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Watching Mabel try and skate was...amusing to say the least. I'm still laughing to myself about it even after dropping her back off at the dorms. But once I'm alone and driving back home a sense of sobriety comes over me.

Mabel was abused.

Even in my mind the words sound haunted and unfit for such a girl as herself. It took every ounce of my control to not pull the truck over and wrap her in my arms when she told me. And to hear that the sick fucker isn't even in jail? That nothing was ever done? I wanted to rip his throat out. I still do. How could someone do such inexplicable things to their own daughter? I just can't wrap my head around that type of thought process.

I grew up with a mom and dad who cuffed my sister and I upside the head several times, but only when called for. And to be honest, I was a helluva rebellious little shit growing up. They didn't wait for us to come home though to beat the snot out of us like Mabel's dad did with her.

"Fuck," I mutter, pressing my forehead to the steering wheel after parking in the driveway.

Lucas is sitting on the porch steps with a beer when I lift my head and I'm surprised to find that he's not alone. Tyler is with him and so is Mabel's friend Hazel.

I crawl out of the cab of my truck and lock the doors behind me before heading over to them.

"You look like shit dude," Tyler says, tossing me a beer. "Have a drink with us."

"Thanks," I mumble, cracking it open. It foams up and I briskly shove it away from myself until it subsides. I take a drink and nod my head towards Hazel with a quizzical look. "What's she doing here?"

Tyler ducks his head and the guy has the nerve to fucking blush like a little school girl. "Oh, Hazel and I have been hanging out lately."

Hazel rolls her eyes and snakes an arm around Tyler's waist, earning them an audible groan from both Lucas and I at the open display of affection. If Ty is serious about her though then I'm happy for him. He might be huge and intimidating at times, but he's probably one of the most soft-hearted guys I know. Hazel seems nice enough from what I've noticed while hanging out with Mabel so I guess they're a good match. But either way, who am I to judge?

"Well, that's cool man. I'm happy for you guys," I tell him. "And honestly, if you don't mind, I'd like to pick her brain for a second."

Tyler cocks his head to one side. "What's going on?"

I grit my teeth together as I come up with a plan as to how I can bring up the situation without outing Mabel to her roommate. I don't know if she's spoken to Hazel yet about what Kelsey said to her, and if she just plans to keep it between us then I don't want to cause a conflict between the two friends.

"Well, it's a hypothetical scenario," I say cautiously. The three of them stare back at me with guarded but curious expressions. "I know that if somebody messed with me or you guys we would all be ready to throw down, right?"

Tyler nods once. "Of course."

Lucas nods too. "Did something happen?"

"No. Well, yes. Kind of? It's hypothetical, remember?" Shit this is harder than I thought. I take another gulp of the beer. "What would you do if someone messed with another friend though? And they're both women?"

"Is paying another chick to beat her up an option?" Lucas asks.

I shake my head and his expression falls.

"Well, I guess I would probably go to another girl and see what they would do," Tyler answers thoughtfully, and then glances down at Hazel. "What would you do, babe?"

She purses her lips. "Well, what kind of girl is she? The one who messes with the friend?"

"Not a nice one, obviously," Luke mutters, and Hazel shakes her head at him.

"Luke is right. She's not a nice girl. Let's say she's...in a sorority. She cares about social status and having a perfect boyfriend to make others jealous more than anything. Which results in quite a bit of sleeping around to get attention from men and lame parties," I explain.

Hazel's eyes narrow. "That sounds a little specific for a hypothetical case."

"Just go with it," I insist.

"Fine," she grumbles back. "I guess I would come up with something, maybe a rumor, to spread around to damage her reputation. Something that might make guys not want to date her, or at least not have sex with her."

"Like saying she has an STD?" Lucas pipes in.

Hazel wrinkles her nose at him. "Ew, Luke."

"No, that could work," I murmur as an idea springs into my head.

"Are you sure this is just hypothetical, man?" Tyler asks quietly.

I shrug. "Maybe. You'll see."

As I hurry up onto the porch and enter the house, a small hand snatches me by the sleeve of my jacket. I turn and find Hazel staring up at me with accusing blue eyes after shutting the front door behind us.

"Did something happen to Mabel?"

A knot in my stomach twists sharply at her question. "What? No, why?"

"Do you think I'm stupid, Alex?" She glances warily over her shoulder through the tiny window by the door, her gaze falling on my roommates. "She's one of my best friends, and she can be a bit...sensitive."

"Mabel is fine, I promise."

"What's going on between the two of you anyway?"

"We're friends," I answer, but the words sound false as they leave my mouth. Friends? Is that really all we are?

Hazel doesn't look like she believes me—hell, even I don't believe me—but she doesn't press for any more information. "Just take care of it, okay? I don't need to know all of the details, but if some bitch messed with her...just take care of it."

"I will," I tell her fiercely.

✖️✖️✖️

It takes only a day for the news to spread. The captain of the football team, Marcus Quinn, is quite a player—in more ways than one—and comes up to me after my chem lecture. He's on the shorter side, with black hair shaved down into a buzz cut, and lean in build.

"Hey Woodsie, can I talk to you for a second?" he asks gruffly.

I step off to the side of the hall, letting the stream of students pass. He follows suit, and glances over his shoulder self-consciously.

"What's up?" I ask. I know where this is going. When Kelsey wasn't with me, she was usually found following Marcus around at parties like a lost puppy, constantly begging to be patted on the head.

"Is it true Kelsey gave you the clap?"

Bingo, there it is. Of course it's not true since I'm very diligent about wrapping it before tapping, but no one was going to believe the lie unless I took a hit too. Not that I mind, it's only lessened the amount of googly eyed stares I get from girls on campus by a small fraction of the usual amount. I had even made the effort to be seen at the health clinic just to cover my tracks.

"Oh yeah, they gave me a z-pak and everything," I answer nonchalantly.

"Shit. Are you sure it was her?" Marcus visibly pales.

"She's pretty much the only one I've fucked in the past month or two so yeah." And the lies continue. I've been with at least three other girls, but Marcus doesn't need to know that.

"Fuck dude. I gotta...I gotta go," he says, shuffling backwards.

"Make sure you let your teammates know," I call after him, stifling a laugh behind my palm.

Marcus jerks his head in a nod before darting out of the building through the closest door.

Success.

I duck my head to hide the grin spreading across my face and head for the dining hall Mabel likes to eat at. I find her at her usual table sitting with Hazel, Mia and her boyfriend Dominic, and Tyler.

"Hey Mabes," I greet her with a friendly ruffle of her hair.

She peeks up at me with a scowl from beneath her bangs, but slides her chair over to make room for me to sit. Tyler holds out a meaty fist and I bump his knuckles with my own in a friendly greeting. Conversations continue between the two couples, apparently they're planning a "double-date" and I shift my focus back to Mabel who's picking pieces of pepperoni off her pizza.

"Why didn't you just get a different topping?" I ask, causing her to jump.

"I like pepperoni," she replies defensively.

"Oh do you?" I point to the tiny pile of it on the side of her plate, and pop a slice into my mouth.

"I like pepperoni," she repeats, "I just don't like pepperoni on pizza."

"You're strange, woman," I tease, reaching for another.

Mabel bats my hand away with a harsh smack. "Stay away from my food. I don't want to catch anything from you."

So the so-called "news" made it even to her. Interesting. There's an edge to her voice that I've never heard from her before. Jealousy maybe? Is she jealous that I've slept with people?

"Relax, it's not true," I whisper against her ear.

Mabel reacts accordingly, nearly jumping out of her seat and her cheeks brightening as the blood rushes to her face. "Why would you lie about that?" she asks, her words too quiet for anyone else at the table to hear.

"Because this Kelsey chick was a bitch to someone I care about," I answer effortlessly, eyeing Mabel carefully for her reaction. I'm sure she can tell how much I value our friendship without me having to say it, but it's still the first time I've openly admitted that I care for her. But of course this is the time that Mabel manages to stay perfectly composed, and I find that I can't read her face for once.

"You made up a rumor about someone even though you didn't know exactly what she said?" Mabel stares at her food, her gaze unwavering.

"If what she said was enough to hurt you the way it did then it's worth it."

"Do you even know this girl? Or why she's so infatuated with you?" Anger seeps into her tone and her tiny hands ball into fists on the tabletop.

"Trust me, I'm not the only one she has her eye on. Kelsey goes for any guy who's not a complete twat and has some kind of social standing at DU." Shit, I had no idea that something like this would upset Mabel. "What did she say?"

Mabel's eyes grow glassy. "It wasn't what she said, it's what she meant by it." I stay quiet next to her as I wait for her to continue. "She told me that you'd basically have to be drunk off your ass in order to be interested in me, especially sexually," she murmurs. "But what she meant is that I'm not good enough. The reason I reacted the way I did is because that's something that my father would say to me. I guess the entire conversation I had with Kelsey just kind of triggered something in me."

"That's not true at all," I say, struggling to keep my voice low. "First of all, if you and I ever got together you bet that fine ass of yours that I would want to be sober. And second, Mabes you're too good for me. I don't think I really deserve you in my life. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy having you in it, but I'm a piece of shit. Good things like you don't come to guys like me."

Her head snaps up, her green eyes finding mine. "Alex..."

"Are you mad?" I ask with a dry laugh. "I didn't mean to piss you off, but I was pissed that she had made you feel so shitty and I wanted to knock her down a peg or two."

Mabel sighs softly and leans her shoulder into mine. "No, I'm not mad. Just don't make a habit of trying to ruin people's lives, okay?"

I nod, a little too eagerly in my own opinion, and give her my best smile. "I knew I should've listened to Luke and just paid a girl to beat her up."

Her eyes widen and she smacks me lightly in the chest while trying to hold in laughter. "None of that either."

"Aw, you're killing me," I groan jokingly. "How else am I supposed to avenge you?"

Mabel snorts and rolls her eyes. "Here, I got you a slice too so you can quit stealing my food." She reaches into her bag and produces a to-go box that holds a large slice of pizza.

God, this girl is a fucking dream.

____________________

Hazel and Tyler...

So just in case anyone is butt-hurt by this chapter or by Alex's way of thinking, please remember that this is a FICTIONAL story with fictional characters.
And yes, spreading a rumor that Kelsey gave him the clap isn't the best way to handle things, but hey, even adorable hockey players can't be perfect.

✖️Also, because I've gotten a few questions about it...
THE CLAP is a "street name" for gonorrhea (a bacterial sexually transmitted infection)✖️


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