Nice Guys Finish Last Ch. 07-08

Much to my shock, the tall and pretty swimmer that was friends with Julia noticed me walking by and called out, "Hey, you!"

My eyes got big as I stopped and looked at her. "Who, me?"

"Yeah, you," she reaffirmed with a smirk on her face. "You're the one that talked to Julia the other day, aren't you?"

Feeling no need to lie, I hesitantly answered, "Uh... yeah... that was me..."

She pulled out a chair right next to her and slapped the seat. "Julia is busy right now, so how about you sit with me? I don't have anyone else to eat with, so you should keep me company."

I could feel the blood pumping through my body as my heart began to race. There was just something about her that reminded me of Julia. It wasn't that she was tall and fit. It wasn't that her boobs were nice either... although they were.... No, I think what reminded me of Julia the most was this girl's confidence and dominant attitude.

The way she talked to me... it was like she knew I could never be a threat to her. I guess after spending my entire life as a pathetic little introvert, simple things like self-confidence just really stood out to me.

As I quietly took a seat next to her, hardly able to make eye-contact, she just sat there and stared at me with a big smile on her face. Then out of nowhere, she obliterated the awkward silence by asking, "Is your name Phillip?"

"Uh... yeah... How did you know?" I asked, even though I already concluded that Julia had already told her.

Now smiling from cheek to cheek, looking even more confident than ever, she responded, "I know who you are because I'm really good friends with Julia. My name is Valerie, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you."

We shook hands awkwardly, and by that, I meant I was terrified while she was completely normal. I couldn't help but cringe as I wondered about all the embarrassing things Julia had told her.

At first, it was bad enough thinking that Julia had probably told her how she bullied me all throughout grade school. But then suddenly, my face became red, as I wondered If Valerie knew about the sexual stuff Julia had done to me!

No, no, no! I screamed in my head as I tried desperately not to let those dirty and demeaning memories cross my mind. Julia would probably be ashamed if anyone found out she had done stuff with a loser like me.

Suddenly, she snapped me out of my downward spiral by interrupting my thought process. "Hey Phillip!" she called, causing me to jump out of my seat.

"Oh, sorry! What is it?"

"You look like you're in deep thought. How about you go get some food? But by the time you get back, I expect you to have something to say to me. You can't just sit there all quiet after I invited you to sit here."

I jumped up to my feet and inched away from the table. "Yes, ma'am!" I said, after gulping in fear.

"Oh, no. You're a freshman, right?" she replied, shaking her head. "We're not doing this thing where you call me ma'am. Just call me by my name. That's why I gave it to you."

"Yes, Valerie," I said before scurrying off, hoping to avoid any further embarrassment.

I found myself suddenly conflicted; a very common feeling I had when I was with Julia. Valerie had never done anything to me, but I suddenly felt a familiar sense of nervousness. My heart was racing and my brain was flustered. If I didn't know any better, I might have been with my former bully instead of one of her friends.

Not wanting to keep Valerie waiting too long, I just grabbed a couple of items and rushed back to the table. Unfortunately, though, when she laid her bold eyes on me again, all I could come up with was, "Nice weather we're having today, right?"

"That's it? That's the conversation starter you worked so hard on?"

Frozen solid, I just sat there and stared at her. But before I could make a second attempt at talking to her, she interrupted me and took the lead, like the true alpha she appeared to be. "How about I ask you a question, since I'm obviously a more sociable person than you," she started, grinning at me. "And by the way, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me. I'm an open and honest person. You can be honest with me, too. I won't judge you."

"Okay..."

"So, what exactly is your relationship with Julia?"

As welcoming as Valerie presented herself to be, I was more frightened than ever at the way she jumped straight into a question I wasn't ready to answer. It was something I had been struggling with over the past few weeks; What exactly was Julia to me?

"Be honest..." she whispered in a teasing manner, glaring at me like I was some weak little prey.

Fearing that this conversation would get back to Julia, I answered in a way I thought wouldn't piss her off. "Julia and I just always went to the same schools... and she kind of bullied me... She said she hates me too..."

"She bullied you?! How did she do that?"

My face grew red as all the naughty memories came rushing back to me. Of course, there were all the demeaning comments she made, but when I thought back to our relationship, it was hard to think of anything other than the sexual acts she forced on me against my will.

Fighting off those nasty memories, and the little boner that was developing in my pants, I gathered myself and answered, "She just makes fun of me a lot... and picks on me for my size and lack of social skills..."

"That's it?" Valerie asked, throwing her hands up. "I mean... no one enjoys receiving insults, but has she done anything to you physically?"

"Not really," I answered after taking a deep gulp. "She used to push me and knock my books on the ground when we were younger, but nothing like that lately."

"Wow, what a meanie, right?"

"Uh... I guess..."

"And you said she hates you, right? Do you hate her too?"

After struggling so much not to reveal the entire truth of our relationship, I felt a sudden urge to be honest with not only Valerie, but myself. Gritting my teeth, I let out, "I don't hate her... It's not right that she bullied me, but I never knew what was going on in her life... I used to think she was a terrible person, but now that we're older, I'm starting to think she's just misunderstood...

For some reason, Valerie let out a small laugh before stopping herself and regaining her composure. I just sat there, red in the face, feeling as if she were looking down on me like Julia definitely would have, had she been there.

"I'm sorry for laughing," she said as she scooted closer to me, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. "I just think it's funny..."

"You think what is funny? How pathetic I am for defending my bully?"

"No... I think that's kind of sweet, to be honest. The part that I find funny is that you lied to me after I told you I wanted us to be honest with each other."

With my eyes wide-open, I just stared at her and asked, "What did I lie about?"

Drawing me in with her finger, she leaned in towards me and whispered a secret into my ear. In a low in seductive voice, she teased, "I know everything... everything..."

I jumped back and stared at Valerie for a moment as her words rang through my head. She knows everything?! I wondered as my face became warm, and my pants got a little tight. Even... the dirty stuff?

"You don't believe me, do you?" she asked, glaring at me in my vulnerable state. Then after a little giggle, she all but confirmed my fears by asking, "You really are a little naughty boy, aren't you?"

Suddenly, I damn near fell out of my seat. I was at a loss for words, and my entire body was shaking from the thought of her knowing all the things Julia had done to me.

Still laughing at my expense, Valerie leaned back and said, "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

How was I supposed to respond to her? I wanted to deny it, hoping she would think Julia's stories were too crazy to be true, but I was afraid that would make things worse somehow. There was also the possibility that she was bluffing, so I couldn't admit to anything or I'd reveal the secret myself.

Not knowing what to say, I just kind of sat there, awkwardly staring at her. Then suddenly, the tension between us was broken when her friend walked up to our table.

I recognized her. She was the third girl at the table with them when I first talked to Julia. I also thought I saw her on the school swim team page, but she wasn't anywhere near as tall as the others.

This girl was actually pretty short and petite, and also very cute. Her body reminded me a bit of Tina, except she somehow seemed much more athletic. I guess I really was a pervert for the way I dissected girls' bodies.

"Hey, Marissa," Valerie greeted as she pulled out a seat for the short girl. She then introduced me, saying, "This is Phillip, but you probably already knew that, right?"

The petite girl sat there and stared at me for a second, like there was something going on in her mind. Then suddenly, her face became red, as she quietly whispered, "Hi, Phillip... I'm Marissa..."

After looking back and forth between us, Valerie's face lit up. "This is great!" she exclaimed, placing her hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you try starting a conversation again? Marissa probably isn't as intimidating because she's a bit shy."

My heart started to race at the prospect of talking to this cute girl. I was bad enough at conversations, but with Valerie judging me, and knowing that both of these girls were friends with Julia, I was absolutely shaking from head to toe.

Fortunately, Marissa was able to calm me a bit by nodding her head. I guess she understood how nervous I was, being the less intimidating girl that she was, so the way she looked at me almost felt like she was telling me, "Go ahead. I understand."

After building some courage, I took a deep breath and attempted to start a conversation again. "So... how do you know Julia?"

"Of course, he would want to talk about Julia," Valerie snickered, making me feel insecure again. But once she saw my reaction, she looked at me and assured me that it was actually a good start. "I was just laughing about an inside joke we all have."

"Oh..."

"We're on the swim team together," Marissa interjected. "I'm actually not a swimmer though; I'm a diver. I mean... I can swim but nowhere near as well as them. Valerie and Julia are beasts!"

"A diver?"

"Yeah, swim teams have divers."

"That makes a lot of sense," I said as I looked at the difference between the two girls sitting with me. "You're much shorter than the other swimmers."

Suddenly, Valerie gasped. "That was kind of rude, don't you think?"

I shrieked, but just as I was about to apologize, Marissa jumped in and explained, "That's actually pretty common. Divers are usually shorter, just like people who do gymnastics."

For some reason, the nerd in me had to jump out. I had never even thought about diving or gymnastics, but my understanding of physics started to present itself. "That makes a lot of sense because the smaller you are, the faster you're able to spin. Your centripetal force is increased with a lower point of inertia."

Once I finished my nerdy rant, I noticed that they were both just sitting there, staring at me with their eyes wide-open. "Oh, sorry about that..." I said, shrinking back into my seat, like a scared little boy. "I just... I'm pretty good at science...and..."

"Oh, we know," Valerie interrupted, before they both started chuckling at me. "Julia told us how smart you are."

Suddenly, my entire body froze. "Julia... called me smart...?" I asked. I was just shocked because I had heard her call me other words like, "nerd" and, "geek," but I had never heard her use such a nice word like, "smart."

"Yeah... it's true, isn't it?" Valerie asked.

Marissa then jumped in and added her own question. "Weren't you the top of your class?"

"Well... third..."

"Yeah, basically the top," they responded with such confidence. "And you would have been valedictorian if the others didn't have family that were faculty members."

As I sat there and stared at them, I could hear my heart beating louder. Had Julia explained all this to them? How else would they know something so specific?

Before I could ask my own question, Valerie jumped in and got the conversation back on track. "Speaking of swimming, by the way, you know we have a really big meet this weekend, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I read that online."

"So, Phillip... it's a pretty far drive; about a two-hours... but... if Julia were to invite you, you know, to watch and support us, would you be willing to come?"

I sat there for a moment, scratching my head, at where this question was coming from. I knew for a fact Julia didn't enjoy it when I came to her meets. She never even looked my way when her mom invited me during high school. However, Valerie spoke to me like this was something they had discussed before.

After mulling it over for a few seconds, I just looked at the two and nodded my head. "Sure... but only if she actually wanted me to go..."

"Of course she does," the tall girl explained with a big smile. "One thing though; during important meets like this one, we don't wear those skimpy little swimsuits where you can see our asses. We wear swimsuits that go down to our knees. Would you still be willing to go, even though you won't be able to see Julia's ass?"

I wasn't sure where that question came from either, but after thinking about it for a moment, the science behind it made sense. If swimsuits were made out of a material that creates less friction than skin, I could see why they would want to wear something a bit longer. However, I knew they probably weren't in the mood for another unsolicited science explanation, so I just nodded my head and answered, "Of course."

"Great answer," Valerie responded, as she and Marissa hopped up to their feet. "I'll let Julia know you want to go cheer us on, even though we won't be in our practice suits."

"Uh... okay..."

"Well, Marissa will be in one of those regular suits because she's a diver," Valerie further explained, patting her friend on the shoulder. Then, with a mischievous smile, she continued, "Oh, and do you know why Marissa was so quiet today?"

Confused, I guessed, "Is she naturally shy?"

"She is... but that only partially explains it," Valerie started. "The truth is... she feels awkward around you because she knows everything just like I do."

Suddenly, my heart raced as I started to panic. When I looked over at the shorter girl, she was blood red in the face as she could hardly even make eye contact with me. I could do nothing but cringe in my seat, as I was sure they were both about to start laughing at me. There was no more denying it; Julia must have told them something about my embarrassing history with her.

Before they could walk off, however, my curiosity got the best of me. I had to fight through the embarrassment of them knowing some of the humiliating things she had done to me in the past. Surprisingly enough, it was because... I wanted to know... about her...

Taking another deep gulp, I asked, "Before you go... where did you say Julia was again?"

"Oh, she's dealing with some family drama," Valerie explained, as she and Marissa turned towards me.

Noticing the serious expressions on their faces, I asked, "Is everything okay?"

"I'm sure everything will be fine, but Julia just has to take care of some stuff. You know about her family drama, right?"

"Family drama?"

Marissa grabbed Valerie by the arm and started to pull her away. "I don't think he knows and it's not our place to tell him..."

"You're right," Valerie said. She then turned towards me and expressed, "Sorry, Phil, but we've got to go now. Don't tell Julia I mentioned anything, please? We'll catch up later!"

As they both said their farewells, I just waved at them and watched as they walked off into the distance. Everything suddenly became fuzzy, as my eyes lost focus on the faces of the people entering and exiting the cafeteria.

It was such a small and unimportant conversation I had with those two girls, yet somehow, I felt as if my entire outlook on life might have just changed. I never knew Julia had any family drama. And somehow, knowing that the person who was responsible for the most problems in my life was having her own problems... left me with an empty feeling...

I didn't feel happy that she was going through hard times, when she had caused so much suffering in my life. I didn't feel angry that she was possibly taking her anger out on me... No... I wasn't feeling either of those things at all...

If there was one way I could describe how I felt in that moment... I guess I would say... I felt...

... sad.

***

That night, not only was I unable to escape that sad feeling, but as the hours went by, it slowly turned into insomnia. Julia was my bully, and she hardly deserved any sympathy from me, after everything she put me through. However, there was something about the way her friends explained her situation that just didn't sit right with me.

Why was it a secret? Why hasn't Julia ever talked to me about stuff like this before? I was left scratching my head even more, wondering if those questions had anything to do with the other things Valerie revealed to me.

Could it be that Julia actually wanted me to go to her swim meet? I asked myself, lying in bed as I stared up at the ceiling. She seemed so annoyed the last time I went to one of her meets. And what was up with them explaining the swimsuit situation? Like I even understand how that stuff works...

I tossed and I turned, but I couldn't fall asleep. I played video games, read a book, and even texted Tina a few times, though she didn't respond. None of that helped either. I even thought about masturbating, but I just wasn't in the mood for some reason...

Like so many nights before, I had pretty much given up on falling asleep. However, I figured I should at least try to resolve the unsettled feeling in my heart, regarding the woman who had tormented me for so long.

After letting out a deep sigh, I reached over and grabbed my phone from the desk. Despite thinking she wouldn't text back since it was already so late into the night, I cleared myself of any expectations. I simply sent her a message saying, "I hope you had a good day."

As I put the phone back down and rested my eyes, relieved that I had gotten that burden off my chest, I was immediately startled by my phone. Looking back over at it, I quickly realized that she had already texted me back.

"Did you talk to my friends today?" the message said, not even acknowledging what I sent her.

Remembering that they didn't want me to reveal what they told me in the conversation, I responded, "I ran into them, but we didn't talk very long."

"What did they tell you?"

I could almost feel myself sweating. "Nothing really. They just told me they were on the swim team with you."

"Don't go talking to my friends thinking you can pry into my life," she responded, making my heart beat even faster. "Having you in my life is bad enough. I don't want you bothering my friends too."

"I'm sorry," I simply replied, not knowing what else to do. Like so many other times before, it felt like everything I did only made things worse when it came to my interactions with Julia.

Several minutes went by with no response. I stared at my phone but no matter how hard I concentrated, nothing popped up. She wasn't even doing that thing where she would type something and erase it. For all I knew, she read the message and was done with me.

I put the phone down and closed my eyes once again, thinking I had done everything within my power. Still, I couldn't help but self-deprecate, wondering why I always said the wrong things.

On the other side of the phone, I could only imagine how fed up Julia was. We hated each other our entire lives, and when she finally gave me an out, I continued to meddle in not only her life, but her friends as well. That's how pathetic I truly was.