We're Just Misfits

Chapter 8 - I made a mistake

"Liam! Liam! Liam! Have you heard the new P!ATD song?! It's so good. Oh my god I've been listening to it all morning. It absolutely amazing. It's totally brilliant, you should totally listen to it." Beamed Elisa, her voice going up an octave with each sentence.

"Jesus Christ woman, calm down. Yes I have heard it, yes I did like it, but-" Attempted Liam, but it was no use as El cut him off, drunk with happiness.

"Oh my God I KNEW YOU WOULD! IT'S SO AMAZING ISN'T IT? I KNEW YOU'D LOVE IT!" She screamed.

"But half the school is staring at you and wondering whatever the hell you're on. Calm the hell down."

"Like hell I care, but I know you don't want your precious reputation ruined, so I'll be quiet now." Elisa replied, a happy smirk on her face. Sometimes, Liam did wonder what the hell he'd done that had meant the gods had been so unkind to him.

Walking down the form hall, with the stares from over 200 kids finally gone, Elisa started to ask about how Liam's visit to Jack's had gone. His response was positive, but he left out Jack's confession of lack of trust. He wanted to get to the bottom of that, and know if he was allowed to tell anyone else, before he told El. She was his best friend: but she couldn't keep a secret even if you paid her.

When they arrived at Liam's form, El abruptly stopped him.

"I haven't actually seen this Jack dude. He's hanging out with at lunch right?" A nod from Liam. "Well, I can't wait to see your new buddy. Maybe I'll find him hot. Maybe I'll steal him from you. Never know. See you!" And with that, Elisa slapped Liam's arm in her goodbye tradition, and walked down the corridor to her form.

"Someone help me." Liam muttered to himself, and walked inside his class to start off the day.

*

Queuing up for lunch had to be the worlds most boring activity in the world, thought Liam as he did just that. In his rush in the morning, he had completely forgot his dad had to leave for work early, and therefore hadn't threw a lunch together. And, as Liam had just 5 minutes to run to school, he hadn't been able to prepare himself one either. So here he was, standing in a line that was moving at a snail's pace, waiting for his turn to get the over priced £5 cheese burgers and the 'fizzy' generic cola.

Fortunately, after a few minutes of waiting and going absolutely nowhere as the year eleven students got priority over everyone, even those that were in sixth form, Elisa came bounding over.

"Well, I can't find Bakier. He's not at our lunch table, not in the football court, and I don't think he's on the field. Are you just hiding him somewhere? Because if you are I will slap you." Elisa said, her brows raised.

"You slap me anyway, which I would stop doing, as I'm not the squirt I was in year 7. On top of that, if you think I could hide that kid anywhere, or for that matter have any control over what he does, you really are delusional." Liam replied with a smirk.

"Right, ok, I'm going to ignore the first part, squirt." Liam raised an eyebrow, something he knew annoyed El as she couldn't do it, at the nickname. "And as soon as you get your cardboard, I fully expect you to help me find him." Elisa said and slapped the six-foot three man on the arm. Despite feeling nothing, Liam still put on a fake pout and rubbed his arm, but he knew that Elisa saw the promising look in his eyes. The look that promised revenge, specifically tickling her until she was screaming. She wisely went off at a fast pace, leaving Liam to another 15 minutes of misery.

*

"Elisa, I honestly don't know what you don't understand. I know he's in, as I sat next to him in my history lessons, and we talked then, but I haven't seen him since. I'm sure he'll turn up at- Oh, there he is!" Liam said, relieved that he could finally escape El's constant pestering. But she didn't go running towards Jack as Liam expected.

She froze, emotionless.

"That- tell me that's not him." Elisa said, and for the first time, Liam heard her voice shake. Six metres away, Jack had frozen, but the look in his eyes was impossible to decipher.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Liam said, completely confused but also slightly scared. He had now gathered that she wasn't shocked at his beauty, which Liam had to admit was there, but rather something else. And he didn't think it was good.

"That's Jack?" Her voice now had a trace of anger in it, the two words clipped.

"Once again, yes."

"Then why the fuck do I know him by the name Lewis? And more importantly, what the fuck is he doing here?" Elisa's voice seethed with anger, and Liam became genuinely fearful. It was rare that she swore, and even rarer that she sounded just so angry.

"Lewis? No, his name is definitely Jack. You must be getting him confused with someone. And he just moved house, which is why he's here." Liam said, and it was his turn to have a shaky voice.

Elisa stepped closer to Jack. "What the fuck you are doing here?" She shouted, and it was lucky they were outside, in their normal spot in a far corner of the huge field that the school had, because if anyone had heard that, they'd have gone running straight to teachers.

"I-I can explain. Just give me a chance. You never let me, and I want a chance." Jack said, his voice nowhere near scared enough for Liam's liking. Wherever Jack knew Elisa from, it was far away from here, as everyone in the school knew when El raised her voice, you ran.

"EXPLAIN?! Why should I let you explain, the person that made me so miserable and hurt me so much, that I moved COUNTRIES to get away from?! Are you fucking delusional?!" Elisa shouted. Liam could hear the pure anger that coated her words, so powerful that he shook. Nevertheless, he took a step forward. He wasn't going to let Elisa do something she would regret, even if he had to sacrifice himself.

"I'm sorry, ok. I made a mistake, but I want to make it up to you." Jack said, and then he made the fatal mistake. Moving forward, he reached out to hold Elisa's hand, trying to reassure her. It did not have the desired effect.

She slapped him, the sound bouncing off of his now bright red cheek.

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME YOU CAZZO DI STRONZO." She screamed. Now Liam was terrified. It took a lot forElisa to start cussing in Italian. But then with a scary calm, El finished, "You made much more than a mistake. You scarred me. And for that, I hope you rot in Hell." She began walking away, and didn't so much as flinch as Liam called her name. He glanced at Jack, holding his clearly throbbing cheek, feeling his swollen lip, but decided that the boy was clearly in the wrong. El had never treated anybody like that in the time Liam had known her.

He ran after her, and almost broke down when he found Elisa, the strong, embodiment of a powerful woman, sitting on a bench sobbing. Liam sat down, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and sat with her long after the bell for final period rung.