Desperate Measures

[He presses his lips together, his eyes narrowing] Don’t fucking touch me you little shit.

Hmm? And what are you going to do if I do? C'mon, Chris, we both know you wouldn't lay a hand on me and with basketball right around the corner, you want to ruin that?

The school’s got so many students, I don’t think anyone would really notice that you’re not a student there.

Oh come on, just bring me food, Courtney.

[His fist suddenly pounds into Daniel’s chest, grabbing a handful of his shirt once more and standing the boy up, forcefully shoving his back to the nearest wall. The smug grin on Daniel’s lips only encourages him more, his voice loud and throaty.] This isn’t about my happiness. This is about her happiness. You never fucking deserved her. God, just look at you. You’re nothing! [He quickly pulls a fist back and launches it into the center of Daniel’s face.]

We were, but I don’t like to talk about myself all that much. Nothing interesting has been going on with me to talk about, anyway. 

Come on, you can't be that boring. Hell, you're in college now, you gotta do something outrageous.

I don’t know, should you? [She smirks and then giggles.] I’m Eileen. Who are you?

I guess we'll just have to find out, Eileen. The name's Daniel.

What? With who? Why? Are you okay? How long are or were you suspended for?

Why are you acting so surprised? Considering one of them is basically in love with you and you offered up your house to him, you should have already known. Or are you really that oblivious?

I am. Okay, now wait — I never once said or implied that because you’re not a heartless piece of shit and you don’t deserve half the shit that comes your way, even if you’re kind of a dick a good majority of the time. 

Whatever, Easter. I really don't care anymore.

[Joshua’s eyes flicker between his hand and Daniel’s eyes, before quickly releasing the other boy’s shirt with a huff, his voice still furious.] Easter told me. And it’s my business because she is my business. She is my life and you fucking hurt her. So why the fuck’d you do it?

[Daniel can't help but to smirk at the sudden freedom from the older boy's grasp, despite the knowledge that Joshua could very well kill him if he so chose. He also can't help the roll of his eyes that follows Joshua's words.] Good. If she's your life then I'm sure you two will be very happy together. I thought you'd be happy with me cutting the strings with her since it means you can step in.

Um...well, I might have gotten into a fight.

Why don’t you just visit my school and get food? Crazy concept, I know.

I somehow think that would be frowned upon though since I'm not a student there. Not that I care, but I'd rather get you to bring it to me.

A bit..

How much is a bit?

Excuse me? You can’t compare my brief past with her and your relationship together. I’m not the one who further worsened  her trust in other people, asshole.

Sure you didn't. [He raises a hand to pat Chris' cheek like a child.] Whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy.

Chloe blushed a little. “Maybe I will have the real you then” She smirked. “However, I think the dream version of you is better, for he would do whatever I wanted. He might actually wash up after eating”

Daniel shook his head, trying to keep a serious look, but he couldn't help the smile that grew on his lips. "Bullshit. He would not. Though, if you wanted me to all you'd have to do would be to offer to join me."

Um..I’m n-new…I don’t have a lot of friends yet, and I don’t exactly know what there is to do around here..

Well, that depends. You got money?

First, don’t curse in front of my son, please. Second… [she sighs] Look, I’ll keep myself and him quiet. I’m sorry if I came across as rude and you’re welcome to stay. 

Your--right. I'll do as I damn well please, he probably won't retain any of this anyways, and if he does well then let me remind you that you "cursed" too. Seems everyone's wanting take backs today, too bad I'm not willing to give them, so, no, I think I'll leave.

[Zoey closes her eyes, willing herself to not cry, to do anything but cry in public. But as he continued to hold on to her arm she found it more and more difficult not to. It wasn’t even the fact that he was holding on, it was the fact that she couldn’t handle it. That all it took was someone to hold onto her arm for more than a few seconds for her to begin to crumple. For a split second she thought about forcing him to let go, kicking him or hitting him- anything to get him to let go. But Zoey could never hurt anybody, no matter how much she joked about hitting people with a shovel, or kicking them in the shin. At the end of the day she just couldn’t do it, it was too close to home. She shook her head, taking a deep breath while trying to think about what his question even was. What the fuck is your problem. Zoey was silent for a while, thinking about that question and eventually she found herself staring up at him, her eyes just as narrow as his as something in her just-snapped.] What’s my problem? you want to know what my fucking problem is? Okay, Daniel. I’ll tell you my problem. My problem is it’s not fair that the good people get hurt. It’s not fair that no matter how or who you are, people still hurt you. The fact that some people choose to hurt other people is my problem, okay? that people can just get away with it. Easter deserved so much more than that, Daniel. And getting a stain on your t-shirt isn’t even close to revenge. What? do you think me throwing a drink on your designer clothing could be the worst thing someone can do? because it isn’t. Fuck, it isn’t even close. [She becomes silent and only then does she realise that she had begun to cry. She looks away and quickly wipes at her eyes before speaking again] Are you happy, are you satisfied? will you let go of me now?

[His eyes narrow more with every second it takes her to respond, wanting nothing more than to just be left in peace, but more so he wanted answers. Everyone was being so cryptic and never giving him a direct answer and this time he refused to let someone push him around without some answers. And yeah, he considered dropping it, to let her arm fall and to turn on his heel and back to his room, but that angered him more because if he did that he'd have to face Christopher and Daniel would definitely rather deal with the girl in front of him. But with every softening of her features to the point in other circumstances he would have grown concerned, his own features became more stern. It was only when she spoke that his fingers left her arm to drop back to her side, perhaps a bit too forcefully. And his voice was no better, laced with the venom he felt coursing through his veins.] Fuck off, Zoey. You don't know the half of it.

Tell you what, if he poops again, I’ll give you the diaper and you can see if you’d rather I’d just left it there. 

How about you stop putting words in my mouth, yeah? I didn't say to just let the munchkin's shit marinate, I'm saying you shouldn't have left your shit lying around for anyone to steal just to have your seat "saved", but fine you want it so bad, I'm out of here. I just wanted some fucking peace anyways.