A/N: Funny story... I wrote a chapter similar to this one immediately after my previous update, and it was a fantastic 5,000 words itself. I was proud of it, honestly. Here's where the funny part comes in: as I was uploading it to the site, my computer must have thought crashing would have been hilarious. So it did. Chapter gone without a trace. Very discouraged, I didn't even attempt to rewrite the chapter until now. If it weren't for a recent review, who knows how long I would have waited. Anyways, enjoy.
Relapse
Chapter 6
"We might as well talk now..." Riley says, revealing a large metal baseball bat from behind his back. What is this, the 70's?!
I'd like to think this was some kind of sick joke, but the sadistic look adorning Riley's face tells me otherwise. "Chloe, go get help!" She doesn't budge. "Chlo, please g-" Before I can finish my plea, the butt of the bat meets my stomach. The force of the blow is overwhelming and I fall to the ground dry heaving. That seems to ignite a reaction from Chloe, since she takes off toward the administrative office.
"Shit! Riley, get her! We can't have her ruining the fun!" Ryan quickly takes the bat from Riley and replaces his position shoving me into the vehicle. Riley on the other hand is trying to catch up to Chloe. Panicking, I ignore the pain in my stomach and jump to my feet.
"Don't you fucking touch her!" I yell after Riley. I attempt to follow him, but Ryan roughly pushes me to the ground. I land on my back, nearly hitting my head on the cold concrete. She throws the bat to the side and quickly straddles me, pinning my arms firmly to the ground. "Get off you fucking bitch!" I scream, as I grow angrier by the second.
"I bet having me on top of you right now is turning you on, isn't it?" I spit in her face, hopefully making it clear how wrong she is. Ryan releases her right hand to wipe her face, leaving my arm free to swing. I immediately try to get a left hook in to her jaw, but she's quick to block my punch and pin my arm back down. "You're fuckin' nasty, you know that?" Ryan says. An angry growl escapes my throat and I try to wiggle free or do something, but I can't move much. I turn my head to the direction Chloe and Riley ran, noticing that he's almost caught up to her. Fuck! "What are you looking at? Chloe?" I return my focus to Ryan. "Wanna know a little secret? Riley and I planned this all out." She smirks. "He's gonna fuck her. He's gonna get in her pretty lil pants, just. To piss. You off." She leans in closer. "And she's gonna love it." That's when I actually lose it. I scream, I kick, and eventually I get one of my arms free. I don't think Ryan even knows what hit her but next thing she knows I'm free and taking off toward Chloe.
It takes a lot of focus not to believe what Ryan had said. Chlo wouldn't do that. Not because she's into me... But because he's a douche. Right? ... Whatever, focus. Riley currently has Chloe in a choke hold facing away from me on the opposite side of the large lot. I'm amazed that nobody has seen all of this. Why is our parking lot so big? Within seconds I've caught up, quieting my footsteps as I get closer. Once I'm within range, I can here Riley speaking. I stop out of curiosity, listening in.
"I'll ask you one more time, why do you bother hanging out with dykey over there?" Riley says. Dyke-y? That's new. Chloe doesn't respond to him, only struggles against his grip. "You two aren't dating are you? You could have so much better. You're like, the hottest girl in the whole school. Even hotter than Ry, but don't tell her I said that." Chloe lets out a frustrated cry, and Riley tightens his grip. "Hot girls go out with hot guys, and luckily for you, I'm a hot guy. But we can skip the 'go out' part and go straight to me boning you." I watch in horror as he presses his crotch flush into Chloe's backside.
"Get the fuck off of her!" I seethe, jumping into action. He let's go of Chloe and turns around quickly, just in time for me to clock him. This time I don't have to tell Chloe to run, she's already hightailing it to the office. Riley recovers from the punch fairly quickly and lunges at me full speed. He isn't quick enough because I'm able to step aside tripping him on his way past me. He breaks his fall with his hands and I kick him in the ribs before he has time to scramble to his feet.
"Bitch!" He yells. I straddle him just as Ryan did to me and punch him twice. His nose is most definitely broken and blood is rushing from it. I grab a fist-full of his shirt and yank him forward, assuring that we have eye contact.
"You have no idea." I say. I punch him one more, successfully knocking out his lights.
.
"Can anyone explain the whole situation to me?" Mr. Conwell says, pinching the bridge of his nose, his glasses hanging from his chin. He's a pretty large man. From his appearance, you'd think he was a linebacker instead of the principal of Barden High. I take a moment to take in his features, including the way his nose juts out a bit too far from his face. He has dark brown hair with stray grays in it and deep laugh lines. At least that means he isn't an asshole. I turn my head to Chloe and we make eye contact for a second. She scoots her chair closer to mine, leaving Ryan by herself on the left side of Mr. Conwell's office.
"It was all Beca!" Ryan says suddenly with tears running down her face. Of course it was. "Riley and I were just hanging out in the parking lot before school when Beca ran up out of the blue and tried to kiss me! It was totally gross, like ew, ya know?" I scoff and roll my eyes. "When I said no and pushed her away she went ballistic on us! It was so scary.. I-" She pauses, most likely for dramatic effect. "I'm so lucky she didn't put me in the hospital too, if it weren't for Riley protecting me I don't know what would've happened!" She ends her dramatic speech by 'sobbing' into her hands.
Mr. Conwell nods and fold his hands on his desk top. "Okay. You do know that Riley only has a broken nose and bruised ribs, right?" Ryan nods. "You act as though he's been fatally injured." He chuckles briefly. "Anyways, you're sure that's what happened?" He directs the question at Ryan.
"Yes! You have to believe me. Riley and I never even fought back! How do you explain the fact that Beca isn't hurt!" She's right, I'm not hurt. Other than some sore knuckles and scraped hands, I'm totally fine. That's only because this bitch can't fight.
"I'm not saying I don't believe you, but your story isn't coming together. Where was Miss Beale during this whole encounter?" Mr. Conwell asks. Ryan looks uneasy for a second, knowing she's been caught in her lie.
"I don't know?" She offers.
"Okay, you're dismissed. Go home, I've already called your parents. Miss Beale, Miss Mitchell, stay." Ryan stands with a smirk and leaves the room. I can't believe Chloe and I are gonna take the fall for this. Just my luck.
"Sir-" Chloe starts, but a wave of Mr. Conwell's hand stops her.
"I know, I know. She lied. She's an awful liar too. Those tears were so fake!" He lets out genuine laughter and Chloe and I look at each other in confusion.
"How do you know she was lying?" I ask. His laughs die down and he leans back in his chair.
"Are you kidding? You guys really don't know?" Again, a look of confusion crosses our faces. What is this guy going on about?
"Sir we aren't too sure what you're referring to." Chloe says.
"I'm referring to the security cameras we have all over the lot! I saw the whole thing on tape a few moments before you guys entered my office." Relief floods my body and I relax into my seat. "You two are good to go. Well, Beca you're suspended for a week. No stepping foot on school property." He gives me a stern gaze but then his feature soften. "Also, I saw that someone vandalized your car. I know that it was them. Do you want to press charges?"
"No, sir. But I do have one question." I say.
"Shoot."
"Are they off the hook? Like, you saw what happened. They initiated the whole thing! They hit me with the butt of a bat, and that asshole.. I mean, Riley put Chlo in a choke hold!" I don't mention what he said to her. "You can't just let them go."
"No, they are not 'off the hook'. They're both expelled from Barden High. We have no room for gang-like activity here. Also I'd classify what Mr. Addington did to Chloe as sexual assault. They are not to set foot on Barden High property at all, ever." I have to stop myself from cheering. I can tell Chloe is doing the same. "Any more questions?"
"No sir." Chloe and I both say in unison.
"Okay, you're dismissed."
"Thank you, Mr. Conwell." I say, before Chloe and I leave the office hand in hand.
.
Once we enter the hallway, I notice that's it's passing period and the halls are packed. I spot Stacie staring at me by her locker and give her a smile before dropping Chloe's hand. "I'll meet you at my car. Here." I hand her my keys and she struts off toward her destination. I make my way over to Stacie who is opening her locker and lean against the locker to the left of her. Before I can say anything I'm yanked from the locker and pulled into a tight hug, which I return awkwardly. This hug is lasting longer than it should be...
"If it isn't Miss Badass herself." Stacie says, pulling away with a cheeky smile. I return to my position against the locker.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about." I say, feigning innocence.
"Sure you do, every does. Look around you." I look up at the students around us, and sure enough about half of them are looking our way. I hear some of them muttering things such as, 'How could someone so small beat up Riley?' or 'Even I could take her!'. I hear one guy complaining to his friends 'Mitchell gets all the got girls!'. I don't know what girls I've gotten, but I'll take the compliment.
"Huh. Word spreads fast around here."
"You have no idea. Anyways, I'm glad you're okay. Did you get in trouble?" I shake my head.
"Nah, just suspended for a week. Chloe's off the hook and the other two are expelled." I shrug.
"Expelled?! How'd they get expelled and you didn't?" Stacie asks.
"Apparently they exhibited gang-like behavior. I mean I'm fine with that, means I won't have to deal with them. I'm just surprised I didn't get kicked out for fighting Riley." I offer her a smirk and she giggles.
"I'm glad you didn't. See you next week?" She asks, shutting her locker. I nod and she once again envelopes me in a tight hug. "Good. Text me, okay?"
"Right." I say, even though I probably won't text her.
.
"What took you so long?" Chloe asks as soon as I enter the driver's seat. The car is already on and music is playing softly through the speakers.
"I was talking to Stace. Apparently I'm like a legend now."
"Stace? You mean Stacie?" Chloe asks.
"Uh, yeah?"
"So you have a nickname for her now. That's nice." I look at her incredulously, but she isn't even looking at me. Her eyes are straight forward and her arms are crossed.
"Someone's jealous!" I tease, lightly pushing her. I can tell she's trying not to smile, and she's failing miserably.
"I am not jealous. I just think 'Stace' is an unnecessary nickname. It only drops one letter." She sports her infamous pout and slumps into the seat.
"Chloe. Are you serious?" I ask. She's actually being really adorable...
"What!" She asks, finally turning to look at me.
"You do realize that 'Chlo' only drops one letter too, right." I can see the cogs turning in her head as she realizes that it's true. We both laugh at her flawed insult to Stacie's nickname.
"On another note, you know you don't have to leave, right? You're not even suspended." I say, putting my car into reverse and backing out of the space.
"Yeah, but I wanna hang out with you. What kind of friend would I be if I just left you to be by yourself after the day you'e just had." Chloe smiles and I can't help but smile back. We exit the lot and I immediately head for my place.
"A pretty shitty one, I suppose. Does Conwell know you're skipping?" Chloe's face drops as she shrugs and runs her fingers through her red hair.
"I dunno, and I don't care." Her hand drops back into her lap. "Let's not think about school for a while. We have a whole week away from that place." I look at Chloe with a raised eyebrow.
"You're skipping for a whole week? And here I thought I was the badass." I stop at the end of the street, watching as an elderly couple crosses the road.
"I guess you're rubbing off on me." Chloe says. Her smile comes back, brighter than the first time.
"I guess I am." Once the couple is safely on the sidewalk, we proceed in silence for a few minutes.
About a block away from my house I can feel Chloe's gaze on me. "You okay?" I ask. She seems to ponder her answer for a few moments.
"Yeah, I'm good. Why do you ask?" We pull up into my driveway and I turn off the ignition.
"I can feel you staring." I say, turning to look at her. I can only describe the look she's giving me as loving, until she looks away. Sometimes I swear she loves me back.
"I was just thinking, don't worry about it."
"We have to talk later, don't we? About what Riley said to you." I'm already dreading the conversation, but it has to be done.
"Yeah.." She unbuckles her seatbelt and opens her door. "But not until later! C'mon, a weeks worth movies and junk food awaits!"
Yippeeee.
A/N: If you didn't pick this up - Highschool parking lots are big, and Riley went to the hospital due to his broken nose. Also, I apologize for any mistakes 'n' stuff. Like I mentioned earlier, this is my second time writing this chapter and it turned out way different than the first time. (It's way shorter and I left out a lot of stuff due to laziness.) Okay, see you next time.