I Love You, I'm Sorry

Chapter Three: Scores to Settle

Third Person pov: 

Sipping from her bottle of water, Rowan had to force back a laugh at the joke Cade told her about the Batman. She swallowed the water and screwed the cap back onto her bottle before grinning at him and applauding.

Cade took a mock bow, soaking up the happiness that was permeating the room. "I'll be here all week, folks."

Rowan lets out a chuckle, resting her hands in her lap. "Tomorrow is the weekend, Cade. You won't be here for two days."

"Well, I'll be here next week, won't I, little miss smarty pants? And the week after that... and the week after that... and the week after that..." His voice fades out as he goes back to washing some of the pots and pans.

Rowan smiles at her friends before standing up and stretching her arms above her head until her shoulders click. Letting out a sigh, she grabs her back and heads towards the back door of the kitchen. "I'm gonna get going, but I'll see you guys next week!"

Several voices call back to her with goodbyes before Amelia looks up from her chopping carrots with a smile. "Bye, Rowan! Stay safe!"

"Will do!" The girl turns and walks out of the room, heading down the hall and passing the entrance to the the cafeteria with a sigh. She moves to continue when Joshua and his three goons walk out of the bathrooms across the hall.

They spot her and smirk as they approach, Joshua leading the pack. They come to a stop about a foot away from her and Joshua leans on his left hip, grinning like a shark. "Look who it is, little Rowan... The girl doomed to be alone forever."

Rowan tugs down her left sleeve, gripping the edge of her shirt sleeve until her fingertips turn white. She glances up at Joshua and before mumbling under her breath. Joshua furrows his brows, taunting her by cupping his hand behind his ear. "What was that, mumbles? Couldn't quite hear you..." He lets out an obnoxious laugh and Rowan rolls her eyes.

"I said... Can you even spell "Doomed" or did you just hear it on the TV and think it makes you sound smarter than you are?" As soon as the words are out of her mouth, Rowan's eyes go wide in regret. She takes a small step backward as Joshua processes her words.

As he gets over his shock, Joshua's face shifts into one of loathing. He doesn't bother saying anything at all this time, instead, lunging forward to grab Rowan's wrist.

Rowan reacts before she can realize what she's doing, grabbing the boy's arm and pushing into his pressure points, temporarily paralyzing his entire arm. It hangs limp by his side as they both stare in shock. Rowan takes another small step back as he cradles his arm. "You're so dead, Moore."

Rowan turns on her heel and sprints down the hallway, trying not to panic at the angry stomps coming from behind her as the boys give chase. She tries to loose them while leading them away from her music room sanctuary so they don't look for her there later, taking several sharp turns around the halls.

She grips the wall beside her, using it to swing herself around the corner without loosing momentum, coarse correcting as she goes, but at the last turn in this hall, she throws herself around the corner and slams into something rock hard, bouncing off and nearly falling.

Firm hands grip her biceps to keep her upright without letting her fall to the ground as she recovers from the shock of slamming into someone. She cringes as footsteps echo around her, Joshua and his goons coming to a halt just behind where she's standing.

She looks up to see Damian Wayne looking her over. He slowly releases his hold on her, but doesn't step back as he looks over her shoulder at Joshua and the goons. Damian eyes the limp arm that Joshua is cradling and the pink flush on Rowan's cheeks as her chest heaves from the running she was just doing.