Bane Academy: To Run From Fear

Chapter 7

Becca

The next few days seem like some kind of race. Get through each day, each class, each minute, in a prolonged and irritating rush for the night.
My classes seem to be getting ahead of me. No matter how much time I put into studying, it all still manages to seem so far out of reach.
I don't think I ever really noticed before just how many friends I have here. Every fandom has its own set of people, all so different in so many ways. And in each one I have a decent group of friends in which I can count on to accept me when I'm lonely. However, it's not like before at all. Lack of close friends is extremely detrimental, John said. Shae managed to rip all of those close friends away - Alex, Kyle, Nat, Liam. And that just makes me even madder.
And at the end of each day is the torturous night. Sleep is scarce, and having to listen to the scattered breathing of Fade from across the room is just painful. I don't even know how I feel about him right now. Or Tivan. Or anyone. All I know is that, every night, at roughly two in the morning, Fade stirs. He gets up, stops at my bedside for a few seconds, and then moves on, all while I'm pretending to be asleep. Some nights he will carefully brush a piece of hair away from my face, or pull my blankets up to cover my neck if they don't. Other times he will just move on silently.
And despite all this, I still can't find the finish line. I keep pushing and pushing but can't seem to win. Maybe Liam found the finish line first, but never got a chance to tell us about it. If so, there's only one way to win. If only I knew for sure.

'The Devil in I' is blasting through my earphones. It's about six in the afternoon, I just got back from fear landscape training with Tobias and Shae. Not fun.
At that moment I get a text, interrupting my music. Acutely annoyed, I pull my eyes open and pick up my phone, swiping past the Slipknot cover to open the message. It was from Dan, a Glader, and a popular all-rounder guy with shaggy hair and a handful of freckles splattered across his face, if I remember correctly. I narrow my eyes quizzically as I open the message, kinda surprised that one of the more popular guys was texting me.
'Hey Becca, I'm having a little get together at my dorm. Not many people. Feel free to drop by if you can. Starts at 8, hope to seeya there :)'.
I mentally groan, as the thought of having to get up is almost painful.
After listening through 'Exposed' by A Day To Remember and 'Bottom Feeder' by Parkway drive, I finally pull out my headphones and pick myself off of the lounge.

* * *

I'm welcomed at the door and Dan himself greets me. His charming smile lights up his grey eyes.
"Glad you could make it," he says as he leads me into the living room, similar to ours, except for the bluish lights dancing across the walls. 'Stitches' by Shawn Mendes is playing from a speaker on the counter, accompanied by ample dishes of food.
The small party seems to consist of the most popular students in our year from all different cliques. Dan and quite a few Gladers, Miles and his crew (Jeramy, a satyr, and Hayden, a son of Aphrodite), four of the Lightwoods, a couple of wizards, Ian Blue (the son of Ben Blue from the Virals series and the most popular guy around), a couple of Gamers from the virtual reality section of the school (including Tony 'Sparks' Leden, an actually legend), a couple of other scattered individuals and finally, a set of five girls from Divergent. They all sport matching slutty outfits, in different colours correlating to the factions. They all seem very happy with themselves.
Thankfully, Shae doesn't seem to be there. That was the only thing I was worried about. I feel guilty for smiling at the fact that I was invited and she wasn't.
I was in the process of mentally scolding myself when a familiar voice sounds from beside me.
"Hey Becca, it's been a while." Miles says, his voice as smooth as ever. I smile as brightly as I can and, in my most bubbly Becca-voice reply with,
"Hey! It has been a while. How've you been?"
"Pretty good, despite being back at school." He laughs. I laugh along with him.
"Oh, I heard you came runner up in the Battle of the Books?"
Miles smirks and slides his hands into his jean pockets. His blonde hair falls perfectly across his face.
"Yeah, second in sword fighting. So close."
I giggle mockingly. Just then Ian Blue comes over, exchanging a slick high five/handshake thing with Miles before turning to me. He has thick black hair and a dark tan. He is as tall and lean as Miles, but with a much bolder structure.
"Becca, isn't it? You're a bit of an icon aren't you."
I smile. "Am I?"
"Hell yeah," Ian replies. "First Lyssa, now the Battle of the Books. People are saying the goddess gave you some kind of power."
I laugh lightly and shake my head.
"That story is a little mixed up."
Suddenly there's several more people around me. A Glader, a wizard and two of the Divergent girls, specifically Amity and Candor.
"I heard that Shae killed someone," says the Candor girl, her dark hair flicking around her face as she absorbs the attention.
"Yeah, one of the guys from the next year." Someone else adds.
"Some stoner kid apparently."
"Nah I heard it was that Shadowhunter kid."
"What?" I say, astonished and confused. However my comment is as effective as throwing sand at a train as it hurtles past.
"Yeah yeah, someone said she shot him with an arrow."
"I thought she stabbed him with the arrow."
"Shuck! That's just brutal!"
"If she killed someone how is she still at the school then, genius."
The gossip doesn't stop, the comments keep coming. Rumours had apparently gone wild. Everyone was arguing about what had happened and what hadn't. The whole thing was giving me a headache.
"She didn't kill anyone." A blunt voice says from behind me. Everyone shuts up at that moment as Alex, the tips of his hair still a bark brown colour, enters the group. Alex catches my eyes and nods once in greeting, then goes on.
"Everyone got that? Shae Fall didn't kill anyone. Stop with the gossip alright?" The crowd agrees vague heartedly, some still whispering about arrows and Shadowhunters as they disperse back into the bruised lighting. Finally it's just Alex and I.
"Of course the son of Finnick O'dair is invited," I mock lightly, trying to make some kind of conversation. Alex and I had been friends before, but circumstances of late have made things tricky.
"Yeah," he replies, "had to get out for a while."
After an awkward pause, I work up the courage to ask what I'd been wanting to since I saw him.
"Soo where's your girlfriend?"
Alex looks away, at the floor, then back to my eyes before answering.
"I don't have a girlfriend."
"What?" I ask, immaculately confused. Shae wouldn't have broken up with him, would she?
Unfortunately, my question cannot be answered as Dan reenters with several bottles of a transparent, brownish liquid. The whole party goes up in cheers as he starts pouring cups of it and handing them out. Within seconds I'm holding a red plastic cup in my hands, the frothy liquid swirling temptingly. I look up to see Alex staring at his own cup, misgivings blatant on his face. After a second he shrugs and tips the entire thing into his mouth. I look back at my own cup.
What the hell, I think to myself as I lift the edge of it to my lips.