star | matt champion

fifteen

Matt's POV:
"matt sweetie your running late for school" my mother said as she entered my room, waking me up. i rolled over and grabbed my phone from my beside table to check the time. it was 9am.

i jumped out of bed and got ready quicker than i ever have before, then rushed to school. "late again mr. champion. one more time and that means detention" the office lady said. i nodded my head and signed in.

i walked to english class, sitting in between dom and addilyn. "what happened to your neck?" i asked addilyn as i took my book out of my bag.

"kelsey hit me, she punched me in my throat, slapped me, kicked me, everything. she ripped off the star necklace too" addilyn said, on the verge of crying.

"seriously? kelsey did this? i can't believe it, what's gotten into her" i said, rubbing addilyn's back.

"i don't know matt... kelsey's a straightforward person but i don't think she could do that much harm to someone" dom whispered to me.

"addilyn wouldn't lie to me" i said.

"you can't be too sure, remember when you guys were dating ? she'd do anything to stop girls from talking to you" dom said.

"but we're not dating anymore, things could be different. i mean kelsey hates my guts and the feeling is quite mutual, i wouldn't be surprised if she actually did that to her" i said.

———

class finally finished and lunch rolled over. i headed to the vending machine to get a bottle of water and made my way to where romil, merlyn, joba, ian, dom and ciarán we're sitting.

"addilyn, come!" i yelled as i saw her looking around for somewhere to sit. she smiled and walked over, sitting next to me.

"woah what happened addilyn?" ian asked, looking at her neck.

"kelsey hit me" addilyn replied.

"i hate her" i mumbled.

"when was this?" ian asked.

"yesterday"

"but she was at the movies with chris ? ciarán and i saw her" ian said, ciarán nodding his head.

"i guess after she watched the movie, she walked down from that direction" addilyn said.

"wait, she went with chris?" i interrupted. ian and ciarán nodded. "you're joking right? you have to be joking" i said, trying to deny the fact that kelsey was with him.

"i wish we were matt" ciarán said.

"oh no, don't turn around" merlyn said. i turned my head to see chris approach me. "i said don't turn!"

"walk off before i beat your ass like what i did at camp" i said, standing up from my seat.

"what's up with you and kelsey ?" chris asked.

"why does everyone want to know about kelsey and i, it's none of your business" i said in frustration.

"i kissed her yesterday and she said she couldn't do this. there has to be a reason why and you're definitely it" chris said.

"you what?" i said.

"hold matt" joba said. i felt romil, joba and merlyn try to pull me back, they knew i wasn't happy.

"don't touch kelsey" i said, throwing a punch at chris' face.

"oh my god!" addilyn squirmed, standing up from her seat so she wouldn't get hurt. "matt stop!" she said, trying to help romil, merlyn and joba seperate me from hitting chris.

nothing they did could stop me. i was filled with anger.

———

Kelsey's POV:
i heard people yelling from the other side of the cafeteria. i looked over, and saw dom run towards me.

"kelsey, we need you" he said.

"what's happening?" i asked.

"it's matt, he's in a fight with chris again" dom said, gently pushing me towards them.

"dom there's nothing i can do-"

"kelsey last time matt was in a fight with chris he stopped because you were holding onto him. he didn't want you to get hurt. if you try to stop him again he'll listen, just for you" dom said, cutting me off.

"okay" i nodded.

i rushed over there to see everyone trying to seperate matt and chris. it seemed like nothing would help but i decided to listen to dom.

"m-matt" i stuttered. he couldn't hear me over everyone's voices. "matt!" i yelled, pulling his arm away from chris. he looked up to his right, staring me in the eyes. for a second it felt like i didn't recognise him. it seemed like he was a different person, but after that moment passed, the matt i knew came back.

"kelsey" he said. he looked down, and saw chris with a bruised eye and cuts across his face. he stood up and looked around, seeing all the attention he had brought. immediately, he ran off. "matt" i said, following after him.

"wait up, please" i yelled, grabbing onto his hand. he turned around, and kept his eyes to the ground. "matt are you okay?" i asked, placing my hand on his cheek. he stood there, emotionless. i grabbed his arm and dragged him into the janitors closet. "being in here is so cliche" i muttered.

i grabbed a clean towel from one of the shelves and turned on the tap, soaking it in warm water. i dabbed it onto matt's face where he had a few cuts as he sat down on the floor. "please talk to me" i said, placing the towel on my lap.

"i'm sorry" he said, still looking down at the floor.

"matt, i hate being like this. i hate knowing there's something bad between us" i said.

"i do too. listen kelsey" he looked at me, "i had a good time at the carnival. i loved it, every second of it. i've never been happier. spending all that time with you made me realise how special you are. i never wanted to hurt you and it kills me knowing that i have" his eyes began to water.

"you mean a lot to me, i can't lose you" he continued, a tear falling from his eye.

i wiped it away with my thumb. "i'm sorry for not giving you the chance to explain everything"

"kelsey can i ask you something? two things actually" he said, wiping both of his eyes. i nodded my head. "did you hurt addilyn? and did you like the kiss with chris?" he asked curiously.

"i hated the kiss with chris. he wasn't you" i said. "and i never hit addilyn. i only ripped the necklace you gave me off her. ian and ciarán explained the whole situation of her taking it" i continued.

he nodded his head. "one more question" he said.

"yes?"

———

a/n: cliffhanger 🤭