Nope to the fucking nope!

I snatched my backpack and carry-on and whipped around the opposite direction. Fuming as I stalked away, I couldn't believe Amari and Nat sold me out like this! My friends weren't aware of what happened between Zac and me after the Halloween party, but they definitely knew about how he screwed over my standing as class valedictorian!

I had barely taken four or five steps when I heard Zac call out, "I spoke to Tilton and gave him a doctor's note. He's gonna let me make up my portion of the project for half-credit. We're meeting tomorrow afterschool."

Half-credit?

I paused mid-rampage. My mind started churning. That could potentially boost our project grade from an 'F' to a 'C,' which meant an 'A' at the end of the semester was no longer a total pipedream. Granted, I was going to have to earn a near-perfect score, no less than 98%, on our timed essay final. Historically speaking, no student had ever scored above a 95% on it, but, within the tight parameters of this new scenario, I could still be in the running for valedictorian.

Slowly, I turned to face Zac. His brow was tightly furrowed. There was a grim expression on his face. The boy looked as though he was the one who had been wronged instead of me.

The nerve!

I fought the urge to kick him where it fucking hurt once again.

"Tomorrow afterschool, you say?" I repeated.

He nodded readily. "You're welcome to drop by and check on our new grade. We should be done around 4:00 PM. Only if you're free, of course."

"I have orchestra practice, but I definitely wanna see that grade. I'll try to leave practice early. You better not disappoint, Mazur."

"Don't worry, Cate," he promised, "I won't let you down again."

I rolled my eyes. And I was the Duchess of Cambridge. "Drop the act, Mazur. You're so full of shit."

"Maybe I am," he said, "but I'm here, aren't I?"

With a sideways glance, I berated him, "Are you expecting me to thank you for dragging your high and mighty ass all the way to the airport for little ol' me?"

"Not at all," Zac stated mildly. "I know I fucked up with you."

I gave him the stink-eye. Good. At least the asshole was self-aware. "How did you convince Nat and Amari to step aside?"

"The same way I persuaded you not to run away just now," he answered smoothly, "I told them I might be able to help you hold onto your crown."

The outrage I felt towards my friends for ditching me diminished marginally. I supposed, in their own misguided way, Nat and Amari had my best interest at heart.

"Now that you're less inclined to bust my balls again," Zac paused dramatically, "May I have the honor of carrying your bags, my queen?"

Did Zac really think a cringy line like that was going to work on me?

My left eye twitched with annoyance. Keeping a steady gaze on him, I kicked over my rolling suitcase. Without breaking eye contact, I began to shrug off my backpack, letting the straps slide down my shoulders and arms until the whole thing dropped to the floor with a loud thud. Pasting an insolent smile on my face, I murmured, "Only if you insist, peasant."

Then, I sauntered off without waiting for him to catch up.

"Come back here, you brat! You don't even know where I parked," Zac shouted laughingly, bending over to retrieve my discarded backpack and suitcase as he chased after me.

***

Once we exited the airport and merged onto the I-90, Zac and I drove without speaking as the radio played in the background. My jaw set. I was determined to make the ride as uncomfortable and unpleasant for him as it was for me.

Zac's eyes darted warily between me and the road. He cleared his throat and tried to break the ice, "How was, uh... the conference?"

In sarcastic tones, I shot back, "How's your girlfriend?"

His mouth strained into a hard line. "You know she was never my girlfriend."

"That's funny," I remarked, "because Lily certainly thinks she's your girlfriend. Pretty sure the rest of the school believes it, too."

"I called things off with her, Cate. It's over between Lily and me."

I couldn't stop my stupid heart from thumping in excitement, but I kept my gaze razor sharp as I taunted, "Why the change of heart? Did you find a more qualified candidate to help you with your top secret mission?"

"No, I didn't."

"Maybe you should, though. You're so good at fucking with people's heads and messing with their feelings. How could anyone turn you down?"

Zac kept one hand on the steering wheel as he used the other to rub the back of his neck. He sighed. "What do I need to do to get you to talk to me?"

"We're talking right now, dumbass."

"No, we're not," he argued, "I'm trying to talk to you, but you're just taking shots at me without listening to what I'm saying."

I laughed bitterly. "Has it occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, I don't give a monkey's ass about what you wanna say? Ever since you moved back here, my whole life has been turned upside down! School used to be the one thing that I had total control over, even when everything was going to shit at home, I knew I could wake up the next morning, go to class, and be seen again. Be heard. Be respected. But you fucked it all up for me!"

I wasn't done yet. The floodgates were busted wide open now. There was no turning back. The rage and restlessness that I had been holding inside for weeks and weeks was, at last, able to unleash the brunt of its fury onto the person who had caused most of that distress. I detonated all over Zac like a motherfucking bomb, "You sent Ashton Wellesley into a shitstorm of chaos over those Sassy posts! Dr. Williams abandoned us for Germany, Principal Pratt lost his job, you pulled all this bullshit after Aleah's Halloween party to make me trust you, then you start kissing and holding hands with some other bitch, whom you claim to be fucking psycho, for nefarious reasons that you refuse to share with me, and, then, to top it all off, you treat our AP History project like it's some second grade book report! That project was the one fucking thing I asked you to take seriously in exchange for not outing your skeevy ass to the whole school."

Zac didn't argue with me. He simply muttered under his breath, "I know, I know. You're pretty much right about everything."

"Is that doctor's note you gave Tilton even real? If you missed school because you were actually sick, then I hope from the bottom of my heart that your ass was exploding with diarrhea while you were puking out your guts! Only then would you get a taste of exactly how miserable you've made me these past few weeks!"

The color drained out of Zac's face as I wrapped up my scathing outburst. I had expected him to defend himself, scream back at me, release an expletive or two, but the only thing he did was turn on his blinker and start switching lanes to get off the freeway. I was dumbfounded. It was way too early for our exit.

Breathlessly, I demanded, "Where the fuck are you going? We're not even halfway to Wellesley yet!"

Zac refused to look at me, let alone answer me, as we drove and drove. I eventually stopped nagging and gave up in a huff.

Fifteen minutes later, it seemed we had finally arrived at our destination. I glanced out of the car window.

Zac brought me to... a park?

Auburndale Park, to be exact. I had come here once on a school field trip in sixth grade. It was a very pretty conservation park that hugged the banks of the Charles River. Full of biking trails and kayaking on the river. An oasis for bird enthusiasts.

Zac parked his black BMW and got out. He grabbed a large grocery bag from the backseat and then came around to open my car door. Grasping lightly onto my hand, he guided me out. "Come with me. I wanna show you something, babygirl."