[on hiatus] Metamorphosis of a Mean Girl (How To Rule Your High School Part 2)

Chapter 5: Maddie The Fugitive

I spent the entirety of the explosion-riddled, superhero-loaded movie trying not to think about two things: Tyler and the article. As we'd crossed town to the movie complex, I let spill all the sordid details about what had happened in Huntington, watching as Tyler's knuckles went white on the wheel when I described what I'd walked into in that club basement on Friday.

"Damn right you should've assaulted someone," he muttered as he shifted into park at the theatre, "Those jerks got what they deserved for trying to make you look like the bad guy in that article."

My stomach turned as I climbed out of the car, wondering whether he'd still think the same thing if the truth ever came to light. I was so caught up in my own mind that I didn't think twice when he held a hand out to me, taking it before realizing what I was doing. The feel of Tyler's warm fingers between my cool ones had all those old feelings surging to the surface once again as we walked up to the ticketing machine.

Too much, my mind kept saying, you can't do this right now, even as my heart was dancing joyously, relieved to be back with the guy some part of me knew I was supposed to be with. I disentangled myself from him under the pretenses of searching for my wallet in my purse, forcing Tyler to let me pay my way despite his insistence that he wanted to treat me to a movie. When he offered to share his popcorn, I refused, instead buying myself a large Diet Coke and once again ignoring his offer to pay.

I was making it awkward and I knew it, but I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't let him pay for me as if we were on a date because I wasn't so sure he'd want to date me if he knew what I'd done.

So there we sat, Tyler contentedly munching on his popcorn while I desperately tried to realign myself with the world that had so drastically changed in under a week. Ethan was the enemy now, not the guy that I could text whenever I was bored. Tyler was my friend again and clearly hoped to be something more, but I knew that balanced precariously on the precipice of him finding out the truth about the article...

The article that had probably single-handedly destroyed Dakota's life.

My stomach swooped as I thought of the cruel words Victoria had penned under Dakota's name, so perfectly capturing the fledging journalist's tone that no one had suspected anything...yet. I couldn't shake the feeling that the other shoe was about to drop and that the turmoil hadn't quite settled. Ernie MacKibbin might talk or someone might trace the story back to Victoria, who I didn't trust in the least not to drag me down with her. Plus it wasn't like we'd met up with Ernie in some secretive alley, Victoria had hauled me right up to him when she'd forced the memory key into his hands. For all I knew, some good samaritan student might already be telling Principal MacGuire what they saw if only to help sort out this morning's mayhem.

So I squirmed and fidgeted, trying my best to focus on the movie and not the familiar smell of Tyler's cologne or the warmth of his shoulder so close to mine. Or the look on Dakota's face as she'd ripped the paper to pieces in front of Mel Jiang. Or the way Ethan had attacked my brother. Or the way I'd willingly played a part in everything that had transpired.

Victoria had asked me at the party whether I was in or not and I hadn't even stopped to consider the consequences when I agreed. I should have guessed that whatever she had planned would be cruel and horrible, but I was so alight with anger that I hadn't cared. I wanted to hurt Dakota and Ethan so badly that I hadn't care what lengths she'd go to in order to achieve it.

Now that I knew what she'd been planning and had unwittingly played right along, I wasn't so sure that I wanted in any more.

Pulling out my phone, I broke the cardinal rule of movie attendance, the bright blueish light glowing in the dark theatre. Ignoring all the messages backing up my inbox, I scrolled to the contact I wanted.