Disclaimer: Not mine! Okay? Have it your way!
Author's Note: Okay, I know it's taking me a while with this fic, it's just that this is really hard for me, making Scott and Shelby fight, I mean.
That night was just another nightmare passed around for these kids. Their lives, which used to be so strong and healthy, were complicated and painful. They were falling apart, with no one to lean on. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Daisy and David had each other. They didn't know what was happening in the other's life, but they knew it was something big and dark. Shelby and Scott on the other hand had no one to help them. They were alone. Of course, Shelby had Daisy and Scott... well, Scott had his drugs. But they were still secluded, alone, and scared. They had no real comfort in their lives. They didn't have someone to care for them; to love them despite what was going on in either's life.
Scott tried to find this "peace" through partying. This always resulted in him trying to get totally wasted, smashed, hammered... basically every word in the book. It also often resulted in him getting laid, as his body was rather renowned at his school, along with at any party he attended. However it never worked. He always came home, and despite trying, could never bring himself to forget and block out Elaine.
Shelby. Shelby didn't know how to find "peace." She was at a loss. Everytime she ran, she only got dragged back home, back to Walt. That was bad enough, but on top of it, she always felt crummy for having ran in the first place. She felt even dirtier and disgusting. She couldn't take off the dirt Walt left, let alone the dirt all those guys on the street had left. To her the only thing she could do was just hide everything to try and pretend she had a normal life. She thought this would avoid creating more problems, but it only made it worse.
**************************************************************************************
Now they all sat in English class, getting their lecture from Miss Becker about a new project.
"Class, you will have to do a group project. There will be eight groups of four. The project will be the following: imagine you could sit down with one author, alive or dead, and ask them some questions. Who would you pick, what would you ask them, and why?" she explained. It was a sunny Tuesday afternoon and the class was aching to be outside, enjoying the last warmth October would provide.
"How come this seems too simple?" Shelby asked Daisy in little more than a whisper.
As if she'd heard, Miss Becker added, "you'll also have to include a list of the author's works and a short biography. Are we clear?" she asked, looking around the room, her eyes resting on Shelby.
"Crystal," Shelby replied with a dirty look.
When Miss Becker looked round to the blackboard and wrote all this down, Daisy turned to Shelby.
"You know, she has the power to punish you."
"What do you mean?" Shelby asked. It's not that she was dim, it was just that she was hardly listening to her friend.
"Just be nice!" Daisy aid, with just a touch of sarcasm. Come on, Shelby? Nice? You're lucky if the two words are found on the same page!
"Right," Shelby said, completely ignoring her friend's advice and writing down the requirements of the project. "By the way, we're in the same group, right?" she asked.
"Hell, yeah! You're about the only person I can stand in this class," Daisy said with a sigh.
"Tough luck, because we need two other people," Shelby pointed out.
"It sucks that Auggie and David aren't in this class with us."
"Yeah, well, Auggie has his dyslexia, and David... he has ADD, right?"
"Yeah." They'd both know those two guys for a long time now. Auggie lived in Shelby's neighborhood and David was his best friend. The guys knew Daisy through Shelby. The girls both knew that Auggie had a gang-related problem, but the specifics had never really been shared.
"Hey, ladies," came a voice from behind the chatting duo.
"What now, Barringer?" Shelby sighed turning around. Then she saw that she was greatly mistaken. "Oh, sorry! Hey, Matt," she corrected herself. Matt Potter was one of the most popular guys in the school. Probably only second to Scott. Ironically, they were very good friends! They were on the football team together; went to the same parties together; and went girl cruising together.
Daisy had always thought that Shelby had something for Matt. It actually turned out that they were just really good friends. However, to some people they looked more than that. Not because they made out or showed affection publicly, but because they were always very chummy.
"is there any room in your group left?" he asked, slightly uncomfortable.
"Yeah, slide on in," Shelby said with an approval-seeking look at Daisy. She just gave her a shrug. Matt sat down opposite Daisy, sitting backwards at the desk in front of her. Scott did the same thing in front of Shelby. She looked at him like she was about to challenge his self-invitation into their group. He looked at Matt as if to say, "you let him join." So she just sighed and said," Oh! You too, if you insist."
"Oh, I do insist, darling," he said sweetly. She looked at the clock. They still had about five minutes left.
"Shelby, I'd like to have a word with you," Miss Becker called from her desk.
"Okay, guys, choose the author we're doing while I'm gone. I don't care who it is," she hissed as she got up from her seat and went to see her teacher. "Yes?" she asked rather rudely.
"Shelby, you haven't handed in any of your work this month!" Miss Becker said, a little appalled at Shelby's lack of change in countenance.
"I know," she pointed out.
"Alright," Miss Becker continued slowly, "can you hand it in now?"
"No," Shelby said automatically.
"Did you even bother doing it?"
"Obviously not, or I'd've given it in by now," she said, getting a little bored with this interview.
"Okay, then. Shelby, I'd like you to come to detention this week for the rest of the week. Oh, and on your way back, send Daisy."
"If it's for the same reason as me, don't bother. She hasn't done her work either."
"I'd still like to speak to her," Miss Becker said, not completely believing Shelby.
"Look," Shelby said, standing firmly in front of the desk, "Daisy's my best friend. I wouldn't sabotage her weeknights if it weren't true. Just don't bother. You'll only end up ruffling that pretty little head of ours. I'll pass on the message of an hour more of fun each weeknight. Yippee!" she said sarcastically. She then turned on her heel and met up with Daisy who was leaving as the bell had just rung.
"What was that about?"
"We get to spend an hour worth of detention here this week, after school," Shelby explained with much mock enthusiasm.
"Oh, fun!" Daisy said sarcastically.
"Oh, I know, but hey, it keeps us out of our houses," Shelby pointed out.
"There's some truth in that one."
"Okay, well, I gotta get to Science, but I'll see ya later, have fun in Math," Shelby said as she ran up another flight of stairs to the Science labs.
She jogged up the stairs, as she didn't want to be left with a seat at the front. When she put her foot on the top step she noticed Matt and hailed him down.
"Hey, Shelby," he greeted.
"Hi, uh, what author are we doing?" she asked quickly since she only had about a minute left till the bell.
"Agatha Christie. Daisy said you liked her and-"
"All I needed to know," Shelby cut off. "See ya later." And she left at a run. Her class was at the other end of the hall. "Damn," she whispered as the bell rung.
She was passing the staircase doors when she saw somebody on the landing, one flight down. The person was curled up in a corner, rocking back and forth. She decided she wanted to know what was going on with him more than what was going on in the outer reaches of the universe, which was what they were studying in Science at the moment.
She opened the door and stood at the top of the staircase looking down on none other than Scott Barringer.
"Well, whatever you took just kicked in," she said as she sat on the last step, facing him. He didn't so much as look up. "Scott!" she said a little louder.
He didn't say anything, just kept rocking. She looked around, no one was witnessing this, which was odd as class had just started. Then again, this wasn't a very used staircase. Most students preferred the two other one as this once was often out of the way.
"Hello in there?" Shelby said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. He got up and looked around. She got up to match his height, or as well as she could. He looked at her and she waved her hand with a smirk.
"You said no more," he whispered quietly.
"What are you talking about?" Shelby asked, really confused, and frankly, a little scared.
"Get out, slut!" he suddenly yelled, echoing down the empty stairway. Shelby backed up the stairs, one at a time, not leaving him with her eyes in case he got worse. "Get out! Leave! Go away! Fuck you, you skank!" he yelled again. Shelby looked at him, really hurt at his words.
No, don't show weakness, she thought. She flew up the stairs, not pausing to look back, ran down the hall, and down the stairs the other way.
Once she'd arrived at ground level, she ran to her locker and unlocked it. She grabbed anything of importance, dumped all her schoolbooks, and left a note. She then turned around and left at top speed, fleeing the building.
I just can't take this any more. I can't stand him, and then he goes and does this, when I was just trying to help. I can't take Walt, I can't take school, I can't take Miss Becker, I can't even stand Matt anymore! I'm done with them. This is how they wanted me: gone. I needed a reason to leave and now I've got it!
She left the school, and ran down the street. She didn't have anywhere in particular she wanted to go. She had a glazed look in her eyes and vacant expression on her face. It was the last step before crying, for Shelby, that is. She stopped at the corner of the street, deciding where she wanted to go. Just then a really nice car pulled up with a really hot guy inside. He looked her over and caught her eye. He gave her a little head gesture into his car, she understood it as "do you wanna come along?" she nodded, smiled cutely at him and hopped in.
"How much do I owe you?" he asked right away.
"100$ up front for a blow job, 200$ for a fuck. 100$ per hour after that," she said resolutely. "Other than that we can talk prices."
"Here's your money then," he said, handing her 300$.
"You realize there are 300$ here, right?" she asked.
"Yep, a fuck and hand job, I assumed that was another hundred."
"You assumed right," she said with a seductive smile. "So, what's your name?"
"Jeff, how about you?" he asked, cocking his head to a side.
"Angelica," she replied. "Remember it, you'll be screaming it soon." She winked and he laughed. Ew, what am I doing, she thought. Unfortunately, that thought was pushed to the back of her mind where it lay.
**************************************************************************************
Daisy left class and went to meet Shelby at her locker where they always met. She waited a while, 10 minutes actually, which was odd as Shelby was always in a rush to get out of the building. Even though they often had detention, she'd try and get it over with as soon as possible. After another five minutes she just decided to open Shelby's locker and see if there was anything that'd give her a clue.
Ten seconds later she was found running out the door yelling at the top of her voice, "Scott Barringer, get your moronic ass here this instant!"
A couple of younger students looked at her weirdly. There were always people loitering around the turning circle outside the school in an area known as "smoker's corner." She ran over there and looked over the people assembled.
"Hey, Dais, was that you yelling for Scott?" Matt asked, approaching her.
"Yes, where the fuck is that bastard?" she asked, her voice very dangerous.
"He got sent to the office, from what I know. He was found in the stairway, really fucked up on some acid," he explained.
Daisy didn't even offer a reply, but left at top speed. She threw the office door open and asked as calmly as she could where Scott was. She was told he was in the principal's office. She left, again at top speed and entered the office.
"Miss Lipenowski, I'm busy at the moment," Mr. Scarbrow told her. She saw Scott sitting in a chair in front of his desk. She completely ignored his comment and walked over to Scott.
"You can't imagine the damage you've caused," she said quietly.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" he snarled. She whacked him across the face.
"Daisy! What do you think you're doing?" Mr. Scarbrow asked, rising from his desk.
"Dealing with the sun of a bitch who's responsible for my best friend's flight," she yelled. She thrust a note at Scott.
"'Going far away. Can't deal. Don't know what to do. Nothing left for me. Gotta get away. Can't stand fucking Walt, now Scott. Am lost. Shelby'," he read. He looked up at her, fear suddenly present in his eyes. "Fuck, what've I done this time?" he said, more to himself than to anyone else.
Author's Note: Okay, I know it's taking me a while with this fic, it's just that this is really hard for me, making Scott and Shelby fight, I mean.
That night was just another nightmare passed around for these kids. Their lives, which used to be so strong and healthy, were complicated and painful. They were falling apart, with no one to lean on. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Daisy and David had each other. They didn't know what was happening in the other's life, but they knew it was something big and dark. Shelby and Scott on the other hand had no one to help them. They were alone. Of course, Shelby had Daisy and Scott... well, Scott had his drugs. But they were still secluded, alone, and scared. They had no real comfort in their lives. They didn't have someone to care for them; to love them despite what was going on in either's life.
Scott tried to find this "peace" through partying. This always resulted in him trying to get totally wasted, smashed, hammered... basically every word in the book. It also often resulted in him getting laid, as his body was rather renowned at his school, along with at any party he attended. However it never worked. He always came home, and despite trying, could never bring himself to forget and block out Elaine.
Shelby. Shelby didn't know how to find "peace." She was at a loss. Everytime she ran, she only got dragged back home, back to Walt. That was bad enough, but on top of it, she always felt crummy for having ran in the first place. She felt even dirtier and disgusting. She couldn't take off the dirt Walt left, let alone the dirt all those guys on the street had left. To her the only thing she could do was just hide everything to try and pretend she had a normal life. She thought this would avoid creating more problems, but it only made it worse.
**************************************************************************************
Now they all sat in English class, getting their lecture from Miss Becker about a new project.
"Class, you will have to do a group project. There will be eight groups of four. The project will be the following: imagine you could sit down with one author, alive or dead, and ask them some questions. Who would you pick, what would you ask them, and why?" she explained. It was a sunny Tuesday afternoon and the class was aching to be outside, enjoying the last warmth October would provide.
"How come this seems too simple?" Shelby asked Daisy in little more than a whisper.
As if she'd heard, Miss Becker added, "you'll also have to include a list of the author's works and a short biography. Are we clear?" she asked, looking around the room, her eyes resting on Shelby.
"Crystal," Shelby replied with a dirty look.
When Miss Becker looked round to the blackboard and wrote all this down, Daisy turned to Shelby.
"You know, she has the power to punish you."
"What do you mean?" Shelby asked. It's not that she was dim, it was just that she was hardly listening to her friend.
"Just be nice!" Daisy aid, with just a touch of sarcasm. Come on, Shelby? Nice? You're lucky if the two words are found on the same page!
"Right," Shelby said, completely ignoring her friend's advice and writing down the requirements of the project. "By the way, we're in the same group, right?" she asked.
"Hell, yeah! You're about the only person I can stand in this class," Daisy said with a sigh.
"Tough luck, because we need two other people," Shelby pointed out.
"It sucks that Auggie and David aren't in this class with us."
"Yeah, well, Auggie has his dyslexia, and David... he has ADD, right?"
"Yeah." They'd both know those two guys for a long time now. Auggie lived in Shelby's neighborhood and David was his best friend. The guys knew Daisy through Shelby. The girls both knew that Auggie had a gang-related problem, but the specifics had never really been shared.
"Hey, ladies," came a voice from behind the chatting duo.
"What now, Barringer?" Shelby sighed turning around. Then she saw that she was greatly mistaken. "Oh, sorry! Hey, Matt," she corrected herself. Matt Potter was one of the most popular guys in the school. Probably only second to Scott. Ironically, they were very good friends! They were on the football team together; went to the same parties together; and went girl cruising together.
Daisy had always thought that Shelby had something for Matt. It actually turned out that they were just really good friends. However, to some people they looked more than that. Not because they made out or showed affection publicly, but because they were always very chummy.
"is there any room in your group left?" he asked, slightly uncomfortable.
"Yeah, slide on in," Shelby said with an approval-seeking look at Daisy. She just gave her a shrug. Matt sat down opposite Daisy, sitting backwards at the desk in front of her. Scott did the same thing in front of Shelby. She looked at him like she was about to challenge his self-invitation into their group. He looked at Matt as if to say, "you let him join." So she just sighed and said," Oh! You too, if you insist."
"Oh, I do insist, darling," he said sweetly. She looked at the clock. They still had about five minutes left.
"Shelby, I'd like to have a word with you," Miss Becker called from her desk.
"Okay, guys, choose the author we're doing while I'm gone. I don't care who it is," she hissed as she got up from her seat and went to see her teacher. "Yes?" she asked rather rudely.
"Shelby, you haven't handed in any of your work this month!" Miss Becker said, a little appalled at Shelby's lack of change in countenance.
"I know," she pointed out.
"Alright," Miss Becker continued slowly, "can you hand it in now?"
"No," Shelby said automatically.
"Did you even bother doing it?"
"Obviously not, or I'd've given it in by now," she said, getting a little bored with this interview.
"Okay, then. Shelby, I'd like you to come to detention this week for the rest of the week. Oh, and on your way back, send Daisy."
"If it's for the same reason as me, don't bother. She hasn't done her work either."
"I'd still like to speak to her," Miss Becker said, not completely believing Shelby.
"Look," Shelby said, standing firmly in front of the desk, "Daisy's my best friend. I wouldn't sabotage her weeknights if it weren't true. Just don't bother. You'll only end up ruffling that pretty little head of ours. I'll pass on the message of an hour more of fun each weeknight. Yippee!" she said sarcastically. She then turned on her heel and met up with Daisy who was leaving as the bell had just rung.
"What was that about?"
"We get to spend an hour worth of detention here this week, after school," Shelby explained with much mock enthusiasm.
"Oh, fun!" Daisy said sarcastically.
"Oh, I know, but hey, it keeps us out of our houses," Shelby pointed out.
"There's some truth in that one."
"Okay, well, I gotta get to Science, but I'll see ya later, have fun in Math," Shelby said as she ran up another flight of stairs to the Science labs.
She jogged up the stairs, as she didn't want to be left with a seat at the front. When she put her foot on the top step she noticed Matt and hailed him down.
"Hey, Shelby," he greeted.
"Hi, uh, what author are we doing?" she asked quickly since she only had about a minute left till the bell.
"Agatha Christie. Daisy said you liked her and-"
"All I needed to know," Shelby cut off. "See ya later." And she left at a run. Her class was at the other end of the hall. "Damn," she whispered as the bell rung.
She was passing the staircase doors when she saw somebody on the landing, one flight down. The person was curled up in a corner, rocking back and forth. She decided she wanted to know what was going on with him more than what was going on in the outer reaches of the universe, which was what they were studying in Science at the moment.
She opened the door and stood at the top of the staircase looking down on none other than Scott Barringer.
"Well, whatever you took just kicked in," she said as she sat on the last step, facing him. He didn't so much as look up. "Scott!" she said a little louder.
He didn't say anything, just kept rocking. She looked around, no one was witnessing this, which was odd as class had just started. Then again, this wasn't a very used staircase. Most students preferred the two other one as this once was often out of the way.
"Hello in there?" Shelby said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. He got up and looked around. She got up to match his height, or as well as she could. He looked at her and she waved her hand with a smirk.
"You said no more," he whispered quietly.
"What are you talking about?" Shelby asked, really confused, and frankly, a little scared.
"Get out, slut!" he suddenly yelled, echoing down the empty stairway. Shelby backed up the stairs, one at a time, not leaving him with her eyes in case he got worse. "Get out! Leave! Go away! Fuck you, you skank!" he yelled again. Shelby looked at him, really hurt at his words.
No, don't show weakness, she thought. She flew up the stairs, not pausing to look back, ran down the hall, and down the stairs the other way.
Once she'd arrived at ground level, she ran to her locker and unlocked it. She grabbed anything of importance, dumped all her schoolbooks, and left a note. She then turned around and left at top speed, fleeing the building.
I just can't take this any more. I can't stand him, and then he goes and does this, when I was just trying to help. I can't take Walt, I can't take school, I can't take Miss Becker, I can't even stand Matt anymore! I'm done with them. This is how they wanted me: gone. I needed a reason to leave and now I've got it!
She left the school, and ran down the street. She didn't have anywhere in particular she wanted to go. She had a glazed look in her eyes and vacant expression on her face. It was the last step before crying, for Shelby, that is. She stopped at the corner of the street, deciding where she wanted to go. Just then a really nice car pulled up with a really hot guy inside. He looked her over and caught her eye. He gave her a little head gesture into his car, she understood it as "do you wanna come along?" she nodded, smiled cutely at him and hopped in.
"How much do I owe you?" he asked right away.
"100$ up front for a blow job, 200$ for a fuck. 100$ per hour after that," she said resolutely. "Other than that we can talk prices."
"Here's your money then," he said, handing her 300$.
"You realize there are 300$ here, right?" she asked.
"Yep, a fuck and hand job, I assumed that was another hundred."
"You assumed right," she said with a seductive smile. "So, what's your name?"
"Jeff, how about you?" he asked, cocking his head to a side.
"Angelica," she replied. "Remember it, you'll be screaming it soon." She winked and he laughed. Ew, what am I doing, she thought. Unfortunately, that thought was pushed to the back of her mind where it lay.
**************************************************************************************
Daisy left class and went to meet Shelby at her locker where they always met. She waited a while, 10 minutes actually, which was odd as Shelby was always in a rush to get out of the building. Even though they often had detention, she'd try and get it over with as soon as possible. After another five minutes she just decided to open Shelby's locker and see if there was anything that'd give her a clue.
Ten seconds later she was found running out the door yelling at the top of her voice, "Scott Barringer, get your moronic ass here this instant!"
A couple of younger students looked at her weirdly. There were always people loitering around the turning circle outside the school in an area known as "smoker's corner." She ran over there and looked over the people assembled.
"Hey, Dais, was that you yelling for Scott?" Matt asked, approaching her.
"Yes, where the fuck is that bastard?" she asked, her voice very dangerous.
"He got sent to the office, from what I know. He was found in the stairway, really fucked up on some acid," he explained.
Daisy didn't even offer a reply, but left at top speed. She threw the office door open and asked as calmly as she could where Scott was. She was told he was in the principal's office. She left, again at top speed and entered the office.
"Miss Lipenowski, I'm busy at the moment," Mr. Scarbrow told her. She saw Scott sitting in a chair in front of his desk. She completely ignored his comment and walked over to Scott.
"You can't imagine the damage you've caused," she said quietly.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" he snarled. She whacked him across the face.
"Daisy! What do you think you're doing?" Mr. Scarbrow asked, rising from his desk.
"Dealing with the sun of a bitch who's responsible for my best friend's flight," she yelled. She thrust a note at Scott.
"'Going far away. Can't deal. Don't know what to do. Nothing left for me. Gotta get away. Can't stand fucking Walt, now Scott. Am lost. Shelby'," he read. He looked up at her, fear suddenly present in his eyes. "Fuck, what've I done this time?" he said, more to himself than to anyone else.