The Runaway Bride

CHAPTER 7: I'm Sorry

“I’m sorry,” Noah said and brushed his face with the palm of his hand. “I didn’t mean to— s**t. No, no, no, no.” He grunted at his reflection, very much aware that him talking to himself in front of the mirror only made him look like a lunatic.

He wasn’t sure how he should apologize. And neither was he sure if André would even listen to him.

First week in this school and he has already f****d it all up. Harrold had heard about what happened and was slightly worried — not at him, which was unusual, but with André.

He sighed one more time before setting his jaw, staring back at his reflection with determination this time.

Well, it’s now or never.

The very moment he opened the door, he was met with André’s still pretty much pissed off face. There was a dull blue color framing one side of his lips and the cut from before, although it had stopped bleeding, was still visible from where he stood.

“Quit hogging the toilet. I thought you already flushed yourself in there,” André muttered as he squeezed past him, his expression still that of utter dislike.

“Listen, André, I—” He was cut off when André slammed the door close to his face. It was a good thing that he had a fast reflex or his face would’ve been engraved at the other end of the door.

Noah just sighed. He knew making André forgive him wouldn’t be that easy. After all, he was beginning to think that the reason André had even hated him in the first place was all because of how he acted.

So now that he finally wanted to be his friend, he’s already lost the chance.

At two o’clock in the afternoon, Professor North finally called them for bathroom duties. But instead of finding him alone, he was once again accompanied by Zac who was given another detention after punching David, and well, David who finally got what he deserved after being a complete arse.

“I will remind you once again that fighting is prohibited inside this school and if I ever hear anything remotely close to that, I cannot assure all four of you that it will go unpunished,” the professor warned, lifting his wooden cane up, and gestured for them to get started with cleaning. “After you’re done here, you can go and proceed on the other bathrooms.”

“Do we clean the women’s, too?” André asked, and the professor stopped midway from turning on his heel.

Zac chuckled at this while David was only shooting them warning looks, afraid that the sentence might grow even longer if they provoke the old man.

“Are you a p*****t?” Professor North asked, and Zac burst out laughing.

“No, but you didn’t—” André started to retort, but a sharp nudge cut him off.

“We’ll clean it up, sir,” Noah answered for him, directing André towards the bathroom door.

“I’m warning you four. If I hear a single peep, no more football for Carmichael, no more basketball for Coleman, and Fletcher, you will also be suspended from the Student Council,” He turned to Noah, “and you … you will … you’ll be prohibited from doing whatever it is you do.”

David just nodded at the professor but the other three only ignored him and started picking up cleaning materials.

Noah wondered what would Her Majesty’s reaction be if she ever found out that her youngest son is out here cleaning filthy public restrooms. She would most obviously lose her mind.

“Aren’t you gonna help clean?” Zac asked when André sat on top of the sink and leaned against the wall, looking comfy. “If the old man finds you like that, he’s gonna make you scrub the entire school.”

“He won’t find out unless someone in here says something,” he replied, his eyes fixed on David who was only frowning at him.

After several minutes of them just staring each other down, Noah was finally fed up with all their bullshit and just sighed. “It’s fine. I’ll just do his share of the chores,” he said, refusing to make eye contact with André who now transferred his piercing gaze at him.

“Can you do mine, too?” Zac teased and sneered at his back.

“Don’t you have arms?”

“I do. But I don’t really feel like cleaning, you know?”

“Will you two just shut up and clean?” David complained and slammed the mop he was holding hard on the floor, splattering dirty water all over the two who were standing closest to them.

André smirked at the sight. David’s eyes were now slowly growing wide as he realized what he did. Zac was scowling at him, ready to pounce at any moment, while Noah only had a hard look on his face.

Still, you can’t rule out the possibility that Noah might pounce, too, but yeah, David was most definitely screwed.

“Do you wanna die?” Zac snarled and took a step forward, his fists clenched. “If you want a fight right now, you can tell me.”

André didn’t want to break off the spectacle but he wasn’t sure he should just let them go on. He had no interest in joining the football team this season so he clearly doesn’t have anything to lose, but if that means getting beaten by the old man half to death would be the price they all have to pay for these two idiots, he’d rather just get in between or suffer their professor’s wrath.

“That’s enough,” he said rather begrudgingly, his voice sounding like he’s about to doze off into Dreamland. “David’s a snitch. He’ll tell the prof. about this.”

Zac scoffed. “He won’t. His position in the Student Council is on the line. I don’t think even this muppet over here would have the courage to speak.”

“And if he gets a bruise?”

“Then we’ll say he just slipped.”

André shrugged. “Okay. But make it quick.”

Noah stepped in, his tall stature nearly matching that of Zac’s, and he pointed at the garbage can that was already filled to the brim with used tissues.

“You can go and throw out the garbage. We’ll handle everything else.”

“No, I—”

“Just do it.”

“What are you, a living ad for the Nike commercial? No, I’m not gonna throw out the f*****g garbage unless I have David’s face stuffed inside that bin.”

“You can do that outside after we’re done.”

David chuckled mirthlessly at their exchange and dropped the mop completely on the ground, giving each of them a scornful look. “You’re all just brave because there’s three of you, you mewling p*****s. And Zac, quit acting like you’re so tough, will you? Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve been getting kind of protective over André. Why don’t you just marry him, then, huh? You faggo—”

A punch flew across the air, knocking David off of his feet, and Noah’s eyes grew slightly wide. André was about to throw another punch when both Noah and Zac stepped forward to stop him.

David, who was still lying on the ground, laughed. “You hit like a girl.”

André gazed down at the blood oozing off of his nose, and sneered, pushing both Noah and Zac off of him. “Maybe I should teach you how to hit like a girl.”

“f**k you.”

“No,” he mocked, stretching out the vowels. “f**k you,” he said and gutted him with a kick, sending him rolling over the dirty floor.

“That’s enough!” Noah’s deep voice rang throughout the cramped room but only David flinched.

André was still enjoying as he watched David slowly crawl away from him, and Zac was, well, Zac. He was just standing there, smiling at André like a blithering i***t.

“ANDRÉ!” a shrieking sound suddenly blasted through the doors of the boys’ bathroom and a girl, her hair a disordered mess with eyeliners running down the sides of her cheeks, revealed herself.

If there was a thunderstorm outside and the lights were off, she could pass for the role of a mad ghost.

“Ooh, is it Halloween already?” André teased, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile, and Zac chuckled.

“Shut up, Andy! This is all your fault.” The girl wiped the tears that were still streaming down the side of her face and transferred her gaze at David who was still pretty much crawling on the ground. “What’s he doing down there?”

André shrugged. “He tripped.”

“And why is his nose bleeding?”

André shrugged again, making Zac chuckle for the nth time that it was almost getting into Noah’s nerves. “He kissed the floor with it.”

“Oh,” the girl said, stepping away from him, and felt a little less bad for herself. She straightened her sweater and met André’s gaze, sniffling as she tried to think of words. But before she could even open her mouth to speak, Zac had already leaned in close to her, his eyebrows furrowed.

“What’s that on your face?”

Rolling her eyes at Zac who had always made it clear to her that he’s off-limits from those kinds of crushes, she crossed her arms and gave him a quick once-over. “Um, beauty?”

Zac laughed. “Piss off, Margot. Nobody likes you.”

“Excuse me? André likes me. Isn’t that right, Andy-pooh?”

“Andy-pooh?” Noah repeated and caught Margot’s attention.

“Oh my gosh. Is that … wow, is that Noah Hargreaves? OMG, yes! Do you remember me?” In just a matter of seconds, she had already forgotten both Zac and André and was now all over Noah who was only looking at her like she’s a virus that he couldn’t seem to get rid of. “OMFG, I definitely have to tweet this. The girls will be so jealous.”

“This is the men’s bathroom,” Noah said and picked up the wiper he was using to clean off the mirrors. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Yes, I know. I saw the sign outside, hun, but like … how could you be so gorgeous while cleaning the toilets? You look like you’re shooting an ad about toilets and stuff.”

Margot’s poor attempt in trying to compliment Noah only made both Zac and André laugh.

“I can’t tell if he’s praising or insulting him,” Zac remarked, and André agreed.

“But if you think about it, he does seem to resemble Mr. Clean.” Both Zac and André burst out laughing at the joke, eliciting a nasty look from Noah, and a fed up roll of the eyes from Margot.

Of course, David had been long forgotten.

He had managed to slip out of the bathroom while they were all insulting Margot and had now started limping back towards the Headmaster’s office, determined to get them all in trouble.

When both Zac and André had remembered, it was now too late.