You'd Better Hide the Bullets

I stood in front of my mirror inspecting the gash on my forehead. Wow. I really fucked up last night. I wonder what my parents are gonna say about it, should I tell them the truth or lie about it? They'll never let me go to a party again if I tell them that I got wasted and ran into the woods myself. Yeah I better just tell them that I got hurt at the party and had to go to the emergency room. I'll tell them that I was sober, hopefully my sister won't tell them over wise.

The cut was kinda deep and I had to get stitches, which actually really hurt. Maybe it's a sign? Stop getting drunk and kissing Vic. Or maybe just stop kissing Vic.

But first I need to go and speak to Alex and apologise for everything. It's the right thing to do.

-

I stood in front of Alex's door, frozen to the spot with fear of the reaction I was going to receive. What if he just slams the door in my face? What if he wants me back? Why am I freaking out so much!?!?

Finally I got the courage to knock of the door. The 30 seconds between knocking on the door and Alex answering felt like 3 million years, but it was finally here. He stared at me, confusion written all over his face. "What do you want Scarlett?" He asked, his voice sounding completely bored.

"I wanted to apologise to you Alex." I said softly, playing with the fabric of my hoody, inside the pocket.

"Well that's sweet and all but I kinda don't have time to listen to your shit Scarlett, you cheated on me." The words stung, the harsh reality of what I done really sinking in.

"Listen I'm not here to grovel and beg for you to take me back. I just want to explain." I told him, feeling regret for even coming here.

"Okay." He shrugged.

"What I did last night was awful, I don't think it can get much worse than that but I seriously didn't intend to hurt you. When we got together I thought it was a good idea, that I had a chance to be with someone amazing but I was just lying to myself about how I felt about Vic. It was wrong and I'm so sorry." I explained. It felt good to get it off my chest finally. He just nodded, arms across his chest.

"Thanks for telling me. I don't forgive you right now, that'll take a while but I appreciate you telling me the truth." He said softly. I could hear in his voice that he was broken. It kinda sucks being the cause of someone else's pain but I can't lie any longer.

"See you around Alex." I smiled at him. He gave me a weak smile in return and then I walked away. I heard his door close and it sank in that I probably wouldn't see him again, not for awhile or maybe not at all.

I really didn't feel like going back home, so I decided to go to the park we usually go to. It was kinda chilly out so I zipped my hoody up and tried to keep warm.

When I got to the park, I went over to the swings and sat down. San Diego is dead today, most people are with their families since its New Year's Day but I just can't face the whole family thing right now. Especially since I've now pissed off one of my sisters, great start to the year.

I kicked my feet forward and then back, trying to gain some air on this stupid swing. The metal chains creaked and squeaked. The noise was unbearable so I stopped swinging and let my legs dangle.

"What are you doing here?" I heard someone say. I looked up and was surprised to see Jaime standing about 10 feet away from me.

"Escaping." I mumbled. He nodded as if he understood what I was saying. He walked over and sat down on the other swing.

"Mind if I escape with you?" He sounded kinda sad, like something was bothering him.

"Not at all." I said quietly. Silence fell between us and it was kinda nice. Like the presence of each other's company was keeping things from feeling bad, but we didn't need to say much to keep it natural.

"How's your head?" Jaime finally spoke up. Maybe he did feel a little awkward in the silence.

"It's alright, kinda bummed out that I spent the first few hours of the New Year in the hospital." I laughed softly. He looked at me and he had a small smile on his lips.

"It was kinda scary, like we've never really spoken before but seeing someone look so dead, it was a bad moment for me." He looked away and kicked the dirt under his feet.

"What do you mean?" I questioned his words.

"Well, I'm usually such a horrible person. When Vic called Mike he asked for me, I don't really know why but he did. When I saw the look on Vic's face when he carried you out of the woods it kinda changed something in me. If someone like Vic can have that much love for someone he once hated then why can't I?" He rambled. "Not that I'm in love with you." He laughed, lightening the mood. "What I mean is, I seen your lifeless body and what it was doing to my best friend and a part of me was crushed. I basically grabbed you from Vic and ran for the car, an instinct in me told me to get you help. I don't know if it's because I know how much you mean to Vic or it's because I'm changing but it was... Nice." He finally looked up at me. The slight breeze blew his spiky but it bounced back into place.

"Thanks Jaime, I owe you a lot." I smiled at him. He returned the smile which made me smile even more.

"So Scarlett, when are you gonna get with Vic?" He grinned at me. I playfully nudged him.

"Jaime you can't just ask me that!" I laughed at him. He just shrugged and began swinging back and forth.

"Well, we are all thinking it. Someone just had to ask, I guess I was nominated to." He grinned at me.

"You guys are actually bigger dorks than the dorks you beat up, you do know that?" I pointed out. He laughed and nodded.

"Trust me, the irony is very apparent to me but what can I do?" He slowed down and looked at me.

"Maybe stop?" I suggested as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But then people try to take our place, don't you think it's better if its us in charge?" He asked. The question was so dumb.

"Is this a west coast thing? Gotta have people running the school. New York wasn't like this at all." I shook my head, laughing at the memory.

"Private schools tend to have a much more cowardly system of bullying." Jaime pointed out. My eyes widened in shock.

"How'd you know I went to a private school?" I asked, feeling very very embarrassed.

"I have my ways." He winked at me.

"No seriously, how'd you know? I haven't told anyone. Not even my friends." I said frantically.

"Remember when Vic put that picture of you up around school? It wasn't him who went digging for it. It was me, and well I kinda snuck into the admin office at school and found your transfer files. I didn't tell anyone what school you went to or that it was private, honestly it didn't even come across as something worth mentioning." He shrugged. Thank God he hasn't told anyone.

"Please don't tell anyone Jaime." I begged. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Why is it such a big deal?" He questioned me.

"It just is. There is a lot of issues when it comes to my family back in New York. I don't like talking about it but yeah. Please don't tell anyone." I didn't need anyone finding out.

"Okay, okay." He held his hands up. "But answer me this one at least. Why go from private school to public school?" He looked so confused.

"The same reason why we left New York." I said simply.

"And that reason was?" He asked.

I stood up and looked down at him. "That's a question for another day Jaime." I smiled at him. He just sighed and nodded.

"See you later Scarlett." He mumbled as I walked away.

Maybe Jaime isn't too bad after all.

Notes

Well?