Names In The Night [COMPLETED]

Chapter 5

Author's Note:
Sup

This next chapter is pretty interesting, but also very short.

Also, it's getting difficult to write this because my own chapters are triggering me.

That's really all I have to say.
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Fall froze over into winter and we were still best friends. This was kind of surprising, because I normally screwed things up after a few months. For the past four days I went unnoticed by Marcus, Brittany, and Allison. The play in the theater was over, and I was no longer permitted by the drama teacher to sit in the theater during gym, so I had been reduced to sitting in the bathroom to get away from the biting cold outside. Today my first few classes were exceptionally dull, so I made the decision to zone out for those classes. I mean, who the fuck is gonna need to use the Pythagorean theorem in real life anyway. I was on my way to art class, trying to take in all of the scenery at once. The snow-covered trees looked like they had been dipped in white frosting and the banks of snow shoveled up against the red-brick walls of the buildings made them seem like gingerbread houses, their walls held together by a thick line of white. I was standing in the middle of a moving crowd of people passing by, when a large force almost knocked me over. I managed to catch myself before I hit the icy ground.
I heard a familiar voice say, "You're gonna pay for that, freak!"

The bottom of my stomach dropped.

It was Marcus.

I grabbed my books off of the ground and sprinted as fast as I could towards the stairs. I didn't look behind me to see if he was following me. I knew that he was from the loud pounding of footsteps that didn't meet the pattern mine were creating. I took the stairs three at a time, my side cramping up from all of the running. I immediately regretted skipping gym class for all those years. I managed to get up the stairs before he did and I got a head start on the run down the hallway towards the art room door. This hallway seemed a hundred times longer than it did yesterday. I ran and ran, trying to get to the safety of the art room.

I got to the door.

I pushed it open and locked it behind me.

I made it.

I was gasping for breathe, my throat dry and raw from breathing in the cold air so quickly. I put my things down onto the table and took a seat.

"Hey, Ivy!" I jumped when Ms. Degas spoke. I had forgotten that she was in the room as well. "You ready to get started on finishing the oil painting?"

"Mhm." I had finished sketching out my artwork and start painting a while ago. I was almost done.

"I was thinking that you could enter the painting in the school wide art competition. It starts in a week, but the entries are due by Monday, so if you finish the painting by tomorrow at home and fill out the form Sunday, you can enter."

"I don't know. I don't think the student body is ready to see this."

"I have confidence in you. I believe that you can knock out all of the other competitors. Informally speaking, you'll kick ass. Do it."

"Okay. I think that I can finish the painting today and maybe even fill out the form." Ms. Degas gave me a thumbs up and I got to work. I finished my painting and brought it over to her.

"Beautiful. There's nothing more to say." Just then, the bell rang for lunch. I put up my painting and left, with the contest form in hand. I walked to lunch alone. I spent the whole lunch period talking to Andy. The bell rang too soon. I went to language and zoned out. The bell rang too late. I walked to the bathroom and sat on the countertop next to the sink. I pulled out a new sketchbook and let my hand draw, not controlling what was appearing on the paper, only noticing it as it happened.

A face.

A pair of lips pierced with a silver ring.

Two icy blue eyes.

A perfect nose.

Dark, disheveled hair.

I took a moment to look at what I was drawing. It was a portrait of Andy. My face flushed. I felt unbelievably embarrassed, even though no one else was here to see the drawing. What if he saw this? I bet he'd think I'm a creep. I sighed and took a harder look at the drawing. It was very good, and actually pretty accurate. I was beginning to think about what to draw next, when the door burst open and three people walked in. Marcus, Brittany, and Allison. I managed to stuff my sketchbook into my backpack before I was frozen with fear, unmoving.

I should have gotten the hell out of here while I still had the chance.

Marcus noticed me on the counter and said, "Look what we have here. Little fuck-up is hiding in the bathroom. What happens to things like that, Allison?"

"I think they get fucking beat up, Marcus." I felt like a dog in a grimy back alley, about to get its neck snapped by a pack of coyotes. I was trying to anticipate how long they would be preoccupied, how long I would still be able to think cleary. An impulse shot down my spine and to the nerve endings in my legs and I tried to run to the door. I failed. Brittany grabbed me by my hair and stopped me from leaving the bathroom as fast as I could.

Marcus said, slightly annoyed. "Stop trying to run, whore. You'll never get away from us." For a split second, I saw his left shoulder turn back, then his fist connected with my stomach. All the air was knocked out of me. I couldn't breathe. Allison's foot connected with my shin and I could feel myself start to fall over. I stopped myself with my hand before I could hit the ground. I stood back up only to have my head knocked back against the tiled wall by a forceful slap from Brittany. Someone punched my ribs and I hunched over, clutching my ribcage. I was pushed over onto the ground, my body making a loud bang as it hit the ground. The pain was all over, more concentrated in some places than others. It was like I had just run into a brick wall and then been hit by a baseball bat in the ribs and stomach. I closed my eyes tight. I didn't want to have to witness what was happening around me. All I could do was hear it and feel it bruise and pierce my bones.

Someone exceptionally heavy stepped on my stomach, knocking the breathe I had only just regained out of me again.

My bones felt like they were being crushed as someone stomped on my knee.

I yelled in pain, triggering laughter from the group.

I couldn't take it anymore. I opened my eyes enough to where I was squinting, my vision blurred by tears. Through the haze, I saw someone pulling their foot back, getting in the stance to kick. The scene was interrupted when the door burst open and someone stormed into the bathroom. I couldn't make out who it was that stopped what was happening. I saw the person grab Marcus and push him out of the bathroom. I saw them yelling at Brittany and Allison. The last thing I saw was the two girls running out of the bathroom.

Then everything went black.