The Road Ahead (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 4 of The Hardships Saga)

Chapter Seventeen

❝rebel (pronounced ˈrɛb(ə)l or reb-il), noun
a person who rises in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or leader.❞

Ripped jeans, tank tops with skulls on them, and a black beanie over her choppy, short blue hair, makeup to cover up her freckles and an angry look in her outlined eyes.

Drew hated it.

He had loved her caramel hair, and her sweet eyes, and everything about her. Now, she was just... angry. Purely full of nothing but twisted thoughts and anger. Her heart was full of darkness, and so was she.

She never smiled anymore, and he could never make her smile, either. She didn't look at him, never laughed, never hugged him, nothing. The other thing that worried him immensely was her new relationship with Chad Gardner.

He watched as she marched up to him and began kissing him passionately in that way that he hated. He knew she hated that. He knew that she wasn't like that at all. But she had to do it. To rebel against Hunter. To rebel... against who she was supposed to be. Who she really was.

Elle glanced over and noticed Drew. But before she could say anything, Chad sauntered up with that knowing gleam in his eye. "Hey, man. What're you staring at my girlfriend for?"

"No reason," he mumbled.

Chad slammed his hand against the locker, making him jump. "Well, get used to it. She's mine, you jumped up freak. Sitting there with that laptop and typing all day..."

"Piss off," he said, closing his locker and walking away.

"You'd better stay away from her, mate, or there'll be trouble!" yelled Chad after him, and he felt pure anger rush through his body in a hot wave. No, he thought to himself. You'd better stay away from her.

Drew just knew that Elle didn't like Chad as much as he liked her. Chad wasn't her type. He was too much of the physical, not enough of the emotional. All he ever did was snog her, and he knew it drove Hunter mad. Ryan, too, was teaching again, and she didn't approve at all.

Drew walked into his class with her. "Hey, Ryan."

Ryan sighed. "Going after her again, Drew? You know there's no point."

"How do you know?"

"I'm not just a teacher. I'm... well, I like to think I'm her mother." She sighed. "Hunter didn't sleep last night either. I'm just very, very tired."

"Hmm." He sat down and opened his laptop, beginning to type away at his story.

Ryan sighed slightly. She and Hunter had been trying for a baby without much success. They were only a month in, but even so, it was annoyingly painful to go about it. Hunter was still struggling with the fact that Elle no longer cared for him as her father, and he was withdrawn most, if not all of the time.

She sighed slightly to herself. It was hard for all of them. They were all suffering.

Some more than others.

<><><><><><><><>

Drew marched up to Elle furiously as she sat in the library. "Can I talk to you?" he asked roughly, and walked away before she could respond. She frowned, standing up and following him. They walked to a secluded spot behind the school, where most students didn't go, and he frowned glaring at her.

"You don't like Chad."

"What's it to you?"

"You're my best friend, and I won't allow-"