Hello! I'm so sorry for not updating in such a while..well, hopefully this will make up for it! I hope you'll enjoy this chap as much as I did writing it!
Thanks for your amazing reviews, and also, thanks Wilisheen for beta-reading most of this! :D
Break the rules~
Eva ran as hard as possible. 'That creep...who the hell does he think he is?!' Despite her anger, she was scared to her core. For all she knew, he might well be serious about spilling her guts, he seemed that insane.
"Eva? Eva are you okay?" Rox looked concerned at her. She saw her talking to some guy on the Ferris Wheel and shortly after she came out as white as a sheet. She knew what Eva looked like when she was okay, and this wasn't it.
Eva gripped something in her hand. She saw Rox looking at it curiously and nervously hid her hand in her hoodie pocket. "...Rox, I-" she could feel him. He was watching her still. They had to get out of the Carnival, where she could talk in private with her. "...I'm fine. I just think...I-I need to rest for a bit. Back at the dorm."
The greaser looked at her strangely. "...What happened, Eva? I saw y'talkin' ta some weirdo and then you come back askin' for a trip back home? This ain't-"
She cut her off. "Rox, we NEED to go HOME." Eva emphasized it; hopefully Rox would understand the urgency of her request.
Roxianna kept a confused emotion, but she nodded.
'I've only been here a week. And then a psycho starts chasing after me. I hate Bullworth.'
They got back to their room. Zoe was waiting for them with an impatient look. "There ya are...I've been looking for someone to hang out with...Everyone else seems to have plans t'night."
"We were at th' Carnival downtown and then we ran outta cash. So we came back." The greaser sat on her bed and Eva stood in the doorway, still shaken by the night's events. She was grateful that Rox decided not to tell Zoe about what had happened - that would lead to a conversation she honestly didn't want to have.
"So...you guys puke any?" Zoe asked, leaning forward on Eva's bed.
"I think I threw up a little in my mouth when we went on the Fire Bird for like, the fifth time in a row..." Eva coined.
"You went on THAT ride? FIVE times?"
Rox nodded, "Eeeyup." And I went in the Funhouse."
"Funhouse? Jeez...wait...I thought that place was closed! I mean...after last year..."
Rox shook her head. "Nah, apparently they decided it was 'safe enough' to open up again. I can't imagine why, though. Maybe just th' money that comes in. It's a popular place."
"Whatever. I still think it's creepy as heck...Wouldn't go in there for fifty bucks."
"That a bet I hear?" Rox grinned.
The rest of the conversation went mainly between them, sometimes Eva chiming in with laughter or a word or two. But no-one noticed just how nervous she was, or the piece of yellow paper she was clutching in her sweaty palms. She excused herself, and decided to wander out onto the campus.
'It's nice to just finally be all alone. Rox and Zoe are fine, but...' She thought, trailing off. She didn't think any less of her friends, though. The bubbly greaser, the punk, and the quiet redhead. What a cool trio...
She walked along the sidewalk, taking in every bit and detail of the building as she could before she passed. She found that if you actually paid attention to your surroundings then a walk was more enjoyable. At least, it was for her. Maybe it was just the fact that she liked to be alone and nobody judged her here.
She walked along the path to the back of the buildings; She heard shouting but Eva didn't pay much attention, instead taking notice of the extremely uneven sidewalk.
She counted seventy-three cracks total in the sidewalk. No...seventy-four... seventy-five, seventy-six-WHACK.
"Ow, Oh gosh...s-sorry!" A short, rather skinny boy dressed in a green vest ran into her. He looked hurried, like he was being chased. In fact, by the looks of who came after him, he WAS. Eva quickly stood and helped the boy up.
"Get back here, you little punk!" Three big, brawny-looking boys turned the corner and ran after him. The one in front (the leader, she guessed) looked like a shaved gorilla. Eva stepped in front of the snivelling boy, who looked happy to accept her protection.
The three immediately stopped and began to shake with rumbling...laughs? Or what she hoped was a laugh, it sounded like a roar. "Who's this chick?" The left-flanker said between laughs.
'Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod...'
" 'This chick' is telling you to step away from him. He never did anything to you. What part of 'it's not recommended that you beat anyone to a pulp' don't you understand?" Too brave. Red light. RED LIGHT.
"Didya hear her?" The leader chuckled, "We should stop!" The halitosis-riddled giants rumbled. "Yeah, well, who's gonna make us, chicka?"
And it was right about this point where she snapped.
"I am." Said 'chicka' and whacked the leader in the face with her clenched fist; a sickening crunch could be heard. Blood began to pour from his crooked nose. He roared and the two flanking him went over to Eva and picked her up by her arms, holding her at least a foot off the ground. Eva jerked her head back and signaled to the helpless boy to go and get away while she was being held. He took it and sped off, though with an obvious twinge of regret.
"..you're gonna pay for that, girl." He said menacingly as he socked her in Eva's stomach. She doubled over, as much as you can whilst being held in the air, but recovered and delivered a sharp kick to his face, right between his eyes, but it didn't have much effect as her punch did. His fists were like rocks, rocks that kept pummeling into her every muscle and bones, nearly breaking from the pain.
'I need to outsmart him then. You can have brains or brawn, but not both, in most cases.'
"Hey...HEY..." She screamed between hits, trying to get his attention. She was quickly losing the ability to concentrate on anything but the pain.
To his lackies' obvious surprise and Eva's, he stopped. "What is it, punk?"
"...I saw...I saw where that boy went..." This got their attention. 'Success!'
"Well where the heck is he?" Wow...it was really this easy? Seriously? She pointed to the complete opposite direction where he went, and they were pathetically stupid enough to drop her and run towards where she pointed. "We're coming to getya, Petey!" The third one yelled.
'Petey...'
Ow...Oh God...OW...She clutched her stomach and fell to her knees on the sidewalk. It felt like a giant yellowjacket sting and Eva sat there for what felt like hours.
Petey ran for his life. He was extremely grateful for the girl who had practically saved him from yet another beating, but he pummeled himself on the inside. How could had just been cowardly enough to run? He should at least get help...he could still hear her crying out for them to stop...
"Hey...HEY!" That's the last thing he heard her say before the sounds of the fight got drowned out.
'Why did she save me? She doesn't even know my name...Oh gosh...and I don't know HER'S so I won't ever know how to thank her!' He started to get a stitch in his side. Petey felt dead like he had just been forced to run an extra three laps on the track for gym class. He stopped and clutched his side, panting. He tried to keep her features in mind...pale skin, a dash of freckles on her nose, bright red hair, blue eyes...and at LEAST a head taller than him.
"Hey..Hey Petey!" Thank all the stars, Jimmy to the rescue (as always, he mentally kicked himself for being so helpless).
"Oh my lord...you will NEVER believe what just happened, Jimmy! Someone ACTUALLY took me into consideration and..." he stopped to take a breath, "and saved me from three bullies!"
Jimmy raised a brow. "Someone other than me...?" That was hard to believe. Petey wasn't usually saved miraculously from someone other than Jimmy himself.
"Yeah...she didn't even KNOW me!"
"SHE?" Now he just wasn't sure if he was on a sugar high and was seeing things or this was real. Jimmy had nothing against girls, in fact plenty of girls at Bullworth could beat him to a pulp, but one girl against three tough bulldozers...
"Yea...She just...went up and defended me, told me to run, and then they were beating HER up." Jimmy saw him get the tiniest bit quieter when he said the next sentence. "I...I just ran away, dammit, when I should have gotten help!"
"Don't beat yourself up (irony), we'll go back. I bet they're through...I don't think they'll waste time on her too much." Jimmy started to run, but was already gone by the time Petey tried to protest.
"Jimmy wait!"
'Ow...OWWWW...fuck this hurts.'
Not even the biggest cracks in the sidewalk could distract her from the pain. It was fading away, albeit slowly.
Eva sat against the cold brick in the evening air for what felt like eternity and a day. She'd have to move at some point, but she felt as if the moment she moved her body, it screamed in protest and she sat back down. She was just beginning to lose hope that she'd ever make it back when...
"...You again...?" A scarily familiar voice turned the corner and saw Eva. His eyes widened in shock. She looked like she'd gone through a paper shredder! She had a bloody nose, a couple bruises on her cheek, and she was clutching her stomach as if her guts were going to spill if she didn't.
Eva was too tired to act like she didn't want someone around, Even if it was him. "Ugh...yeah, it's me."
"Dear God...what did they DO to you?" He asked, moving a little closer.
"Beat me up. That's what they do to everybody, isn't it?" She tried to stand, but to her disappointment, still couldn't. "...ngh...!"
"...can't get up?"
"Obviously." She turned her head and looked at him fully, for the first time since she really came here; He genuinely looked concerned. She remember the note. It was still crumpled in her left hand, and she hid it away. There was no way she was going to hand the note to him. She didn't know what might happen if she didn't, but whatever it was, it was better than what'll happen to Jimmy if the psycho's "plans" turn out like he wanted them to.
Suddenly he reached into his back pocket and brought out a soda can (in the miraculous way where all video game characters can store things in their asses. Don't question the logic.).
"Soda? How's this gonna help?" She raised an eyebrow at him and took it from where she was. Just exactly how was a caffinated sugar drink gonna help with the pain she was suffering from?
"Just drink it before I decide to take it back." He growled.
She opened it and gulped it down within a minute. It tasted okay, in her opinion, but as soon as she was finished, she could practically stand back up again. The bruises and cuts were still there, but the pain was gone like she'd never been pummeled at all. She stood and looked at the now empty soda can. "What. The. Hell. Is in this drink?"
"I find it best not to question things like this. It's one of the joys of Bullworth."
"Magic Soda. Who knew."
"Please. More like someone dumped a can of nuclear waste into the soda mix."
They stood there for a few seconds. Eva wasn't sure what to say, but, thankfully Jimmy picked it back up again.
"...you're a strange one."
She sharply looked up at him. "I kinda like being strange. Why do you now suddenly notice this?"
"Well, first you waltz into Bullworth and glaring at me like we were gonna be arch-enemies, then the second time we meet you act shy and don't speak for the entire time we were there, and then suddenly you protect my friend Petey and get viciously beaten you didn't even know him."
"Yes. And?" She questioned, cocking her head sideways.
"How did we get to immediate hatred to talking like we knew eachother since junior high?"
Eva flipped the empty can in her hand idly and seemed to think over her answer for a much longer time. "... because I have to disconnect my brain from my tongue, first. Otherwise, I'd be afraid to say anything. and I'm scared of talking to you, like I'm going to say something wrong. I dunno why, but I am.'" She looked away, staring at the other brick all to the side, but she looked as if she was staring somewhere different. "...I have to do that to talk to you normally."
He slouched and leaned against the brick wall, Thinking her monologue over. "...with me, specifically?"
"With anyone." She looked straight at him, and kept staring even as two girls, Rox and Zoe, and the very same boy,Petey, ran back behind the building.
"EVA!" Rox and Zoe said in unison as they turned the corner. Both of them looked at her and instantly thought the worst. A chorus of 'are you hurt' 's and 'i'm fine...really' 's course Zoe threatened to furiously slaughter who did this to her, even as she repeatedly explained that she didn't feel hurt.
"You know, you leave us f'two seconds an' you get shredded! We just can't leave ya alone, can we?" Rox shook her head. "Oh, yeah and this guy wants t' thank ya..." She jerked her thumb back towards Petey, who was awkwardly standing behind them.
"...Um, yeah. What she said..." He said, now looking just the teensiest bit embarrassed. Eva walked over to him and cocked her head sideways a little.
"So you're Petey, right?" Eva smiled at him, making him avert his eyes for whatever reason.
"...Yep. So uh...thanks."
"No problem ,kid." She grinned and turned back to Rox. She noticed that even if he was the same age, only just a bit younger (by the looks of it) , he didn't mind being called a kid.
It was a bit chilly that night, so they all eventually had to go home. Eva wanted to talk to Jimmy a bit more, but Rox and Zoe seemed to want her in their conversation more than her talking seperately. Honestly, she could do just fine without them babysitting her, but it wasn't like she didn't appreciate their concern.
"Say, how doya like Jimmy?" Zoe asked as she flopped on Rox's bed (much to the greaser's frustration).
"He's...pretty cool." She answered vaguely. She honestly didn't know what to think...Although he seemed like a guy she might want to hang out with.
"...that's it? Nothing else?" Zoe looked at her skeptically.
Eva fooled around with her hair."Well, I've only just met him, not like I instantly think he's the greatest human alive."
"Well I did." Zoe twirled a strand of dark hair around her finger idly. "He's my Ex."
Rox pricked her ears, as if she wasn't already listening."Seriously?"
"Yep."
"Well, I could see it..." Rox mused, thinking it over. "What happened to you guys?"
"Well, he has this habit of making out with every girl to set foot on campus and I wanted to see someone else for once. Jimmy was nice but, he wasn't my type, in the end." She cradled her chin in her palm, "We're still friends, though. That hasn't changed."
You learn something new every day, don't you? Eva wasn't at all surprised at this. Like Rox she could see them together, they both had tough exteriors and looked like a formidable fight. They were also extremely loyal towards their friends, that much she knew, even if she had known Jimmy and Zoe for a grand total of a week.
Stories of old flames were passed, Mrs. Peabody gave the 'lights out' order, and soon, Eva wasn't able to hear anything except Rox's soft , measured breathing.
During this entire time Eva had forgotten about that old, crinkled note stuffed in her back pocket, until she shifted in her bed, unable to go to sleep. A small crumpling sound came from below her.
The note was yellow and torn and it begged her to open it and read what it said. Eva's concience swiped to and from not opening it to opening it, but she couldn't rest until something was done. So, reading by the glowing light of the moon, she carefully unfolded the piece of paper.
The words were slanted and small and jerky, but still legible. It took up the entire piece, but the first two words she saw made her blood run cold.
Hello Eva