Resisting Temptation

Chapter 23

The bathroom is such a cliché place to cry, I know, but it was the only place I could go. Ijust couldn't understand how someone so perfect like Lucas could use my own pain against me like that. It wasn't fair! He was such an asshole! Why would he even bother doing something like that anyway? Did he hope to get some kind of personal gain out of it? All I know for sure is that I am such an idiot. Another tear rolled down my face and splattered onto my tights, the pain wretching with every drop of sorrow. I couldn't ever forgive him for what he did, but I couldn't ever forgive myself either. I always knew love was a fluke, and here I am thinking that I'm going to get a second chance.

The bathroom door swung open, that gave me just enough time to wipe of the dripping make-up that stained my face. And who do you supposed walked in at this untimely situation? Sandy.

"Well Moose Girl, you look a little worse for wear today?" she said as she opened her bag, then pulled out a number of beauty products.

"I don't want to talk about it Sandy." my voice came out as a hoarse croak, it was terrible.

"Aw, sweetie." Sandy put down her makeup brush and pulled me in for a hug. That was extremely...odd. "I know it hurts now, we've all been played byt the Vance clan. You're just another notch that's been tightened under his belt. I used to cry in here too about Lucas." she said. I pulled away from her and grabbed some more paper towel, trying to scrub the black marks off from under my eyes.

"I know what you're thinking." she continued. "How could someone so amazingly perfect like Lucas be such an asshole? Such a waste."

"Are you here to make me feel better or what?" I asked her.

"Moose Girl, I think it's obvious I don't like you. But you should feel more guilty than you already do, because your friends did warn you, over and over again about Lucas. But did you listen? No, no you didn't. You didn't even listen to your delicious hunk of a step-brother." she said, then turned back to the mirror and started applying blush to her cheeks.

"You never gave a damn about me, why do you care now?" I asked.

"Well, we all have those moments where we try to redeem ourselves. I think I'm doing a pretty good job. You on the other hand, I really pity you. Imagine how awful it's also going to be when you show up for cheer practice and your ex will be there." wow, I didn't think of that. I hated how she was right...about everything.

"Remember something Moose Girl, this one's on you." then she collected her things and strutted out of the bathroom.

I hate her, but she's right. I could've stopped it, my friends were trying to protect me, and I pushed them away. What kind of person does that make me? A horrible one.

"Dani." at first I thought it couldn't be true, Zac would never actually overstep the boundary and enter the girl's bathroom, right? Wrong.

"Dani, I'm taking you home." he said. He had my bag in his hand, along with his own slung around his shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked him.

"That isn't important right now."

"The hell it isn't! You know this whole time he was lying! Why didn't you say anything? Were you afraid to lose your popularity status against him?" I asked.

"Dani, that's not it."

"Then what is it? What would possess you to keep such a secret?" he knew that sooner or later that he would have to come out with it, if he knew I was being set up, why would he not tell me? Did he not care about me?

"We can talk about this later, you're going home." he said.

"Zac, we take the bus to school." I told him.

"I called my dad, he's picking you up." he said.

"You're dad doesn't have to do that." I replied.

"He is. You can wait in the lobby." I hated being treated like a helpless child; but in this moment, I felt like a damsel in distress. It wasn't worth arguing, I was frankly too tired to argue with him. So I took my bag and made my way to the lobby.

~.~  Z  A  C     T  R  E  N  W  A  Y  ~.~

I'm going to beat Vance's ass to a pulp, he's going to know better than to mess with my family once I'm done with him. He's going to regret ever kissing Dani in the first place. He still sat at the cafeteria table, not aware that his "girlfriend" had run away. I would be a much better boyfriend to Dani, I'd treat her right. Not that I'd ever go out with Dani, that would be weird considering our situation.

"I got to say Vance, you've been on a real fuckin' roll these past few months." I said. Lucas looked up at me and scowled.

"Can I help you Zac?" he asked.

"No, no in fact you've done enough. I never liked you man, the whole school knows that. But this little game you like to play with Dani, it's over." I replied.

"I don't know what you're talking about." he was enjoying this, he thought it was funny to mess around like this.

"You do, you know you fucking do. But what I don't understand is how someone could be so cold as to use someone's hurt to their own personal gain. You knew Dani was hurting, you used that against her." I said. Lucas chuckled, then stood up, trying to tower over me.

"I don't like what you're suggesting Trenway; I'm with Dani, I wouldn't do anything to hurt her." he said.

"Yeah, I notice how you say 'I'm with Dani' and not 'in love with Dani'. That's not what a real man would say...ever." I said.

"Well, well, well, since when are you an expert in the love subject? You're with a new one every month." he replied.

"In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been with anybody since school started-"

"Ever since Dani got here, right?" he asked. "Doesn't take rocket science to put two and two together. I've known about your little crush on her since you decided to pry us apart at your dumb Halloween party. You honestly think that it's not by now clear to the entire student body how you think of her? But of course you two can't be together because-oh that's right! You two are going to be bro and sis, isn't that right?" he asked.

"You're retarded if you think I love Dani." I said.

"Takes a retard to know a retard." he replied. When he wants to hit a nerve, he hits one. He's a pathetic asshole, but it's his own tactics that make me admire him. But he threatened my friend, I'm not saying I do, but if I did love Dani, I'd make this idiot pay with his life. But since that would send me to jail, my mind told me to do the one thing that felt right.

I slugged him right across the jaw, and that's when all hell broke loose.