TW:- The next few chapters contain drug use and a high cringe factor.
Willow
Hunter barely looked at me or spoke to me on our way over here.
I hope I didn't do anything wrong. I'm not sure what to make of his sudden tense silence. Perhaps he's stressing because he's on duty tonight. From what I've heard, it's not something he is looking forward to.
He parked his mother's car in the parking lot at the foot of the lighthouse, and after walking with me down to the beach, he took off with some of the other student council members. I am glad that the Dragon Wagon arrived a few seconds after we parked and we were immediately joined by the Davenports, Tanner and Asher.
Jake went with Hunter; they are, apparently, going to join the quick meeting before the function starts in earnest. Students are starting to arrive in drips and drabs. Tanner also took off, but I don't know where he went. He was awfully quiet. I hope he is alright.
I nervously hold onto the sleeve of Paisley's denim jacket when I see Melissa and her friends sauntering over the sand near us. They have been giving me killer looks since the minute they saw me come down the steps with Hunter. I have honestly had enough of their nonsense.
I'm still angry about the messages they sent about Molly yesterday. Paisley told me the entire story while I was helping her get ready for her date with Austin. These girls need to be put in their place. I liked what the boys did in response to their nasty Molly posts, but I don't think that is going to be enough.
"Paise," I finally decided that I'm just going to ask the question straight out, and I hope I get an honest answer and not some vague deflection. "What is the story between Melissa and Hunter? Did they date, and it ended badly?"
Paisley and Asher share a look, and when he smiles at her, she turns to me and shrugs. I find it rather fascinating how these two are able to have complete conversations simply by glancing at each other.
"No, they didn't date, but they did have an encounter," Paisley says, pressing her lips together in distaste. "Every year, after the final exams, the school hosts an open-air movie night on the top rugby fields. They erect a huge screen and we all bring beanbags and picnic baskets. It is really quite fun... unless Mr Williams is placed in charge of picking the movies. Then it turns into a Physics documentary night... Happened one year, and it wasn't pretty. Only Jake enjoyed it. Well... the rest of us enjoyed it too, but we weren't watching the movies."
I laugh, thinking about the Physics teacher and the way he tends to digress and the overload of catch-up homework he'd given me. He truly does think the whole world revolves around his subject. He is not pompous or mean; he is just a little bit obsessed.
"Well, last year we were all in high spirits, looking forward to the holiday, and we were lying on our bags, watching... ugh... can't even remember what it was... some horror movie... when Melissa pulled her bag next to Hunter's. It was one of those gory movies, and she got scared... or he did... You know how he hates those movies."
I do; he clings to my arm like a frightened child whenever we watch gory things. At first, I thought it was quite funny, but now it makes me sad. I think I finally understand the origin of his fears and never suggest horror movies anymore when we want to watch something together, lying on the beanbags in their living room.
"Well," Paisley says with a grimace. "They ended up hugging, and hugging turned into cuddling. I think our boy was mostly just freaked out about the movie, and by the time he realised what was going on, he was making out with Melissa."
"I see," I say, not really wanting to hear more of this story. I am not enjoying the visuals popping into my head. It's not the gory kind of horror I usually enjoy!
"No, you don't see," Paisley snorts and Asher is grinning at me. I think I've given myself away completely now!
"Hunter is terrified of love, Willow," Asher tells me. "But he is not a rubber doll or cold-blooded. He's as much of an animal as the rest of us humans."
"I see," I say again, really not finding his words helpful at all, and now they are both laughing at me. "So, what you're saying is that they had a one-night stand. I understand."
"No!" Paisley exclaims, glaring at me. "You know him better than that!"
"But you just said..."
"That he reacted to her... at first, but it's Hunter, after all, so as soon as he realised what he was doing, he told her that he forgot that he was on babysitting duty. He jumped to his feet and left."
"He ran off as if someone set his butt on fire," Asher grins.
"Oh..." That does sound more like Hunter. I still don't get why he is so mad at her, though.
"Melissa left too," Paisley continues. "She obviously didn't want the people who saw her all over Hunter to know that he was ditching her, so she got up, grabbed her bag and went after him. Some people might've thought that they left together."
Paisley sighs and stops to shake her feet, ridding her flip-flops of sand. I do the same. It is rather irritating, and my toes are a little cold, but wearing sneakers on the beach did not seem like a wise thing to do. Fortunately, the weather's been very cooperative today and surprisingly warm. Late last night, we had sporadic rain, but tonight, there's nothing but clear skies filled with winking stars and a huge moon. Very pretty.
"The next day, there were all these messages on the school chat from an anonymous girl talking about Hunter seducing her in the parking lot and then not wanting to have anything to do with her after making so many promises to her. She really made him seem like a world-class bastard. Accusing him of being a typical toxic male and other awful things."
"What?! Who would ever believe nonsense like that?!" I clutch the purse slung over my shoulder in both my hands, needing something to dig my nails into.
"There were some people who immediately jumped aboard that bandwagon. You know, the kind, quick to believe the worst about people to make them feel better about themselves and also the kind of people we have in this world who don't care about facts; it's all about sensationalism and having a cause to fight for regardless of whether that cause really is just or not. Those who very publicly and vocally want to seem to be doing the right thing, without actually having to do the right thing."
I nod my head; I know what she means. I see the news. I hate that someone could do something like that to Hunter. It must have been really hard on him.
"Well, it was bound to fail, obviously. Hunter is too well-loved, and the majority of students did not believe one word of the accusations. They tore this girl to shreds, told her to prove it, and if it came out that she was lying, she would be done for. Got kinda bad. Many people guessed that it was Melissa since they saw her with him in the time frame just before the actions in the false accusations were supposed to have occurred."
"Why on earth would she think that she could possibly get away with such a ludicrous accusation?" I am flabbergasted about the girl's stupidity and her gall and disgusting sense of entitlement to feel justified to do such a thing to him just because he rejected her advances. I hate hearing about Hunter being hurt!
"She thought that she was more popular than she actually is. That people would rally around her. Especially boys. That is why she didn't do enough to prevent people from realising that she was the anonymous girl. She was wrong.
"Hunter posted a message saying that the only girl he got remotely involved with that night was Melissa and that he apologises to her for not behaving entirely properly towards her and not ending it sooner than he did. Many people confirmed that they saw the incident and heard Hunter telling Melissa he was sorry and needed to leave.
"There were also people hanging out in the parking lot who said they saw him enter the lot from the rugby fields and immediately get on his bike and leave and that he was alone that entire time. They also saw Melissa entering the parking lot just as Hunter drove off. Hunter was not hanging out in the parking lot with any girl at any time.
"Melissa, realising that she is not becoming the star in a he-is-so-bad-let's-gang-up-on-him movie, suddenly broke the silence, posting as herself, saying that she had a headache that night and left the same time that Hunter did and that she saw him driving off and that the anonymous girl was lying. I think she was hoping to become the heroine, coming to his rescue, making him fall in love with her out of gratitude..."
"The story ended there," Asher says, and I can see that he does not enjoy thinking about these memories either. "Mostly because Hunter didn't want to delve into it and expose the anonymous girl as Melissa. He just wanted to get on with his life and enjoy his holiday. He was lucky, so many people stood up for him, and the facts openly didn't support the accusation, but it could've been bad. So many guys get branded toxic and have their reputations destroyed by vindictive or attention-seeking women who drown out the voices of true victims and destroy innocent men, without any consequences to themselves."
I am surprised to hear Asher speak with so much repressed anger. I'm feeling anger too, but it is not repressed. I'm going to drown Melissa in the shadowy ocean, noisily throwing its waves on the beach not far from where we are standing.
"Ahmi confirmed that the anonymous sender was using the same IP as Melissa. The stupid girl didn't even think to hide her tracks. She just wanted to hurt Hunter because she felt humiliated after basically throwing herself at him. She clearly did not think it through properly," Paisley scoffs.
"Hunny has been avoiding her ever since, and she's been trying to simper up to him, trying to win his favour. She probably really thinks that he doesn't know that she was the anonymous fake victim of his lusty deceit."
I scan the surroundings for Hunter, suddenly having a very strong desire to hold him tightly... it is almost as strong as my desire to punch Melissa in the teeth.
I still don't like the idea that he kissed her, though!
"You should start announcing loudly and clearly that Hunter belongs to you and is your man. Get those nasty witches off his trail once and for all," Paisley says, glaring at Melissa, who sees her and, after casting around, flustered, takes off to hide somewhere out of our sight.
"If I did that, Paise, I'd be exactly like them," I say, shaking my head. "Hunter is nobody's possession."
♫
Paisley
I lost track of Willow for a few minutes.
I'm relieved to find her again quickly, wandering around looking like Alice in Wonderland again, staring open-mouthed at all the strange things going on around her. They are strange only in Willow terms. It is all rather standard.
People brought snacks and plonked them down on a couple of folded tables the student council and volunteers set out for that purpose. I've added a container of treats Tanner made as our contribution, and Willow brought fritters made by Aunt Beth.
The fire is roaring, marshmallows are being roasted, and as always, there are a couple of over-eager, high-spirited kids swimming in the waves breaking on the shore. The water is way too cold for swimming, but realising it probably requires some brain cells.
Most of the students are sitting on logs, enjoying the fire and each other's company. Some less well-behaved couples don't do the polite thing and go kiss out of sight, the way Ash and I do... every chance we get. A few boys are trying to play cricket, but they keep losing the tennis ball they're using because there simply isn't enough light here for that kind of activity.
It is all very normal.
I'm glad I found her again; Hunny would've been very disappointed if I'd lost his girl. Why he isn't sticking to her like the glue I know he wants to be, I don't understand. This is the perfect opportunity to show the entire school that he is in love with Willow. That would get girls like Melissa off his case and ensure that other boys don't steal Alice away from him. He is an idiot, and so is she. He is suddenly very aware of being a student council member, running around actually doing his job of seeing that things run smoothly.
And they were going smoothly... until I lost Willow.
Well, it was only because I dragged Asher behind a boulder to make out with him for a bit. I am a civilized human being, after all. I'm not going to do that kind of thing in public. It's gross.
Come on! We just made up today. Besides, he told me that my lips need all the cleansing they can get after treacherously getting polluted by Galen's.
Asher can be hilarious at times.
I didn't even want to come here tonight. I wanted to stay home and cuddle him while watching a movie, but this is Willow's first bonfire, so here I am... the most amazing friend ever! And she is perfectly fine. She even found something to eat and drink all by herself. Well... she does know where the refreshment tables are... but still, I'm impressed by how comfortable she's acting.
Last week, she would've been cowering behind a bush!
"Do you want some? These are really nice," she says, holding a biscuit out towards me. She'd already taken a bite from it, which makes it rather interesting that she wants to give it to me now... very un-Willow-like. It's a bit dusky out here, and I cannot really see her face in the kind of detail I would've been able to if there was more than just the light from the bonfire and the moon.
Still, something is not quite right. Is she mad at me for disappearing on her for a minute? Surely not? No, she is grinning at me, taking a swig of the water in the bottle she's holding.
Is it possible...?
I look at the chocolate chip cookie she is still holding, and taking it from her fingers, I give it a sniff, my eyes growing in horror.
"Ash, smell this!" I hand it to Asher, and he takes it with his hand not holding mine.
Yes, he is holding my hand in public now, and I love it! I'm not too civilized to hold hands...
I was a little pissed off to realise that nobody was surprised about us this afternoon when I announced to the clan that Asher and I are dating. They've all known for years and pretended not to know... Of course, I knew they knew. I'm not an idiot, but they could still have acted at least a little bit surprised. I didn't know that they knew that I knew that they knew...
They all just grinned and pretended to be passing out with relief about finally being able not to have to act like they don't know anymore.
Dorks!
I guess I announced it because Galen was there, and I was freaked out about that. I did not expect to see him in my house. I wanted him to know where we stand with each other, to stop things from getting weird... weirder.
I really hope that the two of us will be able to get past everything and become friends. I'm not holding my breath, though, but then again, he did spend many peaceful hours at our place with Hunter, and they even talked to each other a few times... like normal people... with very few threats and swear words. It was the weirdest thing ever. I had to touch Tan several times to make sure that he was not a ghost and that we weren't all in shock and mourning.
Asher behaved admirably, but then again; he has the self-control of an android. He just glared at Galen every chance he got. Scary. Asher is not the glaring kind... I'm extremely impressed with Galen for not goading him or taking him up on that glare. Gan doesn't have much in the line of self-control. I suppose our talk last night and Tan's accident dulled his senses for a while, acting as a kind of natural sedative.
I wonder if he's here tonight and if he's okay.
I don't know where Tan got to; he disappeared shortly after we left the Dragon Wagon. We found Molly when Ash and I decided to leave our spot behind the boulder to find Willow. She is looking incredibly nervous and uncomfortable. I don't think she likes this kind of thing much and regrets coming down here. She keeps on looking around apprehensively. She might be searching for Tanner, but she doesn't have a look of anticipation on her face; her face is wearing one of dread.
"Definitely weed," Asher says, passing the biscuit to Molly for confirmation, which she does, pulling a face.
"Where did you get the biscuit, Alice?"
"A nice girl was handing them out," Willow says, trying to take the biscuit back, but Molly hastily hands it to Asher again. "I don't know why most people declined; they are simply delightful!"
"Great, the Spirit Girls are at it again," I groan.
No, they're not called that because they are the leaders in school spirit and positive vibes. They could be called the Drug-Sluts, it would certainly fit, but that would be mean. Whenever there's a school function or any other important occasion, such as somebody saying "hello" Lola Radcliff, Portia Oldfield and one or two others I don't know, declare it let's-get-high-and-misbehave time and they are always looking for takers for their delicacies.
"Well, at least you only took one bite; should be fine," I tell Willow. I hope that Tanner is not in the kind of mental state tonight where he'd join in their kind of fun to drown out his pain. He is teetering on a dangerous edge tonight, and I hope we find him soon so that Molly can take care of him. He seems more like himself and in control of all his monsters when she is around. I really think he needs her.
I want Molly to find him before the Spirit Girls do.
"That's my second one," Willow says, snapping my attention back to the situation that just got a little bit worse.
"You already ate a whole one?"
"Yes, they are awfully good," she smiles. "Don't worry, I'm completely fine. Are you sure it contains Cannabis? I don't feel strange at all."
"We need to find Hunter," I say, a little impressed that Willow at least knows what weed means. I guess she's not completely ignorant about the other side of life.
"Be careful, Girls," Jake says, joining us. He is looking harassed and irritated, and I can tell it's not just because he is a student council member and, therefore, obliged to be here and make sure things don't get out of hand. Jake would much rather have been at the Drakes' house now, doing experiments with Uncle Ryan the way they often do on Saturday nights.
Seriously, my brother needs a girlfriend...
"We just caught Ray and Paul distributing spiked water to some girls," he explains, and I now understand his irritation slightly better. "They say it's only a harmless, homemade aphrodisiac... I hope you haven't taken anything to drink from them."
"Nope, I only have this," Willow says, showing Jake her virtually empty bottled water.
"Please tell me you used it to water the flowers?" he grunts tangling his fingers in his hair, grinding his teeth in frustration.
"Do those even work?" Molly asks, pulling a face. She takes the water from Willow, opens the bottle and sniffs it. "Don't smell anything."
Yes, Briar High has some truly awesome students, but they also have the Spirit Girls and guys like Ray and Paul, who always mess up social events, causing many to be cancelled. The bonfire is dangling by a thread as is...
"I guess we'll soon know," Asher says, wincing, looking from Jake's horrified face to Willow's innocent blinking eyes.
Now we really need to find Hunter!
♪♫♪