Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or features of Higher Ground, except the following: Emma Morgan, the Rivergliders, Alex, Andrew, James, Leonie, Kristen, Alexis, Fred, Belle, Billy, the stables, or any other horses in that stable. Don't SUE!
"Peter? Can I talk to you about something?" James said, as he knocked on Peter's open door.
"Sure, come on in," Peter answered, wondering why James would want to talk to him. "What's up?"
"Well, I've been talking to Kristen lately and she said I ought to tell you something." Peter saw the look on James's face as he said this. It looked scared and alone, which was most unlike James.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"No, no, I'm fine," James said, calming Peter down a great deal. "It's about my brother." Peter had a blank expression on his face. "Do you know exactly why I ended up here?" he asked, wondering at just how much Peter knew.
"Well, I know you were in a gang and did drugs. You also stole, I suppose to keep up the addiction?" James nodded as Peter read off the record he had just pulled out. "Is there more?" Again, James nodded. "Go on. Don't be scared."
"I was in a gang to run away, to get out of my house. My father was an alcoholic and I often wondered at whether or not he did drugs. He beat me, my brother, and my mom." Peter just nodded. He was accustomed to hearing such things, which is scary, if one thinks about it. "Well, I would leave home, my worries, and him. The thing is, when I left for here, I left them all alone with him." He had such a look of disgust on his face that Peter was almost scared at what that man could have done to him.
"I understand. It's happened to a lot of kids in this school," Peter said, realizing how awful it was that this was so.
"Yeah, I know. Peter?"
"Yes?" he knew that James was gonna ask a favour. He hoped he could help.
"Could you help my mom and my brother. My brother's Jess's age, and my mom... well, last time I saw her, she just got pregnant. I hope to god she didn't lose the baby," he said, barely holding in the sobs. Peter covered his mouth in shock.
"Alright, first of all, what we have to do is find out what their condition is," Peter started, picking up the phone. He proceeded to go through all the formalities and all the correct proceedings. He dismissed James after an hour.
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"Scott?" Shelby whispered, that night, lying in their new bed. Their new bed! She couldn't believe it!
"Yes, Shel?" he whispered back. Her head was resting peacefully on his chest and his arm was around her shoulder she felt safe, and that was the only reason she continued. That and the fact that she was positive everyone was asleep.
"Do you think we should tell Peter about what happened?"
"You mean with Andrew?" he had such hate in his voice. Shelby got scared.
"Are you mad?"
"Hell yeah!" he watched her recoil to the other side of the bed. "Not at you! I could never be mad at you! I'm mad at the little shit that sleeps in the bed across from here," he said, looking at her with love in his eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief at these words, and returned to cuddle with him.
"Thank you and I love you," she whispered, kissing his bare chest.
"I love you too. Shel, I do need to talk to you before we commence... uh... this," he added with a seductive smile.
"Sure," she replied, looking up at him.
"Getting back to your question. I don't think we ought to tell Peter. It'll probably make a big mess, and as much as I hate him, there is a sense of team collaboration to keep. I don't want to turn on a Cliffhanger or Riverglider. We'll definitely keep an eye on him. I'll let David and Auggie know cause they're the two other able guys. No need to freak Ezra and the Riverglider guys out, it'll only cause Andrew to know we're on his tail. At least with three guys knowing, the rest are safe," he seemed a little overconfident as he said that.
"Are you saying that the girls are not able to defend themselves?" she said, mock indignanty in her voice.
"Nah, I'm just saying that girls like Alexis and Juliette probably wouldn't be able to handle a guy forcing himself on them. Andrew's not weak!" he said, concern in his voice.
"Oh, I see where you're coming from," she said, calming down and falling back into his embrace.
"Now, we can continue what we started," he whispered, lifting her head for her lips to meet his for a wonderfully sweet kiss which quickly got more intense. They didn't have sex. They knew that the other guys weren't exactly heavy sleepers and that they were apt to wake up quickly. Scott also respected her choice to not make this simply meaningless sex, but to wait in order to make love. They both wanted it that way. After a while they fell asleep in each other's arms.
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"Aw, don't they look cute?" Ezra asked, waking up and seeing Scott and Shelby cuddled together, sleeping peacefully.
"Yeah, but we got kitchens this week. So here goes nothing," David said, an evil grin spreading across his face. Ezra, Alex, James, Andrew, and Auggie looked at each other and took cover, covering their ears with their hands. "Good morning! Time to wake up! Oh and it's a lovely morning at that!" David yelled at the top of his voice. Scott rubbed his eyes.
"David, shut up! Shelb's sleeping!"
"Not anymore, I'm not," she sat up sleepily, but had a playful glare in her eyes. "And I'm gonna make sure that David can't sleep for a long time to come," she said, getting up and running after him with a pillow. The other guys cheered as she only had a small tank top and boxers on. As she realized this, she stopped chasing and ran back into bed with Scott.
"Guys, shut up! Get in the bathroom, take your showers, you stink!" Scott yelled, sheltering her with his body. "Don't worry, they won't bother you no more," he assured, filling her face with kisses, lying on top of her, and covering their heads with the blanket.
"Scott, your breath stinks! Go take a shower and I'll run over to the girl's dorm to take one. I don't fancy the idea of peeping Toms," she added seeing David wink at her. "Oh, and I'll let Daisy know of your activities this morning! I'd expect a slap up top the head, if I were you," she said, grabbing her coat, clothes, and toothbrush, etc... The other guys yelled out their thanks as she ran across the distance between the girls' and the boys' dorm.
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The rest of the day went on peacefully. The guys were not disappointed in their hopes that David would be repaid by Daisy. It was all very playful though. The girls all got a detailed report of what went on after Scott and Shelby's conversation that night. They did not find out what was said in the conversation, because Shelby didn't want to worry them. It was now free period. As it was Wednesday, Shelby and Scott had the boys dorm to themselves, which was filled with giggles and playful yells the entire time.
Andrew walked off to the janitor's shed to think. Here he found Juliette.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Just thinking. Taking time away from everyone. It was getting to be a lot. What are you doing?"
"Same thing. So, do you come here often?"
"Yeah, me and Auggie come here to... well, maybe I should stop there. It's a nice place to be alone if you want to be, I'll tell you that much," she said with a wink.
"I bet," he said ending all conversation. They sat in awkward silence. Both were sitting really near each other. She didn't seem to mind the fact that his eyes traveled over her body the entire time. It was the kind of attention Juliette sought. The approbation of whoever it may be and if it happened to be that of a guy or of her mother, all the better. It was what she lived for. He saw the smile cross her face. Thinking she wanted him too, but was too shy to start, he leant in and kissed her. At first she didn't stop it, but images of Auggie flashed through her mind. Gently, she pushed him away.
"I'm sorry, Andrew. I can't do this," she whispered, scared he was going to get mad.
"Why not?"
"I love Auggie. I couldn't do this to him. I've been with him too long to try our relationship this way. I don't want to hurt it, or him. I'm sorry," she repeated, before getting up.
"Wait!" he half-yelled. She turned around. She had been heading for the door.
"Yes?" she looked inquisitively at her. He just approached her, swung his arms around her and continued kissing her, pushing her up against the wall. She tried to push him off, but she was so weak compared to him. She started yelling and screaming for help. He was running his hands all over her body. She was in tears. Oh, no! This is it! He's going to rape me. I wish Auggie were here, she thought, crying.
Suddenly, as if God heard her plea, the door swung open. Someone yanked Andrew off her, throwing him outside. Jules just lifted herself off the floor, pushing her clothes back into place. She got out of the shed and saw something that made her gasp in surprise.
"Auggie!" she yelled. He was sitting on top of Andrew, whom had been pinned under him, and was punching the living daylights out of him.
"Don't... ever... touch... her... you... ass-hole," he said in between punches to his face.
"Okay, okay, just stop!" Andrew yelled out, swallowing his own blood.
"Auggie! Get off him!" Jules yelled. She didn't want him to get in trouble, although, now that Andrew's face was a bloody pulp, he wouldn't escape it. Auggie got up and went over to Jules. She was crying hysterically now, the weight of what just happened, crashing down on her. He held her tight in his arms. A crowd of students had assembled to watch toward the end of the fight. Auggie just led Jules to the dorm.
When he got there, Emma was on her bed, reading. She looked up to see Auggie, looking angry, but calm and Jules, looking scared out of her wits. She was shaking hard, although she had stopped crying. Emma came over and tried to take her in her arms to sit her down on the bed. Auggie wouldn't let go. He led her to the bed and lay her down, lying beside her, holding her in his arms. Emma sat back down on her bed, took up her book and kept reading, keeping an eye on them. When she heard a knock on the door, she got up, making a hand signal to Auggie not to bother.
"Peter, Sophie, what is it?" she asked, stepping outside and closing the door behind her.
"Are Auggie and Jules in there now?" Peter asked. They both had "concern" written all over their faces.
"Yeah."
"Jules isn't alone?" Sophie asked.
"Nope. What is this all about?" She looked scared.
"Do you know what happened out there?" he asked, pointing to the janitor's shed.
"No, I have no idea. I was just reading and Auggie came in, holding Jules real close. Like he was protecting her. She was shaking and had been crying. She obviously went through something rough. I tried to help, but Auggie wouldn't let me touch her. He just lay her down on the bed and lay down beside her. I didn't ask questions, figuring I find out sooner or later." Sophie and Peter looked at each other.
"Well, Auggie and Andrew got into a fight. A pretty bad one, too. I don't know how bad Auggie is-" Peter started.
"Oh, Auggie's fine," she cut in.
"Well, Andrew's pretty messed up. He's in the infirmary. I don't think he'll need to go to the hospital, but he'll be out of it for a while. What I'm wondering is why he fought. Auggie's usually pretty calm," Peter continued.
"Yeah, but he's super protective of Juliette. If anything may have harmed her, he would have jumped in," Sophie said, cutting in.
"I just hope that Jules is okay. She looks pretty shaken. I've never seen her like this before..." Emma said, trailing off. Sophie and Peter agreed. They all looked through the window into the dorm. Both Auggie and Jules had fallen asleep. They looked like they'd been through a lot.
"Peter? Can I talk to you about something?" James said, as he knocked on Peter's open door.
"Sure, come on in," Peter answered, wondering why James would want to talk to him. "What's up?"
"Well, I've been talking to Kristen lately and she said I ought to tell you something." Peter saw the look on James's face as he said this. It looked scared and alone, which was most unlike James.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"No, no, I'm fine," James said, calming Peter down a great deal. "It's about my brother." Peter had a blank expression on his face. "Do you know exactly why I ended up here?" he asked, wondering at just how much Peter knew.
"Well, I know you were in a gang and did drugs. You also stole, I suppose to keep up the addiction?" James nodded as Peter read off the record he had just pulled out. "Is there more?" Again, James nodded. "Go on. Don't be scared."
"I was in a gang to run away, to get out of my house. My father was an alcoholic and I often wondered at whether or not he did drugs. He beat me, my brother, and my mom." Peter just nodded. He was accustomed to hearing such things, which is scary, if one thinks about it. "Well, I would leave home, my worries, and him. The thing is, when I left for here, I left them all alone with him." He had such a look of disgust on his face that Peter was almost scared at what that man could have done to him.
"I understand. It's happened to a lot of kids in this school," Peter said, realizing how awful it was that this was so.
"Yeah, I know. Peter?"
"Yes?" he knew that James was gonna ask a favour. He hoped he could help.
"Could you help my mom and my brother. My brother's Jess's age, and my mom... well, last time I saw her, she just got pregnant. I hope to god she didn't lose the baby," he said, barely holding in the sobs. Peter covered his mouth in shock.
"Alright, first of all, what we have to do is find out what their condition is," Peter started, picking up the phone. He proceeded to go through all the formalities and all the correct proceedings. He dismissed James after an hour.
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"Scott?" Shelby whispered, that night, lying in their new bed. Their new bed! She couldn't believe it!
"Yes, Shel?" he whispered back. Her head was resting peacefully on his chest and his arm was around her shoulder she felt safe, and that was the only reason she continued. That and the fact that she was positive everyone was asleep.
"Do you think we should tell Peter about what happened?"
"You mean with Andrew?" he had such hate in his voice. Shelby got scared.
"Are you mad?"
"Hell yeah!" he watched her recoil to the other side of the bed. "Not at you! I could never be mad at you! I'm mad at the little shit that sleeps in the bed across from here," he said, looking at her with love in his eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief at these words, and returned to cuddle with him.
"Thank you and I love you," she whispered, kissing his bare chest.
"I love you too. Shel, I do need to talk to you before we commence... uh... this," he added with a seductive smile.
"Sure," she replied, looking up at him.
"Getting back to your question. I don't think we ought to tell Peter. It'll probably make a big mess, and as much as I hate him, there is a sense of team collaboration to keep. I don't want to turn on a Cliffhanger or Riverglider. We'll definitely keep an eye on him. I'll let David and Auggie know cause they're the two other able guys. No need to freak Ezra and the Riverglider guys out, it'll only cause Andrew to know we're on his tail. At least with three guys knowing, the rest are safe," he seemed a little overconfident as he said that.
"Are you saying that the girls are not able to defend themselves?" she said, mock indignanty in her voice.
"Nah, I'm just saying that girls like Alexis and Juliette probably wouldn't be able to handle a guy forcing himself on them. Andrew's not weak!" he said, concern in his voice.
"Oh, I see where you're coming from," she said, calming down and falling back into his embrace.
"Now, we can continue what we started," he whispered, lifting her head for her lips to meet his for a wonderfully sweet kiss which quickly got more intense. They didn't have sex. They knew that the other guys weren't exactly heavy sleepers and that they were apt to wake up quickly. Scott also respected her choice to not make this simply meaningless sex, but to wait in order to make love. They both wanted it that way. After a while they fell asleep in each other's arms.
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"Aw, don't they look cute?" Ezra asked, waking up and seeing Scott and Shelby cuddled together, sleeping peacefully.
"Yeah, but we got kitchens this week. So here goes nothing," David said, an evil grin spreading across his face. Ezra, Alex, James, Andrew, and Auggie looked at each other and took cover, covering their ears with their hands. "Good morning! Time to wake up! Oh and it's a lovely morning at that!" David yelled at the top of his voice. Scott rubbed his eyes.
"David, shut up! Shelb's sleeping!"
"Not anymore, I'm not," she sat up sleepily, but had a playful glare in her eyes. "And I'm gonna make sure that David can't sleep for a long time to come," she said, getting up and running after him with a pillow. The other guys cheered as she only had a small tank top and boxers on. As she realized this, she stopped chasing and ran back into bed with Scott.
"Guys, shut up! Get in the bathroom, take your showers, you stink!" Scott yelled, sheltering her with his body. "Don't worry, they won't bother you no more," he assured, filling her face with kisses, lying on top of her, and covering their heads with the blanket.
"Scott, your breath stinks! Go take a shower and I'll run over to the girl's dorm to take one. I don't fancy the idea of peeping Toms," she added seeing David wink at her. "Oh, and I'll let Daisy know of your activities this morning! I'd expect a slap up top the head, if I were you," she said, grabbing her coat, clothes, and toothbrush, etc... The other guys yelled out their thanks as she ran across the distance between the girls' and the boys' dorm.
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The rest of the day went on peacefully. The guys were not disappointed in their hopes that David would be repaid by Daisy. It was all very playful though. The girls all got a detailed report of what went on after Scott and Shelby's conversation that night. They did not find out what was said in the conversation, because Shelby didn't want to worry them. It was now free period. As it was Wednesday, Shelby and Scott had the boys dorm to themselves, which was filled with giggles and playful yells the entire time.
Andrew walked off to the janitor's shed to think. Here he found Juliette.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Just thinking. Taking time away from everyone. It was getting to be a lot. What are you doing?"
"Same thing. So, do you come here often?"
"Yeah, me and Auggie come here to... well, maybe I should stop there. It's a nice place to be alone if you want to be, I'll tell you that much," she said with a wink.
"I bet," he said ending all conversation. They sat in awkward silence. Both were sitting really near each other. She didn't seem to mind the fact that his eyes traveled over her body the entire time. It was the kind of attention Juliette sought. The approbation of whoever it may be and if it happened to be that of a guy or of her mother, all the better. It was what she lived for. He saw the smile cross her face. Thinking she wanted him too, but was too shy to start, he leant in and kissed her. At first she didn't stop it, but images of Auggie flashed through her mind. Gently, she pushed him away.
"I'm sorry, Andrew. I can't do this," she whispered, scared he was going to get mad.
"Why not?"
"I love Auggie. I couldn't do this to him. I've been with him too long to try our relationship this way. I don't want to hurt it, or him. I'm sorry," she repeated, before getting up.
"Wait!" he half-yelled. She turned around. She had been heading for the door.
"Yes?" she looked inquisitively at her. He just approached her, swung his arms around her and continued kissing her, pushing her up against the wall. She tried to push him off, but she was so weak compared to him. She started yelling and screaming for help. He was running his hands all over her body. She was in tears. Oh, no! This is it! He's going to rape me. I wish Auggie were here, she thought, crying.
Suddenly, as if God heard her plea, the door swung open. Someone yanked Andrew off her, throwing him outside. Jules just lifted herself off the floor, pushing her clothes back into place. She got out of the shed and saw something that made her gasp in surprise.
"Auggie!" she yelled. He was sitting on top of Andrew, whom had been pinned under him, and was punching the living daylights out of him.
"Don't... ever... touch... her... you... ass-hole," he said in between punches to his face.
"Okay, okay, just stop!" Andrew yelled out, swallowing his own blood.
"Auggie! Get off him!" Jules yelled. She didn't want him to get in trouble, although, now that Andrew's face was a bloody pulp, he wouldn't escape it. Auggie got up and went over to Jules. She was crying hysterically now, the weight of what just happened, crashing down on her. He held her tight in his arms. A crowd of students had assembled to watch toward the end of the fight. Auggie just led Jules to the dorm.
When he got there, Emma was on her bed, reading. She looked up to see Auggie, looking angry, but calm and Jules, looking scared out of her wits. She was shaking hard, although she had stopped crying. Emma came over and tried to take her in her arms to sit her down on the bed. Auggie wouldn't let go. He led her to the bed and lay her down, lying beside her, holding her in his arms. Emma sat back down on her bed, took up her book and kept reading, keeping an eye on them. When she heard a knock on the door, she got up, making a hand signal to Auggie not to bother.
"Peter, Sophie, what is it?" she asked, stepping outside and closing the door behind her.
"Are Auggie and Jules in there now?" Peter asked. They both had "concern" written all over their faces.
"Yeah."
"Jules isn't alone?" Sophie asked.
"Nope. What is this all about?" She looked scared.
"Do you know what happened out there?" he asked, pointing to the janitor's shed.
"No, I have no idea. I was just reading and Auggie came in, holding Jules real close. Like he was protecting her. She was shaking and had been crying. She obviously went through something rough. I tried to help, but Auggie wouldn't let me touch her. He just lay her down on the bed and lay down beside her. I didn't ask questions, figuring I find out sooner or later." Sophie and Peter looked at each other.
"Well, Auggie and Andrew got into a fight. A pretty bad one, too. I don't know how bad Auggie is-" Peter started.
"Oh, Auggie's fine," she cut in.
"Well, Andrew's pretty messed up. He's in the infirmary. I don't think he'll need to go to the hospital, but he'll be out of it for a while. What I'm wondering is why he fought. Auggie's usually pretty calm," Peter continued.
"Yeah, but he's super protective of Juliette. If anything may have harmed her, he would have jumped in," Sophie said, cutting in.
"I just hope that Jules is okay. She looks pretty shaken. I've never seen her like this before..." Emma said, trailing off. Sophie and Peter agreed. They all looked through the window into the dorm. Both Auggie and Jules had fallen asleep. They looked like they'd been through a lot.