Second Guesses, Second Chances

Chapter 13

Jade

I quickly pack my belongings and pick up my backpack before getting up to go find Tori, making sure to hide my scissors in the sleeve of my sweater just in case I need to use them at a moment's notice. I hear my teacher calling out to me as I leave the room, ordering me to return to my seat, but I block it all out. Right now, there's a girl upstairs who needs me. I make it to the bathroom on the second floor in record time, my eyes widening slightly at the sight of Tori holding a paper towel to her nose.

"He hit me," she whimpers. "He followed me on my way here and actually hit me..." I approach her and assess the damage, my worry slightly alleviated as it looks like the most he's done is make her nose bleed. I place my hand on her shoulder to comfort her, but she immediately leans into me as if I were giving her a side-hug, so I do that instead.

"He's so dead..." I mutter, gently rubbing her shoulder.

"I only got away from him because a few shruggers came around the corner and almost saw us," She explains. "He ran off after that. I don't know where he is now." I simply nod and reassure her that I'll stick with her for the rest of the day, and that she doesn't have to go back to class if she doesn't want to. Tori thanks me, and checks on her nose to gauge whether or not she'll need more paper towels. Luckily, the bleeding stops fairly quickly.

"So, what should we do for the rest of the period? We can't stay here. What if our teachers start looking for us?" She asks. "We've been gone long enough to raise suspicions."

"We could go outside to my car and drive around the neighbourhood until classes end," I hastily suggest. It's not ideal, but Vega's right, we can't stay here in the bathroom, and she can't risk going back to class alone, lest Beck try to hurt her again. She hesitantly agrees, and we cautiously leave the bathroom. The hallways are empty, which wouldn't be so harrowing if it weren't for the fact that there's a cheating dumbass lurking around the school with the sole intention of hurting the girl following me. Luckily, Tori and I reach the first floor unscathed. As we head to the front doors of the school, I hear a set of footsteps behind us and turn around, only to see Beck grab her arm. I quickly grab her other arm, making the cheater stop dead in his tracks.

"Let go of my girlfriend," Beck growls, his dark eyes piercing straight through me. I glower back, slowly taking the scissors out of my sleeve.

"She's not your girlfriend anymore," I hiss, slowly taking the scissors out of my sleeve.

"Guys, this kinda hurts!" Tori whimpers, trying to loosen our grips on her limbs. Both Beck and I ignore her, glaring at each other in silence for a few moments.

"I told you to stay the fuck away from her, did I not?" I ask with quiet rage.

"Who gives a shit what you say anymore?" Beck replies, deftly yanking the girl between us towards him. I jolt forward slightly, but quickly recover. "C'mon, Tori, let's go back to class."

Suddenly, the prissy brunette, Tori Vega, does the unthinkable. She frowns at Beck and stomps on his foot, making him release his grip on her arm and giving her enough time to retreat. I smirk a little in surprise, impressed by her little outburst.

"I am not your girlfriend!" She cries, taking a few steps backwards towards me. "We're over, Beck, you hear me? OVER!"

"Oh no we're not," I hear the cheater grunt as he recovers, swiftly latching onto her arm again, raising his arm to take another swing at her. Luckily, before he can do anything, I spot Sikowitz and Lane, the school guidance counsellor quickly approaching us from the other end of the hallway.