Not So Bad After All

# 10

The room was dead silent until Ruby was finally able to find her voice. "W...Why?" She asked, beginning to choke up. "Ruby we never meant to hurt you." Peyton said, slipping on her shirt. Ruby clenched her fist. "Then why did you do it?! I trusted both of you!" She shouted, a few tears slipping out of her eyes. "Ruby, I-" Peyton started, but was cut off by Ruby. "You what?! Never meant for me to find out?!" She growled, anger ever present in her tone. "How long?" Her tone slipped into a softer one, sounding broken and defeated. Peyton looked at Leo, who had no readable emotion on displayed. "A couple weeks..." Peyton murmured, looking at the ground. "Ruby, I'm so sorry." Peyton tried, but was surprised when a bitter chuckle escaped Ruby's chapped lips. "No, I'm sorry for not noticing sooner. Your words mean nothing to me anymore." She said, her tone dead and empty. "What about you, Leo?" Ruby spat, venom lacing his name. "You have anything you would like to say?" She snarled, her eyes holding a mixture of emotions. He only looked at her blankly, as if he didn't even care. "Well?!" She shouted, taking a step forward. His eyes darkened as he spat "Don't even play innocent, Ruby. You were pretty much all over that no good, idiot Ryder." Ruby's eyes widened. "I would NEVER cheat on you, Leo!" She yelled, eyes beginning to fill with tears again, but she refused to let them fall. "Guys, stop, please." Peyton said, Leo glancing to her. "Ruby, I-I know nothing I say can fix what I just did- what I've been doing, but I want to remain friends." Peyton said, reaching out for Ruby. "Friends...? Friends don't do that to each other. If you've already done it once, why should I believe you won't do it again?" Ruby murmured. She shook her head. "I never want to see either of you again." Were her final words before she sprinted out of the classroom. The bell rang just as she stepped out, students flooding the hallway. "Ruby-chan?" The voice of Anastasia called, seeing her friend run across campus. She glanced around before taking off after her.

"I'll kill them." Anastasia growled, a dark look in her blue eyes. She had caught up with Ruby, the both of them currently in the gymnasium, sitting on the bleachers. "Don't. They aren't worth it..." Ruby said, her eyes puffy and red. Anastasia's look softened as she placed her hand on the small of Ruby's back, rubbing in circles to comfort her. "Yeah, but you are." Anastasia said, bringing Ruby into a hug. Ruby hugged her friend back. "I'm sorry. This isn't your problem, so I shouldn't-" Ruby started, but Anastasia raised a hand to silence her. "I'm your friend. I'll always be here for you." She replied, giving Ruby a small smile, Ruby returning it. "Thank you, Anastasia. Thank you so much."

"We're home!" Anastasia called. Ruby chuckled as she closed the door behind her. "Want to go visit your mom?" Anastasia asked, tilting her head to the side. Ruby nodded, tossing her backpack on the couch. "Then, let's go!" Once they arrived at the hospital, they were greeted with a surprise. Her mom was finally awake, though she looked fairly tired. "Mom..." Ruby croaked, a grin breaking out as tears streamed down her face. Her mom gave a tired, but sweet smile and opened her arms up, Ruby carefully hugging her mom as she sobbed into her shoulder. Anastasia smiled softly, which morphed into surprise when Ruby's mom opened her other arm up, inviting her into the hug. Anastasia grinned, tears in the corner of her eyes as she hugged both Ruby and her mom.

'At least something good came from this day...'

(A/N: Okie dokie, there is Not So Bad After All chapter 10! I know I posted it a little early, but I'm going to be a bit busy tomorrow, so I figured I wouldn't worry about not posting it and post it a bit early. And besides, my friend/sister has been wanting a new chapter and she's had a rather rough week, so I figured I'd treat her a little bit :3 Anyways, thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful day/afternoon/evening! Sayonara!)