Serenity Falls

Chapter 39

I hope you all enjoyed the kiss in the last chapter.. after 38 chapters it finally happened :P And thank you for all the comments and votes too! Without further ado, here's the next chapter!

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"You’re so going to win this election, babe," Carter said, ripping open the wrapper of a ‘Vote Courtney’ candy bar and taking a big bite. "These things are delicious."

"Hey, don’t eat that!" Courtney said, slapping his arm gently and pouting. "That’s supposed to bribe someone to vote for me."

"Well, you’ve got my vote," Carter said, winking, as his hand slapped Courtney’s butt playfully.

She giggled stupidly, swiping his hand away and pecking him on the lips instead. "Come on, you’ve got to help me hand these out. We don’t have much time before class, and there’s only a few more days until the election."

As the pair of them pushed open the glass doors of the school entrance and walked into the main hallway, Courtney immediately got to work on thrusting candy bars at every person that passed. "Vote for me!" she chorused, flashing a signature smile at each one of them.

She had handed out about five bars when her heart dropped and she stopped suddenly in her tracks, her mouth hanging open slightly in shock as she stared at the bright walls of the hallway.

"Hey, what’s up..." Carter said, his voice trailing off as he bumped into Courtney’s back. He glanced at his girlfriend, studying her shocked expression, before transferring his eyes to her line of sight.

"No..." was the only word that escaped Courtney’s lips. Her eyes were still fixed on the poster on the wall, and she showed no signs of movement. Her body was numbed with shock and dread, which was beginning to be replaced by hatred for the individual responsible.

"No!" she repeated, a little louder this time. She lurched forward towards the poster, reaching her hands up and tearing at the corners. The poster had only been attached with a staple, so it was relatively easy to take town, and a large tear appeared through the middle of the poster as the two pieces fell limply to the floor.

She stood back, a feeling of relaxation beginning to wash over her as the photo of her face lay distorted from the tear. But this was short lived as when her eyes flickered to the next wall, she was greeted by her grinning brace-filled eighth grade face. Above the photo, were the huge words saying ‘Don’t vote Courtney’. And everywhere she looked, the same image was smiling down at her.

Her head was spinning, and as her eyes flicked desperately from one wall to another, hoping to see just one bare space, she grew increasingly despairing.

"Help me take them down!" she squealed to Carter, leaping at the walls and clawing at the posters with her manicured nails. Usually, she would’ve been concerned about breaking a nail or chipping the varnish, but in her current state of desperation, her mind was completely focused on the goal of preventing anyone from seeing that picture.

"You got it, babe."

As she desperately tugged at the fifth poster on the wall, she heard a cackling laugh behind her. "Good luck with that. There are way too many posters for you to take down, and anyway..." Alyssa smiled, stepping forward. "Everyone’s already seen them."

"You..." Courtney said, stepping away from the wall and approaching Alyssa.

"What?" Alyssa asked innocently, a smile playing on her lips. "I’m only reminding Serenity Falls of the real Courtney Powell, behind all of that slutty make-up. And who would want that as their president, hmm?" She nodded towards a poster.