Cristina was frustrated and upset. Her day had been complete and utter hell. She was already feeling like crap because of what she had said to Lincoln earlier that day, but with everyone having blamed her for what happened to Lincoln just a few short hours ago… Well, she didn't know how to feel.

She was tired of the nasty comments on her social media page and she couldn't believe that the principal had suspended her. He claimed it was for what she had said to Lincoln this morning, but she and everyone else knew it was because of the prank Rusty and the others pulled on him. She had tried to explain, but he wouldn't listen, telling her to just go home.

Her parents couldn't even pick her up, as they had gone to an important business meeting a couple of days ago and wouldn't be back for another three days. When Cristina tried to explain to them what had really happened, they, like everyone else, wouldn't listen. They told her that, when they got back home, she was to be grounded for the rest of the school year.

She was under a lot of stress and had decided to go on a walk. She had just picked a random direction and started walking. It wasn't like she had anything else to do. Her parents let her keep her phone, but told her that one of the punishments would be that it would be turned off when they got home. She could only use it to call her parents or in case of an emergency, so no friend calls… Not that she even had any friends left to talk to. Even her best friend, Cookie stopped talking to her.

Cristina felt so alone. No one would listen and Lincoln was still going to be getting worse treatment… LINCOLN! Cristina froze, her eyes widening as she mentally face palmed. Rusty, Boy Jordan and Paige were still going to try to cause more damage. She remembered the letters and the package they were sending. If they opened those, Lincoln was going to be even more crushed. That poor kid didn't deserve any of this…

Cristina looked around her, trying to think of a way to stop this whole mess from escalating. She didn't have a clue as to where Lincoln lived and she didn't really know anything about Stella, but she had been to Girl Jordan's house a few times for pool parties, maybe she could tell her where Lincoln lived… No, she would more than likely just punch Cristina in the face.

Cristina sighed, rubbing her face. This was so hard and unfair; she didn't even know where to start. She couldn't ask anyone for help, there just wasn't anyone that would help her. It would help if Clyde was still around, she could easily force him to tell her, but he wasn't. Maybe she could ask an adult for help… Maybe her old elementary teacher…

A sudden idea hit Cristina, making her both super nervous and hopeful. Lincoln's little sisters still go to elementary school. She could find one of them and follow them home. There school didn't get out for another hour… That was plenty of time to get there.

Cristina turned and started to run down the street. This could work, this could help Lincoln and clear her name. She would just have to earn everyone's trust, but as long as she could, she could help Lincoln… Cristina was never going to get over that one… She had spent so long hating him and now here she was trying to stop him from getting hurt even more. Just because she didn't really like him as a person, didn't mean she wished any of this on...

"BAM…"

Cristina crashed into someone, causing her to fall on her butt for the second time that day. She heard an irritated groan and she looked up, seeing one of the last people she wanted to. "Oh… Sorry Cookie…"

Cookie didn't respond right away, just glaring at Cristina for a few moments.

Cristina let out a sigh, rubbing her face. "Look Cookie, I tried to explain this already, but I'm not the one who did this to Lincoln. If you would just let me explain what happened, I could…"

"Stop."

Cristina closed her mouth, frowning. Cookie gave her an angry look and shook her head. "Don't lie to me. We both know you hate Lincoln, you even said so this morning. I let that slide because you can be a bit mean without meaning to, but what you did to him today… That was just evil. I never really liked him much myself, still wouldn't say he is my favorite person, but I wouldn't ever do that to him and I thought you wouldn't either. I just want to know… why did you do it?"

Cristina slowly pulled herself to her feet, her frown growing as Cookie took a step back. "Why? People keep asking me why I did it… But nobody asks me "If" I did it. You tell me not to lie to you, but I haven't… I didn't like Lincoln… But I wouldn't ever do what people say I did. Where would I even get that much blood? I'm tired of people telling me what they think I did… Damn it, it wasn't me. It was… Aw, why even bother? You wouldn't even believe me anyway… I'm going to fix this, please move."

Cookie didn't move, she just stood in front of Cristina, looking her over. "Didn't?"

Cristina raised a brow, giving her a confused look. "Didn't what?"

Cookie sighed, crossing her arms. "You said you Didn't like Lincoln. As in, "I didn't like Lincoln", rather than "I don't like Lincoln"… As in… You don't hate him anymore. You didn't do it, did you? The prank I mean. We both know you were still a jerk to him, but you aren't a bully."

Cristina looked at her friends in shock. "Wait… You believe me?"

Cookie looked her over for a moment before slowly nodding. "Yeah… Also, we both know you are terrible with a computer. There is no way that you could have deleted Lincoln's school records."

Cristina's mouth dropped slightly. "You believe me?..." Cristina felt tears welling in her eyes and she let out a tired sigh. "Not even my parents would listen to me… You have no idea how much this means to me… But why did you avoid me if you knew I… Wait… Did you say Lincoln's school records were deleted?"

Cookie nodded, her face growing soft. "Yeah, they were. Lincoln has been kicked out until they are either found or rebuilt… His sisters want your blood… Lynn is a very scary girl and if Lincoln's other sisters are anything like her… well, you are royally screwed… I'm sorry that I avoided you… I just had to be certain that you didn't do it. People say you did a lot of things… Most of them are ridiculous, but the blood thing and the chemicals in the locker, you could have done that… But just because you are capable of doing something, doesn't mean you would have… Really, the only reason I believe you is because of how upset you were at yourself after what happened this morning. I know you don't really hate Lincoln as much as you did or even as much as you thought."

Cristina felt so relieved that she thought she was going to pass out. It like a great weight was lifted from her shoulders… Only for it to come back again when she realized that Cookie was just one person and that she would still have to convince everyone else too. Though, the weight was a little bit lighter…

"So… Who really did it?"

Cristina looked up at Cookie. "What?"

Cookie sighed, face palming. "The prank, who did it?"

Cristina nodded, feeling a bit dumb. "Oh… Yeah, sorry. It was Rusty, Boy Jordan and Paige. They have a few… Grudges against Lincoln… even if most of them don't really make any sense."

"Says the kettle to the pot."

Cristina frowned, giving her an offended look. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Cookie snorted. "You have been avoiding Lincoln for over a year like he is a sick perv and a monster. All because of a silly little crush and a video of him kissing a photo of you. That is a pretty stupid reason to hate someone. Anyway, what do you plan on doing?"

Cristina sighed, shaking her head. "I need to get to Lincoln's house and stop them from opening a package and some letters… It might make Lincoln feel even worse and I don't want that."

Cookie raised a brow, giving her a small smile. "Awe, it almost sounds like you care about the white rabbit. That's sweet… So, what are in these letters and the package?"

Cristina rolled her eyes, starting to walk and as she moved to Cookie, she followed. "Hate mail and a glitter bomb, both of which Rusty and the others sent… There is a video of what happened to Lincoln… isn't there?"

Cookie gave her a curious look. "Umm… Yeah, actually there is… How did you know? In fact, how do you know everything that happened? You left before most of this happened and you seem to know more than anyone. Cristina… What is really going on?"

Cristina sighed, turning to look at Cookie. "Look, can this wait? I really need to get to the elementary school and talk to one of Lincoln's sisters. Hopefully they wouldn't have heard about what happened yet and I can catch them before they leave school… Wait… What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you still be at school?"

Cookie shrugged. "No, they let out early because of the blood. I guess it was a health hazard or something. I'm not going to complain about less school. Anyway, what do you plan to do if you manage to get to Lincoln's house? From the way Lynn was guarding Lincoln after you left, I doubt you are going to be able to get close to him, even if he is willing to talk."

Cristina shook her head, rubbing her face. "I don't know. I'll think of something when I get there. So, why are you helping me? I thought you hated Lincoln and I still don't know why that is."

Cookie smiled, making Cristina raise a brow. "I don't exactly hate him… I just don't like his face. He smiles too much and that silly turkey tail of his makes me mad… We should make him cookies. Cookies always makes people feel better, even if it's only a little."

Cristina gave her a confused look. "I swear you have bipolar… First you say you hate him, they you say you only dislike his smile and his hair and now you want to make him cookies? You say my reason for hating him was stupid…"

Cookie sighed, scratching her chin. "I guess I changed my mind. I mean, I would much rather see that stupid smile than that awful sad look and I like his white hair more than blood red… Do you think he likes chocolate chip?"

Cristina shook her head again. "I don't know, ask his sisters when we talk to them… What is with you and cookies anyway?"

Cookie shrugged, putting her hand into her pocket. "They taste good. I think I'm going to make chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. Then he can decide which he likes… We are here."

Cristina looked up, frowning. "Yeah… The elementary school… Now I guess we just wait for school to get out…"

Cookie nodded, turning her head to Cristina. "Yeah… We have enough time for you to tell me the full story and I do mean, the full story. Start from this morning, up to this moment."

Cristina sighed, nodding. "Fine… It started when I had to sit close to Lincoln when the other seats on the bus were full…"

Cristina let out a sigh and brought her hands to rub her temples. "And then I walked into you, falling on my butt for the second time, though, this time didn't lead to someone getting soaked in blood."

Cookie looked at her with her mouth slightly agape. "Wait… So Paige forced you to kiss her? Isn't that like… Sexual assault? Couldn't you threaten to call the police on her or something? You could get her to work against the other two and work out a deal between you two."

Cristina sighed, thinking it over. "No, that wouldn't work. It would be three people against two and the majority of the town probably knows about what happened by now. I'll be lucky if I even get to finish the school year. Principal Green will just find another reason to keep me out of school…"

"RING…"

Cristina jumped a little as the school bell went off, signaling the end of the day. She and Cookie turned to the school, looking at the front door. "We can talk about this later, first, look for Lincoln's sisters… preferably the black haired one. She always seemed a bit less instable."

Cookie nodded, watching cars pull into the school. "Okay… So, what do you plan on saying to her? Or do you plan on winging this too? Do you even know what her name is?"

Cristina sighed, continuing to look around. "I don't know what I'll say, yet that is and I think her name is Lucy. She and that Haiku girl are always hanging out with each other and I've heard her mention it a few times. If we can't find Lucy, we could always find Haiku, we just need to find someone that knows where Lincoln lives…"

"And why do you need to know that?"

Cristina and Cookie jumped, letting out squeaks of panic as someone snuck up behind them. They took several deep breaths before turning to face them. "Oh, Haiku… We were hoping to find Lucy, but you will work. We need to know where Lincoln lives and we know you and Lucy are…"

"No."

Cristina frowned, looking at the angry Haiku. "Why not?"

Haiku crossed her arms, giving Cristina a scowl. "I think we all know why. Do you really think that after what you did to Lincoln, I would let you anywhere near him? Why did you do that to him? Lincoln didn't do anything to deserve it. Not to mention, Lucy is very upset. It took me nearly two hours to get her to come out of the vents. I don't even know where her little sisters are. Lucy when to find them and I'm going to walk them home. You had better both be gone before they get here or I will make you wish that you never showed your face."

Cristina sighed taking a step back. "Look Haiku, this is just a huge misunderstanding. I didn't do those things to Lincoln, but if I don't get to him, more things will happen to him…"

Cristina trailed off as Haiku took a couple of steps closer to her. "Are you threatening Lincoln? Isn't the blood more than enough? What about his school records? What else do you have planned? Why do you hate him so much? What is wrong with you? Just leave or I will make sure you can never…"

"That's enough Haiku…"

Haiku frowned and she, along with Cristina and Cookie turned to look at Lucy. She had her arm around the twins and was holding Lisa's hand in her other. She turned her head to look at Cristina and Cristina felt ice in the air, making her step back. "Why are you here?"

Cristina sighed, crossing her arms over her stomach. "I need to speak with Lincoln."

Lucy tilted her head so her hair moved away from one eye and she glared at Cristina. "Why? So you can bully him again?"

Cristina shook her head, feeling really uneasy. "No, because I'm worried about him. I didn't do those things that everyone says and if we don't get there soon, Lincoln will be finding a rather unpleasant set of hate mail and there is a glitter bomb that was sent for you girls. Please, I know you all hate me, but do you really what Lincoln to read hate mail?"

Lucy straightened her head, hiding her eyes. "No. And I know him seeing you would make him even more upset. Please leave. I will look for these packages and tell Lori… Why are you trying to help if you are the one who did this? How do I now if you aren't planning to do something even worse to him? Why would I ever believe that you didn't do it? We all know how much you hate him, so why the sudden change of heart?"

Cristina frowned, looking at the ground. "I know that I haven't treated Lincoln very well in the past, but I don't hate him anymore… I just want this whole mess to end and…"

"DON'T LIE YOU BITCH! WE ALL KNOW ABOUT WHAT YOU SAID THIS MORNING! JUST LEAVE!"

Cristina flinched and she looking at her feet. "Lucy please… I would never do anything like…"

"LEAVE!"

Cristina sighed and turned away. "Fine, I'm just trying to fix the mess Rusty and the others made. Just keep the letters away from Lincoln and don't open any packages in the house… I'm sorry… Come on Cookie, let's go home…"

This was a pain to write… Anyway, thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed. Please, feel free to review and tell me what you think. As always, have a good one. ^_^