A/N sorry to leave the cliffhanger there for a bit, but here's the next chap, I hope you enjoy it! Once you've finished reading, by all means, feel free to leave a review!
Scars And Souvenirs
Chapter Three
Elle Greenaway stormed into the room, a pistol clamped in between her shaking hands, her brown eyes like river rocks, glossy, cold, and lifeless, submerged beneath the turbid current of thoughts that nearly blotted out the color. Everyone in the room was frozen, almost as if all were captivated by her presence and not scared to death. The room maintained an air of deadly silence for a few seconds, as she gasped for breath, her panicked shaking causing her lithe form to shudder. She looked like she had been running for her life, when in reality, she was the one with all the power here.
"Elle." her name slipped from my lips like the sand in an hourglass, unstoppable. The tiny noise caused her to wheel around and face me, waving the gun in my face.
"What did you fucking say?" she spat out, the words poison in her mouth. She had faded black streaks down her cheeks, painted by her tears with her eye makeup. Her knees were trembling like leaves in a windstorm, like they were unable to hold up to the gravity of her actions. Her eyes were watery with fear and hurt. Everything about her made the gun seem more out of place in her hands. She wasn't an aggressor, she was the victim.
"I'm sorry." I murmured, falling silent once more as she paced. She looked over her shoulder as she walked the small space in the washroom, like she was being followed.
"I'm sorry" she mimicked "You're sorry, everyone's sorry, but no one really cares. If you were truly sorry you would tear yourself away from your stupid gossip and rumors and stop hurting people."
"I've never hurt anyone intentionally, I'm a victim, just like you." I shuffled in front of JJ, becoming a human shield as I talked. Then, subtly enough to make it look accidental, I allowed the sleeve of my shirt to ride up, showcasing the angry pink scars that marred the limb. I wanted to make her feel understood, what better way than to show she's not alone?
"Then what the hell's his excuse? Or his? Or hers?" I felt my stomach flip-flop as she pointed the weapon at Aaron, Derek, and finally JJ. With the girl I love in danger, I scrambled to come up with something to say.
"I can't speak for the others, but JJ's not that kind of person." I heard her whimper from behind me as I moved, covering her body with mine. JJ tried to shove me away, and I couldn't tell her motives for doing so. She was either trying to stop me from getting hurt, or she knew Elle's words were true, and it was an admission of guilt. Either way, I refused to budge.
"You're blind! You're blind to who she really is!" Elle accused, gesturing wildly. She was panting heavily now, the raucous sound of her breathing becoming the dominant noise, nearly blotting out Spencer's occasional frightened squeal, or the low, soothing sound of Derek trying to calm Penelope, who was sobbing silently with fear.
"Elle?" JJ began, before suddenly I was shoved out of the way and a pistol was pressed to her skull. The hard lines of the black weapon stood out against the silky crown of JJ's hair, her lips and eyes were pursed in fear, and I never loosened my grip on her hands. I needed to do something quickly, before this situation got any worse.
"Don't you fucking call me that, you don't get to say my name!"
"You want answers, right? She wants to talk to you but she can't do that with a gun to her head please, please put it down." I begged, watching the muzzle of the weapon tremble violently. It bobbed like some macabre bobble-head, never straying far away enough from JJ's temple for me to let out the tense breath stalled in my lungs.
"I know what it's like! Ever since I've dated Emily I've been taunted and teased! I no longer go on the Internet because I got tired of reading the things people posted there! And I don't know why kids do what they do, but I do know how much it hurts!" JJ begged, her voice cracking and hiccuping as she pleaded through her tears. I watched the gun grow deadly still, before it whipped away from JJ's head, smacking her across the cheek but leaving her relatively unscathed. None of us dared to move despite the fact that all I wanted to do was take the blonde into my arms and hide her away from it all.
"What about you? You stupid popular kids, you make it to the top of the food chain by stepping on the backs of others! You have your hordes of followers, but you've no real value for others!" she accused, swinging the weapon to face Derek.
"I know but-" he started, before being violently cut off.
"No, you don't know shit!"
"Yes I do."
"No, you don't know! You don't know what it's like to be tricked by someone you thought liked you! You don't know how humiliating it is to have someone with complete control over you! To realize that they have you trapped! To feel them all over you, inside of you, tearing you apart while you beg for mercy! You don't know what it feels like to have the worst moments of your life flown like a flag for all to see! You don't understand, no one does!" Elle ranted furiously, tears streaming down her face as she recounted one of many horrible things that happened to her. My heart clenched with this realization of how much this poor girl had to endure on top of the bullying.
"Yes. I do." Derek ground out, squeezing his eyes shut in some attempt to stop the tears from escaping. Elle, like the rest of us, froze as she realized what he just admitted.
"No! No! No, no, nonono..." she gritted out, the pistol clamped in her hand desperately as she paced. Both her hands were covering her ears, blocking out any more input from us.
"Elle please, just-" JJ's words were cut off as the roar of a bullet firing ripped through the room. Her body shook violently as the shot impacted, tossing her like a rag doll. A second shot rang out, making Aaron cry in pain, and then faster than she was here, she was gone, running out in a panic. We all sat there, unmoving, chests heaving for breath, glad to be alive. I was so relieved that it took a few seconds until I noticed the crimson flower blossom against the light blue of JJ's top. I was fixated by the sight for a millisecond, unable to move from the choking grasp of panic, as I futilely hoped that the metallic tang of blood permeating the dry air wasn't coming from my beloved blonde.
