Pins and Needles

Chapter 23

I plucked my phone from my pocket and read over the texts Clark and I traded. The only reason we had each other's numbers was because Maeve forced us to exchange them to help us "get along", but we hadn't texted each other until this very moment.

I had asked him to meet me at this parking lot behind an abandoned building and he easily complied. I knew he felt guilty for his actions based on his nervous wreck attitude at school earlier, so getting him here wouldn't be a problem. I was more worried about Dean's answer, but I had that handled as well, so all I had to do now was wait.

A couple minutes later a nice Mercedez pulled into the lot and parked lopsidedly in the closest spot to the entrance. I turned my head towards the fence that lined the parking lot and the bushes that sat behind it, then watched Clark hop out of his car. He was no elegant beast as he shook the door closed and shuffled over to me, clearly on edge.

"I-I'm so sorry, Angel-"

I threw my hand up causing him to close his mouth abruptly.

"Why are you apologizing to me?" I asked him calmly.

His eyes darted between mine as he spoke, "What I did to Maeve, I feel so bad and I never should have hit her. I was just so angry and not in the right mind that it happened and I-I couldn't believe myself when I did it and I just feel awful, so I'm so so so sorry."

I shifted my feet and smirked, "You should be apologizing to Maeve, then, not me."

Clark's head swung to the ground as he bit his lip.

"Why? Why'd you do it? What made you so mad that you had to hit her?" I pressed.

He met my eyes once more before speaking, "She was avoiding me, like bad. She didn't take my calls, didn't look at me in school, and ignored me when I tried to talk to her. So, when she finally did agree to meet up with me, she still didn't acknowledge me or what I was saying. I had had a couple of drinks and alcohol mixed with rage does not go well, so I just... snapped.

I was afraid she was going to break up with me."

I scoffed, "Rightfully so seeing as what you did to her. She'd be an idiot not to break up with you."

"I know and I feel so horrible. I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt her, I just didn't want to lose her," he whined and dropped to his knees with his face in his palms.

"Excuses, excuses," I barked, then pulled his chin so that he was looking at me. "Your petty attempts at repentance won't save your throat and you will pay for the hurt you've caused."

I threw Clark's chin away and turned to the bushes, sticking my finger out and beckoning the occupant inside to come closer. Dean popped in front of the bush and scaled the fence with a grim expression on his face.

Clark fell back on his hands and jawed, "Wha- What's going on?!"

Dean stalked over with his hands in his pockets and his gaze low. He eyed me for a moment, seeing if it was too late to back out, but I held my ground.

"Now," I spoke firmly.

Dean sighed harshly, fumbled a hand through his hair, and approached Clark. Clark scuttered around on the ground, but went nowhere as Dean grabbed him by his shirt and dragged him over to the brick wall.

"Angel!" Clark gagged out desperately, but I made no move to stop Dean.

I held Clark's gaze until the first blow was dealt. Clark quickly tried to shield the punches with his hands, but once Dean kicked him hard in the gut, he slumped over in defeat. Dean was only an inch shorter than Clark, but his build was much different than Clark's. Dean carried a lot of muscle on his body, so that's why his punches were so effective. With every move, a gold chain around Dean's neck bounced around and failed to stay in place. Dean kept going and going even when his knuckles were bloody. Clark's face had become a mess of blood and bruises and I was sure his body looked no different.

Hmmm, they should be here by now.

As Dean began to slow down his motions and Clark became less and less animated, I ran to the entrance of the lot in anticipation. Sure enough, the low sound of a siren blared through the air. I returned to the pair and was greeted by a limp, lifeless Clark and a shocked Dean. He looked at me and I could all but hear his expression: "Oh, it's happening again."

He got up to run, but I kicked him in the back. He toppled over with a grunt, then misplaced his footing and slammed his head against the concrete. The sirens got louder and louder as I squatted down next to Dean's face. He was struggling to get up and could only lift his head to look at me.

"Thank you for showing me kindness," I whispered.

I was honestly appreciative of all Dean had done for me, especially now. It was going to be tough to see him go, but it had to be done.

He squinted at me in confusion and I placed a tender kiss on his cheek. Hopefully that would make up for what was about to happen. I got up from my position and gave him one last weak smile before landing a hard kick to his face. His cheek was red and he groaned in pain, rolling over on his back. I heard the cops about to pull up, so I ruffled up my hair and smudged my makeup to make my story more convincing.

When they entered the lot, I put on my best frightened look and rushed to their sides.

"Thank you so much officers! I was walking around these parts when that guy," I pointed to Clark, "hassled me! I was struggling to break free when the other one came by and beat him up! That's when I called you guys. I was still so scared that when the guy who helped me approached me, I slapped him and he hit his head! I just feel so horrible!"

I bawled my eyes out as one officer came towards me and reassured me, "Don't worry, ma'am, everything is alright now that we are here. We will take care of these two and let you know what the verdict is later this week. For now, you are free to go and we are sorry you had to go through this."

The officer walked over to where his coworkers were and assisted them in dragging Clark and Dean away. Clark was out of it, so the paramedics put him on a stretcher and loaded him into the ambulance. Dean looked groggy, but was conscious enough where he could stand and walk. He looked over at me one last time with bleary and sad eyes. I couldn't face his ogle, so I looked away as he got shoved into the cop car. I really hoped he could forgive me.

The cars pulled away, leaving only me and Clark's Mercedez in the barren parking lot. I had overheard one of the policemen mentioning a tow truck, so I didn't wonder how it would be moved. I then walked down the road to my car where not even 30 minutes ago Dean and I had sat debating on how to face the situation. I didn't feel any guilt for what I had done as it was a necessary action, but I did feel that Dean was unlucky to get caught up in everything. If only he hadn't involved himself, things might've ended a bit differently for him.