Faults, Scars, and Guitar Strings

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

After eating pizza everyone gathered in the living room so I could end our day. "Keep in mind," I told them, "The video isn't going to be shown until Friday so we all still have to survive a couple more days of bullying. This video isn't going to be guaranteed to work, we just hope it does. Try to keep your secrets to yourselves until the video. The key is for the video to be a big surprise for them. It's not going to be a surprise if we show up to school and spill everything."

"We're all back to not being friends?" Maria asked.

"Not necessarily, we can be friends. Feel free to talk to me during school. The bullies know I'm trying to stop bullying, they won't think anything of it. I'm saying not to spill your stories. Continue to try and tolerate the bullying until Friday," I said. "I know you want everyone to know your stories, but it is crucial to this video that it stays a secret until it is shown."

"I'm going back to being the mystery guy," Dylan said.

"It's only for a couple days," I said, "I promise, but you don't have to go back to being the loner. We are all friends now, we can show that."

"I think I speak for all of us when I say you're the truest friend we have all ever had," Maria said, "Whether we stuck up for you before or not, you are saving us. I don't want to lose any of your friendships. In the last day all of you have proven to be some of the greatest friends I could probably ever have."

"You won't," I heard someone say.

"That's right," I said, "You won't lose any of us. We're friends now, we're a team. We can be completely honest with each other. We have all been through a lot and we know we can trust each other. No one is going to go back to their lonely lives. I hope you all had a great time today, I know I did. I'm so happy to have all your friendships. I will see you around tomorrow at school, but make Lolita proud. Friday's the day."

Everyone started piling out and Dylan volunteered to walk me home. We talked the whole way there and he even walked me up to the door. "Thanks for coming today," I told him. It seemed stupid to say thank you after everything he has done for me, but I could not come up with anything better. I wanted to ask when we should go out, I wanted to say something sweet back like he said to me earlier, but nothing else came out.

"I'm glad I did. I feel relieved that you know everything. I've been hiding it for a long time," he said. "Thank you for saying yes earlier. I know we don't know much about each other yet, but I cannot wait to get to know you better. I want to know everything about you. This group is a new start for me and hopefully it's a good one."

"Honestly, I never could have said no. I know I was oblivious to everyone standing up for me, but I did notice you in school. I dreaded seeing your friends because they scared me more than anything, but I was never scared of you. The few times you tried to talk to me made me realize how sweet you were. I always knew you were not like them. I am sorry I did not realize more of it sooner."

"You don't have to be sorry. I think everything worked out the way it was supposed to. If it would have been different back then you wouldn't have formed this group today, and I think this group will do a lot of good things for people."

"I can't believe some of the stories I heard today. People have been sticking up for me and I didn't even know it. I could only pay attention to what the bullies were saying. They got to me. They got to me so bad. You and Maria both noticed it, and you probably weren't the only ones. I've been so oblivious to everyone and everything. I feel kind of stupid now," I said. "I hope you're right about this group doing good because that's all I want."

"Are you going to be okay here tonight?" he asked, "I can stay if you want me to."

"No that's okay, I'll be fine," I told him, "I need to write and listen to music, but by tomorrow I think I'll need you. I won't be ready to face them after the great day I've had."