Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Maddy

W alking through the school gates, Zak's fingers curled around mine as I looked out for my friends. Emma, Liv and Liam were waiting in what had become our usual spot before classes, on the bench under the Library window.

"No Ana," I whispered, glancing up at Zak.

He didn't reply verbally, but he tugged on my hand giving me a silent sign of support.

"I should have called her," I echoed the thoughts running around in my head. "I should have tried to find out why her mum messaged me."

"Maybe the others will know," Zak said as we approached our friends.

"Hiya." Liv held her hands out for me. "Come and sit next to me. We need to talk Harry Mayhew."

As I was pulled onto the bench between her and Emma, Zak bumped fists with Liam, who immediately struck up a conversation with him.

"Before we do." I patted their thighs. "We need to talk about Ana."

"Did you get the weird message from her mum as well?" Emma asked.

My gaze whipped to hers. "Yes. What did you make of it?"

She shrugged. "No idea really."

"Did you call Ana afterwards?"

Emma's eyes flicked to Liam so quickly I almost missed it. "No. You?"

I shook my head. "I wish I had, though. I feel bad now."

"Have you seen her this morning?" Emma asked.

"She'll be here soon," Liv said with a sigh. "You know how she likes the drama."

I blinked my eyes slowly, and Emma almost choked. There was only one drama queen amongst us, and she was sitting on the bench, and it wasn't me or Emma.

"I think Maddy is worried because of the mood Ana has been in." Zak shifted his bag on his shoulder and shoved his hands under his armpits. "And we usually see her on the way in, but there was no sign this morning."

Liv thrust her hand into the pocket of her pink wool coat and pulled out her phone. "I'll call her now and then can we talk about Harry?"

Zak pulled a cigarette from the top pocket of his padded denim jacket, and put it, unlit, into his mouth.

"You better not be about to light that, Mr Hoyland."

We swung our gazes to see Mr Barber, our head of History, strolling past us with his stare aimed at Zak.

"No, sir." Zak gave him one of his best smiles. "I would never smoke on school property."

"No point in putting that disgusting thing in your mouth then." He took a step towards us and held out his hand, palm up. "I'll take that."

Zak reached for the cigarette and taking it from his mouth, dropped it into Mr Barber's hand. "Sorry, it's a bit wet, sir."

Liam snorted, earning him a poke in the back of his leg with the toe of Emma's boot. Liv tutted with her phone to her ear, and I guessed it was because we were wasting Harry time. Mr Barber pocketed the cigarette and marched on, wiping his hand on his jacket.

After we watched him disappear inside school, Liv dropped her phone back into her pocket. "Straight to voicemail. Now can we actually talk about Harry," she demanded. "I need to come up with a plan on how to get him to notice me, seeing as no one really wanted to help the other day. And he was a no show at that lame party of Jack's."

I opened my mouth to speak, but the sight of Ana walking towards us stopped me. It wasn't just the message from her mum the night before, or that she was running late, which was unusual for her. It was the fact that she looked dishevelled. Her short black bob was messed up like a bird's nest, and her jeans were the one she'd worn the day before—the ones that she'd spilled tomato ketchup on the day before. Even her coat was buttoned incorrectly.

"Ana," I whispered. "Ana's here."

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Liv asked. "She looks terrible."

As she got closer, it was clear how terrible she looked. Makeup was smudged under her eyes, and her face was pale.

"Wow." Liam blinked a couple of times as we all watched Ana stumble over her own feet. "Is she drunk?"

Her bag dropped from her shoulder, down her arm, and the change of weight unbalanced her. She listed to the right and grabbed for fresh air, I guessed to hopefully hold her upright. It didn't work because her legs went from under her, and she landed in a heap on the ground. Her bag softened the blow a little, but when her shoulder hit the concrete she let out a yelp.

We all ran towards her, yelling and calling her name. Liam reached her first and crouched down next to her, placing a hand on her arm.

"Ana, are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?"

"My fucking arm. What do you think?" Her words slurred a little leaving her mouth. "Shit."

Liam and Zak put their hands under her arms and tried to help her to her feet, but her legs were like spaghetti and didn't want to hold her up. She kept bending at the knees and giggling.

"She's shitfaced," Emma hissed from the corner of her mouth. "How the hell is she like this? It's only half eight."

I shrugged. "No idea." Stepping forward, I stooped down to look Ana in the face. "What have you been drinking?"

She gave me a slow grin. "Alcohol."

"I know that. What sort of alcohol and how much?"

"Rum. Lots."

"We should get her out of here," Zak said, gaining my attention. "We need to take her home, babe."

"Yeah, I know." I looked over my shoulder to Emma. "Is your mum home today?"

She shook her head. "No, visiting a client in York. She won't be home until seven. Why?"

I grimaced. "My dad is home, he's on the evening shift at the bar. Liv's gran lives with them, so…" I pointed at Ana.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Okay, but she better not puke everywhere."

"I have to go to German," Liv griped. "If I'm not there Miss Wright will go straight to the office and tell my mum."

She had a point. While having your mum work at school had some benefits, it meant that she knew Liv's every move.

"We can take her," Zak offered. "I have mum's car."

I straightened up and smiled at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I have a double study period." He turned to Liam. "Can you come? I'm not sure I can manage her on my own."

As if to prove a point, Ana flopped forward, almost headbutting me. "Woah, careful." Pushing a hand against her chest, I noticed that as more people arrived at school, more were gawking at us.

"We need to get her out of her quick before someone tells a teacher."

Zak nodded. "Come on, Ana," he said softly, "work with us here."

Ana giggled and grinned at him. "Okay, Zakky."

"Oh fuck," Liam groaned, hoisting her higher. "She's more than shitfaced. And she's heavier than she looks."

"Liam," she snapped, looking affronted with her brows screwed together. "That's not a nice thing to say." She tried to slap at his arm, but it sent her off balance again.

"Teacher on the way," Emma hissed. "Hurry up!"

"Ana," I snapped, grabbing her chin, forcing her to look at me. "Just help Zak and Liam, stop being a dick. Okay!"

Ana inhaled, her eyes closing like they were too heavy, as she gave me a slow nod.

"Let's go." Zak said, giving Liam a nod. They lifted her up and started to drag her away. As they did, she dropped her bag, so I snatched it up while Emma took Zak and Liam's, passing one off to Liv. She shook her head and sighed but took the bag anyway. I gave one last look to the bench to check we hadn't left anything behind, and then followed them as they practically dragged our friend to Zak's car.

As they bundled her into the back seat, buckling her in, I turned to Liv and Emma. "Are you staying here, Liv?"

"Yeah. I can't risk my mum finding out I skipped. If anyone asks, I'll tell them you all had the shits yesterday." She dropped Zak's bag at my feet. "Are you coming back?"

I looked at Ana, her head lolling as she fell to one side. "I doubt it. Not by the look of her. Maybe the boys will."

Zak straightened. "I'll stay with you. Just in case." His eyes were full of worry, and I knew he meant in case we needed transport.

"Okay." Liv smoothed down her coat and leaned forward to look at Ana. "I think she may puke, by the way."

Ana's chest heaved, but instead of throwing up, she collapsed with a groan.

"We need to get going," Zak said. "Liam, can you and Em get in either side of her. I know it's a tight fit." He looked disdainfully at his mum's Mini. "If I'd known we were transporting a pissed mate, I'd have begged my dad's car."

I placed a hand on his back. "I'm sorry, Zak."

He whizzed around to look at me. "Hey, it's alright. I don't mind. As long as she doesn't puke. My mum will freak if she does."

"Let's go then." I pulled open the passenger door. "I'll message you Liv."

"Here have this." She thrust a carrier bag at me. "She can be sick in that. It's had my brother's trainers in it, so it probably stinks."

I threw it into the back to Emma. "I doubt she'll notice." After giving Liv a quick hug, I got inside the car and buckled up as Zak sped off.

"She's finally stopped," Emma sighed as she flopped down onto the sofa next to me. "And she's asleep."

"Did you put her on her side?" Zak asked, grabbing my ankle and pulling my legs over his thighs. "If she pukes in her sleep, she might choke."

"Yes, thank you, Zak," she snapped. "I put her on her side."

As Liam walked in with his head in a bag of crisps, we all turned to look at him. He hadn't stopped raiding Emma's mum's food cupboard since we'd got there an hour before.

"I've never had chicken and stuffing flavour before," he said, shoving another handful into his mouth. "They're nice. I might ask my mum to get some."

"Liam! They're my mum's favourites." Emma jumped up and tried to snatch the family-sized bag from his hand. Too quick for her, Liam lifted his hand in the air, leaving her jumping to try and grab it.

"Liam. Give me the crisps," she cried, giggling as he moved his hand further away and tickled her side. "No, Stop it. I want the crisps."

"You do, do you?" He smirked and took a step back. "Is that all you want?"

My eyes widened and I nudged Zak. "He's flirting with her," I whispered.

"I know," he whispered back. "He finally found his bollocks."

Our heads craned forward as we watched Liam pull Emma to him with an arm around her waist. He then dipped his head and smacked a kiss against her smiling lips. Emma's arm went around his neck, and Liam walked them backwards, out of the lounge, leaving Zak and I staring after them.

"Well." Zak looked at me and grinned. "I knew he liked her, but I didn't think he'd do anything about it."

"You knew he liked her." I poked at his hard stomach. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"He asked me not to tell anyone." He shrugged.

"Yeah, but that doesn't include me."

He grinned before stealing a kiss. "Babe, I'm sorry but it does. In fact, he asked me especially not to tell you."

"What?" I whipped my head around towards the door that Liam and Emma had disappeared through. "I'm practically family. How could he. How could you, Liam?" I yelled.

Zak laughed loudly and tugged on my hand, pulling me fully into his lap, so that I was straddling him. He was smiling broadly as his hands went to my bum, pulling me closer to the hard on already growing behind his jeans.

"You know," he said, "this is a much better way of spending the morning than studying."

I leaned in for a kiss, loving how our tongues slowly danced with each other. When he groaned against my mouth, I thrust my hips forward, and rocked against him, relishing in the feel of him against my core. Waves of pleasure were already starting to roll through my body as Zak's hips met mine in a perfect rhythm.

"Fuck, Maddy, you're so fucking perfect," he moaned against my mouth, his fingertips digging into the denim covering my backside.

"I wish we could go somewhere," I whispered, feeling everything build within me.

"We have to take care of Ana." His hand moved to my boob and his thumb brushed over my nipple. "But maybe afterwards…" His words trailed off as he kissed me again.

The feelings I had for this boy were nothing short of intense. He was the sun who brightened my day, and the fire who warmed me from within. We had so many years ahead of us, so many things that we needed to do, yet already I wanted all of that with him. I couldn't explain to anyone how he made me feel. What he made me want. I was afraid that people would laugh. That my friends would say I was stupid. That my dad would say I was too young. Keeping it a secret was safer, because while it was, I could still believe in it happening.

"Hey," Liam's voice interrupted us ten minutes later. "Ana is still sleeping, so me and Em are going to go and get us something to eat."

We looked over to see him standing in the doorway, his arm draped over my friend's shoulder. She was grinning, looking relaxed and thoroughly satisfied.

"What did you do?" I gasped.

She cleared her throat before straightening her shirt. "Do you want anything?" she asked us.

Zak chuckled, kissed my forehead, and then lifted me from his lap. "I'll go with you, mate. I think Mads has questions." He stood up, furtively adjusting his jeans. "Chicken nuggets, babe?"

I nodded. "And chocolate milkshake."

As the boys left, Emma sank down next to me, her grin a mile wide. "Fancy a two man?" she asked.

"You're together then?" I asked, unable to hide the excitement it made me feel. My friend with my boyfriend's friend. It was just perfect.

"I hope so," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Seeing as he's just had his hand in my knickers."

We both burst out laughing, clinging together as we embraced the joy we were finding in life. We were so engrossed neither of us heard Ana enter the room until she spoke.

"Fucking great," she snapped. "More smug couples to deal with."

Then, as we both turned to look at her, she puked all over the carpet.