CHAPTER 121: A BARKING CHIHUAHUA

**OLIVER WEST**

"You’re disgusting," I said, my voice shaking with fury.

Matt stumbled backwards, his hand flying to his nose. "What the hell, West!" He shrieked.

"Motherfucker, who asked you to get involved?" Niall shoved me hard, but before I could hit the wall, Kieran caught my shoulders.

In one smooth motion, he spun around and slammed Niall against the lockers so hard the metal rang like a bell.

Then Kieran’s fist connected with Niall’s jaw.

Once.

Twice.

And the third time, I heard a crack and watched one of Niall’s teeth go flying across the hallway.

"Kieran!" I gasped, but Matt was coming at me again, I dodged his punch and my fist connected with his face again, sending him against the wall once more.

"Ollie, stop," Kieran said, catching my wrist before I could throw another punch. "You’re going to hurt your knuckles."

"What? I told you I could fight!" I shot him a triumphant look, Kieran was staring down at me with a fond, exasperated look, like I was a puppy who’d tried to fight a big cat.

"Yeah, but leave all the beating to me, it’s my job to make sure you don’t get hurt," Then he turned that deadly grey stare on Matt.

Matt tried to scramble away, but Kieran was faster. Three quick punches and Matt was on the ground, groaning as he crashed into Niall’s sprawled body. His lips were busted and he was sobbing fully now.

Kieran returned to me and grabbed my hand, he started pulling me away from the mess we’d made.

"You’re so short," he said, shaking his head. "Yet, you didn’t hesitate to pick fights with people twice your size."

"Don’t call me short!" I protested, even though I was still riding the adrenaline high from punching Matt’s stupid face.

I can’t believe I just did that. What if the principal called me in later? My mom heard that I’d gotten into a fight...

But despite everything, I felt lighter knowing we’d taken revenge for Heath.

**

The basketball room door was cracked open just enough for angry voices to leak out. Kieran and I exchanged glances before peering inside.

Heath was there, his face red with fury as he held Claude by the collar of his shirt.

Claude looked nonchalant and defiant when Heath continued to hurl accusations at him.

"How did that picture come about?!" Heath was shouting. " You did it, didn’t you?! You mother fucking son of a bitch! Did you think you were some fucking hero, I could handle my boyfriend being mad at me, I didn’t ask you to get involved."

"I was in the picture too, I couldn’t have taken it, dumbass! Use your brain, it isn’t hard." Claude shot back calmly, which seemed to make Heath more infuriated. I could almost see steam puffing from his ears as his fingers tightened on Claude’s cloth.

It seemed to me that Claude was provoking him on purpose. Was he enjoying even this kind of attention?

What a psycho.

Right now, Heath looked like one of those crazy Chihuahuas I do see on the Internet, with sharp teeth and ready to bite. If I were Claude, I would be afraid of him at the moment.

"It still doesn’t prove you didn’t do it, you threatened to tell Matt about that mistake, I even hung out with you a few times because you promised" Heath’s voice cracked with anger. "I should have known better than to trust someone like you."

"Someone like me?" Claude’s eyes flashed dangerously. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Enough talking, I just want to beat you up," Heath drew his fist back, ready to punch him, when Vince appeared out of nowhere to grab his arm.

"Hey, calm down," Vince said quietly. "Fighting isn’t going to fix this."

"Don’t touch him," Claude snarled, his voice taking on a possessive edge as he glared at Vince. "Don’t you dare put your hands on him."

Vince blinked in surprise, then muttered, "Masochist," under his breath. He plugged his earbuds back in and returned to his phone game, clearly done with the drama.

I looked at Kieran, suddenly forgetting what I came here to do.

Right.

To tell the truth.

Heath was winding up for another punch when I stepped forward between him and Claude.

"Heath, wait. I have something you need to see! I know you want to beat him up, but this is more important,"

Heath’s eyes were red-rimmed and desperate, Claude didn’t even look grateful for the fact that I was saving him, and Vince was pointedly ignoring all of us.

"Shorty legs? What are you doing here?" Heath grumbled.

I pulled out my phone. "You need to see this."

I scrolled to the photo I’d taken that first day, something I probably should have shown Heath long ago

Matt and Niall on the terrace, caught in the middle of their affair. Heath’s face went white with horror as he stared at the screen.

"And this," I said, playing the recording I’d just made. Matt’s cruel words filled the basketball room.

"Like I’d ever actually care about some closeted freak."

Heath released Claude’s collar and grabbed my phone, staring at it like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. His hands were shaking so badly that the phone almost slipped.

"He... he did this?" Heath’s voice was barely a whisper, broken and raw. "Matt sent the photo?"

"To manipulate you into going back to him," I said gently. "He wanted you to think Claude betrayed you."

For a long moment, Heath just stood there, his chest heaving, his whole body trembling with rage.

Then he surged toward the door, his face twisted with fury. "I’m going to kill him."

"Heath, don’t." I stepped in front of him, pressing both hands against his chest. "He’s not worth it. And besides, Kieran already took care of them."

"What do you mean?" His head snapped to Kieran who shrugged casually.

"Your ex-boyfriend won’t be talking clearly for a while. And his little boyfriend needs dental work."