𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖆𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖒𝖔𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖋𝖆𝖍

I brought my fingers to Angelo's face, checking to see if the glaze over his eyes would disappear. It didn't, so I snapped loudly. "Someone had a late night," I commented, setting my bags down to take my seat beside him.

"And someone is late," he yawned, looking down at his watch, which was so shiny it was almost reflective.

"Stop pretending you can read time," I snorted taking out my notepad.

This was our fifth session and I was surprised to find out it was going well between him flirting with me whenever he got the chance and having handwriting comparable to chicken scratches I was actually managing to get him somewhere. And considering he came to me knowing nothing that was reassuring.

"Well, I managed to finish marking the last test I gave you," I reached into my bag to pull out the stapled papers with the red marker scribbled all over the pages. The sound of the library door slamming startled me making me drop the paper on the floor "Sorry," I apologized to him, bending over slightly so I could grab it from beneath the table.

"Don't worry I'm enjoying the view."

I pinched him when I finally sat back up, rolling my eyes at the little comment he made. "So you got a forty-eight percent which is an improvement but definitely not where you need to be," I found the words dying in my throat when I realized he was not paying attention, his gaze elsewhere. "Angelo?"

"Have you ever seen Cherry in the Library, Castle?"

Following his eyes, I was met with Cher, whom I assumed had just entered the library. She was sitting at a table nearby with her friends on each side of her all of them seemingly chatting her ear off. "I'm sure you can ask her," I tapped the test paper, "after we finish discussing your corrections."

"Corrections?" he frowned, "But you usually do those for me."

"Yeah well I realized you wouldn't learn if I kept doing that," I felt a pair of eyes on me, making the hairs on my neck stand, "But I'll lead you through them so you're not completely lost," he was not focusing again which made me sigh, "Do you have another colored pen?"

"Amore I come to school with myself only."

I nodded, getting up from my seat, "Thought so, I'll go get one from the librarian."

Hearing a bunch of snickers behind me almost made me turn on my heel and walk out of the library completely but I took a deep breath and continued my way to Mrs Edu to borrow one of her green pens before making my way back to my seat.

"Are you alright Castle?" I was almost shocked to see that Angelo had turned his attention away from gawking at Cherry to stare at me, a deep thoughtful look on his face. One I'd never seen there before.

I shrugged, "Could be worse."

"You sure," He eyed me unsure, "Because you're limping."

Maybe I should've died in that fountain that day.

I stopped myself from expressing the shock I felt and instead cleared my throat and harshly tapped the pen against the test again, "Corrections Bianchi, your corrections."

"And you were laughing at me for having a late night," he snickered, catching the attention of the other people in the library, "Meanwhile you got fucked!"

I could feel Cher staring at us along with her entire table of people who had even quietened down. "I'll leave right fucking now," I threatened him, whispering harshly at his smug face. "I'm not here to gossip with you. Do. Your. Work."

"Okay relax relax," he put his hands up defensively before pulling the pen out of my fingertips and taking off the cap with his teeth. Nasty. "What were you saying?"

"You were so close with this one but if you see here, you forgot to take down this one X which made the whole division incorrect so-

"She hasn't even brought out a book you know?"

I sighed, "Who are you talking about now?"

"Cherry, she's just been sitting there this whole time," He muttered in my ear, an edge to his voice, "You know she hasn't ever attended one of Curtis's parties before? Five weeks ago was her first time and she hasn't been to any since."

"Bianchi, I don't care," I spat, trying my best to stay on the topic, "I don't even know why you're telling me this."

"I thought you might know why."

His hands traveled from the table to underneath it where he put his fingers on my knee. "I don't know about anything that happens in this school," I grabbed his fingers, crushing them in my fist, "You know that."

He leaned in closer to me, "I think you know a bit more than you let on," I heard a chair scrape back but I was focused on the Italian in front of me who seemed to think talking slowly in a fake deep voice was supposed to seduce me into spilling my every secret to him. "For the smartest girl in this school you sure do enjoy acting so so stupid," He grinned.

Our moment was cut off by the sound of a hand slamming onto our table, the sharp sound echoing throughout the quiet space. "Delete it."

I lifted my eyes up to see Cher, her shiny hair up in a white claw clip and her eyes lined dark with kohl which only made them look sharper as she glared down at Angelo. The man himself looked unphased by her hostile looks however, throwing her a lazy smile as he leaned back into his seat which made me realise that he had been holding his phone underneath the table.

"Delete it, Bianchi," The warning was vague but they both seemed to know what she was talking about.

"You're no fun Chrissy," He looked at me, holding his arm out to wrap around me but I shrugged it off, "Tell her Castle, we were just having some fun."

"I won't ask again Angelo."

The relaxed look on his face slowly slipped away as if realizing she was serious and suddenly he was groaning. "I have no idea what you're talking about Chrissy."

She made a 'give me' gesture with her hand, "your phone."

I almost wanted to tell him that he didn't have to give her anything but a part of me was curious as to what she was talking about and why it made her so mad. "There's nothing on my phone," He laughed, pulling it out to show her but instead she snatched it out of his hand. Before he could blink she was shoving the phone in his face to get the face ID.

When she was pulling it away it was open in his gallery where I could see a clear photo between my legs, my mouth dropped in surprise and I moved away from Angelo my upper lip curling in disgust. He looked at me shocked, "What?"

"You're sick Angelo," Cher cussed, waving his phone in his face, "And a fucking predator."

She gave him one last hateful look before slamming his phone face-first into the table. The entire library who had obviously been watching the interaction gasped but Cher looked unbothered as she dropped the phone onto the floor in front of him.

Angelo whose jaw was now on the jaw sunk to his knees to pick up his now destroyed device. "You bitch!" He nearly screamed, turning over the phone to reveal the flickering damaged screen, "It was a fucking joke!"

"I'm not laughing," I told him, getting onto my feet to put my bag over my shoulder. This made him look at me, wincing when he met my gaze.

"No Versailles- Amore, it's not what- fuck I was going to show you the picture afterward I-

"I-I think she knows what her panties look like Angelo," Cher shot back, mocking his stuttering, "You don't need to take a picture to show her."

His head snapped back to Cher, his gaze turning from shameful to pure rage, "That's bullshit!" he yelled back at her, his head moving between the two of us as if defending himself to me, "I would never do something like that, she's just making up lies because she's a stiff scholarship prude whose too self-centered to admit to you that she's in-

He didn't get to finish because my knee had flown into his face.

"She broke his nose!"

"His tooth cut open my knee," I argued, pressing an icepack to my leg. Identical to the one Angelo was currently holding to his face.

We'd been sitting in the principal's office for over an hour practically screaming at each other, Me Principal Dean, Angelo, and Mr and Mrs Bianchi. Cher was here but left fifteen minutes ago after all the witnesses had written that the phone had simply slipped from her fingers when Angelo commented that she must have bribed them she asked him to prove it which he could not do.

Unfortunately for me, the witnesses could not deny Angelo had a bruise the size of my knee on his face.

"Mr and Mrs Bianchi you as much as anyone understand that this is a sensitive matter," Damon rubbed the spot between his eyes, "Especially considering this is not the first time Angelo has had problems with consent."

"I never took a picture of her!"

"And I'm sure that can be confirmed after we get the IT department to transfer the data in your device so we can go through it for ourselves," He deadpanned, before turning back to his parents, "Until then I think it's clear that your son owes Miss Mostafah an apology. I had to convince her to do this favor for your son and I certainly did not sign her up to get sexually harassed."

His mother scoffed, "All I'm hearing is what he did and what he's done, what about her!" She pointed a wrinkly finger at me, the large diamond on her finger catching the light, "What punishments is she going to face for assaulting my son!"

"In the eyes of the law, Mrs Bianchi," I snarked, "What I did is considered self-defense. Your son's a creep!"

"We can't possibly be expected to come to an adult resolution with her," Mr Bianchi scoffed, "Where are her parents, someone with some maturity that we can talk to!"

"I can dig them up for you," I sniffed.

And with that comment, I was kicked out of the office and forced to wait outside for the final verdict of my 'punishment'. It was times like this that I wished I did have people to stand up for me, someone to run in out of work and defend me even if I was a little asshole like Angelo.

Cher sat across from me, awaiting clearance from the secretary to leave I assume. One of her friends Gina was next to her, her light brown hair up in a ponytail and her car keys dangling on her fingers as she typed on her phone. When the lovely old woman finally came out to give the go-ahead for them to leave Cher stood up and practically huffed as she stormed out.

Gina stood up on her kitten heels, following her friend when she stopped and rushed back to me. "Before I forget," She reached into her schoolbag that resembled a handbag more than anything, "Stasi told me to give this to you, she said it fell from your exercise bag the last time you were there." With that she dropped the large metal cherry in my lap, the shiny keyring glaring up at me. "She also said she'll see you next week."

A little smile cracked on my lips as I picked up the cherry, chuckling slightly at the thought of the petite blond taking it off my bag so she could have an excuse to do this. I suspected she had spritzed it with her perfume too considering it smelt a bit like her cinnamon scent.

Maybe this week wasn't going completely shit after all.