Author's note: Hello! Thank you for checking out my story. I appreciate it! This is my first Red Dawn fic, and it has bounced around my head for several months. I had the first three chapters done, and then I lost sight. But cleaning my old laptop, I found several of my old stories, and am starting to work on them again. Please let me know what you think with a review! This is from the recent remake, but it will only be based off of it. Once the story progresses, it will start to lead off on its own path. I have lots of ideas up my sleeves, so I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Red Dawn, any familiar places or things, nor do I make any money from writing this. Strictly entertainment purposes. Jenna is my OC, and is the only character belonging to me.
I groan softly to myself, feeling several muscles in my legs and arms protesting against my fall. I glance around, seeing I am circled, and taste the blood faintly on my lip. I wipe it off before slowly rising to my feet again. All I hear is laughter, as I am now facing the leader of the group. She smirks at me, faintly, and before I have time to react, I am thrown against a wall of lockers. I hear someone, as I sink to the ground, and as I look back, the 'popular' girls have all vanished, and a familiar blonde is by my side, helping me up.
"Thanks, Erica." I mutter, wiping my lip again as I stand. "You're the only cheerleader I can stand." I joke to her, and she smiles at me. I grab my discarded book bag and the two of us head off to our science class together.
"It's no problem." She smiles back to me, and once we get to class, I sit at my table in the back, not really caring to be bothered. Matt Eckert walks in not too long and sits with Erica at the table in front of me. We exchange greetings and small talk until my lab partner walks in, just before the bell rings. Robert sits down beside me, and I smile my greeting at him, since the teacher has already began talking about the lesson plan. He nods and smiles back, and I catch his eyes flicker to my chin, and I'm sure he sees the purple discoloration already. I duck my head, fishing out my notebook from my pack before taking notes.
It felt like class was over early, and I shoved my books into my bag again, seeing the class emptying out. I pulled the straps over my back as Erica and Matt walked out, excited about the game tonight. I let out a small breath before glancing behind me, seeing Robert. "Hey." He says, and I smile lightly at him. "Are-are you alright?" He asks, tilting his head slightly. I glance down, before meeting his gaze.
"Yes, I'm fine Robert." I nod at him, and he doesn't seem to buy it, but nods back. I walk into the hall with him, happy to be done school for the weekend now. I let out another sigh before I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look over, seeing Robert behind me, and see concern in his eyes. "You're going to the game tonight, right?" I ask, already knowing the answer, simply asking to avoid certain topics.
"Uh, yeah. Going to be doing some stuff for the podcast on the school website." Robert nods, with a faint chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. I smile back at him, and nod. "What about you?"
"Yeah, probably. I guess I will see you there?" I ask, pushing my hands in my pockets. He nods, a ghost of a smile gracing his lips before he looks at me again. "I should get going. I have a lot of school work to finish before the game." I curl my fingers into a small wave as I back away, making my way towards the main entrance. I hear him behind me again.
"Are you going to the usual place after the game?" I hear him and I think for a second before shrugging. "If I can find a ride over, sure." He smiles again, nodding and walking back, towards the opposite side of the building.
"I'll find you towards the end." He declares before turning and walking down the hallway. I nod at his back before walking to my locker, swapping books, and started my walk for home. It only took about twenty minutes to arrive home, and I open the front door, and attempt to quickly make my way upstairs.
"Where are you running off to so quickly?" I hear from the living room and I grit my teeth together, mentally cursing at myself. I take a step back, and walk into the living room and bow my head slightly.
"I just wanted to get all of my homework finished, father." I say to him, not daring to look up at him directly. I stare at his shoes, watching as they uncross and he stands, walking closer to me. I want to close my eyes, but I know it would only make matters worse. I feel my hair pulled, and my head snaps straight up, eyes now pointing at the ceiling as there is an unbelievable amount of pain in my scalp.
"Well, looks like you can't even defend yourself at school. I wouldn't be surprised if a freshman did that to you." He mumbles, and I feel my jaw clench. I am slammed against the wall, and hold in the cry of pain. He advances again, before knocking me to the ground, sending a kick to my stomach. I curl up, holding onto my stomach. I can taste the blood in my mouth again, and hear him going back to the sofa. Slowly, I grab my bag, and fumble my way upstairs, closing the door behind me.
It really doesn't take much time for my work to be completed, and I jump into the shower, washing the day's pain off my body. I slip out, grabbing one of the nicer shirts I own and quickly get dressed. I let my hair fall, naturally straight against my back before slowly walking down stairs. "Father?" I ask, walking into the living room. I glance around, but he isn't in sight. I continue to look, but he isn't home at all. I sigh, defeated before grabbing a sheet of paper, scribbling a note for him, putting it on the fridge.
I hang my head, thinking about my broken family. My mother left not too long after I was born, and I was with my Dad all the time. It was great up until I was ten, and he died from his battle with heart disease. I had to be put into adoption, and not too long after, I was adopted by the man I now call Father. His wife died just before, and he wanted to find something to remind himself of her. Which, happened to be me. He used to tell me I looked a lot like her. Up until I was fourteen, that is when the abuse began.
First it was just a little remark here, and there. Nothing too much. It would hurt, but I just kind of bared it, since I didn't know better. Last year is when he actually started getting violent. A stray smack, or push. It just continually got worse. The worst had been being shoved down the stairs. I knew I should have told someone, but I only had a couple of months until my eighteenth birthday, and I could just leave, rather than go through the process of finding a new foster home.
I make my way over to the bathroom, and start applying my make up to hide the bruise on my chin. Once I have it almost finished, I hear the doorbell. I glance around, nervously before walking to the door, peeking through. I open the door with a smile. "Robert! What are you doing here?" I ask, opening the door to allow him inside, something my Father would have slapped me for. "I didn't expect you.."
"Well, I noticed you walk to school, so I figured I would save you a trip. I pass by here anyway." He said, stepping inside. Robert looked around my house before smiling at me.
"It's alright, really." I try to say, but he cuts me off, shaking his head.
"Well, I am already here. So come on, Jay." He nods over his shoulder to his car and I bite my lip, nodding.
"Alright. Let me just grab my stuff, ok?" I jog back to the bathroom, put a couple quick finishing touches on my face before grabbing my purse and sweater, walking out the door with him. Locking the door behind us, we walk to his car, and climb in. The ride was almost completely silent, and I took the few minutes to watch the road. I bit my lip, knowing Father would be highly upset. I let out a sigh, and felt a hand on my arm.
"Are you sure your alright?" Robert asks, glancing over to me. I nod weakly.
"It's just.." I catch myself. Honestly, Robert is a nice guy, and I could tell him just about anything. "Nothing." I nod to him and I can tell he doesn't believe me. "Really, Robbie. If I have to tell anyone anything, you'd be first." I smile as we park in the parking lot beside the foot ball field.
"Tell what?" He asked, getting out of the car and I stop, thinking. Before I realize it, my door is open and I look up at him.
"Just anything.. Important." I mutter, climbing out. I grab my purse and walk to the stands with him, and we find Daryl. I wave and sit beside him as the two boys talk. I haven't known Daryl for as long but I know he is a nice guy too.
"Alright, I will be back in a few. Got to get some footage." Robert says, holding up his camera phone before disappearing down the bleachers and onto the sidelines. Daryl and I fell into polite conversation about school and homework, and before long, Robert was back, and sat in the small space between Daryl and I. We watched most of the game like this, and Robert would film a bit here and there, until the end. He decided to go down for the last five minutes, and Daryl and I waited in the stands, after the game finished. Daryl and I made our way back down, finding Robert fairly easily after most people left already.
"Alright, lets get going. Are you coming with us, Jenna?" Daryl asks, and I just nod in return. We climb into Robert's car and head over to the local sports bar and diner most people go to after games. The three of us manage to find a booth, and quickly sit down, smiling at our luck. We ordered a few burgers and fries.
"So, I have never been here before. Is this like, some tradition or something? After games?" I asked the pair, running my hands over my jeans nervously. I never was one to have friends, and I never hung out with anyone outside of school, except for Erica for a couple school projects. The two males looked at me, mouths open slightly as our drinks were brought over and I bit my lip, regretting speaking.
"Yeah, practically everyone in town comes down here after games, well, at least the big games." Daryl explained. I just nodded lightly, going to play with a strand of my black hair before wincing, my scalp was still tender from earlier. I tossed my hair over my back and took a drink of my soda before looking around. I noticed Matt and Erica walk in several minutes later and waved, and they ended up joining a few other foot ball players, whom I didn't know. The three of us made small talk until our food came out.
"You guys won't miss these, right?" Was all I heard, and I looked up, seeing an older female, with a few french fries between her fingers, I glanced between the two, now hormonal, boys on either side of me.
"No, of course not."
"Not at all, Toni."
They spoke together, and I just ducked my head slightly as she walked away. I noticed Daryl and Robert exchange looks before going back to eating as if nothing happened. We fell into a small conversation about the game before a loud pop was heard and the power in the whole place was out. People started to leave, and it didn't take long before everyone was ushered out. I had to grab onto Robert and Daryl so I wouldn't trip over anything, but still managed to let out a yelp when I felt something cold down my back.
"What's wrong?" Robert asked, and I just shook my head.
"I think somebody spilled something on me." I told him, having to lean in a bit closer due to the commotion of the crowd. He leaned back, glancing over my back before nodding.
"Smells like beer too." Daryl said from beside me and I felt like I was going to go into panic mode. If father caught me like this, I don't even know what he would do. Robert led us to his car and dug around in the trunk for a moment.
"Here." He handed me a black and white button up shirt that was about a size or two too large, but it would have to do.
"Um," I began, looking down at myself, then around. "Where can I change? I don't want to ruin your seats." I muttered to Robert.
"Might be best, so my parents don't kick my ass." He chuckled before glancing around. It seemed as though everywhere had lost power.
"Ok, how about behind the restaurant? Just keep watch for me?" I asked, walking around to the back side of the restaurant. The pair nodded, and walked over by a dumpster. I ducked on the other side, quickly pulling off my shirt and attempting to wipe my back off before throwing on the new one. I buttoned it quickly before coming back out. I stared at my shirt with a small sigh, shoving it roughly into my purse as we walked back to the car. "Thanks again, Robert." I smiled at him and climbed into the back, glancing at my watch. It was already midnight.
The ride to Daryl's consisted mainly of the boys talking about the game. I kept playing with my fingers as I listened to the radio, trying to relax. Father was bound to be passed out drunk by now. Once Robert dropped Daryl off, we waved goodbye and I climbed into the front seat. For the first time since being in the car, a song I liked came on, and I started bobbing my head to the song. Robert noticed, and with a smile, turned it up. Except about halfway through it cut off for a news report about the black out.
"You know, even though we didn't get to talk much, I had a nice time tonight." He told me, after lowering the volume again. I smiled over at him with a nod.
"Me too. It was nice to get out of the house." I told him, watching him drive.
"We should do it again some time." He told me, and I wasn't really expecting it. I grinned, nodding again.
"Yeah? Yeah, we should. I'd like that."
"Totally." Robert agreed as he pulled up in front of my house. I smiled at him before grabbing my purse and unbuckling myself. "So I will see you in school on Monday." He smiled, and I agreed, and before I could help it, leaned over and gave him a hug.
After a few moments of feeling his larger hands on my back, I pulled away, mumbled a bye and waved once I got to my door. I took a deep breath and carefully unlocked the door, trying to make as little sound as possible, in case father wasn't passed out. I stepped in and turned to close the door, waving as Robert left. I carefully closed the door, locking it. As I tip toed up the stairs, I saw father asleep on the couch, another empty bottle on the floor under him. I walked upstairs, closed my door and got dressed for bed, consisting of sweatpants and Robert's shirt.