Queen of New York

Damage Control

Julie's POV
My friends and I, we got a lot of problems

We all sat in silence as Dan stormed out of the room.

None of us were really angry at him; everything he said was completely reasonable.

He was right. We were being over dramatic about everything. Everything we did was dramatic. We were a bunch of grown men and women acting like
middle schoolers, and I needed to end it.

"I'll be right back." I announced, getting up and leaving.

No one stopped me.

***

I decided I should talk to Calum first, considering I had absolutely nothing to do with his situation.

I knocked on his door warily.

"Come in." He said. He sounded upset.

I opened the door to find Calum in tears, staring at his phone.

"Hey...is everything alright?" I asked, slowly sitting down next to him.

"I don't know...would you be alright if two of your best friends wanted to 'kill' you by hashtag? Now they've started #CalumLovesQuinn. It's pathetic. It's like we're 12 or something." He seemed genuinely bothered by this. It confused me, considering he's "going out" with Quinn.

"Well, it is your fault you dated Quinn." I argued.

He whipped his head to look at me.

"Why won't anyone understand that I didn't want to date Quinn."

"Sorry?" I asked quietly.

"Quinn forced me on to that couch. She forced me to kiss her. None of that was my choice. She's horrible. She wants to ruin everything. She broke up you and Michael, she indirectly broke up Jack and Serenity, she messed up Serenity, Keisha, and my friendship. I bet she's off to ruin Lanna too." Calum signed.

"Lanna?" I asked.

"Luke and Hanna." He added.

"It just feels so horrible, you know? They won't believe me, and they keep messing with me. They're ruining my reputation and it's all Quinn's fault. I'm not mad at them at all, I just wish Quinn would get out of the picture so everyone could be happy."

I smiled as I got up to leave.

"Don't you worry, Mr. Hood, everything will be just fine." I assured him.

***

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN QUINN FORCED HIM TO KISS HIM?" Serenity shrieked.

"Oh my god, I feel so horrible now. What have we done to him?" Keisha groaned, pacing the room.

"It's okay. He isn't mad at you guys." I told them.

"He's not?" They asked in unison.

"No. He understands that it's Quinn's fault. It's a completely normal reaction really, considering it's you two."

They seemed relieved at first, until they realized what I said.

"Hey!" They shouted.

I laughed. "I'm kidding. Now, come on. We need to get to the hardest part." I sighed.

***

"Michael?"

"No, Julie." He immediately responded, turning away from me.

I had found him in his apartment, curled up on the couch, in complete darkness. He looked horrible. He was skinnier, he had bags under his eyes. It was almost like he had completely stopped functioning.

"Julie, I need you to leave." He whispered.

"Michael, we need to fix everything that's happened-"

"I KNOW YOU DON'T LOVE ME ANYMORE!" He suddenly shouted, standing up quickly and flipping the coffee table over.

"How could you possibly think that?" I asked, horrified at his sudden outburst.

"Quinn was right. She was absolutely right about everything. You only ever show up when there's drama. You use all this drama for your fame, Julie! You don't actually love me, you just wanted me for fame!" He shouted.

"How could you possibly think that?" I shouted back.

"Because have you ever desperately needed me when there wasn't any drama?" He snapped.

I opened my mouth to say something, but couldn't.

He was right.

I never went to him just for the sake of being with him.

It was always when I needed comforting during all the drama.

But that didn't mean I didn't love him.

"Michael, I went to you because I trusted you the most!" I argued.

He screamed. "YOU JUST DON'T GET IT."

Then he slapped me.

I stood there, completely shocked.

"What did Quinn do to you?" I said through clenched teeth, before running out of his room with tears in my eyes.