𝑷𝑨𝑷𝑬𝑹 𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺 • 𝐫𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧. 𝐦 (wolfblood)

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

To no one's surprise, after Maddy had informed Jana about everything that had happened (the camera in their basement, the wolfblood data on Shannon's laptop, and what happened over their disaster weekend), the girl needed to blow off some steam. Once Maddy finished telling her, she took a breath, did not spare any of them a single glance, and took off for the fields. Lia placed her half-drunk tea down on the wall beside her and stepped forward, about to take off after her, but Rhydian put a hand on her arm to hold her back. She glanced behind her to meet his gaze, and he shook his head, nodding in the direction Jana ran, "Let her go. Trust me. She needs time to think it all over. When she gets back, we'll talk with her, okay?" he asked her softly.

Reluctantly, she nodded. He was right. Jana needed time to fully absorb everything she had just told before they even attempted to talk to her again. Lia looked at Maddy, "We're lucky she didn't go after Shannon." she scolded. Maddy shrugged, "But she didn't. And don't we all feel better now that everyone knows the truth?"

Lia gave her a solemn look.

Maddy's features relaxed, and she placed a hand on Lia's shoulder, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the posters and for not playing fair. But I'm not going to apologise for telling Jana who Shannon really is. It's better this way."

With a sigh, Lia grabbed her bag from Rhydian's shoulder, picked up her tea (which was somehow still fairly warm) and looked back at Maddy, "Okay. Apology accepted. But can we all agree to make sure Jana doesn't go after Shannon? Despite all that she's done, she doesn't deserve to be eaten."

Rhydian smiled a little and nodded. Maddy agreed, too, nodding inside, "It's time for the speeches. You two don't have to come, but-"

"Of course we'll come!" Lia insisted, then glanced down at her watch. They had 5 minutes to get to the auditorium. She made a nervous sound, "We better go now. Like, right now!"

They sped inside, frantically making their way to the auditorium which just so conveniently happened to be at the other end of the school. On the way, Maddy insisted that one of them had to go up on stage with her, and to both of their surprise, Rhydian volunteered. He said that his beauty and charm would get the girl more votes, which Maddy did not find amusing at all, but she still accepted his offer.

The three quickly made sure that everything was in order on stage, and Lia quickly hopped off and ran to her claimed seat in the front row as Jeffries took to the microphone, "Hello, hello, and welcome to this year's electoral vote! Before I hand the floor to Maddy, I'd like to thank you all for turning up. But, quite frankly, I am very disappointed in the low turnout."

Just as he said this, the doors to the auditorium opened loudly and several footsteps were heard. Lia turned her head a little to the left to see Jimi and his mates walk in, and she frowned at the raucous sound of their laughter and their smirks. She was very accustomed to that expression. Having been with most of the group all through primary school she knew what those faces meant: mischief. They were up to something. 

Suddenly, Lia's ears pricked up at the sound of scattered clapping, and she turned back to the stage, seeing Maddy walking up to the podium, holding her speech notes nervously. Lia glanced over at Rhydian, who sat slumped down in his seat at Maddy's stand. He was already looking at the girl in the front row and had obviously seen her mentally criticising his unprofessional posture, and sat up straighter with a lopsided grin. She narrowed her eyes, a silent warning for him to stay that way until all the speeches were finished.

She cheered Maddy on as she took her place on the podium, which her sister smiled at in gratitude. She tapped the mic twice before beginning her speech, "I'm sorry if my poster campaign offended anyone, but some candidates claim that they're doing things for you, but are they really just in it for themselves?" she asked, with a glance towards the K's stand at the opposite side of the stage, "Other's can't even be bothered to show up." she continued, pointing a thumb behind her at Jana and Shannon's empty stand.