ᴀᴅ ᴍᴇʟɪᴏʀᴀ ~ ᴅᴘꜱ (ꜱᴛᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴍᴇᴇᴋꜱ)

8 - double trouble

Note to self: Next time I see Cameron, I need to ask for those medical journals he scolded Amy about. Something about smoking being bad?

As I find myself once again growing lightheaded from Amy and Charlie's second-hand smoke behind the English department, part of me wants to attribute it to my lack of sleep and the increasingly frigid temperature that's come early this year.

"-head over heels. He's got it bad, Amy. Worse than with Suzy," Charlie insists.

Amy taps the ash off of her cig and gives the boy a bewildered look. "That's not possible. Knox was a mess over that girl."

"Yeah, I thought so too. That's nothing compared to this." He pauses to attempt to blow smoke rings. He fails miserably but unsuccessfully tries to play it off. "He's only seen her twice, and one of the times, get this, she was with her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" I interject.

Charlie grins and glances to Amy. "Wow, it speaks."

She snickers and I immediately regret my comment.

"I'm kidding, Ives," he reassures. "Yeah, it's wild. Her name's Christine, I think, and she's 'practically engaged' to this huge football player named Chet. Knox's words, not mine."

"That's not gonna end well," Amy says.

"Oh, trust me. I know. I just want to see it play out."

"Evil. You're evil, Dalton." Amy nudges Charlie's shoulder.

"And yet you keep coming back, Drewitt."

"Yeah, I wonder why, genius." She waves the cigarette in his face. "How's about you look for some Camels next time, I'm getting sick of these Marlboros."

"Beggars can't be choosers."

Amy and Charlie bicker back and forth, seemingly forgetting my presence yet again. I start to mess with the hem of my skirt before my ears pick up on the sounds of approaching footsteps. I look up to see the silhouette of a hefty woman coming towards us.

"Guys- hey-" I try to gain their attention. They continue to argue until I reach out and tap Amy's shoulder.

"What- Oh. Shit. Shit, shit..." Amy breaks out of her haze and panics, throwing down her cig and slapping Charlie's out of his hand.

"Hey, what the f-" The boy's sentence falters as he makes eye contact with the figure.

Before I can process their reactions, Amy grabs my arm and shouts:

"Run!"

My feet are removed from under me as Amy yanks me around the corner, Charlie following closely on our heels.

We follow the zig-zag of the buildings and alleys for multiple blocks. After a few minutes, my lungs start to ache and the cold night air only adds to the pain. I consider voicing my discomfort, but Charlie beats me to it.

"Amy- I think- shit- I think we lost her..." Charlie spits out through pants. "Or you're about to lose me, at least."

Amy halts, sending me crashing into her. We stumble but Amy recomposes herself quickly. I'm not so lucky.

"Are you sure?" she asks, peering around the corner into the dark street. Quiet settles around us, everyone bracing themselves for the worst.

I break the silence. "I don't hear the footsteps."

Charlie sighs. "Thank god."

"Goddamn Duvall, why can't that witch just stay in her tower..." Amy mutters, finally allowing herself to catch her breath. "There's no way we're getting past her at Maxine. She's gonna be waiting for us."

I sigh, flattening out my skirt and wrapping my jacket closer to my body. "We're screwed."

Charlie stands quiet, choosing silence for the first time since I'd met him.

Amy gives him a pointed glare. "Don't act sympathetic. You can go, Dalton. You've got a curfew to keep."

He starts to respond, opening his mouth and raising his arm, but stops himself. He sighs and reaches into his pocket, producing an unopened pack of Camels.

"I was gonna surprise you, but..."

Amy's stare softens slightly, taking the box and nodding at the boy.

He returns the gesture and turns, offering us a weak "goodnight" before departing.

Amy and I stand there for a moment, letting the reality of our situation sink in. Eventually, Amy loops her arm in mine and we begin the slow walk back to our dorm.

Halfway through our walk back (or so I assume, I'm not entirely sure where we are,) Amy says, "I'm not too worried about what she'll do to me. I've gotten caught smoking before. But you... and with a boy...."

I tighten my grip on her arm. "I've snuck out of Duvall's grasp for years, I can do it again. Seriously, it's ok."

"Maybe she didn't even recognize us."

I doubt it, but I know Amy's just trying to help, so I agree.

"Maybe."

-

Our fate finally catches back up to us at the doors for Maxine Residential Hall. We both take a deep breath, Amy leading through the doors, me following behind. We trudge up the three flights of stairs and swing open the door to immediately face Ms. Duvall.

"Ladies," she says, an awful sneer creeping into her tone. "Out a bit late, aren't we?"

The teacher's eyes look between Amy and me, finally settling in my direction.

I gulp.

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sorry this chapter is kind of short, i knew the next part would take a while to write out and i'd rather have 2 medium-lenth chapters than one crazy long one. forgive me mi amors <3