Chapter 2: Pushing Limits

Somehow I managed to survive senior year despite having to endure being bullied by almost the entire school. It didn’t matter if they didn’t physically touch me, their words and actions were enough to stab me with a hook and drag me to the depths of a bottomless ocean. 

Still, I was looking forward to the last week of school before I can finally get out of the hellhole. Technically, according to my age, I wasn’t supposed to graduate until the following year, but I got moved up a grade because of my performance. Perhaps that was the reason my schoolmates bullied me even though it wasn’t an excuse for their behavior. 

As for Joshua, ever since he hooked up with Breanna and started dating her, he stopped disturbing me. It irked me to see my two ultimate bullies smooching in the hallways, but I was thankful that my life had been slightly peaceful ever since they got together. 

“Hey, Olive! Heads up!” someone said when I walked past the schoolyard. 

Turning towards the source of the sound, I came face first with a flying paper ball that hit me right in the forehead. 

“Ow!” I blurted out, rubbing that spot as I narrowed my eyes at the innocent paper ball resting at my feet. 

Looking up, my gaze met the group of jocks and cheerleaders in the distance, laughing away at me. Leading them, Joshua and Breanna, pointed at me and snickered. 

So much for peace. 

Perhaps it was the thought that high school was ending soon or the closer they were moving to my limit, but without realizing it, I found myself stomping on the paper ball, flattening it to the ground with my shoes. 

“Oooh, Outcast Olive has a temper!” Breanna mocked, making light of my annoyance towards their behavior. 

“Outcast Olive?” Joshua asked her, hearing of her nickname for me for the first time. 

Breanna shrugged her shoulders. “Isn’t it obvious? She’s like an untouchable leper.”

“Ouch. It’s that going too far?” he replied, much to my surprise. 

Breanna turned to look at me before grabbing Joshua’s face and planting a sloppy kiss on his lips. Pulling away after silencing and bewitching her boyfriend, she arched her eyebrow at me. When Joshua turned around to talk to his friends, Breanna mouthed something from the distance. 

“F*ck off, b*tch! He’s mine!” she mouthed rather clearly, much to my surprise. 

That girl was probably crazy, drunk, or high on something to ever think that I would want Joshua Taylor. Even if he is the last man on Earth, I wouldn’t want him. Brushing away the nausea that the thought caused me, I walked away from the group of crazies and headed toward the library. 

Hours later, I made my way to the football field to find Luke. Since he didn’t answer his phone when our parents called him, the duty of locating him fell onto me, his sister. Soon, I stepped foot on the luscious, green football field. Football practice and cheer practice had finished more than an hour ago, but my brother was nowhere to be seen. 

Knowing well that my parents wouldn’t get off my back if I didn’t find him, I headed to the bleachers to see if he was sucking face with some girl. True enough, I heard the sound of moaning when I approached the secret hideout under the bleachers. 

“Luke, you better not have your face attached to some girl!” I whispered to myself before I turned a corner towards the source of the sounds. 

As soon as my eyes fell on the couple making out in the shadows, my jaw dropped. Thankfully it was not Luke, but their identity was still surprising. Slapping my palm over my mouth, I quickly hid behind a wall before they could see me. 

No f*cking way!

As if the discovery of the scandal wasn’t bad enough, another tornado headed my way before I could catch my breath. Joshua walked over towards my location, running his hand through his hair. His eyes scanned the surroundings in search but thanks to my hiding spot, I remained hidden. 

My heart split into two in a dilemma of my situation. On one hand, I wanted nothing to do with the lame high school drama and be the subject of gossip. But, on the other hand, what I had just seen went against my personal principles. 

However, I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. The football captain saw me and looked curious about the horrified look on my face. 

“Yo! Ja—” Against every bone in my body, I yanked Joshua towards me and closed his mouth with my palm before he could say a word. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” I whispered. 

Joshua pushed my hand away disgustingly and narrowed his eyes at me. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Since when did you get a job as a make-out guard?”

“Just listen to me. Turn back right now. Trust me, please,” I pleaded. 

Joshua scoffed. “No. Why would I want to listen to you? Do you even know who I a—”

“Oh! Just like that! Yes! You really know how to make me moan, baby!” a familiar voice exclaimed from behind us, the female of the make-out couple.

A look of horror flashed across Joshua’s face, turning him as pale as a ghost. “Br…Breanna?”

Yes, that was the sight that shocked me and the reason I tried to stop him from discovering them. I guess part of me wanted him to surprise them and see her as the sl*t she really was, but no one deserved to be hurt that way. It was mighty big of me to forget about all the pain he had caused me all the while and try to protect him from feeling betrayed. 

“Yes, babe! You like that, huh? Do you like sneaking away like this? Cheating on Joshua? Does that get you all hot?” The male voice finally made an appearance before I could prepare Joshua for the other blow. 

“Louis? Louis Jacobson?” Joshua whispered sharply as his palms balled up into fists. 

His face contorted into a look of anger I had never seen before. But, I couldn’t blame him. It was not every day that you found your girlfriend cheating on you and making out with your best friend. 

Joshua lifted his eyes to meet mine and I watched them soften. Little balls of tears pooled in his eyes before he gripped my shoulders and exhaled. At that moment, I felt nothing but sympathy for him. He looked like a completely different person and not my annoying bully. To be honest, I didn’t expect him to react the way he did. I half expected him to just throw a fit or even just give them the middle finger and storm off. 

Maybe he really fell hard for her?

The miserable jock leaned back against the wall and sighed without saying a word. Then, slowly, his rage returned to his face as his jaw tightened, accentuating his sharp jawline. Just when the sounds of moaning started getting louder, Joshua stormed off in their direction. 

“How could you?! You f*cking as*holes! Traitors!” Joshua yelled at them at the top of his voice. 

Realizing that I was caught in the middle of the biggest drama of the year, I hurried my feet out of the bleachers and towards the main building. A few students nearby heard the commotion and headed towards the bleachers, but not before seeing me fleeing the scene all rattled. 

“Where were you, Oli? I’ve been looking all over for you!” Luke asked me as soon as I reached my locker. 

“It’s a long story, Lukey. I don’t want to gossip. But, I’m sure you’ll hear all about it tomorrow,” I replied, looking over my shoulder at the door leading to the football field. 

~.~

Only two days remained for school before the day of prom and then graduation. After what I had witnessed the day before, I was motivated more than ever to get out of the hell I called my high school. However, I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t curious about what had happened. Still, I minded my own business and headed for school. 

A couple of minutes before the homeroom bell rang, Luke stormed towards me with a look on his face I knew very well. He was pissed and his anger radiated in his eyes. 

“Oh, hey, Lukey! What’s wrong?” I asked before he could reach me. 

“Shut up, Oli! How could you do something like that?!” he screamed at me in sharp whispers. 

Arching my eyebrow at him, I left my hand on the handle of my locker, my attention shifting towards my brother instead of closing my locker door. “What are you talking about?”

“You tried to force Joshua to make out with you under the bleachers!”