Ensnared - Part 4

After what was probably one of the most stressful mornings I've been a part of since enrolling, I find myself lazily strolling towards the cafeteria for lunch.

But even in spite of the lectures that were drilled into my head, all I can think about is the whole Jack situation.

I mean, even if he does have ulterior motives, that doesn't change the fact that I'm not actually dating her so I probably don't have any real say here. Geez, this whole situation is way more complicated than I'd like to admit.

Before I make a decision on where I stand and what I'm going to do, there's four points that I need to carefully consider:

1) Scarlet wants to end our fake relationship because she realized it would get in the way of her chances with someone else.

2) Jack wants me to end the fake relationship because, if the rumors about him are right, then it interferes with his goal of dating all the popular girls at school.

3) If I do as they both please, then there's a good chance that Scarlet will be broken due to her already overbearing anxiety where men are concerned.

4) The person she's been texting all this time was Jack himself. As a matter of fact, I'm at least ninety percent sure that he is. He's probably the only person tenacious enough to continue pursuing a girl who refuses to properly answer his texts. It also explains why he felt entitled enough to confront me directly about her.

Well, now that we've gotten all of the major points down, there's one more question that needs answering before any other.

Why am I the one stuck in the middle of this…?

This was supposed to be the beginning of my peaceful high school life. If I'm going to be involved in a mess like this then at least let me have a real girlfriend to fight for in the first place!

"This sucks…"

The plan Scarlet had decided on was a rather simple one. She told me to meet her one more time at lunch. Only this time, we'd be sitting with my jolly gang of friends rather than hers. All I'd have to do is say something highly offensive during our conversation, and then she'd slap me with crocodile tears streaming down her face while screaming "We're through!", or something to that effect.

Damn though, that does nothing for my reputation, does it?

Either way, that's the basic gist of the plan.

It leaves me with two choices: The first is to go along with it and prevent her relationship with Jack from the side lines, or I could forcefully continue the façade of the fake relationship for the sake of protecting her from him.

I don't think she could do much to stop it considering how much she cares about appearances after all.

Well, let's hope I come up with something before I get to the hall.

Oh, speak of the devil.

The moment I turn the last corner on my way to the cafeteria, I spy Scarlet with her back leaning timidly against the wall. Her nervous fidgeting reminds me of the way she acted when she first spoke to me yesterday.

I guess I shouldn't interfere with her. She seems to be in the middle of a conversation with…

"…"

And then, I realize that something is awfully amiss here.

I instantly slink back behind the corner I came from.

She's talking to… three members of Think.

All at once.

Needless to say, they're all male.

"Huh? Huh? Huuuh?!"

That can't be true. Why is she talking to them?!

I lean my back against the wall and move my head up slightly to peek past the corner. I'll probably seem like a creep if I do this badly so I pretend to be leaning forward to look down at my phone.

Okay, let's see what's going on here…

"Hey Scar, are you free right now?"

"A-ah, um…"

"If you don't have any plans then you should come eat lunch with us. We know how to have a good time, y'know?"

"Uhm…"

Scarlet's eyes dart around nervously as she sports a rather overzealous smile that twitches every time she tries to say something.

And I have to say…

It's pretty damn cute.

Well, she might be anxious out of her mind, but at the very least it doesn't seem like it's too displeasing for her. It mostly seems like she doesn't have the courage to form any coherent sentences.

Well, I can kind of get that. It's normal to be a bit nervous around the opposite gender at this age.

But to this extent…

"Come on…"

The voice belonged to Jack, who is currently absurdly close to her. His hand has been resting against the wall right next to her face for a while now.

"What's the harm, y'know?"

"A-ah, w-well…"

Come on Scarlet, just use your words! You can do it! You can beat this thing!

"Here, I'll lead the way."

He smirks and gently holds her hand.

And in that instant, he freezes up.

It takes me while to realize why, but the moment I glance down at her other hand I understood immediately.

She's… shivering.

I was wrong.

I was beyond wrong.

This is… so much more than just being nervous around guys.

"Goddammit…"

I rush out towards the group without thinking.

I didn't realize what she'd meant at all. I just assumed that she was a bit anxious about approaching guys all this time. I had thought that it was something as simple as that.

But…

"Tch."

I click my tongue.

The sound of my footsteps as I run echo through the hallway.

I'm so quick that the moment the group turns to face me I'm already there.

I reach out and forcibly remove his grip from her hand.

"Wha…"

"Back off."

I stare him down with every inch of animosity my mind can muster up.

He's completely frozen. He doesn't seem to have any idea what's going on anymore.

"Ch-chase…?"

I turn to face her. The girl they're all surrounding.

Her face is completely pale. From just a glance I can tell that she's barely holding up.

Haha, what the hell… Why didn't I realize it sooner?

Geez, I just can't help myself when it comes to you. I even told myself I shouldn't interfere, but here I am trying to save you again.

Whatever. For now, I need to make her feel safe.

And so, I decide brandish the most calm and collected smile I could muster in this situation.

"Yo, Scar… Bwegh!"

Before I could finish my greeting, a sudden shock wave of pain erupts from my stomach. It's a deafening pain–as if all the oxygen in my lungs had escaped through my mouth at once.

I look down and find a fist firmly planted in the middle of my gut.

"What the fuck, kid? Do you think you're cool or something?"

The fist, which belongs to one of Jack's band-mates, retracts as suddenly as it had appeared, causing me to crumple to the ground in pain.

Scarlet's face goes completely blank. Not a single sound escapes her quivering lips at the scene that had suddenly unfolded before her.

What the hell… That was supposed to be my cool moment…

"Dude, what're you doing? Are you trying to get suspended?"

"Are you kidding me? It was almost creepy how much he was trying to white-knight. He deserved that shit."

"I'm with Paul, bruh. You don't deserve that kinda disrespect. You need to teach geeks like these manners"

I can barely hear what Jack and his bandmates are saying.

The pain is too much right now.

"..."

Jack looks down at me in all my glory.

I'm on my knees. I have drool running down the side of my lip. My arms are wrapped around my abdomen. I'm breathing heavily as I try to withstand the pain.

And Jack just stands there.

He stands there gazing down at me with what appears to be a look of almost pity.

"… Let's go."

"Huh? Oh, aight…"

Jack heads towards the cafeteria with his two buddies as they reluctantly following behind him; still shooting condescending glances my way.

Okay, they're gone. Thank goodness.

"Haaa, haaa…"

All I can do is gasp for air.

Man though, this is beyond pathetic.

"A-ah…"

After finally returning to reality, Scarlet kneels down right next to my body.

"Um, uh… C-chase? Are you… okay?"

"Hahaha…"

For some reason, her innocent, almost naive question gets a laugh out of me.

"What's with you suddenly? Just a few hours ago you were going off about how much of a loser I am. Now you really do look like you could kiss me."

"S-shut up pervert! You're still a loser! Don't think you're worth more than the rest of those geeks just because I'm a little worried, okay?!"

"Ah, that so?"

It seems like my breathing is returning to normal. I sit up against the wall and wipe the saliva off of my lip with my sleeve.

"High school students sure hit hard though, huh? I was completely winded after that one."

Her indifferent façade crumples away. I suppose she feels guilty somehow since I got hit because of her.

"Again, why…?"

"Sorry, you're not gonna get rid of your geek boyfriend that easily."

"…"

"We're not dating for real… You know that, right?"

I take a deep breath to try regaining my composure. Seems like we've been receiving glances from passersby.

"If you keep saving me like this then even I'd feel bad about our fake relationship…"

So I was right. She really was shivering.

I cough out loud one more time.

"You can go eat lunch with Jennifer and Momoka. I'll be fine."

"Even if you say that, I…"

"Think, Scarlet. If you keep loitering around with me after I got beaten like that then your reputation is going to take a hit too. It'd be better if you avoided me for a short while."

My words seem to have hit the mark. I suppose deep down she was somewhat worried about her reputation.

She immediately simmers down, looking defeated.

"You're… right. You're right, but… Are you… not going to report them?"

"Nah, it's fine."

I begin walking to the cafeteria, still a bit groggy from the blow to my stomach.

"I think Jack at least understood what happened back there."

"Huh?"

"Uhm… nevermind. We'll talk later."

I leave her with those words of parting as I head into the cafeteria.