Chapter 14 Empathy sucks

Randy;

After school I slumped down on the hard seats in the detention room, waiting for Raven. One way or another I would find out why she attacked me, I knew that I wouldn't be innocent, but I was hoping it was something I could talk my way out of. We were getting along somewhat and then suddenly she attacked me, and yet as I sat there and thought about it, I felt more for her. Yeah fucked up right? I was the one with a broken nose, I was the one that was attacked, blind-sided almost, and yet I was feeling more for her. As I waited for her I could only think about everything I had put her through, she was right, it was nothing short of torture and sadly I don't think I could come back from it. How do you justify something like that? It wasn't just little things like calling her names and treating her like a dog. It was more than shoves into metal. Her sister had a broken arm, she was walking down the corrider, I was king and it was my corrider, I didn't shove her, I littery picked her up and threw her, when she bounced back I shoved her hard, right back to the metal. Her broken arm crunched and I heard the snap in her wrist, blood pooled around and she screamed. I didn't care, I kept walking and left her, no one helped her, I saw they wanted too but they didn't because my bullying would stretch to them. Then there was the time when I over heard that they were low on funds, being poor was yet another reason to be a giant prick. According to then girlfriend Barbie, they had just enough money to buy their lunch that day. She glanced over at me, I don't know why maybe it was just somewhere to look, but I took exception. I strode over to her and took her younger sister's plate of spagetti and poured it over Raven, I hit two birds with one stone, Jamie couldn't get any more food and Raven started to swell up like a balloon, it was only her sisters that helped her. That was the first time I had put one of them in hospital, it wasn't the last. I found out that Harmoni was asthmatic, blowing saw dust and timing to see how long it took her to have an attack became my favourite game. Things changed slightly that day, someone finally stood up to me, Nattie Neidhart, who was meant to be one of 'us' turned on me and helped her to keep breathing as she waited for the ambo. Then they started to fight back, that made it worse for them but I guess landing the stray punch and kick at me was the only bright spark in my torture. I rubbed my hands over my face, it was any wonder as to why John was still my friend, but still as I sat here with my broken nose and the blind-side still fresh, I still had empathy towards her and her sisters. Just when I thought she wouldn't come, she burst in. One look at me, those eyes went evil again.

"Why are you here?"

"I called Ms Wilson some un-flattering names"

She didn't say anything, she took a seat at the front. I jumped over the seats and sat with her, near enough so we could talk but not near enough that she couldn't blind side me again.

"Why did you attack me?" I tried my hardest not sound hurt because I had no right, but that was hard. "I thought we were getting along?"

She pulled out a bit of paper and slammed it on the desk in front of me, and the past torture flashed before my eyes. The six words I had written a year ago were now back in the present.

Enjoy your drugs freak show RKO. Yeah I was the one that set her up, I was the one that made her summer hell, no wonder she attacked me, I would have too if I was her.

"Raven that was last year"

Venom, it was the only thing on her face and in her eyes, wrong thing to say but I just had to point it out.

"Oh your right, I'm sorry. I guess I should let it go then"

"I'm sorry" I said lamely, it was all I could say even if she did say it was nothing but meaningless words.

"In that case I'm sorry too" Nothing but sarcasm, "Oh wait! It didn't happen!"

"What?"

"Your nose didn't heal! So I guess saying your sorry doesn't magically make everything better, now I know and so do you"

"I don't know what else to say" I was slowly coming to the end of my patience, I get it I was a prick and I tortured them but how long could they hold that against me?

She looked at me, tiredly, "I think its very interestin, that you lose your crown and now suddenly you find a need to say your sorry. You become nothin but a scandal and suddenly you decide that we should bury the hatchet"

I didn't say anything because thats what it looked like, it wasn't like that at all, but she wouldn't believe me and I wasn't sure if I could even convince her.

"If you were still king, would you be here trying to make things right, or would you be still throwin me into lockers"

"Raven" "You know what, I can actually forgive you for what you did to me, and to Harm and to Izzy, thanks to your torture, we're stronger but I cannot forgive or forget what you did to Jamie, what the hell did she ever do to you anyways? Other than share my last name?"

"I didn't mean for that to happen"

She gave me that evil smirk, like she could tell what was happening inside my head, "Yeah right. Just so you know, I can still gut you like a fish in under twenty seconds"

After the Jamie thing, the only thing she had done was talk, and it was the actual talking that had scared me. She was the only one that saw it and she didn't spread it, but it was enough. After that incident, she cornered me in the locker room, proving that she could get to me anytime she wanted, her twisted evil hands twirling a very large hunting knife. All she did was explain to me in very disgusting detail on how to gut animals, deer, fish etc, she asked me how long I reckoned would it take for her to gut me? I wouldn't of thought much of it if it wasn't for a few things, that knife, her facts, the crazy spilling in her eyes, and those lovely rumors about her sister that had gone 'missing' So yeah, I listened and yeah I got cautious. I stopped myself and my 'people' from hurting Jamie, I said it was because she was a spaz but to be honest, I didn't want to know how long it would take her to gut me.

"Raven, what do I have to do to convince you that I'm seriously sorry and that all I want to do is bury the hatchet?"

She gave me a long look but didn't say anything, and I thought she never would but finally her lips parted and words spilled out.

"Prove it"

"What?"
"Prove to me that you want to make amends, and I'll think about not guttin you"

"Think about it?" Patience was coming to a very fine line, I could of gone back to torture, but I had the feeling it wouldn't work this time, she was more lethal now and I didn't want to hurt her anymore, I had done that enough.

"Yeah. Maybe its just a question of, are you really serious about making amends or are you just talkin out your ass again? Cause we all know what I think"

She got up, and headed for the door, "And now I'm leavin."

All I could think about was trying to find a way to prove that I was sorry, actions speak louder than words. Now I had to prove it.