Author's Note: Oh, you guys are one lucky audience! I've decided to put together a whole bunch of chapters into one long one, instead of leaving you all with an endless supply of Cliffhangers (no pun intended). The next chapter is, however, the end of this lovely story. Don't worry, I'll keep writing, just some other ones. Watch out for a new one I'm writing with my sister: Alexis Strange (Harry Potter fanfic author). So, lots of reviews, y'all. There will be a really long AN next chappy. Love you all so much! Mouah!
"Shelby," Scott said, shaking her lightly. The second he touched her, her eyelids flew open.
"What?" she asked, sitting bolt upright.
"Uh, time for school. I'm wondering if you're coming…" he said, shrugging.
"Oh, yeah, I should go, I guess…" she said sleepily, rubbing her eyes. I mean, I don't have an excuse and don't want too many questions, she thought.
"Alright, well, you have an hour," Scott replied. She nodded curtly and went into the bathroom. "I will never figure her out," Scott said to himself.
A half-hour later, Scott and Shelby were on their way to school. They'd been walking in silence for five minutes, when Scott tried his hand at an apology again.
"Shelby, look, I'm really sorry for what I did."
"Fine."
"What's with you?" he asked, getting frustrated.
"What's with me?" she practically screamed. "Scott, you fucking told the whole school I'm a whore! What the fuck is wrong with you?" He was taken aback.
"I was… mad," he answered, reeling.
"Whatever, Scott. By the way," she said, stopping, as they were nearly at the school, "figure something out for the Elaine situation."
"Okay…" he said, almost questioning her about the sudden order.
"I'm not staying with you anymore, Scott," she said frankly and left.
"What's wrong with me?" he said to himself. I like her, he thought. I more than like her, I love her. What the hell is the matter with me? Am I totally fucked up? Nah, this isn't love, this is just some crazy thing… it can't be love. I would never love someone like Elaine: she uses guys. I'll show her!
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"Hey, Jules!" Auggie said, spotting her before classes started, in between the two buildings that made up the school.
"Hey," she greeted.
"Uh, I was wondering if you'd like to go out," he replied. He was nervous, but wasn't letting onto anything.
"I'd love to, Augusto," she said, smiling broadly. He smiled too.
"Nice. Well, I'll see you at lunch then?" he asked as the bell rang. She nodded and he left.
"Well, my friends are going to have a fit with this one," she said to herself.
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"David!" Daisy called out before he walked into class. He didn't turn around, or answer her, but he did stop. "David, wait!" she said as she caught up to him.
"What?" he asked harshly. There was such anger in his voice that she didn't approach him further.
"I just wanted to say that I understand what you're going through, and if you ever need to talk about it, I'm here, alright?" she whispered.
"Dais, just go away and leave me alone!" he said, walking into class. Once inside, he turned around, and saw Daisy walk off. He immediately felt very alone. Maybe I do need to talk after all, he thought.
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"Hey, baby," some guy says to me. Man, why can't they just leave me alone?
"What do you want?" I ask, getting it over with. "I have to get to class." It's after first period, and I'm getting my books from my locker.
"Oh, I think you know what I want," he says, coming closer to me.
"Well, sorry, you're out of luck. Closed for services," I reply sarcastically, pushing him away, and closing my locker. I swing the bag over my shoulder and walk to second period. All guys in this school are pigs! I can't believe them!
I sit down in chemistry and watch our teacher, Mr. Holdon, writing out the lesson plan. I always tune out right about… now.
Okay, so ever since Scott told them what I had been, they all think they can score. Why did he have to be so stupid? Why couldn't he keep things to himself? I could've easily told them everything that had happened to him, but I would never ever do that. At least I know that no matter what happens, I would never spill Scott's secret.
Being mad… that just doesn't add up. Just because he was mad, he told… it's not right. Somehow, nothing adds up with that guy.
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"Hey! Sean!" Shelby called out after class was let out for lunch.
"Hey, Shel, what's up?" he asked, giving her a hug.
The story of their friendship was a sad one. They'd been friends since childhood. Shelby, however, never did tell him what Walt had done to her… what he continued to do to her. She thought he'd shun her, he'd stop being one of her closest friends. When she ran, she never told him why, or even where she ran. The first few times, he'd gone looking for her, but when he never had success, he stopped his useless search. Everytime she came home, he'd start inquiring her endlessly. She never did give him straight answers… sometimes none at all. Finally, he stopped trying, and she was too ashamed to mend the rift that was growing between them. So, they grew apart. But Shelby needed him desperately now.
"A lot… too much," she sighed after he released her from the hug. "But you know all about that."
"Yeah, those are some nasty rumors going about," he replied.
"I know… listen, I don't have a place to stay," she said, growing uncomfortable.
"Why can't you stay at your place?" he asked surprisedly.
"Sean, why do you think I've been running away all those times?" she whispered. A group of girls passed them, a lot giving her a glare and ambling off, gossiping. "Look, can we talk somewhere more…"
"Private?" She nodded. "Follow me." He led her to a small café down the street. They sat at the very back. "Shel, why've you been running all those times? I may not have shown it, but I was so scared for you."
"I know you were. It's just that there was too much going on. I couldn't stay at home," she said, putting her head into her hands and heaving a deep sigh.
"Why not?" he questioned.
"Too much to say now. I'll tell you one day, just that… I'm not ready now, you know?" she said, looking up at him. She looked like she hadn't slept in ages. Sean looked deep into her eyes, and was so saddened at all the hurt and anger he found. Shelby knew he could see these things, but that was the only way she could get those feelings across at this point.
"Shelby?" he asked after a long silence. She raised her eyebrows, acknowledgingly. "Are… are the rumors true?" he whispered. She put her head back in her hands.
"Yeah," she sighed. "They're true. That's what really bites." The tears forming in her eyes threatened to fall, but she would not, for the life of her, let them. He nodded, taking in these new and massive amounts of information she was feeding him. She looked back at him, he was staring into his cup of coffee. "Sean?" she asked tentatively. He looked up at her. "Do you hate me now?" She was so scared he would.
"No, Shelby," he said, shaking his head sadly. "No, I don't hate you. I could never hate you. You're like my little sister. You have my unconditional love." Those tears that had been but threats were now spilling over the brim of her eyelids. He reached out and brushed them away. When her face was clear, he took her in his arms and held her close. "Don't worry, Shelly, you'll be fine. I'll take care of you," he whispered into the locks of blond hair that fell onto his face.
"Thank you, Sean," she sighed into his chest.
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"Where's Jess?" Sean asked, minutes later, leaving the café, returning to school.
"At Daisy's. You remember Daisy, right?" Shelby replied. He nodded.
"Why didn't you stay at Daisy's? She's your best friend, isn't she?" he asked. He said "best friend" so bitterly, that Shelby felt so guilty of having let him fall away, out of her grasp.
"She is, but you are my oldest friend," she replied.
"You never answered my first question," he said.
"Uh… well, I can't," she said quickly, trying to find an excuse.
"Then how come Jess can?" Sean pressed.
"Because… because Jess can deal with staying there," she answered. She was telling the truth, but only bits of it. The bits she was omitting were so important to this story that it was completely befuddling Sean.
"Shel, what are you talking about?" he questioned. She sighed.
"That, Sean, will be answered when I'm ready to… at the same time as I tell you why I couldn't stay at home." He nodded, trying to accept the fact that he wasn't going to understand what had been going on with his friend… at least not today. "So, I can stay with you?" she asked as they arrived at school.
"Yeah, for as long as you need."
"Thanks, Sean. You really are like my older brother. I appreciate it." He nodded and gave her a hug. For a moment, all these cares were lifted from her shoulders. "I love you," she whispered, her voice cracking.
"I love you too, baby," he replied. "Well, I got class. I'll see you tonight, okay?"
"Meet me in the turning circle? I have to go pick up my stuff."
"Where is it?" he asked wearily.
"Scott Barringer's house. See ya!" she replied as she left to find Daisy with whom she had a spare then.
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"Juliette!" Sarah erupted.
"What?" Jules replied, completely shocked.
"You're going out with… him?" Sarah asked, horrified. Juliette looked round to where her best friend was pointing. She saw Augusto, hanging out with his crew… or rather, his gang.
"Yeah. He's really nice, Sarah," she explained.
"But… but… but he's… he's…" Sarah stammered.
"He's what?" Juliette challenged, folding her arms across her chest.
"Spanish," Sarah whispered.
"That is so racist of you! I can't believe you'd say something like that!" Juliette cried, outraged.
"Julie! Shhh!" she replied, trying to hush her.
"Try again. That was so horrible, I'm not even going to make it valid. Try again!"
"He's in a gang," Sarah pointed out, after racking her brain for a few seconds for another excuse.
"He's not. His brother is," Juliette replied.
"What do you think that'll do to your reputation? To our reputation, I might add!"
"You know what?" she replied angrily. "I don't give a flying fuck what it does! Augusto's great, and you'll never understand that! I can't believe I thought you my best friend. You're a horrible, stuck up, stupid little prat!" Jules screamed, leaving her friend reeling in the hall. She consequently went off to French class and tried to ignore the craving to throw up. She wanted to keep her lunch down… she didn't know why, but she didn't want to take the easy way out. She wanted to fight.
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"So, ese, you got the chica," Abe, Auggie's brother, said.
"Yeah, she's my girl," he replied coolly.
"Good job, man, so when're you gonna fuck her?" Rocko, his gang leader, asked.
"I dunno, later…" Auggie trailed off. He really didn't want to just fuck her and leave. He wanted more with Jules… but he knew he couldn't tell his gang that. So, he played it how he always did: with his rock-hard edge. He hoped that'd work. It did.
"Aiight, go for it, ese," Rocko replied.
"Guys, I gotta get to class. I'll see y'all later." He gave them all a handshake and left. What am I doing, he thought. What am I gonna do?
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"Shelby?"
"What?" she replied coldly. She was in the middle of spare, and Scott had snuck out from class to try and talk to her.
"What time do you want to meet to walk back home?" he asked nicely, trying to ignore the conversation they'd had that morning.
"Didn't you hear me? I'm not staying with you anymore!"
"Then where are you going? The streets? Your house?" he yelled back.
"No, Sean's house. Sean Matthews," she replied calmly. Scott looked thoroughly taken aback.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean it! I was just shocked by what I found out!" he said, trying to redeem himself. She shook her head.
"I'm not taking that! It's not good enough!" she replied angrily, turning and walking away.
"What do you want me to say?" he cried exasperatedly. She stopped and turned around.
"I want you to leave me alone," she said, softly and continued off. Oh, you're not out of the woods yet, Scott… no, no. I'm a fair girl, and you're going to get your just reward for spilling my secret to the whole school, she thought.
"Come on, Shel, time for class!" Daisy called out as Shelby joined her again.
"Yeah, alright," she said, her mind lost in thought.
"What did he want?"
"To know when I was meeting him for the walk home," she replied bitterly.
"But I thought--" Daisy started confusedly.
"You thought right," Shelby cut in. "I'm not staying at his place, I'm staying at Sean's."
"Sean's?" Daisy asked, bewildered. Shelby only nodded. "Alright, then," her best friend acknowledged.
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"Why won't she just accept my apologies?" Scott vented to Matt on their way to their next class.
"I dunno man, she's one angry chic," he replied. Scott just rolled his eyes.
"Right," he said sarcastically. That's when he saw it.
"Hey, baby, I can give you the ride of your life, if you wanna try," a new guy said to Shelby, trying to score. She just rolled her eyes, and began to push him off, but then she looked over Kris's left shoulder, and saw Scott and an idea popped into her mind.
"You know what? I'd love to give you a go… but…" she continued seductively. The guy looked like Christmas had come early that year.
"But what?"
"But how much am I worth to you?" she asked, batting her eyelashes. Scott looked at her sadly. He felt like he ought to go do something, but didn't know what.
"What's she doing?" he asked.
"Well, looks like she's looking to score," Matt replied.
"Shut up," Scott said angrily. He didn't want this to be happening. Shelby made eye contact with him. She raised her eyebrows almost challenging him to say something. He huffed and left.
"Oh, hunny, you're worth so much, how much would you like for the night of your life?" Kris asked, bringing Shelby's attention back to him.
"What? You're still here?" she asked harshly.
"Huh?" he asked confusedly.
"Never mind, just go, I have to get to class," she replied dismissively.
"Nice act," Daisy said, coming up beside her.
"Thanks, I thought so," she replied nonchalantly.
"Stop this fight with Scott… it's not going anywhere."
"He has to apologize!"
"He has," Daisy pointed out.
"No, he said he's sorry. An apology has a reason. He hasn't given me a single valid reason," she said, sitting down at her desk in math class.
"But you're not going to actually sleep with Kris, are you?"
"What? No, of course not! Look, I don't sleep with guys for kicks! I just do it when I really need the money. That was all show," she explained.
"Thought so."
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That afternoon, Shelby and Sean went over to Scott's house to pick up her stuff. It was easy, as Shelby knew where the spare key was, and Scott was in football practices. They left soon after, leaving no trace of her behind.
It was this lack of her presence that was so hard on Scott when he came back. For some reason, totally beyond him, he'd grown to really like her. He'd grown to love her. And the fact that he'd done something that had been so hurtful to her to make her leave was a shocker.
He couldn't handle the loneliness, and he didn't want to deal with what would happen once Elaine came home, so he went to Matt's.
"Hey, man, where are you going?" he asked, seeing his friend leaving the house.
"Party at Nick's," he said.
"Oh ya! I forgot. Can I come with?" he asked hopefully.
"Yeah, jump in," Matt said, motioning to the car.
"Man, I really need a party," Scott sighed as they drove to their friend's house.
"Why? Need some?" Matt asked suggestively. Scott sighed once more.
"Yeah. It's been a while. The field's not been played in a while," he said, putting on a totally fake façade.
"Good to have you back, man," Matt said, clapping him on the shoulder.
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"I don't know what to do, Aug," David gushed. They too were at Nick's party. Neither, however, was drinking. Jules had gone to the bathroom, leaving them alone to talk and somehow they got on the subject of Daisy… tough subject.
"What do you mean?" Auggie asked, his attention caught.
"I mean, I still like her. But she knows too much."
"So?" Auggie didn't see the problem.
"I dunno… it's weird. And she still wants to talk."
"You found yourself a good one, man," he said earnestly.
"And I'm not a good one?" Juliette asked, returning, with puppy dog eyes in place.
"Of course you are, Jules. You're perfect," Auggie teased as she sat on his lap. She leaned in and kissed him. That's when she saw David's pensive face.
"What's wrong?" she asked him. David looked at Auggie questioningly. Was she to be trusted?
"Tell her, meat. She knows this shit better than I do."
"Fine. There's this girl…"
"Oh, girl troubles. Don't worry, David, I'm great with those," she said, all bubbly.
"You're on your own, meat," Auggie said.
"I knew you'd do this to me!" David cried out jokingly. "Right, anyway, I told her something… by accident… and I didn't want her to know it… and I thought she'd hate me, so before it got that bad, we broke up. The thing is, she still wants to talk to me." Jules looked perplexed, trying to figure it out. When she did, her face cleared up.
"Well, follow your heart… your gut instinct. That always works best with these situations. Talk to her, I'm sure Daisy still likes you," she said, patting him on the shoulder, and taking Auggie's hand and leading him onto the dance floor.
"But… how did you…" he trailed off. He left the party and decided to walk around to clear his mind. He knew he still liked Daisy… and if she didn't hate him…
He had to follow his gut, and his gut was telling him to talk to her.
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"Hey, girl," Scott said seductively to a tall strawberry blond, a half-hour into the party. He was now totally sloshed, but just as sexy as ever. The girl checked him out.
"Hey," she replied sexily. "You wanna go have a good time?"
"You know it!" he replied. He took her hand and led her to an upstairs bedroom. She started to kiss him and at first he hesitated, but in an attempt to push Shelby out of his mind all together, he went in full-fledged.
He pushed her down onto the bed and ran his hands all over her body. She pushed him up and lifted his T-shirt over his head. She then pulled her own off, revealing a red lace bra. He took her in, and once more, had to push Shelby out of his mind.
"What is it?" she asked, seeing the dilemma in his eyes.
"Nothing," he said, shaking his head. "Nothing," he repeated, this time with more conviction.
He stood up on his knees and pulled off his jeans and boxers, and did the same for her (thought she was not wearing boxers, but dainty red underwear,).
As he lowered himself onto her and she wrapped her legs around his waist, he stopped himself as more images of Shelby flooded his mind. Something was so wrong, but in his intoxicated state, he couldn't put his finger on it. He knew, however, that this was terribly wrong.
"What is it now?" she asked, getting annoyed. He tried shaking the images of Shelby and the subconscious thoughts out of his mind, but to no avail. "Scott, come on," she huffed, putting her hands on his back, and pushing him down onto her. He entered her and his eyes flew open at what was happening. Suddenly, there was no more blur from the alcohol. He was thinking clearly. He undid her legs, and lifted himself off her. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she said, sitting up and watching him pull on his boxers.
"I'm leaving. I can't do this."
"Why the fuck not?" she said disbelievingly.
"I just can't." He was still under the influence and was trying to pull up his pants. As he started to tumble, he leant against the wall to steady himself.
"Oh, no. I'm going to nail you, Scott Barringer," she said, walking up to him, and kneeling down. She pulled down his pants and boxers once more. She stood up in front of him, and let her hand stroke him. His subconscious was of course attracted to her. It's all that testosterone packed away, there's nothing you can do, once it gets to a certain point.
With his last ounce of energy, he pushed her away with slightly more force. "Get away from me, you slut!" he yelled. She went reeling.
"No, no, hunny, I'm no slut. But your little friend Shelby is," she said calmly, coming back up to him.
"She is not!" he yelled out, muddling his words up. "She's not!" he repeated. He leant down and pulled up his pants. He grabbed his shirt and left the room. She stood there, bewildered. She didn't know what to do, so she got her clothes, put them on, and went back to the party.
"What happened in there?" her friend asked her. "He couldn't have been that bad."
"No, but I think Scott's off the market," she replied. "Where is he, anyway?"
"He left," she replied with a shrug. "Said that that Shelby girl wasn't a whore after all and left."
"Did he now? Did he?" she asked pensively.
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Scott ran through the streets looking for a house he'd once known. Where was it?
"Yo! Scott!" a voice called out from behind him.
"What?" he asked, turning around to face the person. It was none other than David Ruxton.
"Uh, you lost?" he asked.
"Are you?" Scott fired back.
"Nah, I live right around there," he said, pointing along the block.
"Right, well, if you don't mind, I'm trying to find someone."
"Shelby?" David replied sarcastically. Scott stopped in his tracks.
"Do you know where she is?" he asked, suddenly very interested.
"No, do you?" David replied unfeelingly, though he did care about where his friend was.
"Uh…" he looked like he was searching in the outfield of his mind for this information. "Sean…"
"Matthews?" David tried.
"Yeah, that's it!" Scott said, his face lighting up. "Do you know where that is?"
"Yeah, come on, I'll drive you," David replied. They went to the curb, and got in David's car.
"Dude, why are you doing this for me?" Scott asked, his senses coming back to him, and his drunkenness disappearing.
"Because I care about Shelby. She's a good friend of Augusto's; he's my best friend. And she's also Sean's oldest friend."
"You know this guy?" Scott asked jealously.
"Yeah, we go way back."
"Okay, gotcha. Do you think she hates me?" he asked sadly, slumping his head against the window.
"No, I would be very surprised if she hated you, Scott," David said, looking straight ahead.
"How would you know?" he asked, getting depressed. He was trying to figure out what he'd say to her. He didn't want to push her further away; he wanted to keep her close. He didn't want to lose her.
"Because… you can tell," David said, getting slightly uncomfortable.
"How?"
"The way she acts around you… it's all fake. When she knows you're not looking, you're all she looks at," he replied.
"How do you know this?"
"Sean told me," he said with a shrug. Scott looked inquiringly at him.
"He did? What's their history?" he asked suspiciously.
"Not that it's any of your business, but they go way back. They've been friends since they were babies," David replied with a soft chuckle. Scott nodded.
"So he wouldn't try anything on her?"
"No. First off, they're not like that; second, that's not Sean. He would never do anything like that."
"Alright," Scott said, visibly appeased.
"You really do care about her, don't you?" David asked. Scott didn't know what to say, but he knew that David had figured it all out.
"Yeah, I do. I just don't know how to apologize so she believes me."
"Look, just tell her the truth."
"I have been telling her that," Scott protested.
"No, you've been saying you're sorry, but you haven't done a single thing to prove that. You haven't even given her reasons for why you did it all." Scott stared at him, dumbstruck. "Well, good luck man, we're here," David said, pulling up in front of a house. It was one belonging to a middle class family, but was still in a very good part of town. Scott looked out, and finally made up his mind.
"Thanks, man," he said, leaving the car. He walked up to the house and took a deep breath. He looked at the door intently. Maybe it held some sort of clue as to what he was to behold. But… nothing. He knocked; knowing full well that this was going to get worse before it got better. But the second the door opened, he calmed. "Shelby," he said slowly.
"What do you think you're doing here?" she asked harshly. God, she's beautiful when she's mad, he thought dazedly.
"Looking for you."
"You don't say?" she replied sarcastically. "Well, if you don't mind, I've got some homework to do."
"Look, I have to talk to you," he said, grabbing her hand as she turned to leave. Neither could deny that it did feel good to be in each other's company.
"What now?" she asked, but her voice had softened considerably.
"Look, you want to know why I did it? I did it all because I was scared you were going to take advantage of me like Elaine did. I was afraid I was just going to be another guy on your list… another trick. I got scared, and I got mad. I didn't know what to do. I was so confused. Shel, I'm really sorry. When I started looking back, I realized just how wrong I was. That wasn't the way to keep you. Fuck, that was the way to push you away!" He took a deep breath. "That's what I thought I wanted. I thought I wanted you out of my life, but I really didn't. And Shel… I was at a party tonight." She furrowed her brows. "I couldn't stop thinking of you. I didn't want to love you like I do. Anyway, I wanted to get you out of my mind. And I saw this girl. And she looked like she'd be easy. So I brought her to a room. And we got in it hot and heavy. And I nearly nailed her. I nearly fucked her!"
"Scott, why are you telling me this?" Shelby asked softly. They were now sitting outside, on the front steps. Scott rambling, and Shelby watching him intently.
"Because… I don't know why. All I know is I don't want any secrets from you, Shel. You know me like no one does. And I know you… I know your past, and all your baggage. Shel… despite all that I love you so much." He had begun pacing at the beginning of this little speech, but was now stopped, and facing her.
"You love me?" she asked, confused.
"Yes," he said, smiling weakly.
"Okay," Shelby replied, taking it all in.
"So?" he asked hopefully.
"Give me a minute."