Okk. Since it seemed like my theme for last chapter was Phil angst, this chapter's all April. Feels weird to say this (especially since we're talking about a sad April), but enjoy. =)
It was still weighing heavily on April that Phil had gotten suspended from school for a fight with Ryan Reeves; it was weighing even heavier on her that he had gotten suspended for two weeks because of said fight. The thing that seemed to be the heaviest weight on her was the fact that Alex had gotten a busted lip for trying to stop Phil from fighting Ryan. 'It's all because of me that Phil got into that fight. And it's all because of me that Alex got hurt. Why does it seem like I'm messing things up for so many people?' April thought, laying on her bed that Thursday night. Silent tears rolling down her face, April buried her face in her pillow as she let her doubts and her misery roll over her in waves. 'Maybe things'd be better for everyone if I just didn't come around them anymore.'
...
As the next few days passed, all of the freaks noticed that April hadn't shown up to school at all. This was worrying all of them, none more than Bayley, Josh, and Eve. The three brunettes were beside themselves with what to do about their friend.
"I'm worried about April, you guys," Bayley said, the Thursday night of the following week as she, Josh, and Eve were sitting in Josh and Bayley's living room.
"We're all worried, Bayley. But, what can we do about her?" Eve asked, trying to calm the youngest of the three down.
"We can try to help her!" Bayley practically shouted. "We haven't seen or heard anything from her in days and I'm really worried about her."
"We know, Bayley," Josh said, resting a hand on his twin's shoulder. "We've tried to do everything we can, but we can't get through to her."
"We have try!" Bayley said. Tears welling up in her eyes, Bayley rested her head in her hands and said "We can't lose her like we almost did before."
Not liking this sound of defeat in Bayley's voice, Eve sat as thoughts went through her head. 'Bayley's right. We have to do something to help April. I don't want to see her go through another depressive spell like the one she managed to get out of years ago,' Eve thought. An idea hitting her, Eve asked "Have either one of you guys had any luck with trying to at least talk to April?"
"We've tried, Eve. But, every time we go over to her house, Mr. and Mrs. Mendez just tell us that April's not feeling well," Josh said, rubbing Bayley's back. "Why? Did you just think of something?"
"I think I might've. And you and Bayley can help me with it, But, it's going to take more than just the three of us," Eve said.
"Who else did you have in mind?" Josh asked, Bayley perking up a bit at Eve mentioning a plan.
"Isn't April friends with Kaitlyn Bonin?" Eve asked. "I saw them sitting together during lunch last Thursday."
"April's pretty good friends with Katie," Bayley said. "Why? Did you want me to text her and ask her something?"
"Yeah. Text her and ask if she and Alex can come meet us after school tomorrow afternoon so that we can all go over to April's house together," Eve said. "I'll have time before the home game tomorrow night, so I can be there with you guys."
"OK!" Bayley chirped, feeling hopeful about Eve's plan. Pulling her phone out, Bayley scrolled through her contacts and, after finding Kaitlyn's number, sent the two-toned teen a text telling Kaitlyn and Alex to meet up with her and Eve after school Friday so that they could go over April's house together.
"I sure hope your plan will work, Eve," Josh said, looking over to the sophomore.
"I hope it will too, Josh," Eve said while she thought 'Not sure how well this will work. But, at this point, like Bayley said, we have to try something.'
...
The next day after school, Josh, Bayley, and Eve waited at the school gates as the school emptied out with students heading home, ready to start their weekends.
Looking over at his twin, who was anxiously bouncing in place, Josh said "Bayley, calm down. Alex and Kaitlyn'll be out of the building soon."
"I know, Josh. I'm just wondering what's taking them so long," Bayley said. "Usually Lexi and Katie are out by now."
"Maybe they got held up talking with a teacher or something," Eve said, trying to reassure the youngest of the three. "Besides, we've got a few hours before I have to be back here and in my cheerleading uniform. That's more than enough time for us to try to talk to April."
"I sure hope so, Evie," Bayley said, trying to stop her nervous bouncing. The three had been waiting for a few more minutes when Bayley finally caught sight of Kaitlyn and Alex coming out of the school building with Jeff and Trish. Waving her hands, Bayley watched as the four teens made their way over to where she was standing. With the four stopping in front of her, Bayley said "It's about time you guys showed up."
"We, uh, got held up inside," Kaitlyn said, a bit surprised to see Eve Torres with Josh and Bayley.
"Yeah. We had to get Phil's work for today so that Jeff and Trish could drop it off to him," Alex said, just as surprised as Kaitlyn was to see one of the school's so-called queen bees with the Matthews twins.
Feeling the awkward tension between his sisters and Eve, Jeff said "Me and Trish are, uh, going over to Phil's and then head home so we can work a bit before the game tonight. Alex, Kait, don't forget. Matt's game starts at 8."
"OK, Jeff. We're not going to forget," Alex said, swatting Jeff on the arm.
"Don't forget to take all of this to Phil. Make sure to explain what needs to be done with each assignment too," Kaitlyn said, handing a stack of papers to Trish.
"OK, Kait," Trish said nodding. Turning to look at her boyfriend, Trish said "Come on, Jeff. Let's go" as she and Jeff headed off for Phil's house.
Watching the two blondes walk off, Alex and Kaitlyn turned back to look at the three brunettes with Kaitlyn asking "So, you guys want to let us know why you wanted to meet us after school?"
"We're going to April's house today!" Bayley chirped.
"I thought April didn't want to see anybody," Alex said, having taken notice of the fact that April hadn't been to school since last week.
"We thought so too. But, that's not going to stop us from trying," Bayley said, as she, Josh, Eve, Alex, and Kaitlyn left the school and headed to April's house.
"Whose idea was it that you get me and Alex involved?" Kaitlyn asked, feeling a bit wary being around Eve.
"It was Evie's!" Bayley chirped, throwing an arm around the sophomore's shoulders. "She has a plan and she thinks you and Alex can help us out."
"Why would Eve care anyway?" Alex asked, her distrust of the sophomore clear in her voice.
"Believe it or not, Alex, Eve was actually really good friends with me, Bayley, and April at one point," Josh said, surprising both Alex and Kaitlyn. "We had a bit of a falling out when we were in middle school, but Eve's trying to make up and apologize for being such a bully to everyone."
"It's going to take a lot of work, but I've been making progress," Eve said. "My 'friends' may not be the most approving of me wanting to make nice with everyone, but who cares what they think?"
"That, actually sounds pretty badass coming from someone like you, Eve," Alex said, smirking over at the sophomore.
Smiling at Alex's compliment, Eve said "Being badass is one of my strong qualities", drawing laughs from the four freshmen. The group of five kept walking until Alex and Kaitlyn stopped at the outer gates of Greenley Estates.
Confused that Alex and Kaitlyn stopped walking, Josh turned back and, seeing the frozen looks on his friends' faces, asked "Alex? Kaitlyn? You guys okay?"
Pointing up at the sign over the gate, Kaitlyn said "This is Greenley Estates. You know, the rich part of the city."
"So?" Bayley asked, turning back to look at her friends with the same amount of confusion Josh seemed to have with Eve turning back as well.
"'So?' 'Common losers' like us usually aren't allowed this way. That and we apparently 'don't belong here'," Alex said, using the words she had heard some of the rich kids at school use.
"Who would've told you something like that?" Bayley asked.
Ashamedly, Eve raised her hand and said "I, might have said that once or twice when I was on a bullying rip a few times."
"That wasn't very nice, Eve. But, you weren't yourself when you said that, so I guess I can see why you said it," Bayley said. Turning back to look at her friends, Bayley said "You guys can come on. It's not like anything's going to bite you two."
"She's right, you know," Eve said. "People are mostly nice in this part of the city, so you two have nothing to worry about."
Taking Eve's words into consideration, Alex and Kaitlyn both took deep breaths as they linked arms and walked through the gate into Greenley Estates. Stepping through the gate, Kaitlyn said "We have now entered the Twilight Zone."
"Feels weird," Alex said, looking around at the mansions that lined the road. While still looking around at the mansions, Alex blurted "These seem like the kinds of houses where the insides are all white."
Laughing at Alex's comment, Bayley said "Not really, Lexi. I can tell you right now that me and Josh's house is nothing like the rest."
"She's not lying there, Alex," Eve said.
"I guess you're right, Eve," Alex said, still feeling a bit uncomfortable being in that part of the city. Walking along the sidewalk, Alex asked "How much further until we get to April's?"
Stopping at the gate in front of one of the houses that had a mailbox with the name Mendez on it, Josh said "We're here."
"And you guys haven't had any luck at all trying to talk to April?" Kaitlyn asked.
"No, Kaitlyn. But, if my plan works, then we just might be able to get through to her," Eve said. Taking a breath, Eve said "Well, here goes nothing."
Taking that as a sign to head up to April's front door, Eve pushed open the gate as the group of five headed inside and walked up the path to April's house. Stopping on the stoop outside of the door, Eve rung the doorbell as she stood back to wait with the other four teens. The group had been waiting for a couple of minutes when the door opened and Mr. Mendez stood on the other side.
Looking down at the group of teens in front of him, Mr. Mendez asked "Eve, Joshua, Bayley. What brings you three here today?"
"Hi, Mr. Mendez. We were wondering if we could come in and see April today," Eve said.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Eve," Mr. Mendez said, hearing the oldest of the teenagers mention his daughter. "April's still not feeling well."
"I know, I know. But, can we at least come in and see if we can try to talk to her?" Eve asked. "We've all been really worried about her and we just want to help her feel better."
Hearing Eve's determination to help his only daughter out of her depression and seeing the other four teens mirror that determination, Mr. Mendez smiled and said "She's up in her room. You can try to talk her out of there if you can."
"OK. We'll do our best, sir," Eve said, nodding. Turning back to the other four teens, Eve said "Come on, guys."
Heading inside of April's house, Eve and the four freshmen headed up the stairs to where April's bedroom was, with Kaitlyn and Alex looking around the inside of April's house in wonder as Mrs. Mendez came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. Looking after Kaitlyn and Alex, Mrs. Mendez asked "Carlos. Who were those other two girls with Eve, Joshua, and Bayley?"
"Friends of April's, dear," Mr. Mendez said, closing the door behind him.
Vaguely recognizing them from the group picture April and Phil showed her a few weeks ago, Mrs. Mendez asked "And Eve thinks that they'll be able to help her, Joshua, and Bayley get through to April?"
"She wouldn't have brought them here if she didn't think they'd be some help," Mr. Mendez said. Seeing the defeated look on his wife's face, Mr. Mendez pulled her in for a hug as he rubbed her back and said "Have faith in them, Elizabeth. They'll be able to help April. I just know it."
Reaching the top of the stairs, the five teens walked to where Bayley said April's bedroom was. Stopping outside of the door that had a stack of schoolwork against the wall, Bayley hesitantly raised her hand to knock before Eve walked past her and pushed open the door, much to the surprise of Bayley and Josh. Shrugging at the surprised looks on the twins' faces, Eve headed inside with the other four following behind her.
Looking around the room, the concerned gazes of the five teens finally landed on the bed where there was a petite lump hidden under the bedsheets. Cautiously walking forward, Bayley walked over to the bed and asked "April? You doing OK?" Getting no response from the lump, Bayley sat down on the edge of the bed and said "Me, Josh, and Evie brought Alex and Kaitlyn over here with us today. They were getting worried about you, so we decided to come see how you were doing."
Still not getting a response, Josh walked over to the bed and, taking a seat on the bed for himself, said "We haven't heard from you in a week and we're all just worried."
Again, with no response coming, Eve walked over and, resting her hand on what she was positive was April's shoulder, said "Come on, April. Please talk to us. We know that you're hurting over everything that's been happening between you and Phil, but you got to talk to us. We won't be able to help you if don't."
Hearing this, April, still under her bedsheets, said "Like you'd know how I feel."
Eyes widening in surprise that April finally said something, Eve pressed the brunette further by saying "Well, I've had my fair share of breakups before, so I think I might know how you're feeling."
The bedsheets getting pushed down as the three brunettes moved away from the bed, April sat up, revealing very disheveled hair and puffy bags under her eyes that were indicators of her crying. Looking over at the group of five that was in her room, Eve in particular, April asked "How could you know how I feel, Eve? How could any of you know how I'm feeling?!"
"That's just the thing, April. We don't know how you feel," Kaitlyn said, stepping forward with Alex doing the same thing. "You have to tell us instead of keeping everything bottled up inside."
"I can't, Kaitlyn!" April shouted. Trembling as another fit of crying threatened to escape her, April finally said in a small voice "I've never had to deal with feelings like this before. I don't know how to let what I'm feeling out."
"That's what we're here for, April," Alex said, taking a seat on April's bed with Eve, Bayley, Josh, and Kaitlyn. "Like Josh and Bayley said, we're all worried about you and we just want to help you out. But, you have to let us in. Don't be so guarded with us."
"Alex is right, April," Bayley said, moving over closer to April. "Let us in. Don't be afraid to tell us how you're feeling."
Looking around at the group of five and seeing the concern on their faces, April felt bad for keeping her friends locked out. Sure, she was feeling bad about everything that had been happening with her and Phil, but she should've known that she could rely on her friends to at least hear her out while she talked about how she was feeling; but instead, she let her inner doubts and insecurities rule her and drive her into a depression-filled isolation that not even her parents could pull her out of. Letting herself get pulled into a hug from Bayley, April let out the tears of guilt she had been holding back as Bayley said "It's OK, April. It's OK. Let it out. You're with friends here. We got you." Finally managing to calm her crying into a few hiccups, April pulled away and, wiping her face, looked around at her friends again and said "Thanks for coming here, you guys. I'm sorry that I've been putting you all through so much."
"Hey, we're your friends, April," Bayley said, smiling over at April. "It's what we do."
"Plus, if we didn't do something to help you, Bayley was going to keep up her doomsday count of how many days you've been depressed," Josh said, causing Bayley to stick her tongue out at her twin and April to laugh a little. Seeing that he had managed to get April to laugh, Josh smiled a little and said "That's what we've been wanting to see."
"Who would've guessed it'd take you poking fun at Bayley to get April to laugh?" Kaitlyn asked, grinning.
Laughing even more at her friends, April thought 'How could I have thought that they wouldn't want to help me? They're my friends. I should've known that they want to do whatever they could to help me feel better.' Getting hit with a sudden question, April asked "How's Phil doing? Is he doing okay since he's been out of school?"
"Oh, yeah. Phil's been more than okay since he got suspended," Alex said. "From what he told me and Kaitlyn the other day, he finished you guys' comic book and is just waiting to send it in."
"That's good. I just wonder how it's going to do," April said, happy that Phil was finished with something that the two had poured so much hard work into. Switching to another topic that was on her mind, April asked "What about Amy? How's she been?"
"She's been okay. I think after getting to use one of her concerts to let out some of her aggression, Ames has been better than ever," Kaitlyn said. "She even finally put on her big girl boots and asked Chris to be her date to the Christmas party."
"Chris?" April asked in confusion. "I thought she would've asked Phil to be her date. After all, I did leave Phil so that he and Amy could be together."
"Wait. What?" Alex asked, cocking an eyebrow in question. "What would make you think Phil would want to be with Amy? Phil's only got eyes for you, April."
"But, but I'd always see him and Amy acting so close with each other. The day I broke up with him, I caught him and Amy hugging like they were going to kiss at any minute," April said, gears starting to spin a bit too fast in her head.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa there, April. Alex said it best when she said Phil's only got eyes for you," Kaitlyn said, trying to reassure the shorter brunette. Adding as she tried to keep the laugh off of her face, Kaitlyn said "Besides, I'm pretty sure it'd be awkward if you dated your cousin."
Hearing Kaitlyn say the word 'cousin', April blinked a couple of times before saying "Wait. What?"
*nervous laugh* If anyone'd like to know how Amy 'used one of her concerts to let out some of her aggression', she unleashed some metal on the brave souls that dared go to that concert...but there was no moshing; Mr. Levy's made that abundantly clear. Recap of Le Chap Time! Turns out April was really letting what happened to Phil with him getting into a fight and getting suspended get to her...poor girl even skipped out on school for almost a week because she was so upset (that and she couldn't find it in herself to face Kaitlyn, Alex, and the others). Eve concocted a plan that she needed Alex and Kaitlyn for, and that plan was to go to April's house as a group and try to talk some sense/positivity into our depressed geekette. And, surprisingly enough, after a few minutes of walking and talking, Alex and Kaitlyn seem to have loosened up with the not-so mean girl (Hooray for forgiveness!). Making it to April's house and, after explaining their plan to Mr. and Mrs. Mendez, the group of five make their way to April's room...only to find April hidden under her bedsheets with a stack of incomplete schoolwork outside her door (which is not a good sign...April's not one to just blow off doing schoolwork). Looks like it took Eve's mention of her prior relationships to get April to finally talk to the group. After finally managing to perk up a bit, April decides to ask how Phil and Amy were doing...Phil finished their comic book (which has her feeling happy) and Amy's with Chris (which has her confused). What she heard from Kaitlyn about Amy and Phil was definitely not what April was expecting: They're actually cousins (which is the relationship that Phil and Amy have that I was talking about in earlier chapters). Color April confused. Stay tuned to for more as April takes in what she's learned. =)
(*sighs* OK, guys. I feel the need to better clarify something with how the PunkLee is being laid out in this. I WILL bring April and Phil back together...I'm working on including that in one of my coming chapters. The thing is...I'm actually trying to slow burn getting them back together. Relationship rebuilding and coming out of a depressive slump doesn't just happen overnight, y'know? So, the next *looks at saved OCBAC chaps* two (or three...depending on how Chapter 39 plays out) chapters are more going to be about April trying to feel better before she goes about making up with Phil and Amy. BUT, I promise, Phil and April's makeup scene will be well worth the wait should you guys choose to stick with this until then. So, again, stay tuned for the next chapter.)