So, with this chapter I officially kick One of the Boys off! Enjoy. 

The doors slam shut in the hall as the last person walks in. Her head is down, and she doesn't meet any gazes of envy as she starts to thread her way through the crowds. She knows she's late, and she came on purpose. Not to show off. Not to stand out. But because she has something to prove tonight.

Seeing her like this, no one knows who it is. But envious glances are cast her way anyway, since her dress is the best and most beautiful in the room. Her nails are long but not fake, and delicately manicured. Her hair floats behind her, styled beautifully, and her skin seems to glow in the white light of the large room.

She can hear the whispers - oh, she's heard plenty of whispers in her life. But she's used to it. And when her identity is revealed, everyone will turn on her. But she's used to it, and, this time, she's got someone to help her through it.

Suppressing the small twist of fear she feels at the thought that the one who will help her may not even want to help her anymore, she continues to walk elegantly through the clusters of people.

As she lifts her head, everyone can see the small, delicate, almost butterfly-like mask that rests on her face, but they don't get to see it for long as she picks her way effortlessly through the crowd.

It's hard to keep a brave face, but she's done it all her life, and tonight is one of the easiest times. Actually, it's becoming harder for her to keep a straight face, especially imagining everyone's expression when they realize who she is.

The back of her dress trails behind her, almost on the floor, bride-like, while the front is cut short, showing off her long, tanned legs. Her shoes raise her above the crowd, only fortifying her image of a queen amongst her subjects.

Unsurprisingly to the crowd, the beauty heads straight towards the Three. It's a hard move for her, heading towards them so directly. The three boys who've ruined her life. The boy who's been in love with her for so long. The boy she's in love with. The two boys who have no clue what's going on.

She smirks a tiny bit, placing a hand on his shoulder. He turns with a jump, his eyes widening in recognition. "Z-" She doesn't wait a moment longer, instead grabs his jacket lapels and pulls him into a kiss.

He's out of breath when they pull away.

"Zoe." He whispers. "Oh my god, Zoe, Zoe, you were-"

Without answering, she pulls him into another long kiss.

"Woah, Seth." She hears behind her, a coarse voice that she knows all too well. "Who's the girl?" There's a chuckle. "I would totally tap that." Seth reaches up, ignoring him, to cup her cheek, making her mask fall off.

She finally pulls away, looking down at the floor, then up at him again.

"Zoe, you weren't going to come, you haven't written all this time, oh my god. What are you going to do now?" He whispers hurriedly. "Zoe, I can't believe you're here, you've ignored me all summer, I-"

"I got it." She lifts her head, turning to face the other Two. "Thank you, Luke." She says, her voice barely a whisper, throwing him a dazzling smile.

His eyes widen until she thinks they're going to bulge out of his head, and then he reels back, falling with a thud.

I glance up at Seth, covering my gaping mouth with my hand, trying not to giggle. He, however, seems completely oblivious to what just happened to Luke. 

"Zoe, I... Zoe, you didn't want to come! You didn't want to do this." He says quietly, his hand finding mine.

"Hm." I reply. "You should have known that this was all I wanted, all al-"

"I think Luke just fainted." Someone calls out.

"I asked around about things, and I actually got in contact with Nate." I continue whispering to Seth. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Nate glance at me, then back at Luke.

"But Zoe- I can't believe this." He groans. "Uh, you look beautiful, but I... I just never thought you'd actually come."

"Aren't you pleased?"

"You left me to worry all summer long." He says. "I couldn't stop writing to you."

"I know, I know, but I thought that maybe this would be a way to repay you for everything, like... The shock factor." I bite my lip, wondering if Seth is actually angry at me for having turned up. At the moment, he just appears bewildered.

"Zoe, I just-" He sighs. "Thank you for coming. Honestly. I just didn't think- I didn't even imagine for one second that you'd go back on your word. But..."

I don't wait to hear what he says, instead looking behind me nervously. The crowd around us starts getting bigger and my confidence starts to dissolve with it. Caleb has knelt down next to Luke, who's sat up and is staring at me in wonder.

He mutters something to Caleb and they both go bright crimson. I laugh again, and Seth chuckles with me. Caitlyn, together with Zara and Evelyn, stalks up in front of me. She obviously doesn't dare touch me with Seth next to me, though.

"Huh." She says, eyeing both of us. "So, how long has this been going on for?"

"More than you would understand, Caitlyn. You've never been with anyone for more than a week, have you?" Seth snarls back at her. I'm surprised at how quick and surely he answers.

Her face contorts into anger. "What is this then, some kind of sorry show?"

Seth chuckles again. "Did you just hear what your brother said to Zoe?" He asks and I grin along with him.

"He said he'd tap that!" Someone shouts out from the crowd. By now, most people have congregated around us in a semi-circle type formation.

"Shall we prove it to them, Zoe?" Seth asks. "Since everyone seems to think this is a trick." He grins. "Even when Luke bare facedly admitted he'd have sex with you." He says that a bit louder, and out of the corner of my eye I see Luke, who's now regained his footing properly, going red again.

His arms slip around me, running down my back, settling on the small of my back. I let him dip me slightly before he leans in, connecting our lips. I lean up to meet him too.

It's our moment. Even though we're surrounded by people staring, and someone fainting, and a load of filming iPhone's, it's our moment. It's my moment to prove I'm more than what they've reduced me to in these years. It's Seth's moment to show off what he brought out in me.

When he finally pulls away my breathing is heavier, and so is his, but he looks happy, and I feel happy, and it's perfect.

"Before anyone says anything, or those photos go on social media, I want to say something. This is Zoe. This is the Zerd. Call her whatever. Sure, she's dressed up, but she's not wearing makeup, and she hasn't gotten a fake tan. None of us have ever seen her like this because we haven't tried. We haven't given her a chance."

He pauses. I can feel his heartbeat. It's perfectly steady. I wish mine was. Mine sounds like it's hardcore dancing at a disco.

"Yes, we are going out. And we've been going out for a quite a while. And anyone with a heart in this room will see what it means to both of us. You'll stop bullying Zoe. I'm not asking anyone to become her best friend or suddenly fall in love with her. I'm asking you to stop. Everything."

There's a very long silence in the room, and I feel Seth pulling me closer after his impromptu speech. I can't believe any of this. I should have understood that coming here tonight meant a change - but none of it had fully registered with me.

There's silence for a few moments before the room starts to divide. A mass surges towards me and Seth, and I'm scared for a moment, but they're moving to stand behind us. Next to us. Around us. They support us. Even Caleb has come.

The only people who seem to be hesitating, well, bluntly contradicting us, are Caitlyn, a group of her minions, and Luke, and a group of his minions.

Seth's grip tightens as he realises one of his best friends is not going to stick with him for this. I guess it's hard for him. But in all fairness, I think we both expected it. Luke would never go anywhere near me. He's always the one that hated me most, and I know he's going to be hating myself for saying what he said to me. I wish someone recorded it.

There's a tap on my shoulder and Eliza smiles at me. I gulp nervously, wondering if she's actually going to talk to me. "I saw it was you." She says quietly. "I've got Luke on camera."

My jaw drops. I'm not sure if I'm more shocked at the fact that she's talking to me or at the fact that she managed to record it. "No way! You really did?" She nods, showing me her phone. The video's not great quality, well, what do you expect from an iPhone, but you can hear what he says.

It ends just as I take my mask off, but it lasts long enough for the viewer to see Luke collapsing. "You. Are. Amazing." I say breathlessly. Seth leans over my shoulder so I can feel his hot breath on my neck.

"What happened?"

"Eliza filmed Luke." I say and he bursts out laughing too. I know that if the video is out in Seth's hands, it will be around the school in under an hour. So Eliza sends it to Seth, who puts it on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. Hell yes.

"You and I need to talk." Seth says as soon as the crowd around us dissolves slightly. I follow him through the room - terrified with every step I take - to an empty corridor. He closes the door, blocking out the loud music, and turns to face me. "What the fuck, Zoe?"

"Seth, I know I was a bitch during the summer-"

"You didn't answer a single text!" He exclaims. "You left me completely devastated, Zoe, I- I honestly thought that it was over, that you didn't want to see me again."

"Well, I apologise for deciding that I didn't want to have another year of being a sorry nerd." I reply, then take a step back, running my hands down my skirt. "I'm sorry, Seth. This is all too much."

"I know, I know." He sighs. "But you know, Zoe, I'm really glad you came. Even if I wasn't expecting it, and you fucking ruined my summer, I'm really happy you did come. Because you managed to turn things around yourself."

"Let's face it, Seth, if you hadn't been with me none of that would have gone down very nicely." I gesture to the doors behind us.

"That's not true. From the moment Luke said what he did to you, you'd already gained the support of like 70% of the room." Seth chuckles quietly.

"I just... Maybe it's just a one time thing, you know? Like when we go back Monday everything will be back to normal. I'm scared... It'll be like that."

"Zoe..." He shakes his head. "I don't even know what to think anymore. Everything is so messed up.

"I know, and I'm sorry." I sigh. "I know that I shouldn't have acted that way during the summer. I was very immature... but I was just worried. I don't know how things are going to go from now on, seriously. And I was terrified about coming."

"Things will go well from now on." Seth replies simply. "But you spoke to Nate?"

I nod slightly. "It was, uh, pretty awkward at first, but we both kind of got over it." I smile, thinking back to how nervous I was when I first found Nate's number and texted him. "And we sort of came up with a plan. He honestly doesn't mind me as much as I thought he would."

"So even if I hadn't been here or something- things still would have worked out for you?"

"No, no." I tell him quickly. "You were crucial. Without you... Well, I don't know if Nate would have cared enough to stand up for me the way you did, and things probably would have gone down differently. I only came because he promised me you would be attending. I wouldn't have risked it anyway."

Seth nods, leaning against the wall.

"I'm just... kind of shock, you know?"

"I'm sorry." I mumble.

"I'm not even angry or upset, Zoe, I'm just.... glad. I'm glad you came back. And I'm glad we did this, for both of us." He smiles, taking my hand gently. "And I know things will be different from now on."

A/N - PARTS OF THIS ARE SO CRINGEY I WANT TO CRY

ANYWAY OH MY GOD I hope you liked it! I was nervous about how this chapter was written because I really wanted to bring out the right emotions in both characters but I think it turned out okay in the end. Please leave me some feedback : I love comments!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. I'll be updating once a week or so as I have some pretty heavy editing to do on some parts. I'd also like to hit 60k on One of the Bullied soon so if you're here by accident GO READ THAT ONE FIRST!

See you soon!