Atomic Love [2]

Chapter 44 - Prom Pt. 3

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TW: Swearing, fighting, mentions of blood, mentions of knives, mentions of fire

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Chapter 44

June 30, Wednesday

No one's POV

The trio rushed around the school, going over everywhere they could think that Maeva and Nate would potentially be (bumping into Arthur and Leonard slow-dancing on the way, Kathrin– surprisingly– awwing, but then having to be pulled away). Eventually, they arrived at the alleyway at the back of the school, and were welcomed with an all too familiar scene– Nate being beaten to a pulp by Josh, Maeva standing by helplessly, wailing and screaming; clueless.

Kathrin, out of instinct, pulled out her phone to record the scene. "What are you doing– go help them!" Sienna yelped, eyes wide with worry and fret. "Yea, but someone has to record this shit, bring it to the police, so Mr. Beard-For-Jawline doesn't get away with it again." Kathrin replied, "Jeremy, you go."

"Nuh-uh, you're the aggressive one, I'm the record-the-fight guy." Jeremy then stated, grabbing the phone out of her hand, while Kathrin rolled her eyes, muttering "Pussy," under her breath quietly.

Kathrin marched up to them, kneeing Josh in the stomach really hard so that he doubled back in pain– Nate leaning back onto the brick wall, panting heavily, face all bloody.

Josh, seeing that Kathrin was distracted, grabbed her harshly and thrusted her against the wall, swiftly pulling out a pocket knife and putting it against her throat; a bit of blood oozing out, trickling down her neck and staining her white button-down shirt.

The girl looked around worriedly, her heart pounding in her ears, her brown eyes wide, hand scurrying around her pockets to find something– anything. And then her hand landed on the lighter she always carried around. Well a lighter is better than nothing. Though then she remembered: Sienna always carried around a hairspray in her bag.

Kathrin's shifting eyes landed on the dark haired girl, taking the lighter out of her pocket so that Sienna could see– who immediately knew what she meant; though Josh seemed to have noticed.

Again, he pushed her back harshly, a bruise definitely beginning to form on her back, the knife digging a slight bit deeper into her skin as Kathrin let out a very quiet wince. Though before Josh could even notice, Kathrin yelled out, "Sienna!" throwing the lighter to her as she pulled out her purse-sized hairspray.

"Stand back or I'll burn your head off." Sienna exclaimed, an unfamiliar stern look masking her usually soft-featured face. Josh, now alerted and shocked– though eyebrows still furrowed in anger– stood back slowly, hands raised beside his head, knife dropping to the ground.

"Now why the heck have you been bothering Maeva and Nate?" Sienna yelled out, sounding too high-pitched to be intimidating, but somehow still managing it. Josh angrily glared at all of them, this maddened and psychotic look on his face that Maeva couldn't recognise. She's always noticed this detached look in his eyes, but not this stranger of a madman.

"I have wanted Maeva ever since I laid my eyes on her," Josh finally revealed, his voice sounding breathy and low; raspy, deep, frightening. "For years I have been gathering information about her so that she could love me the way I've loved her for so long; love me the way I do to her. I did everything I had to, dared that redhead to kiss her stupid excuse of a boyfriend, made sure to always be there for her when she needed it. I did everything I had to!"

Maeva stared at him, mouth agape with no words coming out, only an inaudible gasp escaping her throat. She felt so betrayed– if not in a dating way, then in a friendship way. She saw Josh as a friend, a person she could trust, and that seemed to have shattered her all over again.

Kathrin, on the other hand, still unaware with all of Maeva's pain, said, "What the actual fuck- can I kill this guy?" Sienna's eyes shifted to her best friend, brows furrowed, exclaimed, "No!" Kathrin rolled her eyes at the Millers girl, "He's a fucking stalker perv, kindly burn him before I stab him with his own knife." Josh, angered, turned to be marching over to Kathrin again, but stopped at Sienna's warning ("Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Kathrin then asked jokingly).

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," The dark haired girl started saying again, "You're going to stand right there, or I'll spray fricking fire on you– Maeva, call my dad, we're going to show him all of this–" And that was when she saw Maeva's state. "Maeva?"

The Renolds girl didn't respond, barely able to breathe. Her lips were parted and puffy, tanned cheeks covered in waterfall-worth of tears, eyes bloodshot and glossy.

"I-- I'll call him." Nate stated, taking his phone out and dialling his number (basically their whole group knows his personal number, just in case something happens). Jeremy was still recording, just in case something out-of-the-blue occurs, and Sienna was still holding her makeshift weapon.

Kathrin, staring at Maeva in such a pitiful state, couldn't hold herself back from going up to her. Maeva fell to her knees, body weakened and limp. This has been such a traumatic year for her, and it seems it was finally dawning down on her.

Kathrin wrapped her arms around her best friend– hm, Kathrin hasn't been able to call her that for so long, she's glad they're finally able to be that again– letting the girl, seeming so small then, curl up into a ball and leaning her head on Kathrin's chest as strings of sobs slipped out of her mouth.

And just like that, another school year has ended, the last year of high school for the most of them. The year had its ups and downs, leaving some of them broken, while others were beginning to heal. But who would've thought? Junior year was crazy, but somehow, it got crazier. What might happen next year?

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993 words (edited)