DEFIANCE//defiance

[selly]

Dodge. <33

And somewhat [W].

---

Snore.

Selene's eyelids were heavy as she scribbled down a few notes on history. Why on Earth was this important anyway? Maybe it was a lesson that was meant to put everybody to sleep so that the teachers could brainwash them. That was definitely it. The teachers loaded them with homework about pointless topics and meaningless phrases and expected them to complete it within a set period of time when they already had enough on their hands. Selene blew a strand of black hair out of her face and let her head droop onto the table.

The sad thing was that the class had been going on for 5 minutes only.

She let out a quiet snore, her black hair spread across her table. It seemed somebody was watching her. She turned her head ever so slightly to see the teacher staring very hard at her. Selene sat up, pulling back hair and and tying it with an elastic band. Obviously annoyed at this lack of embarrassment on Selene's part, the teacher started to question her on the topic they were doing. Gosh. Why she had stayed at school to do this was ridiculous. Hell, why she even came here at all was a mystery. Other than to defy her parents, who wanted her to get a job to help the income, there was no particular reason. Maybe just to see Dodge everyday without having to walk over to her house? Selene wasn't really sure if she had even met her parents.

Selene had answered every question almost perfectly. The teacher became redder in the face every time she spoke, and finally, almost plum colored, he gave up on her and started to drone again. Selene rolled her eyes and made a rude gesture behind the middle-aged man's back. A part of the class giggled. The teacher whirled around, glared in Selene's direction. Selene placed her hand on the table, looking innocent. The teacher seemingly saw through it; or maybe he just wanted to punish her. 'Detention, Miss Eleendette.' Selene snarled at him. 'After school.'

Great. Detention on top of all the other crap she had due.

The seconds dragged on and Selene found herself getting more and more exhausted. It was strange. She was not sleepy, but exhausted. She could barely lift her head. As the hour finally reached the end and lunch started, Selene grabbed her bag and left the classroom. She had to set out for... was was it? Geography? Selene tired of all her lessons. She really wanted to kill these mad teachers. And God! Detention! Geez. Teachers never got over stupid things like this.

She opened her locker and transfered things to and from her bag, then slammed it shut and looked at her watch. Eh. Wait. No. It was lunch. Damn. Selene growled and stomped off to lunch, hitching her bag up a bit. You could never be too safe. Selene brought her bag everywhere in case the homework she had sent precious time on was stolen.

She was at an empty bench in the lunchroom before the minute was up and she slid onto an empty bench, awaiting the arrival of somebody, anybody. Maybe Dodge. Or Delli. Her life really revolved around them. She took out the lunch her health nut mum had prepare and shook her head. As per usual, she pulled apart the sandwich and started taking off bits of the ingredients until there was nothing on it except ham. Then she pressed the two slices of bread together and bit into it.

The joy of defiance. A wonderful thing.

[Nona Constantine]

Humanities. Sanglingnee Humanities, to be exact; where English language is as intense as French and all of the students either don’t know or don’t care which one was their ‘home’ language. That much was blamed on the ‘Sanglingnee’ part of the previous assessment. Growing up in San was an experience like no other, or so Dodge had been told by the passing travellers over the years, because everyone who had spent most of their young lives there could speak French and English as well as each other. Strange, maybe, but hardly unexpected considering the diversity of the ‘locals’ of the small village. The school made it all a lot more acceptable… or was it more confusing? Either way, school in San was different to school anywhere else. And Dodge loved it.

Mostly.

She loved the classes she was good at, basically; French and English languages, literature of both too, but when it came to Latin, the subject that she voluntarily sacrificed two hours of her free time to take every week, it left her pulling her hair out. Today though, was an average day, with English Literacy and French History already under her belt the worst had yet to come. At least it was lunch break. And yet the inside of her locker was looking very, very comfortable…

“Dodger!”

She could have fallen face first into the darkness of her locker if her name hadn’t been screamed from the other end of the corridor. Standing up straight, suddenly, she realised that she had been practically asleep on her feet, head rested against the edge of her open locker door. The voice snapped her out of her reverie though and had her blinking in confusion towards the source.

Vicereine Nights, one of Dodge’s friends whom she shared a few of her classes with, was the owner of the call. Dodge grinned at the raven haired girl and waved, calling her over. There were few people in the school that Dodge could call friend. Most of her friends were, oddly, much older than her, and mostly male to boot. While she didn’t bat an eyelid at that reality, most other people did. Her closest friend the last year had been Brandon, but he graduated just months ago and while she’s just as close to him now as she was back then she did miss seeing him at lunch every day.

He was her world… and she had barely thought of him once that morning. Even as she talked with Vicky, closing her book bag in her locker so they could head towards the canteen, she wasn’t really in the conversation. She nodded at the right moments, smiled at the right moments, even added a ‘really?’ once in a while. But her mind was back in the inn – room three to be exact – where she had spent the entire night wide awake and timidly happy. Aidan Connolly, the boy that stole her heart and her friendship some two years ago, had returned. He was back. And she had stayed awake the whole night just talking to him, nothing more, but that was all it took. It was like they had a lifetime to catch up on and while neither of them cared, it probably wasn’t the best idea to try and catch up on the first night he was back. The reason was, if truth be told, Dodge was expecting him to vanish again. And she knew she couldn’t handle it if he did.

She had told Selene briefly of his return earlier that morning, and while Vicky was a dear friend of her she hadn’t quite mustered the courage to tell her anything yet. So when she parted with her at the door to the canteen Dodge was mildly relieved; this way Selene would bombard her with questions in private. With a bid to see Vicky in the afternoon classes, Dodge went into the slightly busy canteen, her dark eyes scanning each table for her friend. She spotted her easily and smiled timidly at the girl before she had even reached her. Dodge slid into the bench across the table from her, quickly trying to find something that could direct the topic of conversation in a different direction than the inevitable. But none came, and with Selene’s expectant eyes boring into hers she felt a sigh form in her chest and her shoulders slump.

“Kill me now.”

[selly]

Selene chewed slowly and closed her eyes to savor the taste of honey baked ham. She liked honey-ham. It was sweet and the ham itself wasn't half bad. But she got sick of it eventually. She already was sick of it, really. he had gotten sick of it years ago. But did her mother care? As per usual, no.

Selene let an eye open and let out a sigh. It seemed everybody was having problems. Dodger herself, in fact, had told her a bit about hers. It seemed Aidan Connolly was back. And Selene knew what that meant. It was obvious, really, what would ensue. A sleepless night, chatting and catching up. Would Dodge do that if Selene vanished and came back?

Selene looked up vaguely and noticed Dodge parting with Vicereine Nights. Selene had heard she was a nice girl, but they had never spoken. Had Dodge told her too? Probably not. The girl wasn't bombarding dear Dodge like Selene was about to. Dodge smiled at her as she slid into the bench opposite Selene. Selene smiled back easily.

Her light blue eyes stared forcefully into Dodge's, as if staring would make Dodge spill. There was a moment of silence between them, but the canteen was still filled with noise and chaos.

“Kill me now.”

Selene smirked. 'Nah, I don't want to kill you. You can let yourself do that when Aidan Connolly leaves you.' It wasn't like Selene could see the future. No, she could only guess. but what if he did leave? What would Dodge do then?

'Spill, Dodge. Why did he come back?' Selene commanded, crossing her legs in an unexpectedly lady-like manner.

[Nona Constantine]

Selene’s cool lack of subtlety wasn’t lost on Dodge, and she first answered the girl’s suggestion with a glare. As if it wasn’t bad enough that the thoughts running through Dodge’s confused mind weren’t bad enough. ‘When’ Aidan Connelly left… like it was inevitable… like there was no hope for him staying… Well, that doubt had been in her mind since the moment she could think clearly the night before. She didn’t count the number of times she asked him subtly (yes, it did happen) how long he was staying for, and every time he dodged an answer. All she had was whatever hope she could muster; a hope that Selene was quick to kill now.

It wasn’t until she asked her question that Dodge rolled her eyes. Why he came back was as pointless a question as whether he was going to leave again. She hadn’t actually managed to ask him though. She was too afraid. What if he said he’d come back for her? As unlikely as that would be, it was an answer just like any other but with a thousand times more repercussions. Worse still, she didn’t know if she wanted that to be the answer or not.

And with that realisation (and the impending knowledge that Selene wasn’t going to help end her misery) Dodge dropped her head and slammed it against the table top. The sound echoed through the dining hall, turning eyes and whispers in their direction, and Dodge wouldn’t move. Instead she growled, pathetic and woeful, with her nose pressed against the cold, hard, slightly sticky surface of the plastic canteen table. It didn’t hurt her – something that Blaize often blamed on her lack of cranium content – but she could feel the eyes burning into her back. She waited for the murmur to return around them before lifting her head, and even then it was only lifted high enough so that she could see Selene looking at her.

“I don’t know,” she answered finally, truthfully, yet it hurt to say it. “I didn’t ask him straight out ‘why are you here’… It’s not exactly welcoming.” She sighed, and straightened up again on the bench, letting her gaze drop aimlessly to the discarded contents of Selene’s sandwich. “I don’t think I want to know…”

She wasn’t hungry, but for something to do more than anything she reached out and grabbed one of the slices of tomato that sat on the open sandwich wrapping in front of her friend, popping it into her mouth without tasting. She chewed, letting the slightly bitter juices flow down her throat in a vain hope that its chill would ease the tightness in her chest, but it didn’t help. At least she could blame her tiredness for that. For everything else… well… She wrinkled her nose suddenly, turning dark honey eyes back to the cool blue of her friend’s.

“I actually asked him to be at home when I got back today…” The shame of the desperation now finally sank in.

[selly]

Selene almost immediately regretted her 'suggestion' when she saw the look of desperation on Dodge's face. Friends weren't supposed to cause desperation to become more intense. They were supposed to make their friends feel better. And what was Selene doing? What she wasn't supposed to. It was just they way she was, Her blue eyes widened, and she looked apologetic. But she wouldn't say anything. She was stubborn Selene. And stubborn Selene didn't apologize. Ever.

But she felt only worse when Dodge slammed her forehead against the tabletop so hard that everybody could hear it. Selene froze. The tips of her ears turned pink. 'Dodge!' Selene whispered, sounded slightly embarrassed. 'What was that?' The young girl would not move, instead growling a growl of many emotions at the table. Selene averted her gaze to the heads turned towards them, then looked back at Dodge as people started to talk again.

The girl had lifted her head just a bit. Selene would have held her head high, with dignity and pride and flushed cheeks. “I don’t know.” Eh? She hadn't asked him? Selene's eyes widened by quite a bit. 'Wha-?' She said, surprised. “I don’t think I want to know…” Selene considered this answer. It wasn't that important, yeah, she supposed, but how could Dodge not ask? Selene contemplated the feelings she must have had at that moment, then nodded, satisfied. But her next statement made Selene's body convulse involuntarily and her blue eyes widen to the extent that she looked crazy.

“I actually asked him to be at home when I got back today…”

'YOU DID WHAT?' Selene yelped, falling out of her seat onto the floor in shock. She sat there paralyzed for a short second, then scrambled onto the bench, her blue eyes showing her shock. 'Why did you do that? Tell him you're busy! Really! How could you?' She wondered why Dodge wasn't panicking yet. Maybe her panic had been taken by Selene as it always was.

[Nona Constantine]

“YOU DID WHAT?”

Dodge’s eyes widened at the shrill yelp of her friend, her mouth freezing mid chew in a paralysing shock. Was it really that bad, telling him to wait at home for her? Obviously it was, at least from Selene’s point of view, and Dodge swallowed the tomato as her dark eyes scanned the few faces that had turned to stare again. Selene’s landing on her butt was far more noticeable than Dodge’s head bang, but for some reason not many people looked this time. Perhaps they were too afraid to look this time. She couldn’t really blame them.

Dodge cleared her throat, hoping that the sound would drown out some of Selene’s screeched words, and looked back at the girl as she sat on the bench again. ”Why did you do that? Tell him you're busy! Really! How could you?” She frowned, a guilt she hadn’t expected flowing over her as she sat upright and rested her elbows on the table. What was so wrong with it? Asking Aidan to stay wasn’t a big deal. Hell, he was probably going to stay anyway even without her slightly desperate plea to him that morning, so what was the trouble?

“What… Sel, Aidan was like my best friend two years ago. Why is asking him to stay at the inn a bad thing?” She didn’t understand. “I’m not going to tell him I’m busy because he’d only come find me anyway, probably, you remember what he’s like.” T was true. Selene was around when Aidan was all that time ago, and she was first hand witness to the close bond she shared with the older boy. Selene was the only person who actually knew what happened when Aidan took off back then too; how Dodge had gone to tell him how much she felt for him, that she loved him, and how he patted her on the head and told her she was just a child and didn’t know better. And how she broke his nose then too.

Selene was also the one to encourage and push Dodge to say yes to Brandon when he first asked Dodge to go out with him. Brandon. Fear widened Dodge’s eyes as she looked into the crystalline orbs of her friends. It wasn’t a bit deal! It couldn’t be a big deal! Brandon didn’t even know Aidan’s name two years ago, and really, honestly, he had nothing to worry about… right?

“It’s fine!” Dodge blurted, her eyes almost pleading Selene to agree. “Aidan was my best friend and I was just… just worried he would go away again. I don’t want him to leave again so I asked him to stay… its fine.”

Sure now that her mind was set on the right track, Dodge nodded once, and stared at the table. It was fine. Honest.

[selly]

O God. Dodge had forgotten about Brandon. What would he say if he heard? She pressed her flat palms together, raised her head, and closed her eyes, as if summoning the strength to do something daring. Not that Selene would need to do that. Then she opened her eyes and stared into the dark eyes of her friends. Eh? They were fearful. Maybe she had realized that saying it would be fine and bleating things about being friends and two years ago... Selene shook her head and opened her mouth. Dodge interrupted.

She seemed almost begging Selene to agree with her and let it go. Selene raised an eyebrow. Didn't Dodger know she would never EVER do that? Her cool blue eyes stared into Dodge's. 'Dodge, I wonder if you know what can happen now,' she said with the utmost seriousness. 'Remember when you broke his nose? And what happened before that? And what led to it? Doesn't it seem like déjà vu to you? Honestly. Do what's best for yourself.' Selene sighed. 'Try not to get too close to him. And whatever you do,' Selene nodded importantly. 'Don't shun anybody in his company.

'And don't think it's fine. It's not fine in the slightest bit. He has to be back for a reason. He mustn't stay at the inn. Kick him out. Find a reason. Don't let him near you.''

Yeah. Selene was utmostly confident because in her view, she was always right. Brandon was perfect for Dodge. And they didn't quite need Aidan Connolly around to ruin their days. 'Do you trust me, Dodge?' Selene asked, folding her arms and looking stern. It was very much the only way to check if Dodge would follow her advice without Selene stalking her and spraying her with a water gun whenever she did something wrong.

That would be fun, though,

'You trust me?' Selene nodded slowly, her crystal blue eyes wide, as if anticipating the answer.

[Nona Constantine]

WOAH shortness!

---

“Of course I know what can happen now,” Dodge snapped, shortly before folding her arms across her chest and sending an apologetic sort of glare in Selene’s direction before she continued. She knew perfectly well what could happen… or, rather, what was definitely not going to happen. She was definitely not going to get carried away with what she may or may not have felt those years ago. She had changed since then and she was sure Aidan had too. And she had Brandon now. Aidan had no chance but to be a friend, and that was exactly what he was going to be. Period.

Unless he left again…

“I’m not going to kick him out!” she whined, almost pleaded an excuse. “He just arrived, and its not like he’s staying in my room or anything! He’s in room three just like he was before. We just talked last night. Completely innocent, good, clean fun.”

She nodded again, trying to convince Selene as much as herself. It felt good to be in his company again, just to talk to him like she had done before. Granted, ten minutes after he turned up they were bickering, but that was how they worked, and they got over it as quickly as it flared up. Selene of course didn’t need to know that. Dodge’s gaze snapped back to her friend’s as she asked the not-so-compassionate question of her. Trust? Of course she trusted her… they wouldn’t be friends otherwise. She narrowed her eyes slightly at her, contemplating her best answer.

“Yes I trust you, but you don’t know Aidan like I do. He’s not dangerous or anything, and I don’t even know how long he’s meant to be staying for. OK?”

[selly]

Dang. I thought I replied. Stupid preview button.
XO Shortness! Scary!

---

“He just arrived, and its not like he’s staying in my room or anything!”

Uh huh. Right. That was obvious. Bu Selene simply wouldn't allow it. 'I know, that, Dodger-Dodge-Dodge, but still. Please.'

“He’s in room three just like he was before.”

She had said it, the evil word that confirmed Selene's conclusions. The conclusion that she was still thinking of that time. 'Before? Dodger. Honestly. Just -'

“- completely innocent, good, clean fun.”

'FUN?' Selene yelped again, louder than before. she managed to stop herself from toppling out of her chair by gripping the bench. She was swaying, though. 'You can't have FUN with him.' Her cool blue eyes had flared up. 'You hear?'

“Yes I trust you, but you don’t know Aidan like I do. He’s not dangerous or anything, and I don’t even know how long he’s meant to be staying for. OK?”

'If you trust me, do what I say. Stay away. I'm serious. before you know it he will be sleeping in your room, he will be messing with your head and he will take over your life, invade your thoughts, yadda yadda yadda.' If only Selene could do that to anybody even if it was just ONE person.

'How can you even be SURE he's not dangerous? He has GLAMOUR. GLAMOUR, Dodge. Just...' Selene's frustration was beating her up on the inside. With a groan, she slammed her forehead again the cold table and stayed there for a second. The cold was nice. Then she raised her forehead and looked up at Dodge with puppy dog eyes. She was good with the puppy dog eyes. 'Dodger, promise me.'

[Nona Constantine]

Dodge couldn’t help but glare whole heartedly at her friend. Why was all this blame on her all of a sudden? She didn’t ask for Connolly to come back (not aloud anyway) and she wasn’t expecting him to turn up unannounced at some unlawful hour of the night either. What was she meant to do, turn him away? Or wake him up and kick him out again first thing in the morning? In fact, the latter she may have done, if there had been a ‘morning’ for them at all. Technically, Dodge’s body still thought it was yesterday, and was craving desperately for the sleep their incessant chatter all through the night had deprived them of.

It was probably her exhaustion that had her temper rising unnaturally high as Selene continued to lecture her on what was right and sensible, and told her that Aidan was dangerous. She definitely didn’t know her Aidan. He was anything but dangerous… tricky, maybe… maybe even sly if a situation pushed for it, but not dangerous. And especially not to her. The audacity that he could harm her (and perhaps an ounce of fear for exactly that) had Dodge getting abruptly to her feet and glaring at the top of Selene’s head as it slapped he table.

“He. Is. Not. Dangerous.” She hissed once Selene had looked up at her again. Granted, Dodge’s short stature did little to help her power rush, but at least Sel was sitting down. “And I will not promise you anything. Yes I trust you, but maybe you should trust me. I told you everything was fine and I told you I wasn’t going to get hurt. Aidan was there for me back then when no one else was, and that matters more than how it all ended, ok?”

Clamping her mouth shut and pressing her lips together, Dodge could barely contain her anger. Anger at Selene for being so presumptuous, but anger at herself in part too, for being so open as Selene obviously pointed out. And angry at him. Obviously.

“I’m going home,” she answered eventually, her tone just as sharp as before but her voice not nearly as loud. “Tell Mister Cold-sore Cullen that I have a headache or got my period or something. I’m just too tired for Geography.”

And with that she turned on her heel and stormed towards the heavy fire doors that led straight to her locker. She was tempted to leave her bag and books there, but she knew better to return home early and without her stuff. Her mother would kill her. Aidan would kill her. Maybe. She grabbed her coat from her locker too and pulled it on roughly before pulling the strap of her bag over her head and slamming the locker shut. The echo in the bustling corridor hadn’t even died down when she opened the side door to the school and cut across the staff car park to get to the main road. She’d walk home. She didn’t care. It would take her about 30 minutes in the biting cold, but maybe by then the deep set scowl on her face and the desire to murder anything that moved would vanish.