Sorry I've been away. Worst writer's block ever! Anyway, here is the newest chapter :-)
For the next few days, Marley sat in her room. Alone. She had skived from school for the rest of the entire week to recover, and truly, she didn't know where to go from here. The majority of her time sulking was accompanied by her watching Jacob Ben Israel's video of the whole fiasco over and over. Watching how desperately she moved, how cautiously he acted. She wondered what was happening at school. Did people gossip about her? Were people interested in what other secrets she may have been hiding from them? She was glad that her skiving was shielding her from the endless teasing she was sure to have, but this did not shield her from all teasing; unkind Facebook messages (and the like) were strewn across her notifications constantly.
It was funny, she thought, that things could capsize and change so easily. One gut feeling that led her to his Nationals championship in LA to watch him perform had then led to her asking Blaine where he was after the competition, which led to the event that had been broadcasted all over the school. Her thought process during these events? Non-existent - just a series of impractical gut feelings that had her flying into the very depths of her fears.
The door to her bedroom opened, echoing a creak through the dense air. It was her mother. "Sweetie, can I come in?" To this, Marley waved her hand tiredly as if to say 'sure, I don't care.' Marley's mother sat cautiously on the brunette's bed, next to her daughter. The woman sighed before beginning to speak. "Honey, you have to go back..."
"No." Marley replied in an instant. "I don't have to."
"Yes, you do." Marley's mother put her foot down. "Come on, Mar. This is your school life we're talking about. This is just high school drama! It'll blow over. In fact, people have probably already forgotten about it-"
"Oh, Mom, I know they haven't forgotten about it." Marley sighed. There was a silence before the girl continued. "I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I mean, people were bound to find out sometime - I was just in denial, I guess. I didn't really take time to think about what it would be like if people really did find out." Marley sniffed. "I guess I was too naïve to think people would never stand up to me."
One of the days Marley was off, her mother, much to the girl's surprise, wanted to know what was wrong. Marley caved at the unusual gesture and seized the opportunity, telling her mother each and every detail about what was going on: about the guys before Ryder, about the plot, about the Halloween party, about everything. Her mother, at first sad and shocked, soon softened and comforted her daughter, telling her she could take as much time as she needed to "recover". The mother was just surprised that Marley was opening up and not being her usual snarky, sarcastic, moody self. She was letting someone else in, and her mother was taking that as a compliment. But there were boundaries, and she, Judy Rose, had to inform her daughter of these boundaries.
"I'll tell you what, sweetheart." Judy Rose began after Marley's words. "You are going to go back to school on Monday and you are going to march back in there and be your mischievous, sly little self," Marley giggled at that, "and no one will be able to mess with you. If people push you around and tease you, you're going to teach them that you can bite back. Because, honey, I did not raise a wimp. Do you understand?" Judy stated in mock-strictness.
Marley giggled. "Yes, Mother. I promise I'll try." The brunette realised another issue, "but what about Ryder?"
"Well... I guess you'll have to ignore him for now. If anyone saw you two, even just looking at each other, you'd be the victim of teasing again."
"Okay..." Marley sighed. She just wanted to talk to him about all of this, but she knew that her reputation was worth much more.
One step, two step. Breathe in, breathe out. Marley tried to remain calm as she approached McKinley High once again. Flattening her Cheerios skirt for the umpteenth time, she opened the door to the building as he felt her heart beating faster and faster, pounding through her chest, fear rushing through her veins. One step, two step. Breathing in and breathing out again.
She plastered a smirk on her face as her steps turned into struts. Her high ponytail swung slightly as she clutched her books in her arms over her chest. She looked around her at the gasping students, now whispering and gossiping about her arrival as she moved swiftly past them. She halted at her locker and carefully turned her combination, attempting to block out the murmurs behind her. Retrieving her books, she shut it again and spun around, casting her eyes specifically to a group of freshman who were whispering and looking at her. She cleared her throat loudly, pausing their chat, before straightening her back and walking off.
A few hours later, Marley was again walking around the school through the whispers and stares, when she spotted Bree and Kitty walking up to her. She grinned. "Hey, you guys! How are you both?" Marley began in her typical tone, but she was soon interrupted.
"Oh, cut the crap, Marley Rose. We're not here to make peace and talk to you. Coach Sylvester wants to speak to you in her office. Now." Kitty retorted bitterly before walking away with Bree. The brunette sighed before making her way over to her coach's office.
"Ah, Miss Rose. You've returned from the dead, I see." Sue greeted the girl sarcastically before motioning her to sit.
"It's great to be back, Coach." The girl lied through her teeth. "I'm sorry about missing out on practices-"
"Yes, about that..." Coach Sue towered over the brunette as she cut the girl's welcome off. "Our Nationals championship is next week and you're the head cheerleader. Why is it that you haven't been turning up, now that we need you the most? Too self-centred? Maybe you have your head stuck in the clouds?"
"Oh, Coach Sylvester, you don't understand-"
"I think I understand perfectly, thank you very much." Sue interrupted the girl again. Then, lowering her mouth down to Marley's ear, she muttered intimidatingly: "You're a coward."
"No, Coach, I promise I'm not! I'm a Cheerio! I'm a team player!" Marley pleaded, finally realising what trouble she had gotten herself into.
"Oh, what a load of crap! You're just lazy. You're naïve. You're stuck up." Coach Sue yelled. "Marley, you have done so well up until now, but these acts of stubbornness have gone too far."
"But, Coach-"
"Forget it, Marley. You're off the Cheerios. Bree will take your place as head cheerleader. You are to return your uniform tomorrow morning, understand?" Sue informed the girl in a no-nonsense attitude.
Marley hung her head in shame. "Yes, Coach."
"Good. Now get the hell out of my office."
Walking out of the office as she was told, Marley felt utterly defeated. It was now that she realised: she truly had nothing left. No friends, no lovers, no reputation, no uniform. Nothing. She looked at the floor with tears in her eyes - so much for what her mother had said. She looked up to the staring students, gossiping and smirking at her. The tables had turned, and she was the lamb among the hungry wolves; the fresh meat.
She looked then to find Bree, smirking - Bree knew about how Marley had been cut from the Cheerios and was grinning mischievously now that she was the head cheerleader. Marley turned her head as she dragged her feet past the girl, but the girl herself took this opportunity to speak up among the silent corridor.
"Don't get tears on your uniform! You have to return it in tomorrow, along with any dignity you once had!"
A chorus of laughter erupted once Bree had called Marley out, and this angered the brunette more than ever.
"What did you just say?" Marley grumbled as she looked Bree right in the eyes, feeling her blood boil as it pumped through her veins.
"Oh, I think I said you were a poor, pathetic, lying slut who has nothing left." Bree spoke with false-sympathy.
"A what?" Marley's voice rose to match her rising heart rate.
This time Bree pronounced the words louder and clearer. "A poor, pathetic, lying slut with nothing left."
"You didn't just say that to me." Marley spoke bitterly through gritted teeth as she tensed up, walking closer to the girl.
"You see," Bree replied, "I think I did." The crowd let out sassy ooh's to accompany this, "And, like, three times now. Are you deaf, too?"
Marley breathed angrily through her nostrils before she could not take it anymore; she slapped Bree hard across the face. Her ex-friend cupped her now-red cheek and gasped along with the crowd. Then, everything went down. Slaps and punches were thrown, hair was pulled, nails dug into skin, kicks were given, and backs were hurtled into lockers. It was a true cat fight, and it went on for minutes. This was halted, however, when Principle Figgins found his way into the middle of the pair and broke them up, yelling and shrieking for them to stop.
"This behaviour is barbaric!" He stated. "And I will not have it in my school. Saturday detention, both of you!"
"What did I ever do?" Marley chuckled humourlessly as she panted, still catching her breathing from the fight. She ran her finger along the bottom of her lips and examined it. Blood. She had escaped with cuts, a swollen lip and a black eye. She swallowed the lump in her throat before continuing. "I dominated this school. Everyone here lived for me! Then I kiss a guy that you might not like and suddenly I'm at the bottom? Suddenly I have nothing? I'm sorry if I thought that it was okay to keep some things to myself. But it's okay now, right? Now you have cured me from that ridiculous thought!" Marley yelled at the audience listening intently to her as tears streamed down her sweaty face. "Okay, so maybe I haven't been nice to you guys over the years. Maybe I've thrown a slushie at you, maybe I've been unkind to you, but I'm sorry. If you knew the pressures I have, the things I've seen and done before this, maybe you'd understand. But you don't have to humiliate me to feel good about yourself, and I've learnt that now... maybe. So I kissed a "nerd". Do you guys really have that much time on your hands to care about who I like and how I live my damn life?! I have feelings; I know it's hard to believe! But I'm human. And in this school, we live in a hierarchy. It's a sick, sick hierarchy where someone like me can't go out with someone like him because we'll get judged for it. And yes, Bree, maybe I am a slut!" Marley cut her glance specifically to Bree herself. "Maybe because I've "been with" almost every guy in this school and have dumped them the next day, it makes me a slut. But the last time I checked, you guys lived for that kind of stuff." She turned her attention once more to her fellow students. "You guys cheered every time I dumped a guy in the hallways! Now I have a long-term relationship with a guy in secret and you lash out? And now you find me a slut? A loser? Selfish? Stuck up? Well then, congratulations. I think I just found who's really pathetic. So there, Jacob Ben Israel! There's a story for your lousy blog! "Extra, extra! Read all about it! 'Marley Rose Goes Crazy As She Lashes Out On the Whole School'!" What a headline, huh?" Marley yelled out to the audience, glaring at the blogger himself who was, funnily enough, holding up his camera phone to record the event. She was breathing heavier than ever now. "Excuse me, everyone. I should probably go and get back to my poor, pathetic, slutty, lonely life." Marley spat out bitterly before storming out of the hallways, wiping her blood-stained, tear-streaked face with a shaking hand.
Only meters away from the exit, she turned her head as an attempt to give a final glare to her fellow students, but, instead, her eyes landed on someone who she wanted least of all to see. Ryder Lynn was standing against the lockers, mouth slightly ajar, gripping the hand of a beautiful blonde girl - Marley assumed that was none other than Katie Fitzgerald. The brunette gave Ryder a look filled with apology, anger, regret, lust, disappointment... it was the look. The look the boy recognised because Blaine had informed him about it, and because she had given it to him on prom night and countless times after that. He tried to refrain, but he couldn't help giving that same look back as Marley stomped out of the school.
Marley turned her house key into the door and soon stepped in cautiously as to not greet her mother, but it was no use. The woman had heard her enter the house, and the girl turned her face away as her mother's footsteps came towards her.
"How was it, sweetie?" Judy Rose asked.
"Well, Mom, I certainly "bit back"." The brunette chuckled grimly. "But, as it turns out," Marley turned her face around slowly so that her mother now saw it (and the damage done to it), "it turns out they can "bite back", too."
And there you have it. This is kind of a rubbish chapter because it only shows what's going on right now for Marley, but a bit of Ryder will come in the next chapter, I'm sure!
I'd love to hear how I did on this, so please review! And please tell me what you think might happen next ;-)
Also *shameless self-promotion time* you guys should check out my new series of Ryley oneshots, Anecdotes, because I might be posting there more often now! And, whilst you're there, why not leave a request?
Until next time (hopefully soon, but I go back to school on Thursday *insert crying face here*),
-Beth :P