C9 Chapter Nine

Brielle

7:04 AM

I placed both of my hands on Scott's chest, trying to push him away from Christopher, but to no avail. The two stared at each other, their jaws tight, waiting for the other to make the first move. Before that could happen, I butted in.

"Please, don't do this. I've had a bad enough day as it is," I pleaded to Scott, my eyes round. He grew hesitant as his glare softened, not knowing whether to listen to me or not. I assumed he chose the latter when he averted my eyes, locking onto Christopher's once more.

I grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at me. "Please, just be my brother and listen to me." I let my eyes be vulnerable, and express all of the hurt that I had experienced today already.

"Please," I whispered.

He gave me a small nod before turning towards Christopher, his finger now pointed at his chest.

"If you ever get near my sister again, by the time I'm through with you, you're going to wish you were dead." I figured that then wasn't the right time to tell him about me and Christopher's joint punishment.

He wrapped his arm around me, comforting me, while we left the principal's office. Once we were a good distance away, I stopped, turning towards him.

"Why do you and Christopher hate each other?" I questioned. This question had been bugging me ever since the incident in my driveway. "Shouldn't you guys be friends since you're both on the football team?"

His face grew pale, his eyes quickly flashing an emotion that I couldn't quite decipher.

"Drop it." He clipped, turning away from me. I would usually just let it go, but whatever happened was important enough for him to punch Christopher in the face. And whether I liked Christopher or not, between practicing for the showcase and scraping the gum off the bleachers, I was going to be spending a lot of time with him.

"No," I demanded, moving in front of him. "You always shut me out, but not with this. Not when whatever is going on between you two affects me. I deserve to know." I crossed my arms, standing my ground.

"I said," he spat out, his voice basically dripping with venom, "Drop it." He stormed down the hallway, leaving me standing there alone.

"Fine." I mumbled under my breath, turning around and heading for my second period class. His suddenly moodiness was only the cherry on top of an already bad day.

I huffed. If all of Junior year was going to be like this, then it was going to be one rocky ride.

*****

"Can you pass the spray?"

Christopher and I were currently scraping the gum out from under the bleachers. I nearly gagged when I saw how much ground there was to cover. I didn't think that the punishment could get any worse, but after I took one look under the seats, I was proven wrong. All the metal underneath was hidden, covered by a layer of multi-colored gum.

I took the spray from by my feet and threw it at Christopher. It was immature of me, but considering that he was nearly a foot taller than me, it was the best I could do to let out my frustration.

"Are you seriously mad at me?" he questioned, picking up the bottle and spraying the hardened gum.

My head whipped in his direction, shocked that he would actually have the nerve to ask me that.

"Yes Christopher," I fumed. "I am mad at you. Anyone would be after all the crap that you put me through." I began scraping more viciously, imagining the dried paste as Christopher's face.