Twenty-One.

Mary Anne

For someone who's never been much of an athlete, I sure discovered I could swing a tennis racket.

Logan didn't know what hit him. Me running from the kitchen yelling that he raped me didn't seem to clue him in. I'd simply run into the livingroom, where I saw Logan stooped next to Mallory and Pete just looking wide eyed. I'd ambushed Logan and thwack! Right upside the head. Not with the nice part of the racket, either. I used the side of it.

Nobody, not even him, could have been more shocked than me. Not to say he wasn't shocked, but I just don't know what came over me. It was like a demon. Mary Anne Possessed. It felt fantastic.

He immediately grabbed the side of his head, cursing, and looked at his hand, which, while not drenched in blood as I would have preferred, had a fair amount on it. He looked up at me and started to stand up, eyes flashing with anger. Not looking at me like a girl. He was ready to fight. I took a step back, and he came toward me. I brought up the racket again. We were both yelling, but I don't know if it was comprehendible. I just know what I felt, and that was this high, lifted, light feeling. I was getting my revenge. I was getting him off of me.

I swung the racket backwards and hit him again, to hurt him because he had hurt me. I stepped back quickly because Logan seemed ready to lunge. He even raised his hand up. I think I told him to go ahead and try, called him a woman beater and rapist, getting the feeling I might be pissing him off more than causing him pain. That first shot had drawn blood, though. I swung the racket back for a third time but someone stopped me. I looked back angrily, and Trent was holding the top of it. "What are you doing?" I screeched, yanking on it.

Trent winked at me.

The night before came rushing back to me. I've never been the manipulative type, but I know that I set this up. I had exposed Logan and Trent to each other, hanging myself all over Trent, to get Logan mad, and to get Trent... ready, I guess?

I guess, in a way, I knew this was coming. Maybe I didn't plan this exact scenario, but I knew something was going to happen. Although I would have prefered just a good old-fashioned fight between Trent and Logan. I think. I don't know. This feels pretty good.

I stopped struggling with Trent, who came around me. Logan was still yelling, taking little steps closer and closer. Trent put his hand calmly on Logan's chest, stopping him from coming any further.

"Get your damn hands off of me!" Logan yelled, ripping Trent's hand away.

And Trent clocked him.

The sound off Trent's fist hitting Logan's face was sickening, but also satisfying. I watched with something of a sick pleasure as Logan's eyes rolled, and he began to fall backward. I looked at Trent's arm, tense and rippled with muscles. I'd never really noticed just how big of a guy he is before.

Logan fell against the wall and slumped over.

It was over with one punch.

Mallory looked up at me in horror. "What did he do to you?"

I held out my hand to her and she took it, standing up. Saying nothing, I walked away. I walked outside, to the porch, flopped down, and lit a cigarette.

Everybody but Pete, Mallory and Logan (still sleeping peacefully against the wall) followed. Everyone remained silent. Those applicable lit their own cigarettes. We all sat, looking out at the ocean. Not tense. Content. At peace.

Okay.

Taking a drag off of my cigarette, I watched the water grow darker. The sun's setting. A little chill bites the air, and I shiver. Trent tightens his arm around me.

The front door opens after a while, but I don't look over. Nobody does. Pete, Logan, and Mallory silently retreat to Pete's truck, climbing in and roaring away. Poor Mallory. She's stuck with that guy.

"We should call her parents." Kristy says again, not sounding quite so sure of herself. "They're going to want to know why she came home."

"Mal will make something up." Stacey replied, sounding listless. "She wants to stay with him."

"Maybe we should all go home." Dawn added quietly.

Nobody answered her. Kristy and Alan simply stood and walked back into the house. Claudia's cell phone rang at the same time, and she answered, almost giddy. "Mom! Hi!" She cried into the mouthpiece, walking away from us for privacy. Dawn sighed and walked inside, as well. I tried not to think of what she was probably going to do.

Trent suddenly squeezed me a little harder. Then he leaned forward and put his free hand on Stacey's leg. She looked first at him, then me, in horror. I stared at Trent. "What are you-"

"Babe." He said, grinning. "You know, I've been thinking. You two are friends, and you both like me. I was just thinking maybe tonight the three of us could..." He raised his eyebrows.

I recoiled in horror, and Stacey jumped up, shrieking "What?"

"Well you've both been-"

"Get the hell out of here!" I cried, shoving him away from me. "You pervert! That's what you've been doing these past couple days? Go back to your house!"

"And please do not come back." Stacey added haughtily.

Trent looked back and forth between us, then shrugged to himself. "Whatever." He muttered, walking quickly down the steps.

When he was out of earshot, Stacey and I looked at each other and laughed. "Of all the nerve!" She cried.

"I cannot believe I.." I trailed off, grinning. It felt good to feel this way. I don't regret sleeping with him. Not even after that.

"I know what you mean." Stacey replied, even though she didn't know what I was really talking about. I studied her face. Does she realize she's the only one of us who's still a virgin? I'm glad it's her. I hope she waits even longer. I want to tell her so, but that might mean explaining Trent.

I took another drag of my cigarette and wondered if maybe I would hook up with Trent again. He may be a pervert... well, he's a guy, let's face it. He's also fun. I'll have to think about it.

I sat back in my chair, watching the ocean grow black. I sighed, wondering if everything that had just happened would make me feel any better. I felt good now, but what about tomorrow?

Tomorrow is another day. Look at how much different my life was two weeks ago. Look at how different any of our lives were. I grasped at the concept, of this reality, much bigger than myself, than any of us. Tomorrow I could be a completely different person. A year from now I could be married, have a kid, I could be dead. Or I could just be finishing up my freshman year at Brown, where I'm studying family law.

Or maybe psychology.

"Do you think we should leave?" Stacey asked. "Do you think it's that bad?"

I bit my lip. Probably, we should, because probably, it is. Responsible, reasonable adults would recognize that this situation is not one to be taken lightly. Maybe we're too irresponsible and young to be out here by ourselves, trying to handle life as it comes at us.

"I love it here." I told Stacey. "I think it'll be alright. I think we can handle it."

Even as I said it, I knew I might be lying. My sister still has a problem. We're still right next door to Trent, who is apparently a pervert. And why does Stacey know what I mean about him?

Things still are not quite stable.

I'm tired of being responsible all the time. I'm tired of working hard to make sure things are not on the brink of disaster.

I just want a little vacation before I grow up.

the end

a/n: waaaah! it's over. this makes me very sad. and satisfied. i have this full feeling. though it won't last long, since i have other stories i want to write... i suppose i should focus on the dawn story, since i'm, you know, in the middle of it. and yes, there will be a kristy story as well. the girl has too many damn secrets. i have lots of plans, these characters grew on me like a fuckin' fungus. i would like to thank everyone for the kind reviews, nobody told me i sucked even when i asked for it. so many of you inspired me :) you don't even know. and i'd like to give a personal shout-out to onlylivingboy - without your praise, friendship, and cake bribery i probably would have abandoned this story somewhere around chapter 15. (and i'm still waiting for my cake.)