The Skylar Experiment : Beginnings

Chapter Thirty - The After-Party

ON MY WAY OFF THE DANCE FLOOR, I caught Chuck's attention and stood fascinated for a second by the fresh purple bruise around his scarred eye. He didn't have that the last time I saw him. I couldn't lie to myself, a part of me felt concerned. Another part of me didn't care and refused to even try.

Chuck's eyebrows seemed to spasm at the sight of us, but it was so fleeting I wondered if it was my imagination playing tricks on me. Luc led me out of the gym, where I inhaled a breath of fresh air.

At the lockers, he wordlessly opened his. I'd been so flustered at his arrival that I hadn't let myself appreciate the suit and slick-back of his hair. Trim and debonair, his eyes stood out even more with his face clean-shaven like he came out of a Gossip Girl episode.

He noticed my gazing and cleared his throat.

"You... you look good, by the way. Emma never fails. I'm surprised Devin bothered to choose a dress for you, though. I imagined she'd put you in rags and let you make a fool out of yourself."

She was too unpredictable. "Devin's behavior is beyond me. I'd crack my head before I decode her."

"Look at you, saying smart things all of a sudden." He extracted a thin file from between his books and handed it to me. "These are what's left of the photos. I haven't checked them out, I promise."

I was too stunned to react to the last part. "How did you—"

And then I thought of Chuck's black eye. Oh.

"I thought it better to just make sure he had nothing left, so you can have some sort of peace of mind," he said calmly.

The hall was empty, making his voice echo in a soft ribbon.

"Did you have to punch him?"

"He wouldn't give me his stuff otherwise, and he doesn't deserve to get off easy. I erased some work from his computer, just to drive the lesson home."

My mouth dropped. "What is wrong with you?"

"I had to. I can steal his pictures all I want, but if they're downloaded, then I didn't do much of anything, did I?"

"Oh, really?" I challenged. "You think that's a deterrent? What if he happens to have saved them on a hard drive?"

Luc froze, then cocked his head to the side. "Then I guess my business isn't finished like I thought it was."

Oh God...

"It's useless, Luc. He could have saved them on who knows how many devices, or even on his Dropbox and you could punch him all you want, it won't change a thing. You can't just break stuff and get away with it."

He fixated the file, having nothing to say to that anymore, but I could tell the possibility of Chuck's actions never being fully erased bothered him through his silence. It bothered me, too. I took out the photos I'd taken already and slid them in the file with the rest, then placed it back in my locker.

"Look," I sighed. "For what it's worth, I thank you for that. But I don't need that kind of help from you."

▲▲▲

We walked back inside the gym, and I found Adam at the table talking with a soccer mate. We ate a couple of chips and drank some soda, then we returned to the dancefloor.

I tried to mentally put aside the whole story about Chuck and what Luc did to him, but it put a damper on the night. Adam asked about what he could have wanted at a time like this, so I made up some bogus excuse about a forgotten book in his locker.