Heaven Help Us (MCR/Gerard Way Fan-Fic)

Chapter Ten

ELIZA'S POV

Break had ended and our night of cute couple stuff ended with it, allowing reality to come back full force and beat the shit out of me when I arrived back at school on Monday. I made Gerard drop me off a few blocks away from the school, and when I walked through the gates and into the hall, we were back into ‘student-teacher’ mode. No more ‘Gee’, no more holding hands, no more hugs or snuggling or sweet little kisses that made my heart flutter, and no more flirting. I was back to calling him Mr. Way, and he decided that he would give me hell by calling me Miss Riddick with that stupid little smirk of his. 

With everything that came with Spring Break, I had nearly forgotten about Ophelia and Jake and my mom. I had nearly forgotten about my old life entirely. My home was with Gerard now, and I was perfectly fine with that. He had welcomed me into his house with pretty much open arms, and he wasn’t going to let me leave anytime soon. Hell, even Mikey had seemed to like me. I would say that we were friends, albeit just because I’m kind of sort of dating his brother. 

However, nothing ever seems to go well for very long in my life, and as soon as first period passed and I was walking the previously empty hall of the school, everything started to snowball downhill, and I was reminded that you can never truly escape your problems. For as soon as I walked out of the art room, the whispers began. I knew they were about me, most of them anyway, from the way people stared and the  way their voices got more quiet as I passed. It’s what I expected. And, I was okay with the talking and the secrets and the rumors. They didn’t matter to me. They never did. It’s not like anyone would remember them after I graduated, and it’s not like anyone really cared. They weren’t my friends, they didn’t affect my life in any drastic way, therefore, their words simply did not matter. 

I was also expecting it when Ophelia confronted me as well and her very loud way of doing so.  She walked up to me with her arms crossed when I was getting my books out of the locker that I half expected her to shove me into, and she gripped my shoulder that was still slightly bruised from that awful night the week before, and flipped me harshly so that my back was pressed against the neighboring locker and I was facing her. Her breath smelt like cigarette smoke and her cherry colored lips were pulled up into a taunting, conceited smirk that made me sick.

“Did you hear the rumors that you’re a whore?” she asked, flipping her hair and getting a little too ‘in my face’ for my taste. 

Now, I could have done a few different things, all of which were very tempting. Normally, I would just sit back and take it, no complaints, no remarks, and it would be over quickly. Or, I could have tried to run. I could have tried to duck out of her grip and make a run for my next class, either avoiding getting the shit beat out of me or getting it even worse for trying to run. Obviously, the former was my most common choice, the latter only coming into use if the situation was exceptionally horrible, but instead of choosing either of those,  I did something that shocked not only myself, but Ophelia too as well as the girls she was with and everyone who had been watching it go down. When it comes down to fight or flight instincts, I always chose flight, even though most the time it was me pretty much playing possum, but this time, for what I was sure was the first time in my life, I chose to fight. 

I’m not exactly sure as to why I had done it, but holy shit, did it feel good. Maybe it was her choice of words. Maybe it was nearly eighteen years of pent up emotion that was finally being released. Maybe it was the newly found confidence that my stupidly attractive art teacher had given me. Maybe I had finally figured out that I didn’t deserve any of the shit than I had received and would undoubtedly get in the future, or maybe I just really wanted to hit something. Perhaps, just maybe, it was all of these reasons and more that lead me to do what I did.