CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: ATHENA
The class fell silent, and everyone's gaze fell on me, shock visible in their eyes; I knew what they were all thinking: what the fuck just happened? because the old me would never have had the courage to confront anyone in the past, and now I was going to take on one of my bullies because he had said shit about my best friend and his mother, who is fighting for her life as I speak and the the fact he didn't respect that pissed me off, so i wanted to put him in his place.
And this isn't the first time I've found myself not acting like my old self. There was that time with Adam, and to be honest, I like the person I'm becoming because the old me was never going to get anywhere in life.
With Leo and Austin's help, I've learned to fight for myself because they allowed me to be who I truly was around them, so I'm not going to let anyone, not even these jerks who had made my life miserable, say shit about them, fuck the consequences.
"Can you come again, Sam, because I must have heard wrong? Because you didn't just insult my friend" I asked, my voice slightly raised.
"Are you talking to me?" Sam asked
"Are you stupid or what?" Who else am I talking to? You are the only one spouting rubbish as if you have no common sense."
Sam was and still is an asshole, he was in the same friend group as Dylan, and while he didn't physically hurt me, he took every opportunity to insult me because I chose Williams over him, so he is basically just a jackass with a wounded ego.
"Are you insulting me?" Sam asked, his gaze fixed on me.
"I've always thought you were pretending to be a dumb jock to get girls to like you, but it turns out that you're actually dumb and it's not an act, that's really pathetic Sam, I feel sorry for you," I said, and his face turned a dark shade of red; I hadn't even started unloading four years' worth of insults on him and he was already embarrassed.
"You can't talk to me like that whore, Leo, keep your bitch friend on a leash," Sam said as he turned to face Leo, who looked like he wanted to rip off his head as well, does he really think Leo will take his side? Was he high or something?
"Why should I?" She isn't doing anything wrong; she's just saying what we were all thinking, but you, on the other hand, should tread carefully because it's taking every ounce of self-control I have not to smash your face into that wall behind you, because she isn't the only one upset that you just insulted Kendall and his sick mother."
"I've got nothing against you, man," Sam said as he raised his hands in surrender.
"You see, Sam, you may not have beef with me, but I do with you. Do you know why? Because you just Insulted my best friend" Leo said his eyes looked cold and emotionless. "What!"
"Did I stutter?"
"No, but I was just stating facts; we all know Austin's mother is a crackhead, and he went to jail for hurting that dude, he is bad news."
"You must be tired of living because you choose not to stop running your mouth, and if you continue, it can get you seriously hurt, Sam," Leo said as he glared at Sam, who looked terrified but was trying to hide it by acting tough.
"Sam, you'd better back off while he's still being civil." Mason said
"Shut up Mason, just because he threatened you doesn't mean he can do the same to me; I can handle him,"
"He didn't threaten me, jackass, he broke my freaking face and I had to spend a week in the hospital," Mason explained as a smile spread across Leo's face, his gaze shifted to Mason, and when their gazes met he had this terrified look which made me actually feel sorry for him. How bad did Leo hurt him? And when did it happen? I wondered as I returned my attention to Sam.
"You should listen to Mason, Sam, he's giving you good advice," Leo said with a deadly stare and a devious smile on his face.
"He is just a coward"
"Is he? Or are you just too stupid to listen to his warnings," I said as Sam turned his angry gaze to me.
"Shut up, we all know what you're good for, and that's being a whore maybe after Leo's done, I can have a go. My brother said your mother was really good at that, so maybe it runs in the family."
"That's it, you're dead," Leo growled as he tried to lunge for Sam, who had a wide grin on his face as if making Leo angry was something to be proud of.
But before he could do anything to Sam, I pulled him back by the arm, and he turned to face me, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Hey, Leo, don't worry, I've got this." I said with a small smile as he looked down at me; I could see the hesitation in his eyes, but after a few seconds, he sat back down on his chair.
"How the mighty have fallen, is she your new owner now, Leo? Are you her little bitch?" Sam smirked as he mocked Leo, who was clearly irritated by his taunts but didn't act on it because he trusted me to handle Sam and I will not disappoint him.
"I've had enough, fuck being civil," I said as I walked up to him, picking up his massive history textbook on his table and smashing it across his face.
Loud gasps filled the room as everyone witnessed what I had just done. I know that violence never solves anything, but it was satisfying to silence him this way.
"What the fuck bitch? You broke my nose," he said, and I slammed the book against his face again and again until I was satisfied, leaving him with a bloody face and a broken nose, but it was nothing compared to what he put me through these last four years.
"Next time, you say something bad about my friends, I will break something else," I warned, dropping his book on his table and walking back to mine with a huge smile on my face.
"I'm gonna kill you, bitch."
"I'd like to see you try?" Leo said as he glared at him, but when his gaze shifted to me, it softened and he had this proud look in his eyes, which made my smile widen.
"I warned you but you didn't listen, serve you right," Mason muttered to himself, earning a glare from Sam.
But before Sam could say anything else, Mr Hunter walked in and went over to his table to pick up a book, and as he was about to leave, his gaze fell on Sam.
"Mr Dane" What happened to your face? "Why are you bleeding?" Mr. Hunter asked not because he cared about his well-being, but rather in case something came up later that could have a negative impact on him.
"That bitch attacked me," Sam said, holding his face towel over his bloody nose and staring at me. "Miss Marcos, is Mr Andrew telling the truth?" Mr Hunter asked, and simply I shrugged.
"The poor guy fell on his face, Athena was just trying to help him up and he snapped at her," Leo explained with a huge grin on his face, and I tried my hardest not to laugh, what kind of lie was that?
"Do you expect me to believe that Mr Dane fell on his face and gave himself a bruised face and a blood nose, Mr Smith?"
"Yes, because that's what happened, Mr Hunter, and I'm hurt that you don't believe me," Leo said, putting his hand on his heart and pretending to be hurt by Mr Hunter's words.
"Mr Porter, what happened to Mr. Dane?" Mr Hunter asked Simon, the school's honor student, who looked uninterested in what was going on.
Whether he covered for us or not, Sam or his friends couldn't touch him because his father was the mayor of the town, making him virtually untouchable and he was also quite scary when he wanted to be.
If he gives me up, I won't mind because any punishment they give me will be worth it; I fought for my friend and would do it again.
"He fell on his own, Sir," Simon said, and a small grin spread across Leo's face as he turned to face Mr Hunter, who looked skeptical but let out a sigh as he turned to face Sam.
"How clumsy, Mr Jackson; please take Mr. Dane to the Infirmary," Mr Hunter said to Fred, one of Sam's friends, before leaving us alone.
"You're a dead man, Simon, you threw me under the bus"
"You started it by insulting Kendall and his mother. His friend just taught you a lesson, and you deserved it and more," Simon said before returning to his book.
"I don't care who your father is, you're going to pay, Simon."
"You really should, Sam," Simon said with a deadly look in his eyes, and that silenced Sam as he turned to glare at me, Simon wasn't a guy you'd want to mess with, he might be an honor student but he wasn't what you'd call a nerd, he and his family were far more dangerous than anyone could ever know.
"Bitch, this isn't over," Sam said.
"You don't scare me, Sam, you're just a pathetic little boy who can't do shit" I said this while grinning from ear to ear, which irritated him even more.
"I promise to make you pay, you fucking bitch."
"I've been quiet for a while now while you insulted her, you have balls, I will give you that, but your ranting comes to an end here, next time you insult that girl," Leo said as he pointed in my direction, "I will put you in the hospital."
"You-" Sam was about to say something when Fred cut him off.
"Come on man, that's enough," Fred said as he helped Sam to his feet and led him to the door, his angry gaze never leaving mine until he was out of the class.
After the incident that happened in home-room, Leo and I had three more classes before lunch. Time flew by and the lunch bell rang. Leo and I walked into the cafeteria, picked up our trays, served ourselves, and took our seats at our usual table which felt weird without Austin.
For the first time in a long time, we had a peaceful lunch, possibly because Dylan, his friends, or Diana weren't around (where was she, by the way?). She never missed lunch.
We used the opportunity to call Austin, it rang and rang but it went to voicemail, when we tried calling back again he picked up but he couldn't talk so he said he was going to call us later.
I was exhausted by the end of the school day but I managed to drag my lazy ass to the car. When we arrived at the car, Leo picked me up and placed me on the hood of his car, his intense gaze fixed on me.
"Why are you so serious?" I asked as I poked his cheeks
"I was so proud of you today, Princessa, you stood up to that jerk and I couldn't be happier, you're learning to fight for yourself."
"It's all because of you guys."
"Yes, we helped, but you did it all by yourself, Princessa; don't underestimate yourself; you are a strong and beautiful woman and don't let anyone tell you otherwise"
"Thank you, Leo that means a lot" I said,
"One more thing, you look really sexy when you're angry."
"Shut up," I laughed as I punched him in the arm, and he smiled and placed a quick kiss on my lips.
"Would you like to go out on a date with me, Athena?" Leo asked and my mind went blank. We were dating, but I'm not sure my brain had fully accepted the fact that a guy like him would be interested in me.
"I would love to go on a date with you, Leo."
"Thank you Princessa," Leo said, taking my hands in his and kissing the top of my hand, making me blush furiously.
"The pleasure is all mine."
"Come on, let's go get Shane from school," Leo said, kissing my lips as he picked me up from the hood and set me down on the ground.
We both hopped in the car and drove to Shane's school. When we arrived, Shane was already waiting by the school gate, and when he saw the car, a huge grin spread across his face.
Shane ran to hug Leo, who was the first out of the car. Then I got out of the car, and he pulled me into a big hug, I kissed his temple before pulling away, he was so freaking cute.
"How was school? Little Man" Leo asked.
"I had fun, we watched a really cool historical movie today,"
"Did anyone bother you?"
"Nope, you scared them off," Shane said, making Leo and I laugh.
"Come on, Smartass, get in the car," Leo said as we all got into the car, and Shane continued to talk about his day as we drove home.
Leo dropped me off first, and we said our goodbyes, he also reminded me that we will be going to see Austin at the hospital later in the day before I went up to the apartment.
Sophia wasn't home, which meant she was still at work, so I took advantage of the opportunity to make dinner for the both of us after freshening up and finishing my homework, but while I was doing all this my mind was preoccupied with everything that could happen on my first date with Leo, which I couldn't wait for.
