DISCLAIMER: I still don't own 9O21O, it's characters or storylines. I'm merely an FF writer.
NOTES: Rated T for mentions of rape, language and some violence. Bold/Italic font is a flashback.
Audio
But no animal is as brutal as the homosapian.
"Anyway it goes on and on and on like that." He chuckled half nervously as he clicked off the documentary.
"Well it's a really great project." Naomi said almost feeling comfortable with him. Things were still awkward since the sexual harassment ordeal, but she thought maybe now they could move on and just have a normal teacher-student relationship. "You're really talented."
"You're just saying that."
"No, I mean it." She said with a sincere smile.
Mr. Cannon eyed the girl, looking stunning in her red dress, "Thank you." He leaned forward, placing his hand on her own that was set in her lap pulling it towards him, as he held it gently. "That means a lot." Naomi glanced down nervously, trying to keep her cool. "You don't mind me holding your hand do you?" He asked glancing up her torso to her eyes.
Naomi, looked down at their hands. "No..that's, no it's fine." She half shrugged, offering a semi-nervous smile. She glanced around the room, already regretting being there, "But I should probably call Triple A, so they ca-"
Before Naomi could stand up, Mr Cannon grabbed her face pulling her in for a kiss. She wriggled away and stood up. "Mr. Cannon? What the hell?"
"Naomi.."
He pushed her up against the desk, holding her tight in his arms. "Stop!" She cried. "Stop, or I will tell!"
"Naomi...!"
"Who you gonna tell? Huh! You're the girl who cried wolf."
"Naomi!"
"Huh what?" Naomi jumped and sat straight up. She glanced around the room and saw Silver sitting on the edge of the bed staring at her with eyebrows kinked in confusion.
"You okay?" asked her best friend with genuine concern. "You're all shaky and sweaty.."
Naomi ran a hand over her face and shook her head. "Huh, yeah, no I'm.. I'm good." She worked on catching her breath and finally looked back at Silver. "What are you doing here?"
Silver tilted her head in confusion. "You told me to meet you at your house so we could go to school together?" She narrowed her eyes and eyed Naomi. "Remember, you said you wanted to 'make sure our outfits compliment each others for the first day of senior year'?" She said with exaggerated air quotes.
It all came rushing back to Naomi. She'd said that one day when Silver again, asked Naomi if she was alright. Everyday that summer it seemed, she was proving her well-being to Silver, even though it was a bold-faced lie. She had been raped. She was not okay. "Oh, right! Right! How could I forget?" She exclaimed putting on her tough exterior. "Let me go take a shower and then you get to help me pick out the perfect outfit!" Silver groaned and laid down on the bed as Naomi hopped out and into her en-suite bathroom.
"Great!" She said in her usual sarcastic tone.
"You didn't have to remind me you know?" Naomi called from the bathroom.
"Silly me," laughed Silver.
The two girls walked into West Beverly Hills High School for the first day of their last year. They walked to Silver's locker and Naomi used her mirror to check her lip gloss, not like she wanted to grab any guy's attention, in fact that was the very last thing she wanted. Silver glanced over Naomi's sh
oulder and saw Navid in the Media Lab, trying to recruit new Blaze members. "Morning ladies."
The sharp accent chilled Naomi down to her very core and she slowly turned around and found herself staring at him. At Mr. Cannon.
"Hey Mr. Cannon." Silver said politely.
"Naomi," he said with a slight nod.
She struggled to find her voice and finally managed. "H-hi.. Mr. Cannon.."
He grinned almost evilly and headed towards the Media Lab. Silver looked over at Naomi. "Nay, I'm sure he's over it by now. I mean you apologized. There's no reason for it to be awkward anymore."
If only you knew Silver. "Right, I know." She slammed Silver's locker. "I'm gonna go try to find Liam." And before Silver could protest Naomi strode down the hallway, with no intention of finding her ex-boyfriend. Instead she walked into the bathroom, and worked on catching her breath.
Silver sat on the couch in the Media Lab, taking notes as Mr. Cannon talked about plans for the new year. She periodically glanced at Navid who was silently (still) cursing the fact that Mr. Cannon was required to be there. She let out a soft subtle, laugh and continued scribbling down Cannon's ideas. When the last bell rang, everyone gathered their things and headed for the door.
"Miss Silver."
Silver stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face the faculty adviser. "Yes?"
"I was wondering if I could have a word with you?"
"Uh, yeah sure.." She stepped back inside the Media Lab sitting down at a desk. "What's up?"
Mr. Cannon sat on the desk close to her. "I have a proposition for you."
"Uhm, okay.."
"Navid does a great job here.. with the editing aspect." He stated. "But, I was wondering if you'd be willing to be junior editor?"
Silver's eyes widened a little at Mr Cannon's words and her mouth gaped open slightly. "Uh-"
"You'd get first pick at all stories and you'd have full control over how the stories are spun."
"Wow, seriously?"
"You're a talented journalist, Silver. You minimize all the fluff and write passionately. You tell the viewers what they need to know. It's fantastic, for someone your age."
She was at a loss for words. The format for stories were so restrictive and there was really no room for creativity or opinion. Finally she managed a nod. "Yeah.. Yes! I'd love to." She smiled softly. "Thank you, very much."
"You're very welcome." He looked the girl up and down, grinning to himself. A grin that mimicked one he'd had on his face almost three months before.
