asked. "Literally all the guys," Daniel deadpanned. I looked around the room, noticing Annabelle doing the same a few tables down. I frowned in confusion and continued looking around. "Oh, shit," I mumbled. I shot up and out of my seat, grabbing my bag and running for the door. "What happened?!" they all called out after me. "I'll tell you when I know!" I yelled while running out, pushing past people, missing bumping into some, heading straight for the locker room. I was panting by the time I got there and my period cramps had gotten worse and luckily enough, people were still coming in and out of the locker room. I leaned against the wall opposite the door, catching my breath. The door closed while one of the guys went running in. He probably forgot something. Right? Wrong. There was loud clattering and everyone was panicking. "God damn it, I was hoping they didn't start fighting yet," I heard one of the guys say while running into the room. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," I mumbled, dropping my bag onto the floor before pushing through the door. "Excuse me, coming through, could you please move?" I mumbled, squeezing my way through the crowd. I ducked, avoiding crashes numerous times. Perks of being short. I got to the middle where I saw exactly what I was expecting. Ethan and Justin fighting. I got lucky, they weren't physically attacking each other just yet. Just arguing, shoving each other around. They both were getting pissed off, I know both of them well enough to know who was going to hit first and it wasn't gonna be Ethan. I think. I hope. I hope he's more mature than that. "Justin, back up," Ethan said warningly. Justin was just talking shit, I stopped listening when he opened his mouth. They didn't know I was here, I don't think they spotted me just said. "Move!" we heard a loud squeak. "Annabelle!" one of the guys announced as she squeezed through the crowd. I rolled my eyes, turning my head back to the front while she occasionally shrieked when someone ran into her. I'm not going in there to stop them all alone. If I'm going in, I'm taking Annabelle down with me. That's her boyfriend too. But he's not really your boyfriend, Olive. Haven't heard from you in a while, welcome back. Bitch. When Annabelle finally made it to the front, stumbling into a spot beside me, she was also just staring at what was going on. "Aren't you gonna stop them?" she gaped at me. "Why is that my job? Your boyfriend is in there too, you know," I scoffed. "I'm not going in there," she laughed humorlessly. I let out a huff, shooting her a glare before turning back to Ethan. Ethan was going to lose his cool any second. Justin has been running his mouth, shoving Ethan, annoying him this whole time. He keeps saying something about Ethan, about me, about us, but as I said, I stopped listening when he opened his mouth. "I already told you to back the fuck up!" Ethan snapped, shoving Justin harder than Justin ever shoved him. "Uh oh," I mumbled under my breath. Justin only retaliated harder and took a swing, punching Ethan. I winced, looking away. He's going to kill Justin. He should. I really didn't miss you. Ethan was about to take a hit but I can't have him getting in trouble. "You're really not gonna do anything?" Annabelle squeaked beside me, staring at me in pure shock. "Keep your mouth shut," I said to her. Ethan was about to punch him back. "Ethan!" I called out, taking a step forward, being pushed by the crowd as well. I turned around, glaring at the guy behind me. Oh, wait. It's Daniel. "You're the only person he's gonna listen to. Go," he ushered. Ethan stopped. Oh, thank god he stopped. Then Justin punched him again. One of them is going to die, I need to make this stop. Apparently, it's my job and no one is going to help. "Ethan, don't!" I yelled, rushing over there, standing in front of him. He let out a frustrated sigh, staring down at me. "Please, please, please, don't do this. You'll only get in trouble, it's not gonna do us any good, just not here, please," I whispered. "Oh, that's right. Listen to your pretty little girlfriend, Ethan. She's right, you know. She knows what you can do, she knows what I can do. You best trust her when she says I'll-" "Shut up!" Ethan and I yelled at Justin in sync. I turned around, glaring at him. "Just stop talking. All that's coming out of your mouth is a pile of shit, nobody cares, Justin! Just shut up and mind your own business!" I exclaimed. I turned back to Ethan who was still fuming at Justin but he was looking down at me with a small smile. "You're in trouble, sir," I mumbled to him while grabbing his bag and shoving it at his chest. I grabbed his arm and pulled him out of there, pushing him all the way out the door. Luckily he was dressed. That could have been awkward. I grabbed my bag off the floor where I left it and pushed Ethan along to the closest girl's bathroom. I took him in there and locked the main door behind us. "What the hell are you doing?" I asked, turning to him. He was leaning against the sinks, his bag on the floor, his arms across his chest. "I didn't even hit him," he rolled his eyes. "Because I stopped you. If I didn't?" I scoffed. "I would have," he shrugged. "Ethan," I took a deep breath, "Work smarter, not harder. Okay? Next time, don't even think about it. I don't want you getting in trouble, especially if it's because of me." "It's not because of you," he reasoned. "You were going to fight him because of me!" I exclaimed. "Not because of you, for you. There's a difference," he said. "I…" Have nothing to say to that. How do I act mad for that? Simple, you can't. "Your lip is bleeding," I said softly, pointing to his lip simultaneously. "Will you kiss it better?" he smirked. "Ethan," I groaned. I grabbed some paper towels and ran them under the water, lightly cleaning his lip while he stared down at me with a small smile. "Don't do that, don't fight him, please?" I asked, throwing the paper towels away. "It's not worth it," I sighed, running my hand through my hair. "You walked in about halfway through, Olivia. So, you only heard about half of what he was saying. Actually, wait. You probably stopped listening when he opened his mouth, scratch that. Point is, you didn't hear what he said." "I don't care about what he said," I retorted. "I do." He stepped forward, making me take a step back, nearly tripping over my bag. He grabbed me quickly, sighing while he ducked his head down, taking a step back and staring at the ground. "Olivia, I can't just hear the way he talks about you, the things he says, and then not act on it. I can't pretend that it doesn't affect me when his words get on every nerve in my body," he explained calmly. "I just don't get it. If I don't have a problem with it, why is it such a problem for you? I don't care, Ethan," I shrugged. "But I do!" he snapped. I flinched at the way his voice shot up. He ran his hands over his face, sighing, mumbling curses. He's never yelled at me like that before. "Look, I didn't mean to yell, I-" The bell cut him off, signaling the end of lunch. I picked up my bag, still in a haze, not really knowing what to say. "I have to go, I have class," I mumbled, quickly grabbing the door and unlocking it, rushing out of there. "Olivia!" he called out from behind me. I stopped, resisting the urge to curse at him. I spun around to face him, watching him jog over to me. "We'll talk later, Ethan. I really have to go," I blurted out before running. I glanced at him before turning the corner to the staircase, rushing upstairs where I had math. I couldn't tell if I was mad. If I was, I had no idea what about. The almost-fight, him yelling at me, him not understanding what I was trying to say… I couldn't tell you. One thing is for sure: We need to talk. . . . . . Chapter 26