Chapter 14: Because I Got High

Sean awoke to feminine giggles. He frowned and opened his eyes, burrowing his knuckles into them to remove the last vestiges of sleep. "Shanny?" he asked in surprise as she jumped into bed with him."

"Hey you!" she said.

He grinned and hugged her tightly. "I thought you weren't coming back until-"

"I got paroled. Doc Evans said that he felt I could be trusted…as long as you stick close by."

He smiled. "I think I can manage that." His smile slipped into a frown. "But…why does he trust me so much?"

She shrugged. "Don't know. You must have made an impression in group yesterday. But I don't care!" She hugged him tightly again. "I missed you so much!"

He laughed. "I missed you too. I didn't realize how there's nothing to do in this place without you chattering like a maniac…errr…poor choice of words."

Shanna laughed. "No…I think they fit perfectly. Oh! I thought you should meet someone. Sean…this is Kim. Kim…this is my best friend Sean."

Kim smiled at him. She touched her hair shyly. "I know what you're thinking. Pink hair, right?"

Sean smiled and shook his head. "Nope. Was thinking that you look like someone I know…well, minus the hair."

Shanna pouted. "Someone you know, huh? How long? Should I be worried?"

Sean laughed and pulled her against his chest. "Nah…Paige was…well, she was just Paige."

Emma snapped awake with a frown. She sat up quickly, despite the screaming of her muscles. Someone stirred next to her. "Hey," he mumbled softly, stretching and yawning.

Emma smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. "Hey, you."

Aaron frowned, looking around. "Where's our babysitter?"

Emma looked around the room and shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe he got tired of watching us sleep and left."

"Can you two hold it down in there?" Alex called from the bedroom. "We're trying to sleep, dammit!"

Emma and Aaron looked at each other and laughed. "Guess that answers that question!"

Aaron wiggled his brows. "So…since they're sleeping…"

Emma grinned. "Yeah?"

"Wanna'…you know…make out?"

Emma chuckled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I thought you'd never ask!"

"OK!" Alex called out. "I am now officially gonna' barf! Get a room!"

Emma and Aaron burst into hysterics. "Well, we would, but you're using it!" Emma called back with a snort. "You plannin' on getting out of it anytime soon?"

"Nope! Sorry! You snooze…you lose!" Jay called back.

Emma snickered. "Yeah. Thought as much!"

Aaron smiled and touched her cheek with his thumb as she lay beneath him on the couch. "Since when have you been so…gritty?"

Emma just smiled softly as she pulled his lips to hers.

A few moments later, Alex and Jay walked out. Alex rolled her eyes and made a gagging face. "Gross, guys. I have to sit on that couch!"

Aaron laughed. "Tough. We tried to get you out of the bed ten minutes ago."

Alex opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it back closed with a frown when there was pounding on the door. "What the hell?" she muttered as she strode to the door. The pounding continued and she yelled out. "Shit, Man! Hold on! Are you trying to wake up the whole fucking neighborhood?"

She barely had the door cracked when she was shoved back forcefully, nearly hitting the wall. A blonde boy strode in…his pale skin red with rage. "Where the fuck is that little bitch?" he shouted angrily.

Sean, Shanna, and Kim sat on his bed talking. "So, Kim…what brought you here…if you don't mind my asking?"

She shook her head, still smiling shyly. "I'm…weight issues."

Sean frowned. The girl was as skinny as Emma! "Huh?"

Kim sighed and started again. "I'm bulimic."

"But why? You're so…so thin! Any girl would kill to have a body like yours!"

She blushed. "That's what you think! Have you looked at my thighs? And my hips are horrendous!"

Shanna giggled and rolled her eyes. "Hey, Kimmy! Show him the picture!"

"I don't think he-"

"Come on…he's great! He won't laugh…not much." She turned to Sean as Kim rummaged in her shoe for the photo. "You should see this picture, Sean! She was a whale!"

"Was?" Kim asked, glancing up from her task.

Sean frowned in distaste. "I doubt she was that big," he muttered, suddenly irritated with Shanna's rudeness.

Finally Kim produced a picture and Sean studied it for a moment. Finally, he shrugged and handed it back. "I went to school with a girl back in Toronto who was this size…she modeled."

"No way!" Kim shrieked in disbelief.

Sean nodded. "Yeah. She did. Her face is still on that billboard right as you hit Wasaga."

"Oh, it is not!" Shanna teased. "You couldn't know-"

Sean nodded, a grin of satisfaction spreading across his face. "Terri MacGreggor. Funny, sweet, and pleasantly plump. So what? She was still pretty. And besides," he said with a shrug. "Even if she was ugly, which she wasn't, she had a good heart."

Kim frowned. "You talk about her like she's dead!"

Sean shook his head. "Nope. Last I heard, she was alive and well. No thanks to Rick."

"Rick?"

"The guy that went psycho and shot up the school," Shanna piped. "Sean saved the love of his life that day."

Kim's eyes widened in shock. "That was you?"

Shanna nodded happily. "Yeah. He's a hero! Twice over."

Sean shook his head with a frown. "No…I killed him. And as for you," he said, shoving Shanna a bit. "You ever pull a stupid stunt like that, and scare the hell out of me again, I'll never speak to you again."

Sean shuddered as both girls looked at him in awe. He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm not a fucking hero!" He wanted to find something…anything…to change the topic away from him. "Kim? Why are you so down on yourself?"

Kim's eyes dropped to the bed sheet sadly. "I…I'm fat."

He shook his head and touched her hand. "No. You're not. You're skin and bones."

"No!" she said, snatching her hand back as if she'd just touched fire. She shook her head angrily as tears cascaded down her cheeks. "No, I'm not! Ray says so!"

"Who the hell is Ray?"

Aaron jumped up quickly in confusion. Emma started to stand, but the boy was too fast. He lunged, knocking her back onto the couch, swinging wildly. "You fucking cunt! You whore! You showed my mom?"

Aaron snatched the boy away, angrily tossing him against the wall and grabbing him by the throat. "What the fuck is your malfunction, Dude?" he asked as he lifted Peter from the floor by his throat.

Alex rushed over to check on Emma, who was sitting there, dazed. The fight continued in the background. Jay tried to find out what was going on.

"Aaron! Let up, Man! Don't kill him yet!"

"Fuck off, Jay! This little bastard's-"

"The son of my principal, Aaron. Put him down," Emma muttered from the couch.

Aaron tightened his grip for a moment, watching Peter's eyes roll back in his head before Emma shouted, "Now!" He glared at the boy and eased his grip.

Peter tried to bolt, but he was trapped between Jay and Aaron. He finally began to realize his mistake, and started looking around like a scared rabbit. Emma stood and walked over.

"You think me telling your mom was bad? Just wait until you see the real fireworks, Asshole!" she hissed before spitting in his face. Aaron dropped his hold and Peter bolted out the front door.

Alex and Jay looked suspiciously between Aaron and Emma. Aaron sighed, shaking with rage, as Emma fell into his arms. "Did he hurt you?" he asked her quietly. She shook her head.

"Just startled me a bit."

"OK…what am I missing?" Alex asked. "What the hell happened yesterday? Start from the beginning…and you only have an hour before we have to be in school, so make it quick!"

"Ray is…was my boyfriend," Kim sniffed sadly. "He broke up with me after my parents made me come here."

Sean thought of Emma. "I'm sure, if he loved you, he'll-"

Kim shook her head, sniffling harder. "He came to visit me a couple of months ago. He said I was getting fat again, and that he had a reputation to keep."

Shanna nodded, finishing for the other girl, whose voice had become to wobbly to continue. "He said that if she gained so much more as one ounce, it was over."

Kim nodded, finally bursting into tears. "I gained five pounds in the last two weeks!"

Sean watched in horror as the girl sagged in grief. Shanna rolled her eyes and smirked. Finally, Sean turned angrily on Shanna. "I thought you were her friend!"

Shanna frowned and nodded. "Yeah. So?"

He sighed angrily and hugged Kim, rubbing her back to comfort her. "Some friend!" he growled at Shanna. "Why don't you go find someone who is as heartless as you?"

Shanna gaped at him in surprise. Her lips snapped shut. "What's your problem?" she hissed. "We're just having fun!"

"Fun?" he asked in wide-eyed disbelief. "You call this fun? How is it fun to watch your friend deal with this shit?" He hugged Kim harder. "Kim? It's…it's OK," he murmured. "That Ray guy is an asshole. Someday you'll find someone who-"

Kim shook her head sharply. "No! Ray says that no one else wants me! Who the hell would want a beached whale?"

Sean sighed and took her shoulders, forcing her to look in his eyes. "Hey! I'm a guy, right?" She nodded. "Yeah…and I think you're pretty."

"Y-You do?" she whispered.

Sean smiled. "Yeah. How about we go to breakfast? I hear if we get there soon enough, you can get chocolate cake. I love chocolate cake!"

Kim laughed and rolled her eyes as she wiped her cheeks. "Chocolate cake? For breakfast?"

Sean nodded and slung a friendly shoulder over her shoulders. "Why not? A friend once said that chocolate tastes like happy. I figured that we could use all the happy we can get in a place like this!"

Kim chuckled and laid her head on Sean's shoulder as he led her out. Shanna followed behind.

"Emma…you're lip's bleeding," Aaron told her.

"Oh! Really? I hadn't noticed."

"I'll get you some ice," Alex said, standing up.

Aaron lifted her chin carefully, inspecting her face for more injuries. "I think that's all. Did he hit you anywhere else?"

Emma shrugged. "Maybe my shoulder. But I'm fine. Really."

After cleaning Emma's lip and making sure she didn't need stitches. "Everything looks OK," Aaron said, kissing her cheek lightly.

Alex nodded. "I guess we should get to school then," she said, handing Emma the ice pack.

Emma and Alex piled into Jay's car as Aaron walked down the street towards his house. Once they were on the road, Alex frowned. "You really sent that out?"

Emma nodded and grinned, wincing in pain as the cut in her lip split back open. She pressed the ice pack over it again and mumbled, "Yeah. I did. I set it up on a timer. It should hit everyone's mailbox fourth period."

Alex rolled her eyes, trying to be stern. Deep down, though, she wanted to laugh at Emma's spunk. "You know you just opened yourself up for a world of shit, right?"

Emma nodded again. "Oh, yeah. And I'm taking Peter and Chris right along with me."

Hey, all! Just wanted to let you know about a new story I'm working on here called "Caught Up In Ancient History" (thanks for the awesome title, Jen!). It's here in the M section, if you'd like to take a look! Thanks!