Hi!
This is a record. I haven't written a chapter this fast in ages. It's great!
readersally: Glad you liked it! Yeah, that boy is horrible. But don't worry – he's been taken care of…
Thank you all for your reviews. They make me want to write! Anyway….
Disclaimer: I don't own Power of Five. I've been trying for a year, but AH won't give in. Ugh.
Scarlett slowly started to gain consciousness. A few fragments of memory came back to her – the white school jersey, red hall walls, black hair. Strange pieces of information that made no sense to her. She curled her fingers a little, feeling a sheet in her palm. She was lying down on a sort of bed. She felt a light blanket draped over her. Then the pain hit her, like a wave. A soft moan of discomfort escaped her.
'Hey,' a voice murmured quietly. It was the voice from before. She opened her eyes and met a pair of blue ones.
'Matt?' she asked hoarsely.
'Yeah, it's me,' Matt came closer, crouching by the bed. Scarlett noticed that his lip was cut and his face bruised. Her eyes widened.
'I'm alright,' Matt whispered. He brushed some hair out of her face. 'It's you I'm worried about.'
Scarlett nodded slightly and winced.
'Your head?' Matt asked. Scarlett nodded again, stupidly.
Matt helped her sit up and tried to make her comfortable. He went to get some painkillers. Scarlett glanced around. They were in the matron's office, as far as she could tell. Matt had his back to her, standing in front of the counter. A row of cupboards were set above the counter, and he was rooting in them. He pulled out a box of aspirin.
'Pedro's on his way,' Matt said, looking for a glass. 'He had to stay for extra English lessons.'
'Okay,' Scarlett whispered. Her mouth felt like sandpaper. She lay back more on the pillows, eyes closed. It hurt to breathe.
Matt came over, a glass of water in one hand and an aspirin in the other. Scarlett took the aspirin with some of the water. Matt had to hold the glass because her hands were shaking. When she drank the water, Matt put the glass in the sink and Scarlett lay back again, taking small breaths so it wouldn't hurt as much. Matt sat on the edge of the bed, eyes worried.
'The boy…' Scarlett began softly.
'I took care of him,' Matt said firmly.
'Took care of him?'
'Let's just say he'll be out of school for a long time.'
'Good,' Scarlett said, a hint of venom in her voice. She was angry that they had hurt her. She was angry that she hadn't been able to protect herself.
She met Matt's eyes. He gave her a sad smile. Scarlett blinked a few times. Without thinking, she hugged him, needing comfort. Tears escaped her eyes.
'Hey,' Matt whispered, slightly surprised. 'It's okay.' He wrapped his arms around her and stroked her hair.
'I'm weak, Matt.' She said, her voice wobbling. 'I can't protect myself. What if they try again? I don't want anything to happen…'
'I won't let that happen,' Matt said. 'And you're not weak. Don't think like that.'
Scarlett nodded slightly, burying her face in his shoulder. 'Thank you. For everything.'
Matt looked down at her. 'You're welcome.' He smiled. 'I'd do anything for you,' he added softly. He didn't realise that Scarlett had heard him. She lifted her head, smiling and kissed his cheek. Then she rested her head on his shoulder again.
Despite everything, Matt had a large grin on his face for the rest of the afternoon.
'What? What do you mean she got attacked? Your school is supposed to be safe! Why do you have people like him in there?'
They could all hear Richard on the phone upstairs. He had been ranting angrily to the headmistress for the past half hour. Richard had become very protective of all of the Five, but Matt and Scarlett especially. And the fact that Scarlett had been targeted by a fellow pupil? He had lost the head.
'Now I'm beginning to wonder if you all should've been home-schooled.' Nathalie tutted. She had decided to stay a few days, seeing as she had taken a break from her job. She was looking in an old manual to figure out how to fix the still broken washing machine. The amount of complaints she had heard about it had driven her mad. She had decided to try and fix it.
'The matron was on break? So who helped her?' Richard's voice echoed into the kitchen. 'Matt? What do you mean Matt helped her? Where were the teachers? What kind of messed-up system did you put in that school?' There was a long pause. 'Yes, I'll gladly pick up all three of them. And I'll seriously reconsider sending them back.' He then walked in, a look of anger on his face.
'What happened?' Nathalie asked worriedly. 'Is Scarlett alright?'
'She got beaten up by some kid while heading to the girls' changing room.' Richard said, shoving his phone back in his pocket. 'None of the teachers helped. Matt saved her, and then Pedro is taking care of her now. I'm going to get them.' And without another word, he grabbed his keys and headed out, slamming the door. Five minutes later, the car drove off.
Scott looked at Jamie. 'Looks like trouble found us.'
Jamie sighed and nodded. 'Great.'
Holly leaned on her hand, elbow on the table. 'Actually, I think this was planned for a while.'
The twins glanced at her in surprise. 'What do you mean?' Jamie asked.
'Pedro told me that this guy had been talking to him on his first day, and he had tried to show him around the school. Pedro reckoned there was something off about him and he said no. The guy got angry, but then Scarlett came.'
'Hurricane Scarlett,' the twins said in unison. They laughed. Scarlett had earned that nickname ages ago. She had lost her temper completely. No one had been saved from her anger.
Holly smiled a little, then became serious again. 'Yeah. Apparently he said that he'd come back for her or something. Now he has.'
'I hope she's not hurt too badly,' Scott said. He was quite fond of Scarlett. She was a good friend.
'Pedro will heal her,' Jamie said. 'She'll be fine.'
Holly sighed. 'I hope so.'
'Are you sure -'
'Matt, I'm fine,' Scarlett said impatiently. She slid from the bed and stood up. 'I can walk.'
'But - '
'Matt. Please.' She looked at him. She was touched that he was so worried, but it was starting to get on her nerves.
Matt sighed. 'Okay. Sorry.' He walked beside her, keeping an eye on her all the same.
Pedro was talking to Richard, explaining what had happened in as much detail as he could. Matt noticed that Richard's ears were red – a tell-tale sign that he was angry. Matt had noticed that while they had stayed in the Shambles.
Richard turned to look at them. 'Scarlett. Are you okay?'
Scarlett smiled a little. 'Yeah, I'm fine.' She wasn't really, but she didn't want anyone to worry. She hadn't let Pedro heal her fully either – she didn't want to be a bother, and the healing would tire him.
'I came as quickly as I could,' Richard said.
'You didn't take advantage of the non-existent speed limit, did you?' Matt asked. Richard made a face at him and Matt laughed.
'I'm picking up some food on the way home,' Richard smiled. 'Pizza sound good?'
The three teens grinned and nodded. Pedro immediately got into the car, but Richard noticed that Matt waited until Scarlett was safely in. He had even had an arm around her waist, supporting her. Richard smiled to himself.
He climbed into the car and drove off.
Done!
Oh, I have news. Since the 10th of this month, I've been on FanFiction for a year, and this story will be a year old on the 22th of this month. I can't believe how fast time has gone! I'm so grateful to everyone who has supported me here, people who have reviewed, followed and favourited my work. Thank you all so so much.
I'm planning to write more stuff in the next few days, so until then, I'll see ya!
CG xxx