-𝑓𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 - 𝑚𝑖𝑑90𝑠 -

TEN

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salem's pov

i was skating home, the sun was going down. i've never been happier. im getting along with all of ruben's friends, even those girls from the last party we went to are talking to me. though it does make me a bit insecure that he hangs out with girls that look like, well, that. but it's whatever, i'll just pretend i never had that thought. im in too good of a mood right now.

as i pushed my board, a grin on my face as my head filled with the memories of these past few days, i felt someone pull me into an alley. i let out a yelp, being dragged to the end of it.

i looked up to see suki and her bitchy friends, great.
"what the fuck," i yelled, she grabbed my face as i was still being held by the arms.
"you stay the fuck away from ruben, you heard me?!" she yelled, i furrowed my eyebrows.
"you're fucking crazy," i said, she punched me across the face. i winced.
"yeah the fuck i am. do you think he really likes you? do you think he wants to be with some little bitch like you?!"
she kept ranting, i was getting really fucking pissed off.

"let me go, you fucking bitch," i yelled, she punched me again, and again, and again. not gonna lie, she punched like a fucking pussy. my arms were let go, i tried getting her off of me, i lifted my fist and was able to hit her in the eye.

she got off of me, holding her eye in pain.
"i see you near him and i'll fucking kill you, bitch," she yelled, i had tears of anger and pain streaming down my face. all of a sudden i felt a hard ass kick at my back, making me throw my head back as i groaned. another kick at my stomach, then a shit ton of other kicks everywhere else on my body.

i was practically curled up in a ball, trying to protect my head, as i had a bunch of bitches ganging up of me. once they were finished, they ran out of the alley, leaving me behind. i was in too much pain to actually get up. i kinda just laid there, scared out of my mind. this bitch really is insane, and i don't know what she'll do if i keep hanging out with ruben. i really want to, but i don't know if i can.

school came up the next day. on my face, i only had a bruise under my eye and a barely busted lip, but the rest of my body was even more fucked up. despite how hot the day was, i wore a sweater and jeans. there's no way i'm letting ruben see that.

i'd just shut my locker when i saw ruben walking my way. i turned the other way, until i heard him say my name.
"salem, wait up!" he said, i stopped in my tracks. he came around me with a smile, his hand on my shoulder. his expression dropped when he saw my face.
"woah, what happened," he asked, observing my face. i just shook my head.
"uh, f-face planted at the skatepark yesterday," i said.

he furrowed his eyebrows.
"we didn't go to the skatepark yesterday, and you definitely didn't face plant," he said, i thought of something quickly.
"i stopped by there... on my way home," i said, he wasn't buying it. i was gonna come up with another excuse when i saw suki coming our way.
"i-i gotta go," i said, quickly walking by him.

ruben's pov

who could've done something like that to her? i wanted to intensely interrogate her until she all of a sudden had to hurry off. i watched salem speed walk down the hall, then looked at suki as she walked up to me. she had a bruise around her eye and on her cheek, she looked worse than usual.
"hey, suki. what's up with that," i asked, pointing to her black eye.
"why don't you ask your little friend there," she said, pointing to salem down the hall.

i furrowed my eyebrows.
"what? salem hit you," i asked, not buying it at all.
"yeah, you can ask anyone. she came at me out of nowhere, i was just saying hi to her as she skated by us," suki said.

"oh yeah? what time was this, how come i didn't see it," i asked her, she crossed her arms.
"7:30ish, yesterday afternoon. we were down the street from jessica's house, just hanging out. i'm not lying, ruben. that bitch is fucking crazy," she said.

yeah, there's no way that actually happened, though the timing sounds pretty accurate. she's an okay liar, i guess.

salem didn't wait for me after school which was weird since we usually skate to motorz together. i was only able to catch up to her when she was a few blocks away from the apartment complex.
"salem! salem, wait up!" she turned around, stopping on her board.
"hey," i said, out of breathe.

"why is suki telling me you tried beating her up," i asked, she furrowed her eyebrows, her jaw dropping a bit.
"what the fuck?! when did she say that," she exclaimed.
"at school, says you gave her a black eye and shit. and trust me, it doesn't look fake to me. so you got some explaining to do."

"are you kidding me- and you fucking believed her?! what the fuck," she started yelling, i put my hand on her shoulder.
"woah, i never said that. i just wanna know what's going on," i said, watching as her eyes welled up. she looked down at her shoes.

"salem, why're you ignoring me," i said, a hint of pain in my voice. she shook her head softly as she sniffled. i put my hand on her chin, lifting her face so she would look up at me. as i tried wiping a tear off her cheek, she took my hand off of her face.
"i can't be friends with you anymore," she said in a heavy voice, i backed up a bit.

"what?"

"suki and her friends jumped me yesterday and told me to stay away from you. i swear, she's fucking insane. i can't risk it anymore, i'm sorry," she said, turning around and going back to her board. i grabbed her arm, spinning her back around.
"salem! that's not fucking fair-"
"i know, ruben! i fucking know! b-but- just look at what she did to me," she lifted her shirt, i looked at all the bruises on her body, she had even more on her back. they looked awful, i looked back up at her face as she was sobbing.

"i'm sorry, ruben. you and your friends are awesome, b-but clearly i'm not meant to hang out with you guys," she said, her shirt pulled back down as she stepped away. she got back on her board, i watched as she skated away.

my eyes had already welled up as i just stood there, watching her disappear. i had to think of something, and fast. i know i want salem, and i know for a fact i'm not losing her just because suki wants to be a possessive little bitch.

i really like this girl, i've never liked someone the way i like her, nor has anyone ever gotten me wrapped around their finger like this. maybe i should just tell her, maybe she'll like me enough to come back. i don't know. but i'm willing to risk that.

i need salem.

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