LotusBrooke

Chapter 2- Poison Among Us

(Tatum's POV)

"You're crazy Tate. That boy is bad news. I would stay away from him." my paranoid friend paced back and forth the nearly empty courtyard, his face full of dismay. I rolled my eyes and got up from the bench I was sitting on to place my hands on his shoulders. His stormy blue eyes pierced my own and I resisted the urge to flinch. He was really upset about this. "It's not a big deal Mace, I promise. I offered to show him around, not to become best friends." I reasoned. Mason sighed stubbornly. "I know. I just don't want him to do anything to you. He's an intimidating guy and he doesn't seem the nicest. I just don't think you should be hanging around him." His voice cracked like it always did when he was anxious, and he broke free from my grasp, continuing to pace. "Hey, you trust me right? I know what i'm doing." I said confidently. Mason cracked the first smile I had seen all morning. "I know. Just be careful. I'm going to head to first period before the bell rings. You coming?" He asked,his voice a lot softer and his eyes mellow. "Nah. You go. Mr.Bates will be suspicious if i'm on time." I joked, smirking at my childhood friend. He rolled his eyes at me, but laughed nonetheless. "Alright. Please be careful." He proclaimed before walking rather quickly towards out first period. I rolled my eyes once more. Mason was a neurotic mess sometimes, but I loved him for it. I sat back down on my bench, waiting for the first bell to ring. I was rarely ever on time, and my first period teacher doesn't care, so I feel like it would be strange to start at the end of the year. The bell rung and I watched all the students file into their classrooms quickly, the courtyard practically empty in only a few seconds. There were several students still loitering around however, me included. Dennis Parker and his little gang were strutting through the halls, laughing obnoxiously and speaking unnecessarily  loud. I was hoping they would pass without noticing me. Dennis and his jocks were the last thing I needed to deal with right now. Thankfully, I went unnoticed, and they passed by without even looking in my direction. I debated going to class, but I didn't have the motivation to get up. I was extremely tired and running purely on coffee. My mind has been racing the past couple of days because of my parents arrival this weekend. They usually came back once or twice a year to make public announcements and try to apologize to me, but I knew they weren't sincere. They couldn't care less about me. All they cared about was business and profit. The rest of this town was blind to it, but I saw through every facade. I wasn't stupid. A flash of black caught my eye, and I looked up to see the new boy. Ashton I think it was. I smirked to myself and stood up. I will admit, the boy was a little intimidating, but I wasn't scared. It takes a lot to make me back down. "Hey, Ashton!" I called, waving my arms to catch his attention. He halted and looked slowly in my direction, his eyes rolling when they fixated upon me. "What do you want?" He asked harshly, his gaze stone cold. I refused to show weakness, and looked him intently in the eyes. "I said I would help you, didn't I?" I spoke calmly and briefly, never losing my focus. Ashton scoffed. "Listen. I know who you are. I've hear the story, and I want nothing to do with you. You've never had to work a day in your life, andI just can't respect that. I'm not falling for your fake kindness." His voice was quieter now, but still held the same harsh tone. I wasn't surprised that he already knew about what I stood for. Word spreads fast here. But  he doesn't know the real story. Very few people do. My eyes narrowed and I glared daggers at the boy. I thought I almost even saw a flinch. "Listen up. I'm trying to be nice. I'm not going to stand here and listen to you talk about knowing me. You may think you know my story, but just because we live in a small town, doesn't mean that everyone knows the truth. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not who anyone thinks I am, and you have no right to try and tell me who I am." My voice came out surprisingly loud and menacing. Before he could say anything else, I walked away suavely, flipping my hair in a dramatic fashion. Mason was right. That guy is really just an asshole. I guess I just saw something different in him. I was this close to spilling my entire life story to him, and I have no idea why. It flustered me and I hated being even the slightest bit flustered. I blamed my erratic behavior on lack of sleep, and stormed into my class. I strutted into the classroom, freezing on the spot when I realized that Mr.Bates wasn't there. Instead, an older woman with graying hair and a wrinkly face void of any emotion stood by his desk. "Any reason why you were late miss..." She drawled, waiting for me to tell her my name. "Tatum. Tatum Valentine." I answered as politely as possible. Her emotions didn't seem change when she heard my last name. Her pewter gray eyes scanned the paper in front of her before returning to me, her thin lips curving into a scowl. "Well you've earned yourself a detention miss Valentine." She practically spat my name, holding out a small pink slip for me to take. I groaned softly, snatching the paper from her rudely, before storming off to my desk in the back. Today was just not my day. I didn't even listen to ms. whatever her name was, instead ranting internally, doodling intently on my notebook paper. Mason kept sending me worried glances from the front of the classroom, but I flashed a weak smile to appease him. The door opened, catching my attention, and to my luck, Ashton strides through the door, practically slamming it behind him. "Now why are you late mr..." Ashton interrupted her, slamming his registration paper on her desk. "I'm new." He exclaimed simply, his eyes scanning the classroom as she looked over the paper he gave her. His eyes caught mine awkwardly, and I sent him a malicious glare. "Alright, you're excused mr.Summers. please go take a seat at the vacant desk." The substitute ordered. He obliged, tossing his backpack at the foot of his new desk. Luckily he was a ways away from me, but it wasn't far enough if you ask me. Mason's eyes instantly shot towards mine. I simply shrugged, letting out an exasperated groan. The bell finally rang after what seemed like hours, and I barged out of the classroom as fast as humanly possible, Mason following suite. "I don't want to hear it Mace. I know I was wrong I just though he was different" I whispered almost venomously before he could mock me. Mason saw the look in my eyes and decided to leave it alone. "I know but guys like that don't change. Let's go find Dom, Walker, and Rowan." He suggested. I nodded and we followed our normal routine of finding our friends before second period started. We had a fair amount of time to transition between classes, so we would usually find each other and chat for a bit. The only class we all had together was last period, and the only other time we saw each other was during lunch. Our three friends were all waiting by our bench as they always were. "Hey Mace, hey Tate. Why do you look so pissed off?" Dom asked me loudly. Rowan rolled her eyes and placed her hand over the boy's mouth. "Why would you ever ask Tatum why she's pissed off? That's a really stupid idea." Walker cackled. I ignored them and sat down on the bench, fiddling with loose strands of my hair. I definitely was not in the best mental state right now. Rowan sat beside me and put her hand on my shoulder. "You okay Tate?" She asked, her eyes full of sympathy. I mustered a smile and nodded. "Yeah. I just have a lot going on." I explained vaguely, trying to reassure my friends. Rowan nodded and hugged me, knowing I wasn't happy. "We should probably get to class Row." Mace said. They both gave me supportive smiles before briskly walking towards their next class. They were the two that were always exactly on time. "You ready to go to class?" Walker asked me. He held his hand out to help me up, and even though I didn't need it, I took it. "Let's go." My voice came out a lot softer than I meant for it to, but neither Walker or Dom noticed, and we all made our way to our 2nd period class. I spent the rest of the day in deep though, constantly getting reprimanded by every one of my s teachers. I just couldn't focus no matter how hard I tried. Ashton was only in two more of my classes, but that was way too many for my liking. I tried my best not to acknowledge him, but our eyes kept meeting and every time they did, I would muster up the dirtiest glare I could, and he would look back monotonously. I didn't know why I was so angry with him. People made assumptions about me all the time. Hell, the entire town thinks I'm someone I'm not. But something about this situation really irks me. I wasn't sure if it was because of my parents upcoming arrival, or the strange feeling I got from this new boy, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. His stubborn features seemed to cross my mind ever minute. I wasn't used to being so disheveled and out of it, but I couldn't help it, and the more I tried to focus the more frustrated I became. My classes seemed to whiz by, and before I knew it, it was time to serve my second detention this week. Detention, however, seemed like a much better option than going home. I made my way across the courtyard and back to building 1, were the office, clinic, and detention room are. Building 1 was the largest and most worn out building, as it's been there the longest, and unlike the rest of the school, it hasn't been redone. There were cracks in the bricks and the lettering on most of the signs were faded and incoherent. I knew the building by heart however, and quickly found the door to the detention room, which read 'ettion" instead of the actual word. Mrs. Abner ran in school detention with an iron fist, her dark eyes always alert and ready, and she greeted me with a condescending glare as I entered the room. "Here again miss Valentine?" She asked, her voice void of any surprise. I didn't answer, instead tossing my bag towards one of the many open desks. The only other people in the room beside me and Mrs.Abner, were Clark, one of the football players and a very poor student, Damien, a rebellious punk with a love for graffiti, and Douglas, the school's drug dealer. This was usually most of the crowd when I was sent to detention, but sometimes either one of them would be absent, or a new face would be present. Watching the terrified faces of angel students who made a mistake as they tiptoed into the room was always a good distraction. They trembled and stuttered responses, their faces white and their eyes wide. Anybody who was scared of getting a detention clearly wasn't ready for the real world, no matter how many A's they had. A certain leather jacket clad boy entered the room, and I froze on the spot. You have to be kidding me.  He has detention? On the first day? This was just my luck. I tried to think positively. There were plenty of seats far away from me that he could sit in, and I wasn't going to let his prescience ruin the rest of my day. His attention was directed towards me, his eyes not wavering and his face monotone. I couldn't tell if he was staring me down or not. His expression seemed to be softer than usual, but he kept his gaze even after being caught staring.  After what seemed like a life time of eye contact, He wordlessly walked over and sat down in the seat as far away from me as possible. I let out a breath of relief I didn't even know I was holding. The door opened once more, and to my utter dismay, Dennis, Jamie, Paul, and Robbie came strutting into the classroom, laughing obnoxiously. I groaned and rolled my eyes. This day could not possibly get any worse. Dennis's eyes caught mine, and he smirked, whispering incoherently to his friends before they all headed in my direction, sitting in all the seats surrounding me. I froze, suddenly feeling trapped, and my heart began racing. "Hey Tate, what's up?" Dennis winked, leaning his elbow on my desk. I flinched. "I'm not in the mood right now Dennis" I tried to sound as menacing as possible, but that only made him laugh. "Boys, be quiet!" Mrs. Abner hissed. I, for once, thanked her internally, laying my head down on the desk in an attempt to ignore them. "Alright Blondie, we'll just take care of this after detention. I know you don't have anyone expecting you home" He whispered viciously. My head jolted up at the mention of the absence of my parents, and I glared at the raven haired boy. That was the one subject that could catch me off guard. "Shut the fuck up Dennis" I spat venomously. The boys all all laughed around me ominously, and I closed my eyes, trying to pretend I was somewhere else.I would give anything to have one of  my friends here with me. I wasn't in any kind of mental state to retaliate right now. "Feisty. We'll take care of her after this." He said to his posse, making sure I could hear exactly what he was saying. I groaned quietly, laying  my head back down on the desk. I really couldn't take this. I was almost on the verge of tears and that was so unlike me. I rarely ever cried. The bell dismissing us ran sooner than I would have liked, and I got up as fast as humanly possible, looking for a gap between the boys that I could escape from. Mrs. Abner was out the minute the bell rang, leaving me to my own resorts. I tried to slip in between Jamie and Paul, but they both gripped my shoulders tightly. I could feel all the harsh eyes on me, and recoiled slightly, frantically trying to escape the crowd. "You're not getting away Tate, we have some unfinished business. Not like anyone wants you anyway." Dennis spat, coming up from behind me. "What do you want?" my voice came out panicked and strained, ensuing another laugh from the gang of boys. "Do you not even know? You're parents sued my parents for all they had. We're broke now thanks to you!" he yelled, now angry and malicious. My eyes widened. My parents did that? Not like it was a surprise, but i'm sick of being blamed for their actions. "That was my parents Dennis! Not me! I didn't even know they did this!" I yelled viciously. This succeeded in causing a few of the boys, including Dennis to flinch, and I calmed down slightly. I looked around for someone to help me, but the only other person in the room was Ashton, who was wordlessly watching the scene from the back of the classroom. I was met with a harsh slap to my face, and I looked up at the boy, astounded. I grabbed my throbbing cheek in shock, not knowing what to do. Dennis looked at me with pure hatred, breathing heavily. Once I regained myself, I balled my hand in a fist, and slammed it against his nose, hearing something crack. Everyone in the room gasped, and Dennis looked more surprised than angry now. His nose began dripping blood, and my balled fist unclenched. Everyone was in shock, including me. I just felt a wave of anger rush over me, and I lashed out. Before I could gather my scattered thoughts, I was pinned to the wall by Dennis, his boys following him suite. I struggled against his grip to no avail. Even with a probably broken nose, the boy was at least 6'0 and pure muscle, and I looked like a dwarf compared to him. "What the hell you crazy bitch! I'm going to make you regret that!" he snarled, decking me right on my eye. I let out in involuntary whimper at the contact, and tears brimmed in the one eye. I struggle furiously, but knew there was no way I could escape his grasp. My only hope was that a teacher or someone would walk in. He held his fist above my head once more, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the strike. But it never came. My ears were met with the sound of something popping, but it wasn't me. I opened one eye hesitantly, and saw Dennis on the floor, Ashton now beating up the three other boys. Why was he helping me? I fell to the floor, holding my face with my hand and trying to focus on something other than the sweltering pain. Ashton seemed to have no trouble knocking out all four boys. He moved with such agility and grace for such a tall guy, his knuckles white and red, covered in blood. My eyes were fluttering close, but I tried my hardest to stay awake. The last thing I saw before blacking out, was Ashton himself leaning down in front of me.