Not Your Typical Prom

Chapter Twenty

Dedicated to @clarifications because she is such a stunning writer and she inspires me so, so, so much!

The song to the side is Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde ((ps, if any of you have watched mockingjay let me know what you think bc I watched it over the weekend and osfhiewhfjbjheiquwufnfn woah!!))

CHAPTER TWENTY

-Cole-

 I watched her from far away.

She was laughing with her friends about something. Her lips were stretched far and her nose scrunched up. Her eyes crinkled and the sounds that tumbled from her mouth were contagious. 

Scarlett Anderson.

God, who would have thought that I would be sitting alone, leaning against the a tree and thinking about the nastiest person in the school?

But that was the thing; she wasn’t a horrible person. She was funny and nice and sweet and lonely. And for some reason, the idea of her being lonely made my heart clench.

I looked away and focused on my soggy sandwich.

“Hey there!” a cheery voice spoke and I turned.

It was Nat, the girl who was head of the Prom Committee. I remembered her vaguely as we hadn’t talked before the meeting.

“Oh, hey,” I replied hesitantly.

“Cole right?”

I hummed a response. “That’s me.”

“Cool, haha!” she paused and there was an awkward silence. “Anyway, you’re on the Prom Committee, aren’t you?”

“Mmm.”

“Why’d you join?”

“Because I was forced to,” I sighed and Nat nodded.

“Principal Johnson?” she asked.

“The one and only,” groaning, I turned to face her completely.

“Aha, that sucks! You don’t seem like the kind that would want to be in the Prom Committee honestly.”

“Did you join voluntarily?” I took a bite of my sandwich as I waited for her answer.

“Technically but I wanted to do some extracurricular/community service tasks before college. It would look good on my application and none of the princesses took it this year,” she said, jerking her chin to the table on which Scarlett and her blonde friend sat.

“Where are you planning to apply to? For college, I mean,” I asked.

She shrugged indifferently. “I’m going to try for something like Yale and or Cambridge and if that doesn’t work then community college it is!” she cheered sarcastically and I gave her a half smile.

She wasn’t as pretentious as I expected her to be.

Nat, from what I have heard, wasn’t one of the popular or sporty or even nerdy kids. She was the type that worked hard and had her own personal group of friends meaning she kept out of school politics.

“Did you want to ask me something?” I looked back at her and she frowned.

“Why?”

“Well…you did approach me.”

“Nah, you just looked lonely,” she laughed, flashing me her pearly white teeth.

“Gee thanks,” I muttered and she giggled.

“So…” she smiled “Scarlett huh?”

I choked a little. “W-w-what?”

“You heard me.”

“I-I don’t,”  I began feebly.

“Yeah sure,” Nat snorted and rolled her eyes. “I believe you.”

“But I don’t like her!” I said, then felt guilty immediately after that. “Not in that way at least!”

“Then maybe it’s more than like,” Nat suggested and patted me on the shoulder.  “Either way, I gotta go, but let’s talk later okay?” she said and left in a flash.

As I stared after her, I knew one thing. I most definitely did like Scarlett, I just didn’t know in what way.

**

After much internal debate I decided to not take the bus after school and instead sit and work in the library. The house was too boring because my mother was working long hours and Abby had gone to her friend’s house.

Sitting down at the wooden desk, I pulled out some math homework and got started on it, but I couldn’t stop feeling distracted. There was something nagging me but I was unable to put my finger on it exactly.

Shoving my chair back, I pushed my hands into my hair, annoyed. Deciding to wander around the library, I looked at a few books, hoping to feel relaxed by the end of it. 

There was a librarian dozing at the desk. She was old with white hair and wrinkly skin and there was a line of drool from her mouth to the desk she was currently slumped on.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled out Frankenstein from the shelves, sat down on a beanbag and began to read.

I was lost in the pages of the novel and got a real shock when there was a loud and piercing scream. Jumping up, I ran towards the source of the sound to investigate.

It came again along with shouting and cursing. I couldn’t make out whose voice it was or what they were saying as I ran out of the library and began to weave in between the buildings, to try and find whoever was making the noise.

There was another scream, closer this time and I ran faster, my breath coming out in harsh pants. There was more shouting and whimpering and the distinct sound of a ‘don’t’ and ‘please no’.

Worried, I ran to the last place I thought I had a chance of finding the source of the noise. There was this tiny place in between the two buildings, a narrow alley where the delinquents sat and smoked god knows what.

I hadn’t ever been through it but it seemed like the only place that I hadn’t looked into. Charging through the alley, I suddenly stopped at the sight in front of me.

Scarlett was pushed up against the wall, pinned down by an aggressive looking Brandon.

He was kissing her roughly and groping her, while she desperately tried to shake him off and wriggle away.

“I don’t want this,” she whimpered as he came up for air. “Let go of me!”

“Why?” he growled “why don’t you want this?”

“B-because-“ she opened her mouth to answer before I cut her off.

“Step away from Scarlett, Brandon,” I finally spoke and the two of them turned around to face me.

“Cole,” Scarlett gasped.

“Cole,” Brandon growled.

“I mean it, Taylor. Step away from her.”

“Why don’t you just back off, man?” Brandon growled, walking towards me. “This isn’t really any of your business.”

“It is when I see you trying to force yourself on my friend.”

“Your friend?” Brandon laughed, cruelly with his head thrown back. “She isn’t your friend!”

“Actually-” I began but he shook his head.

“I’m sick of your shit,” he said and pulled his fist back, aiming it straight towards my face.

______________________________________

A / N : heeeeeellllllooooooo you guys! i am back with yet another update woop woop :-) i hope that you all had a great christmas and in case i don’t get another chance to wish you, i hope that you all have a fantastic new year! it wont be long till the next update but till then, bye guys! <3

ps. 100+ votes omg thank you so much you guys!!