Beauty and the Beast

I stood perfectly still, like a deer caught in the headlights. Frozen. Disbelieving. Betrayed. It didn’t really quite sink in, what I was lookingat. I didn’t want to believe it. She was enveloped in his arms. Isabelle was in Garreths arms.
No. I refused to believe that the girl in front of me was her. I couldn’t believe Isabelle would do that to me, could be so cruel, so vindictive. I shook my head, and took a step back.
No, I screamed in my head again.
I don’t, I won’tbelieve it. That isn’t Isabelle. It’s… She turned her head. God. I felt hot, burning, unwanted tears well up. It is Isabelle.The truth, the full reality of this situation crashed into me, the force of itstrong enough to make me take another step back Helplessly I watched him pushher against the wall, and then it was like a grenade going off in my head. My soul even shook as a dozen or so mini explosions exploded at the same time. I’ve never felt this kind of pain before, not even when my parents died.
There aren’t any words that could fully encapsulate how vicious this ache really is. My heart broke. I had trusted her. I had pathetically fallen for this girl after one damn day,and here she is, playing tonsil hockey with…
I couldn’t even finish the though as rage poured over me in hot, heavydroves. God. How could I be so stupid, so trusting? I should have known better.I shouldn’t have let her get passed all those barriers I worked so hard to put up against the world.
You should have known it was too good to be true. I winced against thecold, sneering tone of my thoughts.
You should have just used her, and thenwhen you were done having your fun with her, you could have just thrown herback, just like Garreth will… i] I shook my head against the cruel words.
I couldn’t do that to her. I... couldn't..
But no. You were stupid, and actually fell for the slut..She isn’t a slut! I screamed in my mind. She’s a kind, funny, beautiful girl… At least… at first…
But then she turned out just like everyone else, didn’t she?
I forced the small, evil voice to the back of my mind, and again, focused onthe devastating sight before me. He muttered something to her, but the sound was lost in the howling wind. I took my eyes off them, and looked around me as a fresh wave of rain fell, pulling me out of my reverie. The sky was gloomier; the rain fell even harder than before, as if in harmony tothe dark thoughts and the betrayal before me.
I was better than this, I told myself as I took a slow step back from theembracing couple. The evil voice was right. I shouldn’t have been sotrusting. So damn stupid. I let big, hazel eyes and a sweet smile twisteverything I had trained myself to be.
I let the thought of redemption, of a life so much fuller and richer than theone I have now, blur my judgment.I let my heart get broken.
Unable to stand it anymore, I walked away. Away from the girl of my dreams, who suddenly just became a nightmare.

As moments passed, and the farther I walked away, the anger that had barely simmered under the thick sliceof hurt had grown into full-blown rage. Yeah, I was stupid for trust the girl.But it was her, Isabelle Paige who did this. I was the one who was played. Shewas the one who played me. I sat on a tree stumpShe was the one who was going to pay.
I searched for her, high and low. I ignored the usual jeering from the students, I tore through the bright hallways of our school, so deep in contrast from my gloom that it felt surreal. Like I was an alien presence, the dark outsider to this shining surroundings. People passed by me, their faces melting into the next. I pushed past a particularly rowdy group of football players, shoving them, putting all my anger and hurt into those brief contacts, and sent them sprawling. They tried to grab me as I walked by, but one look at my face, and they backed off. No matter where I went, I couldn't find her.
A flash of brown curls briefly illuminated the window. And was closely followed by the fat tub of lard friend, Maurice.
"Bingo." I said to myself, and followed them.
They were ahead of me, running towards the soccer fields. It barely registered in my mind that it was class time, that they were skipping classes. It just didn't permeate through the thick haze of anger that Isabelle wouldn't do that. It didn't really even matter to me, even though the fact alone should have had my warning bells going off.
She ran through the rain, her skin glowed in the dark gloom of the storm, and then she turned a corner, disappearing from sight.
I ran faster, and was briefly reminded of the day we first met.
Yesterday.
It seemed forever ago, years ago. But it was only yesterday.I growled in self hatred. It made it even worse that I had let her get under my skin like she did, after just one day. I slid on the rain slicked concrete, went down briefly, but got right back up as Maurice too, followed suit, and ran out of sight.
My lungs burned, the wet air was thick and heavy, making it hard for me to breathe. The wind pulled at my clothes, the cold bit into me with a viciousness I was all too familiar with. Hell, I almost fell in love with viciousness incarnate.
The trees around the soccer cast a frightening shadow on the field as I ran around the corner. And there they were, Isabelle was curled up in on herself, her head between her knees. Even from here I could see her shaking. Her hair was slick and flat against her head, the normal bouncy curls a wet tangle around her. Maurice was kneeling next to her, muttering, rubbing her back.
Fury riped through me when I realized she had my jacket on. It was, as you might say, the staw that broke the camels back. I forgot what self control I had, I forgot about who I was, who she was. All I could focus on was the gross betrayal, the hatred that was now replacing whatever hurt I once was feeling. T
here was no sympathy in me for her as I walked up to them, only simmering, bright anger. She had made out with that bastard, and yet, here she was still wearing the coat I gave her. Maurice's eyes widened when he saw me walking over. Standing up as I grew closer, he got in front of Isabelle, a protective presence. A damn nuisance.
She still stayed curled up, and despite myself, I couldn't help but let the sympathy that had sinced fled, creep back at the fragility and sadness that radiated off of her.But then, the memory of them kissing, of his arms around her, of her arms around him assaulted me once more, and I slammed down the door to that corner of my heart.She wasn't going to win again.
"Move." I said quietly to him when I reached them.
"Ryan!" She cried, and tried to scramble up. Clumsy in her attempts, Maurice had to reach down and offer his hand. She pulled her self up, and skidded to a halt. "Oh, God. Something happened--"
If I didn't know any better I'd say she was seriously suffering. But I do know better. She's a damn good actress, but I'm well aware of her abilities now. She couldn't screw me over again. I'm smarter now.
I held up my hand, halting her mid-sentence."I saw what happened." I prided myself on how cold my tone sounded.
Her eyes grew bleak. "But--"
“You think it was funny, don’t you. Screwing with me like that?”
“She didn’t—“ Maurice tried to interject."Shut up." I growled at him. When I was satisfied that he was going to keep his trap shut, I turned to her once again. And felt a fresh wave of anger hit me at the sight of the tears mixing with rain on her face.
"You really had me fooled, you know. I really thought you were actually special. That you were different from the rest of the bastards that goes to this hellhole. But I guess
I was wrong.” I took a step towards her, and Maurice started to move closer, so I shoved him. Hard. He fell to the ground as she tried to back away. I grabbed her wrists to stop her, unaware of how hard my grip was.“Next time you play a damn joke on me, make sure your boyfriend doesn’t shove his tongue down your throat before you get to the punch line.”
“Ryan, I didn’t—“ She pleaded.
God. She really thinks I'm that stupid. I'm that trusting. Well... I was that stupid. I was that damn trusting.
And the self hatred and anger that thought brought had me shouting.“Didn’t what, Paige?” I shook her, unable to help myself. I was beyond caring now. Beyond the guilt and the regret. Her face was devestated, her eyes shone with tears. But I barreled on. “Think I’d find out? React like this?”
“You aren’t listening to me.” She whispered, her voice ringing with pain. I was in a trance, a daze.
“I’m through listening to people like you, Paige.” I shoved her away from me, not able to bear another moment with her eyes pleading with me, or this fury that wanted to burst out of me and slam into her.
I turned and walked away from her for the second time today. I couldn't bear looking at a liar, a fake.
I reached the edge of the field, and turned to her. I felt my face twist into a glare on its own accord. “You know, you’re worse than the others. You don’t treat people like crap, no, you like to mess with them first. Play with their emotions. And then rip their hearts out.”

I sat alone under a tree. It had stopped raining now. The cold was still biting though, but I was numb to it. I was pretty much comatose. Nothing broke through my trance. I was counting raindrops on the grass, I was now up to 2,345,094,405. It was an attempt to keep my mind busy. But unfortunately, images of Isabelle's tears, Garreth's arms around her kept flitting through with the sole purpose to torment me. I don't know how long I sat there, soaking up the wet,
counting the beads of rain on the grass, basically stewing in a big pot of self loathing and hatred. I felt rather than saw a person walk up to me."Go away." I growled, wihtout looking up, not really caring who it was. The wet soaked into my jeans, and was probably leaving an embarrasing stain on them. Again, I didn't care. "You're a coward, you know that." My head whipped up with blindning speed. I groaned when I saw Maurice standing there, his hands on his fat hips."What the hell do you want?" I growled at him. Where normally this would be the point where he would turn and run away, he just stood a little straighter, and his face turned red."Well, I guess I always did know you were an asshole." I was too surprised to hear him call me name to react. "But I really did figure you for a coward.""I'm. Not. A. Coward." I grounded out between clenched teeth. He doesn't realize how close he is to getting a fist to the damn face. I
want to be alone. I don't want human contact. I want things to be like they used to be."I beg to differ. I think you're one of the biggest cowards I've ever met." To his credit, he didn't back away when I stood up, but his eyes did widen a bit. And he stood his ground when I got in his face. "Listen, you fat dumbass. I don't really give adamn what you think of me. You're friends with that slut--"The fist to the face had me flying back, and slamming into the tree. I slid down it as blood started to trickle down my chin. I slowly raised a hand, and touched my lips. It had split.I looked up at Maurice. "What the hell?"
"Don't you ever, EVER, talk about her like that. You don't even know her." His face was flushed with anger, his knuckles dripping blood onto the rain soaked ground. He looked kind of scary. His hair was a wild halo around his head. The kid packs a punch.
"Oh, is that right?" I stood up again, furious. "Why is she so differnt from all the rest of the fuc--"
"You saw them kissing." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
I leaned up against the tree, and crossed my arms so they wouldn't just hang uselessly by my sides. Also, so one of them wouldn't curl up into a fist and drive into the soft stomach of this kid. "Yeah. I did. They were all over--"
He snarled. "I saw it too. You know Ryan, you're beyond an asshole now. I'm having a hard time trying to find a word bad enough to describe you. She didn't want him to kiss her."
I laughed. The sound sourless and dull even to my own ears. "Yeah, she was sure trying hard to get him off. I'm kind of jealous really. She's quite the actress, playing a damsel in distress--"
With eyes narrowed to slits, he stalked closer to me. I watched, baffled and furious, as he poked a finger into my chest. "Yeah. Well, its too bad you left before the grand finale."
"What his hand on her ass? Or better yet, her hand down his pants?"
"Her right hook."
A myriad of emotions hit me at one time. Guilt and relief raged a brutal battle as I stared at him with my mouth open. "She hit him."
Satisfied he had sincerely shaken me, he started to sneer. "What, you think she tore up her knuckle reaching down his pants?" His tone was acidic, and, boy. I'm seriously starting to think I deserve it. "But... I..."
"And you know what, Tier." I slid down the tree again, the bark scratching my back. I started to shake as I realized how bad I had really messed up. God. Remembering all the things I said... what I did... "I'm going to Japan. My parents want me to come visit, so a tutor and I are flying out tomorrow."
Confused, I tried to figure out what that had to do with anything. "So?" I said finally, when I couldn't figure it out. My brain wasn't working at all. It all just kept coming back to all the horrible things I said to her. All the horrible things I thought of her.
"So, that means her father and I both will be in Japan. Since you're obviously unworthy of her company, her help, I told her she could fly out with me. Why would she need to stay here and suffer if you're going to treat her like... like that." He spat.
I stopped breathing. No. No. Its.. I... God. This is... It can't be... I can't lose... But I already did, didn't I? The moment I doubted her, I lost her. "What did she say?" I croaked out.
His eyes were delightfully ruthless, his grin completely evil as gleefully ruined my life. "She said yes."