for parselmouth123 ❤
|Chapter 11|
| all hell breaks loose |
BREE couldn't concentrate on her Expository Writing class.
Chase's words seemed to repeat themselves in her head like a loop; there was just no end.
"Watch your step, Bree... Watch your step..."
She shook her head firmly, as if that would help shrugging the worry off. But those cold, emotionless eyes kept popping in her head and she couldn't help but think of Mel's current state.
Did Chase ever terrify her before he delivered his final blow? Did he make those slow taunts until she'd worried herself to the point of insanity? God, she must have been so scared. And felt so alone.
Bree's heart broke a little more for Melody.
Bree was worried, but she wasn't scared. Then again, she had always been able to face anything upfront. She'd always had courage. It wasn't the same for everyone else, though.
Besides, Bree had Claire. And her mum -- without whom she wouldn't be half the brave person she was today.
Who did Mel have?
And without even realising or being aware of if happening, Bree's worry had melted away and given in to concern for her friend, once again putting someone else before herself.
"Hey," Claire whispered, this being the only class the two of them shared, what with the two of them following completely different courses. She started leaning towards Bree, "you alright?"
Bree looked at her and nodded, offering her a reassuring smile. "Just had a run-in with Chase earlier," she replied quietly. Claire's eyes widened, a mixture of horror, confusion, and concern dawning on her face.
She began shaking her head frantically. "No, Bree," she whispered, urgency in her tone. "That's not alright!"
Bree closed her eyes briefly and opened them, reassuring her best-friend yet again. Then, lifting her hand, Bree motioned with her index finger that they'd talk later, fully knowing Claire didn't want to wait.
As soon as the lecture was over and they stepped into the hallway, Claire's fingers latched onto Bree's arm and she was dragged away from being swept up in the stream of students, to the bleachers outside.
"Since when have you been running into that dog?" Claire demanded before Bree could even seat herself.
"It's really just happened a few times," Bree answered, in that ever-so-calm tone of hers. She was the one who needed to keep her cool and her head together here. Claire didn't seem like she could compose herself.
Claire didn't even seem like she could sit in one place as she sprang up from the bleachers and began pacing frantically on the aisle.
"Bree, this is not good, okay? You do know that, don't you? We can't -- he can't... I mean, you know what's happened to Mel!"
Bree nodded patiently. "I do know, Claire. But it's going to be fine, yeah? He's used to getting his ways and getting any girl he wants with a snap of his fingers... I won't be that girl, you know that."
Claire ran a hand down her face. "That's what scares me!" she exclaimed, looking more and more freaked out by the second. "That you aren't going to be easy to sway and if I know it, I bet your ass that monster definitely knows it too. And as ironic as it sounds, guys like Chase, they enjoy the goddamn chase. And he's only going to be more excited -- or whatever it is that he's capable of feeling -- oh my god, Bree, if he ever did something--" Claire was super scared, Bree could see that now.
But somehow the fear she saw on her loved one's face only gave her more strength. More determination.
"Claire, there's nothing he could possibly do to get me in bed with him, you know that," Bree reminded, willing herself to put up with Claire's rants, since after all, she was only worried for Bree.
"He'll find a way, he always finds a f--" Claire's pacing came to an abrupt stop as her pale green eyes landed on someone approaching them from behind Bree. Claire's frown seemed to deepen at whoever it was.
And somehow, from that gesture alone, Bree had a pretty good idea who it was before he even came into view.
"I thought you somewhat implied this morning you weren't a fan of me..." Bree's light-hearted teasing came to a stop as Nick finally came into view in all his chestnut hair and chocolate-eyed glory.
He looked pissed. Uh oh.
Nick roughly placed his bag on the ground of the aisle between the bleachers, and bent his knees, crouching right in front of Bree. She figured he chose that position rather than sitting next to her so that he could look at her steadily, right into her eyes. And make her see exactly how terrifyingly serious he was.
"Umm..." Bree started but stopped, searching his eyes for any clue.
"What's going on?" Nick asked, his voice hard. And something in Bree deflated. She'd thought they were making progress, that maybe he'd be willing to accept her as a friend. She just hated seeing him by himself, not interacting with a single living soul. Bree knew it was mostly his choice, but she refused to believe a part of him didn't wish for otherwise.
Maybe she thought that she'd be able to make a difference to him, but it seemed to be backfiring. Or maybe Nick's just not the one she'd be able to make a difference to.
Either way, it saddened her.
"What do you mean?" Bree asked, frowning in curiosity, not letting any other feelings show.
"I mean that two guys from our year, Calvin and Garret, who happen to run in Chase's circle, suddenly decided to try being my friend today," he said, scowl still firmly etched onto his face. "Like I fucking need one," he muttered under his breath and Bree flinched back on instinct.
"Oh, trust me, you desperately need one," Claire scoffed, making Nick turn his steely gaze on her. She seemed to falter in her tough façade a bit, and Bree wouldn't blame her; the guy was pretty intimidating.
"I'm sorry, who the hell are you?" Nick asked bluntly.
"None of your business," she shot back.
"Look here, drama queen with an apparent attitude problem, I couldn't give a rat's ass about who you are," he told her seriously, not even snapping at her. His tone was matter-of-fact, which made the situation all the more uneasy. "I just want to know why you're here, because I'd rather you scramble off while I speak to Bree."
Claire was downright pissed, Bree could see it -- and there was that feeling in her stomach. Her instincts were warning her, telling something unpleasant was about to happen.
"And if I don't?" Claire challenged, that look on her face again. The same one she'd worn when she told Jillian off. Like she was about to hit someone below the belt.
Bree had suspected something was off the night Nick had walked into the diner with her notes and Claire had disapproved of his presence.
Now though, she was sure Claire knew something that she herself didn't know. And that sent off the warning bells in Bree's head.
"Umm, guys? Come on... Let's..."
"What are you gonna do, Nick?" Claire continued, an edge to her voice and then Bree saw it -- the utter and complete disbelief, mixed with shock, slowly but gradually carving itself into Nick's sharp features. It was like he wasn't believing what he was hearing. "You gonna beat the shit out of me too?"
Something in the air changed. It was so quick, Bree didn't find it funny in the least.
The atmosphere suddenly shifted and it was like there was a loose thread connecting the three of them, one small pull and everything and everyone would undoubtedly come tumbling down.
The air was so, so fragile. The tension tangible. And Bree hated it.
Her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to leap right out her chest. THUD THUD THUD. She could hear her blood pounding right next to her ears.
Bree had to keep her cool. She had to keep it together when clearly these two were about to charge at each other like raging bulls.
Nick's face was unreadable, but his eyes -- boy, his eyes were brimming with so much rage Bree was certain that if Claire was a boy, she'd be a bloody mess on the ground right now.
His stance was defensive, his expression guarded, and waves of fury were reeling off him, that it was almost suffocating.
What the hell did Claire just do? Set off a ticking bomb, that's what.
Bree didn't understand why that rhetoric question seemed to rattle Nick to such an extent, but she was going to make Claire spit it out. Even if it meant dropping all niceness.
Nick took a step closer to Claire, and she had the sense to stagger back slightly. "I don't know you, and I don't ever fucking plan on seeing your face again, so you better make sure it stays that way," he told her in a dangerously low voice, his guard so high up Bree couldn't detect any emotion from him anymore. Not even a sliver.
He turned around slowly, all his movements deliberate and calculated, and the fact that he wasn't acting in the heat of the moment seemed to make him even more intimidating.
Nick must have felt her eyes on him, because just as he was about to pass by Bree, he stopped, their shoulders almost touching. He stared right into her eyes, and she found it frustrating that she couldn't read them. He seemed to be thinking, though, the gears turning in his head.
"I don't know what your deal is with that Chase dude," he said a moment later, his tone lighter than when he spoke to Claire, but still reserved and guarded. "And neither do I want to know. So please don't drag me into it. I don't want any part in it."
Bree managed a weak smile, "did you just say please?" she asked softly, trying to give it one last shot, referring back to their first proper conversation in Fawcett's class and their first joke, her optimistic nature wanting to see if there was even a tiny saving chance. She knew she had been close to building a rapport with him.
Nick didn't crack a smile. He didn't waver. "Not today, Bree," he murmured, averting his gaze. "In fact, not ever again."
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