Angel's POV

I felt some pain in my nose as I opened my eyes. I groaned after realizing that I had just woken up and I had relived the memory of this morning. I grabbed my phone and opened it to see that it was two o'clock and I had received several notifications. Some YouTube, others on Instagram, but most were from the text chat. I opened it and saw that it was too long to hold my interest as of right now so I simply skimmed through it. A smile crept onto my face as I saw Shaky's care for me. He wanted to know how I was doing and if whoever did it got what they deserved. Based on what Kate told me, yeah I would say so. I stretched and rolled over, sitting on the edge of my bed and then standing up. In my line of sight however was a pill bottle with a note next to it. It simply read "take two of these for pain" that's right, Rick got me pain pills. I scoffed lightly but still accepted them, doing as the note said and taking two. I took a swig of my water bottle which had been sitting on my night stand since last night.

I then walked out of my room and over to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror I saw the bandage still on my face. I took it off and threw it into the small trash bin to my right and then rubbed some water on my face, not waiting for it to warm up. The cold water felt really good, and helped me wake up even quicker. I then took a deep breath and took a stroll down the hallway, peeking into Rick's room where Kate and Rick sat on the bed playing cards, I guess they wanted to play something other than chess. Kate was the first to notice me, looking up and over Rick's shoulder to greet me.

"Hey Angel" she said lightly, causing Rick to turn around.

"Hey, how are ya feelin?" he asked.

"Fine" I smiled lightly, I then walked over and sat on the bed next to them. They scooted over a bit to make room for me, making me feel a little bad. "Am I interrupting you guys?" I asked.

"No, not at all," Rick said as Kate simply shook her head. I nodded and held my head low and simply looked at the deck of cards in between them.

"Want to join in?" Kate offered. It was now my turn to shake my head.

"No, I'm fine… thanks for taking care of me guys" I said, finally looking up.

"Of course," Rick said, giving my chin a slight touch.

"Do mom and dad know?" I asked.

"Yeah, they know. They called me about an hour after I left them a message, well dad did. He said he was glad you were okay" Rick replied.

"Shaky wanted to come over, but we didn't know if you wanted to see anyone or not," Kate said.

"Yeah, I'd love to see him. I'll let him know to drop by after school" I said as I pulled my phone out again and messaged him.

"Do you want to maybe get out for a little bit?" Rick asked. I took a moment to respond since I had just sent a text telling Shaky to come over, so now I was in a position of being a pain in the ass or not. "He can still come over, we can all just hang out later" Rick added.

"Alright, sounds good" I said, looking up again. My attention shifted over to Kate though as she started speaking.

"Yeah, Lilly and Humphrey probably want to see you too," she said.

"That sounds really nice" I said, getting that excited feeling now that I had something to look forward to.

"You are feeling okay though right?" Rick asked with a slight hint of worry in his voice.

"Yeah Rick, I'm fine" I said, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. After doing that I stood up again. "I'll just chill in my room until they get here" I told the pair.

"Alright, call us if you need something," Kate said. I gave her a smile and left, walking back down the hall to my room. I got about half way down the hall before turning around though and walking back into the room. Rick and Kate followed me with their eyes as I walked over to the shelf which held Rick's collection and grabbed a movie.

"I just need a little something…" I mumbled as I browsed really quickly and landed on Amityville 4. Fuck it. I grabbed the case and walked back out. "Thanks" I called.

"Uh-huh" Rick called back as I made my way back to my room. Once inside I turned on my game system and popped the disk in, getting back in bed and pressing play as I waited for the rest of our little crew to get here. Not bad for a movie with an evil lamp…

Around three O'clock I got a message from Shaky saying that he was here, it was actually sent in the group chat. I paused the movie and slid out of bed. Passing Rick's room again I saw the two lovers still playing cards.

"We'll be right down Angel" Rick said.

"Alright" I called to him as I walked down the stairs and over to the door. I opened it to be greeted by the trio.

"Angel" Lilly said as she threw her arms around me. At first I was caught off guard but quickly hugged her back. "I'm so glad you're okay," she added.

"When Rick told us what happened, we didn't know if it was another stabbing situation" Humphrey said, clearly relieved that it wasn't. It looked as though he was happy to see me, he must have been worried as well, not that that's surprising. I broke the hug between me and Lilly and stepped over to Shaky. He ran his hand through my hair as he studied me.

"Are you alright?" he asked. He seemed more shaken up than anything.

"Yeah" I answered in the most casual voice I could muster. He then pulled me into a tight hug. It didn't last long, but I could tell that he wanted it to last even longer than it actually did. We broke the hug and then I gestured to the door. "Come in guys" I offered. I stepped next to the door on the inside with my hand holding it. After Shaky came in last I shut it gently and followed them to the living room.

"Where's Rick and Kate?" Humphrey asked.

"Up here!" Kate called. The three looked over to the stairs, but then back at me as I added a quick,

"They'll be right down" I then took a seat on the couch. Shaky and Lilly sat next to me, Shaky on my left.

"So I don't know if it's too soon for you or not, but what happened?" Humphrey asked. I sighed.

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Lilly said, placing a hand on my leg.

"No it's not that, I went to the bathroom and the bitch jumped me. Took me by surprise and that's the biggest thing. I look like a pussy now" I ranted.

"By who?" Shaky asked. I scoffed lightly.

"The whole school" I said sadly.

"She jumped you though, you weren't given a chance to fight back" Lilly said.

"I get that, but it doesn't feel that way. I feel like a fucking loser. Even if I do tell people that it was a surprise attack it still wont matter… Kate though, she made me feel better about it earlier. And I don't know if you guys know, but apparently Kate went after her and beat her ass" I explained.

"Yeah, we heard about that, we also heard it as Garth's cousin. Of course that prick has a cousin" Shaky said.

"So what now we gotta worry about her?" Lilly asked.

"I don't know, before this it seemed like everything was dying down. Garth was close to getting kicked off the football team so he fucked off, his friend had a gun pulled on him so they fucked off… now it's this bitch, and Kate probably took care of her" I explained.

"Yeah but it wasn't that long ago" Humphrey said.

"We don't even know if Garth is back from his suspension. None of us have seen him around, you might be thinking that things are over and they're actually not" Shaky added.

"Or, maybe you're all paranoid," I replied.

"I know you're eager for this to be over, we all are. But with everything that's happened so far, the risks are too dangerous for us to simply lower our guard" Lilly said. I guess she was right to an extent, I just felt so fucking exhausted.

"Alright guys, what did we miss?" Rick asked as he and Kate walked down the stairs and over to the couch. He took a seat next to Humphrey, and Kate sat next to Rick. the three of them taking up the other half of the L shaped couch.

"Fucking Garth" Shaky answered.

"Ugh, enough of that shit, I'm so tired of hearing about him. Why don't we talk about that later, forget about it for awhile" Kate said.

"Yeah, yeah sounds fine… what did you guys want to do?" Rick asked, looking away from Kate and over to us.

"What do ya mean?" Humphrey asked.

"Oh, Rick thought that we should go out and do something, maybe take a trip out of the house" I answered.

"Well… any ideas?" Lilly asked. The six of us thought for a moment before Rick answered excitedly.

"Oh, scream five just came out, you guys wanna go see it?" he asked.

"Shit, I'd be down" Humphrey answered. Lilly nodded and Shaky offered a simple "sounds fine to me" I pulled out my phone and looked up the times at the theater.

"Next showings at four" I said. Rick turned to Kate.

"Kate?" he asked. She already had a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I love the scream movies," she said.

"Yes!" Rick said excitedly as his tail wagged. I rarely ever saw him this excited. I then looked back down at my phone to check the time.

"It's three fourteen right now, do you guys want to start heading over there?" I asked. The group all answered yes in their own ways. "Alright, I just have to turn my TV off and I'll be right back down" I said, getting up and walking up the stairs.

"We'll be in our cars" Rick called. I heard Kate giggle and start to say something to him, but couldn't understand it as I was out of ear shot. I wasn't in my room long, I simply turned the TV off and grabbed my jean jacket and shoes. It took about ten seconds to put the two on and then I was on my way back down the stairs. Shaky actually sat waiting for me on his phone, while the others were already on they're way out the door.

"You alright?" I asked. Shaky looked up.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine, I was just waiting for you" he said, walking over to me and wrapping his arm around my shoulder. He then started walking with me over to the door. "I was also texting Salty to see if he wanted to join us," Shaky added. It had been so long since Salty was here and hanging out with us, that I had gotten used to him not being around. Of course I missed him, but when you're gone for multiple months it just becomes a routine for you to expect someone to not be there anymore. For me anyway.

"Yeah, see if he wants to come. I miss hanging out with him" I said, even though it had only been since last night that I saw him. Shaky typed on his phone for another three seconds.

"Alright, hopefully he gets back to me" he said. We then went outside where Rick, Kate, Humphrey, and Lilly were all getting in Rick's truck. I shut the door behind me and locked it. By the time I turned around Rick had rolled down the passenger window to call out to the two of us.

"Hey Shaky! Mind driving your car? Or do you want Humphrey to drive his?" he asked. Shaky however was still looking down at his phone.

"He messaged me back," Shaky said.

"What did he say?" I asked. Instead of answering me though Shaky looked up and over to the truck.

"Hey Rick, we're gonna swing by Salty's to pick him up. See you at the theater?" Shaky asked. Rick gave a thumbs up.

"Sounds good" he said, rolling the window back up and pulling off. Me and Shaky made our way to his car where he unlocked it and hopped in. I sat beside him as he started the car. The radio turned on instantly blasting loud music which Shaky turned down immediately.

"Sorry" Shaky apologized.

"It's okay," I laughed. He offered me a kind smile and pulled off. We listened to music as we made our way to Salty's. Normally Shaky didn't really speak whenever he was in a car. It's not like he was afraid to, I think he just had anxiety or something, especially when he was the one that was driving. When we got to Salty's he was already outside, sitting on the doorstep. He looked up from his phone once he heard us pull up and began walking to the car. I heard the car doors unlock as he got closer. Once he hopped in the back he greeted us as always.

"Hey guys" he said, shutting the door and putting on his seatbelt.

"Hey man, what's goin on?" Shaky replied, as he started driving again.

"Nothing much, just unpacking. But that's not what I'm worried about though. I heard about what happened to you Angel. You okay?" Salty asked. I turned my head towards him but not completely as he was sitting in the back behind me. Shaky looked over momentarily and then back to the road. I sighed.

"I'm fine Salty, really. There's not much to say and I really don't want to talk about it any more" I said, I was tired of telling the same story over and over again.

"Alright, that's fine. I was more worried about how you were anyway" Salty replied, making me feel like an asshole.

"Thanks, it's not that I dont wanna talk about it, I just told the story like twelve times today" I exaggerated.

"I get it, you don't have to explain yourself. We've been friends for how long?" Salty asked. I smiled.

"Long enough" I replied. Shaky continued staying quiet, never once putting in his two cents.

"So scream. This was Rick's idea wasn't it?" Salty asked.

"Yeah, you know him. He comes off as some hard ass but he's a fuckin nerd" I explained.

"And is Kate gonna be there?" Salty asked. Again I laughed.

"She's a nerd too," I said.

"Wait what? Kate? The one that your brother is somehow banging? I still don't get how he managed that" Salty said. Shaky didn't say anything but he did smile at Salty's remark. '

"Yes Salty. Just because she's hot doesn't mean she doesn't have her interests" I said sarcastically.

"But… what is she into?" Salty asked.

"Well, pretty much the same stuff he's into. Horror, movies, games" I listed but that only brought more questions.

"Games like board games or games like video games?" Salty asked.

"Both" I answered.

"What? I swear I'm in another dimension or some shit, this doesn't make any sense" Salty said. I laughed at the stupidity. "Come on, one look at her and you would never take her as a gamer," Salty added.

"Well it's not like she sits on it twenty-four seven. I think it's a once in a blue moon thing for her" I explained.

"Still dont make sense," Salty said.

"Whatever" I mumbled. Salty simply snickered. When we arrived at the theater the group had already bought tickets and two buckets of popcorn to share. We each ordered drinks as well and then made our way to the theater where the movie would be held. I'll just say that by the end of it there were some mixed emotions. Kate was clearly upset with one or two things and then Rick and Shaky felt the same. Lilly had ended up tearing up about half way through and then actually ended up yelling an excited fuck you at the screen during the finale. Meanwhile the rest of the audience was cheering and going buck shit crazy. It was a fun time.

"You know what, I don't even care. Old or not I would screw David Arquette" Lilly admitted on the way out of the theater. The group laughed as most of us knew that she always had a crush on the character Dewey. "Why's it so funny to you guys?" she asked.

"Come on Lilly, are you in love with David? Or the guy he plays?" Humphrey asked. She thought for a moment but I cut her off like the dick that I am.

"Dewey," I said.

"Shut up" Lilly laughed. "They're both cool, but yes. Emotionally I am more attached to Dewey" Lilly admitted. Again we laughed.

"I'll be your Dewey," Humphrey said as he got into Rick's truck again.

"Uh-huh. Shush" Lilly replied, climbing in after him.

"This should be an interesting ride. See you guys at the house?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, we'll meet ya there" Shaky answered. Rick nodded and then started the truck.

"Alright guys let's go, Salty do you mind if I drop you off second?" Shaky asked.

"Nah man it's cool" Salty answered.

"Alright then sweet" Shaky replied as we all got into his car. As we began our way back I decided to poke some more fun.

"So Salty did you see how much Kate enjoyed the movie?" I asked. Salty groaned.

"Still don't make sense," he said. I laughed.

Kate's POV

I have to admit I felt nervous pulling up to my driveway. I could see that the lights were on through the dining room window. Most likely mom and dad were in the living room watching TV, and while dad would be upset with me for getting suspended, mom wouldn't have too much of a problem with it.

"You okay sis?" Lilly asked. My ears shot up momentarily as I turned to face her. I guess I was just staring for too long.

"Yeah, it's just what happened today. I don't really wanna get yelled at is all" I explained. I knew it wouldn't be that bad, but part of me was still always nervous when things like this happened.

"It will be fine Kate, it's not like they're gonna kill you" Lilly replied.

"Yeah but mom talked to Rick earlier and… she said she wanted to talk with me about it" I said. Lilly shrugged.

"She only said she wanted to talk, plus didn't he say that you weren't in trouble?" Lilly asked. I guess she was right, when Rick told me how the call went that was what he said. I checked my phone really quickly to see the time. It was nine o'clock. When we got to Rick's house we only parted ways again. Part of me wanted to stay but Lilly couldn't and I didn't want to push my luck.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I said, putting my phone in my pocket and opening the door. Lilly did the same and stepped out. As we walked to the front door I decided to tease Lilly just one more time. "Dewey huh?" I asked. Lilly smiled as she started digging for her own keys.

"Don't act like he's not cute," she replied.

"I guess he's cute, and his fur color is nice," I admitted. Lilly shook her head and snickered as she opened the door.

"That you girls?" We heard mom call from the living room.

"Yeah" Lilly called back. I glanced at Lilly for a moment and then booked it up the steps. I heard Lilly laugh lightly as she went into the living room. Once I was up the stairs though I took off my shoes and then went into the bathroom. I undressed and took a nice, hot shower after spending so much time in the cold night, well it wasn't that much time. The water just felt so nice as it ran through my fur. Normally I try to stay in there as long as I can, but I didn't want to use up all the hot water before Lilly could get any, so I stepped out, dried off, and went back into my room. Once inside I turned my TV on and began to dress which wasn't much. A loose T-shirt and panties. Once I was settled in I laid down and went on my phone as south park played in the background. I had a few notifications but only one of them mattered to me. A text message from Rick.

R. hey. Did you two make it home safe?

K. yeah, thanks for checking,

R. I'm gonna miss you in school tomorrow.

K. is Angel going?

R. yeah, I guess I'll keep an eye on her, even though I know she would want the opposite. I just don't know what these fucks are capable of.

K. yeah, I know. But do what you think is right.

R. Has your mom talked to you about what happened?

K. no, I'll be honest I'm avoiding her.

R. why? I don't think she's mad at you. Maybe she wants to buy you another ice cream.

K. oh God, the fucking ice cream…

R. hey, take advantage of it.

K. I guess, but I don't know if I can deal with it right now anyway. My stomach is killing me.

R. aww, is it?

K. yeah, I started feeling it halfway home. I should be fine though.

R. alright. Let me know how you are feeling. Oh and Angel wanted to thank you again. I know it kills her to say it, but she really is grateful.

K. I'm sure. She's such a sweetheart. I would do anything for her.

R. I'm glad you think so, she's a little devil.

K. she's adorable.

R. alright alright. See you soon?

K. you know it.

R. alright. Good night, I love you.

K. I love you too. Goodnight. XOXO

I sighed and put my phone down. I'm not sure why my stomach was hurting but it was, not only that but I was feeling a bit nauseous as well. I groaned and tried to relax as I watched the TV. a nock pulled me away from it though, causing my heart to sink. I knew what it was.

"Come in," I said. The door opened and as expected my mom came in.

"Hey sweetie. You okay?" mom asked as she shut the door and sat on the foot of my bed. I sat up to meet her.

"Yeah… are you mad at me?" I asked as my ears fell flat.

"What? No no you did the right thing… sort of. I wanted to talk to you about it" mom said. I tried to listen in but mom gently cupped my chin and started checking me as she did before. "She didn't even land a hit on you did she?" mom asked.

"No, she tripped me. That was it" I answered. Mom scoffed.

"I'm glad you fucked her up. But Kate… I need you to do me a favor from this point forward" mom began.

"Anything mom" I said. Mom sighed.

"The reason I wanted you and Rick to be a thing is because I've known that boy and his family for a long time. His mom and dad were my friends back when we were in high school. So I knew that he could make you happy, that he was perfect. Handsome, sweet, caring. He's the whole thing, and his sister… I've seen how her and Lilly get along, she's a sweetheart. My point is I wanted you to have a good life. But that doesn't just stop at having a good partner. I don't know if you or Rick have settled on a career yet but either way, once high school is done, you'll both be going to college or maybe even picking up a trade. But you won't be able to get into a good school if you have thing's like this on your record. Do you see where I'm getting?" mom asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I see," I said. Mom nodded.

"Don't get me wrong, if someone touches you, you defend yourself. Just don't go overboard with it. But also try your very best not to engage in anything. Because if you have all of this on your record. Then those straight A's that you get arent gonna matter. They'll only see you as a trouble maker" mom explained. I saw where she was coming from. The reason I didn't get this talk last time was because I was in my sophomore year, but now things were different… a lot different. "Kate…" mom said, grabbing my attention again.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Please? Promise me you'll try your hardest to be the best girl that you can?" mom asked. It took a moment because on one hand I saw where she was coming from, but on the other with this whole situation that's been going on the past few months. I have to protect my family. But… would it all matter in the long run? Yeah we would still be together, but the others… after high school we would never have to see Garth again…

"I promise," I said. Mom patted my leg with a smile.

"Thank you… you're a great kid, and I'm more than proud of you. I just want what's best for you, even if it hurts me sometimes" mom explained. I nodded, she had more than proved her point, like when she let me lose my virginity. From what Lilly told me, she was a wreck that night.

"Thanks mom" I smiled. She then gave me a hug, and I did it back. When she broke it she spoke again.

"One more thing, can you take your sister to school?" mom asked.

"Yeah, yeah I can do that" I said. Mom brushed the fur on my soft cheek.

"Thank you," she said. And with that she left, walking back down the stairs. I laid back down and felt my phone vibrate. I checked it to see it was a text from Lilly.

L. see? You're still alive.

K. uh-huh goodnight Lilly.

L. Night Kate.

I closed my phone and tossed it to my side, relaxing once again as I tried to juggle my nausea and attention to the show. I prayed to God that it would be gone by tomorrow.