Notes : Sorry I've been a bit slow getting this one up. Hope it's okay with everybody, and once more thank you to everybody that's reviewed.
"What the hell are you doing?"
John looked up and came eye to eye with a very bemused looking Andy.
"What are you writing?" Andy prompted
John wished he would go away, he didn't need this at the moment. He turned to Andy and gave him one of his patented John Bender smirks.
"The truth" He replied.
Andy craned his neck to see what John had been scrawling. Amongst the other graffiti he could make out a sentence written in bold capitals using a black marker. It said 'Don't believe the truth'. Andy turned to John looking more than a little bewildered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.
"I dunno, nothing" Said John
"So why are you sat under here? Don't you have class now?"
"Would you just go away sporto? I really don't need this right now."
Andy studied John's face, something had obviously happened to him since this morning. Trouble was with John being John, it would be almost impossible to prise it out of him. He would have to go about this carefully and tactfully.
"So what happened then?" He asked. So much for tact, He didn't have time.
"Who says anything happened?" Countered John
"Well you were fine this morning, and now you're sat here vandalising school property with mystic crap, which doesn't even mean anything. I mean, if you can't believe the truth, what can you believe?" This was starting to hurt Andy's head. He hated mind games.
"That's the point," Said John "Don't believe anything, it'll just come back and kick ya in the balls."
"What happened?" Andy said again. He couldn't fathom what; aside from John's usual problems could cause such a sudden change in attitude. Actually, yeah he could.
"Does it have anything to do with Claire?" He asked, studying Johns face for a reaction. He looked pissed.
"Contrary to popular opinion, the world does not revolve around little miss perfect." John went red and looked like he was about to explode. He couldn't stand this anymore.
"Sporto get outta the way, I'm going. I told you I don't need this."
Andy, by kneeling down was for the most part blocking Johns escape route. Unless John pushed him out of the way, he was going nowhere.
"I'm not moving until you tell me what's the matter. It's Claire isn't it?"
"If you don't move voluntarily, I'll move you."
Andy had to stop himself from laughing out loud.
"Remember when you tried that Saturday?" He asked John.
"NO," He shouted at Andy, causing him to flinch. "Just because things worked out for you and Allison, It doesn't mean that everything else turns out fucking peachy. Somethings you just cant fucking change. Not if they don't want to change, and to be honest, I couldn't give a shit. I'm over it, just let me out."
So he was talking about Claire.
"What did she do?" Andy asked John.
"It's what she didn't do okay, just let me out."
Andy was starting to seriously get pissed off. John wasn't his favourite person, but after Saturday, he had made a pact with himself that he wouldn't turn his back on the Breakfast club. He wasn't about to leave john.
"What did she do?" Andy addressed John with what he hoped was a stern sounding voice.
"She didn't want to know, she choose her precious popularity over me. It's over."
"What did she do?" Andy was getting sick of asking that question.
"She didn't need to do anything, I knew what she wanted, so I made it easy."
"What?" Andy was pretty confused. Evidently, a lot can happen in one morning. "Are you saying," He asked John "That she didn't back away from you, but you backed away from her. How do you know she wouldn't have chosen you?"
"I just fucking know okay? Drop it."
"So let me get this straight, your pissed at her, when she didn't even do anything."
"She didn't need to, I know what she would have done."
"That's bullshit." Andy looked at John "You didn't even give her a chance"
"Yeah well, so what, It's too late to do anything about it now. It's done, just leave it."
Andy realised his knees were hurting from being in such an awkward position. He changed position and sat cross-legged in front of John. He could easily get out now if he wanted to, but Andy knew he wasn't going anywhere, where was he going to go after all?
"Its not too late. Everybody deserves a second chance, even you."
John thought this over. Maybe he had reacted too harshly, didn't give Claire a fair chance to prove what she was worth. But now, surely he had screwed it up beyond salvation.
"What should I do?" He asked Andy.
"Just go talk to her man, be honest."
Andy stood up and offered his hand to help John up. He took it and nodded at Andy, a new understanding between them. Without looking back, John walked down the halls. He didn't know where he was going, would just have to hope his instincts would get him there.
Andy watched him disappear around a corner and mentally wished him good luck. He knew Claire had a stubborn streak a mile wide. God, those two were meant for each other. He glanced at his watch, ten minutes late for class and counting. He jogged towards his classroom trying to think of a good enough excuse for his lateness.
………………………………………………………………..
Two minutes later Claire Standish emerged from the nurse's office. Ironically enough she was putting on her best 'acting sick' façade, and it turns out that she was actually coming down with something. She had a high temperature and slight shivers, not really serious symptoms but coupled with Claire's emotional state it had been enough to convince the nurse she was too unwell to stay in school.Knowing that she couldn't phone her parents Claire had lied and told the nurse that she had already called her parents from the payphones in the corridor. Although she looked doubtful she had let Claire go anyway, and told her to get lots of rest.Not wanting to be seen Claire snuck out of the back entrance of the school. Avoiding the football fields and people dotted around, she left the school grounds and starting walking.An hour later Claire arrived home. She preyed her mom wasn't in, because then she would just ask a load of questions about why Claire hadn't called to be picked up if she was so sick. Quietly opening the front door she crept inside and closed it gently behind her. She could hear voices, her parents shouting louder than she had ever heard them before. She frowned as she wondered why her dad wasn't in work.
She climbed the stairs and sat at the top, out of view to her parents but close enough to hear every angry word they were saying.
She heard a glass or a plate or something smash as it hit a wall and her mom let out an anguished scream.
"I'm so sick of you," Claire heard her say to her father "So sick of you acting holier than thou, and sucking up to Claire and your big shot buddies."
"You think I'm not sick of you!" Her father was shouting like Claire had never heard before. He was usually the passive one in their arguements, her mom must have done something pretty bad.
"Sick of me?" Shouted Claire's mother
"Yeah, spending all my fucking money on crap, not earning a penny yourself, drinking yourself into oblivion every single day, showing me up whenever we go out." This must be bad, Claire had never once heard her father swear. Her body went cold as she thought 'This is it.'
"Oh yeah," Shouted Claires mother "If I'm that bad, why are you still here?"
"Its my fucking house!" Roared Claires father
"Your house?"
"Yeah my house"
"That's it, I've had enough" Claires mother screamed with all the rage she had inside her. It was partly all the drink she had managed to consume in just that one morning and partly because that man, Claire's father drove her absolutely insane.
"I cant stand it anymore," Bellowed Claires father "I want a divorce."
Tears ran down Claire's face. She couldn't listen anymore, she knew that it was bad but she didn't realise. She ran upstairs to her room and flung herself on her bed, that evil word spinning round and round her head. Divorce.
