Clarity

Stella was on her way to Trigonometry when she saw Sasha rushing against the crowd of students in the hallway. She thought to stop and ask what was going on, but she quickly realized she didn't have to because Sasha was heading straight for her. Now she was vaguely concerned.

"Sasha, what's wrong?" She asked, brows knitting together.

"Sam's on one of his rampages, Stella," she said quickly. "And he's looking for you."

"Me?" Stella cringed.

"Stella!" A voice boomed from down the hallway.

Both of the girls jumped and looked up to see Sam practically barreling towards them. He was so fixated on his path that the students slid around and out of his way. Sasha quickly took hold of Stella's hand and lead her in the opposite direction, rounding the corner and ducking into the janitor's closet with practiced ease.

They were plunged into darkness when the door closed behind them. Stella cringed at the strong smell of bleach and damp air. With a small click, a bald bulb hanging from a thin wire bathed the tiny space with sharp light.

"Why are we in here?" Stella asked quietly. "What's going on?"

"Sam heard a rumor that you were at Travis Barr's party last night," Sasha said. "That you were dating a drug dealer."

"What?"

"I know it's just a rumor, but he's gone crazy!" She hissed. "It's not true, right?"

"That was Travis' house?" Stella brought her hand up to her chin.

"You mean it is true?" Sasha's voice pitched in shock.

"No!" Stella burst, a blush rising to her face. "I mean, yes! I was there, but I'm not dating a drug dealer. What kind of rumor is that?"

"Then who'd you go with?" She asked, flabbergasted.

"My friend." Stella replied.

"The drug dealer." Sasha corrected.

Stella sighed, rubbing the back of her neck when she realized that her business was already out there. Her skills must have been rusty for this one to leak out so soon. Now she had to switch things up. She had to figure out how to contain and deal with it. With Sasha actually confronting her, she realized that the entire incident was sounding a lot worse than it really was.

"He's just a friend," Stella finally said. "We hang out once in a while."

Sasha was staring at her with eyes as wide as saucers and Stella merely gave her a strained smile in return. She wondered if the younger Rowe girl would say something soon because the silence was stretching out.

"Well, at least you told me the truth," she finally sighed. "But Liam said you guys made out."

"We did not make out," Stella blushed hard. "It was just a kiss. How the hell does Liam even know?"

"He was there!"

"What?" She exclaimed.

"He said he lives in the neighborhood, so he and Travis are childhood friends," Sasha said quickly, trying to quell the older girl's panic. "Hard to believe, I know."

"I can't believe I didn't see him," Stella groaned, slapping a hand to her head. But then again, she'd had a few drinks by that time. "The last thing I ever wanted was for Sam to find out."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, he heard it from one of his soccer buddies, so…" she shrugged.

"Not much better, but I think I can work with that," she sighed. "Thanks for warning me though, Sash."

"It's not problem," she replied with a smile. "I know first hand what it's like to be stalked by Sam."

"I'll snag him after school so you aren't subjected to the interrogation," Stella said, stepping back to let themselves out of the closet. "Take care and try not to give Ms. Willis too hard of a time."

Stella just noticed the look of horror crossing Sasha's face as she took another step back and stepped into a taller figure. Her jaw dropped open and mirrored the sophomore's cringe. When she felt a firm grip enclosing around both of her arms, she knew it was game over.

"If you'd excuse us, Sasha, I have something important to discuss with Stella," Sam growled menacingly before dragging her off.

"The bell is about to ring, Sam," Stella tried to wiggle away, but he was bent on stuffing her into the boy's bathroom. "We're going to be late!"

"Please, Stell, that rule doesn't even apply to you anymore," he muttered.

"I'm not going in there," she sighed, veering to the right at the last minute and pushing the door to the girl's room and holding it open for him.

Sam balked and visibly hesitated, but fixed her with a resentful glare as he marched in. There were a handful of girls that looked up at him in shock, but Stella came up and waved at them with a neutral smile.

"Sorry, girls," she said. "We just need to have a quick chat, alright?"

They looked mildly curious and many of them gave her a squinted eye, but they packed up and slipped out without any hassles. Stella waited until the door swung shut behind them before she crossed her arms over her chest and moved forward to take her usual place leaning against the sink.

"I hope you know that that's about five rumors I'm going to have to squash to hell after this," Stella muttered, mustering her courage to look him in the face. "What did you need to chat about?"

"You know what we need to talk about, Stella." Sam glowered.

"If you're referring to a party at Travis Barr's house, then yes. I was there," Stella said slowly. "That's a big deal?"

"Tell me you're not dating Alexander Hunt."

"Oh, so you know him," Stella was intrigued.

"Stella." He warned.

"I'm not dating Alexander Hunt," she recited. "Can I go now?"

"But you know him."

"Last time I checked, it's not a crime to know people, Sam," Stella was losing patience and her tone was becoming edged with irritation.

"You've been acting weird lately," Sam accused. "Really weird. I rarely even see you anymore since Cody transferred. What's going on?"

"Nothing," she cried, raking her hands back through her hair. "Just hanging out with the girls and the usual business."

"And what the hell is usual business?" He asked, stepping closer.

"Sam," Stella hand came up and gestured for him to shut his mouth. "I don't know why you're choosing now to be freaking out because it's not like we've been super close the past few years."

It was true. They'd remained constant friends, but essentially they'd lived separate lives. Sam had gone on to become the school soccer star while Stella rose to new levels of notoriety for her immaculate record. Cody had been the one who'd been keeping her in check during that time. Maybe now that he was gone, Sam was getting worried.

Maybe he was rightfully so.

"We should get to class," Stella said quietly. "We can talk later or something."

She adjusted her bag and slipped past him, not waiting for his permission. By now, Stella was used to doing whatever she wanted and she simply didn't have the patience to explain herself to anyone. She didn't know if she was just justifying bad decisions, but she'd lived her entire adolescence walking in a straight line.

Stella just needed something more.

xxx

Liam caught up with Stella in gym class as she was swatting birdies over the net. She never really liked badminton much, so when she spied the boy's familiar mess of hair lingering just outside the gym, she excused herself for a water break. Stella slipped out and propped her hands on her hips, fixing him with a glare.

"Tell me why I shouldn't swat you over the head with this racquet," she demanded.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know it was a secret," Liam said, having the decency to look apologetic. "I mentioned it to Sasha, but I didn't know anyone was listening. And I didn't know Sam Rowe cared that much about what you do."

"Really though, you had to say I was dating a drug dealer?" Stella frowned. "That sounds bad no matter how you say it, Liam."

"But you are," he said.

"We are not dating," she sighed, throwing her back against the wall. "We're strictly friends."

Liam was giving her a look that told her that he didn't believe any of that and Stella felt a rare flare of annoyance lick at her temper. She knew that people tended to believe what they wanted to and rarely could anyone make them think otherwise without any effort.

"Stella," he said, lacing his fingers together as if he were some form of authority. "Alexander Hunt doesn't just hang out with girls. Do you know what you're getting into?"

"I do," Stella replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Don't worry yourself sick over me, Liam. You should be focusing your attention on Sasha."

"Wha- I don't know what you mean by that," Liam said quickly, flushing. "And Sasha worries about you all the time, so she isn't any fun to bother."

Stella frowned, scrutinizing his face to look for any indications of a lie. She felt a pang of guilt for never having realized that anyone thought of her that way. She'd been so focused on doing her own things that she failed to remember that she was someone they thought to be very close. Stella worried about them, so it made sense that they thought of her in the same way. And she'd been so distant.

She groaned, rubbing her hands over her face as she was brought back to the dilemma of being a terrible friend.

Academically inclined, but still socially inept after all these years.

"Fuck," she whispered to herself before pushing off the wall and heading back inside. "Alright, you have some good points, kid. I'll spare you for now."

"I'm not a kid," Liam scowled, crossing his arms over his chest in what she guessed was display of manliness.

"Of course you are, but you're well on your way," Stella cast him a glance over her shoulder and smiled slightly. "Thanks though… and get back to class, skipper."

She slipped back into the gym and reclaimed her place on the court, waving to her partner that she was ready. Somewhere along the way, Stella had forgotten that sharing secrets was the key to becoming closer. Confiding and being confiding in was one of the big things in relationships. The girls had always confided in her, but she'd never really confided in them. Now it seemed Sasha wanted more from her in that area, but the younger girl was never the type to pry.