GABRIEL***I tapped my finger on my phone screen, thinking of what I wanted to write. I was writing a message to the person who had texted me and I wanted to make sure that it was a message that would make them feel like they were losing because I was sure Emily was involved.I wanted to piss her off and get a punch of my own in after the absolute chaos she had brought into my own life. I needed to get some points on the scoreboard I was sure she had a mental record of. I needed to catch up.What message would piss her off? I needed it to be something that she didn't expect. What had she expected when she got the person to text me and ask me if I was sure I was okay with being exposed? I suspected that it was the response I had given: the fact that I had actually gotten nervous and shown her that I was afraid.She had gotten so much satisfaction from it, I could tell by the way she had acted. The crazy look in her eye shone like something crazy when I showed her I was afraid. The app
EMILY***“I thought I would find you here,” Tiffany said, walking towards Harry and me.I wished she could look into my eyes to see what I was trying to say, which was: it’s not what it looks like. She avoided looking me in the eyes though, which was too bad. She seemed to be focused on Harry. I turned back to look at him and I had never seen Harry look so scared and defeated in his life. What had happened between them? It made me scared of Tiffany, the fact that she could instill that much fear in someone.It made me wonder whether working with her was the right thing to do. Was I really safe? What if I did something she didn’t like, like what I was doing at that moment, for example? What if it rubbed her the wrong way and she decided to go back on the promise she made to me?“Here I am,” I said, standing up. I would make sure I didn't give her a reason to ruin me and if it meant not talking to Harry then that was what I would do starting from that moment. I walked towards her.She
GABRIEL***The more time went by without getting a response, the more I knew that I had won this round. I didn’t know what her scoreboard looked like, but mine was at one-one. I wasn’t too petty to admit that she had won with the thing at dinner but I had definitely won with this one.I didn’t have to see her face to know that I had pissed her off and immensely at that. I had done the opposite of what she had expected me to do and I was sure she was wondering what her next move was. I couldn’t lie, I was thrilled. I was excited and overjoyed and I couldn't think of anything better to bring me joy. It suddenly didn’t matter that she had embarrassed me that night. Besides, did it really matter if there had been no other witnesses? It was her word against mine and I had always won in instances like those.I had the power to influence a crowd and she didn’t. I had just scored it as a victory on her part so that it was a more realistic win when I actually won at the end of it all. It had
Bakersville High School“Have a great day,” Gabriel said as he walked away from Emily.They were standing at her locker in school. Nobody else might have known this, but it was a monumental moment for her. This was the first time since kindergarten that Gabriel had acknowledged her presence in public. It was a big deal. A very big deal. She wished she could tell everyone who could listen about it but there were few people who would want to listen and even fewer people who would listen and understand and rejoice at the fact that this was good news to her. It had been a few weeks since Gabriel had sent her the note and the flowers, and she still couldn’t believe that any of this was happening. She was still expecting that at one point she would wake up and realize that all of that had been a dream. It would make more sense, given that all this was so foreign.It was surprising that Gabriel was treating her so well. So surprising in fact, that she had expected the joke to appear at som
EMILY***“We seem to be meeting a lot nowadays,” Harry said as he sat across from me.I couldn’t help but laugh. It was true. This was our second meeting since the last one was interrupted by Tiffany. He had called me out this time and it was just as well because u needed to tie up loose ends and make sure the both of us were on the same page and also to make sure I was in Tiffany's good books. I didn't want to risk getting in trouble with her. She held too much power and I couldn't anger her.She had walked away from me that day after showing me the text from Gabriel and after I had recovered I had noticed that she was not happy. She was not at all pleased with the fact that I had met with Harry, for whatever reason. She had left me with two things to worry about. Not only was I worried about Gabriel and how I would exact my revenge, but I was also worried about her and whether she would stay on my side given the new circumstances.I hoped she would. I prayed she would. She had to.
GABRIEL***I was supposed to meet Harper that day but I didn't bother going. I made an excuse about feeling extra tired and I felt bad about it but I would feel worse if I went and then proceeded to be distracted the whole time. I was distracted. I had been ever since I saw Emily and Harry at the cafe. It had been days since but I couldn't help but think about the interaction and how it had made me feel.Jealous. It had made me feel jealous and I needed to admit it, even though admitting it annoyed me. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't my heart just function normally, loving the people who loved me as normal people did? Why did it have to keep beating for someone it hated at the same time? Why couldn't it pick a side?I was getting sick and tired of the back and forth, of loving and hating and loving again. I wished I could turn my feelings on and off as I pleased. I would turn on feelings of love for Harper and turn off all the feelings I had for Emily, even the ones of hate. I
EMILY***I had one less thing to worry about now that I had wrapped things up with Harry. It freed me up to focus on the other thing that was worrying me, which was Gabriel and his infuriating response to the text I had sent him through Tiffany.It still made my blood boil when I thought about it, and it was almost two weeks since he sent it. It was just as well that we had not met in that time because I couldn't possibly imagine seeing his face. He would know I was angry because I couldn't hide it.He wouldn't know why but he would get some strange satisfaction from it given that he needed a win. I needed to work fast. I had given him enough time to gloat, whether he knew that it was a chance I'd given him or not. I needed to put him back in his place and make him quiver once again. The scores were one to one on my scoreboard and I needed to get a few punches in while he was still unaware of what was happening.For all he knew, he was just being threatened by someone behind a phone
GABRIEL***"You don’t look too happy to be going over to Emily’s. Is everything okay?" Mom asked.I was driving us to dinner and my jaw was clenched so hard I was surprised I hadn't snapped a tooth. I was not happy and everything was not okay. I had gotten a text two days before that had yet again done a good job of shaking me to my core. I had begun to get scared when my phone buzzed and I had hoped to ignore that message but I knew I couldn't ignore it for any longer. I would just have to open it.I think you’re saying that because you think I'm exposing what happened to you growing up. That's not it. It wouldn't do me any good to expose that because you're the victim. What I am about to expose shows you for who you really are. A monster. If Emily had hoped that this message would have me shaking, she was right. She was right and it infuriated me that she was right. The scores had changed. It was two to one now. But this was no longer funny. This was turning serious quicker than
EMILY***"You guys knew about it, didn’t you?" I asked Nila and Julie who were suddenly awfully quiet when Gabriel walked in."Who, me? I have no idea what you're talking about?" Nila asked while holding her hands to her chest in mock surprise.We all laughed."I won't lie and say I didn't know. In fact, I had a meeting with him to make sure he had changed for good," Julie said.She was always so intense. I loved it."Thanks for looking out for me," I said to her."You know I got you. Always," she said.
GABRIEL***"We're home," Mom said as she opened the door to our house.She dumped her bag onto the living room floor and went around every room as if she was announcing her presence. I shook my head. I knew she had forgotten all about it and so I picked it up and carried it to her room before I went to mine.It felt good to be back. It had been a great year, a year I would never forget but being home felt great. It felt like a sigh of relief. I had made it back. I had done it. My mother and I had chosen to relocate temporarily because it felt like a good idea to just start over in a place that was unplugged and away from real life and all the responsibilities that real life demanded from us.It had been healing to be in a place where no one kn
EMILY***“We’re gonna be late,” Nila said to me.“Just a minute,” I said as I put the finishing touches on my outfit.I was a perfectionist in everything my dressing included. Besides, today was a special day for someone special to me and I needed to look the part.“Okay, I'm ready,” I said as I turned to face Nila, “how do I look?” I asked.“You look.. Stunning,” she said, “you look really great.”“Thank you, you do too,” I said to her and she curtsied and smiled.
THE END(Bakersville High school)“Emily doesn’t want to see you right now,” Terry said to Gabriel and he could tell by the tone of her voice that she didn’t want to see him too.He still didn’t know what he had done. Was this still about the stupid argument they had had that past weekend? He wanted to believe that that was what it was but something felt incredibly off.Something very bad had happened but he had no idea what it was and he had no way of finding out either because Emily wouldn’t see him. She wouldn’t pick up his calls or answer his texts either.
EMILY***“See you on the weekend,” Mom said as she dropped me off in the parking lot.“See you,” I said as I got out of the car. I watched her drive off before I walked to my dorm room.I had a new roommate because it was part of the school rules to change roommates at the beginning of every academic year. Nila and I had hoped and prayed that fate would let us meet again as roommates but that hadn’t been the case.It almost didn’t matter, though, because we remained good friends who were always together around the school. It had been months since the school year started. In fact, it was closer to the end now than it was in the beginning. The semester in which Gabriel felt like it was ages ago- it was almost
GABRIEL **** “I heard that you were leaving,” Emily said. “At the end of the semester, yes,” I said. “What?” she asked, turning red, “I came running over because Harry made it sound like you were leaving today!” I laughed. “He probably did that on purpose,” I said, “I should thank him for that.” “We should thank him for that,” she said, “it’s about time we had this conversation anyways.” “Yeah,” I said, “I was going to save it for last but I guess now is just as great, considering you ran over and everything,” I
EMILY***“Are you sure you’re okay?” mom asked as she helped me pick up my last bag from her trunk.“I’m sure, Mom,” I said, “plus there are only a few days left until the end of the semester and I'll be back home.”“I’m only letting you go because you have finals,” she said and I couldn’t help but smile.My parents had been watching over me more carefully than ever since I went back home and it had become suffocating- I used the fact that finals were ongoing to free myself and go back to school. I just needed a few days.&ld
GABRIEL***“I think you already know what I’m going to say,” I said to Harper who was seated across from me.She was crying.“I do,” she said as she sniffled.“I am sorry for all the hurt I've caused you. I shouldn’t have dated you when I knew I had so much baggage. I only hope that you’ll find someone who will be easy to love, someone who won’t cause you as much heartbreak and pain as I have,” I said.“I’m sorry too, to you as well as to Emily. I shouldn’t have let my insecurities control me.”“I shouldn’t have pu
EMILY***“Dinner’s ready,” my Mom said, snapping me out of my thoughts.It seemed she had been standing there for a while, watching me, and I hadn’t even noticed.“I’ll be right down,” I said, and she smiled at me before she left.I had been home for the past three days. My parents had gotten wind of the news and they had come to pick me up in the evening after I talked to Harry. Final exams were ongoing, and I had been against the idea of being at home but my parents had insisted.I had appreciated the rest and being away from what had happened for the first few days, but now I wanted to go back to school. Doing nothing all day did not sit we