The day was as horrible as I thought it would be (when is it not? Even my peaceful days were like that) and it only got worse when I showed up for detention. As you already know, I’m cursed with bad luck, because two of the three people I least want to see, Constance and Jake were sitting in the detention room.
One was seated in the left side of the room and the other the right side. If you were in my predicament, who would you sit next to?
Constance was my best bet of actually not getting suspended or not getting terminated. I silently make my way to a seat farthest away from Jake and as calmly as I possible slid into the seat next to hers. I guess I didn’t do a very good job on the calm part because she scooted away from me the moment Mr. Green excused himself and left the room.
This just annoys me. “I don’t have cooties,” I breathe out. It’s not that I wanted to be mean, it was just that Jonathan decided to ditch and all attempts at finding a peace were lost the moment I found out. That boy has a serious death wish.
“Yeah, but I don’t want to start anything,” she says bluntly.
I cross my arms and narrow my eyes at her. “Well, sorry if we all can’t be little Miss perfects now.”
A mixture of shock and amusement takes over her features. “What!?” She then radiates anger and frustration. “Is that what you think of me?”
I shouldn’t do it. “You know what?” Just let it go Willow, just let it go. “That’s exactly what I think.” I couldn’t do it; I just had to say it.
And she's angry. “Well sorry to bust your bubble, but I’m far from that!”
Feels good not to be the only angry one. “Uhhh…” I hear Jake in the background, but I ignore him and laugh bitterly. “Oh yeah?” I should have risked it and ditched. “Is that why everyone calls you the ‘better Willow’?” This town, these students didn’t even give me a chance, and she comes along and is automatically better than me. “Or even the ‘prettier one’” same face different treatment. “Everyone likes you because you are so ‘perfect’!” Where’s Jonathan when I need him?
She stares at me in disbelief, completely missing my hurt, “Seriously?” I knew she couldn’t understand. “I bet they would like you too if you were actually nice!” Nice… to the people who have made my life hell? I could laugh at that! “But no!” Dan right no! I was no idiot. “You are always mad for some reason!” Good reason at that.
“Girls?” Jake tries, but we both ignore him as we glare at each other. “No, I wouldn’t be nice to them, even if they paid me. Why? Because they think I’m a freak!”
Her next words completely stun me. “Well you’re not one!” She is starting to make me feel guilty for yelling at her.
“Girls?” Jake insists and is once again ignored.
“Yeah, well you weren’t the one abandoned in the roots of a willow!” My heart squeeze at the words that haunt me to the bone.
“No, I wasn’t!” she spits out. “I was found in a dumpster in one of the freaking alleys!” I freeze for a moment at her words.
“Girls!?” Would he just give it up already!?
“Shut up!” We both yell at him.
She stares back at me. “All I wanted to do was to become your friend Willow.” She can’t… is all I can think. “That’s the first thing I said to my brother.” Why?
“Well,” what am I supposed to say? It’s complicated enough keeping Jonathan away from my tormenting, imagine this stubborn girl. So I do the only thing I know how, I snap at her. “I didn’t want your help!” Please, I beg of you. Let. It. Go.
“Why not?” My throat tightens up at her question. Seriously? What is with her and her brother?”
Screw it; she is not letting it go. “I honestly don’t know.” I have always felt the fear of hurting people for being close to me. It frightened me to death. “I don’t want people to get hurt.”
She smiles faintly. “My brother always told me I care too much…” She mutters.
I can't help the small smile that reaches my lips. “Yeah,” For some reason Jared felt so familiar to me. “I Ran into him yesterday.” Well more like he ran into me…
I never want anyone hurt, that’ why when I saw jerk face-“I snort at her creative name for Jake.
“Hey!” He protests and I just roll my eyes.
“Hey you’re the one who’s being a jerk to her,” she says to him as she shrugs it off. “Anyways when I saw him hurt you…” I felt this urge to protect you.” Another Jonathan. “To keep you safe.”
My mood goes from red to blue and I missed my reptile loving friend. “I know,” Where was that jerk anyways? “I put Jonathan through it every day.” He has some serious explaining to do and he owes me ice creams! He-he, he doesn’t, but I’m craving it.
“Please willow,” This brings me back to reality. “I just want to be friends,” She pleads. “Can we start over?” Well, making Jonathan buy ice cream for two people would be more effective (not really) to my payback…
The moment I made up my mind a thought yes, something happened. I didn’t necessarily faint, but I blanked out in a way and glimpses of what suppose are dreams leaked in.
The first was of a room, one side full of shadow like things, and the other had what appeared to be bright white flames with a soft gray center. In the middle of the room stood two toddlers giving their backs to one another. One had bright red hair and the other brownish-blondish hair.
Before I could even focus on their faces, the dream changes ad his time the two girls were young teens and they were hugging in the middle of a bright green forest, that appeared to be growing… and healing? What kind of whack dreams am I getting?
My eyes suddenly fly open revealing a chest… I blink a few times before I decide I really wasn’t seeing things and someone really was hovering over me. Slightly turn in Constance’s direction and found Jake slightly shaking her. I roll my eye and put my arm to his chest shoving him away from me.
“What the hell!?” he shouts glaring at me. “Can’t you see I was doing something?”
“Being creepy doesn’t count for something it, it's already who you are,” I snap back as I try to process what just happened.
“I am not creepy!” He shouts not really liking my little comment.
“Yes, you are. How long have I been out?” I ask.
He glares daggers at me before responding. “You weren’t ‘out’ you were more like spaced out for about five minutes.”
“Being ‘spaced out’ is being out you idiot!” I say with a roll of my eyes.
“I am not and idiot! And will you move out of the way? I need to see how Constance is.”
“We have been out for five minutes and you didn’t think to call for help?” I question, ignoring his last statement.
“I panicked!” He shouts roughly trying to shove me aside.
I shove him back angrily, “What the hell!?”
“I am trying to get to Constance!” He shouts in frustration.
“Then go around!” I swear this guy only has one brain cell! I give him my back and notice Constance was waking up. “Not that it matters now since she is waking up,” I mumble.
“What’s going on?” she asks a bit puzzled.
Before either of us could answer, Mr. Green decided to finally grace us with his presence. “What’s going on?” he asks.
Being my evil self I pinned it all on Jake. It was just a little white lie. “Jake punched Constance!” I shout pointing at Jake accusingly.
Mr. Green turns to Constance to confirm this. Her eyes slightly widen at the words. “All I know is that I was unconscious and well… that’s just about it… I don’t really know what caused me to black out…”
“See! She can’t even remember the hit!” I shout randomly pulling Constance in a weird hug-pat position. “I’ll take her to the nurse’s office and have her checked out.” With that I smoothly grab both our backpacks and drag Constance out the class and out the school.
“Okay? Um… I am going home now,” Constance states still a bit confused.
I smile at her, “Okay see you tomorrow.”
My reaction puzzles her a bit more as she slowly makes her way to what I assume is her car.
By the time I reach my lovely home, I felt strange. I knew there was absolutely no hope in fighting Constance, but being open to kindness was going to be a bit more complicated then I was expecting.
Shrugging it off I open my front door and I run into a brick wall. Seriously? “Who are you and why are you in my house?!” I mutter into the chest my face is stuck in. I breathe desperately trying to control my temper. It’s harder than it seems.
“Well nice to see you again too…” A strange familiar voice vibrates through the chest my face is still squished against.
I slowly peel away and look up to no other than Jared. “And you are in my house why?”
Right as I said it a very disturbing picture of him and my mom passionately making runs through my mind making me shut my eyes quickly shut trying to get rid of the terrible image.
“Never mind! I really don’t want to know!”
The smile he normally wears on his face widen as he chuckles. “I assure you it is nothing of what you are thinking of… stop with that disgusted look. I’m here to tell your mother about you mental health, and that habit of yours in almost getting ran over.”
“It is not a habit. I just have issues with coordination. Besides I suggest you go home and check on Constance. The jock of the school kind of knocked her out.”
He didn’t react as I thought he would. He just lifts up a brow at me and laughs. “Thanks for the heads up.” He then walks past me and I walk into the house closing the door behind me.
My eyes then lock with those aqua eyes. It wasn’t long till the room began to fade to darkness and I began to lose sense of my body. Through the darkness I can hear a voice ringing in the distance. A voice that seems to be getting closer and closer. “… I have never seen the shadows for myself. And I have never seen such power radiating off something so small.” The voice finishes.
A small girl with burning red hair stares up to a great big willow tree. Her small hands on her hips.
“Who are you calling small? Get out from there! How dare you hide from the Princess!” The way the girl says these words almost made me smile, this child really believed she was royal blood.
A figure jumps down from the tree. The boy slightly towering over the small child. “Forgive my rudeness,” –he bows his eyes never leaving her face- “Your highness. I am sorry if this comes off a bit rude,” he says standing back up. “But where are your body guards?” A dangerous lint flashes in the boys eyes as he takes a step closer to the girl. “We wouldn’t want something to happen to the Princess, now would we?” I began to panic as I realize how close this guy is to the girl. “We wouldn’t want something like this to happen…” The boy moved threateningly closer and my eyes went wide.
“NO!” I sit up in my bed, sweat trickling down my face and my heart racing at 180 beats per minute.
“Willow! You’re okay, it was only a dream.” I slowly open my eyes to my mother angelic face.
“What happened?” I ask groggily, my head light and the room slightly unsteady.
“You haven’t been eating well that’s what! You skip lunch, and I hear from Mr. Darkling who witnessed you fall! How many times do I have to tell you to eat correctly?” Now that I think of it , it’s been weeks since I’ve eaten a full meal. “Damien! Bring her some water would you?” I hear the door close, but I pay no mind to it.
“I’m fine mom. I was just shocked to see two men coming from OUR house. If Jared wouldn’t have cleared things up my mind would have gone to an unpleasant place!” I say slightly shivering from the disturbing thoughts.
The door opens once more as my mom’s eyes narrow. “Another thing I wanted to talk about! What is this I hear about you almost getting ran over!? WILLOW! Did I not teach you to look both ways before crossing?” If I were a cat my ears would flatten against my head right about now. “You are forbidden to walk to school anymore! You will be up and ready to go by the time I leave this house got it!?” she screams.
“ERIKA!” Another voice shouts. “That is enough!” I don’t look at who spoke, instead I look at my mother’s face. No one talks to her in that manner without her flipping out.
“This is not an open discussion.” She states simply.
“A friend could…” The voice tried, but mom was angry.
“What friends? She refuses to befriend anyone! I don’t understand what more you want me to do. I have done all I can and you don’t change…”
The words hit my heart, it was like getting punched, but ten times worse. “You want me to change?...” My words come out shaky and weak.
“Erika!” The voice growled.
“Get out…” I whisper.
“Willow… I didn’t-“ She tries but it was too late.
“I SAID GET OUT!” I shout, my room humming with my hurt and my bottom lip trembling.
They both comply and I close the door leaving me alone in my puddle of pain.
Once I began to feel numb I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial Jonathan’s number.
One ring… Two rings…
“Willow?” His voice soft as it always is and full of warmth in a way that comforts me. “What’s wrong?”
I sigh, and clear my throat. “ I know I yelled at you last time for offering me this but… Can you give me a ride to school tomorrow?”