Courtney watched her father angrily pace back and forth in front of her, while her mother leaned against one of the white walls of the living room. She winced as her dad's fist suddenly connected to the wooden coffee table and on top of her final exam papers. Failed final exam papers, in her parents' eyes.
"How, Courtney?" He asked his daughter softly, shaking his head. "How could you do this to us?"
Courtney sighed and fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Daddy, it's only a C. It's the highest of all the grades everyone else got in my class. But if you want, I could retake-"
"Enough!" Her father barked abruptly. He took the stapled papers in his hands and started to violently flip through them. "It's only a C… do you know how a grade like this can affect your acceptance into Toronto University?"
"I'm already accepted, Dad," Courtney said wearily. They've been at this for about an hour already, and going through the same arguments over and over again were starting to get tiring.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean they won't change their mind once they see this worthless piece of shit." The man growled.
"Richard!" Her mother finally spoke while crossing her arms. She glared at her husband for his rare moment of cursing.
"Father, I did my best, alright?" Courtney threw her hands in the air exasperatedly. Why couldn't her parents see that that was what really mattered, past what they always expected of her? "Like I was trying to say, I can still retake the test!"
"Hah, if a C is your best, you'll only be retaking the exam just to get a grade lower, just like all the other failed tests you have retaken this month! If you decide to 'do your best' again, a D is all you'll get. A D, as in 'Do you realize the mess you have created for all of us'?"
He took the wrinkled papers, shoved it into her face, and ripped the pile in two. The strips fell onto her lap, but quickly fell to the floor as Courtney shot up from her seat on the red leather couch.
"Would you just listen to what I have to say for once?" She screamed, feeling her blood pulse and boil under her skin. Before she could go on, her father kept on rambling.
"No one in this family's history has ever retaken a test, and your mother and I have made too many exceptions for you. You have to pay the consequences, Courtney." He said emotionlessly. "I don't want you seeing that creature anymore, and you know who I am talking about. This is all his doing, and you know it."
Courtney couldn't believe it. She was nearly on the edge of breaking down, and they were just daring her to take the jump. She looked at both of her parents before laughing incredulously. "Oh no, don't you go bring Duncan into this again! He has nothing to do with me getting a stupid C!"
"He has everything to do with it! The same thing goes with every other failing grade you've gotten ever since you started going out with that cretin, including that horrid tattoo on your arm."
Courtney scoffed and fell back onto the couch, remembering the time she and Duncan drove to the nearest tattoo parlor months ago. She was the one who insisted getting a small heart inked on her upper arm to match her boyfriend's, and Duncan simply told her about the place he always went to. Her mother had found out weeks after she got it, when she came out of the shower and completely forgot about it.
"Daddy, you never even took the time to get to know him! You and Mother are never here!" Courtney shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at her parents.
"Don't dump the blame on us, young lady," Her father scolded. "The problem has always been about you and only you. And I will not stand to have an irresponsible failure of a daughter any longer!"
The woman standing behind him walked over to the couch and took a seat beside her shocked daughter. "Courtney, you know your father and I are only doing what's best for you. Duncan is only a phase at your young age. Some time away from him will hopefully make you realize that you're better off without him." She said soothingly, yet seriously.
"Better off without him…?" Courtney whispered in incredulity. Why does everyone keep saying that? She wondered. Sure, Duncan and her were complete opposites, but the one thing they do have in common is they could both agree that their relationship was the best thing that had ever happened to them. Their friends and parents never seemed to agree though.
Bridgette & Gwen, Courtney's closest friends, had one day warned her out of concern to never trust Duncan, considering he was the heartthrob-heartbreak of their high school. She told them that they were all wrong, and that they simply need to give him a chance. Next were her teachers, saying to not let Duncan effect her flawless grades and education. Then came Duncan's ex-girlfriends, his own friends Geoff and Trent, and soon, total strangers were pulling her to the side to ask if they needed to call the police.
And then there were her parents.
Everyone she ever conversed with always disapproved of Duncan and tried to convince her to forget him, but she never listened.
She looked at both adults carefully before getting up and backing away from the strict adults, towards the grand staircase that led to the bedrooms.
"Don't you walk away from us-!" Her dad began to yell once his daughter laid a hand on the railing and started to head up the stairs, but was quickly cut off.
"Better off without him?" Courtney repeated through clenched teeth, her voice now laced with fury. She whipped her head around to shoot glares at both parents. "He happens to be the reason I work and practically live for! He is the one that keeps me going everyday, and no one else! He taught me how to go through all the stress you guys dump on me before I have a break down! And now you're planning on taking that away from me?"
Without another word, Courtney raced up the steps and stumbled through the doorway of her room, slamming the white wooden door shut. The sound of her name was called over and over again from downstairs, but she ignored it. She locked the door, knowing exactly what she had to do now.
A shuffling sound came from the far end of her room. The medium-sized window slid open and the dark purple lace curtains swayed in the gentle night breeze as a pair of hands gripped onto the ledge. Pulling himself up, he balanced himself on his arms and tapped the window glass 3 times. "Hey Princess," Duncan whispered.
Courtney dashed through her room, yanking out drawers and dumping articles of clothing and books into an olive green duffel bag. She hastily grabbed a couple of things near her mirror before smiling at her boyfriend. "Hey."
"So, uh, what's the rush?" He asked as he watched the mocha-haired girl run to her closet to pick up a pair of pants.
Loud footsteps climbed the stairs quickly, causing Courtney's heart to beat faster than before. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins so quickly, it was nearly blinding her. Everything was happening so fast.
"Courtney!" Her father's voice bellowed from behind her door. A series of bangs followed shortly afterwards. "We're not done speaking to you! Open this door this instant!"
"Dear, everything will be alright," Courtney heard her mom lie. "We can get you some counseling, or therapy, if you like. You'll be back in your senses in no time!"
Courtney scoffed silently at her parents' ignorance. Because of her love for Duncan, they thought that she needed to see a therapist. She needed to get away.
Duncan looked at his girlfriend strangely. "Court, what the hell is going on?" He asked, beginning to swing his leg over the ledge of the window to get inside the room.
Courtney speed-walked toward the window with her filled duffel bag in hand, slung it over her shoulder, and took Duncan's face in her hands to make teal eyes meet onyx ones. "Do you love me?" She asked softly, looking at him dead in the eye.
Before Duncan could answer, the bangs on her door grew louder. "Courtney!" Her mother's now frantic voice called from behind the door. "Your father is getting the gun! He's about to shoot the lock! Please, just open the door, and let's sort things out!"
Courtney looked at back at Duncan, plead glistening in her eyes. Despite the utter confusion of what was happening, he grabbed her chin and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, ending it too soon for both of their likes. "I love you."
She smiled sincerely and leaned down to kiss him with as much passion as she could pour into it. Electricity shot through both their bodies, and Duncan placed both his hands on the sides of her face to pull her closer. Courtney let her lips part, and before he could deepen the kiss, she pulled away.
She stuck a leg through her window and felt a stable ledge on the stony side of her cream-colored house. "Let's get out of this place."
Duncan rolled his eyes, smirking. "Tease," he said. Courtney only grinned in response as she slipped her entire body out and held onto the ledge of the window. No turning back now.
BAM! Courtney jumped at the sudden noise, and Duncan had to quickly wrap a free arm around her waist before she fell a 3-story fall. The bronze doorknob of Courtney's bedroom door fell shortly afterwards with a clang and rolled off around her wooden floor.
She took one hand off the ledge to hang on to Duncan's shoulder. "He shot the lock! Hurry!" Courtney whispered furiously, and Duncan kept her hip to his as they began to silently make their way down the stony wall.
The door was heard kicked open, the sound of her parents' frantic footsteps filled her now empty bedroom, until she heard her mother gasp & scream, "The window!"
By that time, Duncan and Courtney finally had their feet on the concrete, and began to make a break for it.
"Come back here!" Her father's voice bellowed. She can imagine her dad, his face red with anger and wrathfully shaking his black rifle in the air. "Don't you dare…!"
Duncan spotted his motorcycle down her street, and grabbed Courtney's hand to make her catch up to his pace. She jumped onto the back of his Harley and linked her arms around his waist once they made it, and within a few seconds, they were off, riding away from her father's screams, and into the night.
Both panted heavily, and Courtney could hear Duncan's quick heart beats from his back when she rested her head against it. They sat in silence for a few minutes, letting the sound of the engine and wheel screeches fill it instead. Courtney closed her eyes and breathed sigh of relief. Thank God we made it out alive…
They reached a stoplight, and Duncan turned his head to glance at Courtney, who lifted her head to grin sheepishly at him. Her large, dark eyes gazed up innocently. "Hey…"
Duncan laughed lightly. "So, wanna tell me what that was all about?"
Courtney took one hand to rub circles below his shoulder blade, making him slowly relax the tension in his back muscles that have formed ever since they've seen each other, which have been weeks. "I'll explain later, just keep driving."
He gave his grip on the handle of the motorcycle a jerk, making the engine roar. "And where to this time, Princess?"
"Duncan, just take me anywhere but here." Courtney sighed and rested her head against the back of his neck.
She tightened her arms securely around his waist as the light switched back to green, and they drove away under the suburban stars and city street lights. The night was theirs at long last, and they'll drive all evening if it means to finally spending time together, without what people thought holding them back.
Courtney closed her eyes, letting the sound of Duncan's now steady breathing and the low purr of the motor lull her to sleep. We'll leave this town with no second thoughts if we have to, if this world will finally let us be alone.
o0O0o
A/N: Ah, I found this on my computer :3 just thought I'd upload something to let you all know that I ain't dead! At least on this website ;)
So, yep, love Mayday Parade. Love Demi Lovato. I'm working on a You've Got Mail! chappie! Finally! xD Heheh. I'm not sure if I should continue this. Should I? I mean, I have some ideas… if I do continue this, I know how to end it already haha. But yeah, should I just leave it like this or what? Review please! Love you all! ~Raf :D