The Plan (Troyler AU)

Faded To Black

The next day, Friday, passed by achingly slowly. Roxie and her annoying posse had apparently decided that Troye wasn’t worth pursuing until her brawny boyfriend arrived at school on Tuesday. Speaking of Jack, the rest of the tools he usually ordered around seemed lost without him to command them to put sand in the coffee from the teacher’s lounge, or showing them which poor kid to pound into the walls. They walked in the halls lacking their typical swagger, looking uncomfortable and glancing anxiously around the hallways as if they were seeing everything through fresh eyes.

The weekend ticked by at a snail’s pace as well- I spent it huddled in my bedroom working on sketches and texting Tyler about how bored I was. After a week full of drama and fights, it felt very nice to unwind, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that.

I woke up on Monday with the smeary marks of the oil pastels I had been using last night marked on my cheek, as it appeared that I had fallen asleep while drawing. It took me twenty minutes in the bathroom, furiously scrubbing at it with a washcloth before they washed off, and by then I was about fifteen minutes off from my usual walk. The sky was looming, dark, full of thick gray clouds obscuring the sun. The air was cool against my face as I briskly walked down the street, and I could practically feel the rain coming.

I was halfway to school when a humongous clap of thunder sounded all around me, surprising me so much that I stumbled a little bit. Within seconds, heavy sheets of rain were pouring down, soaking me. My brown hair was glued to my face, my clothes growing leaden against my skin as I continued walking.

Just as I was considering heading back to my house, I noticed a girl that I hadn’t seen previously as I was walking, the solid rain blocking my vision. She was bent over, scrambling to pick up a pile of papers and textbooks, a sad looking satchel on the ground next to them with a sizable tear in it. I sped up a little bit, helping her gather them off the street. She glanced up at me, and even though the rain was still gushing down, I immediately recognized her- Zoe Sugg.

Zoe was a member of the cheer squad, but not part of Roxie’s group of adoring fans. She never said anything mean, and she was clearly a nice girly girl who didn’t usually want to start any trouble. Her brother, Joe, was part of the lunch table crew. She was gorgeous, and I was pretty sure that Alfie had a crush on her.

“Thank you, so much.” She sent a smile my way, plucking her bag off the ground and wrinkling her nose at the rip. The rain was letting up now, slowly stopping.

“You’re welcome.” I replied awkwardly. “Do you need help carrying those to school? I don’t think your bag can handle anything right now.”

She glanced up then, obviously realizing who I was now. “Aren’t you that girl who stood up to Roxie last week? With Troye?”

I bit my lip. “Yeah, I am. What, are you afraid to be seen with me?”

She looked taken aback. “Oh no, definitely not. That was cool, what you did. I’ve never seen anybody talk back to her like that.”

The rain had stopped now, and we started walking together.

“Yeah, well she was making Troye really uncomfortable and we all just wanted her to leave us alone, so someone had to say something.” I shrugged. “Why not me?”

“I think that was really cool of you, standing up for everyone like that. Joe’s always having them over, they’re really nice people.” I smiled at her.

“You’re always welcome to sit with us. I don’t think it would bother anyone, seeing as you’re Joe’s sister, after all.”

By now, we were at the doors of the school, and I handed Zoe the soggy books. School had started by now, and the halls were vacant.

“I’ll think about it- I mean, normally I sit with the other cheerleaders but I wouldn’t mind the switch.” She shrugged innocently. “Bye, Ember!” She smiled cheerily, almost skipping into the school.

At my locker, I dug out a sweatshirt that I had left in there at some point, deciding there was nothing I could do about the uncomfortable, soaking jeans that were rubbing against my skin irritably.

I headed into the bathroom quickly, to make sure I didn’t look like something found on the side of the street. As I was combing through my messy hair with my fingers, the bathroom door swung open smoothly and Roxie sauntered in, smoothly applying a fresh layer of lip gloss. She didn’t seem to notice my presence at first, until she turned, and, upon realizing who I was, narrowed her eyes viciously.

“Oh, it’s the tramp. Why are you so wet? Did somebody have a little oopsies in the rain?” She pouted her lips childishly, a condescending tone filling her voice.

I rolled my eyes, choosing to ignore her as I swiped at the eyeliner smudges marked all around my eye.

“Answer me, tramp.” She stated dangerously, stalking towards me with evident anger in her face.

“I’d rather not,” I snapped, looking her dead in the eyes.

I wasn’t expecting the shove. Her hands flung forward, and the next thing I knew I was laying at the bottom of the bathroom wall, an aching pain in the back of my head where it had collided with the tile. As I was struggling to stand back up, an unanticipated white tennis shoe pierced my side and I collapsed again. The foot kept coming, kicking my side as she hissed insults and crude names in my direction.

Finally, I had enough and managed to wobble to my feet, Roxie folding her arms and stepping back. I wasn’t one to hit, so I tried to stumble past her, but she shoved me again, this time from the back. I toppled forward, my forehead glancing off the counter. I felt blood this time, gushing down my face. Roxie gasped, obviously not expected that, and I heard her scurrying off and out of the bathroom as I laid there, my hand clasped over the cut on my head as I steadily grew dizzier and dizzier-

Then, the world faded to black.

•••••••••••••••••••••

YES YES I REALIZE THAT I WAS GONE FOR TWO WEEKS AND I REALIZE THIS IS JUST A REALLY CRAPPY FILLER CHAPTER AND I REALIZE THAT I'M A BAD WRITER AND I REALIZE THAT THIS ENTIRE STORY JUST BROKE IN HALF SOMEWHERE IN THE PUBLISHING OF THIS CHAPTER BUT I'M GOING THROUGH SOME PERSONAL STUFF RIGHT NOW AND I HAVE VERY BAD WRITERS BLOCK AND ITS NOT FAIR FOR YOU GUYS THAT THIS IS HAPPENING AND IM SORRY AND I'M ALSO FREAKING OUT AND I THINK I MIGHT GET RID OF THIS STORY BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHERE I'M GOING WITH IT I MEAN IM ON THE EIGHTH CHAPTER AND THERE HAS BEEN ZERO TROYLER INTERACTION LIKE AT ALL SO IDK IF I SHOULD CONTINUE I MEAN THIS IS JUST GETTING PLAIN TERRIBLE.

AND EARLIER TODAY I ALMOST HAD A PANIC ATTACK AND I WAS SUPER STRESSED TRYING TO WRITE FOR YOU GUYS AND IT WAS VERY UPSETTING AND I THINK I JUST NEED TO CALM DOWN AND TAKE A COUPLE STEPS BACK.

GUYS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IM DOING NOW THIS STORY IS TERRIBLE AND I KINDA WANT TO GET RID OF IT. SHOULD I?

- ELLE