Young Writers Society

Harvey watched as Jolie went running off into the distance. He didn't remember having more than one drink, but his head was spinning and there was a tight clenching in his stomach. That confrontation with Lizzie felt different than the others, and he couldn't quite place a finger on the reason why. It was highly possible that either JJ or Marco had been messing around with his drinks again, trying to get him to "loosen up". But he seriously doubted they'd be doing that after the last time JJ tampered with his stuff - that ass beating couldn't have been so easily forgotten. But, either way, he wasn't quite feeling right.

On the bright side, though, he'd gotten himself a new errand boy. Harvey had known Jolie for a while, they'd both been handed bad cards in life, ended up in the same places, and if she said that her little boy toy would be valuable, then he didn't have much cause to object. He'd prefer him over the other snot-nosed brats that came running up to him flashing their plastic guns.

Satisfied with the new recruit, Harvey pulled out his phone and rang up JJ.

"Hey," the boy answered. "What's up? Where'd you run to?"

"No where," Harvey replied. "But listen, you know Austin, right? Joile's little friend?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"You need to start initiating."

"Nah, no way!"

"JJ..."

"Alright, but damn. Thought you weren't gonna accept this early in the year."

"Well, hell, I need some shit done and I ain't got time to do it myself. Plus, don't you and Marco need someone to-"

"Aww shit! You're right! Okay, I'll start on him tomorrow."

"Okay, cool. Bye. Bring him around to Cedar Park after school tomorrow. I'll meet ya'll there."

Harvey hung up and set his phone down next to him. Suddenly, a huge wave of exhaustion hit him and he buried his face in his hands before moving his fingers to grasp at the roots of his hair. The thought suddenly occurred to him that he needed to pick up his medicine, and his hands clenched tightly into fist. He could feel anger building inside of him. All the rage he'd suppressed growing up was slowly working it's way out in frequent, constantly flowing bouts of rage. He needed to fight someone - anyone. As his hands started to shake and his face started to heat up, he stood to go seek conflict.

"Hi."

Harvey groaned out loud and turned around to face the intruder, part of him wishing it was anyone durable enough to punch around for a while. When he saw it was Abbey his fist dropped and his irritation increased.

"I don't really want to talk right now," he forced out through clenched teeth.

"What's the matter?"

Harvey tensed and slapped the girl's hand away as she reached out to touch him.

"Damn, ya'll are grabby as hell. Just back up and go find your chaperon, alright? I don't know where your mommy is. If you got a question go ask someone else cause I'm closed for tonight."

Harvey turned then and stormed off away from the party. Half way down the street he fished his knife out of his pocket and twirled it in between his fingers. If he wasn't going to face off with Redmon's crew tonight, he'd find somehow else to relieve himself. And he knew the perfect place. Marty's stayed open 24-7, and the men there were always up for a brawl.

Abbey Duncan

Hmpff I say and mutter under my breath. I walk off away from Harvey frustrated. "Seems like I've made a new enemy." I say not loud enough to let anyone hear me. I let out a anger filled sigh and went to find Tyler, it was time for him to bring me home. I seen him sitting on a staircase alone, looking a little sad. "Take me home?" I asked him. "Uh sure. Why so early?" he asked. "I don't feel to good." I lie. It wasn't nice to lie but what else could I do..

I sighed and he got up to bring me home. Not a word was said and I didn't know what to say. "Good night." I say as I get out of his car. "Night." Tyler replied. I pulled my jacket over my head and pretended that I was going in but when he left I began walking down the streets. I needed time to clear my head. Before I knew it, I was in the middle of town, "Wow, time sure does fly when your thinking." I mutter.


I seen a club and I walked inside, thankfully free admission. Sitting down I listen to music for a while. "Want a drink? It's on the house, just don't tell anyone." the bartender said as he looked at me. I smile and say sure. "Margarita please, extra salt." I tell him. A few minutes later he came back with the drink. It tasted amazing and it made me happy. I drunk about 3 of them and left the bar.

Before I knew it, I fell to the ground, passing out on the sidewalk.

Tyler Clark

Going back to the party after I dropped Abbey off, it was lonely. I got tired of being alone and not really having friends. It was time for a change. I got out the car and headed straight for the drinks. Grabbing everything I saw I chugged it down. I just wanted to forget all the memories for once. Maybe admit things to myself and deny the fact I had a horrible life and it might only get worse from there.

By the end of the night I was drunk off my ass. I seen Lizzy talking to a few people and I walked up to her. "You are so beautiful!" I say to her. Then walked off before she even said anything. I walked up to another girl, I had no clue who she was, all I knew was her name was Blair. "Girl you have the most stunning eyes I have ever seen!" I said to her. She blushed and I walked off. I wanted to make everyone in the room feel special, at least all the girls.

I seen another girl, by the name of Jolie, and I said, "You.. you are pretty!" My mind was twisting, then all I saw in my mind was Abbeygale. She had been the girl of my dreams and I loved her with all my heart. Things have changed though. Maybe she wasn't right for me but for now, all you can do is try.

I spent the rest of my night just sitting in my car looking at everyone. Then left to go home. It was definitely time for bed. I walked in my house and fell fast asleep on my bed. It was so cozy.

Jaylee Alcantar - Party

You know the party was good when everyone there, mainly because more or less the place was loaded with stuff thanks to some stupid snobby girl who thought she could make friends by throwing a party. I did drink, but I only drunk beer or the occasional margarita or two. I didn't need to become an alcoholic. I was half way tempted to hack the computers so I could see how much money I could hack out of there account and send into mine. Giving the size of this place, I'd say there fairly successful people who brought up an idiot child.

I took a sip out of Bud Light Beer can, gotta love Bud Light, I looked around picking out who was here. Snakes, Metals, I'm surprised no one has picked a fight yet. Though I'm sure that'll change soon, and I was, sort of, crowds gathered as I saw Harvey Amos. The bastard who gave me the scar over my right eye. I subconceiously raise my hand to the scar, feeling it before dropping it back at my side. Then there was Lizzy, she was as beautiful and as angry as ever.

You could say I was crushing on Lizzy, I've loved women for as long as I can remember, Lizzy had the most perfect body that I wish I could make mine. I honestly didn't care for a relationship with her, I just wanted her in my bed. Anyways, after her stupid arguement with Harvey ended, I quickly followed after her, to many snakes here, they'll defend Harvey and we'll all get arrested. I'd rather keep a felony off my criminal record, and Lizzy out of jail.

"Yo Lizzy! wait up!" I called to her.

Lizzy turned around to look at me with a bottle of beer in her hands, her angry eye's soon replaced with that of her usual calm and cool eye's. Her scowl was replaced by some sort of softness of a kind heart she must still hold onto.

"You see Vivan?" she asked.

"Last I checked, she was getting wasted," I said.

"Damn it, where did you last see her?" she asked.\

"Upstairs bedroom, she was making out with some guy, I left because I thought they were going to get it on." I said.

Lizzy moved towards the stairs and I soon followed after her.

Vivian Moore

Oh, God. I'm turning into my mother.

Vivian really didn't care much for the craven woman, who barely remembered that she had two daughters at one point or that one of them was no longer there. She was a heavy drunkard but the problem mostly came from her various boyfriends, which Vivian didn't bother to remember the names of. Slightly disgusted with herself Vivian halfheartedly threw the half empty bottle on the ground, and rested her head on the side of the house. The night was peacefully cool and quiet, besides the noise coming from inside.

She had half a heart to fall asleep where she was, but wariness from being in an unfamiliar place roused her every time she tried to nod off. She put her arm over her eyes as the doors to the back porch opened, flashing lights and fast paced music leaking out. She pretended to be asleep, hoping that whoever it was would eventually go away. Instead, she felt eyes on her, waiting for her to look up.

Groaning, Vivian peeked underneath her arm to see Lizzy's signature hair leaning towards her, her green eyes as sharp and clear as the first time they laid eyes on each other. Vivian's mouth quirked in a lopsided smile when she saw her best friend, adjusting herself until she was sitting up and then patting the stair next to her, which Lizzy took.

"So what's up? See any garden snakes lately?" Vivian said, referring to her own cheesy nickname for the Snakes. It was then that Vivian saw the girl standing slightly behind Lizzy, a redhead with a jagged silvery scar running down her face and eyes made darker by the low light. She faintly recognized the girl, something with a J.

Something about the expensive alcohol was making Vivian unusually friendly, and she made a wide gesture for the girl to sit down also, which she did. Vivian propped up her leg and rested her elbow on it, looking to Lizzy as she spoke.

"I've been looking for you, and I want to see if you'll come back home." Vivian waited to see if this was a joke, but Lizzy's eyes were dead serious. Vivian's smile faded into a hard straight line. Lizzy knew how she felt about getting mixed up again in the gangs, and she knew why she couldn't. Lizzy was the only other person Vivian had told about Kate, which ended the barrage of threats to bully her back in. Something must have happened, or Lizzy wouldn't be here with her right now.

Lizzy must have seen the answer in Vivian's face, because she said, "Come on, Viv. The Metals need you right now. For shit's sake, I need you. Harvey ain't gonna fuck himself up."

Vivian ran her hand through her short black hair, her eyes darting to the other girl who was watching with an impassive look on her face. Secretly, Vivian had missed the Metals, with its rivalry and the familiarity with the other members and the alley fights and the slight dangerous edge it gave to everything. It was the best time in her life when she was with them, and without them she was nothing more than a hothead that was on the down slope of becoming like her mother, drunk and fucked over so many times that she stopped caring.

Finally, she looked back at Lizzy. "If I want to get out at any time, no matter how much you want me or need me or whatever, I walk away forever. No more Metals, no more Snakes, and you can't ask me to come back. Deal?" Vivian said, holding out her hand. Lizzy grinned, smacking Vivian's hand in a vigorous handshake.

"Deal."

"You are so beautiful!"

Lizzy's bright green eyes widened and she turned to see that one guy, Tyler, give her a drunken smile and stagger away. She didn't know how to react to that, so she took another swig of her beer. "Damn straight." She muttered, then turned and shoved her way through the crowd.

"Yo Lizzy! Wait up!" A voice rang out behind her.

Lizzy whirled around, her expression angry, ready to tell whoever it was off. But then she saw that it was Jaylee and felt her face soften a little. She quirked a brow and raised her beer in greeting, then took another drink of it.

"You see Vivian?" She asked.

"Last I checked, she was getting wasted." Jaylee said casually.

Lizzy groaned in frustration. "Damn it, where did you last see her?" She asked.

"Upstairs bedroom, she was making out with some guy, I left because I thought they were going to get it on."

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Lizzy whirled around on her heel and stormed up the stairs, followed by the redhead.

She found the pixie haired girl sitting outside, head leaned against the house, pretending to be asleep. Knowing Viv as well as she did, Lizzy called bullshit on that. "Now, you and I know perfectly well that you will never sleep at an unfamiliar house." Lizzy chuckled as she leaned over to nudge the girl's hand, making her open her eyes. Lizzy gave her a bright smile, which was promptly returned.

"So what's up? See any garden snakes lately?" Vivian joked, referring to the cheesy nickname she made for the Snakes.

Lizzy tried to smile as she remembered the encounter with Harvey, how close they stood to each other, and how odd she was starting to feel whenever she was around him.

Lizzy shook her head, accidentally whipping Jaylee with her teal hair as the redhead took a seat beside her. "I've been looking for you, and I want to see if you'll come back home." She said solemnly, staring at Viv with serious eyes. She was the only other person Vivian had told about Kate, and Lizzy knew how she felt about the trouble the gangs might cause her.

Lizzy noted the look on Vivian's face and did something she never did - pleaded with her former best friend. "Come on, Viv. The Metals need you right now. For shit's sake, I need you. Harvey ain't gonna fuck himself up." There it was again, her stomach twisting at his name. Lizzy glare down at it, confused and annoyed, then continued to plead with Viv.

Finally, she looked back at Lizzy. "If I want to get out at any time, no matter how much you want me or need me or whatever, I walk away forever. No more Metals, no more Snakes, and you can't ask me to come back. Deal?" Vivian said, holding out her hand. Lizzy grinned, smacking Vivian's hand in a vigorous handshake.

"Deal." Lizzy chimed happily, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She turned to smile at Jaylee, happy to have her gang all together, then pulled out her phone to check the time. "Midnight. This party was fun and all, but I'm bored." Lizzy announced, standing up to leave.

She waved goodbye, then went back downstairs to stalk through the crowd. Her eyes easily found Simon, and she grabbed his ear, dragging him off to the car so she could go home and try to get some sleep, try to forget the stupid shit that happened with Harvey. It was stupid, approaching him like that. They really did need to learn how to be civil towards each other, especially when they were just trying to have a good time at a party. In fact, even most of the gang members wished they could get a break every once and a while, but it was their leaders who always seemed to gravitate towards each other whenever in a 5 mile radius. They had some sort of war going on that no one could explain, not even them. It just sort of happened.

*~*~*~*~*~

Seventh period World History with Mrs. Chacon. It was a subject that Lizzy always had the best grade in, and it was one of her favorite classes to take for the past three years. It would have been her favorite class this year, too, if it wasn't for the fact that she had absolutely no friends in that class. That, and Harvey Amos.

They gave each other a disdainful glare as Lizzy entered the room. She gazed at him with unreadable green hues for a moment, then continued walking past him to take her assigned seat in the back.

As Mrs. Chacon took roll, Lizzy idly drew a snake being eaten by a gopher on her notebook. She only perked up when the teacher started talking about projects that they would be starting today, and that would be due in three weeks. It was a big part of their grade, she explained, and that they would need a partner's help.

"Don't get so excited." She called over the murmur of the students. "Because I'll be assigning your partners."

Ignoring the groans, Mrs. Chacon took a look at her roll and started to call out names. Lizzy was only half paying attention, listening for her name as she shifted around inside her bag for a tube of Chapstick.

".. Harold and Lisa.. Jamie and Kelly.. Lizzy and Harvey.."

"What?!" Lizzy's outraged yell was echoed as Harvey shouted at the same time, both of them jumping to their feet. Their eyes met, and Lizzy started at him incredulously, before turning to the teacher. "Mrs. Chacon, may I please have a different partner?"

"Well, sure.. If you give me a valid reason, other than the fact that you don't like Mr. Amos. This isn't middle school, Ms. Redmon." Mrs. Chacon said a bit sharply, putting a hand on her hip and staring at Lizzy.

"But-"

"I refuse to work with her. " Harvey snarled. The room was silent as the other students, who knew of the rival leaders hatred for each other, started at the argument.

"That's too bad, Mr. Amos, because you have to." She said, turning to stare down Harvey.

"Then I won't do the project." Harvey said, his tone cold.

"Then you get an F for the semester."

Lizzy couldn't help but gasp in shock at that, staring at the new teacher in disbelief.

Mrs. Chacon leveled Harvey with a glare. "You will do this project, Harvey, or you will fail this semester and won't be able to walk across stage." With that said, she continued to read out names.

Slowly, Harvey and Lizzy sank down into their seats, staring off into space, lost in their own thoughts. Occasionally, their eyes would drift over to catch the gaze of the other and quickly look away.

The last thirty minutes of class, the teacher said, was for them to talk with their partner and discuss the project.

Lizzy grimaced and rubbed her eyes, careful not to smear her makeup, then sighed and stood up. Not wanting to fail her senior year, she picked up her bag and History notebook, then slowly walked over to where Harvey was sitting.

"Uh.. Hi." She said awkwardly, pulling a chair out and sitting rather close to him, due to the limited space. Their knees brushed and Lizzy felt a small shiver run through her body. She placed her bag on the floor and the notebook in her lap, then slowly lifted her green eyes to meet his own, trying her best to be civil as she awaited a response.

Austin Ramirez

"I don't know Jo...Harvey seems a bit hostile sometimes." I say to Jolie as she drives us to school. She shakes her head, her face full of smiles.

"Nah, he's just a muscular but lanky teddy bear, babe." She says with a roll of her eyes.

"And anyways...what type of errands? I mean...is he gonna have me deal drugs, or steal a car, or like kill someone?" I ask my voice rising. Jolie rolls her eyes.

"Austi, this isn't grand theft auto dude. He's probably just gonna try to have you do some stupid initiation thing. Harvey... he's a really good guy, ya know? I kinda wanna start becoming better friends with him." She says, her eyes taking on a weird gazey look. I just nod as I listen to her. Her and Harvey...they've both been through some pretty tough stuff, or so I hear. But if she wants to be friends with him, its no skin off my bones. I just need to make sure that she's safe, but I trust in her decision.

"Do you wanna go somewhere this weekend Jo? We haven't really...vacationed together in awhile." I say quietly. She shoots me a bright smile.

"Of course I would babe."

Jaylee Alcantar - At School

I loved Seventh period Computer Info Tech, I loved computers, and school computers are so easy to hack an amatur could do it! I was a professional. So there I was sitting at a computer as I had my computer program incerted into the computer, I kept watch out of the corner of my eye for Ms Geenen. Last I need is her seeing what I was doing with my program. My program came in a flash drive that held the program. You can imagine I carry it on me at all times if I ever needed to hack a computer quickly.

Now, I had a rap list, a very long rap list, I've hacked school computers to change my grades and scores. I've hacked small companies and sent transfered money into an alias account. But I haven't done it since I got here to Griffen High, for one reason, I like it here at Griffen High. I actually had friends here, or at least, felt like I had friends here. I wanted to keep that, all the fights I got into all over the country, all the foster homes I went to. They were each to protect myself from the feds who would come looking for the computer and account.

I'm sure the police have figured out the hackings have been following me, and that I've been doing them. I wonder why they haven't come atfter me yet? I've remained vigalentte, watched for tails, and survalience. Something was beginning to feel very, very, off. Maybe I was becoming paranoid or something. Anyways, out of the corner of my eye I saw Ms. Geenen checking the computers, I minimize all the programs and open Microsoft Power Point, we were supposed to be researching a city and everything about it. I chose Italy.

"Remember, this is due at the end of the week, you will presenting Friday." she said specking to the class, though no one answered her.

She passes me right by, and I wait a second before openning the programs back up and continue my work. I jump when I suddenly see someone out of the corner of my eye.

Abbeygale Duncan

I woke up the next day in my bed. I don't know how I got there nor did I care. I looked at the clock. "Dammit I'm late for class!" I yell and jump up to get ready for school. I got in my car and I was there a few minutes later and I pulled into the nearest parking spot available. I smiled when I saw Tyler's car. At least he wasn't late. I seen him walking down the hall and he just ignored me.

"What's going on?" I ask him. "I can't talk to you.. I'm in the Metal's gang." he told me. I scoffed and just stood there. "What?! Why?" I asked. Tears welted my eyes and I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Well Lizzy told me to join her gang." he said. I rolled my eyes. He was just a little puppet to me now. I felt sorry for myself and for him at the same time.

"Whatever. What happened to best friends?" I asked. "People change." he said without any feeling or sympathy. He walked off and joined a group where Lizzy was. I rolled my eyes and went to Mudge's class. Sitting three chairs away from Tyler.


Tyler Clark

Walking away from Abbey was the hardest thing I had ever done. But it had to be done. For the better good, it's not like Lizzy told me not to talk to her, but I knew at this point Abbey might become a snake. It was best this way.

I smiled at the look of her disgusted face in Mudge's class. It was nice to see her and all but people had changed, we took different paths in the long run and maybe we just aren't that good together to even be friends. We had made a pact when we were younger to never let anyone change us or get between us but I guess I broke that.

"Alright class, as you know, every teacher is assigning a project, so I think I will too." Mudge said. "I will be assigning groups of two tomorrow and this project is due 2 weeks before school is out." he says.

"Please don't put me with Abbey." I say to myself. That would hurt to much. Sitting with Lizzy's group made me feel as if I was actually a part of something. It made me feel great about myself.


****@Ignorance I hope this was okay just to go ahead and put Tyler in your gang. If not then let me know!

Blair Chesterfield

I sat in computer class, staring at my fingers, twirling a pencil around in my hand acrobatically. My tongue rolled over my lips, deep in thought. Those thoughts raced through my mind in ten different directions, dashing down one street before turning and sprinting down an adjacent one.

First, Toby...While I had learned so much about him the previous night, I had learned absolutely nothing. I knew he went to Lake Michigan High, and that he worked at a car show downtown near the city. I knew he was charming, and had a clever smile. Still, I had no idea why he was at the party last night, or what was lurking beneath the cover of his bright eyes. I also knew if I ever wanted to get him drunk in the future, two beers wouldn't even get close.

Second, the cleaning crew....they were depressingly behind schedule, and had only another 24 hours before my parents would get home from Milan (I think they're in Milan?). I checked my watch-23 hours...

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jaylee...I searched for her last name. Was it Antler? Jaylee was running a series of programs across her screen. Suddenly curious, I walked over and bent down beside her. She jumped a little when she saw me.

I gave her a wink, "I like the way your project is coming along,"

"Do you mind?" Jaylee whispered, giving me a once over. She pulled up a power point to cover most of her screen, the topic was the 'city' of Italy.

I backed off a little, "Sorry, I was just curious." At the bottom of her screen, I saw the logo of Lake Michigan High, the web page pulled up and open. Suddenly inspired, I walked over to my own computer and opened up the webpage for Toby's school. I scanned through the front page news articles. It moderately occurred to me what I was doing border lined creepy-

STUDENTS TO DO PROJECT ON DIVERSITY

The headline caught my eye instantly, and I couldn't move my hand fast enough to select the link. I reached to rest my chin on my closed hand as I read through the article. Was this the answer to Toby's appearance at the party last night? I was as intrigued, if not a little frustrated.

It dawned on me that maybe all his attention had been faked for the sake of his project.

Pushing that thought aside, my hand reached down to feel the outline of my car keys in my pocket. My fingers traced over the shape, then over the sequins lining the outside edge of the pocket. I needed the paint on the front of my car touched up, to cover the damage some freshman had scratched on the front. Thankfully, I knew someone who did just that job.

I printed off the article and put it in my pocket next to my keys. I'd visit Toby at the shop right after school, get my car fixed and possibly put an end to one of the questions that felt like a little pulse on the back of my head where my long curls met my skin.

Harvey Amos

Harvey winced as he pulled the stitching needle through his eyebrow. He'd only just gotten home, right as the first shy rays of sunlight were starting to peak over the buildings and leak onto the streets. He'd stayed longer than he meant to at Marty's, got in more fights than he intended, but made a handsome amount of cash that went straight from his pocket and right into his medical bills. His advantage was that no one ever betted on him to win - no, not that skinny lanky guy sucking desperately on a cigarette - but he always won. Harvey jumped and swore as the needle snagged a extra chunk of skin that it wasn't supposed to. He'd had some practice in stitching himself up, some mediocre first aid, but he made mistakes, more than what was safe. Blood ran into his eye as he jerked the needle upwards, and his neighbors banged on the walls when they heard him crying out. By the time the work was done, it was time to go to school. Harvey ran downstairs to Jene's apartment and grabbed a quick wash and a clean shirt before thanking the man and rushing off. He didn't hear the "Stay safe" that the man yelled after him.

"Damn! Tough night?"

"Shut up."

JJ laughed as Harvey slid into the passenger seat of his car.

"Man, you look like shit."

"Shut up, J."

"Seriously though, those stitches look gnarly as hell."

Harvey reached over and slapped JJ on the back of the head. The boy cursed out loud and swerved, almost hitting a car in the opposite lane. Marco's laugh from the backseat nearly drowned out the chorus on horn honks, but JJ's face didn't mirror the other boy's joy.

"You trying to kill us," JJ sputtered out as he regained control of the wheel.

"Nah, just you."

"Alright, asshole."

Harvey laughed then, and gave the boy a friendly clap on the shoulder which he flinched away from.

"Keep acting like that and people are gonna think we abuse you," Marco piped up with a soft snort of laughter.

"Hardy har har. Shut up and let me drive."

---

Harvey let his head fall down onto his desk. He'd tried to skip off to Coach Sander's for the day, but the man had decided the second day of school would be a nice personal day off. He wasn't really complaining though, he really wasn't up to a whole seven hours of running around and being hit by poor pitches and weak tackles. He groaned out loud as an attempt to sit up straight sent sharp pains coursing through his abdomen, and glared at Lizzy extra hard when she walked through the door as if she was the cause of his pain - which was true in most cases. He watched her as she walked over to her seat, his eyes fixed steadily on her until she sat down. He relaxed then, leaned back in his chair and stretched. It wasn't long before he was dozing off.

He vaguely heard something about partners, but was too uninterested to care. He wasn't doing any of the work anyway. It was only when she started assigning partners - which none of his teachers had ever done before - that his ears perked and his attention was grabbed.

"...and Kelly... Lizzy and Harvey-"

"What?!"

Harvey stood up in his chair and took a few angry strides towards the teacher.

"I refuse to work with her!"

"That's too bad, Mr. Amos, because you have to."

"Then I won't do the project," he replied easily.

"Then you get an F for the semester. You will do this project, Harvey, or you will fail this semester and won't be able to walk across stage."

Harvey cursed and ran a hand through his hair nervously. He didn't exactly need a diploma for what he aspired to be after graduation, but one of the only things he remembered about his mother was that she wanted him to graduate, no matter what. Harvey's father, in his life, never let him forget that. It was always "Do it for your mother" and Harvey did because she was the last relative he'd ever loved that he didn't grow to eventually hate, and he liked to make himself believe that he'd love her even if she was still alive. So, defeated, he sat back down, and thought of a million different ways to kill Lizzy if she so much as looked at him the wrong way.

--

"Uh... hi."

Harvey felt Lizzy's knee brush against his as she slid into her seat and clenched his hands into tight fist. A weird feeling settled in the pit of his stomach and he frowned at it, but decided to ignore it. Being in such a close proximity to Redmon made his blood boil, but he closed his eyes and blew off steam. After taking a deep breath, he met Lizzy's gaze.

"I ain't doing shit, Redmon, so I hope you know how to make an A," he said as calmly as possible.

He watched as her face puffed up in anger and fished lazily in his pocket for his pack and lighter - he could already feel himself becoming stressed. When she opened her mouth to speak, he silenced her quickly with a wave of his hand, lit his cigarette, and then spoke.

"You must be completely insane if you think that I'm going to work on anything with you, sweetheart," he said with a lazy smile. "So get that little fantasy out of your head right now. I don't do projects, especially not with you rusty Metals."

Being this close to him, normally, in an un-violent was unnatural for Lizzy. It was too close for comfort, yet somehow she felt oddly at ease, her eyes noticing things they had never seen before. Stitches in his eyebrow. Scars on his face. Sculpted, chapped lips. Angry forest green eyes that studied her with disdain, yet something else in the depths, but before she could inquire about it, Harvey spoke.

"I ain't doing shit, Redmon, so I hope you know how to make an A."

His words, and the arrogant way he held himself, made Lizzy's eyes flash angrily. She felt her cheeks flush and sat there for a moment, flabbergasted, as he fished out a pack of cigarettes and lit one up.

The smoke made her gag in disgust and she leaned forward, about to say something, when he let out an exhale of smoke in her face and cut her off.

"You must be completely insane if you think that I'm going to work on anything with you, sweetheart. So get that little fantasy out of your head right now. I don't do projects, especially not with you rusty Metals."

Lizzy's hands slammed down on the desk and she rose to her feet, her face livid with hatred. She leaned forward and glared into his eyes, murder evident in her tense figure. "If you don't do any work, you will not get any credit for it, Amos. What are you, a fucking middle schooler? Grow up. This is your senior year, why don't you start becoming a man and learn to push aside petty hatreds for something important, like your goddamn diploma."

She said the words calmly, but her shoulders were shaking with barely contained rage. She had tried to be civil. She just wanted to get this done, and early, so they can move on with their lives. Why was it so hard for him to just work with her?

Why did he hate her so much?

No, fuck the self pity. She didn't need his approval. All she needed from him was his half of the work and that's it. "I'll figure out what our project is going to be and inform you on what half is your half. If you don't do anything, so help me Harvey, I will not put your name on this project. You will fail and I will laugh as I walk across stage and get the fuck out of this shit ass town."

The words flew out of her mouth, thrown at him hard, knocking the wind out of her as she finally reached the end of her rant. Chest heaving, she took a deep breath, unconsciously inhaling the disgusting second hand smoke he was releasing into the air.

She coughed, turning her head to try and clear her lungs. She heard others cough too, and it sparked her rage again. She turned. Her hand brushed his, making her stomach do that odd clenching thing again, as she grabbed Harvey's cigarette and dropped it on the ground. Eyes locked with his, she firmly lifted her foot into the air and squashed it like a bug, twisting her sole in to put out the flame.

"You are disgusting. You may be okay with dying from lung cancer but I'm not, and neither are they." She hissed, gesturing to the class, who had gone silent and was watching them with wide eyes. She jabbed a finger into his chest, hard. "Grow up, Harvey Amos."

With that said, she picked up her stuff and stormed out of the classroom, never bothering to look back.

~*~*~*~*~

"Let's kill her."

"Simon, we can't just kill a teacher because she won't let me change partners." Lizzy sighed in frustration, rubbing her eyes tiredly as Simon smirked at her through the webcam.

"We can too! Alright, fine, how about blackmail?"

"No."

"Crying?"

"No."

"Begging?"

"Hell no."

"C'mon, Lizzy, if I didn't know you any better, I'd think that you wanted to work with Amos."

"Not funny!" Lizzy snapped, glaring at Simon before noticing the time on her clock. "Speaking of, I gotta sign off. I need to figure out the project and divide it up so he can have his half." She sighed and leaned over the side of the bed to grab up her notebook, then opened it to a new page.

A thought occurred to her and she groaned. "Fuck, Simon, I don't trust him one bit. We're gonna have to work on this together. I don't want to fail because of his misogyny."

Simon was too pissed off to care that she was throwing big words at him. "You want to work with that pig? Alone? Hell no. I'll come with you."

"No, Simon. You'll just make things worse. That's final!" Lizzy's voice grew angered and more demanding as he started to protest, displaying the control she had over her gang that she rarely showed. "I'll see you tomorrow." With that said, she logged off of Skype and onto her Facebook, opening Google in the another tab.

Two new friend requests. Blair Chesterfield and Nicolet Franz. Lizzy accepted both, then decided to send both a friendly hello chat.

While she waited for a response, she switched tabs and racked her brain. What historical event to do a project on? They had to do a poster board and a two page essay, due by the end of the semester, which was before winter break.

Tapping a pencil to her desk, she sighed and rubbed her tired green eyes again, then tried to remember. There was the World Wars, the Revolutions, the Cold War, the Manhattan project.. So many wonderful events.

World War II. That was her favorite, and one she favored when it came to learning. She decided to make Harvey do the poster board, since he would fuck up the essay, most likely.

Nodding to herself, Lizzy switched tabs again and saw that both girls had responded back. She chatted with both of them and realized that she liked them both, even the supposed stuck up Blair. They seemed rather trustworthy, but Lizzy knew better than to trust people she didn't know very well, so she kept it friendly.

Blair gave Lizzy her number, then logged off, so she was only chatting with Nicolet now. As they chatted, the subject of the gangs came up and Nicolet, rather timidly, asked if she could join the Metals.

Yawning and way ready for bed, Lizzy thought, why not? She told Nicolet to meet her at school in the morning for initiation, which wasn't really as bad as it seemed, then logged off and climbed into bed.

She was out in seconds and dreamed about things that disturbed her, like clowns and spiders and, ironically, snakes.

(People mentioned: @Nike @TheAlibi @reisepiecey

Nicolet Kenzie Franz

After I left the party, I hitched a ride with a few people. Marcus left the party on his own I guess. I hooked up with some guy in the car we were in, but never went to his place. Thank God. Didn't wanna do that again.

Once I got home, I went on Facebook. I had managed to get a hold of Lizzie Redmon. She was a part of the Metals and that's all I ever wanted to be in. I knew her and she was pretty chill. She said I could join after some thing we take care of at school. Wonderful.

I fell asleep and woke up to a bright sun that just burned my retnas. Getting ready, I hopped into the bathroom and took care of myself. Throwing on a mini skirt, a black tank top and burgundy vest, I headed off to my car. I had to pick up Marcus on the way.

Once I got to the school, so dreadful, I met up with Lizzie, on the dot. As in, in perfect timing. She smiled once she saw me walk up to her.

"Ey girl." I said. "So, how does this work?"



Tobias Greenwood

God did I hate waking up for school the next morning. My head pounded, and my body felt dead. I managed to take care of myself and get the Lake Michigan, looking all perfect and awake.

"Mr. Greenwood, look at you." my girlfriend, Wendy said.

I pulled some books out of my locker and threw them into my backpack. Once I got everything, I shut it softly, trying to dodge any more pain in my head. Wendy was smiling once I faced her. Maybe it was because of the new yellow-sunshiny-dress she was wearing.

"Hey babe," I smiled, leaning down to kiss her.

"You taste like alcohol." she cringed.

"Now, how is that possible if I drank it last night, honey?"

"It's alcohol babe, it stays. That's why I don't drink."

I had no idea why I was dating her. Maybe because we've been together since forever and it was easy to be with her. Or maybe because her father was the principal of the school and he already hated me. But seriously, we've been together since the seventh grade. It was tiring.

"Right Wen," I pulled her into a side hug as we started walking down the hallway.

"Wendy." she corrected me, yet again.

Squeezing her shoulder, we kept walking. I spotted Ryan and Bryan, twin brothers, just ahead of us. Waving to them, the smiled at us. Once we reached her class, memorized by moi, AP Biology: Room 109, I gave her a soft kiss and watched her go inside. I was headed in the direction to my class, Normal Biology, but then I saw the library. There were computers in there and I could do more with my project for Sociology.

I loved this project and I just got assigned to it two weeks ago. Learning why that school differed from ours and seeing how different the students are really interested me. And I wanted to be able to continue to find out. But my curiosity might have been sparked even more from the amazing parties, and Blair.

"Damn," I heard myself whisper.

Walking into the library, I sat down at the computer and logged myself in. I clicked on the web browser and hit Facebook.

There was a friend request. Blair Chesterfield? Was that the girl from that party? I clicked her name and her profile popped up. Yup. The same face. I clicked approve in a heart beat. She was online.

Clicking her name in the chat, I typed to her.

Hey

Blair Chesterfield

My phone buzzed softly in my pocket, and I looked around to ensure no one had heard it. I was still paranoid, even though texting in class was socially accepted if not encouraged. A small blue box popped up on the screen of my phone, and I smiled, seeing Toby had sent me a message.

Reminding myself to keep my head on straight, I sent him a message.

Hey, you working today? I need some touch up paint on my hood.

While I waited for a response, I looked around. My conversation last night with Lizzy had set some wheels turning in my head. She was a sweet girl, but I knew there was something underneath the anger she seemed to share with Harvey. Originally, I thought it was just and old, bitter relationship. But now I knew it was something much more than that.

Lizzy had mentioned a big event this evening in the downtown that Griffin High kids (and some of the teachers) crashed every year. It had almost sounded like an invitation when she said it, an invite for me to join the raid on one of the prep school's Music Fest. Annually, almost all of the power would go at once and a few bass guitars always went missing. Last year, a drum set went too.

I had long since decided to go to the raid.

When in Rome...

_______________

I pulled up at the auto shop, the late afternoon sun shining bright even through my shades. I adjusted where they sat on the bridge of my nose, my fingers lightly clasping the silver Louis Vuitton label.

I stepped out of my car, and heard a few appreciative whistles.

"Nice ride," I heard a familiar voice behind me, "Mercedes SLK?"

I turned to see Toby walking towards me, a cloth in one hand and a smile on his face.

"Yeah, I needed you to take a look at a few things for me," I raised my eyebrow, throwing him a coy smile, "starting with this." Out of my bag, I pulled the article I had found on his school's website. At this point, Toby was standing next to me, hesitant to mimic my posture and lean against the car. So instead he stood in front of me, so I was caught between the car and his body.

He skimmed the article with a smirk, and I let one eyebrow raise again, questioning him. I didn't need to speak for him to know what I was asking. Gently in my chest, I felt the pace of my heart quicken as I realized what I was doing, and what his answer meant. I looked around quickly, worried about being seen by anyone...worried about being played.

The light reflected off his light blonde hair and into his green eyes, illuminating both his confidence and something else...a trait I had yet to put my finger on.

Toby didn't say anything for a long moment, so I finally spoke, "Was that why you were at the party last Friday?"

Tobias Greenwood

"You couldn't get me out of your mind, could you?" I asked, smirking.

She just looked away, unsure of what to say for that second. Taking the article from her hand, I skimmed it. Yup, it was about that project. I was a bad researcher. I was caught in a mere of twenty-four-hours. Sighing deeply, I handed it back to her.

"Were you at the party for this project Toby?" Blair asked, insistent.

"Yeah, I was. I was caught." I put my arms up as if I were under arrest.

Smiling, she folded the paper and slipped it back into her purse. She had a great smile, bright and beautiful. Dammit Toby, stop.

"So... this project is on what exactly?"

"The difference between your high school and mine. Like public versus private." I said. "So, do you want me to take care of your hood?"

She looked at me a little lost then regained herself.

"Yeah, it's just over there." Walking around me, she got to the hood and pointed at something. I joined her and spotted the mark.

"That's easy." I smiled. "And Blair... don't think this project is the only reason I went to that party. It was an excuse to go. Would you mind helping me on it?"


Nicolet Kenzie Franz