Kiss My Ass

Alex had always looked after his friends, but it was different with Lyle. He wasn’t sure if it was because she was an only child and he felt the need to protect her; he wasn’t sure if it was because he had been friends with her longer. It could’ve been many things, and Alex pushed aside the most obvious reason—Lyle was going out with someone who wasn’t him. And it wasn’t that he was in love with her or any of that cliché shit, it was just because… Well, if she was going to date anyone, then he should have dibs first since he had known her the longest, right?

Well, it made since to him, anyway.

The anger inside of him only grew when he watched Lyle shyly take Ryan’s hand and follow him out of the house. Alex abandoned Amy—if that was her name; after six more drinks, he really wasn’t sure—and ran to the door, watching as Lyle climbed into Ryan’s car before they sped off. His hands clenched into fists at his side. In that moment, he really felt as if he didn’t even know Lyle.

Which, okay, was a bit extreme. After all, he didn’t know what they were doing. But he knew Ryan. Or, well, knew of Ryan, and that was good enough for him. He didn’t trust people with a bad reputation, and he rarely tried to figure out if it was based on truth or lies. That didn’t matter to him—reputations were given for a reason.

He knew Lyle was a strong girl, though a quiet one. And he hoped that she wasn’t the type of girl to give in. But he really wasn’t sure. And maybe that was what bothered him the most.

+

“I had a really nice time tonight, Ryan, thank you,” Lyle said, hand poised on the door of Ryan’s car.

“Thank you for agreeing to come with me,” Ryan said, reaching over for her other hand.

Lyle turned to him slowly; it wasn’t that she didn’t like him—he was cute, nice, all of that good stuff. But there was a feeling in the pit of her stomach, and whether it could be blamed on instinct or Alex’s constant meddling, she really wasn’t sure.

“Could we…do this again?” he asked, leaning over the console to brush his lips across her cheek.

Lyle wasn’t sure why she really wanted to push him away then, but she tried.

Ryan resisted, his grip on her hand tightening. “Could we?”

“I don’t—I don’t think—“

Ryan pressed his lips against her neck.

“Stop, Ryan,” Lyle said, using all of her strength to push him away.

Ryan frowned.

“I’ll see you at school,” she said her tone soft but unwavering as she opened the car door and got out. She could hear Ryan yelling as she slammed the door and she walked a little bit quicker to the door. Once she was inside, she leaned against the door.

Yeah, she definitely wouldn’t be going out with him again…

+

Carlyle wasn’t really looking forward to school that Monday morning. She knew high schoolers were, well, gossip mongers. And she wasn’t exactly looking forward to hearing the latest rumors from the latest party. But she was looking forward to seeing Alex, just because she wanted to sort out their last altercation.

She got ready quickly, dressing in her signature skinny jeans, moccasins, v-neck, and hoodie. She didn’t bother with her hair, deciding to simply toss it up in a ponytail, and she smeared a little bit of eyeliner on. Just to, well, not look dead. She picked up her bag and made her way to school.

But that day was different.

The minute she walked in the building, she felt the atmosphere change.

Carlyle was never the type of girl that everyone talked about. Or, well, girls only talked about her because she was friends with Alex Gaskarth, but that never bothered her. No, she had learned to deal with that. It was usually only girls spreading rumors who thought they were together when, in all actuality, Lyle had never seen him in any other way than ‘friend.’ But that wasn’t a juicy enough story to spread through the halls, so it usually got lost in translation.

This time, she could hear the whispers.

And this time, they stung.

She wasn’t immune to having her feelings hurt, despite what people thought. Just because she was quiet didn’t mean that she didn’t care. She just liked to hide how much she truly did care.

And this time, the whispers were different.

+

Alex had grown accustomed to hearing high school rumors on Monday. Mondays were always filled with what happened that weekend before. Who got wasted, who slept with who, and so on and so forth. But he rarely heard Lyle as the person everyone was talking about.

”No, dude, she went home with Ryan Decker.”

“You mean, like—“

“Yeah.”

“No way.”

“Yeah, man, Ryan scored. He’s tellin everyone.”

Alex felt his blood boil. He slammed his locker shut, kicking the bottom out of pure frustration. A couple of girls a few lockers down turned to look at him, flirty smiles upon their lips. Normally, Alex would have smiled back, maybe even sending them a wink, but not then. He simply rolled his eyes before walking away.

He had to find Lyle.

+

Erika and Jack had heard the rumors, too. It was hard to avoid them when everyone and their mother was mentioning the “crazy-sick” party and how “Carlyle left with Ryan.” And, well, everyone knew that Ryan always scored so there was no way that Carlyle would’ve said no, right? After all, who said no to Ryan Decker?

“Do you think it’s true?” Jack asked, looking over at his girlfriend.

Erika bit her lip as a couple of freshmen girls walked by, her best friend’s name falling from their lips. “I hope not.”

“I mean, everyone’s saying it—“

“No. No, Lyle would’ve told me,” Erika protested.

Jack shrugged. “You sure?”

Erika frowned at her boyfriend, elbowing him in the stomach. “Yes. We tell each other everything,” she said.

“You do?” Jack asked. “Did you tell her about the time you and I—“

Erika elbowed him again, her cheeks flushing. “Shut up. We don’t talk about that.”

“So you didn’t?”

She sighed. “Not about that specific occurrence, no.”

“So maybe she didn’t tell you either,” Jack said with a shrug.

“Shut up. Lyle would tell me that,” Erika said. She didn’t want to doubt her best friend, but she really wasn’t sure anymore.

“Jack! Erika! Have you seen Lyle?” Alex asked walking over to his two friends.

Erika bit her lip. “Not since Friday.”

Alex scoffed. “Funny how we last saw her on Friday and now, apparently, she’s fucking everyone in school,” he snapped.

“Shut up, Alex, you don’t even know if it’s true,” Erika said. “And it’s not the whole school—it’s one guy.”

“One guy who has fucked most of the girls in this school. So, yes, it could be the whole school,” Alex told her.

Erika sighed. “You’re going to trust the whole school over your best friend?”

“Well, she’s not exactly denying it,” Alex said.

“We haven’t seen her yet! No one’s given her the chance!” Erika protested.

Alex rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’ll go find her myself,” he said walking off just as quickly as he had walked over to them. He searched the hallways and the cafeteria, the gym and the library. He checked every single spot that he would normally find Lyle in. Yet he was unable to locate her. Curses fell from his lips and he decided to take one more walk-through the school. And then he found her.

+

“So how was he?”

Lyle shut her locker door and met the dark eyes of one of the freshmen from her study hall. Her eyes narrowed and she shrugged. “How’s who?”

“You know? Ryan?” the girl said.

Her jaw clenched. “He’s a rat.”

“Yeah, but was he good?” she asked.

“What are you talking about?” Lyle asked.

“You slept with him, right?”

“What? No, I didn’t—“

The girl rolled her eyes. “Ryan Decker wouldn’t lie.”

“And I would?” Lyle asked her voice quiet.

The girl shrugged. “Are people really going to trust your word against his?”

Lyle sighed. “But I didn’t—“

“Whatever, Lyle,” the girl said flipping her hair over her shoulder and walking away.

Lyle watched her go, her jaw slack. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Of course, she had heard what people were saying when she walked in. Everyone was surprised that Ryan would have asked her out, or that she would have agreed, or that she would have… Well, everyone was really surprised that she would have slept with him.

But honestly, Lyle was surprised, too. Considering, well, she hadn’t.

She was snapped out of her reverie by Alex approaching her and slamming his hand on the locker in front of her. “Jesus H, Alex, what’s wrong?” she asked, rubbing the back of her head.

“How long were you going to keep lying to me?” Alex asked, frowning.

“Oh, God, you believe it, too?” Lyle asked with a sigh.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Lyle let a deep sigh.

“You fucked Ryan Decker?” he asked.

Lyle could sense his tone and she went from annoyed that he didn’t trust her to frustrated beyond belief. “You fucked Amy?”

Alex shook his head. “This isn’t about me.”

“You sure about that? Because you can fuck every girl in existence and no one can be bothered. But you think I fucked Ryan and all hell breaks loose?” she asked.

Alex scoffed. “This isn’t about me and Amy; this is about you and Ryan. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because it didn’t happen!” Lyle protested. “I never—I just—“

“Just what?”

“He took me home and that’s it!”

“You left with him.”

“Yes, because he took me home,” she repeated.

“You expect me to believe that?” Alex asked.

Lyle frowned. “I expect you to believe me, Alex. I’m your best friend,” she said quietly.

Alex shook his head. “Not anymore, Lyle,” he said, turning around and walking away.

Lyle watched him go. She didn’t know what to do or say. She just…didn’t know.

+

Erika wasn’t used to going so long without talking to her best friend. But when Jack pulled her to a different table at lunch, she didn’t have much of a choice. She sat there quietly, watching her best friend from across the room, and wondered when things changed. Most girls in their school, when they were caught in the act, no one cared. Their reputation might have a little smudge on it but, overall, no one really cared. Which was why she was confused that everyone was creating such a fuss about Lyle.

“I cannot believe she turned out to be such a slut,” Amy muttered, though it wasn’t as quiet as she would have liked. In fact, she could have probably been heard three tables over.

Alex’s jaw clenched but he didn’t respond. Instead, he watched Lyle as well.

“But, I mean, it is Ryan Decker,” Amy added with a dreamy sigh.

“I don’t think she did,” Erika said, taking a drink of her Mountain Dew.

Amy sent her a snide look. “And why not?”

“Because she’s my best friend,” Erika told her. “And that’s not something she would do.”

“Clearly it is or she wouldn’t have done it,” Amy snapped.

“I think I know her better than you do,” Erika said.

Amy smiled. “You think so? You think you know her?”

“Yes, I do—“

“I don’t think we know shit,” Alex muttered.

Erika paused and looked over at Alex. “What?”

Alex shrugged.

“Alex, you’re her best friend. And you’re going to believe a rumor over her?” Erika asked.

“There’s proof,” Alex said with a shrug.

“Oh, what, did Ryan get a piece of her fucking hymen or something?”

Jack cleared his throat, rubbing his girlfriend’s back. “That was a little, uh, vulgar. Even for me.”

Erika rolled her eyes.

“And I don’t think you can get a piece of a hymen anyway,” Jack added.

“Shut up, Jack,” Erika snapped before turning back to Alex. “What’s your proof?”

Alex sighed. “That maybe Amy’s right. Maybe we haven’t known anything about her this whole time.”