I found myself back in Mr. Jefferson's class. Huh? What? I looked around. I'm... back here? No, that's not possible... I thought. I heard Mr. Jefferson explain Alfred Hitchcock, which I already heard before. Okay, let's try this to see if the same thing happens. I grabbed my camera, hid it, and took a picture of myself.
"I believe Jace has taken what you kids call a "selfie"... A dumb word for a wonderful photographic tradition..."
Okay, I heard him say that already. A girl threw a balled up piece of paper at Kate's face. I already saw that happen... if Victoria's phone rings right now, then it means that, somehow, I traveled back here. Then, right on cue, Victoria's phone rang. Yep. It's confirmed. But... how? I moved my arm and I accidentally hit my camera, causing it to drop to the ground and break. Shit! ... Okay, let's see... maybe I can somehow go back and stop myself from dropping my camera? Okay, um... how do I do this? I brought my hand foward, and time rewinds to before I broke the camera. Okay, it's official; I have time rewinding powers. Needless to say, I was blown away. Holy shit... I have time powers... this... is fucking insane... I shook my head. Alright, enough being blown away. I have to find a way to leave class so that I can save that girl...
"Now, Jace, since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?"
Think of an excuse, think of an excuse... "Um, Mr. Jefferson, I-I don't feel very good. May I be excused?"
Mr. Jefferson chuckled. "Nice try, Jace, but you're not going to get away that easily. We can talk more after class."
I can't stay after class, damn it! I have to save that girl! After hearing Victoria answer the question, an idea popped up in my head. Hmm... maybe I could give him the answer that he wants... I brought my hand forward and rewound to when Mr. Jefferson asked me the question.
"Now, Jace, since you've captured our interest and clearly want to join the conversation, can you please tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self-portraits?"
I answered, "The Daguerreian Process. It was invented by a French painter named Louis Daguerre around 1830."
"Correct. Great work, Jace." Mr. Jefferson congratulated me. Victoria glared at me. I just smirked at her. After Mr. Jefferson explained more about the Daguerreian Process, the bell rang. Mr. Jefferson reminded everyone of the Everyday Heroes contest, as well as saying he noticed me pretending not to look at him. I quickly put my stuff in my bag and began to quickly walk to the door. Come on, I need to get to save her!
"Don't even think about leaving until we talk about your entry, Jace." Mr. Jefferson told me.
Damn it! I turned around and walked toward him.
"Jace, there is no way I would let one of the future stars of photography avoid handing in their picture."
"I know, I just... don't think I have the right picture..." I answered.
"Given your selfie output, I'm sure you have a millions pics by now."
"I don't think I have enough time to find the right one..." I said.
"Look, don't wait too long. John Lennon once said that "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." You can go now."
"Thank you, Mr. Jefferson." I said. I quickly left the classroom and head to the bathroom. Okay... I ended up... over there. I thought, going to the wall beside the stalls. And I... took a picture of the butterfly. I saw the butterfly land on the rim of the bucket and I quickly took a picture of it. Right at that moment, Nathan came in.
"It's cool, Nathan... Don't stress... You're okay, bro. Just count to three... Don't be scared... You fucking own this school... If I wanted, I could blow it up... You're the boss..." The bluenette then came in. "So what do you want?"
"Hope you checked the perimeter, as my step-ass would say. Now, let's talk bidness." She looked at each stall.
"I have nothing for you."
"Bullshit. You got hella cash."
"That's my family, dumbass. Not me."
"Oh boo hoo, poor little rich kid. I know you've been pumping drugs and shit to kids 'round here. I bet your family would help me out if I went to them. Man, I can see the headlines now..."
"Leave them out of this, bitch!" Nathan said. The girl pushed him.
"I can tell everyone that Nathan Prescott is a punk ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself-"
Nathan brought out his gun. "You don't know who the fuck I am, or who you're fuckin' messing with!" Nathan exclaimed.
What do I do, what do I do!? I looked at the fire alarm. No. Don't be stealthy, Jace. Face the situation head-on. I just need to distract Nathan... but how? I looked at my camera... and something sparked in my brain. That's it. I quickly peeked at the two. The gun was visible from this angle.
"You're gonna get in more trouble for this than drugs!" The bluenette struggled
"Nobody would ever even miss your punk ass, now would they!?"
*FLASH*
They both paused their actions. Nathan slowly turned his head. He saw me with my camera, the photo I took coming out. "Jace Wolfe..." He turned around. "... You are a FUCKING DEAD MAN!"
"Jace?" The girl asked. Nathan ran at me and tried to hit me with his gun, but I dodged, grabbing him by the arm and shirt and throwing Nathan to the wall, causing him to drop his gun.
"Be careful, Jace!" The girl yelled. I looked at her. She seemed... familiar, now that I got a closer look at her. Her face... her blue eyes...
Suddenly, it hit me like a truck.
"Chloe!?" I couldn't believe it; it was my childhood friend, Chloe Price.
Unfortunately, Nathan used my distraction to his advantage and whacked me on the side of my head with his gun. I fell down on one knee. I felt blood stream down the side of my head.
"Jace!" Chloe exclaimed.
"Chloe, run!" I yelled.
"B-But-"
"I can handle him!" I said as I dodged an attack from Nathan. "Just go!" Chloe nodded and left the bathroom. Nathan tackled me to the ground and punched me in the eye, "Agh!" I shouted, covering my eye. Nathan threw another punch, but I dodged. I got a quick look at the mirror and I saw that I had a black eye. He pinned me to the wall and pointed the gun at me. "Let me go, you bastard!"
"No! I won't let go until you get rid of that damn photo!" Nathan yelled.
"Get the fuck off me!" I pushed him away... and Nathan shot me in my left shoulder. I screamed in pain as I fell down on one knee, holding my shoulder.
Nathan's eyes widened. "O-Oh shit! Are you okay?" At that moment, Principal Ray Wells came in.
"What is going on he-" Principal Wells saw Nathan holding a gun. "Nathan Prescott!?"
"P-Principal Wells, I swear, this isn't what it looks lik-"
"Save it! You're coming with me!" Principal Wells grabbed Nathan by the arm. Principal Wells got out his phone and called the nurse, An-Marie Barenchi. "Nurse Barenchi, a student in the Men's Bathroom is severely injured. He will be on his way immediately." Principal Wells ended the call and looked at me. "Best be heading to the nurse."
Don't have to tell me twice. "Thank you, Principal Wells." I quickly ran to the nurse's office. Behind me, I heard Nathan yell, "You'll rue this day! YOU'LL FUCKING RUE THIS DAY!"
I went into the nurse's office. But, by then, I had lost a lot of blood. My vision slowly darkened as I fainted. Before I fainted, I heard an "Oh my god!" from Nurse Barenchi.
I didn't know how long I was passed out, but I slowly woke up in the nurse's office. I sat up, rubbing my head with my right hand. I felt a bandage wrapped around my head. I saw that my bag was next to me. I tried to move my left arm, but I felt a sharp pain on my left shoulder. I grimaced, grabbing my shoulder.
"Please be careful."
I turned. "Kate?"
"Hey Jace." Kate said. "How are you feeling?"
I was silent for a minute. "... I feel like shit."
"Understandable." Kate shrugged.
"Hey, how long was I out?" I asked.
"Three hours. I was really worried about you. The moment I heard about what happened, I instantly came here. I waited for you to wake up." Kate said as she hugged me. "I'm so glad you're alright."
"Heh. C'mon, Kate. Of course I'd be fine. I can totally take a bullet to the shoulder." I assured her.
She smiled as the hug ended. "Of course you would. Also, I should mention that the bathroom incident got Nathan expelled."
Good riddance.
"And my viral video? Everyone's too focused on the bathroom incident to even think about it."
"That's great!" I said happily. I saw Kate frown again, though.
"But, when it eventually blows over, everyone will just go back to watching the video and making fun of me..."
I felt bad for her. She doesn't deserve to be bullied like that. "Kate, I know for a fact that you wouldn't make out with random strangers. Were you drunk or something?"
"No. I only took a few sips of wine." Kate said. "But, I think I was drugged."
"Drugged? By who?" I asked.
"I'm... not sure. But, I have a feeling that it was Nathan."
"Nathan? ... Well, I wouldn't be surprised, but... Kate, tell me what happened."
"Well, during the party, I needed to go to a hospital. Nathan promised me he could get me to the hospital."
"But he didn't, did he?"
Kate nods. "That's right. I... think he drugged me... I don't remember anything else, though, but I felt... gross when I woke up outside of my dorm room." Kate explained.
"Then that proves it. Nathan drugged you." I said.
"But, if I go to the police, they won't believe me. What do I do?" She asked. She really wants people to forget about the video, but there's no way... unless...
"... Hey. Victoria was the one who published the video, correct?"
"Yeah. She even made a website..."
"Okay. Is Victoria busy?" I asked.
"Well, she's going to go shopping with her friends in an hour. Why?" Kate asked.
"I have a plan; I'm gonna sneak in there and take down that video and website for good. But, boys aren't allowed in the girl's dormitories..."
"Oh, I know! I'll be outside, keeping watch, and when someone tries to come in, I will try and distract them." Kate said.
"Thank you, Kate. Do you know when I get out?"
"The nurse told me four hours when I got here, so... about an hour."
"Good. That's all I needed to hear."
An hour later, after I got out of the nurse's office, I saw Kate outside of the dormitories. "Ready?" Kate asked. I nodded. "Good. I'll text you all the things you need to know."
"Alright." I said. Kate looked in the halls.
"It's empty. Come on, go." Kate urged. I quickly went in. I walked through the empty hall. I felt my phone vibrate. I got out my phone and saw Kate's text.
"Victoria's room number is 221." was what the text said. Okay... there it is. I thought, seeing Room 221. I saw that she left the door open. I couldn't help but facepalm. I slowly opened the door and closed it. I found her computer. Sweet! I opened up the laptop. As I did that, I got another text.
"The website is called 'www. katesvid .com.'" was the text. I typed in 'www. katesvid .com' and pressed enter. I got into the website, and took down the video. Great! Now, I just need to take down the website and we're all set. After a few minutes, I managed to take down the website. Yes! Operation: Take Down The Video and Website complete! I thought as I quickly sneak out Victoria's room. As I did so, I texted, "Took down the video and website." The response was, "THANK YOU SO MUCH! :)" I smiled. I got out of the dormitories and went to the parking lot with Kate.
"You did it, Jace! You did it!" Kate hugged me tightly. "Thank you so much..."
"Hey, it's no problem. I couldn't have done it without you." I smiled.
"No one will harass me about that video ever again. I can't thank you enough." Kate ended the hug. I was so glad to see Kate happy again.
"Jace. Motherfucking. Wolfe."
Of course, the moment didn't last. I turned around and saw Nathan, his face full of relentless rage. "... May I help you?"
"YOU! Because of you, I got expelled! God, what are my parents gonna think? What are they gonna DO!?" Nathan panicked.
"Nathan, calm dow-" Nathan grabbed me by the throat.
"Don't tell me to calm down, you son of a bitch! This is your fault! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Nathan screamed.
"Let him go, Nathan!" Kate yelled, trying to pull Nathan away. Nathan hit her, causing Kate to fall down. Angered, I punched Nathan in the face. Nathan glared and kicked me in the leg, causing me to fall down. "Jace!" Kate yelled. Nathan grabbed me by the shirt.
"You... When I'm done with you, you're gonna regret getting me expelled." Nathan was ready to throw a punch. But a rusty truck hit Nathan, sending him to the ground. "Agh... my fucking hip...!"
I turned and saw that Chloe was driving the truck. "Chloe!"
"Get in here, now!" Chloe yelled. Not wanting to waste a second, I quickly got into the truck.
"Get the fuck out of there right now!" Nathan yelled, kicking the truck. Chloe quickly drove away. "I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!" I saw Kate running to her dorm. At least she was safe.
I sighed in relief. "Holy shit... thanks for saving my ass, Chloe."
"No problem. Thanks for saving me earlier, Jace."
"You're welcome. Man, I'm so happy to see you, Chloe."
"Likewise." Chloe said. "Are... Are you okay? I was worried you wouldn't make it out alive in the bathroom."
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Sure, I got a black eye and I got shot in the shoulder, but my injuries were treated by the school nurse, so I should be fine."
Chloe sighed in relief. "That's good to hear." A small silence filled the truck. "So... I'm guessing Seattle sucked hard?"
"Not really. There were a lot of good people there and there were a lot of cool places to take pictures of. But... it just wasn't for me."
Chloe chuckled. "I see. After five years, you're still Jace Wolfe. So, I'm guessing that freak attacked you because of that bathroom incident?"
"You're correct. The principal caught him with the gun and he got expelled."
"Dude, nice!" Chloe and I high-fived. "You've been here for a month and you're already causing trouble!"
"I thought it would be quiet here. It feels weird being back in Arcadia Bay..."
"And here I thought you would fit in with the hipsters in Seattle."
"Looks who's talking. You would be on the cover of Hipsters . com." I retorted.
"At least you're still a smartass."
"Hey, that's why I'm here." I chuckled.
"Oh please. You came back here for Blackwell Academy." Chloe told me.
"That's not the only reason I came back. The biggest reason I came back here is you. I really missed you."
Chloe got a bit upset. "If you really missed me, then you should have called. Five years later, and not even a fucking text."
"I'm sorry. Things got busy at Seattle. I totally would've contacted you if I wasn't so busy."
"I would forgive you, if not for the fact that you were here for a month and you still didn't call me!" Chloe exclaimed in an upset tone.
"I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to get settled in... I know how hard it must have been for you these past five years." I said.
"How? You weren't even there..." Chloe said. I sighed. I felt like such an asshole. I looked in my bag and took out my camera. It was broken. "Are you shitting me...?"
"What?"
"My camera's broken..." I sighed.
"My step-prick has some tools in his garage."
"I need tiny, specific tools..."
"Don't worry, he has those too. And he actually is a tiny tool." I had to stifle a laugh. Chloe smiled. "It's good to have you back, Jace."
"It's good to be back... and I'm happy that you're here with me." I said as Chloe drove to her home.