Everyone seemed to change at least one way or another, whether it was mentally or physically. And despite it being the small period where you sized up everyone in search of any alterations, chances were you were the one getting judged---especially if you weren't well-liked among your peers. Here's an example.
As Bonnie and Raven walked down the bustling hallways filled with new faces and unfortunately very old ones, Raven listened to Bonnie's various (but very diverse) comments with an amused smile etched on her face.
"Major lack of real estate," Bonnie was saying as she looked around. Her gaze stopped at one of her peers. "Look at the shower curtain on Kelly Beach. She looks like a hot--can I still say tranny mess?"
"If you wanna sound like an entitled bitch."
"Ah," Bonnie commented as they approached their side-by-side lockers which could in no way be a coincidence. "Find a man, coin a phrase. It's a busy year."
"Yeah well if I know you, you can do both in no time. Plus ten bucks says you're getting valedictorian senior year," Raven replied. Bonnie opened her mouth to say something, but the words never came out. Her eyes were fixed on something that seemed far, but close at the same time. "What are you looking at?"
Of course she shouldn't have had to ask. But when she turned she spotted a certain blonde by his locker, wearing his red school jock hoodie with white buds in his ears as he looked at her grimly, in his usual depressed slump.
Physically close but emotionally? Very, very distant.
Unlike with Bonnie, there were hard, cold feelings between him and Raven. The one-sided bad blood didn't stop Raven from waving at him. But all he did was slam the door to his locker and walk away. Just like she walked away from him.
Raven exhaled and turned around to meet Bonnie's sympathetic eyes and apologetic smile. "He hates me, doesn't he?" She asked. Just like that, her happiness levels were back to zero. But perhaps this was the universe's way of punishing her. If so, it needed to work a bit harder. "Am I a terrible person or what?"
"You're not, trust me," Bonnie replied gently. "And that's not hate. That's you dumped me but I'm cool to show it but I'm secretly listening to Air Supply's greatest hits."
"Air Supply?" Raven repeated, a sour look on her face. "No Macy Gray or Ashanti? Maybe he deserved to get dumped after all."
"Wow you really are a terrible person," Bonnie joked. Raven giggled. It sure was good to be back.
But she couldn't help but think about Matt...she'd been trying to be funny, but he had every right to hate her. More rights than he knew. She had been a terrible person to him. She'd been terrible to everyone.
"Raven!" A peppy voice squealed---a sound that could only belong to the typical blonde captain of the cheerleading squad. The pair turned to see Caroline Forbes striding towards them, and before Raven could offer a greeting, she was engulfed in a smothering hug. "Oh my god! How are you?"
"Suffocating," She strained, looking at Bonnie, who stifled a laugh. She looked extremely amused by her friend's discomfort.
"Oh, it's so good to see you," Caroline voiced when they pulled away and turned to Bonnie. "How is she? Is she good?"
"Wow, if only I was standing right here so you could ask me yourself."
Caroline looked at Raven and smiled pitifully. "I've missed that amazingly wry humor of yours, you poor thing."
"I'm sure you have..." Raven responded flatly, earning a Be nice look from Bonnie. At this, she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I flaked this summer."
"No worries, I totally understood," Caroline said enthusiastically, offering up a sunny smile that would make anyone understand why she was the cheer captain instead of anyone else. She didn't just have the talent or looks---she had the beaming spirit. "See you guys later?"
"Yep, totally," Raven promised, and Caroline nodded before turning and walking away. Raven looked at Bonnie, the dramatic grin still plastered on her face.
"You can stop smiling now," Bonnie said, slightly frowning and cringing internally. "You look like one of my Gram's vintage china dolls. It's kind of freaking me out."
"Sorry," Raven said, losing the grin. "Force of habit."
Bonnie laughed. "I'll say."
They proceeded down the hallways, deciding to pass the time by searching for any other changes. Suddenly, Bonnie quietly gasped and seized Raven's arm.
"Hold up," She said. "Who's this?"
Raven stopped, turning to look at the dark-haired boy her friend was ogling. She couldn't see his face but could tell he was speaking to the secretary by the way the corner of his lips moved. The first thing she noticed was his accessory of choice and raised an eyebrow.
"Someone who apparently likes wearing sunglasses indoors," She commented, moving to the side so she could get a better look. Not that that gave her any luck. "All I can see is his back."
"It's a hot back," Bonnie said, her eyes trained on the stranger.
"Are we talking about his back or his ass?"
A suggestive smirk came onto her face. "Either one works for me."
Raven gasped, taken back by her friend's boldness. "Bonnie!" She exclaimed and giggled. She wasn't used to this side of her, but she wasn't complaining. It was comforting to know that even though she changed a bit, they hadn't grown apart. In fact, it was like Raven never left.
"I'm sensing Seattle," Bonnie said as her eyes bore into his back, narrowing a bit as she picked up a vibe. "And he plays the guitar."
Raven scoffed, shaking her head with mild disbelief. "You're really gonna run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?"
"Pretty much."
Raven started to laugh, but it quickly died down when she heard someone say, "Hey Jeremy, good batch, man." Her head immediately snapped up, her lips pursing with disapproval as her eyes fixed on her brother, who was mindlessly walking into the men's room.
"Oh hell no," She muttered and turned to her friend, whose focus was still entirely trained on the apparent new kid. "I'll be right back."
Bonnie nodded, and Raven turned and stalked into the bathroom. She walked up to Jeremy, who was tilting his head back to squeeze eye drops in his eyes.
She made her way to him but was delayed by a redhead boy coming out of a stall. "Woah, pants down, chick!" He exclaimed when he saw her. He started to walk away, but she grabbed him by his collar and jerked him back.
"Talk to me like that again, and I'll castrate you, free of charge," She threatened, her narrowed eyes boring into his hormonal soul.
The boy violently nodded to show he understood. With an innocent smile, she released him and sent him running for the halls without a second thought. If she hadn't been upset with Jeremy, she might've handled that in a more...interesting way.
She turned her attention to Jeremy. He expected her to yell at him and was prepared to hear yet another you're-so-much-better-than-this lecture, but his treatment wasn't even close.
Without warning, she grabbed his face, intentionally digging her nails in his skin as she looked into his normal-looking eyes and scoffed. She remembered her dad telling her that eye drops could reverse the rheumy and dilating effect. That was before her drug issue came to light. Jeremy pushed her away.
"Great," She said, deadpan. "You haven't even been here for five minutes and you're already stoned. Way to go, Jeremy."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb," Raven snapped. It didn't take long for her to understand that the only reason he called Bonnie to pick her up was because he didn't want to get caught. The joke was on her for being so naive and thinking that he actually cared about her. She brazenly pat him down, even trying to look inside his pockets. "Where is it? Is it on you?"
"What, are you crazy?" He yelled, swatting her hands away. "Stop that! You need to chill yourself, alright?"
"Oh shut it, stoner boy!" She hissed. "Give me the pills or coke or whatever the hell you have on you before I get them myself!"
"Maybe you should lay off because I got them from your boyfriend!
"Ryder is not my boyfriend," Raven snarled. "And I don't care who you got them from, I'm not gonna stand here and watch you destroy yourself."
"You mean like you did?"
She blinked, caught off hard by his very obvious shot at her. Then she swallowed hard. "Give them to me," She demanded. He stared at her. "Now!"
"Alright!" Jeremy yelled, raising his volume to match hers. He reached into the pocket and pulled out a bottle of green caplets, scowling. She was a woman of her word, so she would go through with whatever threat may slip out of her mouth next, especially since he pissed her off by bringing up a touchy subject. "Happy?"
"Over the moon," She quipped, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she snatched the bottle away from him. She walked into an empty stall and flushed the pills down the toilet. When she came back out, she was mildly surprised to see her brother still standing there, his hands tucked into his pockets as he leaned back.
What she wasn't surprised about, however, was to hear his next statement. "You're a bitch, you know that?"
"And you're a junkie that I'm done letting off the hook," She responded, unfazed. The insults were starting to get a little old. "Jenna may be our legal guardian but Mom and Dad asked me to look after you. So as long as I'm breathing, that's what I'm going to. You can hate me if you want, but just know that whenever you think you're getting away with this shit, I'll be there to pop up and ruin your buzz every single time. Got it?"
Jeremy looked down, refusing to meet her penetrating stare. A. toilet flushed. A kid she didn't recognize walked out of a stall, averting his gaze as he looked up. His stiffness told her he heard everything, and it wasn't until that moment that she fully registered that she was in the men's room.
When the kid left, Jeremy took that as his cue and scoffed before following after him. Raven stood there for a moment, frustration bubbling inside of her. But when that finally dispensed, she drew a breath and exhaled before leaving the room not at all designed for her, deciding to avoid any unnecessary embarrassment.
And she foolishly thought she might actually succeed.
The moment she stepped outside, she collided with a firm chest. She could feel someone's hands grip her waist as she stumbled back and tried to regain balance. When she was able to steady herself, she found herself staring into the forest green eyes of a beautiful stranger.
For a moment, she stood there in a daze. She didn't want to use her mouth just yet, knowing there was a chance she'd stumble over her words, but somehow, the silence seemed worse.
"Are you okay?" The stranger asked innocently as she took in his black leather jacket. She nodded. His eyes darted to the sign on the restroom door, and he frowned slightly. "Is this the men's room?"
"Yes, it is," She confirmed, putting together the pieces in her mind. He was wearing the same outfit from earlier, but the tinted glasses stuffed into his pocket were a dead giveaway. "Wait, hold on. You're that guy."
Guitar Guy raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"
"The one with the hot back," She blurted out. He looked taken back by his new nickname and. She closed her eyes for a second, wanting to throw herself off a cliff. "And obviously, you don't know what I'm talking about because if you did, that'd mean you have some kind of freaky superhuman hearing ability. S-sorry, I'm just gonna...."
She stepped forward at the same time he did, nearly bumping into him yet again. They both smiled awkwardly and stepped to the side, but the result repeated. This went on for an embarrassing amount of time, and when Raven was finally able to slip away, her cheeks felt like they were on fire. She didn't waste time rushing away but couldn't fight back the smile stretching on her face as she felt Guitar Guy's eyes drilling her soul.
Still got it, she thought proudly. Oh, the magic of first days---there was truly nothing like it.
_____
And that is the first chapter of 'Tainted Hearts.' I would love to hear your thoughts on it!
Anyways, with that being said, let the love triangle begin...
You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net