Carter Brothers: Dane (OLD VERSION)

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Meanwhile Dane's back at school feeling confused and upset. His Emery wouldn't cheat on him. No, she just...it's not her kind of thing. She's sweet, innocent and unnecessarily self-conscious. She's not the kind of person to cheat so why is she hugging her young, somewhat attractive and male teacher? Why is his hand so low on her back? And why is she pressed so close to him? Why is her head buried in his chest? 

Dane tears up the poster in front of him, into confetti. Letting it flutter into the dark depths of the trash can, he grabs his books and strides to his third class. The one Emery would be in. He decides he needs the truth and there's only one person he can get them from-his mate. 

His determination is in vain though since she doesn't even turn up for the class. In fact, during second period English, he'd heard Blake Grant also didn't turn up for school. But Emery walked in with Dane to school- so where could she have gone? Perhaps she ran to find her precious Mr Grant and they both ran away together, Dane's imagination bitterly questions. He pushes the wild thoughts aside and decides that she's probably either in the Principal's Office or crying in the toilets. Oh no! Should he go and check? He hadn't heard anyone when walking past, but still he is her mate, he should go check. 

"Yes, Mr Carter?" asks the teacher.
"May I use the restroom please?" replies Dane. The man raises his furry eyebrows. 
"Yes but be quick," he retorts giving Dane a hall pass. Grabbing it, Dane goes in search of Emery. 

He manages to quietly slip into the empty girls bathroom, undetected and gently pushes open the stalls to find them all empty. Suddenly he hears a pair of giggling voices getting dangerously loud. Slipping into one of the stalls, he locks the door and sits on the closed toilet seat with his legs stretching out and firmly braced against the door. 

"Oh my gosh, Tee, did you see those posters?" gasps a shrill, excited voice. 
"Yeah! Danny Richards showed me this morning! I nearly died on the spot!" cries back 'Tee'. 
"Pass the lip-gloss...Me too! Who was that girl?"
"Senior apparently. You know my friend Stacy, on the cheer-squad? Yeah well, she gave me the down low on it and that girl's called Emery-I know weird name-but anyway apparently she was, like, nobody and then boom! She's all hot and guess who she starts dating? Dane. Carter!"
"No way!" shrieks back the other girl.

Dane doesn't know whether to be flattered or annoyed. His reputation precedes him but it isn't like he wants high-school fame and frankly after so many years of it, he's sick to death by it. How the hell did his brothers do this? He wonders what it'd be like just to be unknown. Another pimpled face in the sea of similar bored faces. Maybe then it would be easier for him and Emery to be together without any hassle from other people. 

"Yeah-seriously! They're mates," assures Tee to the other girl. 
"Lucky bitch...So wait. Is she with Mr Grant then?"
"Dunno. But if she is, she's crazy. If I had Dane Carter, I would never ever cheat on him. Not even for a hot hunk like Mr Grant."
But did Emery? That is the question. Did she cheat on him?

"Huh. Mr Grant and Dane-that's just greedy. So do you know who made the posters?" 
"Stacy says she thinks it's Charlotte Hudson-"
"As in Head Cheerleader Charlotte? No! She wouldn't, Charlotte's like-"
"A complete bitch? Face it, Maya, she is. Apparently she's obsessed with Dane too. Although like, how could she do it? I can't imagine Charlotte doing it all by herself...But whatever. As long as Mr Grant's still teaching, I don't really care."
"True and hey! Maybe Dane'll be single again-" cue giggles.
The door to the bathroom swings open and as the giggles fades away into silence Dane emerges from the bathroom and leaves to return back to his class. 

As he sits in class his mind shifts his focus to Charlotte. Of course, he has no doubt it's Charlotte. But that girl-Tee?-had been right. Charlotte couldn't have done it by herself and risk getting caught. No it has to have been someone else. Besides those posters were actually done quite skilfully and no way could it have been Charlotte's work. So who else could it be? Dane decides that after confronting Emery about it he would need to figure out who the heck has produced and distributed those posters. 

That lunch, Dane finds himself sat on a table with just Kate.

"Kate do you know where Emery is?" he asks her. 
"No but she's meant to be coming shopping with me today; I guess we'll have to reschedule."
"Yeah. I don't know where she is. I've tried her phone but she's not picking up. Do you think she's ignoring me?" he asks his friend nervously.
Kate shakes her short blonde hair and rolls her eyes. 

"She's clearly besotted with you. I don't think she'd ever be able to ignore you. Here let me try from my cell," assured Kate dialling Emery's number and waiting for it to ring. It rings and rings and rings but no-one picks up. 
"See? She's probably just left it on silent and not heard it. I always do that. Stop worrying. She'll be fine. She's a big girl and probably just needs some time alone right now."
"Okay, yeah-yeah, you're probably right...I should check in with her though, shouldn't I? Wait. I have practice tonight. I'll go after that then," mutters Dane.
He considers just skipping practice but with a mini tournament coming up, coach is busting them extra hard to win the $10,000 prize for the school. 
"Alright, well I really wanted to see her too, so how about I go after-school and stay until you arrive?"
"Okay," nods Dane hoping that with Kate as sort of a middle man they can both work things out. 

As the last bell for school goes, Charlotte races out the class and discreetly slips into the old computer room. Huge computer monitors and computers are stored in the room, collecting dust as no one uses the old modems and the school never got around to clearing them out. It would have been an ideal make-out room had it not been for the dust. Still, for the sake of her plan Charlotte's willing to suffocate a little. A few minutes later Jake enters and sets up his laptop on one of the desks. He doesn't really need it but it's there as a back-up. 

"Are they in?" asks Charlotte. 
"Yep but give them a few minutes to get onto the fields. Here, this is his locker code," Jake says handing over the scrap piece of paper with 5 numbers scrawled on it.
It hadn't been that hard obtaining it. He just did a joint assignment by himself for his jock partner who in return gave him the code.

Charlotte nods and waits another few minutes before slipping out of the room and heading for the lockers. She listens carefully as the coach shout for the boys to get on the field. Then a few minutes later Charlotte slips through into the boys locker room. She immediately goes to Dane's locker and twists the lock to the right combination. As it creaks open Charlotte freezes. Luckily the boys are all too far out in the field to hear. She fingers through Dane's clothes to the pocket of his jeans; pulling out the sleek, slim object. Grinning, she flips it around and pops open the back. Taking the battery out, she then carefully clipped out the SIM card and replaces everything. Rushing back to the computer room and hands the SIM to Jake. 

Yesterday, Jake had come over and worked on the recording. He'd done a lot of complicated stuff to it that had gone over Charlotte's head but he insists he needs Dane's SIM.
Charlotte waits patiently as Jake fiddles with the phone before announcing he's done. 

"There all sent. She should get it in a few minutes. Now return this and we can talk about the other fifty percent of the payment," grins Jake. 
"Other fifty percent? You've already fúcked me! What else do you want?" cries Charlotte arching her delicate eyebrow. 
"One night is not enough Charlotte! You and I both know it," argues Jake.
He needs someone-something to relieve the stress of the week. His parents had been fighting constantly and loudly last night and  there were numerous times he'd heard himself blamed for their own mistakes. Then tired this morning he'd totally forgot his assignment but thankfully managed to weasel an extension on it. 
"This is the last time, though!" warns Charlotte, more for herself than him.
She'd had several wet dreams and day dreams about him and their time in her bedroom. She wants to order him back but her pride stands in the way. She doesn't want to give him the idea that she actually may like him. Or at least his body and words, so she keeps silent and patiently waits to regain her Dane. 

Slipping the SIM back in Dane's pocket she switches off the phone and replaces everything. Then satisfied, she smiles as she meets up with Jake again and they go back to her place.