Hiya guys! Not much to say except enjoy the next chapter! :) Sorry for the wait!
The hallways were jam packed, like always; students hustling to get to their next classes, and to avoid getting tardys, some students going to the library to study, and others hanging around because it was their spare period.
Courtney fished around in her locker for her geography textbook, sighing as she pulled it out and cradled it in her arms. She grabbed her pencil case, and slammed the locker door shut, nearly jumping out of her shoes when she was met with the smirking visage of a certain punk.
The brunette scowled, rolling her eyes as she walked away; she was totally not in the mood for this. She had to work on her stupid geography summative, she had stupid pep rally shit to organize, campaigning to do, and on top of all that, the stupid school board thought it was a good idea to schedule a stupid cheerleader workshop, and do you want to know what two teams they requested to lead the whole thing?
The Western Heights Wildcats and the Eastwood Eagles.
Courtney was in a sour enough mood without that ass ruining her lunch, and she intended on ignoring him…until…
Her eyes traveled down to his hands, which were holding a bouquet of daises; some of her favourite flowers. How he knew that, she didn't know, but she sends him a thankful smile; although it probably came out more of like a grimace as she took them with her free hand, and inhaled their scent deeply.
His smirked widened as he leaned against the locker next to hers, and pushed up his sleeve nonchalantly.
Courtney eyed him suspiciously, Duncan sent her an innocent smile; too innocent.
She scoffed, and quirked an eyebrow irritably. "Okay, what is your problem?"
"You." He replied.
Courtney furrowed her brow, and put the flowers in her locker rather carelessly; it was a sweet gesture, but knowing Duncan, this probably all some elaborate rouse to get her to sleep with him. Which was so not happening! She has a boyfriend, and she lo-… cares for him deeply.
"You won't go on a date with me, and, haha, darlin', that just won't do…" He smirked, swinging an arm around her shoulders. Courtney scowled and quickly shrugged it off. She sighed angrily, glaring at him.
"Oh really? Well, Duncan, did you ever care to think that I don't want to go on a date with you because, oh, I don't know, you're the biggest asshole in the history of giant assholes? Just leave me alone!" She huffed, brushing past him and starting to head down to the geography classroom.
Duncan scowled, before grabbing her wrist and yanking her back over.
"Ow! Hey!" She exclaimed, ripping her wrist out of his grasp; it burned and tingled, and she didn't like it. She didn't like the electricity shooting up her arm, and the way it sped up her heartbeat.
Only one person should be able to that, and it really bugged her that it happened with another.
With him, no less.
"You're being unreasonable," he mumbled darkly, his clear blue gaze fixated on her intensely. Courtney faltered a bit under that gaze, before she glared again.
Green, not blue.
Trent, never him.
"And you're being a douche, so I'm just going to walk away now. Leave me alone." She hissed, running off to class.
Duncan growled, narrowing his eyes after her.
That's the third time this week that's she's rejected him, and he didn't like it.
Didn't like it at all.
Duncan wasn't normally one to try this hard at anything; let alone trying to get a girl, but she was different. And different intrigued him…
She was bitter, yet sweet. Lively, yet calm. Harsh, yet kind.
He ran his fingers through his shaggy hair, and eyed the people in the halls with a critical eye.
They were all the same. Worried about the same things, thinking about the same things, doing the same things everyday. And it was boring as hell.
The five-minute warning bell chimed over the buzz of the hallway, which meant five minutes left until he ditched this shit-hole. English Lit. was a drag, and it wasn't like learning about the effing Renaissance would help benefit his life; in fact, it actually hindered his ability to fantasize about chicks instead of paying attention.
Duncan stuffed his hands into his pockets and fazed away into the liveliness of the halls, until a cold pale hand clamped onto his elbow and yanked him over.
Duncan glared fiercely at the culprit, before realization dawned and a flicker of interest flashed in his blue orbs. It died quickly, as the womanizer plastered on a scowl and snorted at the girl in front of him.
Her charcoal eyes narrowed critically on the punk, and she hugged her sketchbook closer to her gaunt body.
"Why." She stated; she didn't end her sentence with an upward inflection, because that would insinuate that she cared enough to do so.
Which definitely wouldn't do.
Duncan quirked an eyebrow at her, before lazily leaning against the lockers behind him and crossing his arms. His eyes traveled over her stature, taking in every attribute that separated her from everyone else.
Her hair.
Her body.
Her mind.
Her.
"Because, doll, I can," was his response, and his voice was cold and dark, matching his frigid eyes. A ghost of a smirk danced on his lips, yet the notion carried to his eyes, as they glinted dangerously.
"She'll never be as good for you as me, Duncan." Gwen glared, shaking her head condescendingly. Duncan merely rolled her eyes, which only made her shadowy glare narrow. Gwen brushed past him, and stalked off, her dark aura clouding over her like the air before a thunderstorm. She stopped dead in her tracks before ripping out a handful of sketches in her notebook, and throwing them onto the dirty floor to be stepped on and wrecked, like her heart.
As Gwen continued her walk, Duncan cast his gaze to the beautiful pictures on the ground, watching with half-lidded eyes as they were swept up with the hustle and bustle of the hallway, ripping and crinkling under everyone's feet.
The final bell to signal the beginning of class rung, and any last minute stragglers quickly made it to their respective classrooms, leaving Duncan to stand alone.
His eyes flickered as he picked up one of Gwen's crumpled sketches, and, his gaze stony and unmoving, Duncan smoothed it out and eyed it critically.
Two black ravens were perched upon a grave, their beaks nuzzled in the other's neck, and the whole scene was shaded darkly. Duncan could only assume that the two ravens were him and Gwen.
The whole thing just screamed, Gwen.
Duncan let out a quiet snort, as he crumpled the picture in his hands. As he headed towards the back door, he carelessly tossed the paper ball into the recycling bin, despite having passed many garbage bins along the way. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he left, rolling his eyes.
Unknowingly to him, a smiling LeShawna watched on from the shadows.
"He still cares," she murmured to herself, before heading off to class.
After all, Gwen had always been very pro-Kyoto.
~TrAiToR~
The final bell rang, and inevitable hell was sure to break loose.
The Western Heights cheer squad sat upon the lavish bleachers their academy supplied within the gymnasium, as tense as ever.
The Easterners would be arriving at any moment now, and no one was really looking forward to it. In fact, that would be sugar coating the situation.
They were dreading it.
As captain, Courtney would be forced to make the Eagles feel "welcome", and all that fun stuff.
The brunette let out a snort as she slouched over and rest her chin in the palms of her hands and propped her elbows up on her knees.
Bull shit.
"What's wrong with you guys? You look more pissed than the time Courtney sneezed and made our human pyramid collapse."
Courtney growled at the sound of Heather's haughty voice, as the vixen entered the gym, fashionably late as usual. Her hair was as dark as her heart, and the strands shone under the lights hanging overhead.
"Didn't you get the memo?" piped up a tan skinned first year, who went by the name of Katie. She looked sour, which contrasted her normal sickly sweet demeanor.
The ice queen raised a perfectly waxed eyebrow, signaling the girl to go on.
Katie gulped, and twirled her pigtail around her fingers meekly.
"The Eastwood Eagles will be here any minute, and we're having a joint practice, please don't ceremoniously burn all my clothes!" She finished her sentence by ducking for cover and squeaking. If things weren't so edgy, everyone surely would have been in stitches.
Heather shifted her gaze over the other members of the team, and her nose crinkled up in distaste as she scowled and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Why wasn't I informed of this!" She snapped.
"Because you've ditched the last three practices to go shopping," Courtney deadpanned, with an eye roll. Heather sent her daggers, but the brunette merely ignored her and sunk lower in her seat, making the raven-haired female scoff.
"How do you know that!" She accused, eying Courtney suspiciously.
"Because," Courtney snorted, before sighing and standing up and backing up a few steps so she was next to Heather. "You dropped by each time and yelled, 'I'm outie, losers! There's this sale on insert beauty product here, and the mall is calling my name!'" Courtney quoted, sending the Asian girl a dry glance.
"Hmph. Whatever." Heather muttered frostily, scowling and crossing her arms across her chest as she turned away from the cheer captain. Seeing as things were going to commence, she joined her teammates- albeit begrudgingly, on the bleachers. She picked at her French manicure, immersing herself in the glossiness of her nails, and tuned out of Courtney's lecture.
"Alright girls, listen up. Today, we will be practicing with the Eastwood Academy Eagles, and even though none of us like this situation, we can't let them know that, so be on your best behavior!" Courtney instructed, slamming her fist into the palm of her hand.
The cheerleaders begrudgingly murmured affirmatives, but Heather wasn't feeling as agreeable.
"And why do we have to practice with those losers? Is this all part of your stupid student council campaign? To promote inter-school bonding, so you can lock in twice the amount of votes?" Heather scowled, continuing to examine her nails.
Courtney wanted to throttle the ivory skinned girl, but she quickly swallowed the urge deep down into the core of her being. She simply rolled her eyes and let out a sigh as she crossed her arms across her chest, sending Heather a look that showed that she was clearly pissed off.
"There were so many things incorrect within that statement, that I don't even know where to start. Okay, one, I hate those vapid airheads as much as you do, it was the freaking school board's idea for this. Secondly, my campaign is going so well, I don't need those bimbo's votes; you know, if they could vote, seeing as they don't even go to our school!"
Heather merely rolled her eyes, before they flickered and narrowed dangerously.
Courtney, noticing the change of mood on pretty much all of her teammates turned around, and instantly felt a scowl gracing her lips as well.
The Easterners had arrived.
There were about ten or eleven of them, and their forest green, black, and white cheer jackets were done up all the way, seeing as they had just braved the chilly December weather. Their hair was unkempt and messy from the wind, but still looked professional and stylish. A majority of the team had blonde hair, while the odd one or two had brown, black, or red hair.
They had an air of superiority about them, and it was evident on their blank and indifferent faces. The tension levels were smothering, and the silence was deafening. The Easterners placed their bags on the opposite side of the gym before leisurely making their way over to the Wildcats, eying their surroundings distastefully.
Courtney was the first to break the silence as she curled her lips up into a smile that probably looked as fake as it felt. "Welcome, Eagles. We're glad to have you here today, and we're sure this will be a very…um, eventful workshop."
The Eastwood captain stepped forward, her long golden locks swishing against the fabric of her jacket. Her clear blue eyes darted over Courtney's face, and her nose crinkled slightly before she slapped on a large, warm smile.
"Why thank you! Like, same to you! Now, seeing as you're running the workshop today I'm assuming you have warm-ups, and a few demo-routines for us to work on today…?" The girl finished her sentence with a raised eyebrow and slightly coy smile.
Courtney furrowed her brow, crossing her arms across her chest. Was that girl questioning her leadership abilities? She quickly bit back any nasty accusations and smiled warmly.
"Of course."
"Great!" the blonde chirped, before turning to her teammates and nodding twice. The girls almost simultaneously took off their jackets and began to stretch, while the Wildcats eyed them critically. The cheer captain turned her back to Courtney, and swung her hair off to her shoulder so she could tie it up into a ponytail. Courtney stared at her back for a few moments, before her eyes narrowed and she felt a twinge of hatred for the girl already.
There, in big black letters, were the words LINDSAY WATSON upon her shoulders.
Courtney forced herself to keep a level head as she calmly let out a smile.
"So, why don't we all get in a circle and start with an ice breaker, alright guys?" She called.
"I'm not sure one piece of gum will be able to be split by all of us, but…okay." Lindsay muttered, before standing beside the brunette as her teammates and Courtney's all got into a big circle. Courtney raised an eyebrow, with a 'You've got to be kidding' look on her face, and she resisted the urge to face palm when Lindsay grinned back, totally clueless.
Heather was the last to join the circle, and as she joined, she rolled her eyes and scowled irritably, making sure everyone knew that she didn't want to be here.
"What is this? Grade three? Next you're going to have us all play duck-duck-goose, aren't you, Courtney?" Heather snorted.
Courtney glared at the girl, but bit back any nasty comment she was sure to spew, because she had to be the logical one today, and make sure the Easterners didn't think she was a raging lunatic.
"Ha ha, very funny Heather." Courtney chortled sarcastically, rolling her eyes as well. She sent the Asian girl a snide smile as she placed one hand on her hip. "For your information, we're all going to go around in a circle, state our name, strengths, weaknesses, and what we plan on improving by the end of the workshop! Oh, and thank you for volunteering to go first!"
Everyone's gazes shifted to Heather, and she scowled before scoffing and rolling her eyes.
"My name's Heather," she droned tiredly, obviously less than thrilled to participate in this activity. "I'm great at back handsprings, front handsprings, and layouts. And really, there's nothing I'm bad at." She finished her sentence with a confident smirk, and the flip of her flowing ponytail.
"Oh really?" Courtney challenged, holding back giggles. The cheerleaders sent her a vacant expression, and the brunette tried to regain composure so they wouldn't think of her as a lunatic, but the task was harder than it seemed. "What about that one time you tried to do a hurky, and you kneed yourself in the face!"
Courtney then proceeded to burst out laughing. And when she bursts out laughing, she full on laughs. Like, side splitting, gut busting laughter. Her bubbly laugh filled the air, sparking distasteful frowns from the Easterners and awkward and worried glances for her sanity from her teammates, all the while Heather's pale face reddened and venom swam in her charcoal eyes.
"Oh! Oh! Or that time, when you cartwheeled right into the bleachers!" Courtney continued, her face going red from all the laughing. They shook her core, and doubled her over. Heather clenched her fists at her side, her glossy French manicured nails digging into her palms.
"Shut up!" The vixen growled, as Courtney's laughs died down into giggles, and eventually the clearing of her throat. Feeling eyes upon her, Courtney was met with the disapproving glare of Lindsay, to which Courtney scowled back at.
"What?" She all but barked, before soothing the raging anger that she harbored for the blonde by mentally counting to ten- or rather, nine. Trent insisted she do it, for some strange reason…
"No need, to like, yell…" Lindsay pouted, which ignited glares from her teammates, which Courtney instantly shot back tenfold. "I was just going to like, say, since we only have two hours, we should, you know, do something productive."
Courtney sent her another dirty look, her freckled nose crinkling and her shoulders tensing. Was this girl, once again, criticizing her leadership abilities? Courtney wasn't one for criticism, unless she was giving it herself.
"For a warm up, we normally just run five laps, do suicides across the gym, stretch, and run a few routines. If we get into arguments we just do some yoga to help detoxify our bodies of all the negative vibes…" Lindsay smiled, pressing her palms together and bowing her head slightly. Courtney simply scowled. "And by the looks of it, you have a lot…" The blonde winced as Courtney's scowl deepened, before turning to her teammates at clapping twice. They instantly broke out into a fast jog, and began their laps around the gym with Lindsay on their tail.
Courtney and the Westerners begrudgingly followed suit, stony expressions plastered on their faces.
As they finished off their runs, stretched for a few minutes; though to any onlookers, it may have looked like a bending and posing contest, seeing which team was more flexible, was more toned, and who had cuter outfits. Once everyone was done, Lindsay joined Courtney at the padded mats dispersed across the floor, and smiled.
"Why don't we do some shotgun routines?" Lindsay suggested, her crystal blue eyes and pearly white teeth shimmering underneath the fluorescent lights.
Courtney furrowed her brow, "Shotgun routines?" she inquired, earning a snort and an eyebrow raise from the blonde. A good-natured smile spread across her peach flavoured lips, which was mistaken by Courtney as a snide one, making the brunette huff and scowl.
"You've never heard of them? Wowzers! Um, well, they're pretty simple… Uh, mind if I borrow one of your team members?"
Courtney's pursed lips hardly moved as she murmured a quiet, "Go ahead," and she crossed her arms across her chest.
"Hannah?" Lindsay called, turning to Heather and smiling encouragingly. The raven-haired female glared distastefully, but walked over nonetheless.
"It's Heather!" She snapped.
"…Right! So, I'm going to call out some cheer moves, and as soon as I say them, you have to do them, therefore making a routine! Ready?" Lindsay chirped.
Heather eyed the blonde skeptically, with much malice, "I guess-"
"Great! Back handspring!" Lindsay shouted, clapping her hands twice. Heather reluctantly did as she was instructed, making sure to throw her hands up in the hair on the dismount.
"Front hanspring, round-off, back handspring, tuck!"
Heather grunted as she did the combination, her energy starting to drain slightly.
"Hurky! Scissor kick, summersault, right split, side split, aerial, tumble-run!"
Heather pushed herself out of her split and quickly did an aerial, before getting a running head start on her tumble run, her breathing becoming laboured and choppy.
"Not bad…" Lindsay grinned, applauding the distraught Heather, which only made both her and Courtney hate her more. Never in a million years would Courtney praise Heather's half-assed efforts, and never in a million would Heather feel patronized. Insults bubbling on both their tongues, Heather and Courtney both opted to snort and cross their arms, rather than voice their opinions. They didn't want the Easterners to have any more reason to judge them. "Ooh! My turn! Courtney, care to do the honours?"
"Whatever," muttered the brunette, before she sighed and stepped forward as Lindsay took the floor. She flipped her golden locks and bent her knees, readying herself for any command Courtney threw at her.
"Uh… Layout, aerial, tumble-run round off, round off, back handspring tuck." Courtney instructed, her face indifferent as she watched the blonde jump around.
"That all you got?" Lindsay giggled, finishing off her tuck with an added hurky for flair, and a dazzling smile on her pretty face. She turned to the cheerleaders and pursed her lips. "Partner up, everyone! You're going to be doing the same thing as me and Courtney! Eagles, pair up with a Wildcat, and find an open space on the mats! …Ooh, goodie, that rhymed!" She grinned, clapping her hands and hopping up and down childishly.
The girls obeyed, while Courtney slouched and glared, growling quietly to herself. How could someone so vapid, succeed at effectively stealing her thunder!
Granted, Courtney didn't really want the alleged 'thunder' in the first place- she didn't give damn. But it would be a cold day in hell if she let that bimbo have it!
"Care to give it another go?" Lindsay's voice snapped Courtney out of her thoughts, and the brunette eyed the blonde distastefully before sighing and rolling her eyes.
"Fine," she agreed halfheartedly.
As Lindsay crouched and eyed the teen determinedly, Courtney's mind couldn't help but wander. She sized up Lindsay, and couldn't help but come to the resentful conclusion that she was ridiculously attractive. Not to mention nauseatingly-sweet, and had the added bonus of going to the same school as Trent…
What if he decides that she's better than Courtney?
Courtney felt her eyes widen as she processed Lindsay's probability of getting with Trent.
It was highly probable that they were getting together even now…
"Helloooo? Earth to Courtney?" Lindsay's chipper voice once again snapped Courtney out of her mental reverie, and the brunette scowled as she rolled her eyes, and began to lazily call out commands.
"Full, double full, Arabian, front handspring, left split." Courtney called.
Lindsay rolled her eyes as she went down into her split, the buzz of the other cheerleaders spurring out commands nothing but blurs in her ears, as she focused in on Courtney. Her piercing blue eyes were narrowed in concentration, and she pushed herself out of her split before scoffing slightly.
"This is like, so-"
"Hurky!"
Lindsay jumped up and did a mid air split, touching her right foot to her hand before continuing her sentence.
"-lame, to think I'm-"
"Hurky!"
Jump, split, touch.
"-missing my study date with-"
"Hurky!"
Jump, split, touch.
"-Trent for this!"
Courtney's eyes narrowed dangerously, and a wave of anger crashed over her as her jaw clenched.
"Hurky!" She barked.
Jump, split, touch.
"Hurky! Hurky! Hurky! Hurky! Hurky! Hurky! Hurky! Hurky! HURKY! HURKY!" Courtney screamed.
Jump, split, touch.
Jump, split, touch.
Jump, split, touch.
Jump, split, touch.
Jump, split, touch.
Jump, split, fall.
"Owwwwwww!" Lindsay cried, tears lining her eyes and her hands clutching the ankle she fell on. Everyone instantly fell silent, and turned their attention to both Lindsay and Courtney. Courtney stared down at Lindsay with slightly wide eyes, unsure what to do, while the Easterners eyed her with malice and instantly rushed to their captain's aid. Heather rolled her eyes, but didn't hesitate in giving Courtney a smirk and nod of approval.
"Oh, Lindsay, are you okay?" cried a fellow blonde who bore a strong resemblance to her, and helped her to her feet. Lindsay whimpered in pain, and the short blonde swung her arm over her own shoulders to support her.
"Nooo… my ankle really hurts, Paula…" Lindsay sniffled.
Paula sent Courtney a withering glare, and her teammates quickly followed suit.
"What did you do!" She snapped at Courtney; the brunette was taken aback by the hostility in the Lindsay clone, but didn't falter.
"I gave her her commands, like I was supposed to! It's not my fault she can't land a simple hurky properly." Courtney defended, ending her sentence with a scoff, an eye roll, and the crossing of her arms.
Paula scowled and rubbed the quietly sobbing Lindsay's shoulder soothingly.
"My big sister could out hurky you any day!" She shouted.
Courtney threw her head back and let out a mirthful laugh, before she snidely smirked at the blonde and raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Let's see her try! …Oh, wait, looks like she can't." Courtney snorted.
The Easterners' scowls deepened and they began to murmur behind her back, while the Westerners sent them glares, and went to back up Courtney. Paula huffed before devoting her attention to her big sister, adoringly.
"Can you try and put some pressure on your ankle, Linds?" She asked, her voice in a pitying coo, which made Courtney scrunch up her nose and roll her eyes.
Lindsay meekly attempted, before she cringed and stopped. "Ow…" She whined, and her cheerleading cronies gasped collectively and fretted for her health, like she had leukemia or something. Paula frowned, before shooting daggers at Courtney as she hugged her sister tighter.
"If she can't cheer at the big championship game, you're gonna fry, Westerner!" She hissed, her jaw locked in an angry sneer.
Courtney sent her a look, before glaring and placing her hands on her hips, incredulously.
"Is that a threat?" She seethed, raising an eyebrow challengingly.
Paula mimicked the brunette's actions, and added an eye roll.
"I dunno, you tell me."
Courtney gasped, before her eyes narrowed and she clenched her fists at her sides. "Why you little…" she growled, before Heather placed a hand on her shoulder. Courtney sent her an inquisitive glance, before rolling her eyes at the look of pure pain and struggle on Heather's face.
"Just drop it, Court. Even I know this isn't worth it, and we all know how much I love to bicker." Heather muttered.
Courtney was sure she'd regret it later, but she found herself following Heather's advice, and she just counted to nine and took a deep breath.
"W-we should go," Lindsay murmured, frailly nodding towards the clock which- thank the heavens, read four-thirty, signaling the end of this disastrous workshop, to everyone's relief. The Easterners put their jackets back on and collected their belongings. They left with snide remarks about who would out cheer the other at the big game, to which the Westerners shot back rebuttals.
Lindsay, with the aid of Paula, limped out of the gymnasium, but not without one hostile glare in Courtney's direction; one that was instantly returned by the brunette, who was already beyond aggravated.
Once the Eagles were completely gone, the Wildcats began to harshly talk about them, like they were trash and disgusting whores. Courtney sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, before turning the cheerleaders and rolling her eyes.
"Well that sure went well," she droned sarcastically. "Make sure you're all here for tomorrow, 2:30 sharp, or it's burpies until dawn!" She shouted, making the girls groan, or in Heather's case, scoff and plan to get her massage two days early.
Once the whispered conversations and footsteps faded to silence, Courtney stormed over to the bleachers, let out an angry scream and kicked them with all her might. A dent where her right shoe collided with the metal remained, and she clutched at her hairline as she breathed heavily, hot tears of frustration streaming down her tanned face.
Courtney shrugged off the stabbing pain in her foot as she wiped away her tears and tried to calm herself, to no avail. She let out a long sigh as she scooped up her knapsack and lazily swung it over her shoulder.
"Sounds like someone needs some pick-me-up."
Courtney jumped out of alarm, before her onyx gaze settled on the olive-eyed compassionate blonde, Bridgette. She was smiling shyly, her long hair cascading down her back like the waves she often surfed. She'd changed out of her school uniform, and instead wore a simple sky blue hoodie, blue jeans, and Uggs. Whenever Courtney criticized her extremely mainstream choice in winter footwear, Bridgette simply grinned and said they were comfy, and that she felt like a bear. That's what Courtney loved about Bridgette. How she could handle criticism so well, and make you feel like you've known her forever even though it's only been a couple of years. She kept Courtney zen, which was highly useful due to the brunette's workaholic tendencies.
Though the two had had a minor falling out, they had quickly forgiven each other over soy-chai lattés, (lactose and gluten free, of course) and giggles over how far Noah is in the closet. ("That boy is so far in the closet, he has daily escapades in Narnia!")
"Mall?" Bridgette smiled, holding her arm out for an arm link.
Courtney cracked a genuine smile for the first time that day, and was grateful to have such a great best friend.
"Mall." Courtney agreed, walking over to the blonde and linking arms with her, and inhaling her ocean-mist body spray.
The two exited the gymnasium arm in arm, and Courtney had never been more thankful for an ocean breeze in chilly December.
~TrAiToR~
Harold always hated staying late at school. The douchebag-to-nerd ratio was tremendously out of whack, making the halls seem like a shark tank at feeding time.
And like he was the bait.
Nervously squeezing his way through the chaos, he sought out his destination, silently cheering for his mad slinking skills.
He reached out to turn the doorknob, before two sets of rough hands clamped onto his spindly frame, and lifted him up several inches off the ground.
Harold wheezed and sputtered, flailing weakly and calling out cries for help as he was roughly shoved into the seemingly empty storeroom.
"Gah! Help! This is extremely unhonourable of you guys, come on- hey!" Harold exclaimed, before being roughly dropped, and he groaned as his freckled nose met the cold, hard, floor.
"Idiots…" He muttered under his breath, as he pushed himself up into a sitting position and adjusted his glasses so they weren't crooked. He squinted in the darkness of the storage room, before his gaze focused on what seemed to be a desk and a large, swivel chair. The silence was unsettling, and Harold knew, after watching a plethora of 1960's mafia movies, that this was not a good situation…
For him, at least.
Suddenly, a flashlight was shone in his face, making the ginger cringe and shield his eyes, to try and stop the discomfort.
"It's been a week," said a voice, (it was the one shining the flashlight, Harold assumed) "have you found out who's been fraternizing with the target yet, nerd?"
"Yes, yes, no need to damage my retinas at such a point-blank range, gosh…" Harold scowled.
The flashlight-wielder's silhouette was seen briefly glancing to it's right briefly, before the blob in the swivel chair shifted, and suddenly all light cut out.
Darkness.
Silence.
Light.
Harold winced, as stars clouded his vision. He blinked them away, before a sudden feeling of apprehension appeared in his stomach.
Sitting there, high and mighty with a smirk on his tanned face, was Alejandro Burromeurto.
His goons, Tyler and Justin both had stony expressions on their faces and had their arms crossed across their chiseled chests, a flashlight loosely gripped in Tyler's hand.
"Well?" spoke the Latin snake, his voice as smooth as velvet; yet it still had it's signature frigidness, and like its owner, seemed to have ulterior motives. "Who is it?"
Harold could feel the sweat start to pour down his pale and pasty face, before he audibly gulped.
"Well.. As a fellow man of honour, I'm sure you can understand why I can't tell you."
Alejandro's fists slammed onto the desk, as his emerald green eyes narrowed into an enraged glare.
"What?" He snapped, making the auburn-locked geek jump. "Why!"
"Because, a true friend comes before all, and no matter what you try to fool me into believing, I realize now that you are far from a true friend, Alejandro!" Harold stated confidently, and knowingly sealing his fate.
"You just made, un gran mistake, empollón." The Latino growled, before he turned towards Justin and Tyler, his eyes narrowing into a dangerous glint. "He's of no use to me anymore, do what you want with him." He grumbled.
Harold cried out in pain as Justin roughly yanked him to his feet, by his hair. The two cronies said nothing as they dragged the wailing Harold out of the storeroom, while he cried out "Gosh!" and/or "Idiots!" every so often. As the door slammed behind them, Alejandro slouched over the desk, his fingers intertwined, and his elbow propped up on the table.
"Your elusive ways have captivated me once again, la belleza…" He muttered against his fingers, his eyes flickering in thought. "Whomever it is that is keeping you from me, will pay dearly."
Alejandro's jaw clenched, as the realization that he was now losing, crossed his mind.
He hated losing.
Alejandro shut his eyes momentarily, as he started to develop a game plan to get his beloved chuchería back.
A wicked smirk spread across his thin lips, as his ideas began to churn in his brain and progress into a sinister ploy.
"Mark my words, perra… You will be mine."
FINALLY! HUZZAH! THE BLOCK IS OVER, AND THE STORY'S ROLLIN' ON AGAIN!
Looks like Courtney and Lindsay have met for the first time, and it definitely will not be the last time…
As for the whole Harold-Alejandro scene, that wasn't even going to be a part of this chapter, but I think it was the right decision to add. Harold, our beloved honourable madskills ninja was originally a 'double agent' and mole for Alejandro, but he realizes that ratting out Trent would be most unhonourable.
As for Paula, many think that she she's Lindsay's older sister, but way back in TDI episode five, Lindsay says Paula's her "sister". She doesn't specify whether she's older or younger, so I decided to make Paula the little sister for a change. :P
Muchos thanks to TrueJackVP408, and Princess Absahail for their aid. This chapter wouldn't be done if it weren't for them. They've helped me more than they thought they have, so this chapter is dedicated to them! Oh! As well as TheaterOfTheMind! Thanks for the awesome fan-art! :D
I guess this concludes this extremely long author's note, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Hopefully the next update won't take as long!
Please review!
~Alexex
