Before continuing on with the update, I feel it is important and necessary for me to address you all. Given the state of the world currently, I want to voice my support and solidarity towards the Black community and the BLM movement. No human deserves to be taken from this world, and time and time again this has unjustly happened. I offer my unwavering support, empathy, and prayers to all who have been affected by these events. I want everyone to know that if you need someone to talk to, I am always here. Stay strong and stay safe.
- Cade
Apparently 'he was talking shit about you' is enough of an excuse to go off and fight someone.
While I didn't seem fazed by the whole idea of being talked bad about, Clark was more or less enraged.
"What do you mean, you don't care? He was saying all this stuff about you! Behind your back!" Clark pulled at the roots of his hair in frustration.
It had been three days since my birthday and Clark's brawl with Max Whittaker- Clark was still furious.
"I don't care because people have been saying stuff behind my back my whole life." I simply stated with a shrug. "I'm pretty sure magazines have said worse than what Max probably said."
"But you don't understand what he was saying!" Clark sighed exasperatedly, continuing on with his pacing.
You could tell he was frustrated, due to his continuous pacing whilst pulling at his hair every time I tried to reason with him. He wasn't very reasonable at the moment.
I sighed deeply, leaning against the counter in my dorm's kitchenette, observing Ellington with narrowed eyes. "Then help me understand. What did he say?"
Clark had been annoyingly tight lipped about what Max had said, he could go on an hours long rant about him, but every time I asked what were the words bad enough to make Clark throw a punch- he wouldn't answer.
"It doesn't matter." Clark muttered evasively. That asshole.
"You just contradicted yourself!" I pointed an accusing finger at him. "It matters enough that you threw a punch at him, you fought him, and now you've gotten a weeks worth of detention! And it matters enough that you're ranting about it instead of helping me with these goddamn cookies!"
Clark frowned at the bowl of cookie dough in front of me. It didn't really look like cookie dough. More like soup.
"How much flour did you add?"
"One cup..." I trailed off, trying to recall the recipe. It called for one cup, right?
"Graham, it's two and a half cups of flour. That's why it looks like shite."
"Hey!" I yelled defensively. "It doesn't look like shit!" It does, but I'm not going to admit to defeat.
"Just put the flour in and mix it, then add the chocolate chips and bake it." Clark rolled his eyes at my stubbornness.
I mimicked him under my breath but followed through with his instructions. I needed these cookies to turn out okay, and according to Luca, Clark made the world's best cookies.
As soon as I had finished, sticking the tray of unbaked cookies into the oven, I clapped my hands to get Ellington's attention. "Sulky boy, it's time to treat your injuries."
Clark let out a loud groan, but complied with me, standing at the counter and grabbing the necessary ointments for him.
Since Clark was apparently useless, I was the one who had been applying first aid to his bruises for the past few days. I was religiously applying the creams to his face everyday so his battle scars would soon fade. Bruised and battered wasn't really the best look for supposed golden boy, Clark Ellington.
Uncapping the salve I had been using for his injury, I hopped onto the counter and waved him over in front of me. Once I was level with his face, I began to apply the cooling minty smelling salve under his eye. The bruise was now a dark purple hue, starkly contrasting his pale skin and looking like a stain on a perfect painting.
"You know, you're an idiot." I casually commented, focusing on rubbing the ointment into his skin.
He let out a whoosh of air, the breeze hitting my face. "I know."
"Good." I sighed, dropping my hands from his face so I could wipe them clean with a towel. As I began to unwrap the gauze to wrap his still healing hand, Clark gently laid his head on my shoulder.
"What are your cookies for again?" Clark nodded towards the oven.
He picked up his head to meet my eyes, so I just smiled. "It's a thank you to one of my professors. He wrote me a recommendation letter."
"For your internship?"
Shit. I still had yet to tell Clark, and my time was ticking. I kept telling myself that I'd tell him, but every last minute I'd chicken out and end up keeping quiet. The longer I waited the worse it would be, but I just didn't want to ruin anything. I was stuck.
"Yeah." I nodded, feeling the weight add onto me with every lie.
"Well you better make sure you don't burn them, because from what I can see- you still suck at baking," He softly tapped my nose.
"Oh shut up. Don't you have a detention to be at?" I pointed to my watch.
"Trying to get me to leave so soon?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Of course, I'm tired of you." I rolled my eyes.
"Ouch." He held a hand to his heart with a grin. "I'll see you later, love."
I nodded in response, watching as he exited my dorm.
After the cookies had finished baking and cooling, I wrapped them into the cardboard box I had gotten. I tied some string around it to secure the box, and proudly looked at my beautiful packaging. If CEO of Graham Medical Centers doesn't work out, I can definitely be a professional box packaging decorator. Is that even a thing?
After spending more time than necessary admiring my box, I exited my dorm room to make my trek to the Language Halls.
I stood in front of my Literature class and paused. School had ended two hours ago, so would Professor Park still be inside? Hopefully. If he's not inside, I can just drop off the cookies and skedaddle on back to my dorm room.
Knocking the door, I slowly pushed it open and looked to the Professor's desk. Thank god, he was inside on his computer.
"Professor Park?" I entered, a nervous smile on my face. For some reason, it was always intimidating to talk to teachers after class hours.
"Ah, Blake! What brings you here?" Professor Park turned to me with a smile.
I held the box of cookies out to him with a grin. "I just wanted to give you these as a thank you! For your letter of recommendation, I really appreciate that you took the time out of your day to write it even though I gave you such a short notice."
"Of course, Miss Graham! It's always a pleasure and I didn't even have to think hard about what to write. You're a stellar student!"
I blushed, placing the box onto his desk. "I really appreciate what you've done for me this school year," I thanked him again.
"So how did the applications go? Do you have a preference on any of the ivies in particular?"
I hesitated for a second. "I was mainly looking at Columbia and Brown. Mainly Brown, but we'll see."
"Ah, Brown! I definitely think it would be a good fit for you! As a Bear myself, I truly recommend going there!"
"Of course," I nodded.
"So I wanted to ask, are your classes in order to graduate this semester?"
"Yes sir, I have all the credits ready so I just have to stick it out now." I forced a laugh.
"Graduate early?" A new voice spoke, causing me to turn in its direction.
Clark.
Before I could even say anything, he had left through the door leaving Professor Park and I staring at the exit.
"Once again, thank you so much! I should get going." I said to my professor hastily, before quickly retreating to see if I could go after Clark.
The halls were empty and silent, the only sounds coming from the rushed clicks that my Adox leather boots produced. I was speedily walking down the barren corridor, trying to catch up with Clark. Then, at the doors at the end of the hall was the familiar six foot figure.
"Clark!" I yelled, trying to get his attention. He stopped, dropping his hand from the door and slowly turning towards me. Was he going to let me explain? An inkling of hope lit inside of me, but it slowly faded when I got closer and saw his face.
"You're leaving?" Were his first words, but I could barely hear them. He had said them so quietly, so... sadly.
I briefly shut my eyes. "I was going to tell you, I swear it's just th-"
"When?"
My eyes widened, his tone had shifted from sad to angry. "What?"
"When were you going to tell me? After you thanked your professors for the recommendations? After you got the decisions? Before graduation? After? Were you even going to tell me? Or were you just going to leave? Were you just going to up and leave all of a sudden, like a coward? Like you did New York? Was I going to be another Parker, another boy who you used to keep you entertained before you just left me?" His voice cracked.
"I was going to tell you, I promise." I whispered, my voice shaking. "I just didn't know when or how. I wanted to, goddamn it you don't understand how hard I tried! But every ti- every time I tried to tell you I just couldn't bring myself to it. I didn't want to ruin us."
Clark let out a humorless chuckle, his dark green eyes shining. "You didn't want to ruin us? Did you not realize that the longer you took the worse I would feel? Or did you not take that into account? Did you just, I dunno, think that I would be fine with this?"
"No I-"
"That I would just say 'You know what, it's alright! It's perfectly alright that you didn't tell me you could graduate early! It's perfectly alright that you didn't tell me that you wanted to graduate early! It's perfectly alright that you chose to graduate early! It's perfectly alright that you're just leaving', huh? Was that what you thought I would say? Because I can assure you, that is not what I think."
"I know!" I burst out. "I know! Goddamn it, I know. I didn't want to do this to you, but this is my chance! It's my chance to be able to do what I want to do and what I have to do! I have the opportunity and you don't understand how long it took for me to actually make a decision because of you! But I want this- I want the ability to be me for once! I want to be the one who calls the shots, not my father or some company!"
I paused for a second, before continuing. "And it's not like we both don't already constantly travel around the world. We can still see each other, we are fortunate enough that we can afford to jump on a jet whenever we want!"
"You don't get it, do you?" Clark finally met my eyes, his gaze melancholic. "It's not about you leaving, it's about you not telling me. It's been what, four months since you found out that you can graduate early?"
"Three." I muttered softly.
He shook his head, before continuing on. "And you still couldn't tell me. I had to find out on accident. We're supposed to trust each other, not lie. How can we be in a relationship if it's filled with lies?"
My heart thudded while a feeling of panic washed over me. This couldn't be it, right? "But our relationship isn't filled with lies." I protested. "I made this mistake, I admit it. But that was it. And I've said it once and I'll say it again. I didn't want to lie to you and it killed me every time I did, but I thought I was doing the right thing. I know that I was wrong, but I made a mistake."
Clark stood in front of me silently, I could practically hear the cogs in his brain working. He then looked at me once more, before exhaling. "I think we both need time to think. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah..." I murmured, but my eyes suddenly widened. "No, you won't. I'm leaving tonight with Kota. I guess.... I guess I'll see you after. Next week."
"Yeah..." He trailed off, "Next week."
And with that, he opened the doors and exited the halls, leaving me in the silence alone with my thoughts.
I had fucked up.
I had thought that the ivies I had been carrying so close to me were harmless, but little did I know that they were laced with poison, harsh enough to wound me.
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For the next chapter, I need YOUR help!
If you have any interview type questions (ex: what's your favorite color, ice cream flavor, memory, etc.) for the characters, please please comment them!