Chapter Twenty Five: Not Again

Brooke's POV-

"So you're ditching us for lieutenant stalker?" Castiel murmured as I stood in the music room, telling them of my lunch plans with Kentin as he stood in the hallway waiting for me.

"No! I'm not ditching you, it's a one-time thing. I need help with my math, and Kentin offered…" I explained.

"More like lieutenant hottie! I think it's a good idea! You can spend some quality time with him." Rosalya peeped happily.

Castiel shot a glare at Rosalya and rolled his eyes.

"We'll miss you…" Lysander shrugged, his voice soft and disheartening.

"It'll only be this one time…" I reiterated, trying to explain to them that I wasn't trying to blow them off.

"Why not invite him to eat with us?" Lysander suggested.

Castiel rolled his eyes and cracked his knuckles.

That's why…

"I just wanted to have some quiet time in the library studying..." I told them.

"I'm good at math, I can help you…" Nathaniel suggested, tilting his head.

"Yes, Nathaniel is a great mathematician! And an excellent tutor; he helps me all the time!" Melody added.

I rolled my eyes, frazzled and frustrated.

"What if I want to spend time with Kentin? What then?" I suddenly snapped, crossing my arms.

Castiel stood staring at me, blinking, not saying a word. Lysander sighed, and Rosalya gave me a thumb up from the background.

"Fine, sorry for being rude. Have fun." Castiel huffed, shaking his head and taking a guitar in his hands, sitting at the piano bench and looking to the strings, moving his fingers aimlessly up and down the neck.

"Sorry guys…I promise I'll be back tomorrow." I sighed, feeling badly now for my decision.

"You're fine, Brooke! The boys are PSMing or something." Rosa told me with a wink and a giggle.

I gave a fake smile, waved quickly, and walked out of the room. I felt a rush of remorse for seemingly letting Castiel and Lysander down, but pushed it aside. I would never truly ditch them for anyone in the world, and I felt like I was doing a good thing by spending lunch with Kentin. He had no friends and would've been alone if I hadn't agreed to let him tutor me.

"Are they mad?" Kentin asked me when I came back into the hallway.

"They're not mad, just disappointed." I told him, shrugging my shoulders.

"I'm sorry…you don't have to come with me." He said as we walked.

"I want to." I expressed, nodding my head.

He smiled to himself as we made our way to my locker to get a few things before heading to the library.

"I'm going to run to the restroom, can I meet you here?" He asked as we turned the corner.

I agreed and walked up to my locker, starting to unlock the pad.

"So I heard about your little break up with Leigh Larkin! Can't say I didn't warn you about him…" I heard a shrill and annoying voice say from behind me. I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up Amber…it's none of your business. And besides, you're a little late. Leigh and I broke up over two months ago…looks like the rumor mill is running kind of dry these days." I scoffed, rolling my eyes and turning to her.

"So then give me the scoop! He just tossed you aside for the next little whore that waltzed through the doors of his pathetic excuse for a clothing store?" She laughed, tossing her hair and putting her hands on her hips.

"Can't you find some other poor soul to annoy?" I sneered.

"That's the thing, Brooke. From the looks of your last season tattered skinny jeans, you're the poorest of them all. And besides, it's been far too long since I've talked to you. We have so much catching up to do!" She mocked me with a chuckle.

Just as I tried to find a comeback, Kentin came out through the bathroom door across the hall and froze when he spotted Amber. Amber glanced over at him, and once she caught his gaze, her jaw dropped.

"Oh! Are you new here?" She cooed, clicking her heels across the hall to Kentin.

I watched, eagerly awaiting her to find that he was the same 'poor' soul that she drove out of this school.

Kentin just stared at her, a look of confusion rising to his face.

"I'm Amber Wood; it's so nice to meet you! Are you enjoying Sweet Amoris so far?" She asked him, her entire tone of voice changing as she bat her eyelashes.

"Were you bothering my friend?" He asked her seriously, crossing his arms. Her eyes grew wide and she seemed at a loss for words.

"No! Not at all, Brooke and I are friends, right?" She pressed as she glanced back at me with an evil, persistent stare.

"Oh, we are? Well in that case, you wouldn't mind letting me know how these jeans look, right? I feel like they're a little last season…" I smirked, tilting my head as I glanced at her.

She looked back to Kentin, who waited for her to reply, and then back at me.

"They are totally cute, girl! Definitely NOT last season!" She cooed, flashing me a fake smile. My smirk grew wider.

"Thanks!" I peeped, winking at Kentin.

"So Amber, you don't recognize me?" Kentin asked her.

"Well, maybe from my dreams, but I don't think we've met before! What's your name?" Amber fussed happily staring into Kentin's eyes.

"Would uh, four-eyed freak ring any bells?" He asked her, crossing his arms with a coy smirk.

Amber stared at him, her eye twitching just a little.

"Wh-what are you t-talking about?" She asked him, a fake giggle sending shudders up my arms as I waited for the climax.

"I think you owe Brooke an apology. And me fifteen dollars…" He told her.

I was tickled pink by this.

"There's no way…" Amber muttered, shaking her head.

Kentin dug through his pockets, pulling out his wallet and grabbing his old Sweet Amoris High School photo I.D card from a compartment, flashing it into Amber's face. On it, it depicted a picture of him before the butterfly metamorphosis.

"Read it and weep. Maybe you should think about being nicer to people, they could surprise you." He told her with a smile.

She eyed him up and down and I could tell she was trying to find words.

"Yu...you can hide behind your good looks, but you'll always be a freak!" Amber spat, quickly turning on her heels and trotting down the hall.

"And you'll always be a bitch…" Kentin muttered to himself, looking down.

"That was amazing! Thank you so much for saving my tail…she was really getting on my nerves…" I told him.

"Did you see the look on her face? I've been waiting a long time to do that. If fact, I've been waiting a long time to do so many things. I think it's finally my time to make those things happen." He told me with a smile.

Castiel's POV-

"It's Leigh all over again…" I sighed, banging my head repeatedly on the stall door of the bathroom as Lysander washed his hands.

"Castiel, they are only studying together…" Lysander reminded me.

"Yeah, Brooke's only studying with a guy who's been in love with her for who knows how long…and what makes it even more 'innocent' is that Brooke is definitely into him now that he's all buff and dandy." I scoffed, grinding my teeth in anxiety.

Brooke was tearing me apart, limb from limb. I wanted so badly to just stop loving her all together and go on with my life. I hated how much I loved her.

"Nothing is set in stone. She'll come around." Lysander told me softly, drying his hands carefully on a paper towel.

"And if she doesn't?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"Then you wait, or move on. That's all you can do." He told me.

"Or I could kill him…" I sneered, giving Lys a smirk.

"Castiel!" He reprimanded me.

I rolled my eyes, and ran my fingers through my hair in anguish.

"I hate feeling this way. I want to get drunk and sleep forever." I sighed, resting my forehead on the wall and inhaling heavily.

"You'll be okay. I have a feeling Kentin is still the same old Kentin underneath it all…" He said, nodding his head to himself.

"I hope you're right." I told him.

"I always am." He snickered back as we walked out into the hallways.

I was starting to feel light headed. My head pounded as the noise from what seemed like a thousand voices penetrated my thick skull.

"I think I'm gonna skip." I told Lysander as we navigated our way through the annoying sea of people.

"You're sure? You could really use the class time…" He warned me, like always.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll see you later." I muttered, hurrying off with a knot in my stomach.

My head was reeling, and the pain in my chest was sickening. Reality was striking a match inside my ribcage, lighting my heart on fire. I couldn't do this again.

I pushed open the doors to the outside world and hurried for the spot on the roof, climbing the stairs one by one, clutching the railing for dear life. When I reached the top, I slammed the door as hard as I could, locking it shut.

I sat down on the cold concrete and sighed, my back pressed tightly against the wall. There wasn't much more of this I could take, and I hoped that Kentin wouldn't turn out to be just another Leigh.

I absent mindedly reached for my cellphone, which was tucked away in the pocket of my jeans, and opened it. Squinting my eyes to glance at the screen through the glare of the sun, I discovered I had a text message from a number I didn't recognize. I started to read it.

'Castiel, I know we're not on speaking terms right now, but my band is in desperate need of a guitarist, and you're the best I know. We'll pay cash and give you something to do with your life. Consider it and get back to me. –Nessa'

I couldn't get myself to believe that my psychotic ex-girlfriend had the nerve to text my phone asking me a stupid question with an obvious answer. As I read it a second time, I laughed to myself, putting my fingers to the keys to text her back.

'You couldn't pay me all the money in the world to do anything to help you, you crazy bitch. Lose my number.' I texted back swiftly with an accomplished smile, pressing send.

I pulled a cigarette out of the pack in my lap and lit it up, inhaling once before my phone vibrated from my lap once more.

'When did sweet, innocent Parker get so rude? I like it! ;D I'll give you a week to accept if you change your mind…' I read, rolling my eyes.

I was definitely giving up a lot. Vanessa's band had hit it big, and was touring around the entire country playing for thousands. It kept her out of my way and far from here, but I still couldn't help feeling as though she didn't deserve one ounce of it.

I dreamed of one day becoming good enough to make a career out of playing music, and this was my chance to do that. I could get out of here and forget all about Brooke, but I knew that's not what my heart wanted. I could never leave Lysander and Nathaniel, and I could certainly never leave Brooke.

Still, something inside told me not to delete the text message right away.