DANI
I can't even begin to express how lost I'm starting to feel. At first, I thought I would just have to deal with and understand the concept that some friends don't last forever. IE, me, and Lillian. Lily is my girl, let's be real. It just clearly didn't last as long as I had hoped.
Then there's my Stella. The sweetest and funniest. But now that she's gotten herself into Chase's drama, on top of being busy with tutoring with Beck, I hardly get to see her. Of course for a good reason, but I would be so lying if I said that I didn't miss us hanging out all the time. It's even come down to her possibly giving up the dance team until next school year.
I think I actually might hate Chase. I blame him for ruining the school year. It started so good and now it's not. Not at all. But I was never a quitter. I'm gonna finish everything I started this year. Friends or not.
Of course, I'm close to Craig and even Penelope is pretty cool. I just don't think we typically mesh well. Craig and I are only friends because of Lily. We just know each other beyond surface level now. And Penny is just latched to Beck in my eyes.
I've been trying to stay away from the drama. Especially the relationship drama. I just don't do them. I've yet to actually find someone who doesn't annoy me after too long. I doubt that'll ever change.
Recently I volunteered to help at school, doing something that I consider to be genuine. It's also a way for me to keep busy instead of being home and bored.
The Thanksgiving feast!
Every year, our school puts together a dinner, on Thanksgiving morning, where a bunch of students volunteer to serve homeless people in the gymnasium. This is something that I actually won't have to do alone now. I hope. Stella and Beck volunteered also. So it might be really fun.
We'll get to catch up as well. Everyone decided we should take a much-needed break from hanging out since the dance happened. Just until the Chase thing subsides.
Moral of everything? I feel alone. I'm hoping it's just for now.
Another thing I decided to sign up for was helping with junior and senior movie nights. Which is something we do at least twice a school year. One for the freshman and sophomores, and another for juniors and seniors. It was always pretty fun.
I told Craig I would meet him in the auditorium since he would also be there for the meeting that Principal Lewis was holding this morning. So that's what I'd set out to do. Assuming nobody else would be there.
Lily would, considering it is her idea, but something had come up, from what I know.
Clutching my bag, I run into school, rushing to avoid the pouring rain. My Doc Martens were loud hitting the puddles on the stairs and I reached to open the door. Once I entered l, I pull my hood down, fixing my hair with a deep breath.
The school seemed quiet, but I could already hear people talking amongst themselves within the auditorium, as the doors are right near the entrance of the school. Walking in, I see everyone scattering for seats still. Students laughing with each other and seniors, already becoming emotional, eventually though we haven't actually done anything yet.
I look around, hoping to find Craig within the room. He's so tall, I thought I would've found him the minute I entered.
After a moment of awkward gazing, I finally seem him, glued to his phone as usual, but still holding a spot for me next to him, as his bag was in the seat. I smile to myself and begin to walk over, sidestepping into the aisle until I reach him, then I sit.
He lifts his head, noticing my presence, and smiles,
"Dani, you made it. I was starting to think you wouldn't come. I know you hate the rain." he lets out a soft chuckle.
I shake my head, smiling back as I speak, "I told Lily that I would. So here I am. Where is she by the way?" I say, setting my bag down beside me in the other seat.
"Well her parents are currently out of town, and she said she would run errands for them I guess while they're gone. So that's what she's doing. Something about someone being sick in the family. That's why they'll be gone, I'm assuming." Craig says, locking his phone and putting it in his pocket.
I slowly nod, looking down then I glance at the stage. Principal Lewis was walking to the microphone, holding papers in hand. He clears his throat before speaking.
"If I could have everybody's attention..." he says, making everyone begin to quiet down.
He smiles, "Thank you. And thank you all for coming to this small meeting. I won't keep you guys long, since this will only take a second." he says.
I sigh quietly, already wanting to tune out. All I could think about was what I was doing next since I thought I would be able to be here for a while.
I look over at Craig who is visibly also zoning out, but talking with the girl next to him. I lean forward just a tad bit to take a peak from my side of him. Just to see who it was or if I knew them.
She had short, blonde hair and a youthfulness to her face. An innocence, if you will. There was just something so sweet about her that I couldn't seem to pinpoint. At the same time, she had this masculinity to her that was sort of attractive. Her voice was a little deeper, and the mannerisms of a girl who clearly wasn't into guys.
Satisfied with my examination, I turn my head back to the stage, ready to listen to the principal talk. I wasn't looking for more than a minute before Craig taps my shoulder.
"Dani, this is Casey, by the way. Casey, meet, Danielle." he says, gesturing, "We did cross country together last year. She's still doing it though." he smiles, looking at us both.
Casey leans forward to get a look at me, beaming as she speaks, "Hey, nice to meet you." she holds a hand up to give a small wave.
I smile back, "Hi, Casey. You too." I say, admiring the rings on her fingers and her sense of style.
Her smile slowly fades as my stare lingers, but I couldn't help myself. She looks at Craig.
"Um..." she barely voices.
"Don't be weird, Dani, c'mon," Craig says, lightly patting my arm.
Breaking my attention, I look at him, clearing my throat, "Sorry, just looking..." I murmur.
They both give a little chuckle at my denseness.
Now crimson, I sink back into my seat, trying to remain calm and not freak out of embarrassment at any second now.
"We asked you guys here because Lillian, our student council president, feels like you guys specifically will be able to vote for the proper movie. She couldn't be here today, so here I am," says Principal Lewis, smiling as he looks at all of us.
How sweet of Lily for hooking us up this year. I'm gonna miss her for my senior year.
"We're gonna pass out ballots. you have three options for movies to pick from and whichever one has the most votes will be announced whenever they're ready in the morning announcements sometime next week." he continues.
Teachers begin to pass out our ballots, sending them down each aisle. Once I got mine, I practically rip it open, excited to see what the options are.
I begin to mumble to myself as I read the words, "'Superbad', 'Donnie Darko', and 'Ten Things I Hate About You"
They're /all really good options.
"Lily and I already decided we want 'Ten Things'" Craig chuckles.
I half smile, admiring their relationship, "Wow, I'm so shocked." I shake my head, giggling as I check off my choice.
"You guys make us watch that every single time we have a movie night. You could probably recite it." I add, looking at him as we exchange a laugh.
"So what are you picking then, Dani?" Casey asks, making us both look at her.
I sit up slightly, proud of my choice, "Superbad." I say confidently.
"Okay, you have some taste," she says, half smiling as she toys with the conversation.
Saying nothing, I smile back, unable to keep my eye contact with the vibe change of the conversation.
Craig takes a glance at each of us, clearing his throat, "Okay, well we should probably turn these in now." he says.
Listening, we all collected our belongings before walking to the end of our aisle to hand them over to the teacher. I adjusted my bag over my shoulder before making my way to the double doors, ready to leave. I didn't have any plans to hang around, especially if Casey was going to be there. No reason to embarrass myself if I can avoid it.
"Dani, hang on a sec," Craig says, placing a quick hand on my shoulder to stop me.
I turn to face him, watching him say a few words to Casey before she walks away. He then turns to face me.
"So you must be really good at the whole flirting thing. The batting of the lashes, the doe eyes." he chuckles.
My jaw drops slightly, "I was not flirting, Craig. She complimented me, okay?" I struggle to hold back a smile.
He laughs slightly, "Okay, whatever you say," we begin to walk to the nearest exit of the school and he starts to talk again, "So, Lily's gonna be home soon. I'm gonna see what she's up to, you wanna come along?" he asks.
I couldn't say no. I hardly see anyone anymore. It would be nice for once.
"Why not? I have no other plans." I shrug, crossing my arms, "Glad she's getting a break from her parents." I say. We begin to walk outside and head to his car. Taking our time as the rain had cleared.
Craig squints slightly, "Eh, they're watching her location on her phone. But at least they didn't install cameras." he says, half smiling.
"Oh yeah, like your crazy ass parents?" I laugh quietly.
He smiles more, "They only did that because they're wealthy and greedy. God forbid someone robs us. I guess now we should be happy they did, though." he chuckles, unlocking the car doors.
"True. But whatever ever happened with the police? I can only assume that it's a matter of time before they start to question people. Or just our group of friends. Do you know what you would say?" I ask as we both get inside the car.
Craig sighs, closing his door, "I've sort of been pretending that it's not happening. Avoiding my house, and the police any time I see them. Which won't work anymore since my parents are coming home tomorrow for vacation." he says, starting the car.
I furrow my brows, putting my seatbelt on as I speak, "Craig, you can't runaway forever. And you didn't do anything worse than what Chase did. I think you'll be fine."
"Maybe for now. But all I can think about is Jack. If it weren't for the alcohol, this would've never happened." he says, beginning to drive off.
I wasn't sure what to say, really. Once Craig gets worked up, he's set in his ways.
"You have nothing on your record. Neither does Jack. The most you both would get is a hefty fine. Which you have no problem affording." I say, knowing that probably won't help.
Craig shakes his head, "It's just not that simple, Dani. You don't understand the way my parents see me. I'm already a failure." he says.
I frown, snapping my head to look at him, "Don't say that..." I say quietly.
"It's true. And this is just the icing on the cake. I don't even wanna know what they're gonna say if the police decide to show up and catch them at home." he says, shaking his head as he leans on his window with his elbow.
I purse my lips to the side, feeling awful. I didn't know he was feeling so heavy about everything. I wonder if Lily knows.
His cell began to ring and he quickly picked it up from the cup holder, answering it. He said a few words, but I ignored them, thinking about our prior conversation.
When he hung up, he sighed.
"What?" I say, looking at him again.
"That was Lily. She said the police went to Penny's house. So I guess I don't really have a choice now to talk to the police." he says quietly.
"Maybe it's a good thing. Just to get it over with." I say.
Craig doesn't respond, but instead just keeps driving. I look out my window again, sighing to myself. I'll just be glad when this is all over.
BECK
I park the car in front of Stella's place, examining the little neighborhood. Her house was nice too. A duplex, all white. Looked pretty spacious also.
The entire ride she stayed quiet. I don't know if it's me, or if it was just the deep conversation, but she was just too quiet all of a sudden. Enough to make me nervous.
I shut the car off, looking at her, "I can walk you to the door." I say.
She nods, grabbing her bag before we both get out. When we walked up to her door, it opened almost immediately. It was her dad.
"Oh, Stell. You coming in?" he says, clutching his coat.
Stella instantly tenses up, crossing her arms. I just watch.
"Yeah. This is Beck. My friend, and now tutor I guess. He was just dropping me off." she says.
I look at him, holding out my hand to shake his, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Mendoza."
He shakes it while also giving me a warm smile, "Please, just call me Ricky."
He looks at Stella, letting go of my hand, "I left pasta for you. I'll be home late, okay?" he asks.
She nods and he gives me a small glance and another smile before walking down the front stairs of the porch. We watched him walk off before looking at each other.
"Okay, well was awkward..." she says, smiling sweetly. I chuckle softly, letting it fade to silence.
"Well, I guess I'm gonna go." She says abruptly, beginning to open the door.
Stammering, I stop her, "Uh, Stella, wait. I just wanna say it was cool how you let me vent earlier. I haven't gotten to do that in a really long time." I say, half smiling.
My palms become sweaty suddenly, and I clear my throat. She smiles, almost laughing at my nervousness as it was becoming more obvious.
Her eyes shimmer under the porch light while she talks, "It's really not that big of a deal Beck. You're a great friend." she says, still smiling.
I finally am able to smile back, "We should hang out more." I say.
She finally lets out that laugh she was holding back, "We tutor like three times a week now. And the third time is only because you said I needed it." she says.
I look down for a moment, feeling my face get warm. I just want her to feel like she has someone. And I enjoy her time and our conversations.
"Well yeah, but not tutoring though. Just friends. Hanging out." I say, looking at her again.
She smiles, beginning to walk inside, "Alright. Friends, hanging out. Bye weirdo." she laughs, going inside.
I let out a deep breath, letting my head fall back before walking back to my car. When I get in, I buckle my seatbelt, leaning back.
"Beck, what the fuck are you doing..." I mumble.
I can't help but be intrigued by Stella. She's witty, easygoing. I don't even know why she needs tutoring, she's probably smarter than me. Now that I'm spending so much time with her, it's like I always want to be around her.
The problem is that I still wanna fix what I ruined with Penny. Or at least try to. She deserves that much, and I actually do like her. I just can't seem to shake my history with Stella. But maybe that's a sign. Who knows if it's a good one though?
I put my keys in the ignition, starting it, followed by my phone ringing with a text. I pick it up, briefly read it, seeing it's from Craig, and to meet him at the park.
Putting my phone down, I sigh, following his instructions. I already know it's about Chase. I don't regret what I did either. Waiting on Craig would've been like waiting forever and I just really want him to learn his lesson. Also for my friends to be safe.
I don't know what it takes for that to happen, but I'm definitely making sure it does. They'll thank me later.
___________
I didn't want to meet up. I already know that everyone probably has something to say, and I do horrible when I'm on the spot. When I pulled up, I could see Lily, Craig, Dani and lastly, Penny, standing underneath the pavilion, waiting for me.
I wanted to meet up with her last, out of everyone. We haven't spoken since the dance and I feel awful even showing her my face. I'm not exactly proud of how things went down. I have nobody to blame but myself though.
I got out of the car, locked everything up, and made my way over to everyone. The aura was strong enough to make me feel whatever bad vibes were present. Everyone was visibly nervous and upset. Uncomfortable to say the least.
"What's going on?" I ask, sitting on the table as I look around at the group, "Everyone looks scared shitless..." I murmur.
Lily looks at me, "The police went to Penny's. They questioned her, so now we all think we should talk about our alibi here." she says.
I sigh, "Okay. This can be simple right? I'm the one that gave them the tapes in the first place. I can talk to them."
"Yeah, and you never talked to us when you did, Beck. Do you know how unprepared we are?" Craig says, bitterly.
"Craig, I was doing you a favor man, you know that. I seriously didn't think anyone would care." I say, trying to stand my ground. I was honestly dumbfounded that he was upset with me.
He raises his voice slightly, "You could have at least warned me. I have no idea what I'm gonna say to them. 'Hey, I had a house party and it got a little crazy, my bad.'"
"Both of you, chill out." Penny says, stepping between us, "Look, we'll just tell them the truth, okay? That's what I did. I'm not in trouble, now am I?" she adds.
Craig looks at me before stepping back. I just sigh, looking down.
Craig groans, "This makes me look so bad. I could lose my position on cross country for this. Let alone the last bit of faith my parents have in me." he says, plopping down on the bench of the table. Lily rubs his back.
"Craig, for Christ's sake, your life isn't gonna be over, relax." Dani whines.
I watch him, understanding his frustration, but it was too late to go back now.
I speak up, "So, did they say who they were going to next, Penny?" I ask.
She turns to me, "Nope. They only asked about Craig and Chase. Lily too. I tried to be as discreet as possible guys." she says, looking around at everyone's judgments.
Everyone thinks about this for a moment.
Lily stands up, looking around at us, "I'm just gonna go. I can tell them what happened to me." she says.
Craig stands up with her, "Well wait, that was a quick decision. Are you sure? I mean you were just having issues with this." he says.
"You should go too. If we all tell them together, it could alleviate the problem," she says.
We all exchange glances, hesitant to respond. Penny rolls her eyes.
"She's right. We should all go. We were all there. Chase is just one guy." Dani says, shrugging.
I sigh, standing up, "Sounds like a good idea to me."
Penny nods, smiling at all of us, "Lil and Craig should talk first. Then Beck and Dani." she says.
Craig quickly steps in with his words, "But don't say anything about the fight between you two. It might count against you." he says to me.
I nod slowly, taking in all the info.
"So when do we wanna do this?" I ask.
"Tomorrow morning? Meet at the station at ten." Lily says, looking at all of us.
Everyone nods before saying goodbye and walking to their cars. But I watched Penny. I wanted to talk to her so badly. I had to.
I couldn't help it anymore so I ran over to her car, lightly grabbing the door before she was about to step in.
"Penny, wait. I wanna talk." I say, catching my breath.
"I don't, Beck. I'm still upset. Hurt honestly. You were supposed to be different." she says, running her hand through her hair.
"I /am. I know what I did was wrong, but I'm not like that. I only like you. I wanna be with you..." I say, my words getting softer.
Penny examines my face for a moment, inhaling, "I have to go. I'm sorry." she says, getting in her car and swiftly pulling off.
"No, wait," I say, backing up as she pulls out.
I watch her drive off as I clutch my keys with a deep sigh.