> The New Kid > by GodOfBBQ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > A Clean Slate > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1 ~*A Clean Slate*~ “So this is your new schedule, and once again I’d like to welcome you to Canterlot High.” Principle Celestia said in a welcoming tone. You didn’t want to be rude so you made sure to acknowledge her welcome with a simple, kind nod and smile. As you take the sheet of paper that lists off your schedule for school, you exit the office space and look down the empty hallway. You’re obviously late for class. ‘It’s the first day and I’m already late… Of course.’ Being the new kid isn't always bad. But when you have to be the new kid, it might as well be a nightmare. Having to say goodbye to all your friends, the girls you've had a crush on, and all the other people you never really appreciated until right when you enter the new school. But your mom always told you that your old school was bad and this new school would be good for you. This Canterlot High would be SO much better than your old school. She did have a point though. When you go to a school where bringing knives and guns is normal, selling drugs in the bathroom stalls is simply a pastime and all the kids are barely passing with grades like C’s and C-’s. Mostly D’s and F’s filled the school ballots. As you made your way to your first class, English. The one class that was very easy for you other than History and PE. You pass many doors that reveal the students of Canterlot High. Some being bright colors from the rainbow, to dull, dark colors found in nature. You saw one girl that literally had all the colors of the rainbow in her hair. ‘Wonder if she lost a bet… That’s probably why she looks like a walking pride flag.’ You think to yourself. As you finally make it to your English class door. You take a deep breath. When you open this door, you’ll meet new friends, new people, new everything. ‘First impressions matter,’ you think to yourself ‘People remember who you are, and what you say!’ You continue your thoughts. ‘Be kind, but not a pushover, be loose, but firm. Be strong as steel, but be free with emotions. Be creative, but be rea-’ Your thoughts were interrupted by being violently shoved aside by a woman who was significantly taller than you. She also seemed to have a more muscular physique than you, making you feel self conscious about your body type. Scrawny, with little muscles. “Move it dweeb!” She exclaims as she makes her way through the door. ‘Dweeb? Who says that anymore? Girl’s stuck in the fuckin’ 90’s or something.’ You think to yourself. As you regain your balance, you continue your little inside speech. When you finish, you enter the class to find wide, un-surprised eyes quickly glance at you, then look back down to the desks, or look back to their friends as the teacher continued to do whatever she was doing on her computer. You always liked to think they were looking up porn during class or playing Minecraft or online Call of Duty. But instead, it was always grades or attendance tabs. But in your old school, you could have sworn that you heard gunshots from your science teacher’s computer. As you awkwardly stand there getting a good look at your classmates. An explosion of color such as pink, blue, green, red and practically the whole rainbow blinded you. “Please Mr…” The teacher checked her computer for a second then looked back up. “Mr Anonymous, please take a seat.” You looked over the class and lo and behold the only seat available was right next to the same girl who pushed you aside. ‘Fantastic… The year’s starting out amazing so far.’ As you sigh to yourself, you make your way to your seat next to the girl. As you walk, you’re able to get a good look of the people who accompany you in this class. A girl with bright pink skin, big curly hair and brightly dressed, sits right in front of you. ‘Of course. I sit behind the girl with a fucking roadblock for hair!’ Next to you on your left is the girl who pushed you aside. ‘Fucking Amazonian…’ You think to yourself. On your right side, a yellow skinned girl with long pink, straight hair. She seemed to hide behind her hair when you made eye contact with her. ‘Shy girl huh? She won’t be necessary for anything in the future.’ You think to yourself. Over the years, you've gained the ability to befriend almost everyone you met, gaining respect from all the classes of high school. From the Jocks to the Nerds. From the Bullies, to the Hippies, you were literally friends with everyone… At your old school. Here however, you had to start from the bottom, and slowly and subtly make your way to the top. This shy girl you've just seen, wouldn't be important for any of that planning in the long run so you payed her no mind. “Okay class. I would like to welcome any new students to Canterlot high and I hope you have a great year. I’m Ms. Cheerilee and I’m your English teacher. Today, you won’t be working much but you will be preparing for a future project that takes groups of two to finish. It’ll start at the end of this week and will be due on Wednesday of next week. I have randomly chosen the groups using my computer and I will call them out.” ‘A project already? That’s some bullshit!’ You think to yourself as you flare your nostrils and furrow your brows in anger. “Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, Berry Punch, and Ditsy Doo, Spitfire and Colgate, Gilda and Anonymous-” ‘What!!?? How can she pair me up with her!? Is God pissed at me today or what!?’ A sharp breath of hot steam blew out your nose in anger while you thought this over. As you contemplate the news brought before you, you catch the Gilda girl looking at you with a face of disgust. You look back at her, getting a better idea of what she looks like. She has white hair with faded purple ends of her hair. You thought for a second that her hair looked like eagle feathers but once you got a better look, you just figured your mind was playing games with you. She wore a brown, aviator jacket, she wore it unzipped to reveal a white tank top under the jacket. She had a pair of yellow biking gloves at the end of her desk. You also got a good look at her physique. It was obvious before that she was more muscular than you, she was as slender as you, and was taller than you by a good couple inches. Even at a sitting height, she made you feel small. ‘Oh we’re gonna get along JUST. FINE!’ You think to yourself as your head snaps back to facing the front of the class. ‘Oh well… As long as this day goes by fast.’ ~***~ ‘Mother of Christ, today took forever!’ You think to yourself as you step out of your final class of the day. Some how, some way, wishing the day would go by faster, made it significantly SLOWER. But, it was finally the end of the day. You were able to go home, relax, and settle down. As your mind thinks of the luxury you will be facing soon, you bump into a large, almost immovable object. As you look up from your position from the ground, you’re annoyed and horrified to find Gilda, the same girl you’re paired up with, and the new found tumor on your skin. She may have not done much to antagonize you, but it’s not what she did. It’s what she’ll be doing in the future. For a long time, you've had a talent to figure out if people turn out to be either good people, or jackasses. It was almost too obvious, painfully obvious that she’ll be a future antagonist. “Hey! Watch where you’re going loser!” Gilda exclaims angrily. You’re brows furrow and nostrils flair in anger. You’re not much of a talker but this was the time to begin speaking. “I’m sorry, I wasn't paying attention.” ‘Keep your cool, don’t get angry. Just stay calm, remember what the doc said!’ You think to yourself. “Yeah you better be sorry dweeb! Or else you’ll find yourself neck deep in the toilet!” She said with a hint of arrogance in her voice. The guys from the soccer team she plays on; possibly her goons laughed and pointed as I rose to my feet. “No get outta here!” Gilda said as she pushed me back with a hand. I desperately tried to remember what Dr. Jacket said, try to control the anger, don’t have any outburst that’ll raise your heart rate. Think calmly. But, it was a tad too late for that when you were face to face, well, face to chest with her. You glared daggers in her eyes as she did the same. “What are you looking at idiot?” She asks. “Nothing much that’s for sure…” I answer. Before you can beam in the light of glory, you feel a surge of pain in the stomach. Gilda had punched you in the stomach. Now, you have no problem with it, you get punched in the stomach? Oh well, shake it off walk home, watch some TV. you slowly get back up while taking deep breaths. Luckily, you've been through this so much with your step dad that it’s practically nothing at this point. Okay, okay. Your step dad SOUNDS like he abuses you physically. But he really means well, he just wants you to be tough and strong. Do you blame him? No, you know you're a little scrawny guy, you need to toughen up. So in conclusion, this punch was just a light tap compared to what your dad had in store. “Very good shot Gilda! Very good shot indeed. But, why, would you resort to violence so quickly? Makes me wonder what your intelligence level is.” you say sounding like a total snob. Yeah, you're kind of a dick… You feel another hit to my cheek, knocking me to the ground. Once again, you get back up. “Please Gilda, if you wanted to knock me out you should have hit me… Right here.” You point to the temple of your head. “This little spot here is like the soft spot of every human. So, if hit with violent contact, it’ll knock me out cold. So if you were going for knocking you out, you obviously don’t know where to hit do ya?” You ask. She’s really angry now. She’s practically steaming with anger, and her face? Freaking priceless! > Snapped > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2 Snapped The room is quiet, nothing but heavy breathing, angry stares and the occasional name call here and there. "Dweeb..." “Butch” You retort “Fucktard” She replies. “Lezzie” More and more insulting names are transferred as you two wait outside the principal's office with ice packs and bandages on you and her arms and heads. Staff who pass by you two wondered why you looked like you just got mugged. It’s a long story that you’re more than glad to tell… ~***~ “Take. It. Back!” Gilda says angrily as you and her stand in the middle of the staff parking lot. The infamous arena of after school fights and scuffles. You grin with arrogance. “If you wish for me to take it back, then simply don’t be you. When you’re not you anymore, I’ll leave you alone and I’ll take back what I said. But for now, you are, and always will be, a “Bean Flicker!”” You say ending in a menacing whisper. With a grunt, you hear her pull her face back, and shoot it at your stomach. A surge of pain runs through your abdomen. You fall to your knees and grab at your stomach. Simply grunting it off, you stand back up and look her in the eye. “Listen, Gilda. You may be a butch, but I won’t hit a girl.” You say respectfully. Gilda doesn't find the gesture nice however. She grabs you by the shirt neck, and practically lifts you up from the ground, your legs dangling. ‘Christ! This girl has some muscle on her!’ You think to yourself in amazement. As she pulls her fist back for, possibly the final blow to your head, you finally snap. “Put me the fuck down!” You shout and you pull your leg back and kick her right in the thigh. She drops you and you land on your feet. You've tried your hardest to stay under control, you've tried breathing; however that became difficult on account of the gut punches you've endured. You've tried counting backwards, and doing all the calming exercises your psychiatrist has informed you to do. But it simply wasn't enough. Your eye twitches, your mind’s a scatter, your vision is blurry and you land hay makers on Gilda’s face, arms and chest. Making sure to put extra effort in your punches when you hit her stomach. Your fists, faster than flashes of light are halted by Gilda’s hands catching them and pushing them back. You grin with madness in your eyes as you watch her determination grow, her anger reach it’s peak, and her strength double yours over. She pushes you back, sending you to the ground to give her some space to rest. She wipes some blood away from her lip. Gilda then looks at her blood covered hand. She practically begins to boil with anger and frustration. Her face getting red, and the angry vein of the head beginning to bulge is seen as she quickly approaches you. She grabs you by the neck, and lifts you up again. You feel the pressure around your neck intense as her eyes twitch with madness and anger. Your vision becomes blurry, you know that if you wait any longer, you’ll lose consciousness and pass out. So, you inhale any breath you can get, and kick her once again in the now, tender thigh. She drops you again as you stumble to the ground. ‘Dad didn't teach me that yet...’ You think to yourself. You quickly get up and tackle her to the ground by launching yourself at her waist. The screams and cheers from the crowd of kids are silent to you, you’re only focused on the number one goal in front of you. Beat the crap outta Gilda. As she’s under you, you stare into her golden eyes. The raged filled, bloodshot, golden eyes she owned. You throw a punch to her nose, then to her stomach, then right to the chest. Right on the left breast. What can you do? You wanted to see what would happen. A loud gasp, but a hint of a moan escaped from Gilda’s mouth as you punch her breast. You go wide eyed, finally snapping out of your rage. You quickly get off her and back away. The crowd stares at you in surprise. ‘God no! Oh no! Oh, it happened again! Please God no!’ You think to yourself as you look at the defeated Gilda who was slowly making her way to her feet. Tears begin to stream down your eyes as you look over the crowd. As your mind desperately to understand the moment, you feel a hand on your shoulder. You head turns to see an angry, and disappointed Principle Celestia. “Get Gilda up, and go to the nurse. Then come to my office. We need to talk.” She says with an emotionless voice. She turns and leaves to her office as you stand in the middle of the crowd with tears down your face. You then look at Gilda who’s having a difficult time getting up. You slowly walk over to her, you stand over her. The first time you’ve seen her defenseless and vulnerable. Her helpless eyes staring at you, you almost feel bad for the girl. You reluctantly stretch your hand out, gesturing her to use your hand to get herself up. She looks at you surprised, but, she grabs your hand and hoists herself up. Her mouth gets near your ear, she whispers almost sounding like she was crying. “N-Next time I see you… You’ll have fucking knife in your liver…” She then snaps her head forward and picks up the pace of her walk to surpass yours. You only stare at Gilda. Gaining a new fear from the girl. ‘A knife? Is she serious?’ You think worryingly. As you ponder this, you pick up your pace to get to the nurse’s office. ~***~ And that’s why you’re here now. Waiting outside of Principle Celestia’s office, awaiting your punishment. The students are long gone now that the day has been over for about twenty minutes. “Gilda, Anon. Please come to my office now.” You hear Celestia’s voice call out. As you get up, Gilda makes sure to shove you out the way once you reach the door. With a heavy sigh, you ignore her antagonizing act and enter the brightly lit office. You take a seat in one of the seats in front of Celestia’s office desk. Gilda sits in the seat next to yours. “So… What happened today?” Celestia asked, sounding very intimidating. You cringe at the fact that you’ll be in trouble. Neither you, or Gilda answers. Both of you are too worried to say anything. “Well…?” Celestia asked impatiently. You finally gain the courage to answer her question. “We got into a fight.” You answer sadly. Gilda stays silent. You’re surprised that she isn't trying to manipulate Celestia to get you in trouble, and have her get off scot free “Uh huh. And who started this fight? I would like to know everything.” She says sounding professional. You shiver from her cold sounding voice, you can see Gilda having the same reaction with a slight shake of her hands that rested on her lap. You gulp as she glances back at you with a face of, “What’re you looking at me for?” You look back to Principle Celestia who was busy going through a manila folder. You feel a terrible sickness in your stomach. ‘Oh God. She’s gonna call my mom. I just know it!’ As you waited for your fate to be sealed, you watch Principle Celestia pull out a small sheet of paper with some numbers and statistics on it. ‘That doesn't look like a phone number…’ You point out in your head as you begin to calm down. But when you look over to Gilda, she’s practically shivering in her seat. “W-What’s that?” She asks sounding nervous. “Your citizenship grade. This little, “Scuffle” will critically lower your citizenship.” Clelestia said while copying something from the paper onto her computer. “What does that mean though?” Gilda asked. “Gilda, I’m not going to beat around the bush. You’re not the nicest student in Canterlot High. I’m pretty sure you over reacted to something simple Anonymous here did. So, your citizenship grade has been lowered. If it lowers anymore you won’t be able to attend prom, or graduate successfully for that matter.” You just seem to be the third wheel of the conversation. It seemed to be only between Gilda and Celestia. Gilda seemed distressed and even more angry than before. Celestia seemed sorrowful, yet un-shocked. ‘Hot damn! Could I actually get off the hook here?’ Celestia then looks at you. ‘God no...’ She rummages through the drawers in her desk once again. ‘Please Christ no...’ She pulls out another manila folder. ‘Please don’t be it...’ She opens it and pulls out a sheet of paper with different numbers and letters on it. ‘Oh shit, here’s my stop.’ “Anon, you will receive a phone call home on account of you being apart of the fight. I believe your parents deserve to know how your first day in Canterlot High went. Wouldn't you agree?” “Yeah…” You reply simply. She takes the paper and picks up the phone on her desk. After some seconds of waiting, she begins to talk to a feminine sounding voice. A voice that couldn't have been better than angels singing. Your mother answered the phone. ‘Ha ha! Yes! I’m not in trouble! I’m not in trouble! Fuck you Karma!’ “Okay, this better be the last time I have to talk about this to you two. Understand?” Celestia asked sounding frustrated yet professional in every way possible. As you walk out, you hear the door slam behind you. Before you can take a single step, Gilda pushes you aside once again. “Move it you ass!” She exclaims as she storms off down the hall. “What’s your problem Gilda? Can’t you just give it up and just let bygones be bygones?” You ask. “You almost broke my nose and you punched my tit! I’m pretty sure I’m not just gonna let it go that fast dork! Just stay as far away from me as possible, and that little project Cheerilee has us working on? Forget working with me! I’m a lone rider! I fly alone rookie! So why don’t you go back home to mommy and daddy so they can smother you with their useless love…” As Gilda finishes her argument, you could swear you heard whimpers between her sentences. “Fine then…” You reply simply. You sigh as you watch her speed walk down the halls. You begin to make your own way down the hall to get to the bus stop so you could get home. ‘Some first day huh?’ > Coffee Stem > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3 Coffee Stem You walk down the street, taking in all the sights of the city. The small liquor store with the Arabian cashier you've known since middle school. He always has an energy drink waiting for you everyday you visit his shop. The luxurious, yet quaint little restaurant that old folk and the rich people of the town visit on occasion. You always wondered what was inside that restaurant. You took many opportunities to look inside the windows to find love seats and cushioned chairs inside as the seating. It had a Fall decoration design to it, it looked very warm and cozy to enjoy a meal in. Right in front of the restaurant, was your bus stop. You've waited for the bus at this spot ever since the seventh grade. During that time, you've made many friends. A homeless man nicknamed, Florida Bo. He states that he's from Florida and when he gets enough money, he'll be on the next bus back to Florida. Then there was Coffee Stem. She was a very good friend of yours by the first day of meeting her. She worked in the coffee shop just down the street, she took the bus home whenever she had to work. She was a very good friend of yours by the first day of meeting her. She worked in the coffee shop just down the street, she took the bus home whenever she had to work. You two were practically identical in every way, you two agreed on almost everything, shared the same political views, and religious views. She was like that sibling you've always wanted, but never got. As you sit down, you pull out your phone and you do the daily routine of calling your mother after school was over. You select a contact in your phone and you hear ringing. The ringing from the phone continues before you hear the voice of your mother answer. “Hello?” “Hey Mom. How are you?” You ask. “I’m fine, but I’d like to know about this fight you got in.” She says sternly. “Yeah… I got in a fight. I-” You were interrupted. “D’ja kick her ass?” This surprised you, you would've thought she would go crazy or something. “Yeah… Sure, yeah I did.” You answer. “Did you apologize for hitting a girl?” She asks. “Uh… I don’t think so, maybe?” You offer. “...Good enough. Hurry home baby, I love you.” She replies. You blink, and say your goodbyes and love yous. You terminate the call and you slip the phone into your back pocket. As you take a seat on the bus bench, you hear a familiar voice. “Hey! Anon!” You turn your head back to see Coffee Stem walking towards you with a smile on her face and her work bag around her shoulder. “Oh, hey Coffee. It’s been a while since I've seen you. How’ve you been?” You ask. “Well… I got a raise! My boss finally gave me my raise!” She says excitingly. You simply nod and look away solemnly. She notices your melancholic attitude and she sits down next to you. She pats your shoulder and rubs your back. She’s 4-5 years older than you, but she wasn't a pedophile or anything. “Well…” You begin to explain. “There’s this girl... “ You weren't given the chance to explain any further. “Aww. Lil’ Anon’s gotta crush!” She says giving you the bright puppy eyes she seems to be very talented at giving. “No! Far from it. She and I got into a fight and Principle Celestia called my mom and lowered Gilda’s grade.” You reassure. You get an awkward, silent reaction from Coffee. On an attempt to break the silence, you continue the sentence. “She seems to be an… Antagonist. I don’t understand why she’s targeted me specifically… Okay, well my theory is she’s just a bully in general. I was probably just caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time. In short, she and I got into a fight and some emotions from her were revealed. Especially when she talked about me receiving love from my parents.” “So what? You’re gonna use that weakness against her and hopefully defeat her so that she’ll be out of your way?” Coffee asks. “Almost. I want to, but I can’t. She seemed really hurt when her grade was taken down a notch, then she choked up when she talked about my relationship with my parents. I can’t just hurt her anymore, I practically already humiliated her during the fight by almost breaking her nose, and punching her in the boob-” “You punched the girl in the tit!?” Coffee asked obviously having uncomfortable flashbacks about some sort of pain. She hugs her breasts closer to her as she continues to listen. “Yes, I punched her in the left breast. She was obviously pleasured by the act but that’s not important. Now, if I were to attack her emotionally with that weakness, that would make me more of the antagonist. I left my school so I could literally escape that! I don’t want to sink down to her level.” You finish your lecture, surprisingly, as you finish the bus arrives right on cue. “Here, lets talk about this when we get on the bus.” Coffee says as she gets up. ~***~ “And that’s why- Oh, this is my stop Coffee, see you tomorrow.” You say as you get up from your seat. “See ya Anon. I have tomorrow off, so let me know if you get into any trouble. I’ll pick you up early OK? I’m pretty sure your mom put me on the pickup list.” Coffee said putting her bag on the seat you previously sat in. “Alright, thanks Coffee Stem, see ya later.” You say with a simple wave of the hand as you get off the bus. When you get off the bus, you walk towards the crosswalk as you watch the bus you were just on drive down the road. Once the bus is out of view, the crosswalk signals for you to cross the road. Once on the other side, all you want to do now is get home. ~***~ You step inside your home, you notice that the living room TV is off. I signal that could mean you're home alone. As you make your way through the living room and the hallway that led to your room, you know for sure that you’re home alone. The TV in your parent’s room isn't on, leaving the whole house silent. Your room is in the very back of the home, you live in an apartment on the top floor. This made the living space small, yet roomy in it’s own right. Your room is dark, on account of the blinds closed. As you let your backpack drop to the floor, you slump down onto the bed. ‘My god. What a day, I just hope tomorrow will be different. But with my luck, freaking “Magic Sirens” or something will attack. Almost makes me laugh at the fact that my mother thought a school that was just recently attacked by a giant demon from hell would be safer than kids with knives and drugs.’ As you finish the thought, you feel your eyelids getting heavy. You’re falling asleep. ‘Oh, I’m about to sleep, I can really use some shuteye...’ As you feel yourself succumbing to sleep, a single thought occurs making you spring back up. “Damn! Forgot the dishes!” You shout as you rush towards the kitchen to accomplish your chore. > The Assignment > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4 The Assignment It’s been a fairly easy week for you surprisingly. You've made sure to avoid Gilda at all costs, the threat about getting a knife to the liver still tainting your brain. You've even managed to make a couple friends here and there, but it wasn't easy to get a lot of guy friends. Since literally the whole school is about 69% female. ‘Honestly, I must do a survey on the amount of girls in this school!’ You've thought to yourself on many different occasions. You've even got the chance to meet three new students. All three looking like rejected Monster High characters, all three having larger than life hair, (literally). However you can’t remember their names, something like Adagio, Sonata and… ‘I’m always forgetting the third one.’ But you do know that they have a good set of vocal cords on them on account of their singing talent. They even put on a little show in the cafeteria just yesterday. But you couldn't hear it yourself because Taco Tuesday can be a bitch on your bowels. But, the main thing that was on your mind for the majority of the week, was the upcoming assignment in English, where you’re practically going to be forced to work with Gilda because Miss. Cherilee hasn't kept it a secret that you and the rest of the students will be working in class. Today was the day where you’d start work on the assignment. The assignment was vaguely explained except for the basics. It’ll be about a book. ‘Wow… I really need to pay more attention in class.’ Today you would have to make contact with Gilda again. ‘Great! And to think it was actually a good week after Monday...’ ~***~ You slowly make your way into the classroom. Looking like a spy under investigation, you rush to your desk and took a seat. You soon see all the other students fill the room. The shy girl, the curly haired pink girl, a couple other random students you haven’t met yet or will never meet, and no Gilda. Maybe this day will work out just fine! Maybe you’ll be paired up with an existing group and you’ll be able to work with them instead of Gilda. “Sup’ Dipstick!” You hear a familiar voice say. You look to the empty desk next to you as you groan in annoyance as you see Gilda staring back at you with an angry expression. ‘Well… It was nice while it lasted.’ “Hey Gilda…” You say with annoyance. She has a mad grin on her face which in turn made you feel slightly uncomfortable. “So, you ready for round 2 after school today?” Gilda asks with a hint of anger in her voice. You’re completely baffled. Is she talking about another fight? Is she serious? ‘No! She can’t be! No, she can’t be that retarded!’ Before you can ask what the hell is wrong with her, you hear the voice of your teacher say, “Okay, today you’ll be getting into your groups. The assignment is to write a five page essay on the Vietnamese war.” ‘So that’s why we read that stupid Vietnam book!’ As you recollect on the headaches and the pounds of Tylenol you've ingested just so you can numb the pain of that awfully written novel. You feel a forceful, yet light punch on your shoulder. you turn your head to see Gilda with a blank face. “What?” You ask, very annoyed at this point. “You got a pencil I can borrow?” You sigh at the question. You dig through your backpack for a spare pencil to give to Gilda. You soon find one… Pierced in your hand when you shove your hand into the bag to look for the pencil. “Ah! Crap!” You whisper loudly, trying to avoid the teacher hear your profanities. You hear giggling and chuckling from Gilda who has a cocky grin on her face. Obviously pleased by the pain you endure. “Whore! Take the stupid pencil!” You say, throwing the pencil to her as she catches it with her right hand. You shake off the slight pain in your hand as you grab your own pencil and you begin writing your essay. You've always been a fast writer, so you have no trouble finishing the introduction and the first paragraph in a matter of minutes. As you begin to get a rhythm in writing, you feel a kick to the side of your leg from Gilda. You snap your head to her as she still shows off that cocky grin. You brush it off as nothing and you get back to writing. ‘In the story, the main character starts off as an ungrateful, pushy, and brash this soon all changes once she leaves Vietnam and arrives in-’ Your train of thought is broken by another kick to the leg from Gilda. Almost reaching your breaking point, you gently place your pencil on the desk as you begin to take deep breaths. Gilda’s presence is already doing enough damage on your calmness, but now she’s intentionally messing with you as you work. “Gilda, why are you kicking me?” You ask respectfully. “Cuz’ it’s fun.” She says while kicking you again. “Well, can you please stop? It’d be nice if you did.” You say while on the verge of a breakdown. “Why? Is it hurting you? Is wittle Anon getting hurt? Haha!” She says in a mocking matter. Before you can reply, she continues. “Why don’t you just run back home to Mommy so she can save you. You fucking Mama’s Boy!” This does it for you. Your eye begins to twitch as you slam your fist on the table. But you make sure to do it lightly enough to not gain the attention of the teacher or the students around you. “You know what Gilda!? I've had it up to HERE! With your shit!” You whisper yell, raising your hand above your head. “Yes Anon? You have a question?” Cherilee asks. “No ma’am, just stretching!” You say almost regaining your sane voice. You turn back to Gilda who is blank in the face with surprise. “Now! I don’t know why you have a problem with me, I realize that I may have humiliated you during our fight by punching you in the breast, but by now, that should be forgiven and forgotten! I don’t know if your jealous with me, or you’re just a terrible person but I’d like it if you’d just back the hell off!” You say, almost forgetting about the teacher who simply glanced up at the raise of volume. Gilda stares at you with squinted eyes and a scrunched up face. “Or what? Will you have your Mommy beat me up?” She mocks. “And what’s with the Mommy teasing? You got a problem with my mother? Yeah, I love my mom! I’ll fucking die for her! Same goes to my dad! Both of them! Unlike your parents whoever they are! I bet they don’t even love you! Who would want to love a giant, worthless, brainless, stupid, bitch like you? I know if my wife were to give birth to you, I’d make her get a freaking abortion than have to muscle through raising your sorry ass! So, at the end of today, I’ll go home and love my parents while you go home to your little cage in the attic where your mother forgets to feed you, and where you father beats you!” Your eye twitches uncontrollably as you stare at the stone face of Gilda. The longer you stare, the more her expressionless face begins to break. After a few seconds of staring, her face finally faltered and she hides her face in her arms as she practically shrinks into her aviator jacket. You snap out of your heartless, angry self as you look at the damage you've caused. You see her back bounce up and down, signifying that she’s crying. You never thought you’d be the one to make Gilda cry. You never thought Gilda would cry in the first place. You then realize that you resorted back to doing exactly what you didn't want to do in the first place. Then a terrible, horrible thought popped into your mind. ‘I've just became the antagonist… Oh God no! Please no!’ As you begin the mentally panic, you hear Gilda get up from her seat. “Cherilee can I go to the bathroom!?” She asks, she sounds desperate to leave, almost sounding scared with a hint of sadness. You can’t help but feel bad for the girl, sure she was messing with you in the first place, but she didn't deserve to be chewed out like that. ‘What have I done? Oh Christ it happened again!’ You think to yourself as you begin to tear up yourself. As you watch Gilda make her way to the door, you see her swiftly open the classroom door and barge out; whilst making sure to give you a sad, yet angry stare, only breaking your heart even more. ‘I’m sorry… Gilda, I’m so, so sorry!’ > Confrontations > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5 Confrontations You’re getting very worried. It’s been about ten minutes since Gilda left class to use the bathroom and you can’t help but feel that something horribly wrong has happened. And it’s all your fault. ‘Oh Christ! I can’t… I can’t live with myself anymore! I’m a heartless beast!’ Every so often, you’d get awkward stares from the teacher and your fellow students since you’re only sitting in your desk, staring into nothingness with unblinking eyes. On the outside, you seem like a motionless, quiet person. But on the inside, a full fledged war is going on. A war of emotions blow up inside you. Guilt, Sadness, Anger, Petty, and Disappointment in yourself cause so much damage inside. Knowing that you had literally did the one thing you never wanted to do in the first place sickened you. You've become many things during that small moment of pushing back at Gilda. An antagonist, a bully, a hypocrite, and a dishonest bastard of a human. You had to do something to fix this. But what could you do? Gilda probably didn't want to talk to you so you couldn't go find her. You had no idea where she would be even, so that just cancels out finding her even more. But the only way to fully solve problems with someone, was to encounter it face to face with the person. If not face to face, then that makes you and that person a coward. You've been raised off this statement, now that you think about it, you've been raised off of many different statements. Some were pretty obvious like, 1)Always treat women with respect and kindness. 2)Always tell the truth 3)If you get in a fight, be sure to win if you don’t want to look forward to another fight at home 4)Never, ever hit a girl That fourth one was broken. More than just broken, it was snapped in half, burned in the fires of hell, then fed to the demons who resided there. And the fifth one, Always, no matter what circumstances. If a problem is your fault, then ask for forgiveness and try to fix whatever you did wrong. Thoroughly thinking about these golden rules of your life, you know that even if it doesn't work, you have to find Gilda and apologize for how you chewed her out. You take a deep breath, preparing for the worst of what talking to her could bring. You raise your hand and ask with newly gained pride, “Miss Cherliee, may I use the restroom!?” ~***~ You walk down the halls of Canterlot High, wondering what you might encounter when you talk to Gilda. Will she break your nose? Will she squash you like a bug? So many possibilities for her to let her anger out, it almost made you faint then and there. As you walk down the hallway, the sound of footsteps follow you. Thinking that it was someone else, you turn your head back to see nobody. You then just figure it’s your footsteps that are making the noise. As you keep walking, you stumble on a lump of something. This something yelped in surprise. “Hey! Watch it Dorkosaurus!” You hear the voice shout. As you turn around, the voice silences and you’re left with a now more timid and saddened Gilda who hugs her knees tighter to her chest. You look at the wall behind her and you notice the bathroom sign behind her. ‘Well… She did go to the bathroom.’ You think to yourself. “What are you doing here loser? You can’t be here, it’s the girl’s bathroom.” Gilda says without making direct eye contact with you. You shake your head. “Gilda, you’re not even in the girl’s bathroom. You’re only sitting in front of the door.” “Can I come out now!?” A voice asks from the girl’s bathroom. “Shut up newbie!” Gilda shouts while turning her head to face the door. “Who’s in there?” You ask pointing to the door. “The new girl… I think her name’s Sonata or something.” She says dismissively. “Oh c’mon Gilda let her out. She’s not the… Sharpest knife in the drawer. She won’t make it in their by herself.” You say with worry in your voice. Gilda finds this funny however. You don’t know what she’s laughing at, you’re dead serious. You roll your eyes and decide to take a chance. You get closer and you sit next to Gilda. She hugs her knees even tighter at your approach. ‘What’s up with her? Just twenty minutes ago she was antagonizing me like there was no tomorrow. Now she’s acting as if I’’ beat her up… Again.’ “Look, Gilda-” You’re interrupted. “Don’t tell me someone else is sitting in front of the door!” Sonata shouts angrily. “Sorry Sonata!” You say. “Oh, hi Anon! It’s OK! Besides, I made friends in here!” She replies. “Probably with the rats…” You say sarcastically, electing a chuckle from Gilda. ‘Okay, faze one is complete! Put her in a good mood, Check!’ “Listen Gilda, I've thought about what I've said, and I’m sorry. For everything, I shouldn't have insulted you like that and you-” Once again, you were interrupted. “No, no it’s my fault. You asked me to stop, and I kept messing with you. I had it coming.” She says solemnly. It saddens you even more knowing the fact that you've belittled her so much where she’s actually regretting her choices. ‘I really screwed up now didn't I?’ “Okay, I don’t want to start going back and forth saying “I’m Sorry” so I’m just gonna say it. You didn't deserve all that was said. You deserved to hear some things, but not all of it. I was letting off some steam and it wasn't fair to you that you were caught in the crossfire… Even though there wasn't really any crossfire to be caught in. It was kind of intended…” You finish off, as you look to Gilda for some sort of response, instead you’re met with a teary eyed face of Gilda who was too busy looking at the ground than looking at you. “It’s not the fact that you just said what you said, it’s the fact that most of that stuff is true… Just, take away the cage part and the mother then you got my life. When I was born, my dad wasn't happy. He’d wanted a boy, but being a girl he loathed instead of loved me. So, I sought to see the approval of him by being more of a boy than a girl. My mom was taken out of the picture right after I was born. She died of an overdose of some pills the doctors gave her. This left my dad to be a drunken abusive man. Whenever I’d make the smallest slip up, I’d be beat with a leather belt. That’s why I didn't want my grade lowered, I knew my dad would see it and he’d most likely beat me for it. He keeps saying he wants me to be tough, have thicker skin. But he also wants me to be smart in the head, not be a total imbecile. When I was young, I always thought he was just this, big monster of a man. It took some time to realize that all he was doing, was preventing me from becoming him. That’s why I still tolerate his way of, parenting. Because it’s effective. But in the end, I always find some way to screw it up” You’re left there, sitting alone with Gilda in the empty and almost creepy hallway of the school with the occasional passing of a teacher or janitor here and there. You can hear sniffling, from both Gilda and from behind the door you two sat in front of. Sonata had heard the whole story as well. ‘Poor thing. Wasn't even apart of this and she still got an earful’ Aside from the noises of sniffling and whimpering coming mostly from the bathroom, it’s completely silent. The echos of the footsteps down the hallways are almost silent to you. All you can sense at the moment, is the sound of Sonata’s whimpers, and Gilda’s sad sitting posture. You’re left with not much to do. What can you do? What could you do that’d fix this whole thing? With somewhat of an idea, you straighten out your back and you say, “There there, everything’s going to be fine…” You awkwardly move your hand, not really knowing what to do with it at the moment. Whether to pat her back, or pat her shoulder. “Anon’s here…” You’re arm still moves on it’s own, not knowing what to do with itself. Suddenly, you’re saved by the one thing you’d never expect coming. A hug, from Gilda. She had wrapped her arms around you, still in her sitting position, she’s mostly hugging your side with her head looking down while being supported by your shoulder to hold it up. Her hands clasp onto your other shoulder. As you sit there, really confused of you should do. Strands of Gilda’s feathery looking hair falls in front of your nose. You can smell hints of coconut. ‘Huh, I took her as lemon scented.’ Your sight returns to her hands on your left shoulder again. Not knowing anything else to do, you gingerly place your hand above her two hands. Comforting the two hands. ‘Where’s that damned passing period bell when you need it!’ You think to yourself, you then think of something else to replace the thought. ‘Eh, who am I kidding. I hope this lasts a little longer...’ > Need A Ride? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 6 Need A Ride? One would think that an intimate moment like that one would last for a long while… Nope. At least two minutes later, the bell rung and the halls were quickly filled with the students of Canterlot High. Students of all colors, sizes, and shapes passed by all eyeing you and Gilda who still sat on the ground. Feeling a tad awkward, you pat her hand to let go. “Okay… You, uh… Can let go now…” Suddenly, you felt a sudden jolt of force push you back. You see Gilda get up and brush off her jacket. “Seeya later loser!” She called out as she rushed down the halls of the school, most likely to get to her other classes. You look down to the ground and sigh. ‘So what did all that mean? Is she still angry with me? No, it can’t be. Oh well...’ As you get up and make your way down the hall, you hear Sonata crash through the bathroom door, looking as if she tried to ram it down. "Freedom! I'm free! I'm as free as a bird!!" She shouted as she ran down the hallways and out the doors ~***~ Well, if things could for once get better, something bad always had to happen. You heavily groaned and grumbled as you hiked up the highway to your home. Why are you hiking the highway in the first place? You had gotten on the bus home about fifteen minutes ago, after taking your seat you decide to read a little novel you have on your phone. The novel seemed to be so enthralling and interesting it distracted you from realizing that you missed your stop and it took the sudden stop of the bus to snap you out of your hypnotic reading state. As you think of why and how you ended up on the highway, you cringed at your own foolishness. ‘Stupid, Stupid, STUPID!! How’d I not notice my stop!?’ Your inner scolding was interrupted by the sudden rush of cars passing you by. Most of all of them getting closer than you would like them to be. “Gah! Stupid... “ You look back to see the design of the car that passed you. “FORD!!!” As you go back to your hike up the highway, the sound of music fill your ears. It begins sounding very subtle and far away, but it soon got louder with each step you took. You pause your trek up the highway to listen in for the music. The occasional sound of speeding car fills your ears but your main focus is the music. Now that it was louder, you could tell that the music was a type of death metal. ‘Hm, sounds a lot like Opeth... ‘ You say as you try to decipher what band the song is from. As your mind browses through the small folder of all the death metal songs you’ve heard, you see a motorcycle with a woman riding it with a brown aviators jacket, and black helmet, hiding the woman’s face from your view. However, you don’t need to see her face in order to know who she was. You turn your body to face the motorcycle. It begins to slow down as it notices you looking at it. The bike keeps slowing down until it comes to a complete stop right next to you on the side of the road. The biker’s hands reach to it’s helmet to lift it off to reveal an unsurprising young woman. Gilda, with a face that says, ‘Why the hell are you hiking up the highway you dingus?’ “Why the hell are you hiking up the highway you dingus?” She asks. ‘Wow, not far off from her expression...’ “Believe me it’s a long story that your simple mind won’t be able to perceive. Now, if you excuse me.” You say as you continue your trek up the highway. “Woah! Hold it dweeb-tard! You have to be a complete idiot if you actually think you’re going to be able to hike this road.” Gilda warned. “And why’s that Gilda?” You ask her. She grins as she points behind her, pointing at the oncoming traffic down the road. You look a little closer to see a cop car in the middle of the auto crowd. “Okay, you made your point. So what then?” You ask looking to Gilda for advice. This seemed to catch Gilda off guard. Her face began to flush with red and she rubbed the back of her neck. “Well… I kinda owe you for, what you did back at school today. So, you need a… Ride or something?” She asked trying her hardest not to make eye contact with you. You stare at her, knowing just how odd she must be feeling. ‘Asking someone if they needed a ride? Or some help? Now she must really be stepping out of her comfort zone...’ You think to yourself. “Um, sure. I’ll need to tell you where I live.” You say simply as you begin to mount her bike. As you do so, she hands you a helmet that was close to hers, but didn't have the face mask. “There, now you can look cool while being a retard! Anyway, yeah you’ll have to tell me.” She agrees. As she starts up the bike, you’re not sure where to grab onto. She doesn't have a back seat, and when you tried to grab onto the back, you couldn’t get a firm grip. “Uh, Gilda. I’m not so sure what to hold onto.” You say sounding as lost and helpless as a child. “Oh my Go- Just pussy up and hold onto my waist.” Feeling quite uncomfortable, you firmly grip onto Gilda’s waist. Soon after, you feel the bike start to drive, first at a slow pace, but it gains speed in only seconds. “So! Where to!?” Gilda asks, raising her voice on account of driving past traffic. “Just up this highway and take a left!” You shout back. It took you a moment to realize it, but this was your very first time on motorcycle. You knew how fast these things could get, and how dangerous riding one can be very dangerous. This thought makes you turn you head to the side to see the road and cars zip past you, almost like a blur of color before disappearing. ‘Oh hell this was definitely a bad idea… AND HOW LONG IS THIS HIGHWAY!!??’ You think to yourself, however you’re left with no time to contemplate these thoughts as you feel a large bump from the bike. Startling you into grabbing tighter and almost hugging Gilda closer to your body. You can feel her body tense up. She either had the same startled experience as you, or she felt your grasp tighten, either way it seemed like she didn’t mind. After a short while, the bike finally reaches the top of the highway, and she stops at a stop sign. “Okay knucklehead, where to?” She asks. “Uh, take a left and stop once you see a tall orange and white building.” Gilda quickly obliges and turns left. The road is more calm, so you two were able to talk. “So… Gilda. Are you and I like, friends now?” You ask sounding nervous. “Uh… I don’t know, why do you ask?” She asks sounding confused. “Well, just a week ago, you threatened to cut me with a knife, and just earlier today you open up to me. So, what’s going on here?” “What’s going on here? What’s going on here? What do you mean, “What’s going on here?” If you had a single brain cell in your little head you’d know that we’re simply acquaintances.” She argues. “Acquaintances who have an emotional breakdowns and need to be held by each other?” You ask arrogantly. “Watch it bub! Or I’ll kick you off this bike right now!” Gilda threatened. “No matter, my apartment is right there.” You say pointing forward. Gilda doesn’t say anything but slightly gasps. “An apartment? More like a condo! How do you afford that?” She asks sounding as if she just saw the most amazing magic trick ever. “To be honest, I really have no idea. All I know is that my mom is secretly paid extra under the table at her work. And my dad works for a deconstruction crew. So, we make a pretty good lump sum of cash.” You say proudly. “Must be good to live in the lap of luxury huh?” Gilda asks sounding more sadder than before. “Yeah… Sure.” You say, not fully sure if she was sad or not. After a few more seconds of driving, she comes to a stop at the front gate of the apartment. “Alright, hop off. That’ll be 20 bucks.” She says simply. “Wait, you’re charging me!?” You ask sounding surprised. “Well, with mommy getting paid extra and daddy breaking down walls for a profit, you shouldn't have a problem paying me. Now fork it over!” She demands. You reluctantly dig into your pockets in search for money, but instead you come up with nothing. “I don’t have any money on me.” You say simply. “Then how’d you use the bus?” Gilda asked. “Bus pass…” You answer simply. “Oh… Right… Well, then I’ll just have to go to your place and get it myself!” She says as she hangs her helmet onto the bike handle. She kicks the stand in place for the bike to hold up as she makes her way to the front gate. “Hey! Gilda! Gilda!” you call out. “You can’t just break into the gates! Besides, you need a key to get past the gate. So there is no way, no ho- What the he- how’d you do that!?” You ask sounding amazed. As you tried to explain why she couldn't break into the front gate, she had already hopped the gate without putting the slightest of effort into it, and was already making her way to the elevator. ‘Damn that gate! I knew they should have given it an extra foot in height!’ You swiftly pull out your keys and you use the key on the sensor to unlock the gate. You rush to the elevator, but you’re left to watch Gilda sarcastically wave goodbye as the elevator doors close. Then, a thought came to your mind. ‘She doesn't know what floor I live on! Ha! I’ll just beat her to it!’ With that thought, he rush to the stairwell and begin to trek up the stairs. ~***~ ‘That fool Gilda! She obviously didn't think to ask what floor I lived on! She’ll be in that elevator for ages! HA! Hahahaha!’ You thought to yourself, sounding like an insane villain. ~*Level 4*~ ‘Yeah, I got her do beat! She won’t know what hit her!’ ~*level 9*~ ‘I’m just flying up these stairs! Whew! Yeah, that’s right baby I’m about to do these stairs right up the bunghole! Yes! That’s right!’ ~*Level 15*~ ‘The one damn day I don’t bring my inhaler! The one, freaking day!’ You think to yourself as you reach the door that you desired for the whole trek up the stairs. You barge through the metal door as you make your way down the hall. You count down the apartment numbers as you go down, starting at O70. ‘O71, O72, O73, O74… Ha! O75!’ You exclaim in your head. But your happy mood is ruined by the look of Gilda trying to pick the lock of your front door. “How did you know?” You ask simply, not knowing what else to ask. “Simple process of elimination. You’re obviously rich, so you wouldn't be living on any of the lower floors. I will be honest though, I did stop at levels 13 and 9 just to check. But this African lady told me that you lived in O75. Also, this apartment building sections it’s floors off stupidly. Really? O75? Retarded!” She finishes off, suddenly, you hear the sound of an unlocking door. You hear Gilda exclaim a “yes” in victory as she swiftly opens the door to be instantly shocked at the luxury of your home. “May be small Gilda, but that don’t mean my home can’t look nice now can it?” You say proudly as you make your way past her. “Oh, and be sure to wipe your shoes on the mat and to take them off before walking on the carpet. We had Juanita clean them yesterday and we’d hate to have her go through that hell again.” > My Humble Abode > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- My Humble Abode You step into your home, with Gilda following behind you. As you lead her through your small home, each room doesn't fail to impress her. With the furniture you own, to the electronics each object that looks like it has some sort of luxury to it impressed her. As you made your way to the kitchen you tell Gilda to make herself at home. You enter the kitchen and notice two key things that completely change your system for when you get home. The sink is empty of dishes, and the fridge is full. ‘Something’s wrong here…’ As you ponder on these strange anomalies, you can hear Gilda call out for you. “Looks like your ass’ll be home alone Anon!” Gilda said reading off a sticky note that’s pinned to a calendar, on a wall in the living room. You join her in reading the calendar and it reads, ‘Dear Anonymous,’ You've never understood why your parents named you Anonymous. But, you always thought it sounded pretty cool. ‘You’re father had to go upstate to visit Grandma Doris in the hospital, I’ll be working late for this week so you’ll be feeding yourself. ~With Love, Mama!’ You didn't mind the fact that your mother expressed her love for you, even in little letters like these but Gilda was here, and it’s only downhill from this point. “‘Mama?’ Are you serious? MAMA’S BOY!!” Gilda exclaimed pointing her finger tauntingly. “Yeah yeah, we went over this Gilda don’t make me have to roast your ass again.” You say making your way to your bedroom. You open your door and enter your room. You go towards your desk and you look through a small box and after seconds of looking, you find a single twenty dollar bill. You turn to Gilda and you hand her the bill. “Here, you got your money, now get out!” You say angrily, but you don’t mean it. “I dunno, I might just stay for a bit. You got anything to eat?” She asks, you sight as you point to where the kitchen is and you tell her that the fridge is full. She rushes out of your room to the kitchen, leaving you alone with your thoughts. “Huh… I just realized I could have had Coffee Stem pick me up. Dammit.” ~***~ It’s been an hour, and Gilda is still in your house. After all the suggestions that you throw at her for her to leave, she still sticks around like she lives there. She’s also made herself at home, leaving her brown leather work boots at the door side where you and your family keeps the shoes, and hanging up her leather aviator jacket on the coat rack, she posts up on the sofa wearing nothing but a white tank top and torn dark brown jeans. Realizing that you've got nothing better to do, and you have no work to do either except that project Miss Cherilee assigned, you decide to join Gilda on the sofa watching whatever program that’s on. “What’s on?” You ask looking at the TV screen “Cops…” Gilda answers simply. You watch the TV noticing a squad of guards taking down what seemed to be a drug dealer. “You know this show’s fake right? I mean, who in their right mind would commit a crime on live TV? And how coincidental is it that the craziest of crimes happen when they record?” “Well, if you had a single brain stem in your head, you’d know that they record when police are dispatched.” Gilda argued. “So what? Are the cameraman just waiting around for a crime to happen so they can record it?” “Hey! Don’t judge the production of this show, it’s awesome!” “Yeah, awesomely fake…” You retort as you glance at her. Getting a glance back from her, you look back to the television and you continue to watch the show. Then a thought appears in your head, a thought that could easily set off Gilda and result in you and your house being devastated and destroyed. “Hey, Gilda… Why, are you still here?” You turn your head to face Gilda, she shows a face of confusion and surprise. “Excuse me?” She asks trying to reassure what you've just said. “I mean, I don’t mind the company but, you have your money. Why else are you here?” You ask. Obviously Gilda doesn't know how to answer this question account of her hesitant answer. “Well, I… You know, uh. Well you see…” She stutters as she tries to find a good answer for why she’s here for so long. “Gilda, we’re “Acquaintances” now, you can tell me anything. Just like today.” You say in a comforting manner. “Well, I guess it’s because my Dad’s not doing so well. He was fired from his job and now instead of looking for another, he’s just drinking more. When he drinks, he… Well, to keep it short, he isn't one to be around when he’s drunk. Someone, whether it be you or him, will get hurt at the end of it all.” Gilda explained. ‘So that’s why she’s here! She’s too scared to go home and to have her father hurt her.’ You conclude in your mind. Then another thought pops into your mind. Why is she being so honest? By her standards, you two are only “Acquaintances” so why is she being so open with her personal life with you? As you contemplate this wonder, you notice her pull her phone out of her pocket. She turns it on and swipes the screen. You glance at her face and notice a surprised and worried face. She then turns off the phone and begins to rub the temples of her head. “What’s wrong?” You ask sounding worried. “Uh, my dad’s in the hospital. He has some minor injuries and after he’s all healed up he’ll be shipped off to prison.” Gilda answered. “Did he text you all that?” You ask. “No, my uncle. He’s with my dad now and he wanted to let me know. My uncle said he’ll bail him out the moment he could. Look, thanks for letting me stay but I gotta go. I have to check up on my dad, see if he’s doing alright.” She said as she began getting ready, grabbing his jacket and putting on her boots. As she reached the door, she didn't say goodbye. She just left, without saying a word. > The Son I Never Had > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Son I Never Had It didn’t take long for Gilda to get to the hospital. She had ran into traffic on the way, but being on a motorcycle had it’s perks. Every so often, she would even run red lights just to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. On her way a thought wouldn’t leave her mind. Why exactly is she doing this? She didn’t like her father all that much, so why was it that she was breaking laws just to get to the hospital in record time? She had parked her motorcycle in one of the empty spots of the hospital, not caring how much she had to pay to park her vehicle. She dashed through the parking lot and into the hospital waiting room. She reached the front desk and asked where her father is. “What’s your relations with Mr. Griff Ma’am?” The woman asks as she reads her magazine. “I’m his daughter.” Gilda answers with an attitude. “Girl don’t give me an attitude! You father’s on the west side of the hospital. Room 164. Second floor.” “Right… Thanks.” Gilda says as she makes her way to the elevators. The hospital itself was huge in comparison to the other hospital’s she’s visited. It had a large lobby/waiting room, shiny marble floors, and it had a very clean and fresh atmosphere to it. Gilda called the elevator down and waited. Next to her was a young teen and his mother. The boy looked to be at least fourteen years old. He was wearing a bright red sweater and he was scrolling down something on his phone. Gilda looked back at the elevator that seemed to coincidentally open right as she looked at it. She and the two standing next to her stepped into the elevator. Gilda pressed the second floor button. The two who stood next to her in the small elevator didn’t seem to mind or press any buttons, so she assumed that they were going to the same floor as she was. After a short while of waiting, the elevator finally came to a stop and Gilda raced out of the elevator, almost resorting to her bully like tactics to push the boy out of the way, but easily side stepped him. She raced down the long corridor until she came to a set of double doors. Barging through the doors, she was met with a small group of nurses and doctors who quickly glanced at her in surprise of her arrival but soon went back to whatever they were doing. Gilda looked at the wall to her right that had most of the doors. She read each one of their labels until she found the final door on that side. It read 164. She raced her way to the door she was appointed to. Tears that wanted to break loose from Gilda’s eyes were held onto like hostages. Gilda wasn’t going to cry, she can promise that. She finally reached the shiny wooden door. She placed her hand on the knob and slowly turned it. She took a deep breath, and opened the door to reveal her uncle sitting next to her father who laid in a hospital bed. His face was bruised, he had a black eye and he seemed to have lost some teeth. “Dad… Are you okay?” Gilda asked as she began to get closer to her crippled father. “‘Bout time you showed up.” He said angrily. Gilda simply ignored her father’s anger and turned to her uncle. “What happened?” Her uncle gave her a sad look. “Your father got into a fight at the bar again. It got serious though. He tried to pull a knife on the other guy, but the other guy didn’t like that so he punched him out. But your father wouldn’t stay down. He… stabbed the guy.” Gilda was shocked. She knew her father was capable of inflicting pain on somebody else with ease, but he would never resort to trying to shank somebody. Right? “What!? He killed someone?” “No, I never said he killed the guy. He stabbed the fella in the shoulder. It wasn’t fatal but it was serious. The cops took him here to get healed of his broken arm real quick, then as soon as they get the cast on him, the cops’ll take him to prison.” Gilda looked at her dad who was too busy looking at the ceiling to notice her staring. “Dad, why would you try to stab him?” Her father was silent. “Dad?” Silence. “Dad!?” “Jesus Christ can you shut the fuck up for a damn second!? I’m trying to think here dammit and you’re over here flapping your gums!” “I just want to know why you shanked that guy today!” “Why? I did it because he was punkin’ me! He started it!” “No John you know you were drunk!” Gilda’s uncle shouted. “I was not! That guy was pushin’ me around! I was defending myself!” “That doesn’t mean you had to knife the guy dad!” Gilda shouted. “Oh what do you know? God you’re like your mother you know that? Bunch of softies around here! I’m the only man in this room!” “Yeah, the only man who’s going to prison John!” “Oh shut the hell up Peter!” Gilda put both her hands on her head, getting a huge migraine from all the yelling. “Both of you shut up!” Gilda shouted. “And you, you little shit! I don’t know why you came here. I thought you hated me.” Gilda’s father said as he pointed a fat finger at Gilda. “I don’t know, maybe because I love you and you’re my dad!” “I ain’t your dad you little brat! Hell I’m barely related!” Gilda was strucken aback. What does he mean by that? “W-What do you mean dad?” Gilda asked, the tears that she held onto were getting ready to flow. “Man you’re one stupid bitch you know that? Listen very closely, I AIN’T YOUR DADDY! I’m not related to you in any way. Your real dad died when you was only a few months old. I came into the picture soon after and I had to deal with your ass. Then your mother died and I had to go through hell alone. Makes me regret getting with your bitch of a mother.” Gilda’s eyes began to water. Tears finally flowing down her cheeks, yet she kept a strong, angry face. “Besides. I never wanted kids. Your mother just sprung up the fact that you were her child after she had brought me home from our first date. If I did have kids, or if I ever wanted any, I would have wanted a boy. A nice, strong boy. Not some, Happy Little Homemaker bitch of a daughter.” It was hard for Gilda to keep her cool. She was already crying, but she tried her damndest to keep her strong face on. That was until her father said these words, “I hope I go to jail. So I never have to see your sorry ass again!” Gilda couldn’t hold it anymore. Sadness and anger got the better of her when she walked up to her father and punched him right in his mouth. His prickly, old chin easily snapping to the side from the impact of her fist to his jaw. Peter; Gilda’s uncle, sat and watched with shock. After punching her father, Gilda began to storm out of the hospital room. Before she exited the door however, she turned her head and yelled, “I hope you rot in hell you prick!” Gilda slammed the door behind her and began to speed walk her way down the hallway. But as she did so, she noticed an open door. Room 165. She quickly glanced into the room to see the young teen holding an old, skinny, boney hand with tears in his eyes. Gilda, who was too emotionally hurt to wonder what was wrong with the boy, kept walking until she made it to the double doors. As she opened the doors, she ran into two cops. “Excuse me miss.” One of them said. Gilda walked a little slower as she passed them. She kept a sharp eye on the cops who went down the hallway, walking all the way to her father’s room. ‘Wait. If they go in there and my dad tells them I punched him, I’ll be screwed!’ Gilda thought as she began to book it towards the elevators that, lucky for her were already on the floor she was on. She pressed the button to open the elevator doors and quickly stepped inside. She slammed her hand on the first floor button and eagerly waited for the doors to shut. She felt the elevator begin to lower to the ground. After a short time of waiting, she felt the elevator stop at the first floor. The doors opened and Gilda ran out. She raced out of the lobby and through the entrance. Looking around the parking lot, she raced to the parking area where she parked her motorcycle. She ran down a lane of cars and cars until she finally found her motorcycle. She grabbed the helmet from the handles and slipped it onto her head. She mounted her bike and quickly started the engine. She backed out from her parking place and began to ride her way out of the hospital parking lot. Once out, she took the freeway back to where she came. With nowhere else to go, she resorted to returning back to the one place where she felt genuinely safe. Like the trip there, it wasn’t a long lasting bike ride. But unlike the ride there, it was a depressing and slower trip back. ~***~ You sit by yourself on the sofa. You check the digital clock on your cable box and it read 4:37. At least another hour until your mother returned home from work. As you sink even further into the sofa, you hear a knock on the door. Your head spins to look at the door. Slow, depressed knocking could be heard from the door. You reluctantly get up from your spot to answer the door. Thoughts going through your mind as you do so. ‘It either be the people who give out million dollar checks, or a pizza guy who’s giving out free pizzas or I swear it’ll be their heads on a-’ You open the door to see a sad, depressed Gilda tower over you. Her head lowered and tears in her eyes. She sniffles a couple times before you ask her what’s wrong. She looks up, yet says nothing. Silence. A long silence fell over you two before she quickly snatched you into a hug. She wraps her arms around you back and neck as she begins to whimper and cry. You’re caught off guard by this. You weren’t expecting this from Gilda. At least, something not as blatant. Without anything else to do, and with no words to speak with, you just hug back. “It’s alright Gilda. You’re safe here. You’re with friends here…” > A Night Out > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Night Out You couldn't explain why, but it felt a little nice to see this side of Gilda for once. Now you knew she was more than just a tough tomboy, she actually had feelings and just needed somebody to hold to make herself feel better. Even though it was a slightly awkward hug given the fact your head measured up to her breasts, it still felt nice. After some time passing with the two of you just hugging it out, you let go and led her to the couch, no words needing to be said at the moment. You two take a seat next to one another on the soft, comfy sofa as Gilda snuggles up to your side, her head placed on your shoulder. "Not to pry Gilda but, do you want to talk about it? Maybe it'll make you feel better." You say with a somber tone. "No... I, really don't feel like talking about it now Anon... Can we just, stay quiet for a little longer please?" Gilda asks. Not wanting to anger her or annoy her, you abide and stay silent. Just letting her cuddle you. To get more comfortable, Gilda strips herself of her coat and boots and continues to cuddle your side, and while it felt a little weird having your former bully cuddle you for security, it was a nice feeling. Her body felt warm, and soft on your side, making you melt into her embrace. You lean your head on hers and breath a heavy sigh. 'So misunderstood... Poor thing, she really needed this I guess...' You think to yourself as you shut your eyes. It was quiet for a little longer until Gilds spoke up. "Anon... I'm sorry..." Your eyes widen. Did Gilda just apologize? "For what Gilda?" You ask in astonishment. "I'm sorry for being a jerk to you before... I just... It's just how I act I guess, I can't help it and-" You interrupted her. "No Gilda. Please stop, I understand, you don't need to apologize for anything. You're from a broken home, you haven't been treated right. Look, being honest, I didn't know why you were mean in the beginning, but then you told me about your dad and everything he's done. Then I had a good feeling that I knew why you did what you did. And I forgive you." This was probably the most honest thing you've said for a long time, and by the looks of it, it had an effect. You looked at Gilda's face, still leaning on your shoulder, and tears were streaming down her face. She was biting her lip so she wouldn't cry, but she was having a bit of difficulty doing so. She sniffled and hiccuped, and all you could do was comfort her. You and her sat there cuddling for a little longer until her sniffling and whimpering went silent. Curious as to why her crying noises had stopped, you glanced at her face. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was calmed, she had fallen asleep on your shoulder. "Hm, she literally cried herself to sleep." You whisper to yourself. While Gilda may be in a comfortable position now, you were still sitting up in a least comfortable position. You sat there, thinking and planning out your next move. After getting an idea of what you'll do next, you carefully and slowly lift Gilda's head off your shoulder, just long enough for you to lie yourself down on the couch. As you lied down, you brought Gilda with you, until both of you were laid on the sofa. At that point, you and Gilda were lying down together on the couch, your arm wrapped around her chest as you snuggled into her back. Her warmth and the subtle breaths she'd make lulling you to sleep. ~***~ As you awaken, you fight against your eyelids, trying to lift them open. After some more effort in waking up, you get a good look at your current situation. You're alone on the sofa and you can hear the shower running. Your best guess was Gilda was taking a shower. You didn't have anything against that, she did smell like sweat anyway. You slowly rise from your position on the sofa and yawn. You check the clock on the cable box beneath the television. "5:24... Shouldn't Mom be home by now?" You ask yourself, but then something tells you to check your phone. Maybe you'd get an answer from the device. You check your back pocket and slip the slim phone out from beneath you. You turn it on and instantly see the 'one new message' text at the top of the screen. You swipe the screen to reveal the message you've received. 'Hi honey, sorry I'm not home yet. Works keeping me for a little longer. I'll be back by 6:00... Hopefully.' Not feeling like responding in detail, you decide to be that one guy and reply back with, 'K' Putting your phone down, you hear the shower go off and your head snaps up at the bathroom door down the hallway. A few minuets later, you see Gilda with nothing but a towel on step out from the bathroom, she quickly notices your stares. "Take a picture, it'll last longer perv!" She says jokingly. "Wait, let me get my camera ready!" You respond, before she could react, you actually pull out your phone and open the camera app. Gilda takes notice and starts to flee to whatever room she can get to, but it was too late. The sound of a camera flash emitted from your phone. A smile graces your face as you review the photo. It was one of those rare photos that were taken at the perfect time. It was right when Gilda turned to run and her towel had lifted just enough to see the bottom of her rump, you whistle at the photo. "Damn G, you do squats or something?" You ask as you zoom into the photo. As you were getting lost into the picture, you see fingers grab the phone and yank it from your grasp. You then see Gilda toss your phone across the room as she storms off down the hall to the nearest bedroom. "You know, if you wanted me to delete it you could have just asked!" You say, but after some thought you add, "After I make copies and I Email the picture to myself then I'd delete it." You look across the room and spot your phone just in front of the television stand. You go to pick it up as you hear Gilda call out. "So... Whatcha wanna do?" You're a little confused by this question. "What do you mean Gilda?" You ask. "I'm bored, I wanna do something Anon. Let's go out or something!" She requests, however you're still lost. "Like, a date?" You ask. "What? No! I mean... Not really... Unless you make it one, but no. Just, two friends going out someplace." She defends. You think about what time you have until your mom gets home, but then you think about how fun it'd be to actually get out for once. You shrug to yourself, not seeing a reason NOT to go out. "Sure, why not. What'd you have in mind?" You ask. Instead of quickly answering like she has been, Gilda instead hesitates. But you can see why when she walks out of the hallway, wearing her usual attire, minus shoes, her jacket, and socks. She plops down next to you on the couch and breathes out a satisfied breath. "Dunno, that's why I ask you knucklehead." She lightly punches your arm as you chuckle along with her. You think and think, nothing really sparks your mind at the moment. You think and think until a few suggestions enter your mind. "What if we... Went to that new library downtown? I hear that's a pretty neat place. And it's open 'till 10:00" "Really? A library? You really are a nerd." Gilda remarks. "We wouldn't be going there for the books dummy, there's a small cafe in the lobby of the library and we can bring my laptop." "Why would we bring your laptop? Don't you have internet here?" Gilda asks. "Yeah but... Loading a page takes about a minute each time so it's almost unappealing then." You explain. "Yeah I guess... Is it far?" Gilda asks. No, just a quick drive. Ten minutes tops." You answer, Gilda shrugs and agrees. Probably seeing nothing to complain or debate about. As you two get up, you turn on your phone and you begin to text your mother. 'Mom, gonna hang out with a friend. I'll be back by nightfall.' As you conclude the text, you slip on your shoes and make your way to the door. You check your pockets for your wallet and keys, pleased to know they were in their designated pockets. You wait for Gilda who was slipping on her socks and boots at the moment. After some waiting, she's finally ready and follows you out the door. As you lock the front door behind you, Gilda speaks up. "Hey, while we're out, can we grab some stuff from my place?" "What do you mean G?" You ask. "Well... My Dad might not want me home if he's sent back so I may need a place to crash. I was hoping I could bunk with you or something." Gilda asks with a bit of hopefulness in her voice. "Well I mean... We'll see. My mom still needs to get home. We'll run it by her okay?" You respond. Gilda takes a deep breath. "Alright. Whatever..." She sounds a bit disappointed, wanting to lighten to mood you grow a smile on your face. "Hey, we'll have fun tonight. I promise!" You say cheerfully, Gilda can't help but smile at your contagious happiness. She throws her arm around your shoulders and sighs. "Alright dweeb. Let's roll out." You two begin walking to the elevator, excited for the night ahead. > Long Time, No See > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long Time, No See "I still can't believe you forgot your laptop!" Gilda exclaims as she stifles a laugh. "Shut up, I didn't mean to forget it! It just slipped my mind!" You argue. "Yeah sure, or maybe it's because you're a knucklehead." Gilda remarks, you roll your eyes and ignore her name calling. The two of you just arrived at the library and you were glad to see it not as full as it usually was. Since it was a recently opened library and it was open later than other local libraries, it was almost rare to see it without a crowd inside. You and Gilda walk into the library and Gilda seems amazed at the sheer size and luxury of the place. The library was bigger than any other she's seen before and it was far more appealing than the others as well. "Whoa, look at this place Anon..." Gilda says in amazement. "Yeah, it's really something..." You say to yourself as you and Gilda continue through the lobby of the library. The building from outside had a dome shaped ceiling made up of beams and glass. The height was also extravagant, almost as high as the tallest skyscrapers in town. The library itself seemed to have four to five floors, aside from the lobby. "So, where do you wanna start?" You ask Gilda who was still amazed by the library. "Uh... I-" "Pretty neat huh? Not some nerd hangout now right?" You ask with a snarky attitude. Gilda looks down to your level of eyesight and chuckles. "I guess..." She answers. As you two approach the end of the lobby and the elevators that would take somebody to higher levels of the library, Gilda remembered you telling her there was a place to get food in the library. She hadn't eaten anything for a while and her hunger was catching up to her. "Didn't you say there was a food stand here or something? Where is that?" "That would be..." You think for a bit before the memory of where the food was entered your head. You quickly point a finger to the North, towards the stairs. "Up these stairs!" As you and Gilda approach the stairs, you stand aside to let Gilda climb first. She gives you an odd look. "What're you doing dweeb?" "Ladies first madam..." You say with your best English impression. Gilda chuckles, but decides to play along. "Why thank you kind sir..." She begins to climb the stairs before you. You soon follow suit and it doesn't take long for the two of you to reach the top. Once again, Gilda is impressed by the interior of the library. "Geez Gilda, you're acting like this is the Taj Mahal." "Well, every library I've seen is old and dusty and full of old people that smell like paint. This place, is a palace." Gilda replies, and while it sounds odd, you kinda have to agree with her. This library was like none other, it wasn't like the dingy libraries you used to visit, this was a neat library. Clean and shined to perfection, this city always took education seriously so it's no surprise they put most of their designing effort into this one library. As you inspected further into the design of the library's interior, Gilda shakes your shoulder and points towards a food cart. "Anon! Food!" Gilda exclaimed. "Yeah, no shit Sherlock!" You retort. "Asshole, let's go get some fill! I haven't eaten since lunch today." You didn't have enough time to react before Gilda pulled you towards the food cart. Before you knew it, Gilda was already ordering something from the small menu behind the counter of the cart. "I'll have a turkey sub with a diet cola." You give Gilda a disgusted face. "Diet?" You ask. "What, you got a problem with that?" She asks, ready to defend her preferred drink. "No, no... It's just, why?" "Well how else am I supposed to keep this awesome figure? Do you think I always work out?" Gilda responds as she's handed her food. She does have a point, you don't reply, accepting defeat. It was now your turn to order from the stand. "I'll uh... Take a ham and cheese sub and water." A simple order, nothing too complicated. A couple minutes pass and the man behind the cart hands you your sub and bottled water. You and Gilda pay for the food and make your way to the elevator so you can go to the top floor. "So Gilda... After this, did you want to get your stuff from your place?" You ask, Gilda seemed a little busy taking her first bite of the sandwich to answer immediately. She quickly takes her bite and chews down the sandwich. "Yeah, is it cool with your mom?" "I'll just call her in a few, she's pretty easy going so I can see you crashing at my place in the near future." You say with certainty. You two enter the elevator and press the top button. "So, what would we need to get exactly?" You ask. "You know, the necessities. Personal belongings, my phone charger, clothes, underwear and a bunch of other stuff." You blush a little. "Underwear?" You ask with a stutter. "Uh yeah, what do you think I'd just go commando? C'mon Anon get real." While you and Gilda carry on with your conversation, the elevator doors open and you take notice that you've arrived at the top floor. You gesture Gilda to follow you as you and her continue the conversation, however it abruptly ended when Gilda caught sight of the view from the glass windows. "Oh my..." She led on. She goes ahead to the glass and looks towards the horizon. The sun in the middle of setting, it was a pretty magical sight. "Pretty neat huh?" You ask, sneaking up next to her. "Sure is..." She says, still amazed by the view. You look out towards the horizon with her, but then Gilda herself catches the site of your peripheral vision. You then turn your eyes, then head to get a look at her face. The sun was glowing right onto her face, not too much to where she needed to squint her eyes, but just enough so she could still watch on comfortably. Her skin was radiant and looked as smooth as silk. Her golden eyes glistened and sparkled. You blush a little, but you didn't try to hide it. She was a nice looking girl in normal lighting, but here... She was more than 'Nice Looking' she was... Beautiful, angelic even. As you stared, she noticed you staring as well, and surprisingly, she didn't ask why you were staring, or speak in general. She stayed silent and stared back. Combined breathing only filled the bubble that covered you two. "Anon... The-" "What the- Fucking hell, Anon is that you!?" Your head snaps to wherever the voice came from. The voice sounded familiar, too familiar. It was a voice you were hoping you'd never hear, ever again. "Oh no..." You say. "What? What is it Anon?" Gilda asks, confused. You couldn't answer though, you only watched the figure walk up to you, two other guys following him. He looks angry, and not happy to see you. "Lookie here guys. The fag's gotta girlfriend..." "Excuse me string bean? Who're you callin' girlfriend?" Gilda says as she jabs a finger into the guy's chest, making him back up a little. "Excuse me dike, but this is between me and Anon." The guy you know as Patrick turns his head towards you. "So... Pussy, why'd you run off that day huh? Why'd you leave?" "You know why I left Patrick, I didn't want to do that. It wouldn't have solved anything!" You argue. "You embarrassed me that day asshole. I told everybody I'd wipe the floor with you and you bail on the fight. Making me look like a fool! Now it's about time I get redemption!" Before you knew it, a hard, strong fist connects to your cheek, knocking you to the floor. Gilda wasn't happy, at all. "You little runt. You'll pay for that!" Gilda raises her fist to attack Patrick, but is stopped by his two goons. "Arthur, James... Take care of this dike. This is just between me and Anon." Arthur and James takes Gilda by the arms and try to drag her to the elevator. But the key word is, 'Try' Gilda didn't budge and instead flung the two teens to the floor. But they're quick to pop back up and attack Gilda. Meanwhile, Patrick is attending to you by kicking you in the gut, making it even more difficult to get back up. "It's been too long prick. Too damn long, now... It's time to make this internet official..." Patrick pulls out his phone and begins to record you as you squirm and struggle on the floor. "Anon! Get up dammit!" Gilda calls out as she tends to Arthur and James. "You'll be getting what you deserve you rodent!" Patrick drives another strong kick into your gut, making you dry heave. Patrick continues to record until a strong fist grabs him by the collar of his shirt and yanks him back. It was an angry, red faced, bloody nosed Gilda. "You're gonna get it you fucktard!" "I already got what I need dike..." Patrick waves his phone in front of Gilda's face. She throws him down with force and snatches his phone from his hand. She then snaps the skinny phone in two and slams the pieces onto the ground. "Where's your pussy ass recording now fucknut?" Gilda asks, with a cocky attitude. "Did you honestly think I'd come here with only one camera?" Patrick says with a smirk. Then, a girl from behind one of the bookshelves reveals herself. Gilda is quick to recognize who this girl was. "Lighting Dust?" > Choices, Choices > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Choices, Choices "The one and only G. The one and only..." Lighting responded to the still dumbfounded Gilda. "I thought you moved back to Cloudsdale... Why're you here?" Gilda asked. "That's not important G, what is important however is you and your little boy-toy over there are going to be internet stars for roughing up my boyfriend and his goons." You had just gotten back to your feet, grasping your stomach. Everything seemed fuzzy to you, so you had no idea what Lightning was talking about, and frankly, you couldn't care less. You were more worried about where Patrick had went, but you notice him still on the ground, silently moaning because of the inflicted pain caused by Gilda. But, while everything Lightning had said was fuzzy, the shouting from a completely different person snapped you back to reality, and it seemed to do the same for literally everybody around you. You slowly look up to see two police officers, hands ready to pull their tasers out if needed. "Okay, what's going on here!? The library reported fighting up here, and we're here to escort you out of the establishment. If you resist, we will have no choice but to use force!" One of the cops called out sternly. At this point, Patrick, James, Arthur, Lighting, Gilda, and yourself were silent. All not having a clue of what to do next. It was that moment when you all had a moment of comradery and looked at one another. You all knew this guy meant business and one wrong move can easily put everyone in the- "To hell with that!" Patrick called out as him and his lackeys began to book it towards the stairs that led downwards. Gilda was apparently thinking the same thing as she began to follow suit, not wanting to be detained. The two cops scrambled to chase the fleeing teens, as you and Lightning watched. Lightning was really getting into recording at this point, which angered you very much. When she was paying more attention to getting the perfect shot, instead of paying attention to you, you decided to snatch the camera from her hands and throw it over the railings. Sending it to the main floor of the library. "What the fuck Anon! That was expensive!" Lightning called out in anger. "Why were you recording it? In fact, better question, why were you here with Patrick and his gang?" "Isn't it obvious, we were waiting for you dickweed. That's why we had cameras. We noticed you two arriving so we all hatched a plan. The plan was to get Patrick to beat the living shit outta you and record it. Then we would put it on the internet and let the public do the rest." Lightning explained. For some reason, this all seemed like a very generic villain vs hero movie. When the villain knows when to be at the right place at the right time. "But how did you know we were coming here?" You ask. "Believe it or not, we had no idea. We were actually here filming a project for history when you two rejects showed up. That was genuine surprise you heard from Patrick. I just so happened to be their camera girl, so I documented the whole thing! Or, I did until you tossed my three hundred dollar camera over a rail you asshole!" With that, Lightning slaps you hard across the face. A feeling all to familiar at this point. Instead of acting angrily however, you reacted calmly. "Lightning... Why? Why are you doing this? What's with the attitude all of a sudden?" You ask in a caring tone. Lightning only glares at you. "What? I'm doing this because you're an asshole! That's why!" Lightning retorted angrily. As she raised her arm for another slap, you caught her wrist, still looking at her with a serious look. "What happened Lightning? I remember you being... Better than this. What happened?" Lightning only stared at you. Her angry face melting into an uncertain one. "Nothing happened. What happened was I smarted up! I learned you were a coward who wasn't willing to fight for his girl!" "I wasn't going to risk a fight over something ridiculous." "Oh so now I'm ridiculous?" Lightning asked angrily. "No Lightning! I would have done anything for you. I would have defended you in the blink of an eye, and you know that. But what you did was ridiculous and idiotic!" You exclaimed. That seemed to shut Lightning up, she had drawn back from you. Her angry face began to falter, but she kept it strong as tears welled up in her eyes. "I had no choice..." She said simply. "You've always had choices Lightning... You just decided to take the wrong ones." You stare her in the eyes, feeling hate and anger towards Lighting as she struggles to keep her composure. Voices in your mind were shouting and screaming at you, telling you to leave her there to think about everything that was said. But then, something else takes control. Before you leave, you give her a strong, warm hug. Lighting is as stiff as a board, but she doesn't try to fight back. "But I believe you still have choices Lightning Bug... I know you do, but try to make the right ones... For me." You whisper. Having nothing else to say, you then straighten your posture and leave. You walk towards the elevator and enter. The last thing you see before the stainless steal doors close, is a stiff Lightning Dust, fall to her knees and grab her head in her hands. You nod, and repeat to yourself, 'She needed this...' ~***~ You step outside the library after being questioned by an officer. And while it slightly annoyed you, you knew he was only doing his job. You look around to find Gilda's motorcycle still in it's parking place. "She hasn't left yet... But, where'd she escape to?" You ask yourself as you look around the area to find a glimpse of Gilda anywhere. That was until you felt your back pocket vibrate. You reach your pocket and pull out your phone. It's an unrecognized phone call. "Hello?" You answer. You then hear a distressed familiar voice. "Hey Anon... I don't have a lot of time, so I'll say it. I'm in jail and this is my one phone call. Please get me outta here!" You stand there. Speechless, yet unsurprising. "Yeah, I'll see what I can do." You answer. After exchanging more words, you end the call and curse to yourself. You don't know what to do, you never had to bail anybody out of jail before... But you did know somebody who did. You swiftly turn your phone on and swipe through your contacts until you find the right number. With a nervous breath, you press on the number and it rings. Seconds later, a voice all too familiar answers. "Hey Mom? I got a little issue."