Underwater (a Bates Motel/Norman Bates fanfic)

Whoever Said Norman Was A Good Guy?

Edited: 3/28/18

When I'd been walking home from school, I saw Bradley, who gave me the 'stink-eye.' She's not exactly happy with me, and I suppose it's because she found out about me kissing Norman. How she knew was beyond me, because I hadn't told anyone, nor had I planned to. The kiss was random, and probably just an accident; I acted irrationally. I mean, Norman hasn't spoken to me since, hasn't texted me or called me, not even to just say 'Hello.' Normally, even before the kiss, he'd speak to me. But then again, it was a bit awkward.

I tried to ignore Bradley's eyes as they watched me walking, but she ended up blocking my way. "What do you want, Bradley?"

"Heard you kissed Norman."

"Why does that matter, you rejected him," I pointed out. "Not saying I had or had not."

"Everyone knows." She said, half a smile on her face. Okay, that's a little creepy, she knows. She wasn't even around, anyway. What the hell?

"You know, Norman's not all that bad," I said with a frown.

"Yeah, but whoever said Norman was a good guy, either?" Bradley, for once, had a point there.

"Just stay out of this, Bradley." I sighed, shaking my head. "People like you only seemed to made things worse in my home town, I don't need you to do it here."

"Just stay away from Norman, and that won't be a problem," she said with a growl I never expected to hear from such a small girl before slipping through her teeth.

"Well, why does it matter, Bradley, huh? You rejected him. You're the one who refused to be with him, so why does it matter to you now, if he likes someone else?"

"Who said he liked you?"

This infuriated me. So badly did I want to punch Bradley in the face. The first person I thought was my friend here in White Pine Bay decided to betray me. She was just as bad as everyone in my hometown. And Norman was right about this. Everyone else was right about it, too. 'Don't be friends with Bradley, she's a bitch, she's a liar, and a huge manipulator.' So many times people told me that, but the good in my heart refused to believe her. Well, what little good in my heart I had left, I suppose.

"You don't know anything, Bradley. Just leave me alone," I said through clenched teeth, my heart pounding so loudly I could hear it in my eardrums. My blood was boiling, burning, like a tea kettle, and I was really surprised I hadn't boiled over and screamed at her. I was so close to it. What does she know about Norman, all she did was sleep with him. You don't learn everything about a person through a one night stand. If you do, well, you must have stalked them immediately afterwards. Have I ever had a one night stand? No. But it's just one of those things you should know about, especially in high school, the land of sex and drugs.

"You know, word gets around. Don't be surprised if you're dubbed the same way that I am." With that, she smirked and walked away, flipping her pretty blonde hair. She's seriously lucky I hadn't snapped, or I would have done some serious damage to her reputation of 'never losing a fight.'

I've only been here slightly over a month, and I already don't like it here.

*******

When I got home, my father was waiting on the couch, a beer in hand. And he didn't look very happy. "Bout time you got home."

I looked at my phone. "It's barely four o'clock."

"You could've taken the bus home."

"And get jumped? No thanks," I said bitterly. "Look, I've had a rough day, and I honestly don't need your commentary."