Serenity Falls

Chapter 15

Thank you SO much for all the support - here's another chapter :D Oh and I finally got the slideshow working so you can see how I imagine the characters in my head... although the photo doesn't quite show Alyssa's mean-ness :L

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It was with an extreme sense of guilt that Olivia watched Fred climbing into the police car and being driven down to the station for further questioning. It boiled up inside her, causing a pain so severe that it felt as if it was burning her insides and which would not cease. What had she done?

It was her fault. She had felt such surprise – and a small hint of relief – when Fred had burst into Mr Delmar's office, claiming he was responsible for the entire thing. He had said that he had planted the stuff in Chelsie's locker, even though Olivia had attempted to talk him out of it, and Olivia had been trying to retrieve it from her locker to avoid trouble. His story had been so utterly convincing and she had been so overwhelmed by the whole thing that she didn't think to stop him at the time. Now he was going to get thrown out of school, maybe even get put in jail, and she was never going to see him again.

This was all her fault. If she hadn't been such a bitch whilst she was with Alyssa, or hadn't been so gullible to believe that Alyssa had good intentions in the first place, none of this would've happened. Olivia hated herself for being taken in so easily – it was the prospect of being popular and cool that had lured her in to Alyssa's world, even though she had probably known, somewhere deep down, that it couldn't end well. If only she had listened to that part of herself. Fred would still be here, his life would not have been ruined. Everything would be as it should.

The students in the hallway behind her were oblivious to the situation, chatting to their friends excitedly about Brooke’s party and the weekend ahead as they headed out of school. They, Olivia thought to herself, did not have the huge weight of guilt resting on their shoulders, slowly crushing their whole body. If only.

"What have I done?" she whispered, leaning her head against the window as she watched the police car drive off until it was completely out of sight.

"Some pretty messed up things."

Olivia turned round, slightly startled, to see Chelsie standing behind her. Her eyes were glistening with potential tears as she began to grasp the fact that her best friend was now gone.

"But," she said, with a small sigh. "I’m pretty sure you've learnt."

"I've learnt what a bitch Alyssa is, at least," Olivia turned back to the window. "And I've learnt that I should believe you when you tell me someone's as much of an evil bitch as her."

A small smile crept onto Chelsie's face, despite the situation. "I suppose it's a start."

There was a pause. Olivia swallowed. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "For everything that happened. For everything I caused." She sighed. "I know it doesn't fix the stuff I've broken, but..." Olivia's voice trailed off.

"I guess it's okay," Chelsie answered her. "You're not a complete bitch, you know."

Olivia smiled lightly, although it wasn't totally a compliment. "Thanks."

"I suppose it is kind of tempting when Alyssa offers you a one-way ticket into the VIP section of the school, especially when you don’t know what she’s capable of."

Olivia nodded.

"But the whole Fred thing kind of blows, you know."

"I know. But maybe he'll get out okay. If he can prove his innocence."

Chelsie sighed. "Yeah. I think he'll be just fine. His Dad has kick-ass lawyers."

"I shouldn’t have let him take the blame."

"No, you shouldn’t have. But there's nothing you can do now. He saved your ass big time."

Olivia looked down at the floor, at her shoes. A cruel reminder of her past friendship. "My ass didn't deserve to be saved."

"Tell me about it. But, hey. It was, and I guess you've just got to be grateful for that."

Olivia was quiet. "I guess I should get going. My dad's waiting in the car, and he doesn't have a clue about what happened today."

Chelsie let out a low whistle. "You going to tell him?"

"Uh..." Olivia considered the option, thinking of a life-long grounding sentence. "Probably not. I'm just going to avoid trouble from now on."

"Sounds like a better plan. But hey – are you up for Brooke's party tomorrow?" Chelsie asked. "You've got an invite, and I think we could both use some fun after the week we've had. And plus, I think this is the last chance we're going to get to go to an A-list party now we're both doomed to the bottom of the social ladder next week."

"Isn't that kind of a bad way to enforce my ‘avoiding trouble’ policy?" Olivia raised her eyebrows.

"Hey, come on," Chelsie smiled. "It’ll be fun, and I'll be with you. I'll make sure you don't do anything that, I don't know, will threaten your entire high school reputation or something." She grinned.

"I suppose it would be a shame to leave that dress Alyssa bought me in the back of my wardrobe, after it cost her so much money," Olivia grinned. "Okay, sure, let's go."

"Great! I'll see you at my place tomorrow afternoon to get ready, okay?"

Olivia nodded and swung her bag over her shoulder. Maybe a party was what she needed to loosen up after the week just gone. "Bye," she called to Chelsie, turning and making her way towards the door that lead to the grounds of the school.

It was a fairly windy day, and the cool breeze stroked at her arms and tugged lightly at her hair as she walked outside. She clutched the folder she was holding closer to her chest as the wind threatened to scatter the loose pieces of paper that were held inside it, as she approached the car park where she knew her father would be waiting, just glad that the day was finally over.