After serving detention in room twenty, Ellie reluctantly walked home. *I should've stayed at the school, and waited for Sean.* Ellie was angry at herself. *Maybe Ms. Hatzilakos let him off with a warning.* She saw the dark clouds looming over her house. She glanced back down the street. *I should just go back and find out what happened. He might be angry, but I don't want him to get into too much trouble.*
Ellie hesitated. *Sean told me not to talk to him anymore.* She shook her head, and walked up to her door.
Sean walked down the street, wondering how he would get Towerz' jacket. *He never takes the damn thing off!* Sean began to get frustrated. He let out a deep breath, and tried to decide on his next action. *I want to talk to Ellie.* That was the first thought that came to mind. He tried to think of something else, but all he could do was think about the possibility of being close to Ellie again. *Who the hell am I? I've know her for what? Three days? This is not who I am! I'm not the kind of person who falls held-over-heels!* Sean tried to figure out what was going on with him, but his thoughts were drawn back to Ellie. *I can only see her if I manage to get this stuff back from Towerz, without him finding out it was me.*
Sean pulled the list out of his pocket. His eyes scanned it, and realized there were about five pieces of jewelry, and about five hundred bucks. *Damn! Towerz cheated me! There was no way that he gave me my fair share!* Sean realized that probably wasn't the appropriate reaction. *I don't know how I'll get the money. He spent it. Towerz has a hole in his pocket. If he has fifty cents, he'll find a way to spend it.*
Sean debated whether or not to go to Ellie's. *I shouldn't. It'll just be harder for both of us. There's no way I can get all this back. I'm never going to put Ellie in danger, and if I see her now, I'm going to want to do it again, and then it'll take only one time before the guys catch on.*
To his surprise, he found himself turning down her street. He was about to turn back around, when he realized a red head was coming toward him.
Ellie saw Sean, and ran as fast as she could to him, then jumped into his arms. *It hasn't even been eight hours since I last saw him, and I'm acting like I haven't seen him for years!*
She didn't really care, though, she was just happy to be in his arms. Sean smiled as he slowly let her slide back down onto the ground. As he looked at her happy face, he was suddenly filled with guilt. He looked down at the ground.
Ellie became concerned. *I wonder what happened with Ms. Hatzilakos.* Ellie raised her hand from Sean's shoulder to his face, "Are you okay?"
*No. No I am not okay. I have to steal . . .again.* He knew that's not exactly what Ms. Hatzilakos meant for him to do. *She probably hoped I would explain the circumstances to him, and he would just give the stuff back. But Towerz ain't like that. He doesn't give a crap if he gets in trouble. It'll just be another reason to beat me up.*
Sean wanted to tell Ellie, what he had to do, but he couldn't. She think what he was doing was wrong, and would tell him not to go through with it. That they could still see each other. That even if Jay found out they liked each other, he couldn't do anything to her. And Sean would listen to her. He would listen to her, because the only that mattered was that they were together.
He knew that was wrong. Jay could definitely do things to her. And the only thing that mattered was that Ellie was safe.
Sean nodded his head, "Yeah, I'm . . .fine."
Ellie searched Sean's face for an emotion. *He needs to stop doing that!* She cursed his ability to make his face appear blank and hide his feelings. Ellie waited for him to elaborate, but wasn't surprised when he didn't.
Sean swallowed, "Ellie, ya, I should probably get going . . ." he tried to walk away, but he couldn't, "Do you want me to walk you home?"
Ellie nodded her head, even though her house was just down the street.
They tried to make casual conversation, neither of them bringing up Sean's meeting with Ms. Hatzilakos.
They reached Ellie's house, and she opened the door with her key. As she turned around to say goodbye, she noticed Sean was standing right behind her. His face was darkened by his hoodie that was pulled up.
He got an intense look in his eye as he leaned down to kiss her. Ellie was startled, but quickly adjusted. She could feel something sad about their kiss, and was worried about Sean. He slowly pulled away, and stared at her with desire, "Bye Ellie."
She didn't like the finality in the tone he used. She waited for him to be halfway down the street, before turning, and walking into her cold house.
*Towerz. Where would I be if I were Towerz? Probably wondering why I don't understand half the things people say.* Sean was trying to figure out where he could find Towerz. He decided he should check The Dot.
A few minutes later, he arrived, and quickly scanned the room for Jay or Towerz. He didn't see either of them, but he did see Craig and Ashley.
They were laughing as he approached their table, "Hey Sean," Craig smiled.
"Hey, man. Have ya seen Towerz anywhere?" Sean was pretty sure they'd say no, but he was surprised when he wasn't answered with yes or no.
"Sean, you shouldn't hang out with them," Ashley pointed out.
Sean raised one eyebrow. *Is she trying to tell me what to do?* He didn't mind the things Ellie said to him anymore. But when someone else brought up how he was better than Jay, he got a little angry.
Craig could see Sean tense, "So . . .you and Ellie are getting close, huh?"
That didn't seem to be the right thing to say either, because Sean quickly looked around before asking, "So you haven't seen Towerz?"
They both shook their heads. Sean huffed and ran toward the door and down the street.
"What was all that about?" Ashley thought aloud. *Why would he be hanging out with Towerz? I thought they didn't get along.* Ashley didn't know a lot about what was going on in Sean's life, but she did know that Towerz and he weren't exactly "best buds".
Craig was still looking toward the door when he heard Ashley speak. *What is going on? I bring up Ellie, and he changes the subject. Something's going on.* Craig asked Ashley, "What does Ellie think of Sean?"
Ashley shrugged, "I don't know. I brought up the dance today, and she kind of avoided it. If she did though like Sean though, I don't think she'd want him to hang out with Towerz."
Craig nodded his head in agreement, "They're keeping stuff from us."
The bell on the door rang, and Craig looked over his shoulder to see if Sean had come back. It was J.T. Craig turned back around, completely uninterested. He didn't understand why Paige wanted J.T. around, but Spinner said that he was there for her last year or something . . . Still, he didn't really like J.T.
He was shocked when J.T. approached their table. J.T. stood in front of Craig and Ashley, grinning like an idiot.
"I found out some very interesting news this today,"J.T. announced.
"And we care because . . .?" Craig knew he was being rude, but he didn't care.
J.T. redirected his attention to Ashley, "It's about your friend Ellie."
Craig became interested, and turned back toward J.T. Ashley was already irritated by J.T., but she wanted to find out what he knew about Ellie. She was afraid that Spinner had told somebody else about her cutting.
"What is it J.T.?" Ashley asked,
"It's very interesting. Though I'm sure it will disturb some people," J.T. thought aloud.
"J.T., what do you know?" Ashley asked in an exasperated voice.
"Sean and Ellie were seen walking from Sean's house, in their PJ's, early this morning," Ashley let out a relieved sigh. *Good, Spinner didn't tell anyone else . . .* Then it hit her.
"J.T., you shouldn't be starting rumors that hold absolutely no truth," Ashley was angry that J.T. would try to ruin Ellie's reputation like that.
J.T. raised his hand in defense, "I'm not the one who started this "rumor" as you call it, but Liberty told me. Like anybody would tell her gossip. It must be true," J.T. explained his logic.
Ashley was surprised. *Liberty? Maybe J.T. is right. . .* Ashley didn't have anything against Liberty; in fact, ever since she taught Liberty how to do the morning announcements, Ashley thought Liberty was an okay person. She just wasn't the person you'd run to if you had gossip.
Craig sat there with his mouth slightly open. *Sean slept with Ellie?* He tried to rid his mind of his first reaction, as Ashley and J.T. spoke. *I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Ashley's probably right. It's just a rumor.* He couldn't help but smile to himself as he thought about Sean and Ellie. *Even if they didn't sleep together, they's still be good for each other. At least Ellie would be good for Sean.*
Craig realized Ashley had stood up, and was looking down at J.T., "Don't talk about things you don't know about," she warned, then turned on her heel and left.
Craig pulled some money out of his pocket, left it on the table, and raised his eyebrows at J.T. before walking out.
Sean turned down an alley. *He lives around here somewhere.* Sean had walked into the main part of town, and was looking for the apartment building Towerz lived in.
Sean emerged out of the alley onto a dark street. There were people huddled together on street corners, and he could tell he was getting close. He walked about two blocks before he heard a familiar voice, "Sean?"
Sean flipped around to see who called him. Someone stepped out of one the groups on the corner, "Jay?"
"Sean, what are you doing here?" Jay was concerned. He knew Sean had only been there once or twice, and both times he had been with him. Too many people who were in the gang hung out down there, and Jay was afraid Sean wouldn't be able to defend himself against them. Jay knew they didn't like Sean, and he didn't mind if they roughed him up time to time; it was kind of like initiation. But in Sean's case, they didn't show mercy. Jay wasn't sure if it was because Sean was younger than them, or if it was because he made Sean his right-hand man. The only thing he was sure of was that he couldn't trust the guys alone with Sean down there.
"Hey, man, have you seen Towerz?" Sean asked.
Jay raised one eyebrow. *What does this kid think he's doing. He has to know Towerz hates him.* Jay was about to say no, that he hadn't seen him, when someone spoke up behind them, "Whatta want?"
Jay and Sean both turned to see Towerz staggering up to them. *Is he drunk already?* Sean watched as Towerz acted like he were on a ship sailing across the ocean. He swayed side to side, and Sean couldn't help but wonder if somewhere in his jacket were Ms. Hatzilakos' belongings.
"Whatta want, Sean?" Towerz repeated himself. He was standing next to Jay now, and Sean could smell the alcohol on his breath.
Sean tried to think quickly. *What do I want? What can I say to him? 'Gimme back the crap you stole?'I don't think that'll work.* Sean shrugged his shoulders, and Towerz rolled his eyes as he returned to the crowd of people.
Jay focused his attention back on Sean, "Why do you want to talk to him? You do know that he hates you, right?"
Sean shrugged, "I dunno, man. I just don't think breaking into that house was a great idea."
Jay eyed Sean suspiciously. *I wonder what's going on with him.* Jay turned and followed Towerz back into the group of people.
Sean sighed. *There is no point in even trying! I'm not going to be able to get the money back. Even if I did get the jewelry crap, I still won't have the five hundred dollars.* Sean was about to give up, but he saw Jay, Towerz, and two other guys head into the apartment building behind them.
Sean looked down the street, then back toward the apartments. *Might as well stay.* Sean turned, and followed the guys into the building.
As he caught up with them, one of the guys turned to glare at Sean. Jay noticed, and puled Sean up front with him.
Tower wasn't doing too well, so Jay took the keys from him, and opened the apartment door.
Towerz collapsed onto the couch, and everyone else went into the kitchen. Sean lingered by the sofa for a second. He could tell it was just a matter of time before Towerz passed out.
The guys in the kitchen were talking loudly, so Sean barely heard Towerz mumble, "Sean, help me to my room."
Sean helped him stand up, and led him to his room. He helped Towerz take off his shoes, and slide out of his jacket. Towerz collapsed onto the bed.
Sean looked down at Towerz, and was sure he had passed out. He checked the door to make sure everyone was in the kitchen.
Sean grabbed Towerz coat off the ed, and quickly began to search the pockets for any type of jewelry.
That's when he heard the voice in the doorway, "Sean? What are you doing with Towerz jacket?"
Ellie hesitated. *Sean told me not to talk to him anymore.* She shook her head, and walked up to her door.
Sean walked down the street, wondering how he would get Towerz' jacket. *He never takes the damn thing off!* Sean began to get frustrated. He let out a deep breath, and tried to decide on his next action. *I want to talk to Ellie.* That was the first thought that came to mind. He tried to think of something else, but all he could do was think about the possibility of being close to Ellie again. *Who the hell am I? I've know her for what? Three days? This is not who I am! I'm not the kind of person who falls held-over-heels!* Sean tried to figure out what was going on with him, but his thoughts were drawn back to Ellie. *I can only see her if I manage to get this stuff back from Towerz, without him finding out it was me.*
Sean pulled the list out of his pocket. His eyes scanned it, and realized there were about five pieces of jewelry, and about five hundred bucks. *Damn! Towerz cheated me! There was no way that he gave me my fair share!* Sean realized that probably wasn't the appropriate reaction. *I don't know how I'll get the money. He spent it. Towerz has a hole in his pocket. If he has fifty cents, he'll find a way to spend it.*
Sean debated whether or not to go to Ellie's. *I shouldn't. It'll just be harder for both of us. There's no way I can get all this back. I'm never going to put Ellie in danger, and if I see her now, I'm going to want to do it again, and then it'll take only one time before the guys catch on.*
To his surprise, he found himself turning down her street. He was about to turn back around, when he realized a red head was coming toward him.
Ellie saw Sean, and ran as fast as she could to him, then jumped into his arms. *It hasn't even been eight hours since I last saw him, and I'm acting like I haven't seen him for years!*
She didn't really care, though, she was just happy to be in his arms. Sean smiled as he slowly let her slide back down onto the ground. As he looked at her happy face, he was suddenly filled with guilt. He looked down at the ground.
Ellie became concerned. *I wonder what happened with Ms. Hatzilakos.* Ellie raised her hand from Sean's shoulder to his face, "Are you okay?"
*No. No I am not okay. I have to steal . . .again.* He knew that's not exactly what Ms. Hatzilakos meant for him to do. *She probably hoped I would explain the circumstances to him, and he would just give the stuff back. But Towerz ain't like that. He doesn't give a crap if he gets in trouble. It'll just be another reason to beat me up.*
Sean wanted to tell Ellie, what he had to do, but he couldn't. She think what he was doing was wrong, and would tell him not to go through with it. That they could still see each other. That even if Jay found out they liked each other, he couldn't do anything to her. And Sean would listen to her. He would listen to her, because the only that mattered was that they were together.
He knew that was wrong. Jay could definitely do things to her. And the only thing that mattered was that Ellie was safe.
Sean nodded his head, "Yeah, I'm . . .fine."
Ellie searched Sean's face for an emotion. *He needs to stop doing that!* She cursed his ability to make his face appear blank and hide his feelings. Ellie waited for him to elaborate, but wasn't surprised when he didn't.
Sean swallowed, "Ellie, ya, I should probably get going . . ." he tried to walk away, but he couldn't, "Do you want me to walk you home?"
Ellie nodded her head, even though her house was just down the street.
They tried to make casual conversation, neither of them bringing up Sean's meeting with Ms. Hatzilakos.
They reached Ellie's house, and she opened the door with her key. As she turned around to say goodbye, she noticed Sean was standing right behind her. His face was darkened by his hoodie that was pulled up.
He got an intense look in his eye as he leaned down to kiss her. Ellie was startled, but quickly adjusted. She could feel something sad about their kiss, and was worried about Sean. He slowly pulled away, and stared at her with desire, "Bye Ellie."
She didn't like the finality in the tone he used. She waited for him to be halfway down the street, before turning, and walking into her cold house.
*Towerz. Where would I be if I were Towerz? Probably wondering why I don't understand half the things people say.* Sean was trying to figure out where he could find Towerz. He decided he should check The Dot.
A few minutes later, he arrived, and quickly scanned the room for Jay or Towerz. He didn't see either of them, but he did see Craig and Ashley.
They were laughing as he approached their table, "Hey Sean," Craig smiled.
"Hey, man. Have ya seen Towerz anywhere?" Sean was pretty sure they'd say no, but he was surprised when he wasn't answered with yes or no.
"Sean, you shouldn't hang out with them," Ashley pointed out.
Sean raised one eyebrow. *Is she trying to tell me what to do?* He didn't mind the things Ellie said to him anymore. But when someone else brought up how he was better than Jay, he got a little angry.
Craig could see Sean tense, "So . . .you and Ellie are getting close, huh?"
That didn't seem to be the right thing to say either, because Sean quickly looked around before asking, "So you haven't seen Towerz?"
They both shook their heads. Sean huffed and ran toward the door and down the street.
"What was all that about?" Ashley thought aloud. *Why would he be hanging out with Towerz? I thought they didn't get along.* Ashley didn't know a lot about what was going on in Sean's life, but she did know that Towerz and he weren't exactly "best buds".
Craig was still looking toward the door when he heard Ashley speak. *What is going on? I bring up Ellie, and he changes the subject. Something's going on.* Craig asked Ashley, "What does Ellie think of Sean?"
Ashley shrugged, "I don't know. I brought up the dance today, and she kind of avoided it. If she did though like Sean though, I don't think she'd want him to hang out with Towerz."
Craig nodded his head in agreement, "They're keeping stuff from us."
The bell on the door rang, and Craig looked over his shoulder to see if Sean had come back. It was J.T. Craig turned back around, completely uninterested. He didn't understand why Paige wanted J.T. around, but Spinner said that he was there for her last year or something . . . Still, he didn't really like J.T.
He was shocked when J.T. approached their table. J.T. stood in front of Craig and Ashley, grinning like an idiot.
"I found out some very interesting news this today,"J.T. announced.
"And we care because . . .?" Craig knew he was being rude, but he didn't care.
J.T. redirected his attention to Ashley, "It's about your friend Ellie."
Craig became interested, and turned back toward J.T. Ashley was already irritated by J.T., but she wanted to find out what he knew about Ellie. She was afraid that Spinner had told somebody else about her cutting.
"What is it J.T.?" Ashley asked,
"It's very interesting. Though I'm sure it will disturb some people," J.T. thought aloud.
"J.T., what do you know?" Ashley asked in an exasperated voice.
"Sean and Ellie were seen walking from Sean's house, in their PJ's, early this morning," Ashley let out a relieved sigh. *Good, Spinner didn't tell anyone else . . .* Then it hit her.
"J.T., you shouldn't be starting rumors that hold absolutely no truth," Ashley was angry that J.T. would try to ruin Ellie's reputation like that.
J.T. raised his hand in defense, "I'm not the one who started this "rumor" as you call it, but Liberty told me. Like anybody would tell her gossip. It must be true," J.T. explained his logic.
Ashley was surprised. *Liberty? Maybe J.T. is right. . .* Ashley didn't have anything against Liberty; in fact, ever since she taught Liberty how to do the morning announcements, Ashley thought Liberty was an okay person. She just wasn't the person you'd run to if you had gossip.
Craig sat there with his mouth slightly open. *Sean slept with Ellie?* He tried to rid his mind of his first reaction, as Ashley and J.T. spoke. *I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Ashley's probably right. It's just a rumor.* He couldn't help but smile to himself as he thought about Sean and Ellie. *Even if they didn't sleep together, they's still be good for each other. At least Ellie would be good for Sean.*
Craig realized Ashley had stood up, and was looking down at J.T., "Don't talk about things you don't know about," she warned, then turned on her heel and left.
Craig pulled some money out of his pocket, left it on the table, and raised his eyebrows at J.T. before walking out.
Sean turned down an alley. *He lives around here somewhere.* Sean had walked into the main part of town, and was looking for the apartment building Towerz lived in.
Sean emerged out of the alley onto a dark street. There were people huddled together on street corners, and he could tell he was getting close. He walked about two blocks before he heard a familiar voice, "Sean?"
Sean flipped around to see who called him. Someone stepped out of one the groups on the corner, "Jay?"
"Sean, what are you doing here?" Jay was concerned. He knew Sean had only been there once or twice, and both times he had been with him. Too many people who were in the gang hung out down there, and Jay was afraid Sean wouldn't be able to defend himself against them. Jay knew they didn't like Sean, and he didn't mind if they roughed him up time to time; it was kind of like initiation. But in Sean's case, they didn't show mercy. Jay wasn't sure if it was because Sean was younger than them, or if it was because he made Sean his right-hand man. The only thing he was sure of was that he couldn't trust the guys alone with Sean down there.
"Hey, man, have you seen Towerz?" Sean asked.
Jay raised one eyebrow. *What does this kid think he's doing. He has to know Towerz hates him.* Jay was about to say no, that he hadn't seen him, when someone spoke up behind them, "Whatta want?"
Jay and Sean both turned to see Towerz staggering up to them. *Is he drunk already?* Sean watched as Towerz acted like he were on a ship sailing across the ocean. He swayed side to side, and Sean couldn't help but wonder if somewhere in his jacket were Ms. Hatzilakos' belongings.
"Whatta want, Sean?" Towerz repeated himself. He was standing next to Jay now, and Sean could smell the alcohol on his breath.
Sean tried to think quickly. *What do I want? What can I say to him? 'Gimme back the crap you stole?'I don't think that'll work.* Sean shrugged his shoulders, and Towerz rolled his eyes as he returned to the crowd of people.
Jay focused his attention back on Sean, "Why do you want to talk to him? You do know that he hates you, right?"
Sean shrugged, "I dunno, man. I just don't think breaking into that house was a great idea."
Jay eyed Sean suspiciously. *I wonder what's going on with him.* Jay turned and followed Towerz back into the group of people.
Sean sighed. *There is no point in even trying! I'm not going to be able to get the money back. Even if I did get the jewelry crap, I still won't have the five hundred dollars.* Sean was about to give up, but he saw Jay, Towerz, and two other guys head into the apartment building behind them.
Sean looked down the street, then back toward the apartments. *Might as well stay.* Sean turned, and followed the guys into the building.
As he caught up with them, one of the guys turned to glare at Sean. Jay noticed, and puled Sean up front with him.
Tower wasn't doing too well, so Jay took the keys from him, and opened the apartment door.
Towerz collapsed onto the couch, and everyone else went into the kitchen. Sean lingered by the sofa for a second. He could tell it was just a matter of time before Towerz passed out.
The guys in the kitchen were talking loudly, so Sean barely heard Towerz mumble, "Sean, help me to my room."
Sean helped him stand up, and led him to his room. He helped Towerz take off his shoes, and slide out of his jacket. Towerz collapsed onto the bed.
Sean looked down at Towerz, and was sure he had passed out. He checked the door to make sure everyone was in the kitchen.
Sean grabbed Towerz coat off the ed, and quickly began to search the pockets for any type of jewelry.
That's when he heard the voice in the doorway, "Sean? What are you doing with Towerz jacket?"