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Following the incident, Nathan, Hattie, Mr. Jefferson, Max, and avid Madsen were escorted to Principal Wells' office to have a discussion about the events that unfolded. The three students sat in chairs that were arranged in front of the desk, Jefferson and David stood behind them waiting for the principal to speak, he cleared his throat before he did so, "Now... I know today was difficult for everybody," He started off, "But, I am so proud of the way Blackwell pulled together to save a young girl's life. Of course, you're quite the hero for getting Kate to come down, Max," He gave her a smile that hid pity behind it, Max shrugged her shoulders, shifting in her seat uncomfortably.
"I- I didn't do much," She said sheepishly, Jefferson placed a hand on her shoulder,
"She's modest, like a real hero," He made a comment, giving her a smile this time.
David crossed his arms over his chest, letting out a small cough, "Yeah... Real 'hero.'"
Wells cleared his throat once again before he spoke, "As principal of Blackwell Academy, I take my duties seriously, I take the well-being of every student even more seriously... What happened today should never happen in a hall of wisdom and knowledge," His eyes scanned the bodies that were arranged in front of him as he spoke, "Mr. Madsen," He said, his glance finally landing on the man, "As our head of security here... Those roof doors should always be locked," David gave a slow nod as this was said, bowing his head, looking defeated, "Mr. Jefferson," Wells took his attention to the teacher, "I know you can't be expected to know what your students are going through, but, Kate has assisted you in class, so you should've known something was amiss," As this was said, Jefferson licked his lips awkwardly and looked off to the side for a moment, "Mr. Prescott... Miss Olson," Now Wells started to address the students, "You two are responsible for the Vortex Club parties, and since Miss Marsh did attend your last party, you'll have to answer some more questions, and lastly," His eyes stared at Max, "Miss Caulfield, why exactly were you on the roof with Kate Marsh... Did she tell you her plan? Or anything at all? Please, tell us everything."
Max sat straight up now, Hattie watched her body language carefully as she started to speak, "All I know is that Kate was at a party and Nathan dosed her, she got wasted and kissed some boys on a viral video without a clue."
Hattie almost jumped out of her seat as she heard this, Nathan quickly turned his head to look at the girl who was throwing accusations around, "Watch yourself, Max. You have no idea what you're talking about!" Hattie argued.
"I dosed her? Without a clue?" Nathan let out a scofff, "Have you seen the video? Whatever, Kate was loaded and playing the filed," Nathan replied, rolling his eyes as he did so.
Max turned her body to face the couple who was now arguing with her, "You both are liars. Natahan told Kate he was going to take her to the emergency room, Hattie you were there!"
"I said I was going to take her to the ER... She sobered up eventually," Nathan continued to argue and Hattie nodded in agreement.
"You are stepping on thin ice, Caulfield, got a lot of balls to throw around lies," Hattie grumbled at the girl.
Max didn't back down, she continued to stand her ground, "Bullshit. Something happened to her, you both know it. How about we talk about you waving a gun around in the girls' bathroom?"
Nathan quickly cut her off, "Hey! That is total slander, I could sue you and this school so fast! I already have a personal lawyer!" Hattie eyed Max down, this made Max grow visually uncomfortable, causing her to shift in her seat, clearing her throat.
Prinicpal Wells gave Max a confused look, "Wait, Max, you told me that nothing happened yesterday... Are you just making things up? How can I trust you?" He questioned her.
"I was afraid yesterday, but I have to tell the truth," Max said, her voice was a little shaky as she spoke. She thought Hattie was still staring at her, but, her gaze was somewhere else. She looked at Nathan, watching his movements now.
"I do understand that... And since Mr. Prescott and Miss Olson appear prominently in the video and were responsible for the party... I have no choice but to suspend them until further notice." Nathan looked over to Hattie, she rolled her eyes and looked downat the floor, looking defeated. Why was this their fault? Before anything else was said, Principal Wells put a paper on the desk, sliding it over to the students.
"Excuse me... I think Nathan, Hattie, and Max need a break before we grill them further," Mr. Jefferson suggested to the principal, "A friend and a student just tried to kill herself, they don't need this forum right now."
Natahn cleared his throat, "Yes- I am kind of devastated right now, I think I would like to comfort my girlfriend and be with my family," His voice was flat as he spoke.
"Alright. Miss Caulfield, please sign here to confirm what you have told us... I will continue this investigation from there," He slid the document a little more towards Max and she nodded, leaning forward to sign it. "Well, I think we know less now than when we started... We will be assisting the police with further inquiries, I know this has been a stressful day..." Wells once again looked at every one of the people who were in front of him, "I wish I had the power to change it for the better... So, thank you for coming in." He made eye contact with Hattie, who stared back at him, emotionless.
Everyone left the office now, Nathan let out a sigh, leaning against the wall outside of the office, looking over at Hattie as she approached, "Lunch?" She asked him and he gave a nod, they left the building at this moment, decided where to eat.
"But... Where?" Nathan asked Hattie, Max was watching the two of them from a distance. She noticed how laid back the two of them were, especially considering the events that just happened. Hattie wasn't okay with it, she was just too headstrong to openly put her emotions out there.
"Two Whales?"
"Alright... Sure, I can drive," Nathan forced a smile and she returned a weak one. She followed him to his car and watched as he fumbled with his keys. She stood at the passenger door, waiting for him to unlock his car.
"Oh, go ahead, take your time, your highness," Hattie teased him, Nathan let out a groan.
"Shut it," He said before he finally got the doors unlocked, they both piled into the car, letting out a long breath, both looking at one another. Nathan let out a laugh before he started the car, "Fucking bullshit, yeah?" Hattie let out a laugh as well.
"Suspended for being in the background of a dumb viral video," She said before she sat there silently, her eyes locked on Nathan now as he begun to talk about school stuff. She nodded occasionally, she wasn't that zoned into the conversation, she just stared at him, studying his features.
He looked at her, saying something that caught her attention, "You know, you can make some money off of your art, I can talk to my dad about getting you a deal or something."
Hattie raised a brow, "It's fine..." She smiled, "I have no idea what the hell my style is yet, I am all over the place."
Nathan shrugged his shoulders lazily after she said this, turning his head to look at the road once again, focusing on it as he drove. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel and occasionally side-eyed Hattie, "Stop," He said after a while.
"Huh?"
"Staring... Creep."
"Aw... A little shy?" She questioned him, he let out a laugh.
"No! You're just being a creep," He joked and she rolled her eyes dramatically at his statement.
"Focus on the road, Prescott."
"Whatever."
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Once they got the diner, Nathan slid into a booth and Hattie walked over to the jukebox, changing the song before she went back to the table that he had picked out, she gave the boy a smile as she approached him once more. He had his camera set out on the table, along with a notebook, she tilted her head once she noticed this, "Study time?" She questioned him, not remembering the last time she actually saw him study.
"I- oh, uh, no... I just," He cleared his throat, he seemed a little nervous as he started to speak.
"What?" She slid into the booth and rested her legs on top of his under the table.
"Well, now that we have the rest of the day to ourselves, I figured we could go to the bay or something an take pictures, I didn't know."
"Oh? Yeah, I need a picture to enter into the stupid Everyday Heroes contest anyway."
"Yeah, me too.." After this they both sat and ate, talking about little things here and there for an hour or so. Time just seemed to stand still with them. Once they got ready to leave, Nathan paid for lunch and they went to the lighthouse, here they took pictures of the ocean, the lighthouse, each other, and after all that, they eventually just ended up sitting together on a bench, talking again. They were comfortable in each other's presence, and always have been. They sat there for quite some time, right until the sun started to set. Then they agreed to go home. They went to Nathan's parents' house where they spent the majority of their suspension.