AN: Hey guys, sorry to keep you all waiting! Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it, I enjoyed it. Thank you k0k02417, Lil Miss Swagger321, homosapien9, don't know my name and barbieparty23 for your constant and ever faithful reviews! Welcome, and thank you to Wolffie12 for your review! I hope you stay with Twister and Reggie on this adventure! :D Please, keep the reviews coming!
Reggie waited until she was home, and in the safety of her bedroom, with the door locked, before she allowed herself to sink to the floor and cry. She cried because she was confused. Confused about what had almost occurred with Twister. Confused about how she felt about Twister. Confused about why he stopped. Hadn't Lars hinted, possibly said, that Twister had a crush on her? So why didn't he kiss her? Why did she care that he didn't kiss her? She felt so rejected. So stupid. Why? Because you like him, a voice in the back of her head said softly. And she did. There was no two ways about it, now that she had been forced into that train of thought, things made sense. The reason Twister invaded her thoughts so often, the reason her stomach fluttered when he touched her, the reason she caught herself admiring his body, the reason she felt like he had slapped her in the face when he had told her to leave. She liked him. Really, really liked him. Had liked him since that morning she had woken up in his arms. Maybe longer. And now he had pushed her away, when he was supposed to like her, and it killed her inside.
"Reggie," Otto's voice floated through the door, "dinner is ready."
Was it really that late? Reggie crawled towards her bedside table, grabbed the alarm clock and looked at it. It glared an angry red at her, telling her it was 7:08pm. "I'm not hungry," Reggie shouted, putting the alarm back where it belonged, and laying face down on the floor.
"I'll leave some for you," Otto called back, before Reggie heard him walk back downstairs. She laid there, well into the night, and fell asleep in that same position.
Otto walked downstairs, concerned about his sister. She had been to see Clio, and he had thought she would be fine, but when she had come home she had gone straight to her room and locked her door. He hadn't seen her since. While he ate, he sent Clio a quick text, asking her if she knew what was up with Reggie. His phone vibrated and alerted him to Clio's response.
[I don't know, she spoke to Lars before she left.]
So, Otto sent Lars a message.
[Six feet deep is the incision, in my heart, the bar-less prison.] Lars took his phone out of his pocked, unlocked it and read the message. He was surprised to find the Rocket Dork was texting him. The message was particularly interesting, and made him scowl in the direction of his dorky little brother's room.
[Clio says you spoke to Reg before she came home, what did you say to her? She's been in her room since she got home.]
Lars locked his phone, without replying. For a moment he considered going back to playing NHL 12, but found the urge to go mock his little brother too great, so he got up and walked down the hall to Twister's room. "Hey, Dork," he sneered, opening the door without knocking, to find Twister laying across his bed, fiddling with his camera.
"What do you want, Lars?" Twister grunted, not looking around at him.
"To annoy you," Lars responded, stepping over a pile of CD cases. Twister shrugged. "It might interest you to know that Rocket Dork's sister is upset," Lars said in an annoying sing song way.
"Why would that interest me?" Twister asked.
"Because you like her," Lars sneered, going through Twister's things, pocketing some money that he found.
"I do not," Twister mumbled.
"Oh really?" Lars asked. "Then why are you watching that video of her on repeat, dork?"
"Shut up," Twister muttered, blushing. He was watching the video of Reggie from the other day, when she had blown a kiss to the camera, and it was on repeat. "Besides, shouldn't you be the one worried about her, since she's going on a date with you?"
"What are you talking about, dork?" Lars asked, turning to look at Twister with a perplexed look on his face.
"I heard you guys, you're going out with her on Friday night," Twister said, miserably. "Some brother you are."
"You're such a dork," Lars laughed.
"What do you mean?" Twister asked, frowning at Lars.
"I'm not going out with her on Friday, she's coming to my hockey game, dork," Lars replied, amused.
"Why?"
"To do a story on my team for her Zine. She's paying me back for rescuing her up Saturday night," Lars said, then realised he had said too much.
"Rescuing her?" Twister repeated, his eyes focusing on Lars intently.
"Uh, yeah, but that's her business. The point is that you're an idiot. What did you do to upset her?" Lars said, pushing the conversation away from where it had been going.
"What makes you think I upset her?" Twister mumbled, looking back at his camera.
"Well, for a start, you've been in your room since she left, then there's the fact she spoke to you before she left. Just tell me how you messed up," Lars said, rolling his eyes.
"I almost kissed her," Twister muttered, pushing his face down, into his bed.
"Almost?" Lars asked, amusement clear in his voice. "I didn't think she'd reject you, from what I saw she's just as into you."
"She didn't reject me," Twister replied, his voice muffled. "I told her I couldn't do it."
"What did you do that for, dork?" Lars asked, laughing, and slapping Twister on the back of the head.
"Ouch!" Twister yelled, rubbing the back of his head. "I told her I couldn't, because I thought you liked her... after what I heard you guys saying."
"Wow, way to completely mess things up, dork," Lars laughed, walking away from Twister.
"Wait," Twister said, sitting up. "What can I do about it?"
Lars sighed in frustration. "Not that I care, but you should probably tell her the truth. If you want another chance, that is," he said, before walking out of the room.
Twister groaned, and threw his head back. He was such a screw up! Why didn't he just kiss her? Because he couldn't if there was someone else. He wanted her to himself. He wanted to be her guy. He hadn't been comfortable thinking she had organised a date with Lars. Why hadn't he just asked her about it? He felt like such a moron. Well, he would talk to her as soon as he saw her. He didn't care what happened, she needed to know how he felt about her. The fact she had been willing to kiss him had to be a good sign, right?
The following morning Reggie left for school early, telling Otto she had to do some work for journalism, which was a blatant lie. So, Otto, Clio, Twister and Sam made their way to school together. Twister hung back, lost in his own thoughts, but Sam noticed this and slowed down to skate with him. He didn't ask any questions, having been filled in on the phone from Reggie late the previous night, he knew that Reggie and Twister had to figure things out for themselves. When they got to school, Clio and Sam went one way and Twister and Otto went the other.
Reggie arrived late to home class, and sat away from Trish and Sherry. Sherry looked at her and muttered something to Trish, who seemed uninterested, even annoyed. Sam and Clio immediately left their original seats to join Reggie.
"Hey, Rocket Girl," Sam said, sitting down on the table in front of her and smiling. "Feeling any better?"
"Not really," Reggie sighed.
"What's wrong? Otto said you were miserable last night," Clio said, not knowing what had happened.
"Twister," Sam supplied.
"What about him?" Clio asked, looking puzzled.
"They almost kissed," Sam told her, as Reggie rested her head on her desk.
"They what?" Clio said, shocked. "Why almost?" she asked, tuning her attention to Reggie.
"He told her he couldn't," Sam said quietly, watching Reggie carefully.
"Why?" Clio asked, then mouthed, 'but, he likes her!' Sam nodded, then shrugged to say he didn't understand it either.
"I have no idea," Reggie mumbled. "Everything was fine, and it seemed like the right moment, but it wasn't. I'm such a kook."
"No, you're not," Clio said soothingly, rubbing her back. "I'm sure there's more to it."
All through morning classes Reggie remained miserable, though Sam and Clio put in their best efforts to cheer her up. While they dealt with Reggie, Otto was becoming increasingly annoyed with Twister. He had been distracted all morning, and when Otto had been talking to him about some strategies Lars had suggested he didn't pay any attention. "Dude, what's up with you?" Otto burst out, as the bell for lunch sounded at the end of Trig.
"Nothing, Otto-man," Twister said, unconvincingly.
"Twister, you've been ignoring me all morning. Something is going on in your head, for a change. What is it?" Otto asked, his irritation clear, as he and Twister made their way to the cafeteria.
"It's nothing," Twister said, his voice toneless.
Otto opened his mouth to argue, but they were walking past the journalism room, where Reggie had just emerged from. This wasn't uncommon, and shouldn't have caught Otto's attention, but what made him look was the face that Trent was making a beeline for her down the corridor. He was happy to see Trent sporting a black eye, but rage swelled when he noticed the determined look of anger on Trent's face as he approached Reggie. He knew Trent would reach her first, but he quickened his pace none the less, no longer in control of his actions, and unsure what he was going to do.
Reggie juggled her notepad and her bag, trying to force the tatty old pad into the bag. She was walking as she did this, unaware of her surroundings, her eyes on her bag. As she walked, she was pushed forcefully into the wall, being pinned there as fingers were dug into her shoulders. "What the fuck were you playing at on Saturday?" Trent growled aggressively, his face dangerously close to hers.
Reggie stood, frozen with shock, as his fingers dug deeper into her shoulders. She couldn't answer him, she could hardly process the question. In what seemed like slow motion to her, but in reality happened in a matter of seconds, Trent was ripped away from her. "Get your hands off my sister, you slimy fuck!" Otto was shouting, having been the person to tackle him to the ground.
Unable to move, Reggie stood against the wall, watching in a daze as her brother brutally attacked Trent. Otto had Trent pinned to the ground, but even though he had the advantage he lay as many punches as possible into the other boys face, one hand balled into Trent's shirt and the other delivering the blows. There was a crowd forming and string of cuss words, as Trent tried to fight Otto off, but there was nothing he could do. Soon Conroy had descended on the pair, and with Twister's help, he pulled Otto away from Trent.
"Calm down, mon," Conroy said sternly, holding Otto back as he went to get at Trent again.
"Stay the fuck away from her!" Otto snarled, as Trent got to his feet.
"Otto-man, calm down," Twister urged, helping Conroy hold him back as the crowd started to disperse.
"Otto-mon, you need to calm down," Conroy told him. Trent wiped some blood off of his face, and glared at Otto, but he didn't dare say anything. "You bot need ta come wit me," Conroy said, looking sternly between the boys, once Otto's attempts to get out of his grip died down.
"Why do I have to come?" Trent asked thickly, through a heavy nosebleed. "I didn't do anything!"
"I still need ya ta come," Conroy told him, giving him a look that said this was final. He lead the two away, holding Otto by the elbow. Otto looked at Reggie as he was being pulled away, and she nodded at his questioning look, to say she was fine.
"What was that about?" Twister asked, coming to stand next to Reggie. "I've never seen Otto lose it like that."
"I, uh, I don't know," Reggie lied awkwardly, hugging her bag to her chest and looking at the floor.
Twister watched her, guilt pooling in his gut as she shifted uncomfortably, unable to meet his eye. "Reggie, I'm so-"
"I have to go," Reggie said, cutting across him, and disappearing from his side before he could say another word. Twister watched her walk away, frustrated with himself. He wanted to run after her, but something made him hesitate and before he decided to go after her she was gone. Letting out a sigh of frustration, he headed for the art room, deciding to skip lunch.
In the art room, he set up a container of water and grabbed all the good brushes he could find, which wasn't that many. He was in the process of setting up some paints when someone joined him. He was annoyed to see her, the short, blonde who put on too much eyeliner and wore short shorts with hoodies. "Hey," she said quietly, her voice breathy an annoying.
"Hey," Twister responded, looking back at the selection of paints. He hoped Annalise would just leave him alone, like she normally did.
"Did you hear about the party on Saturday night?"
No such luck. Twister poured some white. "No, I didn't hear about it," he said stiffly.
"I thought your brother would have told you, since he was the one who beat the shit out of Trent."
Now she had his attention. "What are you talking about?" he asked, watching her as she rifled through the brushes for some decent ones.
"I don't blame him, I couldn't believe Trent did that to Regina. I mean, I don't like her, but slipping her drugs just to sleep with her... that's a whole new area of low," Aces said, screwing up her nose as she examined some brushes.
"Hold on, can you back up a bit?" Twister asked, absently holding the bottle of white paint. "What do you mean Trent drugged her? And what about Lars?"
"Oh, I thought someone would have told you," Aces said, looking at him, surprised. "I mean, you and Regina are close, Trent was always jealous of you. I was sure she'd tell you what Trent did, if not your brother would have mentioned it..." Twister gave her an annoyed look, and she continued. "Trent slipped Regina something at the party. I don't know what, I haven't spoken to him since your brother told everyone there. Your brother was so mad. He walked in and asked where she was, and he was so angry. He went upstairs and when he came back he had Regina, she was out of it. Trent came running after him, and they yelled at each other. Your bother got her in his car, then he came back and yelled at Trent, told him he was sick and told everyone what Trent had done... how he'd tried to rape her. Then he kind of snapped, and he grabbed Trent, asked him what kind of man does that and hit him. It took Ricky, Luca and Tyson to pull him off. I've never seen someone so mad..."
Twister looked at her, unsure of what he was hearing. "So... Trent tried to... rape Reg?" he asked, frowning.
"Yeah," Aces said quietly. "I never thought he was that low..." Twister put down the paint bottle, he had to do something, he just didn't know what. He walked swiftly from the room. "Where are you going?" Aces called after him, but he ignored her.
As he exited the art building, Twister pulled his phone out of his pocket and called Lars.
"What do you want, dork?"
"I want to know why you didn't tell me about what happened to Reggie on Saturday?" Twister said heatedly, as he walked across the school yard, heading for the cafeteria.
"It's none of your business, that's why."
"I-You should have told me!" Twister snapped into his phone.
"No, that's up to her, dork."
"Whatever," Twister snapped, hanging up on his brother. He had reached the cafeteria. As he walked inside, he scanned the tables for Reggie, but couldn't see her anywhere. He spotted Sam and Clio, who waved him over. "Where's Reggie?" he asked, hurrying over to them.
"Where's Otto?" Clio asked at the same time.
"He's in trouble, for fighting with Trent. Where's Reggie?" Twister asked again.
"She said she was going back to the journalism room, why?" Clio asked, but Twister was already jogging away. "Maurice, why?" Clio shouted after him.
Twister broke out in a sprint when he exited the cafeteria. He needed to speak to Reggie, he had no idea what he was going to say, but he needed to talk to her. He pushed several people out of the way in the corridors as he made his way to the journalism room. The bell signalling the start of the next lesson sounded and soon the corridors became hard to manoeuvre, but he finally made it to the journalism room. He pushed the door open, and found Reggie, sitting at a computer with her back to him. She turned when she heard the door open and close.
"Hey," Twister panted, doubling over, his hands on his knees.
"Hey," Reggie replied, puzzled by his appearance. "What's up?"
"I-We need to talk," he panted, looking up at her. Reggie opened her mouth to reply, but Twister continued. "Why didn't you tell me what happened, with Trent?"
"I-I was going to... last night," Reggie said coolly, her eyes like ice. She closed her work and stood up, glaring at him. "But, it's not like you care about me."
"Reg, you have no idea how much I care for you," Twister said loudly. Reggie scoffed and made to walk out of the room, but as she brushed past Twister he caught her wrist and spun her around so that she was pressed against him. "I'm sorry about yesterday," he murmured, causing Reggie to shiver slightly as his breath warmed her face. "I was stupid, but I thought you and Lars... and I don't want to complete with anyone, I just want you."
"Twister, I'm sorry," Reggie breathed, looking up into his eyes. "About Trent, I was just confused... about you, and-" She didn't get to finish her sentence, as Twister claimed her lips with his own in a fierce kiss, unlike any she had received from Trent, or any other boy for that matter. It made her weak at the knees, and it made her head spin. For a moment she was startled, but soon she was kissing him back, revelling in the soft warmth of his lips. His rough hands made their way up to cup her face, and she moaned as his tongue brushed softly over her bottom lip. Her hands draped over his shoulders, one fisting in his orange hair, as his tongue dipped into her mouth, twirling with her own in a sweet, but energetic dance.
Soon he had pushed her back onto one of the computer desks, where he leaned over her, standing between her thighs, his hands either side of her waist as the kiss slowed and became more intimate. They didn't hear the door creak open, but jumped when someone cleared their throat, although Twister's hands didn't leave her for a moment. "Miss Rocket, I can't say I'm not surprised," the journalism teacher, Mrs Price, said, allowing a small smirk.
"Sorry, Miss P," Reggie said, blushing and grinning at Twister, trying to slow her breathing.
"That's ok, I can over look this, as long and you and Mr Rodriguez don't make this a habit," Mrs Price said kindly, indicating to the door to say they should leave.
"Won't happen again, Miss P," Twister grinned, as he and Reggie hurried out of the room, hand in hand.
As they hurried through the corridors, they both lapsed into giggles. "I can't believe that happened!" Reggie exclaimed, as they slowed to a walk, still holding hands.
"Which part?" Twister asked her, giving her a lopsided grin.
"Both parts, really," Reggie said thoughtfully. Then she gave Twister a bright smile, and said, "I'm happy it did happen, though."
Twister stopped walking, putting his arms around her waist, and said, "I am, too." There was no need to clarify which part she was talking about this time, as she stood on her tiptoes and pressed a gentle kiss on his lips.
"Aren't you missing AV?" Reggie asked, smirking against his lips.
"Fuck AV," Twister replied huskily, his soft lips covering hers again. Her knees were weak again, he made her dizzy in a good way. In a great way. She couldn't pin point a feeling, but she sighed in contentment in his arms as she clung to him in the middle of the corridor, finally where she belonged.
"Now what?" Reggie asked, some time later, as she and Twister lay on the grass on the far side of the school grounds.
"What do you mean?" Twister asked, his hands ghosting up her back and arms.
"I mean, what about Otto? We can't tell him," Reggie said, shivering pleasantly at his touch.
"I'm not keeping this from him," Twister replied calmly, nuzzling her hair. "I don't care what he thinks, or has to say. I don't want to not be able to kiss you, or hold you, whenever I want."
"Maurice, you're so sweet," Reggie smiled, snuggling further into his warmth, using his actual name.
"I try," he replied, grinning into her hair and tightening his hold on her. He didn't mind if she called him Maurice, she could call him whatever she wanted, as long they were together.
"You look happy," Otto noted, watching Reggie as she practically bounced off the walls while she got herself something to eat.
"You could say that," Reggie smirked. She had agreed that Twister would be the one to tell Otto, since it would be Twister he was bound to have an issue with. Reggie hurriedly munched down her sandwich. "Anyway, I have to go see Sammy," she told Otto, before practically skipping out of the room, leaving a mystified Otto staring after her.
"Sam, I have the best news!" Reggie told him, as she flopped down on his bed.
"And that would be?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow at her and sitting down at his desk.
"Twister kissed me," Reggie breathed out blissfully.
"He did?" Sam asked, surprised. He didn't know why he hadn't expected it, but it seemed surreal to him. "What did Otto say? When did it happen? Are you two... official?"
"Haven't told him yet, Twister's going to when he goes over later. It happened after lunch, in the journalism room. And, yes, we are official," Reggie answered all his questions, coming over giddy when she told his where the kiss had occurred.
"How do you think Otto will take it?" Sam asked, frowning.
"Not well," Reggie admitted, her features creasing a bit. "But Twister doesn't want to keep it a secret."
"That's brave of him," Sam said, wondering how much of a whomping Twister was going to get from the already mad and suspended Otto.
Twister sat rigidly on the sofa with Otto, watching some skateboarding or something, he wasn't really taking it in. He was busy wondering how to best bring up the subject of his and Reggie's changed relationship status. "Man, Reggie was really weird earlier," Otto said.
Bingo. "Weird?" Twister asked nervously.
"Yeah, well, she was really happy. Like really happy," Otto mused, scratching his head. "I wonder what was up with her."
"I think I might know," Twister said slowly.
"Really?" Otto asked, turning to him and raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah..." Twister said, grimacing at how his voice cracked as he spoke.
"What is it, dude?" Otto asked, frowning at his best bro's behaviour.
"I know that you're going to be steamed, but the thing is... Reg and I... well, we're sort of... together," Twister stammered out, avoiding Otto's eye.
"What do you mean 'together'?" Otto asked through gritted teeth.
"I mean... like boyfriend and girlfriend together," Twister said, his voice stronger as he finished his sentence.
*SMACK*CRASH*THUD*
AN: I really need to stop doing this to you guys! ;) Hope you guys have patience for the next chapter!