Dignified

Chapter eleven

It all happened rather quickly. No one really had time to take it in. One moment, Zach was on fire ready to attack Scott, and the next a burning sofa was crushing Scott while Zach was literally stuck in a wall. Clark was stuck in the wall opposite of Zach, struggling to get his shoulder out.

When Zach set his arms ablaze, Clark's eyes widened. All the possibilities flashed before his eyes in a matter of seconds. No matter how angry Clark was with his dad, he still couldn't bare to see him get hurt. "NO!" He yelled, his feet leaving the ground as he flew straight at Zach. He grabbed him by his shirt, dragging him rapidly through the penthouse. Zach struggled against his brother, shooting flames at Scott. He missed and hit the sofa, causing a slight explosion as it collided with it. The sofa flipped over in the air, knocking over a startled Scott. He screamed in pain as Trace and Ryan began lifting the sofa off of him. Ryan gave a small flick with his hands and instantly the flames were put out by water. Clark picked up speed, ramming Zach straight into the wall, jolting slightly from the impact. Zach yelled, gripping Clark's shoulders before giving him a strong kick to the chest with both feet. The air left his lungs as he was sent flying in the opposite direction, smashing into the wall sending bits of plaster and drywall everywhere. He coughed, groaning as he leaned into the wall, his entire body covered in white powder. Clark pressed both feet up against the wall, pushing as hard as he could to undo himself. Ryan and Trace lifted the burnt piece of furniture off of their father, throwing it to the side as they bent down to help him up. Zach detached himself from the wall, having a clear shot at Scott. He aimed his hand at his father, his expression dark and cold. He was about to shoot when he felt a hit against his chest. He couldn't breath anymore and fell to his knees, gripping his throat as he tried to breath. From across the room, Clark had his hand aimed at Zach, sucking the air out from him and anything around him. Zach's face was turning red as his older brother was slowly asphyxiating him. "Clark, stop!" Ryan yelled worriedly. "Stop! Clark, STOP!" Zach fell onto his back, kicking his legs as his vision went blurry. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see. He had no idea what had happened, or what was going on. Ryan shot a burst of water at Clark, breaking his concentration. Zach gasped loudly, taking in the new oxygen around him. He was breathing hard, blinking fast as he tried to clear up his vision. Trace ran over to his aid, lifting his brothers head up.

"Clark, what the hell's the matter with you?!" Ryan yelled, confronting his brother. "You could have killed him!"

"He was going to hurt Dad!" Clark refuted.

"We would have stopped him! That was totally unnecessary!"

"I don't care!" He screamed, walking over to his now unconscious father. He pulled out his cellphone, dialing 911. Trace reached over, pulling away Clark's phone. "No. Don't." He said, slipping the phone into his pocket.

"Trace, what the hell? Give me my phone." Said Clark through gritted teeth.

"No. Do you want the police to question us about how this happened?" He said getting up and headed for the kitchen. He returned with some water for Scott, staying away from Clark. They heard a knock on the door and turned to see Peyton walking in. "Oh my god...guys, what happened?" She said, running over to Scott and Trace. Clark and Ryan's eyes met nervously, each thinking the same thing. "We were rough housing. Things got a little too serious and we broke out in a fight. Nothing bad, though. We'll manage." Trace lied smoothly. He was always very calm in situations like those.

"Well, then how did that couch end up burned and flipped half way across the room?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and pointing towards the sofa.

"We were playing with fire. We never took that warning seriously. We flipped it over to try and smother the flames, but it didn't work very well so we kept on rolling it." He said.

"Why is Zach laying on the ground over there?"

"He's tired from the rough housing and is too lazy to help us clean up." Said Trace, standing up to clean around them a bit. "Ryan, will you go let the front desk know we're going to need a repairman up here?" Clark ordered lowly. Ryan nodded, eyeing his brother. "Don't do anything stupid." He told Clark, heading towards the door. Peyton jumped up and followed him, saying,"I'll go with you." They left the penthouse, walking down the hallway, Ryan running his hand through his hair.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

He sighed, nodding slowly. "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine." He said, managing a fake smile.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing..nothing, it's just that I hadn't seen my dad in a while, so it was pretty weird." He lied.

She frowned at him. "What are you not telling me?"

He raised his eyebrows as they arrived at the elevator. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Ryan," she said facing him as they stepped inside. "I've known you since sixth grade. I know you're hiding something from me." He looked away from her gaze, trying to escape her questions.

"Look at me," she said, cupping his face and making him face her. "What happened?" She asked, her green eyes full of worry. Ryan sighed, pulling away from her. "Nothing," he said a bit sharply. "I'm not hiding anything from you."

"I know you are!" Said Peyton, becoming more upset. "I know you. Your lying to me."

"I'm not lying to you!" He yelled, eyes wide. She cringed, feeling a bit hurt because of his harsh tone. She turned away from him, simply chewing on her lip as she waited for the door to open. "Peyton...I'm sorry." Said Ryan, taking her hand. She pulled away, crossing her arms as she sighed.

"I thought you trusted me." She said quietly. He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling frustrated. "I do, Peyton. I do, it's just.."

"It's just what?" She asked as he paused.

"Nothing."

"Fine." She said, stepping out of the elevator as the doors opened. "I'm just trying to help you."

He groaned, watching her go as he dragged himself over to the counter. He informed the secretary of the damages, looking around for Peyton as he stepped back towards the elevator.

"Where'd she go?" He asked himself, slipping his hands into his pockets. Ryan began to worry as he walked outside looking for her. As he was heading back inside, he ran into her, hitting his head with hers again. "Ow. There you are." He said, rubbing his head.

"Yeah. We've really got to stop doing that." She said, gripping her forehead.

"C'mon." He said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her inside.

"You know what's weird?" She said.

"What is?" He asked as they stepped in the elevator.

"Some random guy just came up to me and told me things would not be the same this year." She said, cleaning her nails. Ryan's eyes widen as he turned to her, choking on his own saliva.

"What??" He exclaimed.