Chapter 27
"Clarisse, are you ok?"
Scarlett asks me this with honest concern, studying me across the lunch table with her gray-green eyes.
"Yeah." I lie, making another stab at my chicken nuggets. But to be totally honest, I am not. Not at all. I feel like a prisoner about to be led to the guillotine or something, just knowing that death is only a few feet away.
Because Abel's table somehow managed to be right beside ours.
Now I know what you're thinking, 'what do you mean 'death'? He's a smexy god of deliciousness, how dare you compare him to a guillotine! (or whatever).' But I'm going to compare him to death because I'm scared to death right now. Absolutely petrified. Close to shitting a brick on my stupid little orange chair. Again, you probably ask why.
And the answer is I DON'T KNOW!!
Ok, that's a lie.
I'm frankly afraid of him because a) he's a smexy Godlike male of gorgeous proportions (like his chilling dark eyes, or that sexy smirk, and that marvelous body....ohmygod i need to shut up...) b) I think he was flirting with me yesterday (probably just my ridiculously active imagination, but he was acting a little differently...) c) I might have to show him my 'proof' of Flora wanting to kill me and d) he may not believe me (which going on my luck recently, most likely would happen).
And because I'm afraid, I'm also very pissed off.
I usually do not get frightened easily! Like ever! Dangle a spider in my face and I will squash it, shut the lights off and I will not care, and Halloween is just plain stupid to me. And yet here I am, sweating up a storm in my seat, just because Abel might come over to see my proof.
"Clarisse!" Scarlett's voice makes me flinch and I glare at her, wide-eyed (if that makes any sense).
"What?"
"Why are you freaking out?"
"I am not freaking out." That lie comes out as almost convincing.
Scarlett gives a pointed look at my hands and I look down. I'm clenching the collar of my shirt in an almost-shaking deathgrip. I let go and then don't know what to do with my hands again. Shit! They're practically shaking. I sit on them.
She smiles at me. What the hell!
"What're you smiling about?" I snap. This is not the time to be smiling!
Scarlett's grin turns catlike, and her eyes flash to Abel (who is sitting with his back to me on the table to my right) and back. "You're freaking out because you like him."
"Shhvvvsshhsshh!!" I sputter, panicked and outraged. He could hear her, and that would be embarrassing as hell. "I do not!" I hiss at her. I do find him gorgeous and often compare him to a sexy God who may have been born by a thunderstorm and might think he's one of the most delectable men I've ever seen in my life but that is beside the point! She is walking a very dangerous road right now!
Her catlike grin widens. "Suuuurrre." She stabs a chicken nugget on her fork and then says, "And you're also freaking out because he likes you too."
Again I go into shushing hysterics, attempting to quiet her ridiculous statements. Scarlett knows all about what happened Friday night and on Saturday because I called her on Sunday. I told her all about it and it actually felt kind of...good. To have someone to tell all this crap too. Usually I just end up rambling it all in my head like a moron. Calling her on Sunday had at first felt stupid, but I'd just had the urge to spill my guts...Maybe I'm finally acting like a teenage girl or something...
She'd been utterly appalled to find out that Sebastian made me go pick him up from the party, and she spazzed out when I told her that he spent the night...in my bed. She told me she didn't really know what to think of Sebastian. She doesn't really like him (which I completely agree to mwahaha), but for some reason she'd said something about how he might actually like me or some stupid nonsense (which is the most moronic idea in the world, he hates me about as much as I hate him).
And then she went into some stint on how cute Abel and I were.
And I was like: WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!
She has another stupid notion that Abel likes me. And she thinks its quite adorable, and she also says that it's so sweet that his grandma lives right next door to me. She told me that if I really wanted to hook him in I should start going over to help his grandma (the nosey old witch) or something.
If she wasn't my only friend, I'd kick her front of a minivan.
Suddenly there's movement to my right and I snap my peripheral vision over there. Most of the guys at Abel's table were getting up, and I watch as he did too. I didn't dare turn my head to watch him, but he disappeared and I was sure I could hear him walking away. I sighed. Thank you Lord....
The chair to my left pulls out with a squeal and I flinch so bad I bump my knees on the table.
Abel's eyebrows are raised and then he grins at me. "Jumpy?"
Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit...why didn't he just leave?! I scowl at him. "No."
He shakes his head at me and then sits down. As he does his arm brushes mine and I can feel the immediate blush that burns up my face. Son of a bitch! Why do I have to blush like a moron?! I sneakily scoot to the farther edge of my chair when something hits me hard in the shin.
"Mmf!" I grunt, trying to muffle the pain as I glare back at Scarlett. She's frowning at me like I'm doing something wrong and her kick was justified by that fact. The hell is her problem?
"Is this a...bad time?" Abel asks, and when I turn to look at him he's got this little smirk on his face. Jeezus why does he have to be so sexyyy??
"Nope." I hear Scarlett say, giving him a friendly smile, and he smiles back at her. He looks back at me, the playful smirk on his face again. "Actually," Scarlett begins, and I look at her curiously. "Farida had some questions for me because she missed some stuff in Anatomy, and I said I'd meet her after lunch." She stood up and my jaw unhinged itself as I realized that she was going to leave me. Alone. With Abel.
Deserter! My brain screams and I stare at her with the most betrayed and horrified look that I can muster (and still keep hidden from Abel). She nods at Abel, and then turns to me with one of those Evil-Best-Friend smiles. "I'll see you later Clarisse!" Then she walks off like a clueless parent who leaves their innocent child with the awful babysitter.
Ohhh! You traitorous...! Ugh! I want to get up and tackle her down to the floor, but I'm frozen to my chair. I can't believe she'd do this to me...
"Yoohoo..." Abel waves a hand in front of my face and I flinch away - because I don't want him to touch me! - gasping, and suddenly my chairs starts tipping back! The cafeteria blurs and my arms flail out while I try to fight gravity and continue to fail.
"Shit!" I yelp while my heart leaps up to my throat. Well this is fucking great, I'm going to crack my skull on the linoleum and splatter my brains out! Just as I really feel the chair start to really tip, it stops with a jerk, and my head bobs on my shoulders.
"Jeezus, maybe I should start calling you Clarisse the Clutz,"
Abel's breath is warm on my cheek as he speaks, and I now realize that he's the force that stopped my chair from tipping over. With a quick scan I see that his right arm is curved around the back of the chair, his hand gripping the edge of the seat, pretty darn close to my keister. The left corner of the back of the chair was pressing quite intensely into his shoulder, giving me a good guess at how close he was to me. I looked up. Yep, he's damn close.
Instead of my head cracking open and my brains splattering out, it just melted out through my ears.
Oh sweet Mother of God... His face is so close to mine and he's so friggin' hot... His eyes are such a dark dark color...even this close I can't tell whether they're black or brown, and his ridiculously dark and numerous eyelashes are distracting me. Jeezus Christ, its like he's got feathers on his eye lids! Shit, I'm sweating, and are my glasses fogging up?
"Clarisse...if you're trying to start a staring contest with me, its not working, because you're keeping shit for eye contact." Abel's voice takes me out of my ogling and I immediately lean away.
"I was not st-starting a staring contest-"
"So you were just staring at me?"
Caught red handed. "Noo!" I gasp, face and anger flaring up hotly. "I was...I was just st-still in shock."
Abel raises a dark eyebrow and smiles some more, which is enough to scatter my thoughts again. Dammit! I need to learn some self control. "You were still in shock from almost falling over or from me catching you?"
Hm...Which makes me sound less like an idiot... "A little bit of both."
He shakes his curly head and then suddenly shifts his body, slowly lowering the front of my chair down to the floor. I notice that my hands are clamped onto the sides of the chair like my life depended on it, and it took some effort to remove them. Jeez, surprised I didn't leave hand prints...
Once Abel was away from me, my thoughts cleared up (a little). Ok Clarisse, I think to myself, You just need to relax and take a deep breath. He isn't here to flirt with you (that stupid part of my brain deflates unhappily), he isn't here to torture you (my sarcasm: yeah. right.). He's only here for the proof that PugFace Flora Harkin is out to kill you. That. Is. All. So just breathe in and-
"Why are you in shock that'd I catch you?"
What? I blink at him. He just asked me a question. Like small talk. Or actually, a serious question. Did he sound...surprised?
"Huh?" <--my brilliant response.
"Were you really surprised that I caught your chair?" His expression was serious and actually a little...hurt? "You think I'd let you fall backwards and probably hurt yourself?"
Alriiigghhtyy, my brain just left the building. I mean, it melted out of my head because of his hottness but it literally just flew the coop now. The hell is he talking about? And more importantly, how am I going to answer?
Thinking about it, I realize that, Yes, I thought he'd let me fall back and hurt myself.
Not saying that he's a mean guy or anything (he kind of is....sort of...not really...but yea...) but I guess I hadn't expected him at all to help me. Frankly, I'm surprised when anyone helps me, so I'm not pinning him as a bad person. I'm just not used to anyone bothering to worry about me at all, me having once lived such a sweet, solitary life once *insert wistful sigh here*....that I kind of miss. All this bullshit is really messing with my mojo...
"Hey," Something taps my head and I yelp again (like a freaking chihuahua dammit...) and I involuntarily lash my hands out, sending my milk carton across the table.
"Son of a bitch..." I mutter, blushing furiously and shooting Abel a scowl. If the damn idiot wasn't scaring the crap out of me maybe I wouldn't be freaking out like a moron!
Abel grabs the napkin on my tray before I do, and starts mopping up the white spillage for me. He starts chuckling and I raise an eyebrow at him. Why do people laugh at me? I hate it! "Y'know, I think I am gonna start calling you Clarisse the Klutz," He says.
Ass! "Why the hell-!"
He holds up the sopping napkin and I shut my mouth. God dammit, stupid milk carton...
After wiping up what he can, he puts it on my tray and then places my tray way on the far side of the table. He sees my expression and grins. "Wouldn't want you knocking anything else over now would we?"
My stare is bleak and he laughs again.
"Now," He starts, looking at me with those dark dark eyes that literally make me feel like I'm falling....into a pit of insanity. "Before you had to go and make a mess, I asked you a question. I'd appreciate it if you'd answer me."
Oh yeah, that little deal about whether I thought he'd let me fall and hurt myself or something. "Well I don't know. Maybe..."
He nodded his head like he expected this answer, and something flashed across his face that I couldn't read. When he met my gaze squarely I glared at him, out of habit, and his expression was blank for half a second before he reacted, like my scowl had drug him away from deep thoughts. He scowled mockingly back at me though.
"You always look angry." He commented.
Well I'm always dealing with idiots like you and Sebastian, that's not my fault! I wanted to snap, but kept some control over myself. If I want this to go good, I shouldn't start shooting my mouth off (like usual). I looked away, hiding my scowl.
After a brief, awkward silence, Abel suddenly scoots his chair closer to mine (like, his-jeans-scuffing-mine kind of close). "Ok, why don't we get this show on the road here."
My brain blanks out because of his likeness to a brooding, thundercloud-born god. "Huh?" <- (seems to be my brilliant response to most things today)
"Y'know...the reason we decided to talk during lunch anyways?" He has this slightly sour smirk on his face, probably because its about whether his manic, Gorilla-like cousin is actually out to kill me or not. I can see the aggravation boiling under the surface of his gorgeous face. This obviously bothered him, but he was nevertheless here to hear me out.
"Oh...yea. Right." I fumbled for my phone on my pocket. I take it out and then quickly start trying to get to the video part of it (I barely use it, so I'm not used to having to get there).
I feel Abel lean closer, peeking over my shoulder. "Holy shit, is that seriously a Razor?"
Ugh...This is irritating and kind of embarrassing. I'm sure I've mentioned before how my parents refuse to get me a nicer phone, so I'm stuck with this ancient Razor that my Dad gave to me after he got a Blackberry. "Yea..." I mutter crossly.
"Jeezus, I didn't know they made these anymore!" I feel how close he is to me, his chin practically resting on my shoulder as he examines my old and stupid phone. My face starts to heat up and my thumbs begin to have difficulty running the device. Dammit dammit dammit, like he needs to see how affected I am by him...
l found the video, but hesitated before I clicked play. My heart starts drumming a little faster, but in fear of his reaction. I'm quite acquainted with his temper, and its one way to clear some constipation. "A-Are you ready?"
He takes a deep breath, and I can feel his chest pressing lightly against the back of my shoulder as he takes in oxygen. His exhale is warm against the side of my face, and my heart picks up more speed for something other than fear.
His voice is quiet when he answers. "Yeah."
I press the button.
--
As I dig through my locker, preparing for my classes after lunch, I expected to feel relaxed or satisfied. But no, I can't seem to shake the feeling of trepidation from before. I mean, for goodness' sake, I showed Abel the video now, what am I so worried about?
His reaction had been ok. The video is only 25.02 seconds long, so there wasn't much for him to take in. And watching it had given me an amount of security, because there wasn't anything incriminating towards me. Sure, I'd kind of been throwing some insults at her, but that was because she pissed me off! I wasn't the one charging someone half my size and trying to smear their baby bitch blood on the floor. Through the entire half-a-minute duration of the video, I'd been running from her, fleeing for my life.
Abel had asked me to replay it once more, and then he'd stood up, his expression almost unreadable apart from the very ominous shadow over his dark eyes. Though he was hiding it well, I could see he was very very very pissed off.
"Thanks Clarisse." He'd said to me, his voice flat. And then he'd stalked off, seeming to trail a very angry aura behind him (meaning people all backed out his way and stared after him like he was the Grim Reaper and shit. Kind of bad ass, I'm gonna admit).
So if PugFace is about to get her ass chewed by her gorgeous cousin, why am I not celebrating?
I fucking should be! The totally blood-thirsty and crazy female King-Kong is about to finally get what's coming to her - from her own flesh and blood relative!! - and I should be in the best mood of my life! I should be partying it up (or whatever)! Maybe if I tell Scarlett about it'll finally hit me. Yea, I'll find her and tell her how PugFace is gonna finally get laid out-
A massive shape beside me has me jumping and holding a notebook out for defense.
"Whoa whoa whoa, easy now," Comes a familiar voice, and I peek around from the edge of the notebook. Graham Beltzer has his hands out in front of him protectively, like my teeny-tiny notebook could actually knock a dent into his big body. I sigh and lower my shield.
"And what do you want?"
Normally, most people are kind of insulted by my curt and often rude greetings. But not Graham. Nooo, the big blue-eyed beast just grins down at me like the big dork that he is. Never seeming to be bothered by anything, always smiling and always happy and friendly. Maybe that's why people like him. Because he's likable. And dumb as a post.
"Well I just wanted to ask you something..." He said, trailing off a little. He kind of flopped into the locker beside mine, scratching the back of his head whilst smiling at me. Sigh. If he wasn't an idiot and Sebastian's friend, I'd probably kind of like this big moron.
I began shifting through the papers in my locker again. "Well spit it out."
"Well I was just wondering if you could give me Scarlett's number..."
Oh hell no! I pop my head out of my locker quick as flash, protectiveness going off in all my systems. Graham sees my expression and his hopeful one drops like a flying duck during hunting season. "Graham," I say, attempting to keep the venom from my voice. I kind of like the kid, mainly just because he's got that Moronic Charisma about him, but there is no way in hell I'm gonna help him get set up with my best friend. Scratch that, my only friend.
"I know you're a teenage guy, with an extra amount of testosterone in your system, but that doesn't mean you need to go off and start chasing all the tail you can get..." I say it as plainly and politely as I can, which probably isn't very polite at all. But all well. Screw it.
Graham surprises me by laughing a little bit. "Aw c'mon now Clarisse," He says, his big blue eyes lighting on me, his face honest and open as usual. "I'm not gonna play her or anything, I just wanna talk to her..."
I turn and face him fully, placing my hands on my hips. "Okayyy, Graham," I say sarcastically. "Because we both totally know that once you get her number you're not gonna try and sext her or whatever it is the hell you do through your phone, and that you're not gonna try and badger her all through school and crap and try and get into her pants or anything..."
Graham gives me this sweet, wry grin, proving me right. I cross my arms over my chest. As usually lovable as Graham is, he is a player, that much I do know. Him and Sebastian are identical in their woman-getting ways, pulling most of the same tricks and being just as flirtatious and cynical. I'd witnessed Graham trying to pull his moves on Scarlett before, and frankly, its almost disturbing how quickly he can switch from Patrick Star level brain activity to the cool, suave moves of James Bond.
He crosses his big arms over his chest and just smiles at me, fully aware that I know how much of a player he is and not bothered by it in the slightest. Big dumb moron.
"Alright, fine," He says, "I won't beg for her number. Its better for me to ask anyways. But can you tell me anything about her? Anything I can talk to her about? I can't exactly get a read on her because that first time I tried talking to her she got all cute and blushy," He grinned remembering that, like he'd enjoyed it. "but then the next time I see her she's ripping into Sebastian ass!" His bright blue eyes glitter. "Which was fucking sexy as hell."
Hmmm... She's usually pretty calm and quiet, and yea, she looked like she was terrified of Graham when he started quoting Gone With The Wind at her, but she does have a temper. Looking at Graham, I can see right into him. He's so open about everything. He's after Scarlett. Because he thinks she's pretty and sexy and because he's a typical testosterone-filled player. So, I decided, inwardly grinning evilly, I won't tell him a thing. Especially not her temper. I'll leave that for him to discover.
Mwahaha, I'm so evil...
"I'm not gonna tell you a thing!" I snip, giving him a sharp look and turning back towards my locker.
"Awww, Clarisse," Graham whines, sounding like a disappointed first grader. Which is probably how high his IQ can get. He pulls my locker door back so he can try and pout at me. "Why not?"
"Because," I snap, "I don't want you after Scarlett anyway! I've told you that. Leave her alone."
He hangs desperately on my locker door, tipping his blonde head to the side. "Aww, Clarisse, but she's so prettyyyyy...."
I mentally snort. Yes, Scarlett is ridiculously pretty, but she doesn't need someone like Graham layering his sugar-coated compliments on her so he can get what he wants. "Yes, I know, but I think you should let this drop Graham."
He pouts at me, reminding me of how he looked at the party when he was drunk. I'm immediately mad just thinking about that, because I'd had to go to a party full of drunk people and weed stupid idiot Sebastian from it and take him home! And then an entire new load of shit had to drop onto my already stinking heap...
"C'mon Clarisse, and I know I've told you to call me Teddy. Only my parents ever call me Graham anymore, and that's usually only for when I'm in trouble."
Well poop on that! I still think Teddy is the stupidist nickname I've ever heard. "No! Graham is your name, and right now, you are in trouble. With me. Because you're trying to get with my friend." I growl at him. As likable as he usually is, my Moron Tolerance is wearing quite thin.
Graham frowns at me, beginning to get that sulky look little kids get when they don't get they're way. "You're stubborn." His blue eyes suddenly lit up when he seemed to think of something, and a sly grin crossed his face. "Don't make me set Bash on you..."
"What?!" I snarled, finally getting real irritated. So he though bringing stupid Sebastian into this was going to get him anywhere?! Well that's got about as much chance as a snowball in hell! "Oh you think you're funny bringing that moron up!" Just the thought of him is enough to fly me into the rage, especially since I'd had to spend almost all of Saturday with the asshole.
Angrily, I kicked Graham's backpack - which was resting at his feet - over. "Shit!" Graham scooped the thing up instantaneously, and I was momentarily (through my pissed offedness) surprised that he cared so much about his books. He unzipped the pack and his forehead was all wrinkles.
"Aww, dammit! My pop was in there and spilled all over Rainbow Butterfly..."
I blinked at him. "What?"
Pouting worriedly, Graham pulled out a pink plush unicorn with a glittering horn, rainbow mane and tail and butterfly-like wings.. He shook it violently, splaying brown droplets of whatever carbonated drink he'd had in there. Not that I really cared about the pop, I couldn't take my eyes off the stuffed pink unicorn that the tight end of our football team had just pulled from his backpack.
And called 'Rainbow Butterfly'...
Graham saw the completely baffled look on my face and then began to explain. "It's my niece's favorite toy. She's like five or something, and completely OBSESSED with unicorns and horses and shit. She was over with my brother on Sunday, and she forgot it at my house." He began wiping its fuzzy pink face on his shirt, trying to remove any traces of pop. "...and you have no idea, how much of a fit that little stinker would pitch if she saw that Rainbow Butterfly had any shit spilled on her..."
Alright, now I'm going to admit that I was just about to double over in a fit of laughter, but a very loud, disturbing roar had the sound choking immediately in my throat.
"CLARISSE HORNITT!!"
The powerful, deep-throated shout echoed through the halls, making everyone freeze what they were doing. I gazed, wide-eyed over my shoulder, horrified to realize that the horrid sound was uttering my name.
Just as the whispers started up, it blared frighteningly down the hall again. "CLARISSE HORNITT!!"
I could feel the blood begin to drain from my face as I realized there's only person it could be. My heart started drumming in immediate horror, and I could feel every cell in my body begin screaming in petrified fright. Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God... My throat tightened right up, cutting off my oxygen.
There was motion at the end of the hall, a big hulking blur that was barrelling down, heading straight for me. I registered her face just as she registered mine, and her massive shape suddenly increased its speed. A frightened squeak was the only thing my utterly panicked brain could manage.
I was suddenly aware of something fuzzy and sticky being shoved into my face and someone shoving my shoulders. The voice registered in my brain as Grahams. "...Christ you gotta move Clarisse! Run! Run! Do you wanna die?! Run!"
I wake up with a jolt, the fear-induced adrenaline surging through my body like it had just broken through a dam. I started to run around Graham but realized I was clutching Rainbow Butterfly to my chest. "Why the hell do I have-?"
He pushed me roughly, his face practically mirroring mine in its dread. "I-I don't fucking know! To cushion a blow or something! Now run for your fucking life unless you wanna die!"
His last sentence was enough to send me sprinting down the hall. PugFace's enraged roar boomed out behind me, so fucking close, "CLARISSE HORNITT!!" Her calling my name was like hearing my name being called by an executioner.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! My mind mentally shrieks and I force myself to fly as fast as I can. Locks and people blur by, and I'm thankful that most of them have the heart to move for me, knowing that getting in my way could well mean my end. I can hear her pounding footsteps behind me, hear her heaving breath.
Oh God I'm gonna die in the school I'm gonna die at eighteen years old, getting my baby bitch blood smeared on the floor, clutching a pink unicorn to my chest-
I fly around a corner, and then up a quick flight of stairs, surprising myself with my agility. I guess a threat on your life is one way to stay in shape. I can hear her clomping up the stairs behind me, but farther away, and I think that if I can hide in some class room maybe she won't find me -
Reaching the top of the stairs I glance quickly down and see she's a ways behind me, gassing out on the upwards climb. I whip around the corner, desperate to get away. I just need to hide -
Wham! "Fuck!"
I slammed into a wall of a person, knocking the books from their hands and nearly knocking myself over in the process. I barely regain my balance and then realize vaguely that the person I'd just slammed into was Sebastian.
"Christ Psycho, you-"
A deafening roar from behind me throws me into a full on flurried panic, and I crash into him, desperate to get away, flying for the open door that my eyes suddenly latch onto. Sebastian curses about something but I'm deaf to his words, only hearing the angry roar that was quickly roaring up the stairs just back around the corner. "Oh God, she's gonna kill me, Mother of God-!" I hear myself rambling in terror, and then give one last desperate shove toward the open door I see.
We tumble inside and I quickly grab the door, nearly slamming it shut, but then having at least half enough sense to close it quietly. Just as it clicks shut, I hear PugFace's furious, blood-curdling voice:
"...gonna smear her baby bitch blood all over the floor!"
__
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