"What happened with you? You just kind of ran out of there with
Craig, and he yelled something about how Jay was upstairs, but I didn't
really catch all of it. Were you alright?" Paige asked her friend the
following Monday as they walked together towards Mr. Simpson's class.
"I don't really feel like talking about it now," Lux said eyeing the floor.
"Ok, but you'll tell me later right?" Paige asked.
"Yeah, later," Lux said feeling she should tell her best friend what almost happened in her own bedroom. Lux felt someone walk past her quickly and by the time she looked up she saw an angry figure of Sean ignoring both her and Paige.
"Soo, did you and Sean get into a fight again?" Paige asked expectantly. Lux let out a bitter laugh.
"We broke up." Paige stopped dead in her tracks and turned to her friend.
"You broke up? So is that a good thing or bad thing?" she ventured cautiously.
"Good thing for me, I broke up with him. He didn't seem too happy though."
"Well no duh, he doesn't look too happy. But good for you. So does this leave you free for other pursuits such as say...Craig?" Lux rolled her eyes.
"Paige I haven't even been single for like, a few days. Give it some time will you?"
"Alright," Paige said as she continued to walk to class. "But I get the feeling that you won't be single for long. And I'm amazingly accurate when I get these feelings." Lux laughed and pushed open the door to class taking her usual seat.
Lux dropped her backpack on the wooden table in the library, prepared to spend her free period productively. Plus it would be a good way to keep herself free from distractions that were normally in the cafeteria, such as Jay and Sean. Pulling out her thick government book, she began to mentally go over the chapters she had to review for the midterm. As she flipped to chapter 15, she saw Sean enter the library. Lux couldn't help but be surprised, since the library was not one of Sean's favorite spots to spend his time off in. Spotting Emma a few tables away, she assumed that he was there to see her, and it surprised Lux how little this thought bothered her. However, Sean clearly had other plans. He approached her table put both his hands on it, glaring at Lux.
"You lied to me," he growled in a low voice.
"What are you talking about Sean?" Lux asked as she gazed at him uninterestedly over the top of her book.
"I talked to Jay today. He said YOU came onto HIM and he practically had to fight you off," Sean continued to hiss. Lux was taken aback by this news.
"Oh is that what he's saying?"
"Yes."
"And you believe him?"
"Yes."
"Whatever. I don't have time for this right now ok Sean. So if that's all you came here to say, you can leave now. Plus, you should be happy we're over now, since I "came onto Jay"' Lux added rolling her eyes at the statement. Sean suppressed the rage that was building in him due to her complete nonchalance about the entire breakup. Instead, he turned around and stomped out of the room. Lux looked down at her hands which were gripping her textbook so tightly her knuckles were turning while. How dare Jay tell everyone I was coming onto him. She thought to herself. Swallowing her anger, she forced herself to focus on the words she read.
"Hey," Craig said as he approached Lux on her daily walk home.
"Hi," she said smiling at him.
"I looked for you 6th period, but you weren't in the café."
"Yeah, I had some reading to catch up on."
"Wow , I'm impressed. You already got into college, what's the studying for?" Craig asked. Lux playfully punched him in the stomach.
"You know we have to keep our grades up at least until the mid-year reports go out. They still keep track of those," Lux added. Craig nodded his head.
"I know I know." Craig said as he followed Lux through an empty parking lot. "So....do you have any plans for tonight?"
Lux paused before answering, her brows furrowed. "Nope."
"Oh, well if you want, we could go see Lost In Translation. It's still in theatre's," Craig said in sort of jumble.
"I'd love to," Lux said turning to face him. Craig smiled at her.
"Ok, cool, so say around 7-ish? I'll come pick you up." They had reached Lux's house and stopped walking.
"Ok, sounds good," Lux said. Craig smiled and turned to continue his walk home.
Lux's phone was ringing the second she walked in her house.
"Ok, spill," Lux heard Paige on the other end. Lux spent the next 15 minutes telling Paige exactly what happened. She was met with silence.
"Paige? Are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here," Paige sounded very shaken.
"Are you ok?" Lux asked, hearing her voice weakly. She heard Paige laugh bitterly.
"I should ask you if you're ok. God Lux, I had no idea. I would have never had a party if I knew anything like that would happen. In my own room! I feel sick," Paige said.
"It's ok. There's no way you could have known anything like that would happen."
"I know how hard that must have been for you," Paige started, but stopped. Lux tilted her head as she adjusted the phone, curiously waiting for Paige to continue, but she didn't.
"Yeah" Lux said not really believing she did know what it was like. Paige swallowed hard.
"I'm not just saying that. I really know what it's like. Freshman year, I was at this party, and I was....I was raped," Paige said quickly. Lux's eyes widened.
"You were raped?" she asked automatically assuming she hadn't heard her correctly.
"Yeah, by this jerk from another school. Dean, that was his name. It was like, there was nothing I could do. No one heard me saying no, over and over again. It was really hard for me at first, you know. Hazel was the only person I told. And then Ashley found out. Then gradually JT and Spinner found out. JT tried to beat Dean up, and then Spinner was about to, but I stopped him," Paige explained.
"Did you press charges?" Lux asked.
"Yeah, I knew nothing would really come from it. I had waited too long. But hopefully it scared him enough that he won't ever think of doing that to anyone else, ever." Lux had never heard this kind of seriousness in Paige's voice.
"I'm so sorry Paige. I had no idea you had been through anything like that."
"Well now you know. But it's ok. I saw a counselor, and it got better. A lot better." Lux nodded her head, even though Paige couldn't see her. Trying to change the subject to something lighter, she said,
"Guess who I'm going out with tonight?"
"Craig?" Paige guessed in almost a second.
"Yes, but I think it might just be as friends. I don't know actually."
"Where are you going?"
"Movies."
"Oh hun, it is such a date," and the two girls did something that they hadn't done in a while; they started giggling.
"The Date" is coming up next. Please review!!
"I don't really feel like talking about it now," Lux said eyeing the floor.
"Ok, but you'll tell me later right?" Paige asked.
"Yeah, later," Lux said feeling she should tell her best friend what almost happened in her own bedroom. Lux felt someone walk past her quickly and by the time she looked up she saw an angry figure of Sean ignoring both her and Paige.
"Soo, did you and Sean get into a fight again?" Paige asked expectantly. Lux let out a bitter laugh.
"We broke up." Paige stopped dead in her tracks and turned to her friend.
"You broke up? So is that a good thing or bad thing?" she ventured cautiously.
"Good thing for me, I broke up with him. He didn't seem too happy though."
"Well no duh, he doesn't look too happy. But good for you. So does this leave you free for other pursuits such as say...Craig?" Lux rolled her eyes.
"Paige I haven't even been single for like, a few days. Give it some time will you?"
"Alright," Paige said as she continued to walk to class. "But I get the feeling that you won't be single for long. And I'm amazingly accurate when I get these feelings." Lux laughed and pushed open the door to class taking her usual seat.
Lux dropped her backpack on the wooden table in the library, prepared to spend her free period productively. Plus it would be a good way to keep herself free from distractions that were normally in the cafeteria, such as Jay and Sean. Pulling out her thick government book, she began to mentally go over the chapters she had to review for the midterm. As she flipped to chapter 15, she saw Sean enter the library. Lux couldn't help but be surprised, since the library was not one of Sean's favorite spots to spend his time off in. Spotting Emma a few tables away, she assumed that he was there to see her, and it surprised Lux how little this thought bothered her. However, Sean clearly had other plans. He approached her table put both his hands on it, glaring at Lux.
"You lied to me," he growled in a low voice.
"What are you talking about Sean?" Lux asked as she gazed at him uninterestedly over the top of her book.
"I talked to Jay today. He said YOU came onto HIM and he practically had to fight you off," Sean continued to hiss. Lux was taken aback by this news.
"Oh is that what he's saying?"
"Yes."
"And you believe him?"
"Yes."
"Whatever. I don't have time for this right now ok Sean. So if that's all you came here to say, you can leave now. Plus, you should be happy we're over now, since I "came onto Jay"' Lux added rolling her eyes at the statement. Sean suppressed the rage that was building in him due to her complete nonchalance about the entire breakup. Instead, he turned around and stomped out of the room. Lux looked down at her hands which were gripping her textbook so tightly her knuckles were turning while. How dare Jay tell everyone I was coming onto him. She thought to herself. Swallowing her anger, she forced herself to focus on the words she read.
"Hey," Craig said as he approached Lux on her daily walk home.
"Hi," she said smiling at him.
"I looked for you 6th period, but you weren't in the café."
"Yeah, I had some reading to catch up on."
"Wow , I'm impressed. You already got into college, what's the studying for?" Craig asked. Lux playfully punched him in the stomach.
"You know we have to keep our grades up at least until the mid-year reports go out. They still keep track of those," Lux added. Craig nodded his head.
"I know I know." Craig said as he followed Lux through an empty parking lot. "So....do you have any plans for tonight?"
Lux paused before answering, her brows furrowed. "Nope."
"Oh, well if you want, we could go see Lost In Translation. It's still in theatre's," Craig said in sort of jumble.
"I'd love to," Lux said turning to face him. Craig smiled at her.
"Ok, cool, so say around 7-ish? I'll come pick you up." They had reached Lux's house and stopped walking.
"Ok, sounds good," Lux said. Craig smiled and turned to continue his walk home.
Lux's phone was ringing the second she walked in her house.
"Ok, spill," Lux heard Paige on the other end. Lux spent the next 15 minutes telling Paige exactly what happened. She was met with silence.
"Paige? Are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here," Paige sounded very shaken.
"Are you ok?" Lux asked, hearing her voice weakly. She heard Paige laugh bitterly.
"I should ask you if you're ok. God Lux, I had no idea. I would have never had a party if I knew anything like that would happen. In my own room! I feel sick," Paige said.
"It's ok. There's no way you could have known anything like that would happen."
"I know how hard that must have been for you," Paige started, but stopped. Lux tilted her head as she adjusted the phone, curiously waiting for Paige to continue, but she didn't.
"Yeah" Lux said not really believing she did know what it was like. Paige swallowed hard.
"I'm not just saying that. I really know what it's like. Freshman year, I was at this party, and I was....I was raped," Paige said quickly. Lux's eyes widened.
"You were raped?" she asked automatically assuming she hadn't heard her correctly.
"Yeah, by this jerk from another school. Dean, that was his name. It was like, there was nothing I could do. No one heard me saying no, over and over again. It was really hard for me at first, you know. Hazel was the only person I told. And then Ashley found out. Then gradually JT and Spinner found out. JT tried to beat Dean up, and then Spinner was about to, but I stopped him," Paige explained.
"Did you press charges?" Lux asked.
"Yeah, I knew nothing would really come from it. I had waited too long. But hopefully it scared him enough that he won't ever think of doing that to anyone else, ever." Lux had never heard this kind of seriousness in Paige's voice.
"I'm so sorry Paige. I had no idea you had been through anything like that."
"Well now you know. But it's ok. I saw a counselor, and it got better. A lot better." Lux nodded her head, even though Paige couldn't see her. Trying to change the subject to something lighter, she said,
"Guess who I'm going out with tonight?"
"Craig?" Paige guessed in almost a second.
"Yes, but I think it might just be as friends. I don't know actually."
"Where are you going?"
"Movies."
"Oh hun, it is such a date," and the two girls did something that they hadn't done in a while; they started giggling.
"The Date" is coming up next. Please review!!