The pact

The rest of the meeting went actually really smooth. All the people agreed on standing up for people being bullied in the hallways and breaking the pact.
There were of course some things that had to be discussed. As an example, what would we do if people who stood up for others got hurt because of it?
As a solution we agreed on telling as many people as possible to not walk to the hallways alone. That also meant that a few people who didn’t have friends, needed to be taken into other groups.
It was weird how fast all the different leaders of all the different groups agreed to all the proposes that were made. It was actually quite a surprise to me that we actually came to multiple agreements at the end.
I think they just needed a leader, or leaders to step up. In many revolutions in history there were leaders needed to get the fire burning. The Fuentes brothers were those leaders I think. Most of the people already thought something had to be done, they just needed someone to take the initiative.
Only by the end of the meeting I realised that I needed to go home now. Home. To my mom. It seemed like I had blocked it out of my memory, to replace it by all the good memories I had made since yesterday. And now every emotion that I had blocked was racing through my body at an incredible speed.
Both Vic and his parents had said I could stay another night if I wanted to, but I knew I had to go back at some point. I didn’t even wanted to think about what my mom would do to Vic or his family if she discovered I had stayed there overnight. No, I needed to go home. No matter how bad it was going to get.
Vic insisted though, that if I was going home, that I would call him if I’d get there. I think he was getting paranoid and thinking my mom would kill me or something. I don’t believe she would though. But at the other hand, a few months ago I thought she would never hit me. That turned out be untrue too.
Although I rolled my eyes at Vic when he asked me that, I liked the feeling of someone being protective of me. It was a welcome feeling, because I felt scared all the time. I was unsafe everywhere I went, at school and at home.
When I got to my house, I stood still in front of the door for a couple of seconds, just preparing myself for what could happen if I’d entered. I considered taking a run and fleeing to the Fuentes house, where I felt safe. But I wanted the people in that house to be safe rather than myself. I also considered just running off to nowhere. Start an entire new life and get a different name. I could even die my hair blond! But then I realised I probably wouldn’t make it out of San Diego without getting caught or dying a horrible death.
I sighed and put the key inside the lock. I slowly opened it and looked through the small crack. I could just see the entire living room from this angle. My mom was nowhere to be seen, it was just my dad, reading a paper on the couch.
I moved through the door and closed it. My dad looked up from his paper. “Hey Darling, how was school?”
I walked towards the couch, still with a little bit of caution. Maybe my mom was in the kitchen or upstairs. “It was okay. Where is mom?”
“She’s running late from work today. I guess it’s just going to be us this evening. Do you want to order pizza?” He said as he turned a page of his paper.
I let out a loud breath as I let myself fall on the chair next to the couch. A burden seemed to have fallen of my shoulders. My mom wasn’t gone that much, but if she was my dad and I always ordered pizza or MacDonald’s. Just because we could never get it when she was here.
“Yeah that seems great. Pepperoni?” I grinned.
I heard my dad chuckle lightly. “With extra cheese?”
“You know me too well, dad.”
“Well one would assume I knew a person after raising this person for seventeen years.” He said and he put his glasses a little further down his nose as he tried to read an article.
I laughed. I always loved these moments with my dad. They were very rare, because normally my mom was always intervening.
He closed his paper and put it down on the coffee table. “So where have you been tonight?” My dad said.
“I was with a friend. I needed to be away from mom.” I said mumbling. He didn’t need to know what had happened two days ago. I didn’t want him to bare that burden.
My dad nodded to me and shot me his familiar reassuring smile. My dad always seemed like he was unemotional, but that was just his face. Over the years I had learned to recognize the slight emotions that were visible on his face. “I understand.” He said. “You have a hard time kiddo, I know that.” Oh, dad…If you only knew how hard.
Sometimes I blamed my dad for not leaving my mom and taking me with him. But I knew a divorce would turn to a court order and that mostly lead to the mother getting custody of the children. I think that’s the reason why my dad is still here, because of my me.
“I’m hanging in there.” I lied and I shrugged.
“Where you with that Vic?” My dad asked as he pushed his nose back up his nose. “Your mother has told me some things about him. But I think we both know that we can’t trust your mother’s judgement. Is it a nice guy?”
“Yes dad, he is amazing.” I said nodding. “I think you would like him.” I meant that. My dad and I had the same sense of humour, so I think he would really get along with Vic.
My dad sighed. “Sometimes I wish I could meet your friends. Your mother makes it impossible for me though. You’re afraid to take them here, aren’t you?”
I nodded with a sad look on my face. I would love to introduce my friends to my dad. I knew my dad had some trouble accepting my new style and music taste too, but at least he was trying.
“one more question before I go order the pizza. I’m starving.” He said as he made circles on his stomach with his hands. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you guys were sleeping into separate beds, right?”
I don’t think I ever turned red faster. “Dad!”
“just answer the question, Luna. Just so I can breathe again.”
“Yes dad, we did. I slept in his bed and he slept on a matrass on the floor.” I said. He didn’t need to know the exact truth. I don’t think he would’ve believed me if I said we slept in the same bed, but didn’t do anything but cuddling.
He let out a breath. “Okay good. Otherwise I needed to have a word with that young man. Especially because he isn’t your boyfriend.”
I didn’t think it would be possible for me to turn more red, but I did. “Uhm…” I mumbled as I stared down at my hands that were intertwined inside my lap.
“Wait a moment. He isn’t right?” My dad said. I couldn’t hear from his voice if he minded it or not, so I looked up. He was raising an eyebrow at me. I had never had a boyfriend or anything close to that, so I had no idea if he was going to act like the overprotective father or not.
I sighed. He probably already read it of my face. Even he could read it from my face right now. “Dad, actually he is.”
His eyes widened. He stared to a point in the distance for a while. His mouth opened a few times to say something but he quickly closed it again. “Now I definitely want to meet him.”
“Dad please.” I said rolling my eyes.
“Not like that.” He said. “You can date whoever you want to, I just want to know what kind of guy it is. I think I have the right to meet your boyfriend.”
“Firstly, I don’t want you to act like the overprotective dad around him. Secondly, How are you planning on doing that without mom noticing it?” I said. I got a little nervous of the thought of my dad meeting Vic, as my boyfriend.
“I won’t act like a total douche, I promise.” He said and I chuckled at the word ‘douche’. “I just want to make sure he isn’t going to break your heart. And secondly, we can meet at a diner instead of at home? Just to grab a coffee or something.”
I sighed. “dad…”
“please, Luna.” He said and his voice actually sounded a bit sad. “I just want to be involved in my daughter’s life.”
I looked in his eyes and saw a hint of pain. There was no way to say no now. It wasn’t his fault that he was married to a horrible woman. Sometimes I forgot how hard this probably was for him. “Okay, I’ll discuss it with him.” I said and I stood up from the couch.
“Thank you, darling” I hear my dad say and he took up his paper again.
I walked over to the corner of the room and took the phone from its usual place at a bookshelf. I walked up the stairs and in to my room. I let myself fall on my bed and dialled Vic’s number, which I had memorized by now. He had gotten a cell phone for his birthday from his parents. I wish I had one. How useful would it be to be able to call everywhere you go? A lot of people at school had one too and even texted with it. I was actually thinking about saving up to buy one myself.
After a few seconds he answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Luna. I’m home.” I said.
I heard him hold his breath. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah I am, my mom is not home. It’s just my dad.” I said and I heard him let out his breath.
“Thank god. I was worried sick.”
“Vic you know you don’t have to be so worried, right?” I said.
“Yes I have to. I can’t lose you.” He said and I smiled at his words.
“You won’t lose me. She won’t kill me.”
“Maybe not, but I don’t trust her. I don’t like you seeing hurt either. And I hate that I can do nothing about it.” He said and a hint of desperation filled his voice.
“Vic, you’re already doing more than you think. Please don’t beat yourself down on this. You’re already doing everything you can.” I said, mentally trying to push happiness through the phone.
“But-“
“drop it, Vic.” Ugh, the Fuentes’ and their goddamn stubbornness. But although it was annoying as fuck, I know for sure that it would help them become big in the future.
“Okay” he said and he let out a breath. He was clearly trying to contain himself from going on with the argument.
I laughed at him and I heard a small chuckle come from the other side of the line.
“Oh, by the way, my dad wants to meet you.” I said. I didn’t really know how to tell him this, so I just threw it out there.
A silence followed. “What?...” Vic said eventually.
I sighed. “My dad got out of me that we’re together and now he says that he wants to meet you. Without my mother of course.”
Another silence came from the other side of the line. “Okay…now I’m scared.”
I laughed. “Don’t be. He is not as bad as my mom. I really wanted to talk it out of him, though, but he really wanted to meet you.”
“Wow…one day together and I’m meeting your dad…Is he gonna yell at me?”
I laughed at him. He was definitely afraid that my dad would hate him. “Well, you won’t meet him like right this minute, but in like two weeks or something. And I don’t know, I’ve literally no idea how he will react. I have never had a boyfriend before.”
“Okay yeah that seems more reasonable…and yeah, I just hope he doesn’t hate me like your mom does.”
AWWWWW “He won’t hate you, Vic. I think you guys would like each other. I already told him too, that he will probably like you.”
“That doesn’t help the pressure.” He said, but I heard him laugh a little.
“Aww, you cry-baby. Man up.” I said laughing.
“I thought you were the man in the relationship?” He said sarcastically.
“It certainly seems like it sometimes.” I said and I rolled my eyes.
“HEY!”
“You were the one who said it in the first place!”
“tssss…” He said. He know I had won this one.

*

The next few weeks at school were the weirdest ever. No one was walking alone anymore. Instead people always moved in groups through the halls.
When Ryan and his minions discovered that, they tried even harder to hurt people, but they failed because there were always people around that would stand up for them.
To say that it made him pissed, was an understatement. He was often seen, beating his fist to a locker or kicking a trashcan. I suspect him to be on steroids or something. It would explain the immense anger he always has. It seems like he isn’t able to control it.
It would explain a lot if he was addicted to steroids. He’s also captain of the football team, so that’s probably how he got it.
Or maybe he was just a horrible person. I didn’t really care to be honest.
Although the beatings and the screams of Ryan’s group were increasing, people seemed happier for some reason. It seemed like people felt more confident now they had a common goal. Like they were stronger together.
You have no idea how beautiful it is to see someone who usually sits alone during lunch breaks, suddenly walking the hall with friends, laughing. This happened a lot lately.
Even more beautiful was the look on Vic’s face when lots of people greeted him while passing by, with Ryan standing only a few feet away. It was the look of a child who hears about Santa Claus for the first time. Like he had been introduced to a whole new world. (cue in Disney’s a whole new world)
At these moments, I thought about the Vic I had met at the beginning of the school year. He definitely wasn’t the scared and broken boy anymore. He seemed more confident and happy. He even seemed a little less skinny. Like he grew up in the last seven months. He seemed a little more manly and a little less boyish. It proved how much a change of attitude could change about a person.
Two weeks had passed and Ryan hadn’t been seen doing anything weird in the last four days. The silence around his person scared me a little. Was he planning on doing something? He didn’t seem like the person to just give up.
I walked out of the history classroom. I was alone, but it was only a short way to my locker, so not much could happen in that amount of time. Besides, beatings were less regular now too. It had been days since someone had thrown something at my head. Believe me, I enjoyed the break, but I was sure that something bad was about to happen now.
It was just a certain tension that filled the air. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
I was staring down at the floor while I was walking to not get attention, but it wasn’t necessary, there were lots of people in this hall anyway.
Suddenly I realised that it was way more crowded than usual around here. I looked up to see at least fifty people surrounding my locker. I pushed myself through the crowd until I reached my it.
My books slipped out of my hands and fell on the floor when I saw it. My hands covered my mouth that was open in shock.
On my locker was written in big letters: “now, this is war.” The words were sprayed in graffiti, drips had rolled down my locker but were dry now. The creepiest thing about it was the colour. The letters had been sprayed in a deep red colour, like it was written in blood.
Fear came over me and I suddenly had the urge to run away from this place. Maybe leaving San Diego wasn’t such a bad idea.
I could feel my breathing quicken and I was afraid that I would get another panic attack, until two hands laid down on my shoulders.
At first I thought they were Vic’s, but then I realised they were Mike’s. “Calm down, it will be okay.” He said.
I turned around to meet his brown eyes. Doing this, his hands fell off my shoulders. “Do you really think so?” I said, trying to hide the fear in my voice, but I failed.
He nodded. “They’re just trying to make us scared. Me and Vic got one of those too.” He said and he pointed at the blood red letters on my locker.
“What if they’re really going to do something bad? Like, worse than before?” I said and he shot me a reassuring smile.
“Then we’re with more.” He said and he put his hands back on my shoulders. “Really, Me and the boys will make sure nothing will happen to you.”
I shrugged. “I’m not afraid for myself. I’m afraid for everyone else.”
He chuckled.
“What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“just admiring your selflessness.” He said and he winked at me. “But really, it will be okay. We’ll protect each other.”
“People will get hurt.”
“people are getting hurt now too.”
“I know. I don’t want that.”
Mike sighed and closed his eyes before pulling me into a tight hug.

Notes

heyyy guys

I just realised how diiferent my two stories are. The pact takes place years ago, 24 hours in the present. Luna's is really sensitive and sweet and Amara is a big badass, this one is probably gonna e really long with also a sequal and 24 hours is gonna be rally short, the pact takes place in a year and 24 hours in...well, 24 hours.

what do you think will happen when Vic meets Luna's dad? To be honest, I don't even know yeat :'D. Maybe you guys will inspire me.

xxxx

Nicky ( just realised my name rimes with dicky :'D)

ps. i love you guys <3