by C.E. Wilson
***
“You look exhausted,” Archer said as Orion came to sit down next to him in the cafeteria for lunch. Orion’s plate was loaded with pizza, french fries, and a big cookie. A far cry from his normal lunch of green tea and a salad. “Are you alright?”
“I know she’s cheating on me.”
“Are you kidding me? Orion, please! Stop talking about it. Eat your lunch. You’re tired. You’re stressed and you’re just—”
“I blame you,” Orion grumbled. “This is your fault,” he said, taking an angry bite out of his pizza. “Because of you and your stupid words, I can’t even look at her without thinking that she’s with Micah.”
“See? This is why I didn’t want to say anything. You were the one who needed to know right away and demanded that I tell you. Don’t blame me for this.”
“I don’t think I’d want to know! I know I said that I didn’t believe that ignorance was bliss, but now I’m not so sure. For months with Devony I’ve been happy, never suspecting a thing and now…now all I can see in my mind is her kissing Micah! For God’s sake, sometimes I see her father standing over them watching and smiling! It’s sick!”
“That is pretty nasty,” Archer agreed. “You shouldn’t work yourself up.”
“I’m already worked up! I know what I said earlier but now I think I’d rather her cheat on me with everyone in the tournament so long as I didn’t know! Dammit! I can’t stop thinking about it! My stomach feels like a ball of hot anger, my head aches—”
“Take a painkiller.”
“No drugs!” Orion roared, slamming his fist down on the table. Some people turned to stare. “What the hell are you all looking at? Eat your damn food and mind your own damn business.”
“You need to calm down.”
“No. You need to keep your mouth shut!” He waved himself off. “Actually, no, you can talk all you want, but you better start finding proof about Devony.”
“I told you that I don’t have any.”
“If you don’t find me some proof then I’ll kick your ass.”
“Are you really threatening me?”
“You’ve left me with no choice! You planted this madness in my mind – if you can’t prove she’s cheating, then you’ll have proven you’re nothing more than a liar and I’ll be even more angry than I am now.”
“Orion, listen to me.”
“No, you listen to me! If you’re doing this just to make fun of me and have a good laugh, I promise you won’t be laughing when I’m done with you.”
“Stop this! Orion, you’re being crazy. Don’t you see how everyone’s looking at you?”
“I don’t care.”
“Well you should. You’re the president of this school and you’ve earned it. What kind of leader are you if you’re making threats? I’ve done nothing but be completely honest with you and this is how you react? You threaten to beat me up?” He shook his head angrily. “You know what? I’m never going to try and help a friend ever again. I don’t want to end up like Mason.”
Orion’s eyes widened. “I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply—”
“Imply? You didn’t imply anything! You said it straight out! Can you just forget what I told you? If this is how you’re going to act then I wish that I never said anything! Orion, I don’t think she’s cheating on you, I just thought you should know what I saw between her and Micah!”
“I know! I get it, I get it,” Orion said. “I’m sorry. I know what you’re doing, Archer. I really don’t think that Devony would cheat on me, let alone with Micah but damn, I can’t get these thoughts out of my head. I need to know if there’s a way to prove this. Even if she might still be faithful, I can’t convince myself of that fact. Your words…” he trailed off, looking at his tray, “…poisoned me.”
“That was never my intention,” Archer said. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said. Is there anything I can do?”
“Proof.”
“You still want proof?”
“Yes.”
“How would I get proof?”
“I’m going to get it if you don’t.”
“And how do you plan on doing that? Are you going to sneak into her room and wait for her and Micah—”
“Don’t say it! Don’t you dare say it!”
“I don’t think it’d be impossible. I mean, we could set something up.”
“No. I don’t want to see it.”
“So what can we do, Orion? If you don’t want to stake out her house, then what do you propose we do to get this proof you want so badly? We could get him drunk—”
“And risk him hurting her like he did Mason? Are you kidding me?”
“We could try to trick him.”
Orion looked up, studying him closely. “Trick him? How could we do that?”
“We could loosen up his tongue and see if he’ll repeat what he said to me last night. You know that Micah’s a lightweight. I mean, you give him a few beers you can’t pay him to keep his mouth shut.” Archer looked up. “Are you sure you want to know this? It’s the real reason why I’ve been so worried. I really didn’t want to tell you this because I don’t know if it’s true.”
“Is it proof?”
“That depends on the definition.”
“Tell me.”
Archer sighed heavily and continued. “That night after the party after everyone had left I sat down and talked to him. He was still a raving drunk and as I was helping him back to his room, he started bragging about how he was sleeping with her.”
“He wouldn’t dare.”
“He was so drunk and panicked that I didn’t trust any of his crazy babbling at the time. I mean, he was seriously messed up that night.”
“What did he say?”
“Orion, are you sure—”
“What did he say?”
“He said that you’re an idiot. He told me about how they’ve been laughing about dating in secret.” He gave a dry laugh. “At least he called it dating.”
“That’s impossible! I would’ve known!”
“So just take it as a drunken man’s crazy rant. I mean, he’s probably just jealous of you and didn’t know what he was saying.”
“I can’t believe he didn’t mean it – don’t you believe him?”
“He was drunk,” Archer said carefully. “Drunk guys say anything.”
“That’s because they’re uninhibited! He’s telling the truth! I’ll kill him!”
“Oh stop,” Archer said. “You’re not going to kill him. We can’t assume he was telling the truth. Although I did notice something weird earlier today…didn’t you give Devony a promise ring at the end of the summer?”
“Ellie told you about that?”
“Yes, and she also told me that Devony’s often embarrassed to wear it.”
“She didn’t want her father to suspect anything,” Orion clarified. “I didn’t fight her about it.”
“Does she have any reason to keep it a secret now?”
“N-no. I guess she doesn’t.”
“I thought that I saw Micah wearing the same ring on a chain,” Archer said carefully. “I could have sworn that I saw him at gym class. It was on a silver chain.”
“Bullshit.”
“Like I keep saying, Orion, I’m only telling you what I know.”
“What if it’s really my ring?”
“It can’t be a good sign,” Archer said. “If it’s the same ring, which it may not be.”
“If he’s wearing the same ring I gave Devony, I don’t know what I’ll do. Archer…I have to tell you…there’s a reason that my family moved to America.”
“What do you mean?”
Orion shook his head angrily, trying to clear his thoughts. “Nevermind. What’s important is that Devony gave my ring to another guy! Wouldn’t that piss you off?”
“Why did your family move to America?”
“I told yo
u that it doesn’t matter! I’ll strangle him with my bare hands!”
“It’s the stress talking,” Archer said patiently. “You have to relax and keep your mind clear.”
“My mind’s as clear as water! If what you’re saying is true, then neither of them deserves to live.”
“You’re talking like a crazy person,” Archer said. “Let’s make sure we’re reacting to more than just words. We need proof.”
“Yes, and you need to get it,” Orion said. “Come with me.”
“Where to?”
“I want to speak to you in private. I see what you’re talking about. Everyone’s listening to me. They think I’m a freak.”
“You’re not—”
“Maybe I am,” Orion said, standing suddenly and grabbing his arm. Archer rocked in his chair, barely able to gather his footing as Orion pulled him into the men’s bathroom. “Now listen,” he said as soon as the door closed. His usually friendly eyes were blazing with anger. “When I said there’s a reason my family moved me to America, I meant exactly that. So unless you want to find out what that reason is, you’ll help me find a way to prove she’s innocent.”
“I’ll do whatever you ask,” Archer said in a pinched voice. “If you want me to—”
“I don’t know what I want, yet. All I know is that Devony’s a whore and Micah’s betrayed me by sleeping with her. As far as I’m concerned, you’re my vice-president now.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I’ll do whatever you ask but—”
“There’s no one better for the job.”
