happiness is a butterfly

trouble is a friend

The hallway had become a pressure cooker of teenage angst.

Cassie managed to chase Nate down the hall trying to disassociate herself from her sister's actions. She could not believe Lexi would go so far in trying to destroy her relationship.

Sure, she had heard from Maddy that Nate had a collection of dick pics on his phone. And sure, at the time, she thought it was odd.

But that was before she knew him.

Before she got to kiss his lips, feel his touch, fall asleep in his arms, stare into his eyes.

There were parts of him that would always be a mystery to her, things she could not understand. She loved him, though, because of who he was rather than despite it.

And Lexi had made a very good effort to jeopardise her happiness.

"I had no idea she would do this." Cassie tried to reason with Nate, who only seemed to be shrugging her off in an effort to make it out the door. "She embarrassed me too. Stop!"

"She's your fucking sister, as if you wouldn't know!" Nate pushed her forcefully away from him and stopped at the exit to look back at his distraught girlfriend.

"Nate, stop. It's just a play!"

"Was this some fucked up plan to humiliate me?"

"How can you say that? I gave up everything for you."

"Why would you even defend her? Look at how she humiliated you!"

He felt such rage in that moment, that as troublesome as it was to admit, if Lexi Howard had been standing in front of him he probably would have snapped her neck.

All his life, he had tried so hard to keep his family secrets hidden, to be who everyone expected him to be. And for Ethan and Lexi to stand on that stage and insinuate that Nate was like his father, had him seeing red.

"I'm not defending her." Cassie tried again to touch his arm. "I'll never speak to her again, if you don't want me to."

The growing tension between the two had meant they had not paid attention to Maddy also making her way down the hallway.

Until she tackled Cassie right into the lockers.

"What the fuck?" Maddy got in a good shove and slap in Cassie's direction before a stunned Nate managed to peel her off Cassie. He was holding Maddy by her arms to try and stop her from hitting Cassie again.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Kat finally joined her best friend, only to find her struggling in Nate's arms.

"Are you fucking serious? She hit Cassie."

"I'll fucking do it again!" Maddy was trying to fight her way out of her ex's arms. "You self-centred fucking CUNT!"

"I'm not a cunt, you're the cunt!" Cassie screamed right back at her former friend. Kat's hands managed to pry Maddy free of Nate's stronghold and the brunette went straight back to shoving Cassie into the lockers.

"All this time, I was telling you about getting back together with Nate and you were fucking him!" She shoved her again. "What kind of shit person are you, huh?"

"Maddy, don't." Kat tried to stop Maddy from doing something she may regret.

"This bitch needs to be put down!" She said, before going back to fighting her Cassie.

"Okay, no violence! GIRLS!" Suze, puffed out from trying to keep up after the girls, also tried to add her two cents in trying to stop the girls from getting violent. She turned to Nate and said "Let them talk it out."

But Maddy was not relenting, and Cassie's lack of sorrow had made her even angrier.

She couldn't understand how Cassie could go on without showing any remorse for her actions. Sure, Maddy didn't own Nate. Sure, they were broken up.

But how could she sit there and listen to her talking about getting back with Nate and not say anything? How could she let Maddy fall in love with him again if she knew he was lying? How could she be her best friend and not have the courage to look her in the eye and admit her wrongdoings?

As Cassie started pleading with Maddy to stop, all three bystanders took an active role in trying to break up the fight between the two girls.

"Wait, what the fuck did you just say?"

Cassie's words had been just about a whisper to Maddy, as she crouched down on the floor with her arms over her stomach.

Maddy was pulled away from Cassie and shoved straight into Kat's arms.

Nate embraced a dishevelled Cassie and Kat tried to hold onto an enraged Maddy.

And Suze kind of fluttered between the two like a bad referee at a kid's soccer match.

"She told you to stop fucking hitting her!" Nate had clarified, keeping one arm wrapped around Cassie's shoulders and one extended in front of Maddy to stop her from coming any closer.

"No, the other thing." Maddy looked into Cassie's pleading eyes. Although their fight had been more of a light scuffle, she sat there with her blonde hair messed up and a red handprint on her cheek. Maddy started to laugh hysterically looking around the room. "She's fucking pregnant!"

"Wait, what?"

"Is it true?"

"Cassandra, I am going to kill you."

Hey shit, Cassie thought to herself, meet fan.

Trouble will find you no matter where you go, no matter if you're fast, no matter if you're slow.