The Richardson List

“That’s crazy!” Audrey gasped, grabbing the picture from Carter and bringing it inches away from her nose, as if it were any farther the picture wouldn’t register.

Carter nodded her head in agreement, eyes darting around their surroundings in search for a particular boy. Something in the back of her mind told her to keep this new picture a secret, she wasn’t sure what exactly, but the last thing she needed was for Skye to realize what she held in her possession. Something told her it would be useful.

That could just be wishful thinking, though.

S he knew that Audrey would get a good laugh from the awkward boy presented under the glossy coating, which was why she showed it to her in the first place. It was nice, knowing that she could show it to her best friend again, though it made her miss Tiffany, that girl would appreciate it.

After the shock evaporated, Carter had to admit, it was a funny picture. She even found herself laughing along with Audrey.

“And I mean, it looks nothing like him, but damn! You can so tell it’s him!”Audrey chuckled, allowing the photograph some space between her face and itself.

Carter had already explained where she had gotten it in the first place, Parker also gaining a small laugh when she had told him who it was- the infamous list maker at her school. He had asked what she was going to do with such ideal blackmail, but that was question she still wondered herself.

What did she really want from Skye, really? For a bit she found herself craving some sort of space of the large variety between them, really only wanting him to stay as much out of her life as possible. Then, as more words were exchanged she found herself desiring his company, anticipating their next meetings again and again. Now, she found herself in the same as the beginning, wanting to be away from him.

Even he could feel the almost tangible awkwardness between them, and it wasn’t any surprise. They weren’t dating, something Carter always reminded herself, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t hurt. There was no commitment, she told herself she had no reason to, but she still did.

That left them silent with each other, barely a mumble exchanged. At times he would still ask a question about the work, but as soon as the quiet was broken, it returned as if it were never cracked.

“Audrey!” Carter hissed when Skye had graced the class with his presence, eyes landing on the pair laughing quietly amongst themselves. He had known that they had made up, something that Carter and him hadn’t despite his feeble attempt at an apology, however still cocked an eyebrow.

The picture was quickly in Carter's grasp and stuffed into her pocket, careless on the condition it was in. A few dents and rips were hardly any troubles; the picture would still stay the same.

“What?”Audrey asked, confused at the air between her fingers and Carter’s hasty action. In turn, the raven-haired girl cast a pointed glance in Skye’s direction; it was explanation enough.

“Oh!” Realization flickered in her eyes. Oh, indeed.

Moments following, the teacher sauntered into the class. Carter took this as her cue to return to her seat, neglecting the churning of her stomach. At times, she wished that she had some sort of control over her body, though it seemed that wish was just out of her grasp.

She sat in her assigned seat and kept her focus directed at the front, not so much as letting a glance fall to her side. As the class droned on and more numbers were being forced into her mind, Carter found that her willpower was quite strong today, and she didn’t even have the impulse to take a small glimpse at Skye.

That was, until he had to speak, and shatter all the power she had mustered up.

“Hey, Carter.”

It was a simple greeting, innocent enough, accompanied by an inviting smile. Stupid Skye, right when she was doing so well!

Carter lifted her gaze to the voice, eyes slightly wider than usual. “Hmm?” she hummed in confusion, faintly disgruntled by familiarity of his voice, how warm it was. Damn how nice it sounded, damn him to hell!

“We don’t talk much anymore, do we?”

It sounded like it would suppose to be a question, but it stood more as a statement then anything. They both knew that they hardly ever talked, it was clear to see, coating in the innocence of a question didn’t change that.

“We don’t,” she said flatly, attempting to return her to her work.

It appeared that Skye had different plans as he continued the already dead conversation, kicking the corpse as if it would react. “But I think it’s pretty obvious we’re going to start talking again.”

At this, Carter paused for a moment, making sense of the words that had so easily tumbled from his lips. She was shocked on how smoothly it flowed, and how much it proved that he believed what he had said.

“What?” she asked, but that was the only thing she could come up with as a reply. The bewilderment was clear upon her face as she cocked her head to the side, any hopes that she would survive this class without a hitch promptly ditched.

“Oh come on.” He grinned at her, implying it was obvious.

Carter felt quite different on the subject.

“What?” Her voice grew a little more confident.

“Well, let’s face it; the first time we met we talked,” he began, so kindly explaining what he thought was clear as glass.

“Not really,” she disagreed in a quiet mumble, oddly proud that she was able to voice the thoughts running rampage in her mind.

He continued as if he hadn’t heard, which while may have been the case, Carter was pretty sure he had. “And then I gave you that kind of low rating, and you got all pissed at me.”

That she remembered vividly, the painful memories still stung a little. She felt a strange blend of anger and tears course through her veins, gripping the pencil in her hand tighter.

“Yeah,” she muttered. No surprise, she wasn’t the nicest to him afterward.

“Well, you warmed up to me after that, didn’t you?”

She also remembered that in fact, she had.

“Well, now it’s back again, but you’ll warm back up to me soon enough.”

On any other occasion, Carter could imagine her reaction to this. A hushed disagreement with eyes diverted onto her work, the shy demeanour she had always held shining through. Confrontation, her worst enemy, had reared its abhorrent head once again. However, this time, she didn’t recoil when faced.

Instead, a bitter laugh escaped her lips, the chuckles almost acidic. Not only did it surprise Skye, who raised his eyebrows in surprise, it also surprised herself.

“Skye, you’ve really got to turn that ego down, please, you make me laugh.” Her voice held a warning undertone as the sheet in front of her absorbed her attention once again.

Not another word left Skye as they both fell silent for the remainder of the class, Carter still ignoring the weak feeling that had consumed her body. All that really mattered to her was that Skye thought she was tough, that she wasn’t falling apart on the inside, and if he believed it maybe she would.



“Hey Cole,” Carter greeted with a smile, dumping herself on the bench opposite from her friend.

He returned the gesture while chewing on his pizza, grabbing his coke protectively as Carter eyed it with interest. With a smirk, she grabbed at the now free slice of pizza left on his plate, taking a large bite, satisfied.

He gasped and lunged for the pizza, releasing his grip on the soda and grabbing at the slice. She allowed him to steal it away and in turn grabbed for his coke and took a drink, downing a fair share down her throat.

“Hey!” he shouted, dropping his slice onto a plate and covering it with one arm, grabbing at his pop with the other hand. Carter laughed and surrendered, raising her hands innocently.

“You just make it so easy.” She laughed lightly.

He simply glared in response, munching on the one slice in an awkward position, still attempting to protect his dear food. Carter shook her head with a smile.

As her gaze wandered, she found herself oddly at ease by the familiar sight of oblivious teens wandering, chattering amongst themselves. Amid the people, Carter was surprised to see a mop of curly brown hair.

For a moment she paused, making a double take. Her heart began beating faster, eyes widening at the possibility. Though, as the person in question turned, she realized that it was a completely different person entirely.

Carter cursed herself for thinking such things, for raising her hopes even for a moment. Tiffany was dead, no matter how difficult it was to digest. Her friend was deceased, perished, forever gone from the world. And with this, the same misery that Carter had tried to push to the back of her mind reappeared with vengeance, pressing a weight onto her chest and pulling her down.

“Woah, Carter, if you really want a piece, here.” Cole offered her his one slice, concern painted across his face.

Tears collected in her eyes as she shook her head, lips twisting upwards vaguely in a somewhat smile. “No, it’s not that,” she reassured him, mustering up all her strength to prevent the salty drops from falling.

He nodded his head, worry still creasing his forehead as he scrambled for something to say, something to comfort her with. “Do you want to… talk about it?” he asked, an unsure hint in his tone.

“It’s nothing; it’s just Tiffany and stuff,” she once again assured him, feeling the threatening tears subside, although the weight refused to slacken.

“Oh,” the world tumbled from his mouth, an awkward air surrounding them. It was obvious he wasn’t experienced in the art of condolence as he continued to scavenge for anything remotely helpful to say.

“Yeah.” She smiled at him, the grin not reaching her eyes.

“You know that she’s in a happier place now, right? And, I think she’d want you to be happy.” He nodded his head, eyes still concerned but satisfied with his words.

In reply, Carter laughed quietl. “You stole that from a movie, didn’t you?” she accused, how many times had she heard that line before? In every major motion picture where death had crashed onto someone, it was always used.

He shrugged, falling at ease when he heard her laughter. “Eh, it always works, doesn’t it?”

She agreed and allowed herself to also ease into a comfortable feeling, relaxing her shoulders and controlling her breathing.

From across the way Carter was able to see Audrey advancing towards them, a smile on her face. It was clear that she had some story to tell them, her giddy smile a dead giveaway.

From behind her, Carter’s gaze was met by the familiar group of boys crowding around one another and talking about who knows what. Among them was Skye, as per usual, who was listening to one of them ramble on about something.

He seemed to notice her intent stare and met her gaze, an eyelid dropping down into a smouldering wink. Carter diverted her gaze, lips pursing into a tight line.

She knew what she had to do. She didn’t care how she did it, but she was going to.

She was going to take Skye Richardson down.