I Really Wish I Hated You

Famous Last Words

Stalking closer to Aileen, leaning down so his face was right in front of hers, Eddie laughed. "How am I supposed to believe that, Gareth. Look at her." Pushing him away, Aileen gave Eddie a tight grin. "What's that supposed to mean?" Motioning toward her body, Eddie sneered, "What I mean is, the Aileen I knew was a cry baby. A scared little rabbit. Yet you stand before me looking as though you want to scratch my eyes out. The Aileen I knew was a scrawny little twig. You're body has a decadence to it." Her face flushing, Aileen turned her face away from Eddie. Clearing her throat, hating that he was getting to her, Aileen rolled her eyes, ignoring his comment about her body because she didn't know how to take it. "A lot can change in almost ten years, Munson. I mean, Christ, look at you."

Holding his hands up, Jeff stepped forward, looking at Aileen, confusion on his face. "Wait, I'm lost. You two know each other?"

"We were friends briefly when we were kids. Before someone decided to become an asshole."

Giving a malicious chuckle, Eddie narrowed his eyes on Aileen once again. Lifting her chin to look up at him, Eddie sneered, "Friends? We were never friends. You were an annoying little brat that followed me around like a lost dog. And you know what? I always think that one of my biggest regrets was helping you out that day. If I had known what a pain in the ass you would have turned out to be, I would have never saved your ass. I never wanted to be your friend. You meant nothing to me."

At that last comment from Eddie, Aileens eyes widened. The other members of Hellfire looked at him in shock too, not believing that something so hurtful had come from him. Drawing her hand up, Aileen slapped Eddie across the face, a tear falling from her eye. Wiping it away quickly, not wanting him to see how he had gotten to her, Aileen shook her head. "I hate you. God, I hate you so much, Eddie Munson. I...I have to get out of here." Picking her bag up, wiping her eyes again, Aileen threw a sad smile to Jeff. "Thanks for inviting me to join in on your club, Jeff. But I don't think this is going to work out. I'll see you in class on Monday. Gareth, I'll see you later. And it was nice to kind of meet the rest of you." Taking one last look at Eddie, who was currently holding his hand against the cheek she had slapped, Aileen turned and quickly left the club room.

After the door closed after Aileen, Jeff and Gareth looked at Eddie, their eyes full of disbelief. "What the hell was that, Eddie?" "Aileen's a nice girl, why would you say something like that to her?" As the two of them berated him with questions, Eddie ignored them. He hadn't meant to say that. He didn't even mean it. The resounding pain from her hand upon his face continued to sting but he didn't notice it. Continuing to ignore the questions that were being thrown his way, Eddie held his hand up. "Enough. We're done for the night. Everybody get out." When more questions were thrown his way, Eddie turned on his heel and rushed through the doors. He needed to chase Aileen down. He knew what he said was wrong. And despite his anger towards her, he needed to apologize. Looking both ways down either end of the hallway, Eddie saw her figure at the far end of the hall to the left of him, hunched over, her face in her hands. Jogging over to her, as he got closer, his heart betrayed him when it sunk at the sound of her cries.

Cautiously walking closer to her, Eddie reached out his hand and rest it on her shoulder. Looking up from her hands, Aileen smacked his hand away, turning to leave. Grabbing her hand, Eddie called out, "Wait...hold on a second."

"Let go of me!"

Releasing her, Eddie held his hands up, taking a step back. "Alright. Just, hear me out, Princess..."

"Don't call me that! I am not your princess!"

"Alright, alright. Jesus, sorry. Aileen, listen..."

Her eyes were filled with rage as she looked at him. What more could he possibly have to say to her? In what ways could he hurt her more? Taking a deep breath, wiping the tears from her eyes, Aileen shook her head. "No. Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it. You know, when I came back...I was so sure I wasn't going to have to see you again. It was the one thing I was positive about. So you can imagine my surprise when I find that you're still here. After everything you did...after the heartbreak you put me through...I was looking forward to never seeing you again."