Rocket Queen (d.m)

0.4: The Fight

Henley's P.O.V

"Hey, Hyde," I say rather nervously. I try my best to not stutter, which is a bad habit of mine when I'm nervous.

Back in L.A, Athena tried to break me of that awful habit. Let's just say, it only worked a little bit. I'm surprised I managed to even say "Hey".

"W-What are you doing here?" He asks, the shock evident in his voice.

I laugh dryly. "I thought you of all people know that Madeline and I come here pretty much every night." I take a swig from the bottle of vodka that was sat on the table. I ignore Duff's "Hey!" and continued to stare at Hyde. "After all, this is the only decent bar within walking distance." Hyde looks at me with disbelief. Trying to keep the conversation going, I gesture towards the girl he came in with that's hanging around with four other girls that pretty much look exactly like her. "Who's that?"

"Uh, Stephanie," He replies, rubbing the back of his neck.

I stop myself from laughing. That's guys' universal sign for 'I'm nervous'. The poor guy is nervous around me of all people. I look back at the blonde, finally recognizing her.

"Oh! That's Stephanie Miller!" I nod my head, laughing. I lean back against the seat. I ignore the fact that I'm almost completely leaning on Duff. I feel him tense up, but then he relaxes. "That makes total sense."

Hyde crosses his arms, obviously over his nervousness. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"She's already fucked the entire football team. I guess it's time for her to move on to the outcasts."

"What the fuck, Henley? You're just as much as an outcast as I am. Maybe she actually likes me." I can tell I'm winding Hyde up. Eventually he's going to burst and it's not going to be pretty.

I laugh. "There's two things I have to say to that. One, I know I'm a fucking outcast. Always have been, always will be. And I love it. Two, that bitch only thinks with her vagina." Hyde stands there, his eyes wide. I might be a little tipsy, now that I think about it. "Don't look at me like that. You know it's true."

Hyde scoffs. "Oh and you don't? Last time I checked, you're the one who came onto me first all those months ago." Hyde knows he hit a soft spot. "You're no better than Stephanie. At least she knows what the fuck she's doing. I wouldn't be surprised if you just opened your legs to any guy that shows you any attention. That's how we met, right? Only she'll actually go all the way with me."

I open my mouth, then close it. I have no words for once. He's right. Fuck, am I no better than Stephanie? I feel tears spring to my eyes. I can't fucking cry. I asked for this. I provoked him. And besides, he's not wrong.

"Don't talk to her like that, man," Duff says, standing up.

"What the fuck are you going to do about it?" Hyde asks, walking over to Duff.

I almost laugh at the height difference. Duff towers over Hyde. Without a doubt, if they fight my bet's on Duff. He looks way more intimidating than Hyde. I can't put my finger on what exactly it is, but it's there.

"You'll fucking find out if you don't leave." Duff threatens.

Without warning Hyde pushes Duff into the table. The entire table moves towards Madeline and Steven. I look over to them. I have to say I'm not really shocked to see them making out like they're not in a crowded bar. I think Madeline really likes Steven and vice versa.

Duff pauses for only a moment, before pushing Hyde back hard enough to cause him to fall flat on his back. Duff gets on top of him and starts to punch him in the face repeatedly. I stand up, trying to think of a way to get them away from each other.

"Duff get off of him!" I yell.

I run over to them and try to grab Duff's arm. That was probably a bad idea but it's okay. I expected Duff to push me onto my ass and continue to beat the shit out of Hyde, but that's not what happened.

As soon as I grab onto his arm, he stops.

"Duff," I say. "Please stop before you end up arrested."

He doesn't say a word. Instead, he lets me pull him to his feet. I sigh as I see Colin and Sasha rush out from behind the bar. Colin goes over to tend to the beaten Hyde. Sasha looks pissed as she walks over to me and Duff. I don't remember how, but I now have my arms around Duff's waist. I'm guessing I thought it would be best so that I could maybe stop him from going after Hyde again.

"Mind telling me what the fuck just happened?" Sasha demands, flicking her dyed black hair out of her face.

"That dickhead was calling Henley a whore!" Duff exclaims.

I feel him tense up again under my arms. "Duff, please." I turn my head to look up at him. His eyes soften. We just met a few hours ago and he's so sweet to me. There's something wrong with that. I turn my head again to look at Sasha. "Hyde didn't exactly call me a whore, but he was insinuating it."

Sasha sighs, rubbing her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Alright, some jackass called the police on you guys. You both need to stay away from here for a few weeks. I'll clear all this up, alright?"

I nod my head, but I don't fully register what Sasha said. My attention is captured by Hyde. He looks horrible. His curly brown hair is sticking to his face because of all the blood that's coming from various places. His nose is probably broken. His lip is busted. He's got a nasty cut above his eyebrow. He's probably going to have a black eye as well. I would feel pity for him, but he was being a jerk. Then again, I was being a jerk as well. Fuck, this was all my fault.

"Henley?" Sasha says, causing my eyes to snap towards her. "You guys need to get out of here alright? You shouldn't come back here for a few days."

My heart drops. This is like my second home. I actually fit in here. I furrow my eyebrows. "I can't come back just because of a stupid fight?"

"Turns out there was drugs being sold here. Hyde has a shit ton of blow on him. He'll be questioned by the police as well, and I'm sure he'll be more than happy to throw you under the bus. You are still a minor after all," Sasha explains.

Fuck, what the hell have I gotten myself into?

"You can stay with me for tonight, if you want?" Duff speaks up. "You look exhausted."

I finally let go of him. I take a step back and cross my arms. "You barely know me."

He shrugs. "You can't be all bad, can you?"

"What about my parents? There's so much-." I'm cut off by the flashing of red and blue lights. "shit we can figure out later. Let's get the hell out of here."

Duff takes my hand, leading me out the back of the bar and into the chilly Seattle night.