(Sorry I haven't updated this in awhile! I'm starting to get really excited about this story so I will probably update more often. I'm also sorry this chapter has so much angst. It's really dramatic so… just brace yourself. And finally I wanted to thank everybody for leaving nice reviews! I love it when people leave reviews and the great suggestions and constructive criticism everyone has left really helped me create this story!)
Kitty arrived at school that morning and proudly walked down the halls in her Cheerios uniform. She was about to reach the classroom of her first period when she was suddenly stopped by a gentle pull on her shoulder. Kitty turned around to see Ryder staring at her with a concerned look on his face. "What do you want?" Kitty scowled. Ryder gave Kitty a confused look, wondering why she was suddenly so angry with him.
"Sorry I didn't mean to annoy you. I was just wondering why you weren't at school yesterday." He said, eyebrows drawn together with eyes full of concern. Ryder couldn't seem to identify the expression on Kitty's face. She looked scared, yet angry. It baffled Ryder how Kitty could just keep all of her emotions inside, untouched. Before this week, Ryder would've said that Kitty was a fake, heartless robot. But he's seen a side of her that he was sure nobody had ever seen. Ryder kept himself from getting distracted and looked at Kitty, waiting for an answer.
"I was sick." She mumbled. Ryder could tell she was lying. He can see right through Kitty, he's aware that she hides her real emotions and replaces them with those of a normal girl. She's just too afraid to trust someone with those emotions. She's afraid that they will see a different girl. That they will see a vulnerable troubled girl, not the head cheerleader who was confident and capable of anything.
"Kitty, I know there's something wrong, and I know you'll never tell me, but that won't stop me from trying to figure you out." Ryder whispered. Kitty looked furious. She stepped toward Ryder and tightly held the collar of his shirt.
"Listen here, Ryder Lynn, I don't need anybody 'figuring me out'. I know who I am, and you do too. So I don't need you here talking to me, acting like you're some kind of dumb therapist." She snapped. She roughly let go of his collar and gave him a threatening look.
"Kitty I-" Ryder was interrupted with a tough punch in the nose by the one and only, Kitty Wilde. His head jerked to the side and he held a hand up to his nose, staring at Kitty with shocked eyes. Kitty didn't know why she punched him, but at least it got him to stop asking her questions that she didn't want to answer.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ryder shouted. He took his hand away from his face, revealing a very bloody nose. His shouting had attracted a large crowd of students that stood around them trying to figure out what was going on. Ryder pinched the bridge of his nose, and gave Kitty an angry look. A teacher broke through the crowd and stared at the two of them.
"Have you done this to him?" The teacher looked at Kitty. Kitty didn't say anything, but looked at the large puddle of blood on the floor. The teacher grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the crowd. She looked back at Ryder, only to see him staring at her with his mouth slightly open, and a confused look on his face. Kitty was lead into the Principals office and given a long talk about punching and hurting classmates. Kitty wasn't paying attention to what the principal was saying, but was thinking about why she punched Ryder. The look on Ryder's face made her uncomfortable. She didn't know what caused her to hurt him. Maybe it was all of the adrenaline building up inside of her, but she knew that she would later regret it. And she was right.
Kitty shut her bedroom door quietly, trying not to wake her dad. Not quietly enough, seeing as he woke up later and walked into her room with an obvious hangover. "Kitty!" He glared. "I got a call from the principal today, he told me about you getting a detention. You know what I said about getting in trouble, Kitty." He growled, inching dangerously close to her. Kitty backed up against the cold wall. She didn't think the principal would tell him about her detention.
"Dad, I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to get in trouble. I swear, Dad. Please don't be mad." She pleaded. He was already mad. He punched a hole in the wall an inch away from the side of her head. Kitty winced and shut her eyes tightly. She could feel the tears running down her cheeks. "Please, Dad. I'm so sorry!" Kitty sobbed. She felt a firm punch smashing into her jaw. She gasped and held a hand to her throbbing cheek. Kitty slipped out of her Dad's tight grasp on her shoulders and ran for the door out of her bedroom. She was too slow, and was harshly yanked back. He slapped her and shoved her against the wall. Her whole body felt like it was on fire. She took a sharp, dry breath and started to lose her vision. Everything was becoming blurry and Kitty began to feel very light-headed. Her Dad released his grip on her, letting her slowly collapse to the floor.
"I don't ever want to hear from the principal again!" He angrily shouted as he stormed out of her bedroom and slammed the bedroom door shut. He left Kitty with shaky hands covering her wet eyes, bloodshot from crying so hard. An hour had passed and Kitty finally got up from the floor and walked into her bathroom to inspect the bruises. She looked at the mirror, seeing a large bruise across her cheek.
"Shit." Kitty muttered. She needed to cover this up quickly. If it wasn't covered by the morning, people would ask her what happened, and she doesn't function very well when asked complicated questions. Kitty got out the best concealer she had and applied it to the bruise. After it was almost unnoticeable, she crawled into her bed and turned off the lights. Kitty thought about what Ryder said earlier before she had punched him. She was sorry for hurting him but the pain of her injuries distracted her from thinking about him. Eventually, she fell asleep with tears dried onto her cheek.