U fucked bad
Flashback:
"Mia Jensen, am I right?" Asked the older woman on the other side of the door.
"Yes, that is me."
"Oh come in sweetie, Hannah is in her room, down the hall." She told the blonde skinny girl. Mia walked down the hall just like Mrs.Baker told her, she stopped in front of the door of her bedroom for a couple of seconds.
"You can come in Mia," Told the brunette.
"Hey. I'm sorry for just coming to your house without warning you about it, it was kinda last minute decision." Apologized the blonde, walking and closing the door to Hannah's bedroom.
"No, it's totally fine." Hannah turned around in her chair to face Mia, her hair was shorter but that wasn't news to Mia she had already seen Hannah's new haircut.
"I haven't told you but it really suits you, the haircut" She commented.
"Thanks, it was also last minute decision."Joked the Baker girl "Why did you come here?" Asked Hannah after a few seconds.
Why did she come here? She has been asking herself that question for the past fifteen minutes.
"Honestly I don't know. I was with the boys, but I guessed I sometimes need a little girl's time, someone to blur out all my problems but that will help me deal with them in a rational way" She tried to chuckle at the end of her sentence, to make it less sad.
It didn't matter though, Hannah could tell her words were real.
"Is everything okay?" She asked, moving from the chair she was into the bed where Mia was also sat on.
"It's just that the boys are at the blue spot getting wasted, and I didn't feel like staying there" Mia explained herself.
"Why do you even hang out with them? It's pretty obvious you don't really have the need to do it."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, that you are the popular girl Mia. You can hang out with anyone because everyone in our school would love that. So why do you spend your time with them?"
"They are my best friends Hannah. They have been there in my worst moments, they were the ones I talked to first about the adoption, they were there when I started to have feelings for Monty, for when Monty first broke my heart. They were there the night those guys took advantage of me "She paused for a second to look at Hannah's face.
" They have always been there "She concludes.
"Well, that is what friends are for, right?" Asked Hannah "You know, I was never mad at you, things just got complicated and we never really talked after "
"Yeah, I guess I am not used to the whole having friends that are girls that really care" Hannah's eyes followed Mia as she got up to explore the room.
"What do you mean"
"You know, the guys never really have fights and when I have them with other girls I just ignore and let those friendships die. The curse of pretty much only having boys friends." Mia said as she approached the desk.
"I still don't get it" Hannah laughed.
"Nevermind-"She paused for a second" Oh Bryce is having a party in a couple of days, you should come with us".
"Nah, I am good" Denied Hannah the invitation.
"Oh come on Han. It's just a high school party, nothing bad can happen. Plus you know me, there is no reason for denying it" Smile the blonde.
"I will think about it Mia" The blonde girl smiled knowing Hannah would come to the party.
"Great"
End of Flashback:
How can someone pretend for so long that they are perfect
some people pretend for a day, a week, or a year but you
You have been pretending for your entire life Mia Jensen
Do you really think people around school believe in your fake smile
Your fake happiness, your fake perfect relationship
If you do then let me break the news to you
Most of us see right through your lies
The headphones in Clay's era played the second tape of his sister. Mia Jensen. He knew the girl had changed through the years, but to the point where she lead a teen girl to end her life? That was tragic.
The bond they used to have used to be so pure, so full of life and siblinghood but now all that was the rest of it was memories. For them to share a few words or sentences needed a tragic event to happen.
And with his mind filled with thoughts of his sister, he wondered where was she? She left in her own car, and he thought she was driving to school but since he arrived he hasn't seen her.
That was because she wasn't at school, Mia was in Monet, the coffee shop a couple of blocks away from her high school. In that cafe was she, Marcus, Courtney, Zach, Ryan, Alex, and later joined Tyler.
For the past minutes they have been there Mia haven't shared a word, when they got in she asked for a hot coffee on the balcony but other than that not a word left her mouth.
She felt uncomfortable in the middle of them, they weren't members of her usual friend group, they were just people that all together helped a girl kill herself. Not the greatest way of meeting them.
"But, what is the story exactly?" Asked Alex to Courtney.
"Hannah was a liar. She was jealous and emotionally unstable. And she thought everyone was out to get her" Explained Courtney, thinking she was actually being reasonable.
"Aren't you describing yourself?"
"We tried to be her friend. We did but she blamed us when things go wrong, she was the one with problems."
"That is the story?" Interfered Zach
"What would you say?" Questioned Marcus, did Mia say that she hated him and Courtney?
"I say, it doesn't matter what I say. Clearly, there are three people that aren't even here right now, that can say what the fuck they want" Interfered again Zach.
"Where the fuck are Jessica and Justin ?" Asked Marcus this time, only now acknowledging they weren't there.
"They weren't in school" Tyler spoke. Mia, Alex, and Zach share a look, that got the other teen's attention.
"What?" Courtney asks looking between the three.
Mia moves uncomfortably in her seat as Zach starts to speak "Justin went to Bryce's house the last night and he freaked because Jessica was flirting with Bryce and he called Bryce a rapist and told Jessica everything in the tapes was true."
Silence fills the group till Marcus opens his mouth cursing under his breath.
"No fucking way"
"Monty and Jaimie and others heard everything-"
"Wait, wait, wait" Cuts Courtney Zach "They heard? They know about the tapes?" She asked, Mia, rolled her eyes at her.
"Monty already knew," Mia says, making all eyes on her "What? He is my boyfriend, were you expecting me to hide that from him, fuck no"
"Justin didn't go into details about the tapes, no. But they all heard Justin calling him a rapist and that Hannah had said the truth" concluded Zach.
"Good for Justin, Bryce is a rapist" Ryan spoke.
"If you believe Hannah" Courtney commented.
"Seriously! Courtney, you are a girl and you are saying that shit"
"Courtney, stop with that fucking bullshit. Justin confirmed all that we needed to know. Bryce raped, Hannah was a victim and we didn't believe her when she came looking for help" Whisper shouted Mia.
"Hannah lied, we know this," She said, trying to prove her point.
"I don't know that," Ryan said.
"Yeah, me neither. And if you are so sure about her lies, what were these lies? Because the night I caught you two was facts, the Sheri accident that killed Jeffy was facts, and all the shit she said about me were facts. The shit about Tyler here happened. So tell me where did she lie?" Mia shouted again.
"The night she killed herself, did you really see her that night as she said?" Questioned Courtney shouting also at the girl across from her on the table.
"Yes Courtney, I saw her that night," Mia responded eyes fixed on the girl across from her.
"Oh" Mumbleed the girl.
"Yeah, so can we now discuss what we are going to do? For real this time?" It wasn't really a question, everyone at that table knew that they really needed to discuss the current situation they were in.
"We turn him in" Spoke Tyler among the others. Mia who for the longest time couldn't even hear him from across a street was now actually willing to listen to him "Bryce is dangerous. I don't get why we are still protecting him"
"We aren't" Ryan and Mia said at the same time. From everyone at that table, Mia considered Ryan the least one that hurt Hannah. And somewhere in the middle of always hating herself in private, she thought he would be the last one to judge her.
"We are protecting ourselves" Marcus Cole spoke across from Ryan, it was bullshit he was only trying to protect himself. He didn't care about others, he only cares about him "I applied early to admit to Columbia, and Zach got scholarships. Mia is practically in UCF at this point and Ryan I know you got big plans." He mentioned everyone's plan at that table " Courtney? Alex?"
"I've got no plans. I am good, to tell the truth," Alex admits leaning against the chair.
"Just because Hannah fucked her life, doesn't mean she has to fuck ours" Mia looked at Zach as he spoke. Mix feeling she felt as every word left his mouth. Her emotions were a total mess right now.
"Hear me out. If Clay gave the lawyers our names and Justin is running around saying everything on the tapes is true, then it's only a matter of time until we're all screwed. But if we can get ahead of it-" Tyler was cut off by Mia.
"But my brother didn't give the names to the lawyer." The eyes were all on her now, obviously, none of them believe her. With a mom that is a lawyer and a brother whom she barely speaks, no one would believe her.
"What do you mean Tyler?" They ask not even trying to believe Mia's truth.
"What if we confirm Hannah's stories about Bryce?" He pauses for a second looking at everyone at that table confused faces "What if we gave the school their scapegoat? They have someone to blame. The Bakers have someone to charge with a crime. Then whatever we did doesn't matter that much".
"So you want to sacrifice Bryce to save your own ass?" Marcus Cole asks. Oh does that strategy seems familiar Cole Mia wondered.
"Yeah, of course."
No one said a thing after Tyler's confession. The idea didn't sound totally awful, but still, it wasn't an easy decision for them to make.
"The Bakers are broke right" Mia confirmed to Ryan "And Bryce's family has the money to make this all go way?" Again another confirmation from Mia's side.
"Nothing we did compares to what he did," Courtney says.
"Except for ignoring an explicit help request"Mia mumbled, eyes focused on the coffee in front of her.
"What do you mean M?" Zach asked the girl, but after receiving no response they continued the conversation.
"You are gonna defend Bryce?" Zach asks Alex.
"No, but aren't you? And Mia and your whole little group? You guys have been doing it for weeks now"
"Fuck you, Alex. No, we haven't. We just didn't want to blow up this" Zach defended, not only himself but Mia that was still quiet in the seat.
"Well boom"
"Justin let Bryce do it, then lied. Justin will go to jail too."
"Justin is my best friend. Do you think he gives a shit about me right now?" rhetorical question from Zach.
"Do you give a shit about him?"
"What about Jessica? Doesn't she get a say?"
"She should have answered when I called" Courtney responded.
"She is fragile right now. For weeks people have been lying to her about that fucking party. She might not act like herself" Mia spoke looking Courtney in the eyes.
"I can't imagine Jess won't want Bryce in jail for life," Tyler says looking at Mia.
"She will, but before she has to admit that actually happened to her. And I am not sure she has yet" Mia responds to Tyler.
"Wanna know what is worse than a rapist? Hidden behind one. Fucking justifying a fucking rapist, that's worse. Do you want to get the story straight? We all know the story. Everything Hannah said on those tapes was true" Alex the only one at that table with sense spoke.
"You are gay, so what?" He said to Courtney "Tyler, you are a stalker. Ryan, you are an arrogant asshole. Zach, you're just an entitled idiot who does cruel, stupid things even though you probably have a decent heart. Mia, you are selfish and too scared about your past that you try to ignore by putting others down so you can feel a little better about yourself. And Sheri is a coward that got a kid killed"
"Alex that is enough" Marcus spoke before Alex could start to shame him.
"No Marcus, you will do anything to keep your perfect reputation. And yeah, I am fucking weak and pathetic loser who ruined the only good thing I ever had because I wanted a rapist to think I was just like him. Hannah was my friend." He paused looking in Mia's direction.
"And she was your friend too Mia, you know she was. We should tell the truth about her because I know that if I had still been friends with her if any of us had still been friends with her, she would be alive".
Alex's words were painful and complicated to be heard but also were very needed. They needed to hear them so they could do the only correct thing.
"So we tell the truth," Zach says over the silence.
"Truth doesn't just land on Bryce" Marcus Cole says looking down at the table.
"So let the truth land on us" Ryan mentions "I published a poem. A fucking good and meaningful poem."
"I didn't mean to tell the truth about everything" Tyler Down panics.
"Why not Tyler, got any more secrets you are trying to hide?" Wondered Mia out loud.
"You can do whatever you want. No one gonna believe you. People will just laugh at you like they always do" Courtney spits.
"What moral do you have to talk about Courtney? Do you think people around the school respect you? You only stopped being called loser Court the moment we started to talk in school hallways. So let me ask you again, what moral do you have to talk about?" People can say many things about Mia Jensen, but one thing no one can say is that she let bullies bully. Because she always tried to end bullies once she gets an opportunity.
"Hannah's truth is not my truth. No way!" Courtney looks Mia in the eyes as she spokes, and the Jensen girl sees something that wasn't there before.
"What are you so afraid Courtney? No one really cares if you are gay or not. You don't have to come out for it to be real"
"It's easy for you to say when you are Mia Jensen. When you kiss other girls or fantasize about them no one cares, because you are Mia Jensen, and it's hot when you do it. But me? They look disgusted when I do it." Courtney admits, still holding the yes contact with the blonde across from her.
"You are so focused on me, and what people think when I do it. That you don't even allow yourself to try Courtney. That is your mistake." Even if she tried she couldn't force a smile to appear on her lips.
You once told me that every woman wears a mask
At first, I didn't think you wore one but little by little
I started to see a side of yours that I didn't know
One day you were the happiest girl on the planet
the next day you were quiet and almost timid
the day after you looked mad and full of anger
And day after day you kept on having different moods
The signs were there but I didn't see them
I was so focused on the relationship you had that I made the reason
That night I wanted every reason I could find to stay
You told me to go to the party and I went
You told me to have fun and I tried to have
You told me to go on the jacuzzi and I did
I did everything that I could think of to make you look at me
To make you see me, but you never did
Not when he was by your side, but even when he wasn't he was all you talked about
Monty this, Monty that and I admit
Now I admit
I was jealous and I made that the reason
The only reason
Flashback:
Bryce's party night
Like always she said goodbye to her parents and promised to let them know if she was sleeping in Bryce's or not, if she wasn't she would go back home not too late. Streets at night were more dangerous and especially to her- she was a girl. There were certain fears that only girls would know and walking at night alone was one. However, she promised that wouldn't happen, and it never did.
In her long white skirt, paired with a white top she made her way to Montgomery's truck. She put the bag she carried with necessary things in case she spent the night over in the back seats and right after went to her passenger princess seat.
"Hello, gorgeous" Montgomery De La Cruz the hot-headed jock of Liberty High School greets his girlfriend, the couple shared a kiss that had the power to numb both teens.
"You staying the night over at Bryce's?" Asked the muscular boy.
"Only if it gets too late to come back home" She explained.
"We can go to my place later, my father is out" He smirked while she smiled. Mia hated Monty's father, she swore if she was a little bit taller and stronger she would fight him, but unfortunately, she wasn't. And if he hurt Montgomery that bad she believed he could kill her.
Bryce's house, besides Mia's, was the only other they could spend time together. His house was not a happy place to stay, the only times they actually went there are when his father is not around. Montgomery doesn't want Mia close to that man. She told him once that if he wanted they could go there, and she would stay in his room the whole time, but Montgomery was too afraid of his father to even look at her and have second thoughts. So he never let her even meet him.
"Sounds like a plan" She smiled and kissed the boy on the lips one last time.
The things that were about to happen at that party didn't even crossed Mia's mind. It was just a party, a party in one of her best friends' house nothing bad could happen. Bryce could be a mess sometimes but the people he let inside his house were known, they could never hurt anyone, and it was a safe place.
Or so she thought! But obviously, you never think that one of your closest friends is the one person you should fear the most...