Gary didn't understand, why was the Aimes being so horrible today? Was it something to do with Barry? But he wasn't here now and was acting of her own accord... Was she jealous? The thoughts ran through his head lighting quick, he grabbed her wrist before she could escape from the nerds. She turned to look at him. He was frustrated and confused, and needed an explanation for her confusing behaviour.
"What's going on? Why are treating me and the nerds like this?" Gary questioned seriously, as she tried to slip out of his grasp. Oscar was telling Gary to stop from behind him, telling him that if he hurt her Barry would be furious but it was falling on deaf ears. Gary was too preoccupied, confused and frustrated to think about a later, besides if he didn't hurt her Barry couldn't hurt him right?
"Let go!" She cried out, twisting her arm free of Gary's grasp. She skittishly checked behind her as she scrambled down the hallway. Gary hot on her heels. The rest of the group were looking at each other, unsure of whether to follow them or not. The Aimes ran round a corner and slid into a dead end. She bit her lip and looked for a way around him. He came around the corner and the light above her head flicked making him seem more dangerous than he actually was. "What? What do you want?" She exclaimed, obviously scared that he would beat her up. She trembled slightly as he came closer. He stopped realising she had the wrong idea about his intentions.
"I just want to know why you were so harsh to me this morning and just now! Is it because you don't want me to join the nerds? Making me look like a creep so that they won't be my friends anymore?" He questioned her, taking her by surprise. She slumped down to the floor. He stayed standing up, not completely trusting that this wasn't some Aimes trick.
"I'm sorry." She apologised quietly, she stared at the floor, causing her face to be hidden from Gary's view. He couldn't quite tell if it was sincere and having no facial expression to support the apology, it seemed empty and forced. In truth, he was quite taken aback by the fact that she'd apologised straight away.
"I've never really had any proper friends before and now I do have some, you're making up rumours about how horrible I am. Do you want them to kick me out of the group?" He ranted. Having been taken off guard by her apology, he suddenly had so much welled up frustration that was spilling out of him. He didn't want to take it out on her, but his mind was overtaken by emotion right now so he couldn't think rationally.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled again, she sniffed. Gary was taken off guard again, was the Aimes... Crying? All he'd heard about the Aimes' all his life was that they were heartless monsters with no mercy. They were thick skinned and could easily kill him in a million different ways. And she was... Crying? He didn't really understand what was happening, everything he thought he knew was falling apart in front of his eyes. Of course he'd seen her hurt before, mostly from humiliation, but he'd never actually seen her cry because she was hurt. He shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, unsure of what to do now. He'd made a girl cry! Even if she was an Aimes, he still felt bad...
"I'm sorry I said those things in front of your new friends..." She mumbled, her voice wobbling slightly. "Sometimes I don't really have a choice... Barry can be very... persuasive...?" She explained, picking at the skin on her fingers. Gary's eyes widened slightly. So he wasn't her henchman... She was his! He realised, connecting the dots on how he treated her. In Barry's eyes, she was 'his property', that's why he warned people not to go near her. He stepped closer, wanting to connect with her more.
"HEY!" A deep voice shouted, making Gary turn around. It was Barry. He'd come to find his missing Aimes. "Step away from her." He commanded, confidently and slowly as he made his way past Gary, who was subconsciously stepping away from her. Gary quickly flicked his eyes back to the Aimes, who was clearly worried about the sudden appearance.
Barry came over to her and knelt down in front of her face, lifting it slightly and checking her over for injuries. "You okay?" He asked in a very fake soft tone, as he tried to hide the fact that he was horrible to her himself. The Aimes knocked his hands off of her and told him she was fine. Then he turned to Gary.