1,726Warnings: Not beta'd. Read at your own peril.
Downward Spiral Rising
Chapter 2
Firstly, I'd just like to point out that the whole dark, shaggy hair, bright eyes, and toned muscle combination is totally overrated. Sure, I'll admit, I'm just as big a sucker for the 'tall, dark, and handsome' mysterious stranger bit as the next girl. But when those bright green eyes are narrowed at you like you're a bug on the bottom of his shoe, and that black hair casts menacing shadows across his face, the 'tall, dark and handsome' becomes 'big, surly, and angry'.
It's intimidating as hell.
Connor shot me a murderous scowl and I blanched, managing a dignified 'eep' as I scurried away as fast as I could to my seat...which was maybe two desks over.
Damn.
The seating arrangement is done alphabetically, and in reverse order (the A's in the back, the Z's in the front), so while I got to sit next to Warren, a newly revealed down side was that Connor Barton sat one seat behind me and to the right.
Prime glaring spot and proof that God does, in fact, have a sense of humor.
Needless to say, the rest of first period went by uncomfortably for me, to put it mildly. I've never been so hyper aware of another person in my life, and I felt Connor's piercing green eyes drill into the back of my head for the next 43 minutes.
When the bell finally rang, I scrambled out of the room as quickly as possible, calling a half-hearted 'see ya' to Warren as I made a mad dash to English. I was so relieved to get out of Spengler's room and away from that creepy 'glare of death' that it wasn't until I'd taken my regular seat by the window and slowed my breathing that it occurred to me that I had more than one class with Connor.
That's right about when he walked through the door and narrowed his eyes at me. Honestly, I didn't think hitting him in the head was that big a deal. But considering that the boy had never acknowledged me in his life and was now suddenly staring at me like he thought he could make my head explode if he tried hard enough (and believe me, he was trying), I took it as a sign that Connor was one to hold a grudge.
Double damn.
I spent the rest of that period slouching down in my seat and trying to disappear. I desperately wished Warren had second block with me. We were both in Honors English, but he didn't have it until fifth period, and I cursed him (rather colorfully) for it. Third period was my one non honors/AP class (Spanish) and the only one I shared with Nikki and Ian besides lunch. And wouldn't you know it? Clair was in that class.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
I hated my life so much.
I tried to hide from her by using Nikki and Ian as human shields, but they weren't as cooperative as I'd hoped they'd be. The main flaw was Nikki. She grew this big grin on her face and waved at Clair when she entered the room. Clair smiled back as she walked by, locking eyes with me for a moment. I stared at her blankly, not knowing what I was supposed to do. I'm a wee bit socially awkward sometimes, and it wasn't until she had passed us and walked across the room that I finally broke out of my awkward stupor.
"What was that for?!" I hissed at Nikki, more annoyed at myself than at her.
"What?" she asked innocently. And the worst part is, she was honestly confused by my irritation.
"You were consorting with the enemy!"
"Oh, please, Chloe," she waved her hand dismissively, "You can't ignore her forever. What's the harm in being nice?"
I glared at my friend's head, much like Connor had done to me earlier. Damn Nikki and her stupid logic. But Clair, for one, took it in stride. She even said 'good-bye' to me after class let out. Of course, I was too stunned, confused, panicked, and annoyed to say anything back. Clair was not supposed to be nice to me, dammit! It made the whole situation that much more complicated. I'm not sure why I was so surprised though. Clair was one of the few members of the social elite who was popular not because she was beautiful, rich, and athletic (though she was all three) but because people actually liked her.
Go figure.
I was still chewing my lip over the whole ordeal as I followed Nikki and Ian into the crowded hallway. I listened half heartedly as we navigated our way through the teenage mass toward the lunch room, Ian complaining loudly about hunger pains the whole time. By the time we entered the cafeteria and got in line Warren was already waiting for us at our usual table. When we all finally bought our food (I use the term loosely) and sat down, Ian had already moved on and was starting to explain to Nicole about how he and Caitlyn were destined to be together. I took some satisfaction in the fact that she didn't understand his twisted logic any better than I did.
"I don't get it," she said when he was done explaining.
"That's ok," he grinned brightly, taking a spoonful of his macaroni and cheese before bending down to his backpack to retrieve something. He emerged a second later with a triumphant smile and shoved a sheet of paper into her hands.
"Um," she mumbled, her eyes drawn together slightly as she looked at the page. I leaned over to see what was written on it, my breath hitching a little when my hand brushed with Ian's. I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time when I read what he'd written on it.
Caitlyn )Ashley)Drew )Darrel )Clair )Chloe ) Ian
Yes, he actually drew a diagram. It was more colorful than that and there were arrows andstick figures, but you'll just have to live with what I give you. I am not recreating that.
"When did you have time to make this?" I asked him, distracting myself from the small ache in my chest by studying the doodles on the page. Spanish was his worst subject and he was almost failing it. He better not have drawn it during Señor Garcia's class.
"Third period," he shrugged casually. I smacked him on the back of his head and Nikki shot me a disapproving glance but didn't say anything. She was thinking the same thing I was: he deserved it.
Which meant he really had deserved it, since Nikki's the nicest person on the planet. Actually, when I think about it, it's weird that she's one of my best friends because I have a tendency to be, for lack of a better term, a bitch. I guess only a saint would put up with me. Or an idiot. Speaking of which, Warren had been complaining to her that not only had I made him wait that morning, but I had viciously snatched his breakfast too. She smiled at him sweetly as the little troll continued to paint me as some kind of ogre so that his girlfriend would pity him. I frowned.
Really, Warren was such a boy sometimes.
"Oh stop whining, you big baby!" I told him unsympathetically after a moment, plopping my brownie onto his tray so he'd shut up. Warren stopped in mid-rant, blinked, then promptly took a mouthful out of the sweet before I could change my mind.
Typical.
"It was my muffin in the first place," I muttered sourly under my breath. Warren grinned.
The rest of the day went by slowly, but uneventfully. I shared one more class with Connor and two more with Clair but I managed to bleed into the background successfully, much to Warren's annoyance. He hates it when I go into the 'invisible man' mode, mainly because he doesn't have anyone interesting to talk to. Serves him right for stealing my breakfast muffin and weaseling me out of my brownie. He knows I can't stand whining. He must have had designs on my desert since the beginning of lunch, that sneaky bastard.
Ok, so maybe I was being a little melodramatic, but I needed to brood about something or else I was going to end up angsting about the Barton twins, and that was unacceptable.
I refused to angst.
And I did a very good job of avoiding it, too. When the last bell finally rang and school let out I had yet to submit to the temptation. And in my naïve little mind I figured that meant I was safe. After all, I had the whole weekend to look forward to, Barton free.
"I'll see you guys tonight?" I asked as Warren pulled up into my driveway, Nikki clinging to his arm like I cling to Mr. Snuggles. I sometimes wonder what would happen if Warren learned how to drive a stick shift.
Heh.
"Yeah," the dessert thief replied, craning his head around to look at me. Nikki frowned a little at his answer and I got the vague impression that she wanted some 'alone time' with her boyfriend. It seemed like lately she wanted less and less to do with Ian and me and got annoyed at Warren whenever he wanted to hang out as a group. I guess I could understand, it was just that Warren was my friend first, and wasn't she our friend too? I sometimes got the impression she thought we were a burden. Especially me.
But then again, I'm notoriously bad at reading people.
"You know, I'd understand if you guys wanted to be by yourselves," I told them, feeling a little like a third wheel. Ian had to stay home and study for a Spanish test anyway (his parents were making him, a fact that he'd been complaining about all day... although quite frankly I thought the boy was lucky to still be breathing, considering his grades).
"Thanks, Chloe," Nikki answered brightly before Warren could reply, "We haven't had time by ourselves for a while now," she smiled, squeezing his arm and shooting him a 'Look'. He sighed then looked back apologetically at me.
"Yeah, thanks, Chloe," he said. I rolled my eyes at them and grinned.
"Hey, what are friends for?" I asked, grabbing my bag and sliding out of the car. "I'll see you tomorrow though, right?" Warren nodded and ran a hand through his tousled hair, mussing it up even further. Our moms visited each other every Saturday and ever since we were little we'd kept up the practice ourselves. Later when Nikki and Ian joined our group they'd started coming over too. It was practically tradition.
Even more important than hanging out together on Friday night, so long as we were still on for Saturday I couldn't complain. I waved at them over my shoulder as I bounded into my house, closing the door behind me with a heavy sigh. The day had been absolutely hellish.
Oh well, I mused, at least I didn't have to worry about the Clair or Connor for the next two days. I groaned in relief as I kicked off my trainers and padded my way towards the kitchen, my stomach rumbling for some decent junk food. Cookie dough in hand, I was all ready for some serious vegging out when a page plastered to the refrigerator door by a zillion-and-one magnets caught my eye, my mother's tiny print scrawled neatly across it.
Chloe,
I'll be home late tonight; there's money for some pizza on the counter. Curfew is still 12 but try to get home early. We're spending the day tomorrow with Alec and his family. Have fun with Warren & co. (but not too much fun)!
Love, Mom
My chewing slowed, a tiny bit of cookie dough escaping my mouth as I read the note again, hoping someone was just trying to pull some cruel prank on me. But the handwriting was definitely my mom's. I groaned pitifully and banged my head against the refrigerator.
Once.
Twice.
Six times.
Nope, the note was still there. I frowned. What was that Murphy's Law, again: no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse? Yeah, that sounded about right.
A/N:
THANKS TO: Shaylee (again, yay!), LilLaTLuv, and Sophomore0602 (LMAO: "smexy". I totally agree) for reviewing! It made my day!