Chapter 28: We Need Help Burying The Dead Body

We have all seen action movies.

There's a hero and a villain with their respective gangs (something like the Socs vs. the Greasers from The Outsiders or Jets and the Sharks from West Side Story, etc).

In front of my eyes, as soon as the blonde threw a punch at Kayden, Kayden's gang attacked him. In result, the blonde's friends jumped into the fight to save their buddy. The students recording the fight were even more interested, now. While their commotion continued, I took the advantage of the opportunity to run to Nolan who was lying on the ground in a fetal position. His badly bruised face revealed how much damage he had taken.

A deep bloody cut ran down the right side of his face. His left eye was swollen shut and the hurt vessels in that area showed their colors. Sadly, he was clutching onto his stomach and coughing up spit.

At least, he was breathing.

Cautiously, Nolan glanced up and shut his eyes.

Resting my hands on his shoulders, I urged, "C'mon. Let's go." How could those people hold grudges for so long? Nolan was stupid to spread rumors about himself and Janine to get the seventh breakup. Now, Kayden wanted his revenge. It was a circle of paybacks.

Somehow, I had to figure out the circumference of this stupidity.

Nolan raised his hand and pushed me away.

Staring agape at his action, I said, "What's wrong with you?!"

"I can help myself," he replied in a raspy voice. After using the back of his hand to clean the blood dripping at the corner of his mouth, he stood up wobbling. "Leave me alone." Was he serious? I came all the way to this testosterone filled school for him and instead of appreciating that, he was rejecting me as if I was no one. He called me selfish and vain to my face, yet he was the one reflecting those traits.

Adamant on not leaving the campus in dismay, I sauntered to the limping Nolan and forced him to lean on my shoulder. Stubbornly, he spurned my offer and even went to the extent of cursing at me.

"Fine!" I spat agitated. "Go die in hell!"

No wonder he got beat up.

Tugging at my hair in frustration, I still trudged inside the main building to find a first-aid kit. Even though I was mad at him, I wasn't leaving him helpless. The main office was right up front which made it easier for me to approach the secretary. Unfortunately, I forgot that this wasn't my school. I couldn't just walk in like that and ask for a first-aid box.

"ID?" the man asked.

"There's a fight going on in your school and there are bloody students. We can either waste time on my identification or tend to the issue at hand. Your call." I crossed my arms and stood quietly as the guy's eyes widened. "Can I get a first-aid kit?" He frantically searched and found the box. We left the building together to stop the fight when we saw an authority figure already there, scolding a huge group of students.

"But Principal Viliance--" Kayden started to argue.

Oh man, the principal who wasn't supposed to be in school today came back at the wrong time. Quietly, I marched towards Nolan and threw the plastic box in his lap. He tiredly looked up at me and said nothing. I really needed a trip inside his head to know what was he thinking.

"No!" The middle-aged Principal yelled. "Suspension for all of you!" I needed to leave the campus before he saw me. Trespassers weren't allowed.

As I began hurrying away, I heard a "hey stop!"

I'm so dead.

Flinching, I froze. The sound of footsteps came closer and closer. My heart broke all speed limits. This Principal was definitely going to eat me alive and crush my hopes of Princeton. Stupid Helen!

Keeping my eyes shut, I waited for the questioning to begin as I felt another presence behind me.

"The back view is just as satisfactory as the front one."

Immediately, I turned around, meeting the same blonde who was flirting with me earlier. Although he was smiling, he had blood traces on his face. Thank god, it wasn't the Principal!

"What do you want?" I asked, clearly not thrilled by seeing his face.

"Depends on what you're willing to offer," he smirked.

"Excuse you?"

He stiffened and turned serious. "A 'thank you' for endangering my life to save your brother's would be nice." I blinked at him. Did he seriously just call Nolan my brother?

"My boyfriend," I corrected unamused. Even if Nolan broke up with me, I didn't.

"Same thing."

Rolling my eyes, I turned back around to leave, but he quickly blocked my way. Knowing full well what he wanted, I said, "Thanks a lot for making 'peace' back there. Obviously, our definitions of a peacemaker differ greatly."

"I get that a lot." He ran a hand through his hair. Waiting for him to move, I tapped my foot. "I'm Nico, by the way."

"Nico?"

"Yup," he said proudly.

"What a hideous name," I said unimpressed.

"Oh yeah? What's yours?" he asked in a challenging tone.

"Helen," I said and immediately chided myself for giving out such an important piece of information.

"Fine, you win." He raised his hands in defeat. "You can be on top tonight."

It wasn't funny. Honestly, I didn't understand his purpose behind hitting on me after I affirmed that I had a boyfriend. But that was the least of my concerns. I had bigger problems to tackle than some sexually frustrated guy at an all-boys' school.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not that cheap. Excuse me."

I hurried away, completely ignoring Nico's incoherent mumbling. My mind flew to Nolan and his injuries, but falling way out of view of him, I could only hope he was doing fine.

It was a twenty-minute walk to my house from Nolan's new school. Luckily, I managed to avoid any trouble aside from the students recording the fight. Without any doubt, I knew I was going to be in there. Whatever.

People care more about other people's affairs than their own.

As usual, I proceeded with my life, wishing for Nolan's full health. I couldn't even see him at school to check how he was doing.

The following day, everything was going smoothly until I was called down to the main office.

My principal wanted to see me.

Oh man!

Gulping, I entered his office, expecting the reason for my visit here to be Nolan related. Mr. Pallardinneti gestured me to take the seat across him.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Excellent. I got into Princeton." Maybe he'll be lenient with me now?

"Good good. I heard about that, which is why I called you down here." So, I wasn't in trouble? "Helen, getting accepted into a university is simply the first step. You still have three more months left of high school and if you let loose now, that acceptance can turn into rejection." I paled. No Princeton meant no career. No NASA. No mansion. No jacuzzis or hot tubs or sliding library doors leading to a secret lair.

"No!" I said, horrified by my own thoughts.

"Exactly!" he said satisfied. "I know you and Nolan are dating and he switched schools. Even if you don't like the distance, you have to learn to accept it. You can't simply go to another school campus without an ID to visit Nolan. That too, in the middle of a fight. I don't want such a talented student of my school in unnecessary trouble. What do you think?"

"You're right," I agreed. He had his point, but I had my reasons to go there--even if I failed.

"Great. You can head back to class."

He turned to the iPhone resting on his desk and began scrolling through something. Shaking my head lightly, I left the office.

I had two options.

1. I could continue with my life pretending Nolan didn't exist.

2. I could try to figure out the eighth breakup and maybe help Nolan.

As tempting as the first one was, I couldn't. It'd prove Nolan right that I only dated him because of Paris's plan, not because I actually liked him. Somehow, I needed a helper inside Nolan's new school. But who? I only knew one person there.

Nico.

It was time to start stalking again.

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"Missed me already?"

"You wish. I need your help on something," I said. We were both at a cafe, seated across each other. I had to do a lot of social media stalking until I found "Nico Diehl" on Facebook and sent him a message to meet me. Fortunately, he did. I mean it wasn't hard for a suspended guy to take out sometime. His face looked much better than last time.

"If it's that loner related, then no," he said solemnly and stood up. "He was ungrateful for all my friends and I did for him. What a di--" He abruptly closed his mouth. I sighed. He was my only hope.

"Hear me out for ten minutes and then make a decision to help or not," I said.

The blonde consented after some of my pleadings and listened to my tale from the start. His quiet and expressionless face gave no hints about his inner feelings. Once I finished my sob story, he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

Sadly, the chair gave away and he toppled over backward.

I slapped my forehead at his stupidity whereas the people around us laughed.

"I'm okay," he said, sitting back up on his seat. Properly.

"So, what do you say?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I'll help. In fact, I'm sure my friends will too. Who doesn't like solving mysteries?" I let out a relieved smile. Nico's own lips held an amused smile as he stared at me. I frowned skeptically. "Your smile's like Expelliarmus--simple, yet disarming."

I rolled my eyes.

"I. Am. Taken."

"I. Am. Not."

"Can we get back to the topic at hand?" I asked. For some reason, I was sure he'd keep flirting all day long. "The first thing is for you guys to get Nolan under your wing. He can't know I'm behind everything, though."

"It's gonna be hard convincing the gang to take the wimp--"

I gritted my teeth. "Don't call Nolan a wimp." If it wasn't for his stress cardio, he'd just like Nico and his friends.

"Whatever," he shrugged. "I'll take care of that. But tomorrow. Today--" His phone vibrated and he checked the message or whatever. Quickly, he stood up, muttering something about a fight. My eyebrows furrowed and I stood up as well, following behind him. "My buddies need my back up for something."

That's nice.

"Can I come?" I asked. I didn't even know why I said that. He raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. "Trust me, you'll need my help to convince them."

He gave in after some insisting. We hadn't even ordered anything, yet, so there was no bill.

Nico owned a car which made our transportation to his friends easier. As soon as we reached a park, Nico got out and hurried out. I followed behind and we soon located a group of worried teenagers huddled behind a bush. There was an elderly man with his eyes shut, lying on the ground. All the teenagers shared nervous glances.

"What's wrong?" Nico asked.

"We think we killed the old man," one of them said.

"We were playing football and Liam missed the pass."

"The man took a good blow to the head and died."

"We need help burying the dead body."

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A/N

Stupid teenagers killed an old man. Or did they?

The chapter was a filler because I need a set-up chapter for the upcoming ones.

Do you like Nico? (Diehl is pronounced as deal).

Wanna help bury the "dead" body?

Please vote, comment, and share if you're enjoying the story so far <3