Misalignment | ✔

tell

"Oh, yeah?"
Seth laughs
harshly;
I can't help but
wince.
"Are you
threatening me,
little girl?
Oh, I'm
so scared-"

"You know exactly
who I am,
Seth Hunter,"
she returns,
unruffled.
"Just like I know
who you are:
a dirty,
two-timing,
no-good bully
who takes better care
of his pet rock
than real people."
She pauses
for just a second,
shaking her head
to the side.
"And to think
that I once thought
better of you..."

I honestly don't see
how this is all
going to work out
without a
fist to the face
(or something worse)
in my immediate future.
Matty has nothing
to use to her
advantage
in this situation -
at least,
nothing that I
am aware of.

But as I've said
so many times
since I've met her,
she's completely
unpredictable.
I can barely even
look at her now
without feeling as though
my heart might
shatter,
but I still know
that she must have
something
up her sleeve.
If she's here now,
she has to.

More than that,
though,
I can't understand
why she's helping me
now
when she's been
pushing me away
for so long...

"So, what?"
Seth soon rejoins
with a sneer.
"I could say the same
of you.
What, have you
been stringing
this kid along,
too?
That's not fair,
is it?"

"What do you know
about being fair?"
Matty shoots back -
and it's clear
to anyone
how irritated she is
now.
"Is it fair
how you treat Cam?
Even if it's
on account of
how much you hate me,
why stoop so low
to bullying,
of all things?
I never thought
that you
of all people
would fall so far.
You're making yourself
look worse,
rather than better -
you know that?"

"And how
would you-"
Seth starts
angrily -
but Matty
once again
cuts him off.

"Now,"
she tells him
in an icily
calm
tone of voice,
"step away
from Cam,
and don't bother
either of us
again,
or you will
regret it
for the rest of your life."

Seth manages to
let a snort
slip through,
though it now sounds
rather forced.
"You have
nothing
to threaten me with,
nothing
to make me regret-"

"I do,
and you know it."
The confidence
Matty is exuding now
is directly the opposite
of the sudden fear
that surfaces
in the older boy's eyes.
He's startled
into silence
with an abruptness
that surprises even me.
"I'll tell everyone,"
Matty elaborates,
"what you did to me
last year,
and I'll start with
the principal -
your aunt.
I'll tell
everyone
what you did to me -
and to Natalia, too."

Seth's paling features
grow even whiter
with the threat,
though he still tries
to keep up his
shredding dignity
with an emptily
self-assured smirk.
He's hesitating now -
torn between
risking the consequences
of Matty's ultimatum
and abandoning his
bullying ways,
I'm sure.

So I make
the decision
for him.

"I'd listen to her
if I were you,"
I murmur,
just low enough
that only he can
hear me.
"Unless you'd like
to risk your chances
of graduating
this year?"

And that clenches it
for him.
Throwing one last
angry glance
between Matty and I,
he jerks away
from me
and storms off
down the hallway.
We watch as he
soon disappears,
looking back
not even once.
I wonder if
her threat had
scared him, or
if his retreat
was just an act
of self-preservation.

But I soon
put the thought
from my mind.
He's gone -
and finally,
I realize,
we're alone, just
Matty and I.

×

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you tell Seth Hunter to get the fuck out.

And foreshadowing, right? What was Matty talking about? It'll be explained more in Unparalleled, y'all. It's wonderful. Seth is such a douchebag.

If you guys liked this chapter, I would love if you would vote and leave me some feedback! I'd love to hear what you guys think c:

And speculations on what is to come are also very welcome. We're getting into the good stuff now - the next few chapters will be full of explanations on all sides. Lots of fun.