I'm sorry for the extremely late update, I've had major writer's block for this story and my other stories. And I may be throwing myself and my friends into this story, but our names will be different of course ;) I was suddenly hit with inspiration and the urge to write. I opened all of my unfinished fanfiction and tried to write in each one. I would hit a wall in the other stories, but I never did for this. So, I just kept writing on this. And look where it is now! XD
And once again, your requests won't do much to convince me to change it. Let me reiterate:
I AM DOING THIS MY OWN WAY.
Rachel winces, feeling a dull stabbing pain in the back of her head. Kory looks at her in concern, but Rachel immediately recovers. But Artemis knows better. "Rach, what's wrong?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing. I'm fine," she nonchalantly deflects the question. "Hey, shouldn't we go to our lockers and get our stuff before the bell rings?"
"I'll go with you," Megan offers. As the duo leaves, Kory and Artemis exchange a worried glance.
"Did you-?"
"Of course. I believe that something has just happened with Richard. Whatever it is, it is not good. Should we go and see what happened?" Before she finishes her question, Artemis is already shaking her head.
"No, we shouldn't. If anything, if Richard pulls a dick move, we'll come for him."
"Still…I have a bad feeling about this year."
"Come on, it's only the first day of school and you're already having bad vibes?"
"I know I am not the only one, Artemis. I have noticed the concerns that you are portraying. Although, I believe your problems are more of the boy-problems…" Kory pauses, bringing her hand to her chin in thought. "And jealousy."
Artemis sits up straight in shock. "Wait, what?"
"I saw how you were glaring at the new student. You are jealous and concerned that she might steal Wally away from you, are you not? Even though you are not together, you are still concerned for him?"
Artemis stammers in an attempt to explain, but stops as Rachel and Megan return. Rachel nervously gazes between her two friends, "Kory…what did you say to her?"
"It's nothing! You don't need to tell Rachel!" Artemis intervenes before Kory can speak up. However, Rachel realizes what the topic was and breaks out into a small, teasing smirk. "Shut up, Rachel!"
"I didn't say anything."
"What? What's going on?" Megan asks, completely lost.
*BRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGGGG*
The quartet immediately stands up, grabbing their belongings as they partner up to head to their classes. Rachel and Artemis head into the 200 building, heading for Artemis's Algebra 2 class with Mr. Gucci first. Rachel heads to Mr. Hamilton's English class after separating with Artemis. Megan takes her time since her 5th period is right next to their lunch spot as Connor returns.
"Hey Connor, where'd you all head off to?" she asks, hesitating when she notices his solemn look. "Connor?"
He is shaken from his thoughts, blinking several times and refocusing on Megan. "Oh, sorry, I was thinking about something."
"About what?"
"Oh, uh, nothing. It's just…wait, do you know what Richard was planning on doing?"
"…No…" she hesitantly replies, a sick feeling beginning to form in her stomach.
"Oh, well, then it's better that you don't know until later."
Her face contorts in horror, assuming the worst. "Wait, Connor, is he…doing drugs?"
"What? No, of course not! It's just…well, he has a plan for that Winter Formal dance." Megan visibly relaxes. "But…I want you to promise me this. When you see him…don't get mad at him."
"Why would I-?"
"Sorry, gotta head to class. It's all the way across campus. We'll talk later." He jogs away, leaving Megan alone in front of her 5th period. Despite his reassurances, Megan still can't help but worry.
Richard scathingly carries Kitten's "stack" of books. He prays and prays that he doesn't encounter anyon- He freezes as his eyes lock with amber eyes as Kitten walks ahead of him. "Hey, Richard! I thought you were gonna walk me in!" she shakes him out of his thoughts.
"O-oh, sorry…" he reluctantly apologizes, following her to her chosen seat.
"You can put the books here, Richie-poo!" Kitten announces loud and proud as Megan walks in, shocked beyond words, her amber eyes wide as saucers and her jaw practically hitting the ground. Kitten tip toes up to give Richard a kiss on his cheek and Megan notices him grimacing. So this isn't because he was seduced by this wannabe succubus or because he got hit on the head and fell in love with her either.
Richard glances at the classroom clock and turns back to Kitten. "Sorry, gotta get to class." He darts out of the room, but not before giving Megan an apologetic glance. He wants to explain the entire situation to her, but he can't, no matter how much it hurts. As he runs as quickly as he can to his class, his thoughts run to another girl. A pale girl with short, violet hair. He heaves a sigh, reaching the hallway to his class. "Man…Kory's gonna kill me when she finds out. And then, Rae…" He runs into his class just as the bell rings, swiftly taking a seat in the back as the teacher glares at him.
As class begins, Richard stares off into space. Even if he manages to survive Kory's wrath, he doubts he'll be able to bear seeing the look on Rachel's face.
Period 6
Girls' Locker Room
Rachel leans against her diminutive P.E. locker, waiting for Artemis to finish changing. Her ears twitch as she hears a shrieking voice by the entrance. "I know! He asked me out earlier at the end of lunch! I guess he fell in love with me at first sight!"
"Wow, Kitten! I can't believe he'd do that. I mean, he's a sophomore, right? And he already fell for you when it's just your first day here?"
"Yup! I've got the looks, after all!" she brags as Rachel rolls her eyes. Her violet eyes trail over to a small cluster of girls, most likely freshmen, panicking over something. One of them clutches her athletics clothes in surprise as she converses with her fellow teammates.
"Wait, but I thought we didn't have a uniform!" she exclaims, panic and worry in her voice.
"Nope, even Frosh needs to establish a uniform," an upperclassman cuts in matter-of-factly.
"But we didn't talk about it!" the freshman replies.
"Dude, it's a mistake just once. Just make sure you have a uniform next time," the freshman's friend, not in the sport, placates.
"But Coach P-!"
"Just hurry up and change, before we're actually late!" a sophomore nearby growls, taking off her shirt to reveal a blue tank top, probably a part of her team uniform, underneath. She swiftly changes into her team skirt and puts on a red hat, her hair tied up in a ponytail and sticking out of the hole at the back. She puts on a pair of sunglasses and grabs her duffel bag. She mutters something under her breath that sounds almost like "Stupid freshman." Rachel smirks at the bluntness of this person.
Feeling someone's gaze on her, she turns towards Rachel and grins. "'Sup, Rae," she greets, receiving a curt nod in return. "So how's your first day? I heard you almost beat the crap outta Vinh."
"Oh, well, he was getting on my nerves," she dismisses it.
"Well, I hate him too so I applaud you for doing that. I'd love to have a go at him with my racquet here. The strings are red for a reason," she hints and Rachel can't help but smile at the confidence of her.
Elizabeth Yuki, a sophomore and born on the same day as Rachel, October 14th. The two of them have known each other since elementary school, but a lack of classes slowly drifted them apart. But Rachel is glad that Elizabeth still doesn't give a damn about rumors. She's the type of girl that marches to the beat of her own drum, and Rachel appreciates it. "So you have a game today?"
"Yup, but it should be fairly easy. It's not like it's our rivals or anything. I bet they only have one really good player. That's how it was last year." Elizabeth is also on the Varsity team and ranked #2, just below the captain.
"Well, I wouldn't want to hold you up, so good luck, Elizabeth."
"Oh come on, I told you to just call me Liz. You know I don't like long names," she pouts. With a wave, she walks out of the locker room, but not before throwing a look of disgust at Kitten. Rachel smirks. Yup, same old Elizabeth.
After school: at the bike racks
"Wonder who that was that Kitten was talking about," Artemis begins, unchaining her bike from the rack as Rachel waits on hers. She leans on her bike, pondering on it.
"I highly doubt it's anyone we know," Rachel shrugs it off.
"But the way she said it makes it sound really suspicious, you know? As if she's trying to tell everyone in the locker room something."
"Like a warning?"
"Yeah…" Artemis trails off, debating on whether or not she should tell Rachel her suspicions.
"Wanna watch that tennis match for a bit?" Rachel interrupts Artemis's thoughts as she looks onto the tennis courts, the JV team of Jump Harbor slowly wrapping up their warm up.
"Sure," she replies, swinging her leg over the bike. The duo readjusts their backpacks, Rachel's books on her basket in front and Artemis's books tied behind her. They bike out of the bike racks, turning left, past the two smelly dumpsters instead of going through the parking lot. Turning right onto the grass, they bike towards the racquetball walls before swerving a bit to the right to the tennis courts. Rachel stops her bike next to the benches, placing her foot down as she watches the players taking quick sips of water.
"CAN I OPEN YOUR CAN OF BALLS!" an enthusiastic freshman exclaims, causing the duo to wince. Rachel turns to Artemis with an apologetic glance for dragging her to watch tennis, a sport that Rachel likes and a sport that Artemis…doesn't like that much.
"Heh, the team looks like they've got a pretty good future," Artemis observes, noticing that some of the JV players are freshmen. They set their bikes next to the vending machine a few feet behind them, hoping no one would steal it when they aren't looking.
Rachel recalls Elizabeth's thoughts and concerns for the future generation at the school. Rachel accidentally makes eye contact with another player, with the name of Helen Gonzalez, a freshman. According to Elizabeth, she likes to tote herself around the courts as though she's the best player. "What are you doing here?" she asks sneeringly. Rachel frowns, annoyed by the fact that a girl like this could possibly be the future of the team.
"We're here to support you guys, because I know you all need the support."
"Oh really? Are you sure you're not just spying for your dad once he's out of jail?" she jabs. Rachel forces herself to keep her poker face to prevent Helen from realizing that her comment impacted her this badly. She feels a hand on her shoulder and she turns around, seeing Artemis glaring daggers at Helen.
"Look, we're here to support your team. Shouldn't you be happy about it? I always see you promoting your team and requesting us to come out and support you!" Artemis retorts.
"That's not me! It's only that stupid Varsity gir-"
"Helen." Rachel can't help but freeze up in fear just from that one word. The menace, the threat of murder dripping from that one word also frightens Helen. She turns around nervously, coming face to face with a sophomore, Celeste Yamazaki, also a close friend of Elizabeth.
"Uh…h-hey…C-Cel-"
Her "greeting" is interrupted as Celeste closes the distance swiftly and grabs Helen by her shirt. Celeste, 5'11", towers over the majority of the team so she almost lifts Helen off of the ground as she brings the freshman up to eye level. "Try to mention Elizabeth like that again. You might be playing tennis with only one hand and a leg," she threatens. She releases Helen, turning away to head to her court for the match.
Helen looks around, seeing only cruel glances that simply said "You brought this upon yourself. You're on your own." She slowly shrinks away from the spotlight as everyone disperses for their matches. Rachel and Artemis tentatively step onto the courts, the one in front of them used for viewing. Most of the players from both the boys' and girls' tennis team focus solely on the match, ignoring Artemis and Rachel. Rachel glances over to Artemis, noticing how tense she is.
She pats Artemis on the shoulder. "Don't worry. We're here to support our school. They can't say anything to us," Rachel comforts, a small smile playing on her lips. She feels Artemis's shoulder relax as the duo walks forward, standing behind the players.
"That girl's backhand looks really weak…" a JV alternate mutters to her doubles partner.
"Yeah, we should keep an eye on that in case we face them."
Rachel observes the players warming up, confused. An opponent seems to be struggling to hit her backhand, but her partner is covering for her whenever the ball would come towards the middle. "You look really intense, Rae," Artemis speaks up, noticing how deep in thought Rachel was.
"You know how I am. I'm always observing opponents to figure out possible strategies."
Artemis lightly punches Rachel on the shoulder. "Smarty-pants."
Rachel huffs. "If I was smart, I'd be in Pre-Calculus and English Honors this year," she retorts.
"Hey, your classes don't define you," Artemis admonishes her, shaking her finger at Rachel as though she's her mother.
"Hmph, then wouldn't that also apply to how our fathers' actions don't affect us?" Artemis has no answer for that. She shrugs.
"Well…the two of us know that they shouldn't mean anything to us. But the only problem is…"
"Yeah…all the gossipers at this school," Rachel agrees. The two share a sullen silence for a moment as the players finish warming up. The doubles players in front of her walk towards the net, asking "Up" or "Down" to determine sides and who would serve first. Rachel recognizes one of the players as Toni Monetti, her punk-rock hairstyle easily noticeable. Her doubles partner, however, is someone Rachel doesn't know.
"Go, Toni! Whoo!" a boy exclaims as Toni takes her position up at the net. She and her partner had won the racquet spin and called for serving first. Their opponents chose to stay on the same sides. Toni, blushing, turns towards the boy. The boy has shaggy, blond hair that parts in the middle. He doesn't seem to be a tennis player as he is wearing a Letterman jacket over his black t-shirt with a pair of jeans on. Rachel rolls her eyes. Must be a typical football player.
"Be quiet, Cody," she tells him briskly. Rachel can sense the animosity dancing around the air. One wrong step, and Cody could end up in a ditch.
"Did something happen between them?"
"Beats me," Artemis shrugs it off. She'd rather not get involved with other dramas. She's dealt with enough already.
The duo separates from the main audience, situating themselves in the corner of the viewing court. Rachel watches Toni toss the ball up and serve. Rachel checks the time: 3:20.
She looks up in time to see Toni ace her opponent. As she and Artemis clap for Toni, Rachel thinks to herself, I can probably kill some time here. I don't think Richard or the others would be mad at us.
At Victor's house…
Victor sighs as he pushes the door in. His muscles scream at him to let them rest, but he ignores it, walking to the kitchen. His coach had made them all lift heavier weights and run longer as punishment for the little debacle they had had in the morning. Vinh, of course, suffered the most of it, lifting the heaviest weights and running the most.
Victor drops his duffel bag down onto the dining table as he pulls out a frying pan from the cabinet above the stove. He pulls out 4 eggs from the fridge and proceeds to make his eggs.
He flips the eggs onto a plate and pulls a can of soda out of the fridge, opening it and taking a quick sip of it. He collapses down onto the chair, resting for a moment before digging in.
He finishes within 5 minutes and swiftly washes the plates as well. He grabs his duffel and soda and agonizingly walks up the stairs. He opens his laptop up, powering the laptop on as he grabs clothes to shower. His phone rings, catching his attention. He opens up the screen, noticing a text from Connor.
Meg saw Richard with the stupid chick. She's asking me about it. I deflected it, but she's bound to tell Rachel later on Skype.
A feeling of dread crawls into Victor's stomach as he sits down onto his bed. If Rachel finds out…He shakes his head, responding with a text of his own.
Does he have a game plan?
The response is immediate. None that I know of.
Just keep dodging Meg's questions for now. We shouldn't do anything that could ruin his plan. Victor hesitates sending the message, knowing how stubborn Megan can be.
We might have to do something though! His plan might go into the garbage if Rachel does something rash! Victor frowns, sensing the agitation from Connor.
Stay calm, Connor. This is Richard's plan and we all agreed to go with it. If something goes wrong, we'll be able to back him up. Victor doesn't want anything to go wrong, but he has to trust Richard and his plans. After all, everything normally goes according to plan…normally.
Victor leans against the wall, waiting for a reply.
Fine. Victor palms his face, betting that Connor hated conceding defeat. Deciding that arguing about it would be pointless, he places his phone back onto his bedside table as he grabs his clothes, heading to the bathroom. He can only hope Connor doesn't do something rash or stupid.
With Connor and Megan…
"Come on, Connor. What's going on with Richard?" Megan pursues again. Connor frowns as he places his phone back into his pocket; she can be so stubborn sometimes. The couple is walking in Megan's neighborhood, Connor walking her home.
"I told you, it's nothing important. Look, don't worry about it. Richard knows what he's doing." He mutters "I hope" under his breath, but Megan picks it up.
"Are you saying that he doesn't?"
"What?"
"You seem really doubtful about something, Connor. Why can't you tell me? Please…just tell me," she begs. Connor hesitates, not knowing what to say. "You don't trust me?"
Connor's eyes widen in shock. "What? No! Of course I trust yo-"
"Then why won't you tell me? What's so wrong about telling me? Why do all of you have to keep us in the dark? What's your goal in all of this?" She stomps her foot, looking up at her boyfriend. Agitation can be seen dancing around in her eyes as Connor hesitates.
Connor sighs. "I'm really sorry, Meg. I trust you. I really do, but…Richard told us all to keep quiet. I'm being honest. I really do wanna tell you, but not yet."
"Then when? When will you tell me?" Megan pushes him. "What is wrong about you telling me what's wrong with Richard? I mean, I know he doesn't really love that girl, so what's his goal? I care about Rachel! She's my friend, Connor! It's only right for me to want to protect her!"
Connor only stares at her, hesitant about what to say. "Meg…"
Megan closes her eyes, taking a shaky breath. Connor feels his stomach tighten. This can't be good. "If you don't trust me enough to tell me the truth about this, then maybe we shouldn't be together anymore," she states, her voice devoid of any emotion. She turns away, walking across the street as Connor stands there in stunned silence. His eyes suddenly shift to the left, hearing a car's engine in the distance. A horrible sense of foreboding envelops him.
"Wait! Meg!" he calls her. He instantly regrets it as she stops in the middle of the street.
"What, Connor? If you're not gonna tell me what's going on, I don't want to talk to you!" The roaring engines come closer and Megan freezes up, realizing why Connor had called her. The driver is speeding towards her, apparently not realizing she's there.
"MEG!" Connor yells, jumping towards her. Megan feels his arms wrapping her in a bear hug, as they fall to the side as the car rushes towards them. She hears the car's tires screeching against the ground as it nears them.
After that, she hears and feels nothing.
-cue dramatic music- Tbh, I can see Megan's actions a little rash, but think about it. Would you trust your bf if he won't tell you something that concerns your best friend?
Anyways, once again, I have no promises of when will be the next time I will update this. But hopefully, it won't take me almost a year to update it ^^;
Welp, please review! :D
