Chapter 7 Friends

• Winter was walking down the hallway of her new school. It was her second day, and she already hated the school campus. As the saying went, ignorance was bliss. She should have remained ignorant of her surroundings and just walked with her head down; that's what she did on her first day.
• Today as soon as she walked into the locker room, she was welcomed by couples sucking each other's faces. She cringed and scooted away from them.
• No wonder Zane told me to get used to it, she thought and lowered her head once again.
• The environment was nothing like her previous school. People were doing whatever they wanted with no discipline, for example, smoking, making out, talking trash behind others' backs. She did not get to witness any of it yesterday as she had arrived very late.
• Winter pretended to not be disgusted and made her way to her locker where a few guys were leaning against it and bullying a weak guy. A shiver ran down her spine, remembering her old days where she used to be in that same position as the girls in her class used to gang up against her.
• The last thing she wanted was to make new enemies, so she waited until those guys were done with their business. She would admit that she was a coward for not standing up for the bullied boy, but she had no other choice.
• Her phone chimed all of a sudden. She took it out to receive a text message from Zane. A smile formed on her face as she opened it.
• Zane:
• Have you arrived at school yet?
• Her heart fluttered at his concern. She quickly typed a reply.
• Winter:
• Would you come to pick me up at my house if I say I haven't yet?
• Zane:
• Probably yes :)
• Winter:
• Are you still at home or what?
• Zane:
• Nope, on time today. Wanna come say hi to me? ;)
• Her jaw fell open at his response. How could he offer to pick her up when he was already at school? Was he willing to go back for me?
• Winter:
• Didn't you say it wouldn't be good for me if someone caught me with you?
• Zane:
• That's right too :(
• Winter wished it would be nice if they were in the same school. What possessed her to choose Primrose High instead of McWinner? The only reason was that she liked the name better, which she regretted immensely right then.
• Zane:
• I wish we were in the same school.
• Oh, my God! Did he just read my mind? she thought, trying her best to suppress her smile so that others would not think she was a freak.
• Zane:
• Gotta go. The warning bell rang.
• See you at work.
• Winter:
• Bye. Have a good day.
• Just after she pressed 'send', she realized they did not have work that day.
• "Shit!" she cursed out loud, making the bullies near her locker jump away. She pressed her hand on her mouth and muttered out a series of apologies.
• "You are a weird one, newbie," commented one of the bullies before walking past her.
• She flashed him a sheepish smile and hurried to place her things in her locker as the coast was clear. She could not ignore the bullied boy lying near her locker and bent down to offer a bandage.
• "You need to stand up for yourself before it's too late," she told him and made her way to her classroom. No one knew better than her, how much bullying could destroy a person—she faced it first-hand, after all. The scars on her hands and shoulder were the reminder of it.
• °°°°°
• The next day, Winter was making her way towards the school bus during the departure time when a boy from her history class tapped on her shoulder.
• She turned around to face the good-looking blonde guy. His name was Jake if she remembered correctly. And he was popular at her school.
• "Hey, Winter, I was wondering if you could help me with the history homework. I have never been too good at researching," Jake said with a cute smile, scratching the back of his neck.
• "Uh, sure." She didn't know where this was heading, so she just gave him a normal smile like she normally would.
• "By the way, are you single at the moment?" he asked.
• "Nope, she has a boyfriend." A familiar voice interrupted and a masculine arm was slung over her shoulder.
• "And who are you?" Jake questioned.
• "I'm her brother," answered the chestnut brown-haired boy cheerfully.
• Winter shot Leon a glare.
• "You look nothing alike," Jake remarked.
• "That's because she is my step-sister, you dumbass," Leon rebuked, scorning at the boy in front of him.
• Jake crossed his arms over his chest and asked, "And who is her boyfriend?"
• "Uh, he is over there." Leon pointed towards the innocent brunette boy, who had nothing to do with it. Zane was waiting near his bike when Leon called him over. "You're my sister's boyfriend, right?"
• "I am?" Zane let out in a confusion, and Winter slapped her forehead. She wanted to crawl into a cave and never come out. Leon stomped on Zane's foot which made him squeak. "Ahh! Yes. Yes, I am."
• "See? Now get lost, bro." Leon flashed an annoying smile at Jake who rolled his eyes and walked away.
• Zane immediately smacked Leon on the head. "What was that for, you moron?"
• "You didn't have to do that," Winter said to Leon. As much as she appreciated his help, she could have handled it on her own.
• Leon ignored Zane and turned to Winter. "Sis, you don't know how these types of guys are. First of all, they ask for help with homework. Then they ask if you are single, and if you are, they invite you over to their house for the homework. And the rest is history. You have got to be careful around these guys."
• Winter laughed and jokingly said, "Thanks, big bro."
• As Leon was not paying attention to him, Zane grabbed him by the collar and said, "For three weeks, you get no sugar for your coffee." He knew that Leon could not drink coffee with at least two cubes of sugar in it.
• "I hate you, dude," Leon cried out.
• "Winter, I'm going straight to work. Want to come with me?" Zane offered as their shift started early on Wednesdays.
• Before Winter could reply, Leon spoke up, "Hey, hey, you were supposed to give me a ride?"
• "I don't feel like it anymore." Zane rolled his eyes.
• "You traitor. How am I supposed to be on time?"
• "Take the bus," he told him and motioned Winter to hop on the backseat of his bicycle.
• "Are you sure we can leave him?" Winter asked reluctantly. She felt bad for leaving her newfound brother behind.
• "Forget him. That jerk deserves it for stomping my foot and stealing my lunch," Zane let out. Seeing that Winter was still upset, he assured before taking off, "Don't worry. He can get a lift from his girlfriend too."
• Winter relaxed and clutched onto the fabric of his shirt with her fist. It was silent for a while, and she enjoyed it.
• "Zane, do you mind giving me a ride to work every Wednesday?" she asked after debating a lot in her head.
• "Sure thing." He was happy to get more chances to spend some alone time with her.
• The rest of the ride was not quiet anymore as they talked over a few things, laughing and giggling with each other. Winter felt so happy with him; she almost forgot about the ache in her heart.
• "I hope you two didn't forget about your punishment today," Mr. Tanner reminded them as they changed into their work uniform.
• "I didn't know it was possible to hate a person this much." Zane groaned as he would have to work two extra hours.
• "And you won't get paid for it," Lucy remarked with the intention to rub salt on his wounds.
• "One of these days, I swear I am going to mix poison in his evening coffee," Zane let out and stormed to the kitchen.
• Winter released an exasperated sigh and started working.
• Time flew quickly, and soon it was just the two of them remaining in the whole coffee shop. Winter was cleaning the tables at one corner, and Zane was at the other corner.
• Zane stopped to catch a glimpse of her reflection in the window. He bit his lips as he noticed her skirt rising over her mid-thigh as she tried to reach out for the farthest end of a table. Averting his eyes immediately, he said, "Aren't you scared, Winter?"
• "Of what?" she let out absentmindedly.
• "It's just you and me here."
• "Yeah, so?" She continued wiping the tables, not noticing him approach her.
• "I'm a guy too, you know?" She slightly jumped at how close his voice was. He was right behind her. She turned around and took a step back.
• "What's wrong, Zane?" she asked cautiously.
• "You really need to be careful about how you carry yourself around us guys."
• "What?"
• "Your button—" Winter immediately placed a hand on her chest as a reflex. Zane chuckled and continued, "It seems your top button tore off."
• Her eyes traveled downwards to reconfirm, and actually, her top button was missing. She sighed and relaxed. "You scared me."
• "Don't let your guard around anyone, not even me. Men are animals, trust me." He rolled his eyes and took a few steps back. "By the way, can you sew?" She shook her head. "Give me your blouse then. I will sew the button for you." He would hate for anyone to think that she was trying to flirt with them with her top button open.
• "But if I give you my blouse, I will be left in my—" Winter stopped realizing what she was about to say. Both of their cheeks flushed red.
• "That's not what I am saying. Go change into your regular outfit."
• "Oh, right. I will do it once I'm done cleaning up." She tried to grab the rag but was stopped by Zane.
• "No, change your top first," he insisted.
• "I can't let you work alone."
• "You will only distract me," he blurted out. Before Winter could open her mouth, he started pushing her towards the staff room. "Just go and change." Once he managed to push her out, he let out a groan of frustration. "Damn, that girl really knows how to test my patience."
• Zane went back to finish his work, to cool down his nerves. Working late without pay was not the punishment. Staying with Winter all alone late at night was the real punishment. He wondered if Mr. Tanner did that intentionally.
• When Winter was done changing, she handed him her blouse and brought the sewing kit from the staff room.
• "You really know how to sew?" she inquired.
• Zane sat on a chair and tried to put the threat in the needle. "No. I just know how to sew the buttons."
• "That's cool." Saying that she went back to cleaning the remaining tables. As she tried to focus on her work, she found it really hard to do with Zane near her. She could not help but steal glances of him. His blue eyes were focused on the needle while his hands efficiently worked their way with the button, a serious expression on his handsome face.
• Before she knew it, he was done with it.
• "Wow, thanks a lot, Zane."
• "Don't mention it. By the way, I will walk you back home," he informed her and turned around to make his way to the staff room to change.
• "You don't have to," she spoke up.
• "It's late. I won't be able to sleep peacefully if I didn't make sure you reached home safely."
• "Thanks."
• "What did I say? What are we?" He flashed her a big smile.
• Winter remembered their last conversation from the previous work shift and smiled as she said, "We are friends."
• ★★★★★