Chapter 17
My foot is in a bucket, there is an overwhelming smell of Clorox filling the room, and the mop sitting across from me has some unidentifiable chunks in it, that I really don't mind not knowing what they are. In other words, I am in the janitor's closet. I have been sitting here, careful not to move an inch for what feels like an eternity. In reality, it's only been ten minutes. But still, being in here for that long is an eternity.
Since I was in a panic to get away from Jared as fast as possible, I pulled the first door that opened. Not knowing that it would lead to this hell. Now, don't get me wrong, there are probably some really nice janitor's closets out there, some that are very clean and probably smell like Lysol.
However, the one that I am currently in is just...disturbing. The smell of Clorox was intertwining itself with a smell of what seemed like dirty gym socks and mop water to make a very uncomfortable stench. God, knows how many bugs that haven't been discovered by scientists yet are crawling all about this room. It just sends shivers down my spine. And the constant drip, drip coming out of the sink's faucet in the corner is definitely not making this any more endurable.
I stiffened at the sound of a set of footsteps nearing the closed door. It must be Jared. I'm almost positive. In the couple minutes that I've been here, I haven't heard him come by. I shut my eyes and held my breath, waiting for the footsteps to pass the door and continue on down the hallway, but they didn't.
I quickly opened my eyes in panic. Did he know that I was in here? Did he see me come into this room and is waiting out there 'til I come out? Oh, geez. I can't do this. It feels like I'm in a horror film and Mr. Jared out there is the psycho killer waiting to slash me up.
I looked down at the camera that I held in my hands. Was this all really worth it? Being chased by the raging Jared and risking being hurt all just to show Leah a picture? A simple little picture? What am I thinking?Yes,I thought to myself. Of course it's worth it, I've finally got the proof that I've been going crazy to have, I can't stop now!
On the other side of the door, a shrill ringing sliced the silence. It sounded like a cellphone. I heard the footsteps stop right outside the door and then a husky voice said, "Yeah?"
I realized with panic that it was Jared.
"Yeah, I'm still in the school -pause- No, I'm chasing down Kaitlyn, the idiot thought that it was cute to take pictures of me and Sandra together. -another pause- Yeah, we were making out, now do you see why I'm screwed? -long pause- Yeah, she's still in here somewhere, I just got to find her, seriously though..."
I tried to listen in more closely on his conversation with whoever was on the other end of that phone, but his voice seemed to become a bit muffled as it seemed that he was going back in the direction that he had come from.
Okay, this is my chance. I have to get out of here now. I need to get out of the school and bolt over to Leah's house to show her the picture. Now all I have to do is open the door and run as best as I could in these murderous heels.
With a bit of effort I pulled my foot out of the bucket, careful not to make a lot of noise and slowly stood up. I walked over to the door and held on to it's knob. I can do this, I can do this, just turn the knob, open the door and run.
I took a deep breathe and did just that. Once I stumbled out onto the hallway, I made the mistake of looking in Jared's direction.
"Yeah, I'm not sure about-" He noticed me and swung his hand, that carried his phone, at me. "Hey, wait!" He called out.
"Ah!" I yelled and sprinted for the stairs. I ran as if I was being chased by a tiger or a murderer, which Jared could most likely be, and didn't look back. My hair was flying around all over the place, I must've looked like a madwoman, but who cares? All I needed now was some intense theme music. As I got to the first floor, my feet started to really bother me. I considered taking the heels off and run the whole rest of the way barefoot but A) that would take up a lot of time and B) Uhm, ew? The floors here are like, dirty.
"Kaitlyn, just stop running! Just hand over the camera!" Jared yelled.
I ignored him and stumbled out of the school and onto the steps, to be greeted by the chilling February air. Without looking to see if a car was coming, (My parents would not be proud, they've spent like, fifteen years of my life explaining the importance of looking both ways when crossing the street. They didn't even let me cross a parking lot by myself until I was thirteen.) I ran straight across the street.
I dodged the cars that came towards me and ignored the furious honks that the irritated drivers let loose. I ran along for about two blocks until I caught sight of the park, When I did, I quickly dashed into it. My feet pounded against the damp grass and I found it even harder to move along. These heels have brought nothing but trouble for me.
I maneuvered onto a dirt-filled path, thinking that it'd be easier to run, but it was another reckless mistake. The path was full of fallen branches and in my hurried state, I didn't notice them until I tripped over a couple. As soon as my foot connected with the branches, I lost my balance and flew face forward into the dirt.
"Uhhh," I groaned. Somehow, I managed to inhale dirt, so I began to have a coughing fit. I managed to pick myself up to get away from the puffs of dirt, but then as I was stepping onto the grass, I fell forward again. This time the camera flew out of my hands and landed a couple of feet away from me. "No!" I shouted at it.
I dragged myself forward and when I was just inches away from the camera, a pair of feet planted themselves in front of me. I didn't need to look up to see who it was.
Jared.
"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here?" Jared said.
"Oh, Jared, hey," I replied brightly. " How's it going?"
Jared shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at me with a menacing smile. "Oh, just perfect, Kaitlyn. You know, I just absolutely love chasing you around all day."
"Oh, well, you know Jare, can I call you that?" I asked, "Anyways, Jare, I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself. Honestly, it just brightens my day to know that you're happy."
"Mmm, yeah. That's nice, Kait." He bent down and grabbed the camera. "Huh? That's weird, I wonder what this camera is doing out here in the middle of the park."
"Oh, that camera? Yeah, well, it's mine. So, if I can have it back now, that'd be great."
"Oh no, I don't think it's yours. I'm pretty sure that this belongs to someone else. Oh wait, I know! Maybe it belongs to the yearbook staff."
"Well, I borrowed it, okay?" I explained. "And I'll be giving it back to the yearbook staff after I show some pictures to..." I trailed off.
"To?" Jared asked.
"To...my...mom, I need to show some pictures to my mother." I lied horribly.
"Uh huh, because your mom needs to see whatever pictures that are on here right now, tonight?"
"Yes, because uh, I promised to take pictures of the school gym, because she wanted to see what it looked like right away, tonight."
"Look, Kaitlyn," Jared said harshly. "I'm not stupid. You and I both know what the pictures on this camera are and who they really are going to be shown to."
He punches a couple of buttons on the camera and stops when he reaches an image. He holds out the camera towards me, showing me the screen. It was a picture of Jared and Sandra kissing.
"Because I'm so sure that you were going to show this to your mom."
I picked myself up into a sitting position, brushing or more like trying to brush away the grass from my dirt stained dress and I look ed Jared straight in the eyes. "Well, she'd find some of those pictures interesting." I let out a somewhat deranged laugh. "In fact, I can almost here what she'd say, oh definitely, she'd say, "what? I thought Jared was dating Leah, why is he lip-locking with some other girl?" and you know what I'd tell her?"
Jared just sent me a cold stare. "Humour me."
I laughed again, this time feeling like I'm really starting to lose it. "I'd say, "oh yes mom, Jared is still dating Leah." and then she'd say, "What? Oh no, that is just a horrible, stupid, disgusting, rude, selfish, jerk like, barbaric, unmoralistic-"
"Okay,okay!" Jared said, interuppting my rant. "Would you just shut up? I know what you're trying to say, alright? That I'm a horrible person for cheating on Leah. I get it, okay?"
I stared at Jared somewhat confused. Jared seems to realize and accept the fact that what he is doing to Leah is wrong and stupid. But, what puzzles me is that he obviously realizes this but keeps doing it. I looked down at the ground and start pulling out strands of grass. I met Jared's gaze and asked, "Then why are you still with Leah? You obviously want to be with other girls. if you don't want to date her, then just break up with her. It's that simple, really."
Jared ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the bright moon that gave the dark sky a gentle glow. His eyes met mine again and his blue eyes seemed to brighten and ice over at the same time. "I love her."
I shook my head. "No, Jared. That's not love. You wouldn't cheat on the person that you love."
"You don't understand, okay?" Jared said, angrily. He looked down at the camera that he held in his hands, as if just remembering that it was there. He glanced around the park and when he found what he was looking for, he smiled.
"What?" I asked.
But, he didn't answer. I watched as he walked over to a shallow pond a couple of feet away from us. Once he reached it, he stopped and held the camera above it.
Realizing what he was about to do, I began to panic. "Jared! Don't!"
He held the camera away from the pond and turned to me. "Alright."
"Really?" I asked.
He smirked. "Nope." And he dropped the camera into the pond. When the camera connected with the water, it made a loud, reckless splash.
"Think, before you mess with me." Jared said, and with that he walked out of the park, leaving me there alone in the dark.
I quickly crawled over to the pond and looked into the water, only to be met with a mirror image of my horror-stricken face surrounded in ringlets.
There was no sign of the camera near the surface, and I was not about to stick my hand in there, that's for sure. I sat back on the grass and groaned for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight. Why do all of these things happen to me? Why is getting proof so difficult for me to achieve?
I shot a glare at the pond, willing it to resurrect the camera from its shallow water.
But, it was a lost cause. Now, I was going to have to come up with a legit reason of why I stole the camera and why it ended up in the pond.
~*~
After, I stared at the pond for ten more minutes, hoping that a miracle would happen, I got up defeated and headed back to the school. Pain shot through my legs when I got up, probably from all the running, and my feet were badly bruised too. I walked/ limped all the way to the school. It probably took me five times longer to get there then it normally would have, but I managed.
Once I stepped into the warm school building, I slipped off my heels and clutched them in one hand. At this point, I didn't care how dirty the school's floors were, I couldn't go any further with those shoes on and the cool floor felt like ice to my feet. It was almost soothing and right now, I needed that.
I made my way over to the gym, where I could hear a dreamy like slow song bursting through the speakers and peeked inside. There were couples strewn all over the dance floor, some embracing each other passionately, others engaging in a full on make out session like if no one was around. You'd think that the teachers would've stopped them by now, but even they were distracted by each other, cracking jokes and joining each other in deep conversation.
Seeing these happy couples made me a bit depressed. It reminded me that I wasn't going to have a special someone to enjoy the actual Valentine's Day this upcoming Monday. I'd have to mentally prepare myself before going into school Monday morning to be greeted with happy couples strolling through the hallways hand in hand, giving each other roses, jewlery or chocolates and saying I love yous.
Even though, I didn't want to, I walked into the gym to retrieve my purse from the snack table, where I'm pretty sure I left it. I was welcomed in with stares of shock and horror as people took in my appearance. I honestly didn't blame them, with my hair shooting up in different directions and muddled with mud, my dress covered in dirt and grass stains, and strands of grass and hair sticking to my face, not to mention that I was barefoot, who wouldn't stare? However, I ignored them and found my purse near the crystal, heart shaped punch bowl and picked it up. I realized that there wasn't anyone managing the snack table. Liam was supposed to take care of things when I was gone? Where could he be?
I glanced around the room, searching for Liam. I needed to tell him about our plan backfiring. I scanned the room once more and then I found him. He was on the dance floor. Dancing with Britney.
At the sight of this, a rage of jealousy bubbled up inside of me. Why was he dancing with Britney and not tending to the snack table? More importantly, why wasn't he at the snack table waiting for me? I know that I'm not supposed to care, given that I told myself not to for Natalie's sake, but I couldn't help it. I was falling for Liam, hard and fast. I don't think that I can go on any further trying to ignore my feelings for him. And given my mental state now, I'm just simply tired. I'm tired of running, tired of trying to make people happy and getting nothing in return, tired of things not going my way, tired of chasing after proof to give for Leah, tired, tired, tired. I'm just tired of trying.
Now, I somberly watched Liam and Britney dance together. Her arms were around his neck and his were around her waist. She laid her head against his shoulder and he had his cheek pressed against the top of her head. They were practically floating across the dance floor.
Britney looked brilliant and I couldn't help but compare her appearance to my disturbing one. I forced myself to tear my eyes away from them, but I just couldn't willingly do it. So, I was thankful when I felt a tap on my shoulder, because then my brain forced me to turn around.
It was Tyler. "Oh hey," I said.
Tyler took a sip out of a can of Pepsi that he held. "Hey Kait," His dark blue eyes trailed over my body. "Rough night?"
I sighed. "You could say that."
"Don't mean to be rude or anything, but why exactly are you covered in grass and dirt?" He asked.
I shook my head. "Long story."
"Ah, I see, that's code word for -I don't want to talk about it," He shrugged and held his hands up in a surrender position. "I understand. No need to explain."
I smiled. "It's just been a really long night."
Tyler nodded. "I get it. Why don't you go home?"
"Well, I have to wait for Dylan to give me a ride, considering that I can't really walk well now, and I have to keep managing the snack table since my partner is out there on the dance floor."
"Oh, Liam huh," Tyler said, looking out onto the dance floor. He patted me on the shoulder and said, "Well, the dance is almost over."
I nodded. "It better be."
"Well, don't worry about it, Kait, soon you'll be at home, relaxing and taking a bubble bath or whatever you girls do to relax." Tyler said. "By the way, have you seen Drew?"
"Can't say I have, I've been wondering where he's been too."
As if on cue, Drew came crashing into us, almost causing us both to lose our balance. Tyler and I both reach out to steady Drew. "Hey there, you guys," He slurred.
I took in his look, and he had bloodshot eyes, his clothes were all wrinkled and out of place and he reeked of alcohol. In other words, Drew was drunk.
"Drew, what the hell? Why are you drunk?" I asked, hysterically.
"Uh...because I drank, duh, kitty." He slurred.
"Obviously, but why were you drinking in the first place?" Tyler asked.
"Because this dance was lame, ands... I wanted to, you knows... get it pumping."
"Drew, your mom is going to kill you when she sees you like this." I said.
"Noooo, because I'm not going home. Can I spend the night at your house...casa...pretty please kitty." Drew asks, almost falling face forward onto the ground.
Tyler and I reached out and steadied him again, this time we both kept a hold on him. "Fine, Drew, you can stay with me. But, we'll have to tell your mom that your staying at Liam's okay? Your mom hates me, so she'll flip if you stay at my house."
"Okay, kitty, Kaity, cat, cat, cat." Drew said.
"Oh God, he's a mess." Tyler laughed. "We need to get this on video."
"Tyler stop, this is serious. I can't believe Drew did something this stupid right now, look I'm going to take Drew home, can you please tell Liam that he has to call Drew's mom and tell her that Drew's going to stay with him and tell him to make up some reason of why Drew can't come to the phone. He's basically the one friend of Drew's that his mom really likes."
"Okay, got it, how are you going to get him home?" Tyler asked.
"I'll have to find Dylan, I guess and Tyler, tell Liam that the reason for Drew not coming to the phone has to be really good. If he says that Drew's in the bathroom, she'll literally wait on the other end of the phone until he comes out."
Tyler laughed. "Will do."
Tyler helped drape Drew's arms over my shoulders, so that I can basically drag him with me before he went to get Liam.
"So, kitty, Lily, uh, Misssy," Drew said.
"Drew, it's Kait." I snapped.
"Right, right, right. Kaity cat, are we gonna have a sleepover party? With movies? I like horror movies, you...you knows...you know that right, cat?"
I sighed deeply. "Yes, Drew. We'll have tons of horror movies."
"You're the best, kitty."
~*~
A/N: Sorry for the super late upload! For some reason half of my work got erased and I had to rewrite it all. D: But, here it is and I hope that you enjoyed it! <3