Just Let Me Go

"The fuck did this to you?" He asks.
"Dunno."
Jaime clenches his jaw. "How don't you know?"
I shrug. "There were a lot of people. Anyways, it's no big deal. This could've been a hell of a lot worse."
"You say that like it's a good thing."
"Because it is. My nose or jaw could be broken, but they aren't. Also, my eye could be swelled shut."
Tony bites his lip. "It practically is."
Shit. Must've gotten worse.
The teacher begins to talk, and I face the front to listen. A hand grabs my hood and places it over my head. Good. I peek over at Jaime and see him offer a smile. I return his with a small one, then focus on the teacher. Believe it or not, I like history class...only because the teacher makes it interesting and we watch movies a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. But they aren't the fun movies, let me tell you that much. They're those movies like, "The Band of Brothers" and such.
When the bell rings to end the class, I get up quickly, but Jaime steps in front of me. "What class do you have next?"
"Pre-Calc/Trig. Why?"
He smiles. "Perfect, Turtle has it, too."
I look over at Tony and see him nodding his head. "Oh. Okay. I'll see ya--"
"Nope, he'll walk you."
"I'm fine, really, I can walk by--"
"He's walking you, end of story."
Boy, isn't he a bossy one? "Fine."

~~~Tony's P.O.V~~~

Clearly she doesn't like me if she doesn't want to walk with me, well, let me walk her to class. Jaime should've asked me, though, before he offered me up. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind walking her to class, but I would've liked to be given an option. Anyways, she seems hellbent on going herself. She's been doing it for most of the year I bet, so why not?

~~~Anastasia's P.O.V~~~

Jaime leaves me and Tony to go to whatever class the annoying fuck has. Don't get me wrong, I like Jaime, he seems like a cool kid, but seriously? Forcing me to do something pisses me off. Big time. I can handle myself in the halls, people ignore me anyways unless there's no one out. Then that's when there's trouble. Like what happened at lunch. I was alone, no one was in the hallways, and they got me.
Tony keeps his eyes down as we walk. "So, are you new?" I ask.
"Yeah."
Damn. One word. "I thought so, I've never seen you around here before."
"Yep."
Okay, return back to your shell, Anastasia. I hold my books against my chest tighter. He hates me. I can already tell. The rumors must've gotten to him. How long until they reach the others, if they haven't already? And here I thought I was actually going to meet friends...
Go figure.
The class passes in a blur and I get ready to leave, but Tony grabs my books. "Um...can I have them, please?"
He shakes his head. "I'll carry them."
Don't argue with the boy. "Okay..."
I pull my sleeves over my hands and walk besides him. People are staring, I can feel it. I hate being noticed like this. They're not staring in a good way either. They're eyes burn into my back. I need to leave. Thank God that was the last class of the day.
Tony stops. I look up and he holds my books out to me, "This is my stop." He explains.
"Oh. Okay. Thanks."
I take my books and begin to leave, but he blocks my way. "Just wait here, I'll take you."
"You don't have to." I whisper. Why does this boy make me more shy than I need to be?
"It's fine."
He turns to his locker and punches in his combination. I take this opportunity to slip away. I'm saving him a trip, he didn't want to take me there anyways. I reach my locker and open it. I rig it so I don't have to be late to classes. Everyone knows I do this, so it's no surprise that there's a note waiting for me inside.
"Hey there,
What are you doing with those boys? Hm? I bet they're going to leave you just like your old friends did. Don't you think so? Why do you even bother with this school anymore? Seriously. No one here likes you. Your fat ass is suited for a different school, not this fabulous one. Go cut yourself some more. Go on. Yeah, that's right, I bet you do that. And if you don't, drink until you're numb or dead. Or, if you want to die, there are SO many options.
But in all seriousness, just get the hell out of here you fucking skank. Fuck you and your mom. She's nothing but a whore. Like mother like daughter. Isn't that how the saying goes?"
I throw my books in and kick the locker next to me. I hate this school and the people here. Maybe I should just end it all. It'd make sense, right?
Do it, Anastasia, no one here loves you. Not even your mom. Anyways, the note's right, those boys will probably leave you. Do you really want to go through that abandonment again?
No. I don't. Dammit, why does Bad Anastasia overpower Good?
"Oh looky at what we have here. Little Ant all alone. Doesn't she have some place to go?"
Not again. "As a matter of fact, yes, I was just---"
"IIII don't think so, sweetie. You're going to get yours, again, since we won't be seeing you until Monday. Just think about the end of the school year. On the last day, it's gonna be shit for you!" Lexie says excitedly.
I just hang my head low, shove a few things into my bag, close the locker and tuck the note into my back pocket. "Lets get this over with."
They take my arms and begin to lead me away, but someone yells, "Hey what are you doing?"
The group drops my arms and run away, laughing. I look over and see Tony. He looks pissed.
"I told you I would walk you to your locker. Why did you leave?" He practically spits at me.
"I didn't want to waste your time. And you have no clue what you just did."
"What do you mean? I just saved your ass!"
I shake my head, then tilt it back. "No, you just made Monday worse. Their cycle has never been interrupted, so now Monday I'll probably get it, like, three times worse."
He mouths, 'Oh' and fiddles with his hands.
Someone jumps on Tony's back causing him to flinch. "Anastasia, daahhhhling, how are you?" Vic sings.
I make sure my hood is on my head. "Fine. You?"
"Amazing since you're coming with us."
Tony laughs. "And you worried about Mike scaring her away?"
"Hush, Turtle! Wait! Don't hush, keep talking!"
I raise an eyebrow. "Why do they call you Turtle?"
"He likes Turtles, and I call him it because he's a shy son of a bitch."
"Turtles are cute."
Tony smiles at me. "Right?"
Vic looks between us, then settles on me. "You, stay around. I haven't heard him talk this much since I met him this morning. Keep pulling this child out of that shell of his."
I feel the color rise in my cheeks.
"So, you wanna come with us?"
"To where and for how long?"
"My house, no wait, lets get food!"
Food. Shit. "It's fine, I'm not hungry, but you guys can go I'll--"
Vic falls to the ground and grabs my legs. "No! Come along for the ride. Pwease?"
I look down at him. "Such a child."
He looks up, grinning, but then his jaw drops. "What the hell happened to your face?"
"Uh--"
"Don't bullshit him, either, he's good at telling if people are lying or not." Tony informs me.
Well, shit. "People here suck. Let's just go with that, shall we?"
He stands and pulls me into a hug. "You poor baby."
"It's fine....really. I'm--"
"If you say you're used to this, so help me God I will cut you."
Please do.

~~~At Some Pizza Shop~~~

I slide into the booth first, then Tony, then Jaime. Mike and Vic sit on the other side grinning. Mike is the only one who hasn't said anything about my face, probably because Jaime warned him about it or something. The only thing he mentioned about it is that I look "pretty bad ass". Okay, sure.
"Whatcha gonna get, Anastasia?" Jaime asks.
"Nothing, just a water."
Everyone drops their menus and looks at me like I'm crazy.
"What?"
"How don't you want to eat?"
So I don't get any fatter. "Because I'm not hungry."
"You didn't eat lunch, though!"
"I ate a big breakfast." I shrug. "I'm not a big eater."
Vic squints his eyes at me. "You SURE that's it?"
"Yes."
They all order, and when the waitress gets to me, her mouth hangs open. "Just a water? That's it?"
"Yes, please."
"Okay, I'll be right back with your drinks."
When she walks away, she winks at Tony. I bite my lip. She's older than us, why would she do that? "Cougar alert."
Everyone begins to laugh. I didn't think it was that funny...I was just stating a fact.
"Damn, Tone, that chick's gonna pounce on you like a puma when we leave!" Mike hollers.
After our drinks arrive, the boys begin to talk. Well, the boys minus Tony. Jaime would talk to him a few times about their old school. Wait, what?
"I thought Tony just came today...."
Jaime leans forward to see me, "He did, but I came before him by, like, a month."
"Oh." My phone vibrates in my pocket. Shit. I forgot about my mom. "Hello?" I hold a finger to my mouth to silence the boys.
"Where are you?"
"Getting some food."
"Okay. Bradley got us cruise tickets, so we'll be gone for about two weeks, maybe more. We're leaving tonight. Bye."
She hangs up. Okay then...I get to fend for myself for a little while. Sweet.
"Whooo was that?" Vic asks.
"A lover?" Mike inquires.
"A friend?" Jaime wiggles his eyebrows.
Tony's the last to answer, "A parent?"
I grab Tony's arm and raise it in the air, "Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!"
"Oooo, what'd this parent say?" Vic wonders.
"She's going out."
"Party animal mom? Sounds like my type of woman!" Mike cheers.
"She's engaged."
"Ouch, my heart just broke."
"Trust me, mine did, too." I can't help but have an edge to my voice. I really hate that man, he turned my mom into a bitch.
"Someone's not too happy with soon-to-be-Daddy."
"Nope. Let's just drop it, shall we?"
Everyone agrees. The pizzas are set on the table, as are the checks, and a while later we're ready to leave. I get up and stretch. I hate sitting for so long.
"Here, Anastasia, wanna come over to our house?" Mike asks.
"I'm good. I want to enjoy people being gone from my place. Don't want to take it for granted."
"Ohhh, okay. Can we join you?"
I shrug. "Sure."
When it comes to following directions, Vic sucks. I would tell him to turn down one road, but he'd keep going straight, then turn finally. I'd tell him to turn again, but he'd go straight saying we're taking the "scenic route". I think he just wanted to drive me insane. We reach my house after a thirty minute drive, instead of the quick, ten minute one. The guys jump out, but I take my time. What if they're still home? I check the garage, their car's not there. So we're safe.
"Welcome to mi casa." I announce opening the door.
The guys go in and smile at me. Creepy.
"Are ya'll going to kill me now or something?"
"Sure are." Jaime says. "BUT, with laughs, knives and guns are too messy."
I roll my eyes. "Good, my mom likes this carpet."