Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, and their backgrounds, but I own everything else!
Author's Note: You guys'll notice that quite a bit of the dialogue between Scott and Shelby later on is close to that of Seduction. Hey, when great material is there, why not work with it?
"Daisy, what is this all about?" Mr. Scarbrow asked when he recovered from the absolute shock of Daisy and Scott's interview.
"My best friend, Shelby Merrick, has run away," Daisy said as calmly as possible, she nevertheless did not relieve Scott of her death glare for one second.
"What do you mean she ran away? What proof do you have? And how is Scott implicated?"
"Well, aren't we full of questions?" Daisy asked sarcastically, ripping the note out of Scott's hands and handing it to her principal.
"Miss Lipenowski, I'm trying to help so I'd appreciate a little respect," he replied, sitting back down in his chair. She just smirked at him and sat in a chair beside Scott, facing the desk.
"Has Shelby ever done this before? Run, I mean," he asked. Daisy nodded. She didn't want to divulge too much of her friend's problem.
"Do you know where she's gone to?" he asked tentatively. Daisy shook her head slowly.
"What did you say to her?" Daisy asked Scott angrily. As Scott was still on acid it took a while to get his attention back.
"I... I don't know," he stammered, screwing up his face in concentration.
"What do you mean you don't know?" she spat out.
"I mean, I don't know. I was... on acid! I don't know what I told her, I don't remember," he said, shutting up before he said something really stupid, as in he thought he was talking to Elaine. He put his head in his hands in horror.
Daisy got up and walked toward the door. This was too much to deal with. As she lay her hand on the knob, she turned back to Scott one last time.
"Just so you realize this: anything-anything at all-that happens to Shelby out there is your fault. It's all your fault," she yelled and walked out, a single tear escaping her eye at the thought of what Shelby was facing at the moment. She quickly wiped it away and assumed her blank, and consequently strong, façade.
She walked home in silence, and alone, completely forgetting her detention. Her mind was only on her best friend and the horrors she was facing at that very moment.
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Shelby was leaving the expensive hotel room that her trick had brought her to. She looked down the hall. The walls were covered in beautiful wallpaper with velvet on it. There were gorgeous table of expensive mahogany on the sides of the corridor and comfortable looking squishy armchairs beside these. She heaved a heavy sigh at the thought of a whole world outside her own that knew of these luxuries as a simple fact to be expected. She walked toward the elevator, pushed the button to go down, and waited. She made sure that her hair was covering the side of her face when the elevator came.
The people in the elevator parted when they saw her and gave her some room to fit in. She moved to the corner and hid her face behind a curtain of hair. No one seemed to care at all, which she was thankful for.
This time was different. For the first time ever since she started running, two years ago, she knew where she was headed.
Once she's left the hotel, she walked quickly, nearly running. She didn't want to turn one more trick that night. She headed down another street; it was only her fourth turn. Her destination was in the same neighborhood as this swanky hotel.
As she came up to the house that was her target, she walked up the walkway, one side of her face still covered properly with her hair, her eyes stinging from unshed tears. She took the doorknocker in her fingers, took in a deep breath, and knocked.
She couldn't hear voices, which was always a good sign. Then again, it was late, around 1a.m. . Suddenly the door opened and a face popped out.
"Hi," Shelby said weekly, trying to smile, but just coming out with more of a frown.
"Hey," Daisy answered quietly, coming out on the porch and leading Shelby around the corner and to some chairs that were set up around a quaint little table. Shelby absolutely loved the fact that Daisy's porch surrounded her huge house. Daisy didn't say anything. Shelby had never showed up at Daisy's house after having run. Daisy knew Shelby had something big going on and waited for her to break the news.
Shelby, however, did not say anything. She got up from where they were sitting at the table and went to the railing of the porch. She looked out on the street and her eyes welled up with tears. Daisy came up beside her and looked at her. Shelby just flipped her hair that had been covering her face. Daisy gasped at what she saw. The tears that were ready to overflow did just that.
"Shel, what happened?" Daisy asked quietly.
"He hit me," she said between sobs. She couldn't face her friend any longer. She turned away.
"How many times?" Daisy frowned.
"I dunno. I passed out for a while. Woke up a few hours later, he was asleep so I left. He..." she couldn't finish that sentence.
"Shel! That's so horrible! Oh my god! That bastard! What were you going to say?" she added remembering the unfinished sentence.
"He..." Shelby stammered once more. She now turned back to her friend, her black eye gleaming and the cut on the side of her cheek still bleeding slightly. She knew it would be harder and harder to say it as time went on, but this was the worst.
"What? What did that sorry excuse for a stepfather do?" Daisy urged on.
"What are you talking about?" Shelby asked, furrowing her brow. "I'm not talking about Walt. I'm talking about Jeff, my latest trick."
"What?" Daisy said suddenly, her eyes seemed to pop out of her head. "Sorry," she whispered recovering. "What did he do, Shelby?"
"I think he... I think he raped me while I was unconscious," she said whimpering suddenly. Daisy gasped. Shelby tried to hide her face by turning around.
Daisy put a hand on her friend's shoulder and tugged so she would turn. When she did, her tear-streaked face tore Daisy's heart. She opened her arms and Shelby gladly accepted. Daisy's arms enveloped her shaking body and squeezed tight.
"Don't worry, Shelly, I won't let them hurt you any more," she said, crying as well.
"Thank you," Shelby replied. She just kept hugging her friend. After a while, they went round the front and sat on the steps. It was now 1:30 a.m. and they were quite alone on the street.
"Shelby, it's not that I don't want you to stay, but my parents are piss drunk, and I'm not set up to... uh... entertain."
"I understand," Shelby replied. "I'm not going home though."
"I know. What're we going to do?" Daisy asked as if Shelby had an answer to this already. She wasn't mistaken.
"I dunno, I was thinking of walking around until morning and figuring something out," she said sarcastically.
"Shelby, that's not funny!" Daisy said reproachfully.
"Didn't think so either," Shelby replied, smirking. "Well, I know you probably want to go to bed. Your parents'll probably freak if they see that you're not there."
"I highly doubt it."
"Well, they'll freak if they see that I stayed over. I guess I'll just sit here until something comes up in my mind," she said shrugging. Daisy nodded slowly.
"Alright, do you have any money? You know, in case you decide to stay at a motel or something?"
Shelby nodded. "All 300$ from my trick. At least I made some good money off it. Well, it's not really good; it's more like dirty, disgusting money. In fact, he actually owes me another 200$ for that other... bit of my evening," Shelby said with a harsh laugh. Daisy winced at her friend's little speech. Shelby seemed to have lost all feeling.
"Alright," she nodded slowly. "Well, I have to go before my parents wake up, but I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.
"No, I'm not showing up at school like this. Too many questions."
"Well, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know. Probably sneak back into my house while everyone's gone, get all my stuff, and figure out something from there," she shrugged it off. Daisy nodded again.
"Well, good luck. Come meet me tomorrow, at 3:30 in the park outside the school. I'll help you out if you haven't figured it out yet," Daisy said, trying to be strong for her friend, although Shelby knew that she was faking, as she really was scared for her.
"Thanks," Shelby said. They both got up, Shelby gave her friend a truly grateful hug, turned on her heel, and left. Daisy sighed and went back inside her house and up to her room.
Shelby walked the streets for a while. She came to a small park and sat down on a bench. She was so exhausted, but didn't dare fall asleep. If only she knew of someone who could help her. As if planned, someone walked into the park.
Normally Shelby would've been a little scared and would probably have left, but she recognized this person. "You've gotta be shitting me," she said to herself. She however, did not want to face this person, not now. She got up to leave, but he saw and ran up to her.
"Shelby! Oh my god, thank god you're alright!" he said, as he caught up to her. She still had her back turned and before she could face him, she unhooked her hair from behind her ear and made sure it covered half her face.
"Scott, what do you want?" she sighed. She had no energy. She couldn't fight him.
"Look, Shelby, I'm really sorry, I don't know what happened earlier. I was... I was really high," he said.
"I thought as much. What do you mean you don't know what happened?" she asked. "I may be mistaken, but I thought you were there," she said sarcastically.
"Look, I thought I was talking to someone... quite different."
"Who?" Shelby asked, sitting back down on the bench and allowing Scott to sit beside her.
"My... my..." he stammered. He didn't exactly want to part with that information. He didn't think Shelby was as trustworthy as she actually was. Now or never, he thought. Who knows, she might know something to help, but I've gotta say it. I don't know why... oh my god, I'm totally overanalyzing this! She might not even know what the hell I'm talking about. "I thought I was talking to my stepmother," he said quickly and quietly. Shelby gasped.
"You're joking!" she said, more to herself than to him. He shook his head. "Oh, Scott, that's terrible." She didn't know what else to say. She wasn't going to tell him her problems... any of them.
"Yeah, you're telling me. Why'd you think I was joking?" he asked suddenly.
"Oh, cause I'd thought you... uh... I thought you were in that situation."
"What situation exactly is that?" he said, getting a little angry. Shelby looked surprised, but answered bravely all the same.
"Scott, am I right when I say she's... molesting you?" she asked tentatively.
"No! No! Just don't! Don't! Get out of my life! Leave me alone!" he jumped up off the bench yelling. She got up too.
"Scott! Look! I'm not going to say anything! I promise! I'm not going to betray you, I'm not going to tell, I'm not going to judge you!" she said quickly. How could she, he thought. How could she possible not judge me? How could she understand? These thoughts were racing through his head as he sat back down on the bench and put his head in his hands. Shelby sighed and Scott looked up.
"What?"
"Well, I just never thought this sort of thing happened to things."
"Which makes me a freak!" he exploded. "I can't stand her, Shelby. She... she comes into my room at night, and tells me that... that she's scared and shit. I try to push her away, I really do. You have to believe me!" he was getting hysterical. Shelby was a little scared at his sudden revelations. She didn't really know what to do. This was all too much to deal with. This was exactly like her situation.
"I believe you, Scott. I really do," she said. He was now pacing in front of the bench, running his hands through his hair. Shelby got up and went to him. He stopped and looked at her. She just slipped her hands around his neck and pulled him in for a hug. She didn't know what to do. This was all she could think of.
He accepted the hug almost as if it were the only thing that kept him going.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked quietly when the broke apart and started walking around aimlessly. She immediately regretted it, as she had no idea what she'd say if he agreed. Luckily he slowly shook his head.
"Why did you run?" he asked after a while.
"You know why I ran!" she pointed out.
"I mean, apart from me. Daisy, when she came to yell at me for it, she... uh... she showed me the note," he got out.
"She what?" Shelby asked, completely bewildered. Why would Daisy betray me like that, she thought. Maybe he doesn't know what he's talking about. Maybe I'm just over-reacting.
"She showed me your note. My only question is, who's Walt?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"No one." She could shrug it off like this, couldn't she?
"If he was no one, you wouldn't have mentioned him in your note, and you wouldn't be running partially because of him."
"Look, he's none of your business," she said rather fiercely. She tried to storm off then, but he caught her arm, as he still wasn't finished talking to her. When she turned to face him, her hair flipped out of her face and...
"Shelby! Oh my god! What happened?" he gasped when he saw the black eye and the cut on her cheek.
Shelby frantically searched for an excuse but found none. "Uh, a guy hit me," she said simply, but vaguely.
"What?!" Scott yelled. "Who is this bastard?" he asked. Shelby was suddenly very aware that Scott was still holding her arm and was being very protective of her.
"What do you care?" she asked suddenly. "Scott, just let it go, I'm just another flavour of the week, and it's not going to work out in your flavour. Just forget about me, and I'll deal with it by myself," she spat out. This time, she successfully stormed off, before he could catch her. He was, however, quicker than her, and caught up easily.
"Where are you going? It's 2 o'clock in the morning!" he said.
"I'll find somewhere. I'm not going home," she instantly kicked herself for the last sentence.
"Why don't you go to Daisy's?" he suggested.
"I can't," she said simply. She didn't want to tell Scott about her problems, let alone her friend's.
"Why not?"
"Because I just can't, okay?" she yelled, and just kept walking.
"Look, I'm not gonna let you just go off. How about you come to my house?" he said. She whirled around to look at him.
"What?" she asked, eyes narrowed into suspicious slits.
"Come and sleep over at my house. There's not a lot of room, but I'll make some," he offered. She really didn't want to go to Scott's house, but when she considered the alternatives, she agreed. Besides, she needed some disinfectant for that cut of hers.
"Fine, but no coming onto me. Scott, I just can't deal with that now," she said honestly.
"Fine with me."
Maybe if she's there, Elaine won't bother me, he thought. Either way, at least I finally got this off my chest. Thank god she understands. I can't believe it, why would she? It makes no sense... unless, she too... Not Shelby. No one could be that cruel. No one could want to hurt her that much. If I find out who hit her, that bastard... wait a second. What the hell am I doing? Do I actually like her? Is this going beyond its original physical lust? No way! But I told her. I told her and she doesn't mind. She didn't shun me. I'm confused.
"Here we are," Scott said as they stepped in front of a rather large house.
"I can see," Shelby replied sarcastically. They walked up the front steps together and Shelby stopped to let Scott unlock the door. When they walked in, Shelby gasped. This house was huge! "Wow," she huffed.
"You like?" he asked seductively.
"Well, if you'd seen my house, you'd know," she replied as if she hadn't heard his tone.
"Right, well, let's get that cut disinfected," he said after a little bit of an awkward silence. Shelby nodded and followed Scott to the bathroom. He got out the cleanser and dabbed some on her cheek for her. "you know, I can do this on my own," she said.
"Yes, well, honestly, I don't think you should be left alone. That's a pretty nasty cut, you could have a concussion. Who is the bastard who did that? Is it Walt?" he asked, still not knowing who Walt was.
"No," she said in a small voice. "If it was, I wouldn't be here," she continued after a little while. He looked puzzled. "Forget it."
"No I won't just-" he began but the cleanser had kicked in.
"Ouch!" she winced as it burned. He blew softly on the cut, as she couldn't. The cool air made the stinging subside slightly. "Thanks," she said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "So? Where am I sleeping?"
"My bed?"
"Scott! I told you, don't hit on me! I don't want to have to deal with that now! You're not getting any!" she said, put off slightly.
"No, I'm serious. You can sleep in my bed, and I'll sleep on the couch or something. Don't worry about me," he said with a shrug. Shelby smiled gratefully.
"Thank you," she said with a smile. "So, where's the infamous bed of Scott Barringer?" she asked jokingly.
"Up the stairs, first door on the left," he said, pointing her in the right path. "I'll show you." He led her up the stairs. "By the way, thanks."
"For what?"
"For giving me another chance. I'm really sorry about what I said earlier."
"Don't sweat it." Although it is your fault I met Jeff, she thought darkly. He showed her in the room.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked tentatively.
"Yes," she said, smiling a nice smile, for once. "Good night."
"Good night."
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"Get out, leave, please!" Scott cried. How had Elaine figured this all out? Why didn't she just leave him alone for once? Hadn't she seen that Shelby was there?
"So, Scotty, you thought you could trick me?" she asked.
"No, I just... she's my friend," he whimpered.
"Get off him, you disgusting bitch!" Shelby said calmly, but menacingly as she entered the living room. Scott breathed a sigh of relief, while Elaine choked on her breath.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm his friend. And I'm doing what friends do. Now leave him alone," she said dangerously. Elaine got up, glaring at Shelby all the time. Shelby did not once leave her with her eyes. Finally, she was gone. "Scott, are you all right?" she asked, as she sat beside him. He was shaking. He just shook his head.
"Thank you," he finally said. Shelby held him as tight and comfortingly as she could. "Look, Shel, you won't tell anyone, will you?"
"No, I won't tell. I would never."
"Thanks."
"Yeah?" she asked mockingly. "Well, we'll see what you say when you get my bill." She looked him in the eyes. "Uh, I'll go to bed now."
"No!" he said immediately. "No, please, don't. Shel, I'm scared," he choked out. She looked at him in the eye and saw real fear. She knew that when Walt left her, she hated being alone.
"I won't go," she said, sitting back down. "Are you sure you're all right, though? You look terrible," she said with a small laugh.
He nodded and leaned in and gave her a kiss. At first she was so surprised, she pulled away. But when she looked in his eyes, she thought she could see more than just what she thought she'd see. She thought she could see that he really liked her. She didn't want to kiss him again, not that she didn't like him, but that she almost knew it was beyond her better judgement. All the same, she was so caught up in the moment, she leaned in and gave him another kiss.
This one wasn't fearful at all. This one was much more passionate. She was almost afraid he'd try more, but he didn't. He slowly opened her lips with his tongue and let it slip in her mouth. Their tongues danced together. It was so natural. No fear, no embarrassment. It was almost as if it were meant to be.
When they pulled apart, they looked in each other's eyes. "Thank you, Shelby," he said softly. She's not a conquest. I really do like her, he thought. I'm so thankful she didn't run from my problems.
Shelby smiled at the honesty that radiated from his eyes. It was like his soul was opened up to her. "You're welcome."
For the first time in a long time, she felt safe when she fell asleep that night... he did too. The reason they felt so safe? Well, they fell asleep in each other's arms.
I know it sounds overly sappy, but it was all they needed. Shelby also figured she'd deal with the situation later on, when they weren't so vulnerable, and could think straight. She knew she'd lost her position of holding back, but this wasn't so bad, falling asleep in Scott's arms.
Author's Note: You guys'll notice that quite a bit of the dialogue between Scott and Shelby later on is close to that of Seduction. Hey, when great material is there, why not work with it?
"Daisy, what is this all about?" Mr. Scarbrow asked when he recovered from the absolute shock of Daisy and Scott's interview.
"My best friend, Shelby Merrick, has run away," Daisy said as calmly as possible, she nevertheless did not relieve Scott of her death glare for one second.
"What do you mean she ran away? What proof do you have? And how is Scott implicated?"
"Well, aren't we full of questions?" Daisy asked sarcastically, ripping the note out of Scott's hands and handing it to her principal.
"Miss Lipenowski, I'm trying to help so I'd appreciate a little respect," he replied, sitting back down in his chair. She just smirked at him and sat in a chair beside Scott, facing the desk.
"Has Shelby ever done this before? Run, I mean," he asked. Daisy nodded. She didn't want to divulge too much of her friend's problem.
"Do you know where she's gone to?" he asked tentatively. Daisy shook her head slowly.
"What did you say to her?" Daisy asked Scott angrily. As Scott was still on acid it took a while to get his attention back.
"I... I don't know," he stammered, screwing up his face in concentration.
"What do you mean you don't know?" she spat out.
"I mean, I don't know. I was... on acid! I don't know what I told her, I don't remember," he said, shutting up before he said something really stupid, as in he thought he was talking to Elaine. He put his head in his hands in horror.
Daisy got up and walked toward the door. This was too much to deal with. As she lay her hand on the knob, she turned back to Scott one last time.
"Just so you realize this: anything-anything at all-that happens to Shelby out there is your fault. It's all your fault," she yelled and walked out, a single tear escaping her eye at the thought of what Shelby was facing at the moment. She quickly wiped it away and assumed her blank, and consequently strong, façade.
She walked home in silence, and alone, completely forgetting her detention. Her mind was only on her best friend and the horrors she was facing at that very moment.
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Shelby was leaving the expensive hotel room that her trick had brought her to. She looked down the hall. The walls were covered in beautiful wallpaper with velvet on it. There were gorgeous table of expensive mahogany on the sides of the corridor and comfortable looking squishy armchairs beside these. She heaved a heavy sigh at the thought of a whole world outside her own that knew of these luxuries as a simple fact to be expected. She walked toward the elevator, pushed the button to go down, and waited. She made sure that her hair was covering the side of her face when the elevator came.
The people in the elevator parted when they saw her and gave her some room to fit in. She moved to the corner and hid her face behind a curtain of hair. No one seemed to care at all, which she was thankful for.
This time was different. For the first time ever since she started running, two years ago, she knew where she was headed.
Once she's left the hotel, she walked quickly, nearly running. She didn't want to turn one more trick that night. She headed down another street; it was only her fourth turn. Her destination was in the same neighborhood as this swanky hotel.
As she came up to the house that was her target, she walked up the walkway, one side of her face still covered properly with her hair, her eyes stinging from unshed tears. She took the doorknocker in her fingers, took in a deep breath, and knocked.
She couldn't hear voices, which was always a good sign. Then again, it was late, around 1a.m. . Suddenly the door opened and a face popped out.
"Hi," Shelby said weekly, trying to smile, but just coming out with more of a frown.
"Hey," Daisy answered quietly, coming out on the porch and leading Shelby around the corner and to some chairs that were set up around a quaint little table. Shelby absolutely loved the fact that Daisy's porch surrounded her huge house. Daisy didn't say anything. Shelby had never showed up at Daisy's house after having run. Daisy knew Shelby had something big going on and waited for her to break the news.
Shelby, however, did not say anything. She got up from where they were sitting at the table and went to the railing of the porch. She looked out on the street and her eyes welled up with tears. Daisy came up beside her and looked at her. Shelby just flipped her hair that had been covering her face. Daisy gasped at what she saw. The tears that were ready to overflow did just that.
"Shel, what happened?" Daisy asked quietly.
"He hit me," she said between sobs. She couldn't face her friend any longer. She turned away.
"How many times?" Daisy frowned.
"I dunno. I passed out for a while. Woke up a few hours later, he was asleep so I left. He..." she couldn't finish that sentence.
"Shel! That's so horrible! Oh my god! That bastard! What were you going to say?" she added remembering the unfinished sentence.
"He..." Shelby stammered once more. She now turned back to her friend, her black eye gleaming and the cut on the side of her cheek still bleeding slightly. She knew it would be harder and harder to say it as time went on, but this was the worst.
"What? What did that sorry excuse for a stepfather do?" Daisy urged on.
"What are you talking about?" Shelby asked, furrowing her brow. "I'm not talking about Walt. I'm talking about Jeff, my latest trick."
"What?" Daisy said suddenly, her eyes seemed to pop out of her head. "Sorry," she whispered recovering. "What did he do, Shelby?"
"I think he... I think he raped me while I was unconscious," she said whimpering suddenly. Daisy gasped. Shelby tried to hide her face by turning around.
Daisy put a hand on her friend's shoulder and tugged so she would turn. When she did, her tear-streaked face tore Daisy's heart. She opened her arms and Shelby gladly accepted. Daisy's arms enveloped her shaking body and squeezed tight.
"Don't worry, Shelly, I won't let them hurt you any more," she said, crying as well.
"Thank you," Shelby replied. She just kept hugging her friend. After a while, they went round the front and sat on the steps. It was now 1:30 a.m. and they were quite alone on the street.
"Shelby, it's not that I don't want you to stay, but my parents are piss drunk, and I'm not set up to... uh... entertain."
"I understand," Shelby replied. "I'm not going home though."
"I know. What're we going to do?" Daisy asked as if Shelby had an answer to this already. She wasn't mistaken.
"I dunno, I was thinking of walking around until morning and figuring something out," she said sarcastically.
"Shelby, that's not funny!" Daisy said reproachfully.
"Didn't think so either," Shelby replied, smirking. "Well, I know you probably want to go to bed. Your parents'll probably freak if they see that you're not there."
"I highly doubt it."
"Well, they'll freak if they see that I stayed over. I guess I'll just sit here until something comes up in my mind," she said shrugging. Daisy nodded slowly.
"Alright, do you have any money? You know, in case you decide to stay at a motel or something?"
Shelby nodded. "All 300$ from my trick. At least I made some good money off it. Well, it's not really good; it's more like dirty, disgusting money. In fact, he actually owes me another 200$ for that other... bit of my evening," Shelby said with a harsh laugh. Daisy winced at her friend's little speech. Shelby seemed to have lost all feeling.
"Alright," she nodded slowly. "Well, I have to go before my parents wake up, but I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.
"No, I'm not showing up at school like this. Too many questions."
"Well, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know. Probably sneak back into my house while everyone's gone, get all my stuff, and figure out something from there," she shrugged it off. Daisy nodded again.
"Well, good luck. Come meet me tomorrow, at 3:30 in the park outside the school. I'll help you out if you haven't figured it out yet," Daisy said, trying to be strong for her friend, although Shelby knew that she was faking, as she really was scared for her.
"Thanks," Shelby said. They both got up, Shelby gave her friend a truly grateful hug, turned on her heel, and left. Daisy sighed and went back inside her house and up to her room.
Shelby walked the streets for a while. She came to a small park and sat down on a bench. She was so exhausted, but didn't dare fall asleep. If only she knew of someone who could help her. As if planned, someone walked into the park.
Normally Shelby would've been a little scared and would probably have left, but she recognized this person. "You've gotta be shitting me," she said to herself. She however, did not want to face this person, not now. She got up to leave, but he saw and ran up to her.
"Shelby! Oh my god, thank god you're alright!" he said, as he caught up to her. She still had her back turned and before she could face him, she unhooked her hair from behind her ear and made sure it covered half her face.
"Scott, what do you want?" she sighed. She had no energy. She couldn't fight him.
"Look, Shelby, I'm really sorry, I don't know what happened earlier. I was... I was really high," he said.
"I thought as much. What do you mean you don't know what happened?" she asked. "I may be mistaken, but I thought you were there," she said sarcastically.
"Look, I thought I was talking to someone... quite different."
"Who?" Shelby asked, sitting back down on the bench and allowing Scott to sit beside her.
"My... my..." he stammered. He didn't exactly want to part with that information. He didn't think Shelby was as trustworthy as she actually was. Now or never, he thought. Who knows, she might know something to help, but I've gotta say it. I don't know why... oh my god, I'm totally overanalyzing this! She might not even know what the hell I'm talking about. "I thought I was talking to my stepmother," he said quickly and quietly. Shelby gasped.
"You're joking!" she said, more to herself than to him. He shook his head. "Oh, Scott, that's terrible." She didn't know what else to say. She wasn't going to tell him her problems... any of them.
"Yeah, you're telling me. Why'd you think I was joking?" he asked suddenly.
"Oh, cause I'd thought you... uh... I thought you were in that situation."
"What situation exactly is that?" he said, getting a little angry. Shelby looked surprised, but answered bravely all the same.
"Scott, am I right when I say she's... molesting you?" she asked tentatively.
"No! No! Just don't! Don't! Get out of my life! Leave me alone!" he jumped up off the bench yelling. She got up too.
"Scott! Look! I'm not going to say anything! I promise! I'm not going to betray you, I'm not going to tell, I'm not going to judge you!" she said quickly. How could she, he thought. How could she possible not judge me? How could she understand? These thoughts were racing through his head as he sat back down on the bench and put his head in his hands. Shelby sighed and Scott looked up.
"What?"
"Well, I just never thought this sort of thing happened to things."
"Which makes me a freak!" he exploded. "I can't stand her, Shelby. She... she comes into my room at night, and tells me that... that she's scared and shit. I try to push her away, I really do. You have to believe me!" he was getting hysterical. Shelby was a little scared at his sudden revelations. She didn't really know what to do. This was all too much to deal with. This was exactly like her situation.
"I believe you, Scott. I really do," she said. He was now pacing in front of the bench, running his hands through his hair. Shelby got up and went to him. He stopped and looked at her. She just slipped her hands around his neck and pulled him in for a hug. She didn't know what to do. This was all she could think of.
He accepted the hug almost as if it were the only thing that kept him going.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked quietly when the broke apart and started walking around aimlessly. She immediately regretted it, as she had no idea what she'd say if he agreed. Luckily he slowly shook his head.
"Why did you run?" he asked after a while.
"You know why I ran!" she pointed out.
"I mean, apart from me. Daisy, when she came to yell at me for it, she... uh... she showed me the note," he got out.
"She what?" Shelby asked, completely bewildered. Why would Daisy betray me like that, she thought. Maybe he doesn't know what he's talking about. Maybe I'm just over-reacting.
"She showed me your note. My only question is, who's Walt?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed.
"No one." She could shrug it off like this, couldn't she?
"If he was no one, you wouldn't have mentioned him in your note, and you wouldn't be running partially because of him."
"Look, he's none of your business," she said rather fiercely. She tried to storm off then, but he caught her arm, as he still wasn't finished talking to her. When she turned to face him, her hair flipped out of her face and...
"Shelby! Oh my god! What happened?" he gasped when he saw the black eye and the cut on her cheek.
Shelby frantically searched for an excuse but found none. "Uh, a guy hit me," she said simply, but vaguely.
"What?!" Scott yelled. "Who is this bastard?" he asked. Shelby was suddenly very aware that Scott was still holding her arm and was being very protective of her.
"What do you care?" she asked suddenly. "Scott, just let it go, I'm just another flavour of the week, and it's not going to work out in your flavour. Just forget about me, and I'll deal with it by myself," she spat out. This time, she successfully stormed off, before he could catch her. He was, however, quicker than her, and caught up easily.
"Where are you going? It's 2 o'clock in the morning!" he said.
"I'll find somewhere. I'm not going home," she instantly kicked herself for the last sentence.
"Why don't you go to Daisy's?" he suggested.
"I can't," she said simply. She didn't want to tell Scott about her problems, let alone her friend's.
"Why not?"
"Because I just can't, okay?" she yelled, and just kept walking.
"Look, I'm not gonna let you just go off. How about you come to my house?" he said. She whirled around to look at him.
"What?" she asked, eyes narrowed into suspicious slits.
"Come and sleep over at my house. There's not a lot of room, but I'll make some," he offered. She really didn't want to go to Scott's house, but when she considered the alternatives, she agreed. Besides, she needed some disinfectant for that cut of hers.
"Fine, but no coming onto me. Scott, I just can't deal with that now," she said honestly.
"Fine with me."
Maybe if she's there, Elaine won't bother me, he thought. Either way, at least I finally got this off my chest. Thank god she understands. I can't believe it, why would she? It makes no sense... unless, she too... Not Shelby. No one could be that cruel. No one could want to hurt her that much. If I find out who hit her, that bastard... wait a second. What the hell am I doing? Do I actually like her? Is this going beyond its original physical lust? No way! But I told her. I told her and she doesn't mind. She didn't shun me. I'm confused.
"Here we are," Scott said as they stepped in front of a rather large house.
"I can see," Shelby replied sarcastically. They walked up the front steps together and Shelby stopped to let Scott unlock the door. When they walked in, Shelby gasped. This house was huge! "Wow," she huffed.
"You like?" he asked seductively.
"Well, if you'd seen my house, you'd know," she replied as if she hadn't heard his tone.
"Right, well, let's get that cut disinfected," he said after a little bit of an awkward silence. Shelby nodded and followed Scott to the bathroom. He got out the cleanser and dabbed some on her cheek for her. "you know, I can do this on my own," she said.
"Yes, well, honestly, I don't think you should be left alone. That's a pretty nasty cut, you could have a concussion. Who is the bastard who did that? Is it Walt?" he asked, still not knowing who Walt was.
"No," she said in a small voice. "If it was, I wouldn't be here," she continued after a little while. He looked puzzled. "Forget it."
"No I won't just-" he began but the cleanser had kicked in.
"Ouch!" she winced as it burned. He blew softly on the cut, as she couldn't. The cool air made the stinging subside slightly. "Thanks," she said, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "So? Where am I sleeping?"
"My bed?"
"Scott! I told you, don't hit on me! I don't want to have to deal with that now! You're not getting any!" she said, put off slightly.
"No, I'm serious. You can sleep in my bed, and I'll sleep on the couch or something. Don't worry about me," he said with a shrug. Shelby smiled gratefully.
"Thank you," she said with a smile. "So, where's the infamous bed of Scott Barringer?" she asked jokingly.
"Up the stairs, first door on the left," he said, pointing her in the right path. "I'll show you." He led her up the stairs. "By the way, thanks."
"For what?"
"For giving me another chance. I'm really sorry about what I said earlier."
"Don't sweat it." Although it is your fault I met Jeff, she thought darkly. He showed her in the room.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked tentatively.
"Yes," she said, smiling a nice smile, for once. "Good night."
"Good night."
**************************************************************************************
"Get out, leave, please!" Scott cried. How had Elaine figured this all out? Why didn't she just leave him alone for once? Hadn't she seen that Shelby was there?
"So, Scotty, you thought you could trick me?" she asked.
"No, I just... she's my friend," he whimpered.
"Get off him, you disgusting bitch!" Shelby said calmly, but menacingly as she entered the living room. Scott breathed a sigh of relief, while Elaine choked on her breath.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm his friend. And I'm doing what friends do. Now leave him alone," she said dangerously. Elaine got up, glaring at Shelby all the time. Shelby did not once leave her with her eyes. Finally, she was gone. "Scott, are you all right?" she asked, as she sat beside him. He was shaking. He just shook his head.
"Thank you," he finally said. Shelby held him as tight and comfortingly as she could. "Look, Shel, you won't tell anyone, will you?"
"No, I won't tell. I would never."
"Thanks."
"Yeah?" she asked mockingly. "Well, we'll see what you say when you get my bill." She looked him in the eyes. "Uh, I'll go to bed now."
"No!" he said immediately. "No, please, don't. Shel, I'm scared," he choked out. She looked at him in the eye and saw real fear. She knew that when Walt left her, she hated being alone.
"I won't go," she said, sitting back down. "Are you sure you're all right, though? You look terrible," she said with a small laugh.
He nodded and leaned in and gave her a kiss. At first she was so surprised, she pulled away. But when she looked in his eyes, she thought she could see more than just what she thought she'd see. She thought she could see that he really liked her. She didn't want to kiss him again, not that she didn't like him, but that she almost knew it was beyond her better judgement. All the same, she was so caught up in the moment, she leaned in and gave him another kiss.
This one wasn't fearful at all. This one was much more passionate. She was almost afraid he'd try more, but he didn't. He slowly opened her lips with his tongue and let it slip in her mouth. Their tongues danced together. It was so natural. No fear, no embarrassment. It was almost as if it were meant to be.
When they pulled apart, they looked in each other's eyes. "Thank you, Shelby," he said softly. She's not a conquest. I really do like her, he thought. I'm so thankful she didn't run from my problems.
Shelby smiled at the honesty that radiated from his eyes. It was like his soul was opened up to her. "You're welcome."
For the first time in a long time, she felt safe when she fell asleep that night... he did too. The reason they felt so safe? Well, they fell asleep in each other's arms.
I know it sounds overly sappy, but it was all they needed. Shelby also figured she'd deal with the situation later on, when they weren't so vulnerable, and could think straight. She knew she'd lost her position of holding back, but this wasn't so bad, falling asleep in Scott's arms.