Chapter Sixty Five: Money and Friends

Bad Guy: a person who does evil things to others.

*

Bonnie had gotten much more aggressive with the self-defence training we did, to the point where she could hurt me.

When Bonnie bent my hand back when I touched her wheelchair, I called mercy. "Okay! That's enough before you snap my wrist!" I yelped, being reduced to my knees.

Bonnie had this almost sadistic laugh as she released me, allowing me to aid my hand as she called me a pansy. "They're pressure points for a reason, Bonnie," I countered shaking the tingle from my fingertips, "Don't know how often you'll use that, but it's not a bad thing to know."

Bonnie cracked her knuckles, "This is fun. What's next?"

I scoffed, getting up. "I think that's enough for today," I said, "My pride can only endure so many ass-whoopings."

Bonnie started to mock me. "Aww, poor Dorm Guard, bested by a girl in a wheelchair. Boo-hoo!" She made a crying gesture before reaching over and punching my hip. "Come on, one more round!"

"What has gotten into you, Bonnie?" I asked, rubbing where she punched. "First your overenthusiasm in movie night, then your insistence to help Robyn with breakfast, this self-defence training. Where's it all come from?"

Bonnie crossed her arms. "Maybe I just want to hang out with my favourite Dorm Guard."

I raised a brow, "How's your basic bucket list going?"

She waved a dismissive hand at me, "That's on the back burner. Let's get back to fighting!"

I shook my head, partially in disbelief, "You're lonely."

Those two words startled Bonnie, prompting her to sit up straight and awkwardly glanced around. "How am I lonely? Everyone in the dorm is willing to hang out with me."

I smirked at her as I stepped closer and squatted before her chair. "With Mia in the cheer squad, you have no one to play with," I teased.

Bonnie took the comment to heart, biting the inside of her cheek and sighing. "It's… not just that."

The sadness that plagued her face made all my potential teasing efforts vanish. "You miss Amada too."

Bonnie made a small shrug, dropping her eyes to the grass. "I know it's only been a week, but I miss that little dork. I kinda liked him, and now he's just gone," she remarked, "And with Mia also being so busy with her cheer squad thing, it's difficult not to feel slightly abandoned." She blinked at what she just admitted and scoffed at herself, "How selfish of me, huh? Mia's busy with something we all wanted her to do, and Amada was taken away for manliness camp. Both should be good things for them. And yet, here I am feeling lonely in a house full of people and pestering those people until they're sick of me." Bonnie had started rolling away slowly as she spoke.

I grinned, "No one is sick of you. I was just curious. You don't normally want to hang out with us this much. If you didn't want to break my arms, it would be quite nice," I joked.

Bonnie cracked a smile, but the sadness lingered. I had never considered that Bonnie returned Amada's feelings. He wasn't subtle about some of his flirting attempts, while Bonnie if she made any at all, was understated. When her mood didn't lift, I said, "I didn't know you liked Amada."

Bonnie's face began flushing as she answered, "I don't… not like him…" She scratched at her cheeks, "I dunno. I liked his attention more than anything. It was nice."

I bit down on my tongue to keep from saying something snarky, instead offering the only advice I could give. "Why don't you try and make some new friends?"

She blinked, her face construing into an amused look. "Me? Make friends? The only reason I'm friends with any of you people is that we live together and you're stubborn."

I glowered. "Bonnie, you're a wonderful person. You're smart, ambitious, cool. I'm sure there're tonnes of people who want to be your friend."

Bonnie pursed her lips, furrowing her brows in thought. "People don't like me, Landon."

I couldn't stifle my chuckle. "Bonnie, people like you. You can be a delightful person when you want to be. You stood up for your little sister, you're passionate about what you like and what you want. People don't hate stuff like that, Bonnie. If you let them, people may find you inspiring, or cool. But they won't know until you try and find people to be friends with."

Bonnie inhaled slowly and shakily, eventually managing to release a sigh.

I tilted my head at her hesitance and tried, "Do you want me to introduce you to someone?"

Bonnie furrowed her brows, "I'm not looking for a date, Landon."

I chuckled. "I'm talking about a girl in one of my classes. She's really sweet, and it's someone you know."

She audibly gulped, "Who?"

*

The first day of school was weird for a few reasons.

Only one of the twins was there, Amia who still refused to speak to me, and Mia was dressed in her cheerleader outfit. As I rode my bike into the school, I caught a glimpse at Ava and Robyn on my way past, who were holding hands as they spoke with a few kids from their year.

As I headed back for the central courtyard after locking my bike, I saw a stray wheelchair sitting on the edge of the cobblestone. A few meters away, sitting on the grass, was Bonnie indistinctly talking to Amelia Wright, the girl in my year I had introduced her to.

Amelia seemed shocked when I had called her up and asked if she wanted to hang out. When I introduced her to Bonnie, the two seemed to really hit it off.

As they sat on the grass and spoke, they were each smiling, making animated gestures about whatever it was they were talking about. Even though I didn't know Amelia very well, it was nice to see her smile. She always seemed so gloomy and shy.

Throughout the day, whenever I saw Amia, she gave me a stink eye, turned her back on me and walked in the opposite direction. I could barely get within ten feet of her, let alone try and talk to her.

At lunch, I found a vacant table. As I started taking out my lunch, Estelle somehow manifested across from me. "What's up, princess?" I asked.

"I got some tea to spill with you," she said eagerly, "Some interesting rumours have been spreading about you."

I blinked. "And you're here to tell me about the rumours?"

She nodded, slapping the table. "That is correct. So, get this," she shifted in her seat, "Apparently you're dating Bonnie."

I paused, my mind taking a weirdly long time to understand what was just said. "What?"

"You are no longer dating Alexis, you are now dating Bonnie," Estelle informed.

I scoffed. "Says who?"

Estelle cleared her throat, ready to sing off a list. "I first heard about it from Dannielle and Talisha, who said they had heard about from some boys in Alexis' year who were interested in asking her out. I nosed around, and apparently, a lot of people think you aren't dating Alexis anymore. And people have seen how close you are to Bonnie, so they just kinda linked."

I shook my head, "Why Bonnie? I hang out with you and the others."

She laughed. "Like anyone would think you're dating a catch like me."

I pretended to be offended, "Estelle, please, my feelings."

"And Ava and Robyn are basically a thing, and everyone thinks about you too highly to be dating Mia, an eleven-year-old and a cheerleader, who by the way, according to my mental chart, is now out of your league." Estelle shook her head around to make her ponytail bounce.

"In this little chart in your head, why am I not classed as a jock? And don't jocks usually end up with cheerleaders?" I countered.

Estelle smirked, "You ain't a jock yet. So, you're still a dorky scholarship kid."

I shook my head, "Fine, whatever. I'm not dating Bonnie though, Estelle."

Estelle nodded, "I know. You don't just share your pizza with her, you share it with all of us." To make that statement more awkward, she winked and went to stand.

"Do you know who started those rumours, princess?" I asked before she could walk away.

Estelle bit the inside of her cheek. "People kinda just assumed. But I heard from some that they got confirmation from Amia," she informed, "You guys are still in a bad place."

I sighed, somewhat in awe that Amia hated me so much that she would start a rumour like that.

*

Amia almost dropped her books when I blocked her path, glaring at me when I folded my arms. "Leave me alone, puttana dei soldi," she hissed.

I blinked. "I'm not dumb, I know some of what you just said was whore," she rolled her eyes at my understanding, "So I'm going to ignore that and just say what I want to say."

Amia shifted on her feet, looking everywhere but me. We were standing outside one of the main buildings, with not too many people coming in or out just yet. "Amia, why did you tell people I was dating Bonnie?"

She tilted her head, scoffing as she cracked a grin. "I never said that," she assured, "I just didn't say you weren't."

I gritted my teeth, sighing through my nose as I countered, "Why didn't you say we weren't?"

"Why didn't you tell me my Father was paying you?" Amia asked, her voice a fierce snap, "I mean, sure I didn't ask, but you didn't tell me."

"How can you compare these two scenarios? They're completely different," I snapped, "And I didn't want the money from your Father. I mean, at the start I kinda did and felt I had to, but now I don't want it. I'm not accepting it."

Amia's breath shook, by her exhale her eyes began to water. "Do you not realise how insulting that is? How stupid that makes us feel?" Amia's voice started to rise, "How much of anything you said to him was true? What you made him do? What you made him feel? He loved you God-damnit! You were like the big brother he never had, someone who could make him feel like he wasn't broken or not enough!" Her eyes were glassy, her breathing almost whistling through her gritted teeth. "He idolised you. I idolised you! And you were getting paid for all of it!"

I throat felt tight, because from her perspective nothing I say would explain anything, would be enough, would be believable. At having it blatantly yelled at to my face, I realised I had no argument. I had accepted Mr Romano's terms because I was, and still am, strapped for money, and now I wasn't sure how much of what I said or did was for Amada.

I liked to think it was, but was it? Was anything I did solely for Amada or was Amia right?

No. I know not all of it was because of the money. It had nothing to do with the money. The early morning runs, those weird video game sessions, our self-defence training sessions, those small moments where we went for a walk, had conversations about our futures, what Amada wanted to be, what he wanted to do. We've had discussions and debates about athletes, superheroes, and breakfast cereals.

I sighed. "I thought you knew me better than that, Amia," was all I could counter with.

Amia sniffed, readjusting her books as she replied, "So did I."

I let her walk past me and disappear into the building. I rubbed my face, groaning in annoyance to this situation.

*

I couldn't find Alexis throughout the day, so after the classes, I went to the shed in the hope of explaining today's rumours if she heard any.

I frowned when I approached the garden shed, seeing a handful of boxes placed outside the shed. "Hey, Alexis?" I called, assuming she was here as I walked to the open door. Everything had been taken out; canvases, sculptures, paint equipment, actual paints. All the shelves were bare of paint pots, and every desk surface was cleared, but evidence of paint and clay was still smothered all over the place.

Despite this, Alexis sat at the desk, stereo at her elbow softly playing a classical piece of music. When I entered, she lifted her head. "Hello?"

"It's Landon," I informed, stepping in. I was shocked by the lack of paint fumes, the garden shed smelt like metal and dirt. "What's going on here?" I asked, noting some cardboard boxes still littered about the place.

"The school is getting an actual on-site gardener," Alexis explained turning in her chair, "So they need the shed for when he eventually moves in."

I blinked, "Wait, so what happens to you?"

Alexis shrugged, "My stuff will get moved to either storage or the art rooms. I just won't have my own fancy studio." Despite this information, she sounded very nonchalant about it.

"It doesn't bother you?" I asked.

Alexis shrugged, reaching forwards when I got close and holding my torso. "Nah, not overly. This isn't my space, it was bound to be taken over by someone else."

"Aren't you like an asset to the school," I voiced.

Alexis rested her chin on my chest to look up at me. "No more then you," she countered, "And I don't see you having your own studio space."

I hummed in thought. "That doesn't seem fair," I said.

She shrugged again. "I leave at the end of the year, so it was bound to happen soon enough."

I sighed, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "Do you need help with any of this?" I asked gesturing around the shed. I had never considered how many boxes it would take to empty out the whole shed.

Alexis shook her head. "No. The school wants to move me, they can move the boxes," she replied.

I smirked, "That's my girl." I kissed her again. "Hey, have you heard any, I dunno, weird rumours?"

Alexis' eyes seemed to gleam at the mention of it, and a smile tugged on her lips. "You mean that I'm part of your harem?" she joked, "Didn't know this was an open relationship? Is Bonnie aware of it?"

I laughed, pressing my hand to my face, Alexis chuckling along with me. "So, I take it you heard?'

"Estelle basically be-lined to tell me," Alexis informed, "And when she couldn't find me, she called me like ten times."

I sighed. "Amia wasn't helping," I stated, "When asked she never denied it."

"You two still having problems?" Alexis asked.

I sat on the edge of her desk and shrugged, "I don't know how I'm going to fix it." I ran my hands through my hair as I hunched forwards. "I wish I had never taken Mr Romano's money."

Alexis nodded, "Yep."

I looked at her, sitting up straight. "You agree with Amia?"

Alexis shrugged, "I dunno, kinda. The whole thing looks really sus, dude."

I groaned, stretching my neck back to look at the ceiling, "Yeah, I know." I looked down at what she was sketching, "What're you drawing?"

"Just an outline for a potential project," Alexis informed.

I shifted, trying to decipher what the scribble was. "Which project?"

Alexis picked up the paper by its edges and pressed it against her chest. "It's a secret for now, even from you," she informed.

I raised a brow, "Why?"

"Because none of it is set in stone," she informed, "I don't plan on telling anyone until I have more information." She folded the paper and placed it back on the desk. "But I'm getting excited about it, so I wanted to work on some it." As she spoke, I watched her jiggle her head back and forth, the smile she projected heart-warming and giddy, while not a rare feat from her, I enjoyed it whenever I saw it.

She reached forward and wrapped her hands around my fingers. "Probably find a way to explain it to Amia, or perhaps do something with the money instead of outright not accepting it," she suggested, "I mean, Amada is gone for a few more weeks minimum, and they aren't allowed to talk to each other. Imagine how that would feel."

I could imagine that, and I honestly dreaded it. If I were unable to contact my sisters, I'd be crushed. The twins were best friends and were separated.

"And then on top of that, Amia thinks everything you've done was for money," Alexis added, "It's not hard to see you as the bad guy."

"But I don't want to be the bad guy," I informed. I got off the desk, "This conversation is about to go in circles."

Alexis shrugged, allowing my hand to slip through hers. "I wouldn't leave this alone," Alexis informed, "You need to try and fix this."

I sighed, "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"Then do it, Duke of Dumbasses."

I bit my tongue behind my smirk as I leaned forward and kissed her again. "I've got tryouts this afternoon. Wanna walk home together afterwards?"

Alexis smiled and nodded, "Sounds lovely. Come find me after tryouts."