Grace's face kept its stoic expression as she walked over to the lab table, thinking "I can't belive I have to work with him. Wait, that's not right. He'll expect me to do all the work." She looked at Matt's face as she sat down, and saw his characteristic look of disdain. She tapped her dark purple fingernails on the table as the rest of the students were paired off. Matt glanced down at the source of the offending sound and then at her face.
"Do you have frostbite or something, ice queen?" Matt was just annoyed that he had to work with the goth weirdo. Grace shot him a look. "I mean, who would want to paint their nails the color of a corpse?"
"A corpse's fingernails don't change color. But to answer your question, this color shows that I die a little inside when I'm near you." She flashed a sweet smile at him and resumed tapping. Matt rolled his eyes at the football player across the room, Bobby. Bobby just shrugged. Personally, Bobby would rather punch Matt in the face than be friends with the arrogant bastard, but he had to go along with the status quo. For now.
"Hey. Hey. HEY! Jock boy! Earth to asshole!" Matt turned to see the queen of the night following him. "Now that you're listening to me, we need to get together to work on the lab report at the end of the week." Grace gave him a pointed look.
Matt scoffed. "Or, you could do it yourself. It's not like you have anything better to do." He looked at her expectantly.
"Look, dousche bag. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not some cheerleader that would die to do your homework. I'm not even going to go to college, so if you think that I care about your grade, you are sorely mistaken. Be at my house on Friday at 8:00 or you can kiss your grade good bye." Grace turned to leave.
"Bitch." Matt turned.
"See ya Friday, Matthew."
That Thursday, Matt had a home game that would determine if they made it to sectionals. As he walked down the hallways that day, the other players high-fived him and clapped him on the back, shouting encouragement and praise. He was joined by Bobby and two other players as they walked towards the locker rooms. Bobby spotted Grace at her locker and started fantacizing. He had a secret obsession with the dark spirit that he saw before him, but he knew that being with her was social suicide. But that didn't mean he couldn't imagine possessing her, the things she would do to him, and the things he would do to her. Bobby bullied her the most so that he could talk to her, and he decided that he would like to do so now. "Hey, goth bitch. I've been meaning to ask, why do wear all that black? Someone die?" He knew that her mother had died three years before, and was gratified to see a flash of pain in her eyes. He imagined that the goth girl enjoyed pain as much as he enjoyed delivering it.
"Do you need something, muscles for brains?" Grace turned back to her locker. "I have to get home and continue doing something useful with my life." She finished getting her books and turned to find her way still blocked. "Seriously, move." Bobby just stepped closer, forcing her back against the wall.
"What will you do if I don't?" He was literally breathing on her. Grace saw something in his eyes that terrified her. It wasn't disdain, or anger, or even indifference. Those she could handle. What she saw in his eyes was like a hunger, a lustful desire that scared her. And then it was gone. She tried to put on a brave face.
"Matt, just be sure you're on time on Friday. You need that grade more than I do. Now call off your bodyguard." Grace stared at the embarrassed quarterback who just nodded at Bobby. He moved reluctantly to let her pass. "Ta-ta, jocks."
"Dude, are you really going to goth bitch's house on Friday?"
"Yeah, she's my lab partner. I have to. If I fail another class I won't qualify for any college football scholarships. Some luck, eh?" Matt didn't let on that he had noticed the look in Bobby's eyes as he watched Grace walk away, they way he undressed her with his eyes. It made him vaguely uneasy for some reason, but he shook it off. Why should he care?
Matt lead the team to victory, just like he always did, and the school hailed him as a hero on Friday. Everyone, except Grace and her misfit friends. They never had the words of admiration that the rest of the school showered upon him, and he always felt they knew something he didn't. But he was willing to forget, if only his teammates didn't take it so personally. They enjoyed terrorizing the unpopular kids even more the day after a game than normal. But Grace and her friends were under the protection of her money and the apps that she had created. While they weren't left alone completely, they were not beaten up or shoved into lockers.
That night, Matt showed up to Grace's house at 8:35, knowing he was purposefully late. Grace opened the door and led him inside. "You're late."
"I got caught up."
"By what? Being a complete asshole to eveyone around you?" Grace opened a door on the second floor. "Well, come on. Let's get this over with." Matt stepped in the office and had to be impressed. Three computers sat linked to one another on a large desk. Next to them was a framed picture of a boy that Matt recognized as a boy named Tom that had died two years before. Grace sat down at the desk and logged on to one computer. "Alright, lets just get this report typed so you can get out of my house."
"You know, we used to be friends. How did you become such a cold bitch?" Matt was annoyed by her lack of respect for him, and the words slipped out before he could think. Grace shot him a look.
"You discovered football. I discovered that the people you care about will die without warning. Funny how life turns out, huh?" Grace turned back to screen. "You know, it's amazing to me that you even asked. For a second, I heard an echo of the Matt that was my friend." Matt looked away.
"Whatever. Let's just get this over with so I can get back to having a life." Matt rolled his eyes.
"Annnnnnnnnd there he is. I was starting to worry that you had emotions again." Grace turned back to the screen. "Alright, let's get started. And, by the way, I was sorry to hear about your dad. He's in the hospital, right?" Grace never looked up from the screen, but Matt looked at her, suprised that she knew about his dad.
"Yeah, he had back surgery...Thanks."
"How is he, anyways?" Grace's fingers flew over the keys.
"Oh, fine. He's getting out soon. Then he can get back to telling me how I'm not working hard enough at football and how I'll never amount to anything..."He realized Grace's green eyes were looking at his. "Um...anyways, what can I do?"
"Type away, quarterback. Just make the data into a table." The silence stretched. "For the record, even though you're a complete asshole, you are a good quaterback. Any father would be proud of your skills." They heard a door slam and then footsteps on the stairs. 'Speaking of fathers..." Matt saw a look of fear come in her eyes.
"Grace, where are you? You lazy bitch, where's my dinner?" Grace's dad stormed in the room. He was a large man wearing a suit that was too small for him, and he was obviously hammered. Grace stood, as did Matt.
"Dad, it's nine o'clock. I made dinner at six, when you said you'd be home. There's leftovers in the fridge." The fear in her voice made Matt feel strangely protective of her.
"I don't want leftovers, I want dinner!" He backhanded Grace so hard she stumbled back and almost fell, but Matt caught and steadied her. "See what you made me do? I just embarassed myself in front of company because you disobeyed me. I'm going out!" He staggered drunkly out of the room. Mat saw Grace's lower lip tremble as she touched the injured part of her face.
"Grace." His voice was softer than she had heard in a long time. "Grace, how long has he been like this?" He turned her face gently to face him. She just pulled away. "Come on, we better put some ice on that." They walked downstairs in silence.
"Matt, you should leave." Matt looked back in suprise. "Just leave." Then he got angry.
"Fine, you don't want my help? That's just fine. See you at school." He slammed the door, but paused on her porch. Even from outside the door he could hear soft crying.
Ok, please review. This chapter stemmed from a dream I had that was interupted by the mother of all thunderstorms. Plese enjoy, and if you have ideas feel free to leave them.
