An Unforgettable School year
Sequel to An Unforgettable Summer
In case you didn't notice, I'm trying to make Carson and Marian have almost a brother-sister relationship. He kinda looks after her, and she (almost, but not quite) mothers him. This is really just a bunch of ideas that I had that I through together. I'll try to make my next fanfic a little more organized. Guy, as you can see is back to bugging Marian, and causing trouble in the rest of the gang. Sorry I kinda made Marian less of a fighter then she really is... I'm sure she coulda taken Guy apart in that part towards the end, but I wanted that element of Robin saving her, and plus I wanted Carson to get to chuck that knife, so... Enjoy!
Marian Fitzwalter shouldered her back-pack as she headed for the dorm on the other side of the campus. She had just gotten out of glass and was going to spend the rest of the after noon with her friends, or the "outlaws" as they were known as by the rest of Nottingham College. "Hey Marian!" She turned and saw her childhood friend, and current boyfriend Robin Locksley running up behind her. She gave him a hug and a quick kiss, and he asked, "How was your Literature Class today?" Robin always payed special attention to this class because he knew she had to share a desk with Guy Gisborne, Robin's worst enemy, and her constant stalker. That past summer Guy had gotten drunk and forced himself upon her. Robin had come close to killing him after that, and since then he had taken great care to keep an eye on Marian. "He wasn't that bad," Marian replied, "although he was pestering me to go to the dance next week with him. Robin put on a look of pretend shock. "You didn't say yes did you?" "I said I'd think about it..." Marian said slyly, and I just decided that I will go with him, unless you ask me here and now." She stopped walking, and waited for Robin to say something. He pretended to be embarrassed, and shuffled his feet. "Ah gee Marian... I mean.. would you... like to come to the dance... with me?" She all but threw herself on him in a hug, and kissed him hard on the mouth. "That's a yes by the way," she whispered in his ear. He chivalrously took her back-pack from her and began to carry it himself. She smiled at him and the happy young couple walked hand in hand back to their dorm.
Carson sat in the corner of Robin's room reading. He and the rest of the gang were waiting for Robin and Marian to show up. They always met after school, and when one of the girls was late, it always seemed that one of the boys was late, and by chance they usually arrived at the same time. He rolled his eyes and thanked God he wasn't old enough to be interested in girls. He was an exchange student from the US who had whizzed through High School in one year, and landed himself in College at 14. Now he was 15, and he was enjoying himself completely in his new world. He had many friends, he was apart of the coolest gang, and he was getting (he thought) a great education. What else could he want? At that moment Robin's door opened and he came in, Marian close behind. Carson grabbed at the chance to play with Robin and Marian. "Marian!" Marian looked up at him, and he gestured first to Robin, and then to his cheek. Everyone else noticed too, and laughed as Marian wiped some of her lip-stick off of Robin's redding face. "Quiet Please!" yelled Djaq from the couch where she sat with Will, pouring over several class notes that they were using to work on a science project for school the next day. Will and Djaq were the shy couple in the gang, and they rarely talked about the feelings that they had for each other. Of course it was obvious to the rest of the gang that they like each other, but they didn't really bug them to much about it. "We are trying to work, something that I'm surprised your not doing, Allan." Djaq commented, looking pointedly at her sometimes childish acting friend. Carefree Allan A Dale lounged on Robin's bed, his girlfriend Grace sitting next to him, playing with his hair. "No worries man... uh, girl." he said with a little laugh. Will rolled his eyes at him and went back to work. Much Miller, Robin's closest male friend and roommate was busy raiding the refrigerator, and only looked up for a moment to see what had caused the rest of the gang to laugh. John Little, or Little John as the gang called him sat with his close friend Alice on the far side of the room, reading quietly. The rest of the gang sat down to do there home work, rushing through it so that they would have time to talk before dinner. Carson and Marian were going over their day's Literature class, Robin was working on his Calculus, Alice and John on their History, Will and Djaq on Chemistry, while Much studied the anatomy of a donut, and Allen tried to study very carefully the back of his eyelids.
The next day Gisborne slid smoothly into the seat next to Marian. He tried to put his arm around her, but she shrugged it off. He sighed. Would she ever forgive him for what he had done? He noticed with annoyance that Carson Aubrey took the desk directly across from him. The little twerp was constantly causing him problems, and always seemed to be around when he was trying to get Marian alone. Guy gritted his teeth and tried to picture what Carson would look like when he was done with him. Instead all that he could envision was his own bandaged hand, the result of the last fight he'd had with the little dope. He was with Hood, and therefore Guy's natural enemy, but there were also a few personal things between them, and Guy intended to pay him back for all the trouble that he had caused him.
Allan stared blankly at the teacher. He couldn't believe it. He had just been called on. "Dang it... why didn't I study last night?" he fiddled nervously with his pen. "Uh, the definition of Molality?" He squeaked. "Yes Mister A Dale, the definition of Molality." "Right... ummm... did we cover that in the reading?"
Djaq and Will smiled proudly at each other as the teacher complimented them on the excellent job that they had done on their science project. "You can all learn form these two people," the professor said to the rest of the students, waving at Will and Djaq. "They are dedicated, smart..." He gushed on, but neither of the young students noticed. They were to absorbed with each other.
John and Alice sat together, holding hands under the desk. They were an unlikely looking couple, Alice, small and delicate, while John was large and robust. Their hearts were as one however; both full of kindness and warmth. They exchanged a loving glance as their teacher drolled on.
Much was starving. When was this hell on earth going to end? He felt that if he didn't get a snack he would die. Unfortunately, he was not to be that lucky. It would be almost another our before he would be able to run to his locker for a quick bite to eat from his supplies. He sighed and leaned back in his seat, trying to forget the hunger that tormented him.
Robin sat staring intently at the teacher giving a lecture. He wasn't really paying any attention, but this wasn't apparent to any one watching him. His thoughts were of Marian, what she was doing, what she was saying, the sound of her laughter, the way she smiled. He couldn't wait to be with her again.
Carson watched with disdain as Guy attempted to get closer to Marian. The teacher called on him, and he answered almost automatically. His study habits were good, and he could read and answer questions without even thinking about it. He couldn't wait to see Gisborne slapped. He knew it would happen if he kept trying to get closer to Marian. He turned back to his work-book, and began to work on it. The room was silent as the rest of the students all began to work diligently at the assignment. Suddenly there was a sharp crack. He looked up to see Guy inching away from Marian, holding the side of his face. There were several giggles from the rest of the class, and Guy looked around angrily, and began to work on his test. Marian never looked up from her work, but Carson could see a slight smile playing on her lips.
After class that day, Carson caught up to Marian. "Wow... what did he do to make you do that to him?" "Oh, he was just getting on my nerves, so I thought I remind him who was in charge at that desk." Marian couldn't keep the triumph out of her voice. "Well," remarked Carson, " remind me never to get you angry with me." He gave her a playful shove and headed into his next class.
"Marian," Guy flashed her a sick looking smile. "Have you considered my offer to go to the dance?" "I have," Marian responded flatly. "I have decided that I'm going with Robin." Anger lanced across Guy's face. "I'm not going to let Hood take you," he said darkly, taking a step towards her "Well then try and stop US," Marian answered, putting great emphases on the last word. She turned and walked away from him. He took several steps towards her, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. "Don't do it Gisborne," Carson advised him. Guy grinned with satisfaction. This was the chance he was waiting for. He swung with all his might at Carson's stomach, only to have it blocked buy the thick, hard-cover chemistry book that Carson was carrying. One of Carson's hands shot out, hitting Gisborne right in the forehead, causing him to stumble backwards. Carson calmly put down his book, and rolled up his sleeves. With a bellow, Guy charged forward. Carson sidestepped him and stuck put his foot, sending Guy sprawling into a set of lockers. Guy collapsed, some what dazed. Carson picked up his book, and smoothed his hair back, jogging a little to catch up to Marian, who up until she heard the crash of Guy getting close up and personal with the locker, was completely oblivious to all that was happening behind her. "What was that all about?" she asked Carson as he caught up with her. "Nothing, I was just convincing Guy that it was in his best interests to let you go to the dance with Robin."
The night of the dance was lit by a beautiful full moon, which did much to add to the romance. The boys were in Robin's dorm, exchanging ties and pins. "Who are you taking to the dance Carson?" Robin asked, in his teasing voice. "A good cup of coffee, and and my MP3 player," he retorted. "Hmm," grunted Allan as he tried to tie his tie. "Not very good company." "Well who would you suggest that I ask? There is no one else here any where near my age, so I'm perfectly content to watch Much trip himself up or step on Eve's toes." Carson grinned evilly at Much. "Would you cut it out?" Much moaned. "I feel bad enough about this as it is. I just know I'm gonna make a fool of myself, so don't make it any worse," he pleaded.
"Do you really think he'll like it?" Djaq asked Marian nervously, referring to the dark colored skirt she was waring. "Of course he will," Marian answered. "Will likes you in anything." Marian herself was waring a shimmery pink skirt with a crisp, white, lacy blouse. "Allan makes it easy for me," Grace commented from the bathroom where she was applying he make-up. "He just tells me that so long as he can see my face he doesn't care what I ware." "Ugh... typical Allan," sighed Eve. "He has no respect for the lengths that women go to to make themselves look good for the men they love." All the girls giggled and made one last inspection of each other before going to meet their dates.
The guys were openly impressed when they saw girls that they would be taking to the dance. They complimented the girls to no end, causing them to blush hard. "Well," said Robin, "if everyone's ready, lets go hit the dance floor!" He took Marians arm and led her out along the moon-lit path that lead to the dance-hall. The other's followed behind, Carson bringing up the rear, keeping an eye on Much, who he had a feeling might chicken out. They got to the hall just a few minutes before the dance started. As soon as the music started playing, Robin grabbed Marian and swung her out on to the floor. The rest followed suit, even Much, who resembled something like a hippo on ice. Carson sat chuckling over Much's red and flustered face, and listening to his own music. He didn't really go for the slow and romantic dance music... he preferred American Country. It was at that moment he noticed Guy and Vasey sitting over in the corner watching them. Guy's angry glare flicked back and forth between the beautiful belle-of-the-ball Marian, and Carson, who had become his arch-enemy. Carson smiled at him, in an almost mocking fashion, but inwardly he chided himself. He knew full well that he should stop antagonizing Guy when he didn't have to. There was no use getting him up-set for no reason... Carson knew that there were many good reasons to get in Guy's hair, and because he happened to be sitting in a corner sulking wasn't one of them. He moved over out of Gisborne's eye-shot, and began to drink some of the hot coffee that he had brought to help keep himself awake.
Marian was as happy as she had ever been in her life. She was dancing with the man she loved, surrounded by her friends, who were equally happy. Robin smiled down at her, not the childish grin, but a genuine smile, that she had only ever seen him use for her. She let herself be pulled into the happiness of the moment, as the music softened, and Robin held her close. "I love you," she murmured, and then she closed her eyes, and let him dance her off into the night.
Robin awoke the next mourning feeling tired, but content. The previous night, (or that mourning, he couldn't quite remember so it was probably mourning) he and Marian and danced until they were almost asleep on there feet. But they were happy, so what was a little fatigue? There were no classes today, as most of the students were as tired, if not more tired then he was. He gave a contented sigh, and rolling over, once again began to dream of the magical night before.
Carson rolled over and chucked a pillow at Allan. It hit him squarely and he groaned, but didn't wake. "Hmm," muttered Carson. "He must be really tired," he thought. He got up, showered and dressed, and then began to put in a little bit of time reading the writings of Themistocles. After about another hour, Carson decided to wake him. He went over to his side, and smacked him in the side of the head a couple of times. "Grace, stop it honey will ya?" Allan moaned in his sleep. Carson shrugged and decided he would ask Grace about it latter.
The gang gathered in the dinning-hall for a late breakfast. Carson, who was sitting next to Allan accidentally spilled some hot coffee onto Allan's wrist, causing him to pre-maturely empty the contents of his spoon on his shirt. Thankfully it was just some dry coco-puffs, and there was no serious damage done to Allan's shirt. Carson however snatched the opportunity to ask Grace about what Allan had said that mourning in his sleep. "Sorry I had to do that Allan, but I had to get back at ya for calling me "Grace" and "Honey" this mourning." All the gang stopped eating, even Much. "Carson, don't you think you'd better explain that?" asked Grace, looking a little annoyed. "Gladly, answered Carson, elbowing Allan. "This mourning I smacked Allan in the side of the head, in an attempt to wake him up. He muttered something like "Grace, stop it honey will you?" The rest of the gang burst out laughing. Much spit out his orange-juice into his bowl of oatmeal, and instantly sobered as he tried to imagine choking down orange-tasting oatmeal in front of Eve. Meanwhile, Allan was still being laughed at, and Grace was being asked what she could possibly have done to make Allan's brain connect smacks in the head, with her.
Grace walked down the darkened corridors of the basement of the college. She reminded her self to remember never to come this way again. The walls were dank, and the shelves musty. The janitors were the only ones who ever came down this way, and that was only to fix the heating, or shut off the ventilation. But she had never been down here before, and her curiosity drove her on. Suddenly powerful hands reached out and grabbed her. She gave a short scream before a chemical-soaked rag was held up to her face, and she blacked out.
The thunder crashed, and lighting spattered across the sky. The gang was sitting in Allan and Carson's room, wondering where Grace was. Allan was almost beside himself. "She's never late. She won't answer her cell-phone, or her e-mail. Somethings wrong. I gotta do something." He started to "do something" for about the tenth time, but was restrained by John. "Calm down Allan, we'll give her a little more time," John tried to comfort him. Allan sighed and plopped down dejectedly on his bed. The lights suddenly flickered and went out. "Drat," muttered Carson. "Power surge from the storm. Someones gotta go flip the breaker." No one moved. "Well, I guess I'm that someone." Carson got up and began to make his way to the basement. The basement had a old smell that made Carson think of his socks. He knew that the circuit control box was in the corner of the room, and he tried as well as he could to make in that direction. The basement was dark, and he suddenly tripped and sprawled forward. He shook himself, and then noticed that he had fallen right at the base of the breaker box. He reached up and flipped the switch. The lights sputtered on, and he looked back to see what he had tripped over. To his surprise and horror, the limp body of Grace lay directly in the path that he had taken. He bent down beside her and felt her pulse. It was a little slower then he thought it should be, but still strong. "Great" he said to himself. "Why didn't I think to bring my cell-phone." He was afraid to leave her, least something else should befall her. "I don't know if I can carry her," he thought out loud, "But I may as well try." To his surprise she was rather light, and he had no trouble in carrying her like a child up to his dorm. He kicked at the door, as he could not knock. The door opened and Allan gave a cry of concern and amazement. Carson hurried past Allan into the room, and place Grace gently on the couch. A swarm of questions poured from the rest of the gang. "Where was she? Is she Ok? What happened to her?" "As to the first question, she was in the basement but as to the other two, I think that when she wakes up she'll be able to tell you the answer to them better then I can." Carson finished simply. "Come on lads," Robin stated. "Maybe we had better leave Djaq and the other girls to take care of her, while we go and be quiet somewhere." The boys filed out of the room, trying to make as little noise as possible. Allan blew the still out-of-it Grace a kiss before closing the door behind him.
It wasn't long before Grace had come around and related her story to the girls. After she had fully recovered, the boys were called in. Allan came over and knelt beside the couch. "How ya doing Honey?" he asked, his voice filled with a tenderness unknown to the rest of the gang. "I'm alright," Grace replied softly, smiling at Allan. Once again she told her story. By the end to it, Allan was once again all worked up. "So it wasn't an accident!" He raged. "Someone purposely knocked you using Chemicals. And no prizes for guessing who. I'm gonna go get Gisborne. Who's coming with me?" "Just hold on Allan," Robin tried to calm him. "I'm sure it was Guy, but lets not just go running off half-cocked. That's what he wants us to do. Bully's like him enjoy making people upset. Don't give him the satisfaction that he's looking for by doing exactly what he wants. Just stay calm, and stay together."
The next day in class, Will noticed the obvious look of surprise when Allan and Grace calmly walked by him. They completely ignored him, and Will could see the disappointment on Guy's face. He also noticed that Guy seemed to be able to remember which side of desk was his, and which side was Marian's. Will grinned to himself. He wondered how many smacks it had taken from Marian to jog his memory. He looked over at Djaq seated next to him. He gave a small sigh. She was so beautiful, and yet he just didn't have the courage to tell her so.
Djaq stole a glance at Will. Her thoughts wandered from the diagram of the Atom that the teacher was blabbering on about, and the handsome guy next to her. Will had a quiet grace that she loved. She could almost feel his chocolate brown eyes exploring her heart when he looked at her. She snuggled a little closer to him, and smiled as he lovingly placed his arm around her.
That evening the whole gang sat in Will and John's dorm watching a movie, The Lord of the Rings. It sported a cute actor, Orlando Bloom, who all the girls gushed on about to tease their boyfriends. "His voice is so lovely and passionate sounding" commented Marian, glancing at Robin. "I bet he's really good at singing." "He can't be that good, or he wouldn't be an actor, he'd be a singer," Robin mumbled. Marian winked at Djaq and said, "Well I bet he can sing better then you," and with that she gave him a playful shove off the edge of the bed. Robin rolled off and gave a loud groan. Marian's smile was replaced by a look of concern. She peered over the side of the bed to see if he was Ok. He suddenly popped up, and kissed her hard. "Gotcha," he grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. The rest of the gang laughed as Marian gave a huff of exasperation and turned back to the movie. Outside there door, Guy listened angrily to the happy couples laughter. Robin had HIS girl, and he wasn't going to let him keep her. He quietly stole away thinking of evil things to do to Robin, and lustful things to do to Marian, after the evil things had been done to Robin. He grinned wickedly to himself. Marian would be his yet.
Robin and Marian sat together on one of the benches overlooking the college grounds. They were both supposed to be studying, and Marian was. Robin however kept looking up from his book, stealing quick glances at her beautiful face. As he did, he thought how blessed he was to have her for a friend. She was so understanding, so strong, and so pretty he couldn't believe how such a idiot like him got someone so wonderful like her. Reluctantly he turned back to his books. At that moment something crashed down on the base of his skull, and as he slummed sideways he heard Marian scream and saw long arms wrap around her from behind.
Robin's eyes fluttered open and he found himself laying on the ground in front of a bench. At first he couldn't quite piece together what happened, but then all at once everything came flooding back. Marian's scream, arms wrapping around her... He jumped up, and then sank weakly onto the bench. He knew he didn't have much time. He needed to find Marian and get her back before something happened to her. He dug franticly through his pockets for his cell-phone. Thankfully it was still intact, and he quickly called his friends, all but yelling at them to get up to where he was. In less then five minutes the gang arrived, breathless from their mad dash up the hill. "What is going on?" panted Much, who evidently had been eating, as there was some chocolate at the corner of his mouth. "Ugh.. Someone bashed me over the head and took Marian. I don't know exactly how long it's been, or who did it." The whole gang gasped audibly... all but Carson who was bending over the ground behind the bench, examining some impressions in the grass. "There is some torn up moss and grass right in front of the bench," she stated. "that's probably from what ever struggle Marian put up. Then back here he can see the imprint of the show of who ever knocked you out. I think I can follow them..." She began to slowly follow the trail of footprints, the rest of the gang behind him. Robin had sufficiently recovered by know to move around and he joined Carson up front looking for tracks. Thankfully the moss was still rather wet from the rain that they had had the day before so the moss wasn't as springy as it would have been, and thus it was easy to see where the kidnapper had stepped. Every few yards Carson heard Robin mutter a new threat against whoever it was who had taken Marian from him.
The three guys who had grabbed Marian escorted her toward a large, old looking shed. She wasn't quite sure where they were, but she didn't think that they were on the campus anymore. They emerged from the woods just behind the shed and walked around the it to the other side. There was a heavy door, "unusually heavy," thought Marian, on the far side small building. One of the guys who had grabbed her produced from his pocket, a small card with a strange device on it. He slipped it under the door, and after a moment the swung silently open. She was forced inside the dimly lit room, only to find herself facing Guy Gisborne. "Hello Marian," he said, almost pleasely. "How nice of you to come and see me." "It my idea, I assure you!" she snapped back. "Oh no, I assure you," he responded. There was a hint of steel in his voice. "These lads have done their jobs well." He yanked out a small wad of money and tossed it to the three boys. "Wait outside for me. Don't let anybody it!" The three guys silently obeyed, closing the heavy door behind them. Guy grinned devilishly at her and moved a little closer. "Now, you and me is gonna get to know each other a little better." She took a couple of steps back, wishing that Robin would hurry up and get there. "Remember what happened last time you tried to take me?" she tried to stall. "Yeah, I remember," Guy said with a little annoyance. "I remember I tried it right out in the open where everyone could see me. This time it's different were here, alone, together as we should be." "Do you really think this will make me love you?" Marian asked in dis-belief. "I know it will," Guy responded coldly. "When you see what I can give you, what it would be like, you'll want me all the time. And I'll always be there," he said moving a little closer to her. Marian could almost hear the lust in his voice. That was one thing that she and Robin both agreed and respected each other for; their desire to remain pure until marriage, which they both assumed would one day come. She knew Guy was different. He continued to come toward her, almost as if in a trance. She was running out of room between her and the wall. She backed up against it and watched in horror as he continued to advance upon her.
The gang burst from the trees taking the guards around the shack completely by surprise. Will, Allan and Much each jumped on one while John threw himself against the door. Whoever had hung it had done a good job, for it would not budge. Carson suddenly noticed the contrast between the door and the rest of the shed. The door was quite new, while the shed it self was old and on the verge of collapsing. "John, not the door. Break through the wall!" John quickly surveyed the exterior of the building, and then threw his great weight, which was mostly muscle, against the it's side. The rotting would that made up the wall quickly gave way, and Robin and Carson jumped through to find Guy pinning Marian against the wall, pulling at her clothes. Carson whipped a concealed knife out of his distinctly American style boots, and threw it with an ease of long practice. It thudded into the wall just centimeters from Gisborne's head. This seemed to make Guy more aware of what was going on around him, and he let Marian go. She slipped to the ground, a small sigh of relief escaping her lips. "Come on Gisborne!" Robin challenged. "Your willing to take a girl, but try taking me!" With that he charged into Guy, sending him flying. Marian, having recovered, stood up and stood next to Robin, who was towering above Guy. Robin bent down, and yanked him to his feat, and was about to send one flying into his gut when Marian stopped him. "Robin don't," Robin looked at her in surprise. Guy gave him a smug look, but then went stumbling backwards as Marian's fist smashed into his face. The blood gushed from his nose, as he crashed into some gardening equipment that was evidently left there by the previous owner. "I just wanted the satisfaction of doing that my self," Marian said, looking disdainfully at Guy, who was attempting with little success to haul himself out out of the tangle of shovels and several bags of compost that he was in. Robin and Marian turned toward each other, kissed, then walked hand-in-hand out of the building the rest of the gang following.
Guy was to embarrassed to come to class the next couple of days. His face was badly disfigured, and he knew he would be asked about what happened. The gang were convinced that he would stay in the shadows for a little while until he had rebuilt his self-image. And so another life went on, full of happiness for the young people at Nottingham college, as they looked forward to their future together.