The Bad Boy of Waterloo Road

Chapter Thirty-Five.

..."He may have a little 'surprise' coming his way."

His words hit me in the face like a punch, leaving a rather harsh mark behind. What has he and his gang of thugs got planned for Tariq? I raced out of the room, not prepared to drop this situation where I saw Finn hadn't really gotten far, clearly still in too much pain to make a run for it.

"Hang on a minute," I spoke, grabbing hold of his arm and turning him to face me. "What do you mean Tariq's got a surprise coming his way?" I asked, knowing my question was 100% stupid, but I needed to hear the answer from Finn's mouth.

"Well, if I can't have you then neither can Tariq..." Finn responded and his response made me feel physically repulsed.

How dare he treat me like some kind of possession?! I don't belong to 'anyone'! I am my own person and I choose who I want to go out with, just like any other normal person in society.

"Who do you think you are, Finn?!" I screamed, flailing my arms in the air. "Do you realise how sexist and narcissistic you sound right now? I'm not some kind of 'play' thing that you can pick up and drop down as and when you feel like it! How dare you go and target Tariq just to try and win me back, acting as if I'm some kind of prize..." I continued to rant, anger seething through every orifice of my body. "I don't even know who you are anymore..."

And it was in that moment that my whole world sank. It finally cemented in my brain how much I meant to Finn, especially if he was going to these extents to try and win me back. I admired his bravery and honesty, I really did but he's acting the completely wrong way. The Finn I fell in love with would never have joined a gang and wouldn't have developed such a narcissistic attitude towards himself and others. It's obvious...the Finn I fell in love with has been replaced with this unrecognisable figure instead.

I slumped against the wall in the corridor, desperately trying to blink away the tears threatening to fall. Finn was right all along, Tariq will never amount upto him but I also don't want to see Tariq get hurt, or if the only solution was to see Tariq hurt...I'd rather it just be emotionally rather than both physically and emotionally. Swallowing down a large lump in my throat, I managed to look back at the battered and bruised boy stood in front of me, his eyes burning into mine.

"I'll break up with Tariq..." I whispered, seeing a small glimmer of hope in Finn's eyes. "...but on one condition..." I continued while he remained stood, waiting for what I was about to say next. "...I want you to leave Eugene and his gang along and promise not to go near Tariq." I finished and Finn was quick with a comeback.

"I...I can't do that..." He murmured but considering the corridor was quiet, I could hear loud and clear what he was saying.

"I thought you wanted me back?" I questioned, wondering how much he actually wanted us to be a couple again.

"I do...more than anything but I can't agree to those terms. I'm sorry." He replied, his gaze now dropping to the floor. "What's going to happen to me if I back out of our deal now? I had to endure an absolute battering just to get into the gang. How much of a loser am I going to look if I decide to back out now?!" He rambled, clearly worried about what's going to happen to his pride.

"What's more important here, Finn? Us two getting back together or you losing a bit of street cred?" I asked, wanting him to look at the bigger picture and get his brain working a bit more logically. "You know what, I'm going to leave you to mull this one over for a while, but I will say one thing..." I added, pausing a little to add a bit of dramatics. "...If you choose to remain as one of Eugene's thugs, then consider that me losing the last ounce of self-respect I still had left for you..."

With my departing words, I headed back to the classroom I was in previously to complete a little bit more work in the very short amount of time I had left. Finn didn't bother returning, so I'm hoping he was using the time that was left to come up with a decision on what he was going to do.