AN: Homophobia warning for this chapter x
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Toni lay awake on the futon mattress on Dot's floor, thinking about Shelby.
She had decided to not to go home which she knew she would come to regret when she saw Carol tomorrow; or the next day, or week depending on how long Carol wanted to drag out the terrifying anticipation. The drive back to Dot's house was quiet, Toni didn't think the other girl had any idea how to respond to her admission. She hoped it worked, but she felt terrible that Dot now had to deal with this. She should have just kept everyone out of it.
Especially Shelby, who couldn't seem to drop it even when they were fighting. Something Shelby said was stuck in her head though. It had seemed like she was going to say something about her house. Or the people in it?
"Hey Dot?" Toni whispered in case she had fallen asleep.
Bedsheets rustled and Dot replied, her voice low, "Yeah?"
She debated whether or not she should ask, but decided she had to know. "What do you know about Shelby's home life? Like, her parents?"
"I thought you hated Shelby, she was crying when I pulled up tonight."
I had made her cry? Toni felt a pang of guilt at the revelation but played it down for Dot. "It's nothing, we were just arguing about the assignment."
"Half a mile away from her house?" Dot questioned.
"Well, she was trying to apologise to me. We get into these big fights until one of us eventually goes too far. We were not designed to be in the same room as each other."
"I think you two have more in common than you think."
"What could I possibly have in common with Shelby Goodkind?"
Dot paused before answering, "You both but up with bullshit that you shouldn't because you're afraid to be alone."
Andrew's rumoured infidelities sprung to mind making Toni feel bad for ever having brought them up, especially because she knew how it felt to be trapped in a hopeless situation. Shelby didn't need Toni to tell her that Andrew was a cheat, she already knew. How could she not? But why did she think that that she couldn't leave him? It was only a high school romance. The stakes weren't that high; unless there was more to the story.
Knowing Dot was right made Toni realise how badly she had treated Shelby. It wasn't as one sided as she let herself believe. "Whatever," Toni said nonchalantly, not wanting Dot to hear how much her comment had affected her. "You never answered my question."
"What question- Oh! Shelby's family is weird. Obviously very religious and strict. They're only allowed to have certain food and to wear certain things. I don't know if that has changed since 5th grade though." Dot paused in thought. "It is definitely clear where Shelby gets her homophobia from. Other than that they're perfect, as far as I've seen. Why do you ask?"
It was pretty much the answer she was expecting but she still couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't all that perfect and Shelby was about to tell her why. "She started saying something about her household but cut herself off. I don't know, it's probably nothing."
"Toni you are probably just projecting your own situation onto her. But if you're really worried I'll ask around."
Toni thought about it before coming to the conclusion that even though Shelby hated her and the feeling was mutual, she still didn't want to think about another person suffering in the way she was. "Yeah, actually. You're probably right, but I just don't want to let it go yet."
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Sunday flew by without a hitch. Carol didn't bring up her absence, but she knew her well enough to know that it wouldn't be dropped just like that. It gave her time to go out and buy some more make-up, meet up with Regan then work on the assignment by herself for a few hours.
By the time Monday rolled around, Toni was feeling much better than Saturday. She felt like she had a little bit of control back.
Regan picked her up from school at their spot around the corner. Everything with Regan was so easy. They never talked about heavy stuff, they had loads in common and there were never any awkward silences. It was essentially perfect.
They kissed and parted ways when they reached the school.
Toni didn't realise until today that she shared first period math with Andrew.
Goes to show how little attention she paid to that class considering he was loud and obnoxious throughout the entire class. He threw things at the teacher and made fun of the people that were actually doing the work. How could Shelby date such a prick?
A thought dawned on her as she watched Andrew ball up the paper of the girl sitting next to him and throw it across the room, If he was like this at school, was he like this with Shelby? That was it, she was going to have to talk to Shelby about this because if there was more to the story than just infidelity, Toni couldn't stay out of it. She couldn't just watch someone being mistreated. The more he hassled the students around him the more Toni felt the control on her anger slipping.
The bell rang and Toni waited for Andrew in the hallway. He walked out, chatting to a friend until he noticed her waiting. "Oh, It's you," He said laughing, "The girl who got drunk and embarrassed herself at my party the other week."
That sounded familiar.
"Sure," Toni replied, her anger rising to the surface in less than a second, "And you're the asshole who can't seem to keep his dick in his pants."
The friends that Andrew had been talking to before whooped and egged on the fight, causing a few more people to gather around and see what was going on. Andrew looked elated with the attention. "Says the dyke sleeping with my sloppy seconds."
That couldn't be right. "I'm seeing Regan, you don't know her. She's new here."
Andrew looked like a hunter that had just caught an animal in a trap. His grin was somewhat malevolent as he arrogantly responded, "Ask her. We dated during summer. It's too bad she chose that sinful lifestyle, she was hot."
His confident smirk paired with the same judgemental words she had heard too often in the past ten days was the last straw for Toni. She snapped and swung right for his face.
He must have seen it coming because he caught her punch, pulled her down and kneed her in the ribs. She straightened up instantly; she could take the pain. it was worth it for a confrontation she could finally fight back in. This felt like control.
She swung again, this time nearly missing but just clipping Andrew's cheek. It couldn't have hurt but Andrew keeled over and plastered a distressed expression on his face. He looked up, and over Toni's shoulder said, "Miss, she's just attacking me out of nowhere."
Toni looked behind her and saw the English teacher, Mrs Whiting, standing with her arms folded in the crowd. If she had only just arrived then the circumstances did not look good for Toni. Her rage sunk back down, leaving her filled with dread instead. Her injuries were too old to pass off as Andrew's doing. There was no way anyone was going to believe that Andrew fought back because he had, as far as Toni recalled, never been in a school fight before. She, however, had been in more than she could count.
The thought of Shelby or Regan with that smug asshole made her want to ignore the teacher and strike while he wasn't expecting it; but she decided against it. She had already hindered her chances of rejoining the team today, why add to it? Good one Toni, She thought, way to prove to Coach that you've changed.
With no clear way out and no believable excuse for her actions, Toni hung her head and followed the teacher to the principal's office.
The meeting was short. It was just the same old speech about having to change her behaviour and how this was her last warning. This was probably her 6th last warning. She never did anything bad enough to get expelled but Principal Evans could never think of a better threat. At this point he should probably realise that it's like the boy who cried wolf. He lectured her about the money for the microscope but Toni could hardly pay attention. She was still reeling over the Regan, Shelby, Andrew situation.
So much for that easy relationship.