It had been over three hours since the breakup, since his breakdown, since Arya had stayed back with the cashier waiting for him to finish his shift, yet he still wasn't feeling even a little better. He wheeled his bucket and mop back into the closet, shoving his work gloves inside before slamming the door shut, done for the day.
Arya was already standing outside waiting when he stepped out. The sky had turned a pale shade of orange and pink, the sun bright red, half hidden behind the clouds. He handed her a can of soda. She arched an eyebrow at him.
"Just take it, please."
"Fine. If this is your way of apologizing, Arnold Palmer, then I accept."
He snorted, shoving his sweaty hands into his pants pockets as he glanced around.
"Where's Zendaya? She should've been here by now."
Arya bit her lip, unsure if this was the right time to tell him what had happened. But Arnold already noticed her hesitation.
"Did something happen? Zendaya wouldn't miss coming to the store to use the electricity and do her assignments."
"Arnold," Arya started, but the words seemed to die in her throat.
Arnold was already growing uneasy with the way his best friend's eyes softened, the same look Tasha had given him before she ripped his heart out.
He stepped closer to Arya, his height of six feet intimidating compared to her five-six. His jaw tightened, anxiety creeping in. "Spit it out, Arya. Did something happen? Did someone touch
Zendaya? I swear if it's Aaron, I'll—"
"She overheard you."
"What?"
"She was hiding behind a shelf when you broke down, Arnold. When you said it was sometimes too hard to bear. She was crying."
Arya waited for him to react, for him to scold her for not telling him sooner, because she knew his sister was one thing he didn't joke about.
"Shit." He ran his hands through his damp hair. "You should've told me sooner, Arya. She's sensitive. She'll take things the wrong way."
A sharp pang of guilt pricked Arya. He was right. Looking out for him as her best friend also meant looking after his sister, but she had felt he needed her more in that moment. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Arnold beat her to it.
"No. Don't. I didn't mean to put the blame on you."
"But—"
"Forget what I said. Knowing Zen, she probably went back to class to avoid me. Come on."
She didn't argue as he took hold of her hand and pulled her along.
******
The text in the book in front of Zendaya looked like a jumbled mess of puzzles. It wasn't that the words were hard to read or that the chatter of students around her was distracting. She just couldn't bring herself to focus.
She had praised her brother's intelligence, told him he would make money from it, but that was only true for him. Zendaya wasn't as smart as her brother. She was barely average in her department, much less the faculty. She would never make her brother proud this way. Not by studying. Not by adding to his pile of bills.
She slammed the book shut in frustration, blowing a stray strand of hair from her face as her vision blurred. She lowered her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself, but when she looked up again, she found a coursemate she recognized grinning down at her.
"Having a tough time trying to study on a hungry stomach, Zendaya?"
"Excuse me?"
Lexi's grin widened. She hopped onto the table in front of Zendaya. "Let's cut right to the chase, shall we?"
She shrugged her backpack off and pulled out two notebooks and one textbook, dumping them down on Zendaya's book. "I need you to finish my assignments for CHM 101 and 102. Here."
Before Zendaya could respond, Lexi brought out a fat wad of cash and tossed it at her, nearly hitting her in the face if Zendaya hadn't jerked back on instinct.
"This should more than cover your bills and that wretched brother of yours. It's worth more than the work I'm actually paying you to do, so it's more than fair, don't you think?"
A shiver ran up Zendaya's spine as she stared at the money in her lap, trying to comprehend what was happening.
Lexi jumped to her feet, shouldering her bag. "Look, everyone knows you're broke, especially with that eyesore you carry around as an excuse for a bag. No need to thank me. And if you can't handle the assignments, give them to that nerd brother of yours. I'm sure he can manage first year work. All science courses are mostly general at this level, and he's already passed through this phase."
Zendaya didn't bother hiding the resentment that had awakened with each of Lexi's words. With one swipe, she sent all the books crashing to the ground. Lexi gasped.
"What the hell—"
The wad of cash hit her square in the face, cutting off her sentence as Zendaya rose to her feet, her entire frame trembling with anger.
"Get your filthy money away from my sight. I never asked for it and never will."
"You ungrateful bitch!"
"Ungrateful? I don't remember asking for your help or telling anyone I need money. And do you know why? Because my brother works day and night to give me everything essential. If I were you, I'd put some respect in that tone when speaking about him."
The class had gone silent, all eyes fixed on them. Lexi noticed it too as she glanced around, eyes flicking between her books scattered on the floor and their coursemates. She closed the distance between them in one stride, bringing her face so close Zendaya could feel her breath.
"You really don't want to mess with me, Palmer. Apologize now and I'll pretend this never happened."
Zendaya's lips curled. What she was about to do would definitely not be Arnold approved, but right now she didn't care.
"Apology? How's this for an apology?" She raised both hands and shoved them between them, lifting her middle fingers.
Their coursemates erupted in loud oohs, adding salt to the wound. Zendaya didn't wait for Lexi's response. She grabbed her things, brushed hard against Lexi's shoulder on purpose, and walked out of the classroom.
Her heart pounded frantically in her chest as she tried to put on a brave front, keeping her pace even so as not to show her fear. Lexi wasn't just any student. Zendaya had seen the favoritism lecturers showed her. She had even heard a lecturer once praise Lexi's father's donations to the college. Lexi's threat could easily be carried out. Suddenly, her reaction didn't feel so smart after all.
She picked up her pace, goosebumps crawling across her skin as unease prickled down her spine. She had already left campus and was heading home, silently praying Arnold would be there by now, but the eerie feeling refused to leave.
She glanced behind her, and just like she feared, three guys with their faces hidden behind hoods were following her. She walked faster, praying she was just being paranoid. When she glanced back again and saw they were closer, she broke into a run.
The street was nearly empty, just a few pedestrians who looked like the minding their own business type that Zendaya knew would be of no help.
Two more streets and she would be home. Two more.
A hand latched onto her shoulder and yanked her around. She didn't get the chance to react before strong fingers gripped her chin, forcing her backward until her back hit a wall.
"Thought trash like you were good at running your mouth, huh? Come on, pretty. Let me hear those vocals of yours and how good they'll sound screaming when we're done with you."
Zendaya's eyes widened as the words sank in. She knew what was about to happen. She knew why. But she couldn't stop it. She grabbed the hand holding her and tried to pull it away, but the fingers only dug deeper into her skin, sending sharp pain through her jaw.
The other two watched from behind, eyes roaming as they waited.
Zendaya would rather die than let any of them touch her. She struggled with everything she had, even knowing she was outmatched.
"Stay fucking still, bitch." He raised a fist to threaten her when suddenly he was torn away from her as a fist slammed into his jaw. He staggered back, the taste of blood sour in his mouth.
"Stay the hell away from her!"
Zendaya ran to her brother, tears soaking her face as he wrapped an arm around her before positioning himself protectively in front of her. "Arya, take Zen and run."
"No. I'm not leaving you here alone." Arya stepped beside him, holding a sobbing Zendaya.
"Well, isn't this interesting?" The attacker licked the blood from his lip and spat. A smirk spread across his face. "One punching bag and two pretty dolls. Even better than the original mission, don't you think, boys?"
The other two sneered, pulling back their hoods to reveal young faces, scarred and marred. Arnold swallowed as the man he'd hit straightened, rolling his neck and shoulders before flashing him a grin.
"What a great way to end the day."