Wicked End Academy

It's been months since Zack beat Rodney up. He was expelled and sent to Juvie, just like Matt had said. He's gone forever, never gonna hurt me again. Matt was kind of pissed that he let Zack beat the shit out of him, but he got over it. Brian was kind of mad, too, but he thought missing the beatdown was worth making sure I was okay.

Now it's June, and Brian brought me out to the park. It's Saturday, so the gates were opened. Bale knows we'll come back into the school instead of running away.

"Why'd you bring me out here," I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. Brian shoves his hands in his pockets and looks down at his feet as we walk.

"I need you to make a decision," he says, avoiding my stare. "I know you have feelings for me, but I know you have feelings for Matt, too." He finally meets my eyes. I know what he wants me to do.

"I can't do that, Brian," I say quietly. "Don't make me choose-"

"You can't have both of us, Char." I sit down on a nearby bench and hang my head in my hands.

"Does Matt want you doing this?" He sits down next to me.

"No. I want to do this. I need to know."

"What if I say I want you?" I feel his stare on me, trying to figure out what's going through my head.

"Then I would stick to what we're doing now." I look up at him.

"What are we doing now," I ask. He thinks for a moment.

"Always hanging out, acting like we're... together."

"What if I say I want Matt?" I see anger flash quickly in his eyes.

"Then I would want you to be happy with him."

"Does he know you're doing this?" He nods.

"Tell me. I know you know." I swallow back any fear I have of how he might react.

"Matt." I instantly feel anger coming from Brian, but I look at him and he's expressionless.

"Can I know why," he asks calmly and slowly.

"That day all the shit with Rodney went down-"

"I scared you when I grabbed him by the neck." I nod as I feel all the fear from that day wash over me. "I hate scaring you."

"I know. You can't help it." He stands, so I stand also. We walk in silence back to the academy where we see Matt sitting on the boys' dormhouse steps. He sees us, looks at Brian, and runs over. He picks me up for a full 360º spin as Brian keeps walking to the small building. Matt kisses me, so I kiss back, knowing it was the right decision.