A/N
Okay, so this chapter is either going to be:
A: The most interesting chapter
B: The most boring chapter
Why?
Because it has a pretty big info dump, which I tried to make a bit lighter so it was easier to read, but if you can't, that's fine.
But interesting, because the shit finally hits the fan. I've already told you that I'm not so great on the emotional scenes, so don't hate if Ella's too unemotional, okay?
And now, without further ado...
Chapter 13!
The day of the dance. It had half the girls swooning pathetically. I snort whenever I see one. So far, I'm still going it alone. Oh well, I can just go with Adam if no one asks me. He doesn't have a date either-
"Hey, Ella! Guess who's got a date for the dance?" Adam yells down the hall. I gape.
"For real? Who?"
"Naomi Waters. Met her in detention," he grins.
"Ooh, another one?" I grin back.
"Yep. Anyway, she seemed cool, so I asked her, and BAM! I'm not dateless!" Well, this kinda means I have to find someone.
"Thanks, Adam, now I have to find someone to go with," I say, mock angry.
"Meh. Someone'll ask you. You're pretty popular, you know," he says, shrugging.
"I don't just wanna go with some random pervert, you know. I have standards," I tell him.
"Whatever. Ask one of your boyfriends, if they don't have dates already," he calls over his shoulder.
"Boyfriends?" I ask, confused. Nolan rolls up beside me.
"Boyfriends, eh? Who're the lucky guys you're cheating on?" he asks. I scowl.
"No one. And shouldn't someone be wheeling you around?" I ask sceptically. He grins.
"Well, technically, yes, but realistically, no," he offers. I just shake my head.
"So, no date?" I shake my head again.
"You could go with me. But the actual dancing part would kinda be a drag," he says. I snort.
"Oh yes, pushing a wheelchair is just the grand entrance I pictured," I reply.
"Hey, I bet I'm the only one who's asked you. So, why not? You can dance with other guys there," he says.
"You bet you're the only one who's asked me? What the hell?"
"Uh, that didn't come out right. But uh, do you want to?" he tries again.
"Oh, what the heck. Sure. Tell all your buddies so they can tease me mercilessly."
"Cool. I'll pick you up-"
"You're on a bloody wheelchair, are currently living in a hospital, and cant drive. How about I pick you up at seven?" I ask.
"Well, okay. I don't really want Nurse O'Connell to chaperone, anyway. Gahh," he shudders.
"Well, see you then."
I push the wheelchair out the door. "See you at eleven!" I call over my shoulder to Nurse O'Connell.
"Take all the time you need!" she calls back.
"Oh, I'm allowing extra time for this guy," I jerk my thumb at Nolan. "I'm betting he'll want to stick around. Plus, I'm the clean up committee for tonight," I reply. I shove the wheelchair in the boot, and Nolan gets into the car. I accelerate, and head towards the school.
"So, you looking forward to this?" I ask.
"Yeah. Sure. Sitting on a chair while everybody else does weird, most likely inappropriate dancing. Sounds great," he replies, flashing a thumbs up.
"Yes, very. And you can help with the clean up. You can hold the bag," I offer.
"How kind of you." I pull into the parking lot, and open the door for Nolan, getting his wheelchair out of the boot too.
"Such a gentleman," he deadpans.
"Such a lady," I retort. He makes a face as I push him toward the entrance.
"Wait up!" I hear a shout. I spin and see Myra dragging a tanned guy with shoulder-length brown hair behind her.
"Hey, guys. This is Wade," she says. He offers his hand, and I shake it.
"Ella. You probably know Nolan," I say. He nods.
"We've met," Nolan says briefly, his eyes never leaving Wade. Myra seems to notice this too, and quickly ushers us inside.
"Look its Nolan! And...Ella?" Oh crap. Then it dawns on me.
"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" I hiss at Nolan. He looks up at me innocently.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he smiles sweetly. Sweetly? Nope.
"Hey, uh, there's a ramp!" Nolan tries to stop me.
"What?" then he starts rolling down it. I start cracking up. This is too funny. Then I realize that the food and drink table is at the end of his course.
"Crap!" I sprint down the slope after him, determined to stop him from possibly getting struck in the head with glass from the punch bowl. My outstretched hands finally latch onto the bar. I skid to a halt, and pull with all my might. The wheelchair stops less than a metre from the table. I sigh in relief.
"That the grand entrance you were looking for?" Nolan says in disbelief.
"Yeah. Totally," I reply. I see Myra leaning on Wade, laughing hysterically. They head over to us.
"Good one, El. Really," she grins. Behind them, the door opens again, and Adam, Drake, Daniela, and I'm guessing Naomi walk in. I hear a few surprised whispers, "Doesn't she hate him? Why is she here with him?" being the top contender. Daniela is scowling, typical.
"Now look what you did," she grumbles.
"What Sarah did, really, since she dared yo-"
"Yeah, yeah. Where is she, anyway? I don't see her," she interrupts Drake. He shrugs.
"How should I know? Hey, why is everyone staring at us?" he asks, confused. And he seems genuinely unsure. God help us. Daniela rolls her eyes.
"Because I'm here with you, idiot. People are nosy these days," she replies.
"Ooh, food!" Drake rushes over to the table, running right past me. I raise an eyebrow. Adam and Naomi come toward us.
"Hey, El. This is Naomi," he gestures to her awkwardly.
"Hey. I'm pretty sure you already know who this is, so I'll just stand here while you talk," she offers, grinning.
"I wanna know who Marina's date is," I tell him.
"Yeah, she sounded pretty excited," he replies. I hear a familiar voice. My head turns.
"Woah," Adam mutters. Marina's hair is in a waterfall braid, and she has minimal makeup on. Next to her is Joseph. So that's her date. I swear the whole hall is staring at them as they walk down the ramp. Eventually, everyone goes back to their dancing and whatever. Our group crowds in the corner.
"So, Daniela, have you danced with anyone yet?" Sarah asks casually. "Since the dare did involve-"
"Yeah. One full song, I got it. You don't have to keep reminding me," Daniela grumbles. I glance at Drake. Our plan is to have him dance with Avril to get Daniela jealous. We have no idea if it'll work or not, but its better than Drake's original do nothing plan. I spot her in the crowd, and wave her over.
"Hey, Ella!" she says.
"Hey," I smile. She smiles back and winks.
"Ooh, a slow song! John, come on!" Sarah grabs John's and leads him on the dance floor. He widens his eyes at us, like, help me! We laugh.
"Well? Don't think you're getting out of this!" Myra heads out with Wade.
"Well, since everyone's going, uh, you wanna dance?" Adam asks Naomi awkwardly. She smirks.
"You're real bad at this, you know?" she pulls him out. So.
"Uh, malady?" Joseph holds out his arm. Marina takes it. Which leaves Drake, Daniela, Avril, Nolan and I.
"Well," Avril begins. "What happens now?" Drake looks at Daniela.
"Wanna get that dance outta the way?" she just stares at him.
"I'll, uh, take that as a no," he says, scratching his neck. He turns his stare to Avril. "You?" She shrugs.
"Eh, what the heck. Sure." I hold in laughter as Avril tries to show Drake how to slow dance. Nolan breaks the silence.
"You wanna try dance?" he asks. I scoff. Daniela excuses herself and heads off to another group by the food table.
"Whatever. Here, let me push you," I roll his wheelchair to the dance floor. He looks at me expectantly.
"What, you want me to kneel?" I ask snidely. He looks thoughtful.
"Get the crutch from the back of my wheelchair," he orders. I comply and hand it to him. He uses it in his un-deformed-bone-hand and puts the deformed-bone-hand on my waist, and uses the crutch to stand.
"There we go," he says.
"Won't Nurse O'Connell kill you?" I ask.
"Well, Nurse O'Connell doesn't know, and besides, she took an oath not to hurt her patients, so I think I'm good." I put my arms on his shoulders, since that's what everyone else is doing.
"How the heck do you slow dance?" I hiss quietly.
"Uh, you do what we're doing and sway?" he guesses.
"Haven't you done this before?!" I exclaim.
"Yeah, but I never actually paid attention...plus, my memories did get wiped. And I haven't tried it while on crutches..." Oh, my God. The freaking playboy cant dance. Are you kidding me?
"Have you remembered anything else?" he asks.
"Uh, everything except after you said the thing about the PS3," I say.
"I'm still at zero from that day. Apart from the meatloaf."
"Good luck with that," I say. He shrugs.
"I'll remember. I feel like it was important on the fall. Something important happened, I mean."
"I know what you mean. I feel it too, but...I dunno. I'll figure it out." The song ends, and changes to a faster one.
"Well, I'm out. Go check out the food table, or something."
"Alright. I'll go...I dunno," I reply. I want to talk to Stanley, and see what yesterday was about, so I search for him in the crowd. David walks past me. I snag his elbow.
"Hey, have you seen Stanley?" I ask him. He hesitates, before pointing toward the corridor by the toilets.
"Sorry, Ella," he says, and walks away. I stare after him, confused, then head toward the corridor. I almost wish I hadn't.
"Hi," I say loudly, and Stanley and Maren spring apart. Stanley swears under his breath. Maren just looks confused.
"So. I just came to ask about yesterday," I begin casually. "Care to explain?"
"Um. Well, uh..." Maren turns on him.
"Stanley, did you...did you really do it again?" she demands.
"No! I mean, yes. I did. But...Ella, go talk to Damien. He'll tell you," Stanley says miserably. I don't respond, and turn on my heel, striding in the other direction. I hear Maren chewing him out behind me. Marina comes up to me.
"Ella, are you okay?" Marina asks. I realize that, as dumb as it sounds, I have a tear running down my face. I wipe at it, and nod. I should have seen it coming.
"Fine. Hey, where's Damien?" I ask. She looks confused. "Um, in the corner, I think. Why?"
"Tell you later. Thanks!" I stride over to him.
"What was going on with you and Matt, and does it have anything to do with Stanley?" I glare. He seems taken aback.
"Nothing, it-"
"Bullshit. What happened?" He looks almost...scared. Damn right he should be.
"We had a disagreement over...you."
"Me? Why?"
"There was a...bet. On your first day, we said Stanley couldn't make you like him. So, when we got to know you, Matt wanted to call off the bet. The rest of us said we should follow it through, though..." he trails off. I gape.
"So none of you were really my friends?"
"No, we were, are-"
"What about Nolan? Does he actually remember nothing or was it a lie?"
"He doesn't remember the bet. He's changed since the accident, more...I don't know, player-ish? But he doesn't remember, Ella."
"I don't believe you, you jerk!" I say, slap him, then run outside. I cant believe it. One thing struck me, though. If I wasn't truly his friend, then why did he jump off a building to save me? Nowadays he seems snarkier, I agree with Damien on that. Should I still like Matt? I mean, he did want to discontinue it...no. I'll think about this later. I hear footsteps.
"Hey, Ella," Drake and Adam sit next to me.
"You aren't going to ditch me too, are you?" I sniff.
"Nah, we're the real deal. That's the popular crowd for you, always messin' with ya," Drake says.
"News travels that fast?" I ask in disbelief.
"Oh, no, Adam threatened to beat him up if he didn't tell us what he told you. He was pretty scary," Drake supplies. I smile.
"I'm supposed to be cleaning up. And taking Nolan back to the hospital," I groan.
"I'll do it. I can see if the bastard remembers anything," Adam volunteers.
"Thanks Adam. You too, Drake. You guys are the best." I hug them. I have one question, though.
"Hey, guys? Why did the nine really split up? I think I'm involved enough to know." They shift awkwardly.
"Well, the first thing you've gotta understand is there was a bit of confusion in the romance department, and I mean, that just doubled what happened and made it blow up," Adam starts.
"Yeah. There were all these weird love triangles, and Adam was in one-" Adam interrupts Drake.
"Yeah, yeah. The major one was Maren, Stanley and John. Dang, that one was intense. John and Stanley were either real good mates, or they wanted to kill each other all the time. Then someone, dunno who, dared Stanley that he couldn't get Maren, and all this crap between John and Stanley happened."
"Then, eventually, Maren actually started liking him, I think. Pretty much all the boys were in on it, except John, obviously, and I think Cody was a bit on the side. Well, he doesn't really take sides, so I don't really know about him, but-"
"She doesn't care about if Cody picks sides or not," Adam says. Drake looks peeved.
"Stop interrupting me! Fine. So, then Myra and Adam were sorta a thing, but she chose Wade because she didn't want a serious relationship, and she didn't want to hurt Adam or whatever, so John started hating HER-"
"How did the others fit into it, again?" Adam asks pointedly.
"Patience, young cricket," Drake says.
"It's actually supposed to be grasshopper," Adam replies. I grin.
"Maggie, Hannu, Cody, Marina and Joseph's side of the story, please?" I ask pointedly.
"Right," Adam says, and coughs a little. "So, Marina and Joseph. They liked each other-"
"It was really obvious," Drake puts in. Adam glares at him.
"What were you saying about interrupting?"
"Oh. Um, sorry."
"And everyone was pressuring them into getting together, and Joseph couldn't handle the stress, so he lied and told Marina he hated her, so everyone would stop it. Marina obviously got really upset, and that was the end of that. Then Cody, well, he'd spread these rumors, and Marina blamed him for the thing with Joseph, and if Marina didn't like someone, well..."
"You've talked for ages. She's probably getting bored," Drake complains.
"No, it's interesting. Besides, I did ask. Keep going," I say.
"Okay, then-"
"No, it's my turn!" Drake whines. Adam rolls his eyes.
"Okay, go on, then."
"Right! Well, Hannu was originally on Stanley's side with the whole Maren thing, but he was actually nice, so he realized it was wrong and tried to swap sides. Stanley shunned him, and John said that the damage was already done, and he got mad. Then with Maggie...um, I don't actually know. Adam?"
"You want me to talk for the complicated bit. How nice of you. Basically, she started hating Stanley and the ones who were originally on his side because what they were doing was wrong. But then, and we don't really know what happened, but her and Maren fell out for some reason, and then...yeah. Everyone else just drifted apart," Adam finishes, taking a breath. I sit in silence for a while.
"Wow. I thought it was, like..."
"Oh, don't worry, there was other stuff mixed in there, too. We just didn't want to keep you here for another hour," Drake assures me.
"Right. Well..." Something occurs to me. I grin.
"Hey, don't you still have a dance with Daniela left?" I smirk.
"Uh, well, while you were, uh, talking with Stanley, I danced with Avril, then Daniela came over and said that she wanted to get the dance over with," Drake informs me, seemingly pleased.
"Ooh, someone sounds jealous," I grin.
"It looked pretty violent, too," Adam put in.
"Aw, stop it. You're making me blush," Drake grins. We sit in silence for a while.
"You know, this reminds me of that party we threw," I muse.
"Yeah. Remember when Drake thought Stanley was Maren?" Adam says. I laugh.
"And you slapped him, too. Bastard deserved it," I agree.
"Well, what about when he threw you in the water, and us three tackled him?"
"That was awesome. The other three got Nolan," I say, a faint smile on my face.
"And Drake put up the table wrong-"
"I did not! I told you, it was a sand-hopper!" We spend the rest of the night laughing together. Too bad it was such a washout.
Okay, so another question. Do an epilogue, so it would only have about three more chapters, or continue the story?
Remember, your vote counts! Jeez, I sound like an X Factor host. Anyway, yeah. Hope you enjoyed.
-HV
