Luck Isn't Everything.

Unfortunately my next class was with Trey, but it was also with Justin, and that would make all the difference. When I walked into class, Trey was already there all over Rose Johnson. He looked up at me with a sly smile and to my disappointment, acknowledged me. “Hey Gosh Junior, why don’t you come take a seat over here with me & Rose?” He asked and patted on the seat beside him.

The last thing I wanted was to be anywhere near him or her. She was the girl I had caught him cheating on me with. According to her, she had no idea what was going because she was drunk and sleeping with him was a total accident. Yeah, right, what, did she fucking trip and fall on his dick? “Look Stevens, I’ve already told once, and I’m gonna remind you again, come anywhere near Fiona or even talk to her again and I’m gonna put you in the hospital,” Justin answered, pulling me to some empty seats towards the back of the classroom.

We were in yearbook class and today’s assignment was to grab a partner, a camera, a clipboard and pen, and go out into the school to interview kids who could possibly get their own two pages in the book. We saw this as an opportunity to advertise the band so of course we went to find the guys. When we got to the guys, Gabe and Trey were in the middle of a fist fight.

“Stevens!!” Justin shouted before lunging towards him and joining the fight. Jesse, Kellin, and Willow took that moment to pull Gabe up and make sure he was alright. “Guys, guys, stop it!” I yelled and tried pulling them apart. They were swinging so fast and hard that I didn’t even see it coming when Trey’s fist made contact with my cheekbone. Immediately the fight stopped and everyone gasped. Willow stood behind, by then end of the lockers unsure of what to do since Kellin had left her side to come to mine and check my face.

“Fiona, I’m so sorry, oh my go-” Trey whispered out before shuffling back, scared.

“You have. Three. Seconds. And then I’m gonna kill you.” Justin said in anger, through his teeth. “One. Two.” Trey took off for the end of the hallway and I felt as if the ground was about to shake. “Three.” Justin spat and took off after him.

“Justin, stop! He’s not worth it!” I shouted after him, but it didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to listen. “Why were you two fighting!?” I yelled at Gabe, as I brought my hand up to my face.

“I’ll go fetch you some ice from the nurse’s office,” Willow said lightly and disappeared into another hallway.

“He’s been harassing my little sister, okay? She’s fourteen! I couldn’t help myself. When I saw him, just standing there with Rose, I just fucking lost it. I was doing fine until you and Justin popped by!” He shouted in frustration. He punched a locker and then muttered something under his breath before turning to me again. “I’m sorry you got hurt in the process, Gosh Junior.”

“Yeah, same here. It’s whatever.”

“Wait til Liam sees the shiner on your face.. Ha! Trey won’t live to see another day.” Jesse said as Willow came back with a pack of ice.

“Here,” she said and handed me the ice.

“Thanks.”

“Wait, Liam? As in Liam Gosh?” she asked and pulled her sleeves down awkwardly.

“Yeah, my brother.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t surprised by her reaction, considering he’d been giving her rides for a while. I think she was the one surprised since she didn’t know he was my brother. Liam was very well-known around the school. Everyone wanted to be his friend and every girl wanted him to notice them, and he knew it. He used it as an advantage and took profit from it, fuck buddies, free stuff, and leverage.

“Dude, Liam can be a total douche, but if there’s one thing he doesn’t put up with, it’s people messing with Fiona. He says he’s the only one allowed to do that,” Kellin said laughing and putting his arm around my neck and pulling me to walk. Everyone else followed.

“Shouldn’t we go find Justin?” Willow asked shyly.

“Ha, fuck no. Trust us, you don’t wanna be there when Principal Davis gets a hold of them. They both have a record,” Jack answered. We walked to the cafeteria and I interviewed the guys. They basically told me about their EPs which I already knew about, and the record label thing, and about how they weren’t going to stop trying. I took pictures of them hanging out, laughing, and just having a good time. I did have to ask Willow to get out of the shots and I felt kinda bad, but then again, bringing me ice wasn’t going to make those nasty glares from earlier go away.

“So, about this dance…” Willow began.

“What about it?” Kellin asked as he threw some grapes at Gabe. They bounced off his forehead and nose and we all laughed.

“I was wondering if I could join you in dress hunting…” she said. They all turned to stare at me, waiting. They knew how I felt about her since first hour, I didn’t even have to tell them. They could read me like an open book.

“I think it would be a great idea,” Kellin chimed in.

“Yeah, I’d be into that.” I said slowly. “I’ll have to run it by Justin first since I’ll be going with him.”

“Well, why don’t you girls go, and that way that’ll free up Justin for band practice this afternoon?” Jesse added.

“That way you two can bond and have girl time,” Gabe mentioned.

“Although that would be nice, I can’t make that decision… And you guys can’t either. Justin said he was gonna be the one picking the color, and I can’t really shop unless I know what I’m looking for.”

“Okaaaayy, well, why don’t we give Justin some ideas?” Gabe asked.

“Ideas for what?” Justin said behind me and making me jump. He took a seat between Kellin and I and removed my hand from my face, where I had been holding the ice pack next to. “How bad does it hurt?”

“Not that bad. You didn’t have to go after him.”

“Yes, I did. He punched you in the face… Of course, I had to go after him. Anyways, what are we talking about?” he asked into the group.

“Band practice,” Jesse answered.

“And dress hunting,” Willow added.

“Dress hunting?” Justin asked, looking at Willow skeptically then turning to me.

“ Well, the guys want you tonight for band practice and Willow wants to go shopping with me, but I told them I couldn’t decide anything without you.”

“Oh,” he said, “Go? I mean, yeah, go. You can try on a few things and get an idea of what you want and just take pictures of the colors. That way I can choose later.”
They all looked at him confused, Willow surprised and confused, and I shocked. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. We can hang after you’re done with Willow. You and I can go catch a movie or something,” he said emphasizing “you and I.” I didn’t know what was going on between them, but it was pretty clear he didn’t like her. When he had mentioned her earlier this morning, he was very nonchalant about it, then when we dipped in second hour, he was aggravated at the sight of her. I didn’t understand.

“Okay then, it’s settled.” Kellin said.

Notes