The red truck pulled over to the front of the school as Ashton shifted the gear in park. "Have a good day. I'll be here after school", he told me. I nodded to him and unbuckled my belt, getting out of the vehicle.
As Ashton drove off I noticed that there were two police cars at the front of the school, sitting there, waiting and on high alert.
With another reported murder, the town has gone into a frenzy, including my brother Ashton who, despite my pleas, refused to allow me to walk to school.
I was bummed since I couldn't participate in my daily walks to school with Calum and Beth. After I texted Calum, he understood and said that his mother was not allowing him to walk to school either. Beth, however, never responded. In fact, I haven't spoken to her since she left the party. I figured she may have been sick and might not be at school today.
Luke had also texted me, asking me when our next rehearsal would be. I replied to him saying that, for now, we would probably have it during class time only. I was able to read the tone in his texts that he was not at all scared or worried about these incidents. I guessed that he was, perhaps, putting on a brave face, but the sincerity and the absence of fear seemed to counter that argument.
I finally made my way to my locker, switching out my required supplies for the day when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, letting my long hair whip around and saw a smiling Calum, hands in his black holed skinny jean pockets.
He smiled to me as he spoke. "How's it going? How does it feel to finally have your childhood ripped out of you". I blushed at his perfect smile as I closed my locker and ran a hand through my hair. "Honestly," I replied, "it feels no different from the year before. Or the one before that. In hind sight, I still feel like an infant". Calum scrunched his eyebrows. "Well you look like one too", he said, placing a hand on my head and rubbing it quickly. I playfully slapped him on the arm. "Hey! For the last time, I am not short. I am just petite". Calum laughed. "Yeah yeah, whatever you say shorty".
I slapped him on the arm again as we walked down the hallway filled with walking students. "Have you heard from Beth"? I shrugged my shoulders at the question. "Nope," I said popping the 'p'. "I think she may be sick. She didn't look like she was all there at the party". Calum shrugged. "I hope she's ok".
The conversation ended there, as Calum and I said our good-bye's and seperated to our assigned class rooms. Another part to Ashton taking me to school, was the fact that he didn't take me until he finally had the nerve to wake up, making me show up to school just a little before the bell rings rather than earlier to converse with my friends.
I walked into my English class with a shocking sight. Rather than what I had expected, Beth's desk was not empty. Part of me even debated if who was currently occupying my friend's seat, was even Beth. She had heavy make up with her blonde hair done in pigtails, and wore a tight navy blue striped crop top that did not hold back on the cleavage show. She also wore a tight white short skirt and black knee boots with a pretty big heel. I stared at the character as I walked to my desk as she smacked her pink bubble bum and continued drawing in her notebook, her legs crossed.
I sat in my assigned spot and looked at the Beth look-a-like sitting next to me. The girl must have sensed my gaze as she turned to me with an annoyed looked. "Whattya want from me? A picture?" She said, smacking her gum again. There was no denying it in the sound of her voice and the face behind the make up. As hard as it was to believe, this was my bestfriend. "Beth?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Beth rolled her eyes at me and continued smacking her gum. "It's Bethany!" She said, venom present in her voice. "What the hell do you want from me"? Confusion continued to spread throughout my mind. "Bethany?" I said, perplexity audible in my voice. "You hate to be called that. I still remember that time you gave Calum a black eye for saying that name for two days". Beth smirked at me at the mention of Calum's name. "Mmm Calum, now there is a juicy piece of meat". I was taken aback by Beth's statement.
"Sorry"? Beth chuckled at me. "What's wrong?" She said, talkng in a high voice used when speaking with an infant. "Is little kitty kat feeling jelly"? I scrunched my eyebrows and folded my arms. "Pardon"? Beth rolled her eyes again. "There you go with that dumb act. Be careful Irwin, people are starting to think it isn't an act". I scoffed at the statement. "Beth what the hell are you-" "I said my name is Bethany!" She interjected, catching the attention of a few students. Beth groaned and rubbed her temples with her manicured hands. "I mean come on, all you ever do is talk about how 'Calum is so nice', 'Calum is so sweet'. Yet, all you do is nothing but bat your eyelashes like a struggling hooker. With that method, you probably will stay a virgin. Not that anyone is missing much".
The last statement hit me hard. Could this really be Beth? Why was she acting like this. Two days ago she was at my party, smiling and genuinely happy. Now she's...different. "Beth" I saw her roll her eyes and corrected myself. "I mean Bethany, did I do something wrong"? Beth groaned in frustration and continued to rub her temples as if I was a headache she wanted to be rid of. "Can you shut your trap," she said, her hands covering her ears, "I mean seriously, your voice sounds like two seals mating".
I opened my mouth to speak again until the school bell rang and our teacher entered the room ready to start class. Beth ignored me as she continued to draw in her notebook, not paying attention to Ms. Sykes as she lectured about Shakespearean sonnets. I would continuously sneak glances at my friend as she smacked her gun and continued scribbling. With forty more minutes of class left, she raised her hand asking if she could move to a different seat, saying she 'needed a change of the dreadful scenery'. Ms. Sykes seemed like she wanted to question the request, but nodded. Beth ended up in a new seat in the back corner, far away from me.
By the time the bell rang, I wanted to catch Beth and question her actions, but she practicly ran out of the classroom, avoiding my gaze.
My mind was full of confusion and questions on my best friend's behavior. Did I do something wrong? "Hey I think you are cutting a little deep there", Luke said as he watched over our cat dissection in Anatomy. I looked down at the cat and saw that instead of cutting the excess muscle tissue around the heart, I ended up puncturing the heart, allowing some juices to escape. I shook my head to rid myself of my thoughts. "Sorry!" I said as I moved the scalpel away.
I found that, no matter how much I tried, I remained distracted. I kept hearing Beth's words and seeing her annoyed facial expressions as I tried to dissect the scenario and find the origin of the abnormal behavior.
Rehearsal with Luke during class was not going too well either. I attempted to teach him the choreography I had conjured during the weekend, but ended up stumbling and missing steps. Luke chuckled at my mistakes the first few times, but then grew concerned as he saw my frustration grow. "Are you alright"? He asked, after I tripped during a spin and fell into his strong arms. I would simply nod and return focus on the dance. I didn't feel the need to confide in Luke. I wasn't sure if what was going on with Beth was a major issue. At least, not yet.
Luke seemed like he wanted to probe, but refrained from doing so as he tried to pick up my disoriented steps. It was almost a blessing when the bell rang and I got out of the changing room, ready for lunch.
Luke was leaning against the hallway across the studio door, waiting for me, and walked over to me as he joined me on our way to lunch. "Well that went well, I think", Luke said with a soft chuckle. I smiled at him, embaressed. "I'm so sorry, I think I did better partnering with the floor then I did with you". Luke laughed with a big smile and I instanly felt warmer inside.
As we entered the cafeteria, I saw Calum at our usual table eating a slice of pizza. As soon as he saw me, he waved over with a smile. I noticed that when his eyes landed on Luke, however, his smile faded, and was replaced with a scowl. "Hey" I said sitting down at the table. "Hey" Calum replied, eyes trained on Luke. Luke returned Calum's gaze as you could feel the tension between the two. "Mind if I sit here?" Luke said, his voice full of intimidation. Calum glanced at me as I raised and eyebrow to him. His eyes landed back to Luke. "Sure" he said, venom seeping from his voice. Luke sat down, continuing to stare Calum down.
After a few awkward seconds, Calum bursted into a smile and looked at me. "So, what's going on? I noticed you weren't kicked out of dance today". I simply shrugged, "yeah, I suppose that is an accomplishment" I said.
Calum's smile faded into a look of empathy. "You ok"? I felt both of the boys' eyes on me as I quietly took out a bag of chips and ate a some of the snack. "It's nothing", I said in between bites, unconvincingly.
Calum looked like he was ready to question me until his eyes found something behind my shoulder. "Is that...Beth?" He asked, his jaw dropping. I turned and followed Calum's eyes watching my former best friend laughing in a flirtatious manner with a tall brunnete boy wearing a varsity football jacket. "Who is she with?" Luke asked. I gasped when I recognized the boy, "Is that Zeke"!?
"What the hell is she doing with him"? After Calum's question, we saw Beth and Zeke have their lips meet for a long, deep kiss, Zeke's hands lingering down to Beth's backside. I turned away from the sight. "I think I am going to puke". Calum continued to eye them. "What the hell is she wearing?" He said, shock on his voice.
I rubbed my temples with my fingers. "That is not even the worst of it. You won't believe what she said to me during English". "You're right, that isn't the worst of it". I raised an eyebrow at Calum's statement and then turned to where he was looking, immediately regretting it.
Beth was sitting at a table, on Zeke's lap, arms around his neck, with Katie Donovan. I blinked a couple of times to make sure I was not dreaming. I tried to speak but was at a loss for words. No one hates Katie more than Beth. So why the hell was she sitting with her.
Beth and Katie were laughing with one another, almost as if they have been friends forever. "Kat," Calum spoke, "what is going on"? I then noticed that Beth and Katie were sneaking glances at me, smirks growing wider with every glance. Katie then got up from the table and began walking towards our table, leaving Beth and Zeke in another heated makeout session. "I think we are about to find out", I said as Katie's clicking heels approached.
She had this huge smile across her face as she folded her arms and moved her weight to her right foot. "Hey guys, how you doing"? "Cut the crap Katie. What do you want"? Katie smirked at my obvious frustration as her eyes landed on Luke. "Lukey", she said with a pouted lip, "you haven't called me back". Luke looked at her, void of emotion, "maybe that is a hint for something".
Anger flashed in her eyes for a brief moment, but then she returned to her obnoxious smirk. "Well if you are trying to get with her", she gestured to me with a nudge of her shoulder, "you're wasting you time". Her blue eyes landed on me. "She likes Calum".
My face flushed at her statement. "What?" Calum asked. I refused to turn to look at his face. Katie laughed a moment to herself. "Oh. What's a matter Calipoo? Didn't know? Well there are a lot of things you don't know". My eyes looked up to her as she gave me that condescending stare. "For example, the time she pooped her pants in the sixth grade, or the fact that she slept with a nightlight til she was 14. Perhaps the topic of her having a shrine of Taylor Lautner in her closet for four months in the 8th grade didn't come up".
My breathing increased as I felt my eyes sting and get watery slightly. Where did she get this information. I only ever told one person.
Katie's smirk grew. "Yes, so many interesting secrets. I am so glad I had the pleasure of learning them, just as I am sure the whole school will". She chuckled as I kept holding back tears. "Who knows, maybe Taylor Lautner will learn about it and give pity to your pathetic life". She laughed as she walked away returning to her table.
My eyes landed on Beth, who had a smirk on her face and winked at me. "Kat?" I heard Calum say.
I didn't answer him as I quickly grabbed my stuff and fled the cafeteria. I ran into the bathroom and silently cried in the stall until the bell rang.
What in the world is going with Beth?
Hey guys! So sorry for the delay. I was on vacation with family and just now got back.
Anyways, I hope you are enjoying the story and don't forget to comment and vote. I literally stayed up later than I should've so I could complete this because you all made me fell like an asshole XD.
Love you all!