Shadow felt terrible. He felt so pissed off and so disgusting.
He hadn't moved from the front hall of his house in what felt like an hour but was only probably about 15 minutes. He leaned against the wall outside his front door, trying to think about what he should do next, where he should go, something, anything, except what just happened. He slowly slumped onto the floor, back still against the wall, and rested his head in one hand. He sighed.
The deafening silence in his home was shattered when he heard the sound of a car drive by and slow down. He peered out a small window next to his front door and saw a car pull into Blaze's driveway. He watched as what was presumably her friends pile out and knock on her door.
Blaze . . .
He pulled away from the window. He felt like he should exit the door, go over to Blaze's house, and say something. But what would he say? What could he say? Had she seen? Did she know?
I'm probably not welcome over there anyway . . .
He sighed, and the events of the past hour all came rushing back suddenly. He pulled away from the window and stared up and the ceiling, recalling everything at once.
Shadow trudged into the room where detention was being held. He glanced around the room to see who else was in detention. Mostly freshmen who probably were unaware of some of the rules so far. He breathed a sigh of relief. No one could snitch or be an asshole about him getting detention now. His eyes then fell on Scourge, sitting in one of the corners. Their eyes met, and Scourge smirked. He sarcastically waved enthusiastically and mouthed, "Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy."
Shadow shot him a dirty look, sank into a desk in the front of the room, and stared at the ceiling.
Great, now to do this for a whole two hours. Awesome. Fuck you, Scourge.
About 10 agonizing minutes of staring at the ceiling passed. They were entirely uneventful, except for Scourge throwing a balled-up piece of paper at him (he ignored it). He was sinking into a daydream phase when the sound of his voice pierced the silence.
"Shadow? May I have a word with you?"
Shadow snapped out of his daydream and turned towards the door. It was Mr. Acorn, the principal. Shadow, slightly confused, got up and followed the principal just outside the detention room. He closed the door.
"Shadow, it has been brought to my attention that you were only fighting back against Scourge. A student showed me a video of him punching you in the back of the head. While the scuffle is strictly against school policy, I do not blame you for fighting back."
Shadow, slightly confused and very relieved, nodded and said nothing.
"I will ask you to not engage next time if this situation happens again. Scourge will receive extended detention, and you are free to leave. Thank you for cooperating with me, and I apologize for the hasty punishment."
"Th . . . Thank you, sir," Shadow said, more confused than ever. "Have a good day."
"And you as well."
The principal reentered the detention room, and Shadow turned and quickly walked down the hall, breathing a sigh of relief.
Well, at least that's over, he thought. But who would try to bail me out like that? None of my friends were around when the fight happened.
He turned the corner and came face to face with the answer to his question.
"Hiiiiii Shadow."
Oh. Hell. No, he groaned inwardly.
"Hi . . . Selena."
Selena gave him a big beaming smile and brushed a lock of her bright blonde hair off her shoulder.
"Lucky I was around to catch that fight, huh?" she smirked, waving her phone. On the screen was a paused video of Scourge punching Shadow and him fighting back.
"Yeah, real lucky," Shadow muttered. "Look, I do appreciate it, but if you think that bailing me out of detention is going to win you any favors with me, you're sorely mistaken."
He pushed past her. "See you around, I guess."
Selena wasn't done yet. She reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt, "Wait! I just wanted to ask for a favor."
"No," Shadow replied flatly. "I want nothing to do with you."
"Aw, come on, Shadow," Selena whined. "Someone told me you live in the Cedar Crest neighborhood, is that true?"
Shadow stopped. "Who told you that?"
Selena scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Does it matter?"
Shadow wheeled around. "Yes! Yes, it fucking does! That's creepy as hell. Why do you want to know where I live?" he shouted.
Selena stepped back, hands up. "Woah woah woah. It's nothing like that!" she said.
She straightened herself up. "Listen, I had to stay behind to bail you out, and both Alysha and Fiona took off without me. It's my cousin's birthday, and my mom is making me go to it. Annoying right? Uh, anyway, Alysha had to be somewhere, so she left without me, and I need a ride to the Cedar Crest neighborhood."
Shadow stared in disbelief. "Uh . . . No?"
"Aw, come on, Shadow," Selena pleaded. "My mom will kill me if I don't show up!"
"Then get your mom to take you," he said. Fucking hell, he said to himself. I do not have the energy to deal with her right now.
"She's at work right now," Selena pouted. She reached forward and tugged on his shirt.
"Pleeeeeeeeaseeeeeee? Just one little ride? I'll never ask again, I promise!"
Shadow started to walk away again, and Selena latched onto him like a leech, continuing to plead for a ride. She followed him all the way to the main commons of the school, begging for him to take her to her cousin's the entire time. Finally, Shadow snapped.
"OKAY! FINE!" he shouted, exasperated. "I'll give you a lift. But only this once," he relented, facepalming.
"Yay!" Selena cried. "Let's go!" She giggled playfully and tugged on his sleeve.
Shadow sighed and proceeded out to the student parking lot. Selena started to ramble on about various things that Shadow wasn't listening to. He was thinking about the fastest way home so he wouldn't have to put up with Selena for any longer than necessary. He quickly started to listen when Blaze's name came up, however.
" . . . Like, I can't believe she'd bother you like that. Isn't she soooo annoying? You know, I heard from Alysha that she's constantly . . ."
Shadow turned and gave Selena a dark glare. Selena's thought trailed off, and she stopped walking to put one hand on her hip.
"What?" she snapped, irritated that Shadow wasn't interested in her conversation.
"You know what," Shadow replied tersely.
"Well, Blaze is annoying. That's just an objective fact," she snickered.
"Shut up, Selena," he growled. "You clearly know nothing about her." He continued to walk to his truck, and Selena quickly started to catch up with him.
"Well, she annoys me and Fiona, and especially Alysha," she quipped, checking her phone.
"Why?" Shadow asked. He pulled out his keys and unlocked his truck. Selena ignored him and went around to the passenger side of the truck. Shadow shook his head, climbed in, and started the engine.
Luckily, once they were on their way, Selena stopped talking about Blaze and vigorously started to text someone (presumably multiple people). She did not, however, shut up for one second. She kept trying to show him things when stopped at lights, and she talked rapidly and excitedly. Shadow had to keep shrugging her hand off when she would place it on his shoulder. At one point, Selena tried to get Shadow to stop by Starbucks on their way back, which he flatly denied. After that, she went silent and pouted for the rest of the way home.
Thank god she finally shut up, he thought to himself. Listening to Selena's voice nonstop was giving him a headache.
After driving for about a minute or so in silence, they finally turned into Shadow's neighborhood. Selena perked up when she saw this, but her smile quickly left her face when Shadow pulled up to the curb and put his truck in park.
Shadow unlocked the doors. "Out," he demanded.
"But Shadow, this isn't where my cousin's is!" she complained.
"Too bad, you can walk the rest of the way," he told her firmly.
When Selena didn't move from her seat, Shadow told her again to get out. Selena stayed put. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Selena piped up, her voice filled with firmness.
"Shadow, I want to make an offer with you."
Shadow rolled his eyes and slumped against the driver's seat. "Whatever it is, I'm not interested," he said, audibly annoyed. He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
Selena sat up straight, putting her phone down and looking directly at Shadow. "I think you will be interested," she replied, "As it involves Blaze."
As much as Shadow didn't want to admit it, Selena was right. He looked over at her but didn't say anything.
Selena continued. "Look, I don't know why you want to be all friendly with her. I don't understand what you see in her. But whatever. I'm primarily interested in you, and only you. So, I'll make you an offer."
Shadow sat up, unsure of where this was going.
"I'll stop 'bullying' Blaze and leave her alone under one condition . . ." She paused and gave him a "cute," flirty smile. ". . . You stop talking to Blaze and be my boyfriend! And I mean the whole shebang: kissing, hugging, walking to classes together, dates, eating lunch together. And it needs to be legit. You need to be into it 110%."
Shadow felt the blood rush to his cheeks in anger. "No. Fucking. Way!" he growled. How dare she! he thought. There's no way I'm going to date one of the meanest girls in the school.
Selena cocked her head. "Okay, fine. Don't. See if I care. But I'm not gonna leave her alone. Hell, maybe I'll even take it up a notch. It is fun to watch someone as pathetic as her squirm."
Shadow saw red. He turned around to face Selena. He was inches from punching her in the face but then realized she was holding her phone in a way that indicated she was recording the conversation. She was holding him hostage. If he said no, they wouldn't leave Blaze alone. If he got physical with her, that video could spread around the school, which could be disastrous if people saw him hitting her in a car by themselves. And that wouldn't solve the issue with Blaze.
My hands are tied. I've got to do something. Blaze won't survive any more bullying. Her life at school is hell enough for her right now. But . . . Selena . . . Ugh. That bitch. I can't believe this.
Shadow sighed. He knew what he had to do. He'd figure out the rest later.
"Fine," he mumbled. "I'll . . . date you . . ."
"Ohmigod yay!" Selena squealed. She reached over to hug him with one arm, and he brushed her off.
". . . Under the condition that you leave her completely alone. If you so much as touch her after we start . . . dating . . . the deal is off."
"Yeah, yeah, okay," Selena agreed hastily. She flipped the camera mode on her phone to "selfie mode" and said, "This is Selena Brenig, and I agree to the terms in the video." She gave a big smile for the camera. "And you, Shadow?" She turned the phone to face him.
He glanced at the screen. "Yes," he said through gritted teeth.
Selena gave one last glance at her screen and stopped recording. "Okay, first things first, you take me to your house." She sat back and buckled her seatbelt.
Shadow looked at her. "Why?"
"Well, it's not too weird to want to see where your boyfriend lives, is it?"
"You're delusional," he responded.
"Ah, hey, be civil, big guy," she reprimanded, "Or the deal is off."
Shadow sighed. He was done fighting and just wanted Selena gone. "Okay, fine. But you're walking the rest of the way to wherever you need to go to. And, if you tell anyone where I live, the deal's off."
"Okay, whatever," said Selena, rolling her eyes. "Compromises in relationships and all that," she snarked.
Shadow put his truck into drive and slowly drove down the neighborhood road. In about a minute, he turned onto his cul-de-sac. As he slowed down and pulled into his driveway, he glanced over at Blaze's house.
I'm so sorry for this, Blaze. I hope she stops. Can't believe I'm doing this for you . . . well, maybe I can . . .
After what felt like an eternity of an afternoon, he was home, albeit with filth in tow. He stopped the engine and got out. Selena followed suit.
"Go. Go away," Shadow said, tired.
"Nuh-uh, not yet," she replied. "Come here!"
Shadow walked around his truck to where Selena was standing. "What is it?"
Without warning, she jumped into his arms.
"Aaaaahhhhh, I get to date you finally!" she squealed, hugging him. With the flip of a switch, she glared up at him. "Hug me back! This needs to be legit!" she demanded.
Shadow reluctantly and slowly wrapped his arms around her shoulders. When he did this, she smiled dreamily and planted a lingering kiss on his lips.
My first kiss . . . with her . . .
Shadow pulled away in disgust. "Go. You got what you wanted," was all he could muster to say, embarrassed and disgusted.
"Okay, fine," Selena said, still cheery. "Have a good night, handsome! See you at school tomorrow!"
She turned and giddily hurried down his driveway to the sidewalk, where she waved to him one last time before proceeding to walk away.
As though he was asleep, he robotically entered his house, where he slumped down as soon as he shut his front door.
What . . . have I done?
"Fucking hell, where is she? It's taking her long enough. How long does it take to get an agreement with him?"
"Could be a while. That guy is stubborn as all hell."
Alysha and Fiona were seated in Alysha's black Audi, waiting at a random corner in the Cedar Crest neighborhood for Selena to show up. According to Selena's texts, everything was going off without any hitches.
"Oh my god, finally," Fiona said, glancing in Alysha's side-view mirrors. "There she fucking is."
Selena saw the Audi and sprinted towards it, excitement on her face.
She hopped into the back and said excitedly, "It's done! He's mine!" She squealed.
Alysha laughed. "Nice." She reached back to high-five Selena.
"Damn, I cannot believe that worked," Fiona said, stunned. "Shadow is stubborn to a fault. I thought this was a long shot."
Selena smiled smugly.
Alysha looked back again. "You do owe me for this. Scourge is gonna be in detention for a while after this, and he got hit pretty hard in the scuffle."
"Of course, girl, I said I would, didn't I?" She reached into her Prada wallet and pulled out a few hundred-dollar bills. "Let's hit the mall!"
"Thought you'd never say that!" Alysha replied with a grin, shifting the car into drive.
Selena pulled out her phone and opened Twitter. She quickly attached a photo to a draft Tweet, typed out her message, and hit "post."
Officially taken, she thought peacefully to herself.
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤ END ⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤