Hey! I know I said I wasn't sure about doing a Stanley POV but I changed my mind and decided that it would be a good one to do for this weeks chapter.
Leticia: You seriously made me cry last night with your amazing reviews they always make my day. As long as you keep reading this story, I swear i'll never give it up :)
Anonymous Read- Thank you so much! I am also obsessed with stories that have Marina-Maren best friendships! And i'm glad that you thought what i did with Joseph's serious side was realistic, i was afraid people would think it was OOC.
Disclaimer: You all know the drill, i'm not gonna say it again lol
Onto the story!
Stanley
I'm running on the treadmill when the clock sings. It starts chiming a cheerful song for about fifteen seconds before it slowly fades away, the song snapping me out of my intense workout to remind me that it's nine. I push the stop button on the treadmill frantically, desperate to have a break after running on it for two hours. Panting, I step off after it comes to stop and lift my grey tank top up to my face to wipe off my sweat, only to realize it's already completely soaked through. I sigh in frustration as I peel it off my body, leaving me in only my sweatpants. You might be thinking, why did you wear sweatpants when you were working out? The answer is, i'm stupid.
Everyone else left training a long time ago, but ever since I joined the Resistance, I always go at least an hour over everyone else, but today I guess I got a little carried away. Probably because of all that school stuff. I groan inwardly when I remember all the schoolwork I still have to do for tomorrow. Its bad enough we have to do work to be part of this mission, but we're starting in the middle of the year, which means we're all really behind in school work.
And then we have we have the whole girl situation, I didn't realize that the girl Joseph was 'having an affair with' as John would put it, was that girl we saw in the hallway about a month ago. I mean, she's cute enough, but i don't see why Joe would risk so much just to be friends with her. And I would say that it's none of my concern, but if this girl thinks that she can just take him away from us, then she has another thing coming.
Another ding takes me out of my daydream, but it's a smaller one this time, and I may or may not have jumped a little at the noise. Nonetheless, I quickly scope the room, worried that the noise could from an enemy that found our headquarters. I cautiously continue looking under and around things until I reach a small pile of clothes. I reach out to them and as I feel the fabric, I realize two things. One, they are Joseph's training clothes from earlier, and two, they are drenched in sweat. I drop the clothes quickly and wipe my hands on my sweatpants hastily. I push the clothes away from the bench with one finger, finding Joseph's phone underneath.
The text message says it's from someone named Marina, and my eyes widen in surprise, realizing this is portably the Neutral that he's been talking to. Unfortunately, the text doesn't say anything important, Marina just asked what Joseph was up to. I'm about to walk away and continue training, but I have an urge to grab it and confront her immediately. I stand there fighting with my conscious, but I end up taking the phone anyway and unlock it, opening the screen to their conversation. And before I know it, I'm texting her back a response.
Oh, I was just in the shower. I press send and wait for a response. I'm about to give up when she replies ten minutes later.
Ok well, you said at school that you had something to tell me. I freeze and drop the phone in shock. but quickly regain myself to check if I broke the phone. Luckily, it didn't break and is perfectly fine, but that only solves the small problem. The big problem is that Joseph might have to tell this girl that he likes her, like really likes her. I freak out immediately, sprinting out of the room with the phone to try and find John. I slowly jog down the hallways to conceal my anxiousness, but when I near our hallway, I start to break out into a run. Luckily, John is sitting in the couch and Joseph is still in the shower when I come bursting in. John gives me a questioning look and opens his mouth, but I put a finger to my mouth and point to the bathroom where the shower is running and you can hear the soft sound of Joseph humming. He nods in understanding and motions for me to come closer to him so I can whisper.
"What's up?" he says causally, probably thinking this is me freaking out for no reason.
"Joseph was texting that girl again" I say urgently, and even though he's really set on keeping these two apart, he looks surprisingly calm.
"And..." he trails off, raising his hands in question. I sigh frustratedly and unlock Joseph's phone again to show him their recent texts.
"Oh no" he says seriously, and his eyes widen again. "He's going to tell her..." he trails off, his voice filled with worry, "something probably not important" he says sarcastically, and I smack the back of his head. He cries out in pain and pouts as he rubs his hand against the spot that I hit.
"What?" he looks genuinely confused, but mostly just in pain.
"He could tell her that he really likes her and... you know..." I drift off, hoping that he gets the idea and I don't really need to say it. His eyes widen in understanding and he quickly reaches out for the phone, but I pull it away.
"What are you doing?" I whisper yell at him, and he plucks the phone out of my hand quickly.
"Deleting the texts, otherwise he'll see it and know that you texted her without him knowing" he explains, while scrolling through the phone and deleting our small conversation.
"Should we talk to him about it?" I wonder, looking to John for the answer. Usually I don't like following other people's leads and I like to roam free and all, but I guess when a situation gets tough, you do what you have to do. Before he even gets a chance to respond, the bathroom goes silent, the sound of water no longer echoing through the room. We look at each other before John's shrugs and gets off the couch.
"It's now or never" I hear him murmur under his breath, and i can't tell if he meant to say it to me or himself. Predictably, Joseph comes out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist, and despite the situation, I start to smirk.
"Hey princess, we have to talk. So go get some clothes on" I tease and he glares at me before walking over to his dresser and searching through the drawers slowly, whistling quietly to himself. I look at John nervously and he nods, indicating he's going to take the lead.
"So, Joe..." John starts but suddenly seems at a loss for words. Joseph turns around and gives him a confused look, before shaking his head and turning back around.
"Smooth" I whisper sarcastically, and John gives me a sarcastic smile. He then turns back to Joe, who is now pulling a shirt over his head. "We have something to.. talk about" I reason, saying my words slowly as to make sure that they made sense. A look of confusion quickly crosses his face, but he wipes it away with a grin.
"What's up?" he asks, now sitting down with us since he has all his clothes on. John begins to look more and more nervous as he shifts in his seat back and forth.
"We just need to say a... suggestion" he stutters, barely spitting out the words. I give him a doubtful look but he proceeds to keep talking. "And uh- we think it's for the best, you know, for you and uh..." he keeps on mumbling on with that same pattern, more to himself than to either of us. He tries to regain himself, and before he loses his quick dash of confidence, he bursts out the words.
"We don't want you to see Marina anymore" he bursts, regaining his confidence and slowly turning back into a more composed figure. This catches Joseph's attention quickly and he looks at us in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" he asks, narrowing his eyes at us questioningly. Before John starts rambling again, I decide to speak up.
"We know you've been texting her and hanging out with her at school, and we don't like it" I state simply, avoiding any emotion in my voice. His confusion only seems to grow and he also starts to have a small blush on his cheeks.
"What do you- How do you even know who she is?" He says, then looks down into my hands, directly at the phone that i forgot to take out of them. I quickly throw it to the other couch, but he only glares at me as he goes to pick it up. And unfortunately for me, when he unlocks the phone, the first screen to pop up is the one that has their text messages. "You searched through my phone?! What the hell is wrong with you guys?!" he yells, starting to lose the calm side he was showing before.
"Is that the reason we have no classes together?" Joseph says, quieting his voice as he realizes this. The look of betrayal on his face is almost enough to make me keep my shut, but not quite.
"She's a neutral, Joe! She's dangerous!" I reason, trying my best not to raise my voice too high to get him more mad. Joseph gives me an incredulous look and I see him also trying to keep himself cool.
"Dangerous? How on earth is she dangerous?" He says, his voice tense. "If anything, we're the dangerous ones, not her" John's eyes widen quickly and mine do too, he looks at me worriedly before turning to Joe.
"This is exactly what we were worried about, she's changing you!" He says, his voice also starting to raise quickly. Joe scoffs and rolls his eyes as he gestures to us. "Maybe this isn't what i want anymore! Maybe I want more than just rebellion" His voice starts to rise near the end of his sentence, causing us all to start shouting at each other.
Things seem to get heated quickly as John and I shout at Joseph about how Marina is changing him, and he keeps shouting about how she isn't one at all. After about ten minutes of shouting at each other, I stand up on the couch and yell to gather their attention. They turn to me with angry looks on their faces and I roll my eyes.
"Can we stop screaming at each other and just talk to each other!" I say calmly, only with a little voice rise at the end. I find myself surprised that i'm being the reasonable one for once, and even more surprised when they listen to me and ease back into the couch.
"I didn't mean to start yelling" Joe starts, looking at John and I apologetically.
"It's okay neither-" John starts to apologize before he's interrupted.
"But I also dont you two watching me like your my babysitter. I'm older than both of you, if you forgot. It's my life and my choice." Jospeh says, standing up and starting to walk out the door, as John and I sit in silence. We continue to stare at each, thinking that we've won this battle, until he speaks up again. "And by the way," he says, turning his back away from us and to the door.
"I'm not staying away from Marina"
And with that, he's gone.
Marina
"We need milk"
"No we don't, there's still a jug and a half in the the fridge."
"No there isn't."
"Yes there is!"
"Is not" I groan as Maren pulls another jug of milk into the shopping cart. She's the one who dragged me out here at eight at night, just to go grocery shopping. Meaning, i'm only in a sweatshirt and shorts, with my hair flying across my face with every step I take. Maren just smiles victoriously and motions for me to follow her with the cart.
"Fine, but when we get home and we have plenty of milk, i'm blaming you" I say, sighing and running a hand through my greasy hair. I was planning on showering before we left, but Maren also insists that the store closes at nine, which it doesn't.
"And you'll see that you were wrong all along" She retorts, not removing her eyes from the grocery list in front of her. Abruptly. she jerks to the left and walks straight into the alcohol aisle. My eyebrows go up in surprise and I give her a happy smile, even though she's can't see me.
"You do know that we're underaged, and I don't feel like getting arrested tonight" I tease, with an easy, but tired, smile on my face. She just throws her head over her shoulder to give me a fake smile, before glaring and turning back.
"My parents are coming back in town this week, and there's a meeting at our house on Thursday" She explains, apparently reaching what she was looking for when she picks up a bottle of champagne and putting it in the cart. She takes four more and piles them in gently while I watch her as I stand off to the side.
"Don't they usually meet in the Capital Building? Why is it at your house?" I still can't really get used to calling Maren's house 'our' house, even though she constantly tells me that I should. Saying it only makes me think of why I don't have a house with my parents, and more importantly, how they aren't here. As if sensing my inner turmoil, Maren doesn't make a comment about it and decides to focus on my question.
"I'm not sure, they said it required a different setting or something" She says absentmindedly, starting to walk back up the aisle, causing me to follow her. I nod in understanding, even though I really don't. I've never heard of the Rulers having meetings anywhere else except the Capital, and my mind briefly flashes to the thought of the prince being there.
The prince was appointed by our king, Setrakus Ra. People are supposed to call him our main ruler, and that he isn't the king because he 'doesn't want to have power over anyone else', which, as Maren would say, total bullshit. Not that Maren has ever admitted it, but saying that she disliked the king would be an understatement. Neither of us have ever been every fond of us having to follow some old mans orders, but she only cares because it makes us sound like we're in some kind of fairytale.
The prince's name is Prince Zach. He's the kings nephew, who is supposed to take his crown one day. There are many rumors that he will take power once he gets married, which causes girls to go nuts at the thought of it.
"I like Joseph" Maren states out of nowhere, causing me to snap out of my daydream. "He's definitely not my kind of guy, but he's okay for a goofy one" She decides, not bothering to look at me while she states her decision. I nod my head and try to hide the smile growing on my face.
"I'm glad you do" I say simply, staring off into space. Surprised by my bluntness, she turns to me slowly with a curious look.
"Is that all you have to say?" She says unbelievingly, like she's expecting me to go on and on about how amazing I think he is.
I shrug nonchalantly, "What else is there to say?" I ask, and she looks confused briefly, and our conversation is paused momentarily when we pull up to the self check out counter. She's scanning the milk jugs when she decides to speak up again.
"I don't know, I just thought that you like, had a thing for him" She shrugs, focusing on me instead of the things she's scanning and I'm a little surprised that she would read that much into our friendship.
"There is no 'thing'. We're just good friends" I explain, and I find myself believing my words. Sure I think Joseph is cute and all, but I wouldn't say that Im in love with him or anything.
"Okay" Is all she has to say in response, but I can see the wheels turning in her eyes and I can tell that she has more to say on the matter, but decides to drop it. We silently load all of the bags into the cart and we roll it out of the store and I sigh gratefully.
"Thank god that's over!" I say in relief, while Maren only smirks at me sarcastically. We reach the car and start loading our small amount of bags into the trunk, me doing it in silence while Maren thinks. When we're done, we hop into Maren's car and she turns on the ignition, pulling out of the parking spot carefully.
For some reason, my mind drifts to Maren, and how she's had a weird attitude this week, and has been seeming to not act like herself. How she's more closed off, and more secretive in some cases. And it also drifts to how she had left our balcony door open multiple times lately.
"Hey Maren, you left the balcony door open again last night" I say, glancing over at her. Quickly, I see a flash of what could be panic in her eyes, but it quickly disappears and I see her roll her eyes.
"Did I? Ugh I keep forgetting to do that, I guess i'm used to the fresh air so much that I keep forgetting to close it" She smiles at me while she shakes her head to herself. I nod, but I still don't find myself quite convinced.
"Maren, if anything's ever wrong, you know you can tell me, right?" I look at her for confirmation and her face softens.
"I know, Mar" And she smiles. But this time it's different. This time, her face smiles, but her eyes didnt.
