The Garden of Eden || Canis Canem Edit / Bully [ #WATTYS2018 ]

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Free Falling

Everything was silent. Oddly silent. The walkways within Bullworth Academy that only moments ago housed many factions of unhinged students, were now desolate and eerie. All that Eden Milenko could hear was herself and the faint chiming of the school bell. The pounding sounding of her scuffed sneakers slamming onto the cracked pavement beneath her, was out of sync with her wildly beating heart. The air was thick with fear and grief, strong gusts of wind smacking into her sore form. A wheeze left her lips as her burning lungs struggled to gasp for air. Her sight was blurry and her eyes frantically darted in every direction possible, the scenery around her disgustingly contorting into horrid, lifeless shades of grey. Her world was fading away, the sky was no longer a heart-capturing azure - it was merely a dull grey.

Her emerald orbs finally managed to focus on something, something she wished that she would never have had to lay her eyes on. Gary and Jimmy, fighting on the rooftop.

'They both look so beaten-up...'

The boy's skins were a sickly pale colour, with stark splotches of black and blue. Their school uniforms clung to their bodies like a second skin, showing every muscle ripple with each punch they laid into each other. She could faintly make out their enraged expressions. Clenched jaw, gritted teeth, furrowed eyebrows - it was a look she associated very well with Gary but not so much with Jimmy. It slightly frightened her.

The metal flooring beneath the two boys shook violently like a leaf in a hailstorm, as Jimmy landed a solid uppercut on his opponent. She opened her mouth to shout out something, anything that could stop their farce but, all that left her lips with a whimper. Eden tried again, another whimper. She grew confused and touched her numb lips, feeling the soft skin quiver. She studied her hands, realising just how much she was shaking.

"W-wha...?" Eden covered her mouth, a nauseous wave crashing over her.

'No, no, no, come on! This can't be happening! '

She hunched over, her nails digging into her scratched up knees. She hated this, it was probably one of the primary reasons she had grown to despise herself over the years. It was a flaw, a defect in her DNA. Anxiety was a hinder, it always left her completely vulnerable. Here now, out in the open icy air that nipped at her skin, she was off-guard. All she could focus on was the sound of blood pumping through her veins and straight to her palpitating heart, reminding her that she couldn't breathe properly. A whimper fluttered out of her lips, urging her to hug herself in a tight embrace.

'I want this all to stop... please, just stop.'

Eden's eyes stayed glued to the concrete pavement, refusing to acknowledge anything or anyone else. She couldn't even bring herself to spare the two fighting boys above her another glance, therefore failing to notice a certain one of them staring down right at her.

Gary's heart wrenched at the sight of her, Eden, the love of his life, a complete wreck. She was mere seconds away from breaking down and sobbing uncontrollably - and Gary knew it. A solid punch slammed against his finely sculptured jaw, earning a quiet hiss from the enraged teenager.

'What's the point?' Gary wondered to himself, his stare remaining unbreakable on Eden. 'My reign as 'King of the School' is over. There's nothing more to it. The fight is done, over with. Even if I beat Jimmy down to a pulp, which I can, what would happen after it? Nothing! The factions would just rise against me, that's only if Crabblesnitch doesn't throw my ass in the Happy Volts Asylum.'

His eyes were a magnificent swirl of honey and dark caramel, as they stared down intently at Eden. Pain. It was etched all over her face. Without even having to hear her strangled gasps for even a breath of air, he knew she was in pain. Anguish, agony and desperation - that was the new Bullworth Academy motto ever since Gary executed his maniac plan. And for what? He has caused the love of his life unimaginable pain, more than he can see and far more than she will ever admit.