Skins - a new (and sh*t) story

Skins

Set in a major English city, this story chronicles the lives of a bunch of ordinary teenagers whose lives are intertwined with one another
I dno if I'll update frequently cause of how rubbish this is....



Characters

Anthony - Leader of the group, Anthony shows outward confidence and determination, but in reality it is just a front and suffers from some serious self-esteem issues

Rachel - The crazy one, Rachel loves making jokes and playing around, though she can be serious at times. She uses her jokes and humor to mask the fact her family neglects her

George - George is ever smiling, despite any problem he faces, and he has several problems to deal with such as being poor, but does his best not to let that deter him

Rai - The everyman of the group, Rai is in every sense of the word mediocre. Coming from a family of people who excel, Rai struggles to find his own path when it seems to have already been laid out for him

Ariana - Ariana is the new girl to town. She is used to a quiet and sullen lifestyle so she struggles to adjust to her new surroundings, and all the attention she receives for her looks

Geode - The party boy. Geode loves to party and have fun and leave his worries at the door. But a past addled with drugs and alcohol won't leave him alone

Juliet - The quiet girl, Juliet suffers from abuse and neglect from her brother and fails to speak up for herself. Secretly just wishing someone would take the time to truly listen to her





Prologue – A Friday ritual

Loud blurring music. Alcohol...lots and lots of Alcohol. Drugs as well...cannabis, ecstasy. What a party. It’s Friday night. And right now, for all we care, it could be the last Friday night we ever live. But so long as we have a good time, who cares?
Every which way you look there’s people making out, drinking, and doing drugs. This is us. This is our life. This is our story

5 am, and I have the unenviable task of sneaking my sister back into our house along with me
“Come on Velvet” I whisper to her quietly
Slowly our footsteps creep along the cracked pavement and we’re careful to avoid the cracks. A game we play to help us make as little noise as possible
At long last we reach our house in a quiet cul-de-sac of the British town of Bristol. Of course keys are out of the question. Too noisy plus alarmed house gives us away. So we sneak in through the bedroom window, my bedroom window. My door is of course locked so my parents can’t get in to close it

Inside, 5:10 am. Velvet is a little more drunk than usual so getting her inside was more difficult. I subtly and quietly unlock my door as Velvet falls on my bed, asleep. I sneak into her room and change her into her pajamas and climb into bed. Of course when our parents find us sleeping they’ll believe Velvet’s normal excuse of a nightmare, and who should she run to but her big brother? We’ve always been close so it works and we’re off the hook. They don’t suspect us of another night of partying and drinking. 7 hours of beauty sleep and a full English breakfast in the morning. Heavenly. Goodnight Velvet, goodnight World





Chapter 1 – Anthony

As the alarm hit 6:59 am, Anthony hit the snooze button. He was used to pre-empting his alarm clock and waking up on time by now after 6 years of having done it. He rolled over and yawned as he opened his eyes. The first thing that hit him was the darkness. It was late Autumn so the Sun hadn’t risen yet. But today was a good day. The first day of his last year at school, and things had never seemed brighter. He was on top of his application to University, he had been predicted the grades he needed, he had been given a glowing reference by the teachers. Everything was set. All he needed was another smooth year like the last and everything would be peaches and cream. But like so many thing, nothing ever quite works out the way you plan them…

The door slowly creaked open and Anthony’s mother peered her face round the door
“Time to rise and shine Ant”
“Kay mum” he yawned, slowly getting up as his mother left after turning the light on
After getting dressed in his usual jeans and a t-shirt, loving the fact his college had no formal dress code, he picked up something sitting on his desk and smiled. It was his Drivers License. He had gotten it on the first day of Summer after months of practice and work. He had enjoyed freedom like never before, and he no longer had to get the bus to school on the condition he drive his sister to school. Of course he had no problem with that seeing the close relationship they shared

Anthony went through the rest of his morning like usual and then got into the car with Velvet
“Will you hurry up Ant, I’m gonna be late for school”
“Don’t worry, we’ll make good time as Rai is coming into school late, so it’s just George we need to pick up”
“Good” she smiled, “Now drive car monkey!” she giggled
“As you wish Lady Velvet” I smiled and floored the gas, zooming off

Soon enough Anthony arrived at George’s house. It wasn’t very large, though it was comfortable nevertheless. He honked the car horn. Approximately 15 second later George came out of the door
“Bye ma!”
George quickly got into the car and after some traditional greetings, Anthony drove Velvet to school, and then drove himself and George to school after George got into the front. Eventually they arrived at school and proceeded to their usual spot to wait for their friends

One by one, other people came to the gathering point. First there was Geode who was dressed in his usual attire which was a t-shirt of a band he loved, dark jeans and chains adorning the jeans. Next came Juliet who wore a spring dress in a light blue, with light blue bows tied around her wrists that seemed to compliment her blonde hair. Thirdly there was Rachel who was wearing her usual Lolita style clothing, today going for a Gothic tone

“Where’s Rai?” Rachel asked curiously
“Coming in late” George and Anthony said in harmony
“Typical” Geode sighed, “Let’s just get this day over with, and the next one so we can get to the rave tomorrow night”
“Oh it’s all about the partying with you Geode. Do you ever do any serious work?” George asked as the 5 of them started to walk towards the assembly hall
“Yeah, of course, between partying and partying I find some time”
“Oh really?” Rachel said a little surprised, “Have you worked on your University application over the summer?”
“No…”
“And why not?” Rachel asked with contempt
“Because I was too busy doing the first lot of partying” he laughed
“Uh huh, that’s what I thought” she sighed and entered the School’s hall with the other four and they took their seats

After all the announcements they expected, there was another one. Amongst all the teachers, a shy girl with strong red hair stood looking timidly around her
“Mr Loire has an announcement” a teacher said
A teacher coughed and the noise of chatter was silenced in an instant
“Thank you” Mr. Loire said, and in that instant there was a wolf-whistle from a girl in the corner
“That’s quite enough Liviana” Mr. Loire said glancing at her, but she showed no signs of being sorry, instead her and her friends giggled furiously for a moment then were silent

“Now ladies and gentlemen, it’s my pleasure to introduce to you our newest student, Ariana. She comes from a quiet village to the North of here. She isn’t used to city life, but I trust you will treat her with respect as you do your other students”
Suddenly every student tried to make themselves look small and unnoticeable as the inevitable came and Mr. Loire asked for someone to show Ariana the ropes. He looked around for a moment, and eventually his eyes settled on Anthony
After a reluctant glare Anthony nodded and Ariana sat down beside him and the rest of the assembly finished

Back at the hangout spot, the 5 friends were looking at Ariana curiously
“Uh…hi…” she said quietly
Anthony looked at her closely for a minute then smiled
“Hi. I’m Anthony, and these are my friends George, Rachel, Geode and Juliet. There’s also Rai but he won’t be here till this afternoon”
“It’s nice to meet you all, I’m Ariana…or you could call me Ari if you want”

The 4 of them kept staring
“What’s…with…your red hair?” Geode asked after a minute
Juliet elbowed him hard in the side
“OUCH! What was that for?!”
Juliet did it a second time
“It’s okay, I get it a lot, it’s my natural color but my mum never let me dye it…”
There were 5 simultaneous ‘Aaaah’s’

The rest of the morning went by as usual. Anthony showed Ariana around and they bonded a little, the group accepting her into their ‘gang’ and they sat down to lunch
“So, Ariana, ever been to a rave before?”
“Can’t say I have…my village was quiet and…dull…we never really did much of anything to be honest”
“You seem like you could have some fun then. There’s a rave tomorrow night. Fancy it?” Geode asked
“Umm y…yeah I guess so. I have to be home by Midnight though”
The 5 of them looked at her, then each other and burst out laughing
“What’s so funny…” she asked shrinking a little
“We all have curfews of around Midnight or one. Doesn’t mean we stick to them” Anthony said
“Don’t worry, we all have tricks and we can teach you them. Mine are foolproof” Rachel said with confidence
“Except for 4 weeks ago where your mother grounded your ass when she saw through one of your ‘foolproof’ tricks” Geode grinned
“That was...because...shut up!” she said taking a book and smacking him round the head with it
Geode was quiet for the rest of the lunch
Soon enough 2pm rolled around and it was time for Psychology. Anthony and Ariana both had the class so went off to it whilst Geode and Juliet went to Geography and Rachel and George went to History. Halfway through the class the door crept open
“Is this Psychology?” a voice asked
“Yes it is” the teacher responded
“With Mr. Asuis?”
“Yes it is” the teacher responded yet again
“Good” the voice said sounding relieved
A young man entered of average height and build wearing regular jeans and t-shirt with a jacket. There seemed nothing out of the ordinary about him…except for his spiky red hair

Ariana looked at the guy as he came and sat down beside Anthony
“Hey Ant” he said taking his books out
“Hey Rai. Why were you late this morning?”
“Because of this” he said holding up the certificate that showed he had passed his driving test
“Wow! Congrats!”
“Thanks. Took me a second try but I got there and my parents bought me a car so I don’t need lifts anymore”
“Even better” Anthony chuckled then looked at Ariana

“Oh Rai, this is Ariana, she’s new and she’s our friend. We had lunch with her and she gels well with our group so we’re taking her to the Tuesday rave”
“It’s nice to meet you Ariana” Rai said holding out his hand
“Likewise. Rai…uh can I…ask you something…”
“Only if I can ask the same thing back”
“Your hair is natural?”
“Yup, yours is?” Rai asked
“Yeah” she smiled, “All natural”
“Y’know Ariana, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship”
They both sat back in their chairs and smiled

Chapter 2 – Ariana

Tuesday rolled round quick enough. Ariana lay in her bed looking up at her ceiling. She had been here 5 minutes and already she had made a group of friends. She had expected it to be at least a week before anyone even spoke to her. Her hair color tended to push people away and she hid behind it as an excuse not to talk to anyone, yet these people accepted her without a second thought. They were different…kind. She liked them all

After getting up and selecting her outfit for the day she headed off to school. She hadn’t figured out a proper bus route yet so it was a 15 minute walk, but exercise never hurt anyone. Soon enough she made it and headed to the groups hang out point. The 6 of them were already there and she slowly approached them. They spotted her and looked round
“Hey Ariana!” Rachel smiled, beckoning her over
She went and stood beside her and looked at them each in turn

“Hi guys” she said quietly
“Did you have a good night Ari?” Rai asked
“Y…yeah” she said, seeming a little taken aback
“What’s the matter?” Rachel asked, glaring at Rai
“What did I do?!”
“Nothing, it’s just you called me Ari…”
“Oh sorry…Ant said you didn’t mind…and I like calling people by their nicknames…Anthony is Ant, Rachel is Rach, George is G Man, Juliet is Jules and Geode is Geo”
“N…no, it’s okay, I kinda like it” she smiled

The day went by as any other day would for Ariana. She went to all her classes and spent time with her friends, with Rachel helping her choose what to wear to the rave that night and the guys discussing who was going to be there and which girls they wanted to show up, out of earshot of the girls of course. The rest of the day was also normal, plenty of other people staring at her as she walked through the hall, looking at her hair, clearly wanting to say something, though no one ever did. All of it only made Ariana want to shrink and go home

Once the end of the day came, Ariana walked home, glad to be out of school. Not 5 seconds out of the school gates, a familiar head of red hair was walking beside her
“Hi Rai” she said, giving him a polite smile
“Hi Ari, how are you?”
“Good thanks, you?”
“Good. How you finding everything. It can be a bit intimidating when you’re new”
“Tell me about it” she sighed
“You get used it though, the routine, the campus, the people, all of it”
“I hope so…I’m just not used to everything…”

“It’ll be fine. Excited for the party tonight?” he asked as they walked
“I guess so…”
“Doesn’t sound too convincing”
“I just….I’v never been to a rave before…I’v heard about them. It could get way out of control…and if it did…”
“It’s okay Ari, just stick with me and you’ll be okay” he smiled
“Promise?” she said looking him right in the eyes
“Promise” he smiled
“Promise you’ll stick with me the whole night?”
“So long as there’s not a really hot girl determined to have sex with me, I promise”
Ariana looked a little confused, not knowing whether to be amused or be worried by this and it showed
“Ariana, look at me…that ain’t gonna happen. I was being sarcastic. Of course I’ll stick with you the whole night” he smiled
“Good”

She turned her head away and blushed a tiny bit
“Is everything okay?”
“Of course” she said seriously then stopped
“What’s wrong?” Rai asked worried
“We’re at my house silly” she laughed
“Oooh okay” he laughed, “I’ll see you tonight then. We’ll all be meeting up outside so you don’t have to worry about finding me”
Ariana nodded a little and went inside as Rai carried on walking

Around 6pm there was a knock on the door, but Ariana was getting ready so she didn’t hear it. 5 seconds later her mom called up to her
“Ariana, there are two young ladies here calling themselves your friends. A Rachel and a Juliet”
Ariana looked around her room a little startled
“I uh…it’s okay mum, let them in please” she said unsure of herself
She could pretty much hear Rachel and Juliet rushing into her room

“Her Ariana!” Rachel said dumping a bag onto her bed
“Um…hi guys…what are…”
“What are we doing here? Simples. Whenever there’s a rave, Juliet and I go round to one of the other’s houses so we can use a sleepover excuse, but we couldn’t decide who’s turn it was so we came to yours instead. Plus this way we can not only take you there, but help you with making sure your mum doesn’t find out! Great huh?”
“Yeah…” Ariana mumbled quietly

“So what’s in the bag then?” she asked
“Simples” Rachel smiled, “Outfits! Gotta look good”
Within seconds she had pulled out about 10 outfits and was trying on each of them until she settled on one she liked, with Juliet and Ariana doing the same. Soon enough the three girls were ready
“Let’s go then” Ariana said gathering a few last minute things
The two other girls nodded and they left the house and started walking towards the party, arriving soon enough and meeting up with the guys

“Hey girls!” Geode said with a ridiculous grin on his face
“Why so smily?” Rachel asked
“Just looking forward to this is all. I need to cut loose”
“Come on, let’s just go inside” Anthony said, leading Juliet, Geode, Rachel and George inside
Rai looked at Ariana for a long moment
“You look beautiful in that dress Ari”
“Thanks Rai” she said smiling, “Remember your promise?”
“Of course” he smiled and led her inside, “Just stick with me and you’ll be fine”

As they headed in, it wasn’t hard to spot the others. Geode was dancing in some ridiculous fashion like there was no tomorrow and George and Rachel were dancing near him, yet trying to pretend they didn’t know him. Anthony was in a corner trying to chat up a girl, and Juliet was in another corner, people seemingly ignoring her. Ariana didn’t even have time to say anything before Rai had pulled her to the dance floor and the two of them started dancing with George and Rachel. Slowly but surely Ariana started to loosen up and show some of her moves, and she started to have a good time much to her own surprise given that she was dreading this night. It could have been minutes later, it could have been hours before Ariana saw Rai making a gesture showing he was going to get a drink. She grabbed his hand as he started to turn around
‘Not without me’ she mouthed
He smiled and took her to go get a drink. As they made their way through the crowd, Ariana turned her head back to where Juliet was. She was surrounded by a group of tough looking guys and seemed to be on the verge of tears. She stopped dead and yanked Rai’s hand and pointed. Rai stopped and saw
‘We have to help her’ she mouthed
‘Hold on’ he mouthed back, and pointed to the clenched-fist figure of Geode forcing his way past the other people to get to Juliet

Chapter 3 – Geode

Geode’s father was asleep on the couch as he went to the door. Or he might have been drunk…or drugged up. It didn’t really matter anymore. It had been this way ever since his mother had left them 3 years ago. He could still remember the constant shouting and arguing. Then one day she was just gone. His father had told him she had to go away for a while. He was 13, not stupid. He did a little prying one night when his father was drunk and he admitted she had moved to another country. Geode had tried contacting her, but the twice he had managed to reach her all she ever said was to stay with his father. He only obliged because he had no other choice

“I’m going out dad…not that you can hear me…or care…” he sighed slipping his keys into his pocket
He slipped out the door and it shut with a thud and Geode made his way to the party. He loved to party. There he could be free. For one night he could forget his troubles, his failures and misgivings, and just have fun with the people who actually cared. Soon enough he arrived and was on the dance floor having fun, though he looked over and laughed at George, Rachel, Rai and Ariana as they pretended not to know him, embarrassed by his supremely awesome dancing skills. He watched as Rai and Ariana headed off to get a drink. As he stopped to look for the rest of his friends, that’s when he noticed her

He couldn’t ever remember having a conversation with Juliet. He couldn’t remember Anthony or George ever having a conversation with Juliet. As far as he knew he didn’t even know if Rachel, Juliet’s best friend, had even heard her speak before. He had always wondered what she sounded like, but knew if he asked Rachel would probably beat the living daylights out of him. Juliet was in a corner, surrounded by 4 large guys all trying to chat her up, not that she’d say anything in response, and in some ways that would be worse for her. One of the guys seemed annoyed that she wouldn’t say anything and slammed his hand against the wall, the four of them boxing her in more. Geode growled and clenched his fists. He might not have ever heard her speak, but that didn’t make her any less of a friend, and he would do anything for the people he cared about

Without a thought of how he would take on 4 guys at once, all of which looked tougher than him, or the consequences, he started pushing his way through the crowd to get to Juliet who was looking increasingly scared
“Awwww come one babes! Just one smooch!” One of the guys laughed
“She sure don’t like to say nuthin does she? Who does she fink she is anyway?” Another said angrily
“I would say the same to you” Geode growled loudly behind them
“Buzz off” the guy said waving his hand dismissively
“How about you leave my friend alone” Geode shouted, though it was barely audible over the blaring music

The four guys just ignored him and leaned a little closer to Juliet who tried shrinking, but had nowhere to hide. She looked at Geode, her eyes full of terror and mouthed ‘help me’. Geode tapped one of the guys shoulders
“What?!” he asked turning around angrily, only to have Geode punch him hard in the face. The guy fell back to the wall beside Juliet and growled. He lunged at Geode but Geode dodged and kicked him as he fell to the floor. The other three guys tried attacking as well, but Geode had taken plenty of classes on how to fight in his life, so he pushed them all back and punched them all in the faces, kneeing them in their guts. They tried fighting for about two minutes as Anthony pushed his way through the crowd on the other side of the room to get to Geode, Rachel holding George back and Ariana refusing to let Rai get involved

By the time Anthony had pushed his way through the crowd, the four guys were rolling over on the floor in pain and Geode was panting, with bouncers making their way towards them
‘Come on’ Geode mouthed to Juliet and held out his hand
She seemed too frightened to move
‘Trust me’ he mouthed, and she did, grabbing his hand
They started forcing their way to the exit as Anthony distracted the bouncers. Once they got outside George, Rachel Rai and Ariana were already there

“Well that was a fun way to end tonight’s festivities” George sighed
“I wasn’t gonna leave her there!” Geode shouted, still clenching Juliet’s hand
“I never said that…I j…”
“RUN!” came a familiar voice as Anthony burst out the door and past the 6 of them, 3 bouncers in hot pursuit
The 6 of them immediately started running as fast as they could, following Anthony. Soon enough they had outrun their pursuers and stopped for breath in an alleyway

“Thank heavens we got away” Rai said leaning against a wall
The others echoed the sentiment
“I think we should all call this a night and get back home. I need to get back before Velvet does anyway” Anthony said taking out his phone
“Agreed” Rachel said and started walking home
Soon enough it was just Geode and Juliet in the alleyway

“Well that was fun” Geode said sighing, “Do you want me to walk you home”
Juliet didn’t move. She seemed to want to say no, but her expression told Geode to walk her home anyway
“Come on” he said, “Lead the way. I don’t think I’ve ever been to your house Jules”
Juliet turned and looked at him. It was the first time he had ever called her that. A tinny, fragmented smile crossed her face then quickly faded
They walked in silence for five minutes as Juliet’s dress swayed gently in the breeze. Soon enough they reached Juliet’s house, except it wasn’t a house, it was a mansion. Geode just stared
“This is your house?”
Juliet nodded
“Well I’ll see you at school to…”
He was cut off as she gently took his hand and pulled him inside

Once inside Geode looked around. The house was lavishly decorated with all kinds of expensive things. There was an open arch which led into a room with nothing but a huge Grand Piano. A lot of the walls were decorated with paintings or pictures of a young man of about 23, but none of Juliet, like she was a guest in her own home. Juliet made a gesture for him to be silent and led him to her room. It seemed to be the smallest room in the house, but was still bigger than Geode’s room. It was full of spring things and light, kind looking things. Flowers decorated the room and there were two watering cans sitting neatly side by side with two names inscribed in them, one with ‘Juliet’, and the other with ‘Dason’

“So this is your room huh?”
Juliet nodded slightly
“Why don’t you ever talk?” Geode asked, then covered his mouth
He shook his head, not meaning to offend her, he just blurted it out. She took a pad of paper sitting on her desk and a pen and wrote on it, showing it to Geode. It simply read ‘some other time’. Geode nodded and apologized. Juliet took her shoes off and placed them neatly on her shoe rack and sat down on her bed, then took the pen and paper after patting the place beside her prompting Geode to sit beside her

Juliet started writing something and showed it to Geode
‘Do you want to go home?’ it read
“Do I really have a choice? It’s not like my dad cares anyway”
‘Want to stay here for the night? It’s late and I wouldn’t want you walking home alone’
“I wouldn’t want to impose on you Juliet” he said standing up
‘Not at all, you should stay here, my thanks for you saving me’ she wrote
Geode thought for a moment and nodded
“Okay, I’ll stay. Thank you” he smiled
Juliet gave a tiny smile

“So where can I sleep?”
Juliet patted her bed
“Oh I…”
‘It’s a long story, but this is the only room that’s ‘mine’ so you’ll have to sleep in here…if you want to’
Geode looked at the paper and nodded
“Alright”
Geode lay down on the side of the bed Juliet wasn’t on
“Well, coming to join me?”
Juliet shook her head and pointed to the floor
“No way!” Geode said and gently pulled her down onto the bed and quickly fell asleep
Juliet looked up at her ceiling for a while, then looked over at Geode for a long time
“…Thank you…Geode” she said very quietly, still looking at him
She gently kissed his cheek and laid her head down, quickly falling asleep

Chapter 4 – Rachel

“Mom?”
“Yes Rachel?” her mother called back
“Where’s the rest of the lasagna you made last night? I wanted it for a snack” she said
“It’s all gone” her mother said
“But I specifically asked you to save some for me when we had it last night! Who ate it?!”
“Your brother” she said
“My brother?”
“Yes, you know, that boy who’s the older child of the family. Moved out, lives with his girlfriend. Ringing any bells?”
“I know who he is, I meant why did he eat my lasagna? When was he even over?” she asked getting angry
“He came over about an hour after you left for school. He was hungry so I fed him” she said
“With MY food? And did his…girlfriend…come over?”
“No, just him”
“So let me get this straight, my brother who I haven’t seen in 3 months comes over, without his girlfriend for the first time in a year, and he eats my food and leaves before I get home?”
“Yes, and?”
30 seconds later there was the echo of Rachel’s door being slammed shut

“And then she tells me it was just him! Not even with his girlfriend! And I was like…what the hell?!?!”
“That bites Ray, I’ll tell you what I’ll ask my mum to make some Lasagna and bring in the leftovers for you”
“Awww that’s sweet of you George but it’s alright I guess. I’ll make do without. So anyway what’s up with you?”
“Not much. Listen I have to go make dinner. I’ll see you tomorrow in school okay?”
“Okay, see you then George” Rachel said and hung up the phone
If there was one person who listened to her, it was him. After all they had known each other for 11 years, ever since George moved here and they met one fateful day and had been best friends ever since

2 weeks after the rave Rachel was at her locker putting some books away when she looked down the hall and saw something she really didn’t want to see. Danielle was making out with Shane in the middle of the hallway and shoving aside anyone who told them to move as they were in the way. Danielle was Rachel’s sworn enemies. The whole thing had started when they were in primary school together. A simple misunderstanding had led to a bitter rivalry and Danielle took whatever opportunities she could to humiliate or degrade Rachel

After breaking what seemed to be an hourlong kiss, she took Shane’s hand and walked down the hall with him, stopping a few feet away from Rachel
“Oh look, is the Japanese fangirl…”
Rachel growled at her, looking into her locker rather than at her
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you Rachel. I meant fanboy of course”
Rachel slammed her locker shut and turned around
“That’s it b*tch. I’ll tear your pretty little throat right out”
Shane stood in a slightly protective manner and Danielle just smirked
“You know Shane is captain of the Rugby team right?”
“I’ll tear him apart first then you pretentious sl*g. Don’t think I haven’t seen you cheat on your so called ‘BF’”
Danielle growled and Rachel looked at Shane
“What, you didn’t know that she slept with the co-captain…and the rest of the team…probably all at once” she smirked

Danielle roared at her and lunged for her throat but Rachel dodged which made Danielle slam into the lockers. By now a crowd had gathered around them and were laughing at Danielle for being humiliated
“That’s enough, I’ll make you pay with every fibre of my body you f*cking freak!”
Rachel clenched her fists
“What did you just call me?”
“Oh sorry, did I touch a nerve there freak?”
“I’ll give you one chance to stop that…”
“Stop what freaky mc freakerton freakypants?”
“What the? I don’t even…”
“You know why? Because you’re a freaky FREAK!”

“Say that again and I’ll punch your lights out so hard they won’t ever turn back on again” a voice came pushing through the crowd
“Who the?” Danielle said looking for the source
George forced his way through cracking his knuckles
“Need a loser to fight for you now freak?” Danielle asked laughing
“George…I….I don’t need your help…”
“I won’t let her get away with this…she’s a f*cking slagish whore with no friends who needs to be taught a lesson once and for all”
“Oh do I now? Looks like it’s the freak parade in here” she laughed
She took a step forward
“Now why don’t you f*ck off back to the insignificant hole you crawled out from little ant. You’re a nothing and I’m Queen Bee. No one here gives a damn about either of you”

“Wanna bet?” One guy blurted out
Danielle deathglared him
“No, he’s right, who else has beef with Danielle?” George asked looking around
Slowly but surely the entire crowd raised their hands, including Shane who danielle glared at
“Oh take your pathetic evil eyes elsewhere. I’m dumping you!”
The crowd cheered
Danielle turned to George
“I’m gonna kill you you freak!”
She tried charging at him but Rachel stepped in the way and with one swift punch Danielle was out cold

The crowd cheered and George looked at Rachel
“You didn’t have to…”
“I know, but no one calls my best friend a freak”
“Or mine” George smiled
The crowd suddenly dispersed as George looked round to see Mr. Loire standing there
“I think both of you need to come with me…” he said seriously
“I’m gonna be expelled aren’t I…I already got the blame for the food fight last year…I guess this is it” she sighed
George and Rachel walked side by side as Laguna led them to the Principal’s office and Rachel looked down

The Principal looked at both of them as Laguna sat them down and left
“Now why don’t you both tell me what happened”
George’s voice seemed to have left him so Rachel started to explain everything Danielle had done to people over the years. She reached the part just before where she punched her
“So then she charged at George and then…”
“…And then I punched her clean in the face for having insulted my best friend so much. I know it was wrong but she got what she deserved”
Rachel just looked at George speechless

“Hmmm…very well. I admit what Danielle did was wrong, but what you did doesn’t justify it”
“I know, I’m sorry…what will my punishment be? Expulsion?” he gulped
“No. Admittedly you did make another student unconscious but given the situation and all of Danielle’s past transgressions, she’ll be expelled. You however will still receive a 1 day suspension. Rachel you may leave now. George you’ll need to stay so you can be here whilst I contact your parents”
George nodded and Rachel reluctantly left, still looking speechless
Outside the 5 others were waiting and bombarded Rachel with questions
“So what happened?” Rai asked
“George…he saved me…I probably would’ve been expelled if it wasn’t for him…”

15 minutes later George came out of the office and Rachel walked to him
“George…you…you dummy! Why did you do that?”
“I knew your punishment would be a lot worse given this is technically my first offence”
“What did your parents say?”
“Well on top of grounding me for a month they want me to take ‘anger management’ or something”
“I…I’m so sorry…why did you do that though…you shouldn’t have…”
“You really don’t get why?”
Rachel shook her head
“Let’s just say, being a freak ain’t so bad when you have someone else to be a freak with”
He kissed her on the cheek for a long moment then walked out leaving Rachel even more speechless than before

[Special note - Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester and UCL (University College of London) are 4 of the U.K's best Universities, each based in the city they are named after

Oxford along with Cambridge University are always ranked the first and second best University's in the country and usually require 3 A grades at A Level to even get into (the last two years of examinations in England with A grades being the highest Achievable grade. The last two years of UK education are comparable to Junior and Senior years in America)

Oxford and Cambridge are the U.K's equivalent of Harvard and Yale

Students work on their University applications (UCAS form) during the later part of the 1st year of A Levels, usually working on it over the Summer Holidays and completing it during the first term of the second year, with the deadline for submission usually being the end of November, but usually a month or so earlier if you apply to Oxford or Cambridge

Sorry for the info dump, but since it's set in England it might be useful to know some of this stuff for when I mention it xD If something doesn't make sense just aaaaaask!]



Chapter 5 – Rai

2 weeks had passed since George had been suspended and for the most part, everything was normal. Rachel couldn’t stop blushing every time someone mentioned the incident, though refused to say why, and was especially cautious in the presence of George. Geode and Juliet seemed to be hanging out more though Geode had said he had yet to hear her speak. Anthony was of course still searching for a girlfriend, just as unsuccessful as he always been. Whilst all this had been going on Rai and Ariana had been getting closer and closer

“Rai!” his mother called up to him
“Yeah mom?” he called back
“Your big sister is here”
“I’ll be right down”
Rai finished typing what he was working on then closed his laptop and headed downstairs where he saw his sister holding hands with a boy he didn’t recognize
“Hey little bro!” she said and let go of the guy and gave him a big hug
Rai smiled and hugged back
“Hey Shai, it’s good to see you. How’s Oxford treating you?”
“Oh you know this and that. By the way this is by new boyfriend Matthew!”
“Hi”
“Hi”
“Oh there will be time for all that later, let’s all have some food first” Rai’s mother said ferrying everyone to the table where she had prepared a feast

“So how’s the workload then Shai?” Rai’s father asked
“Horrifying. I always have at least one if not more essays a week to do”
“Well that’s what you get for going to one of the two best University’s in the country” Matthew laughed
Shai and Rai’s parents laughed as well but Rai just sank a little into his chair
Shai had always been a genius. She got 100% in all of her exams usually and had won a boatload of awards for academic achievements, but she was also brilliant at a handful of sports. In short, she was perfect and his parents never missed the chance to remind Rai of that. After questioning Matthew, they turned to Rai

“So how’s school been?”
“Not bad I guess?”
"I guess?" His father said
“Oh yeah I mean good…”
“Get any test results back?”
“Yeah one for Psychology…”
“And?” he asked raising an eyebrow
“And I got 83%...”
“I remember that test. Mr. Asuis right?” Shai asked
“Yeah…” Rai responded
“You got 100% if I remember correctly didn’t you?” his mother asked Shai
“99” she giggled
Rai just sunk lower

“So sent your University application in then Rai?” Matthew asked
“Yeah just a week ago in fact”
“Where did you apply?”
“Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester, UCL…and…”
“And Oxford of course” Rai’s mother smiled
“Predicted 4 A’s of course” Rai’s father smiled
Rai sunk even lower. The truth was he didn’t want to go to Oxford like his sister, but every time he tried to tell his parents they refused to listen and kept telling him he had to go there and be like his sister. He had always been compared to her. As much as he loved her he despised being constantly compared with her

Thankfully as soon as the dinner was over Rai rushed straight to his room and was let off staying claiming he had some work to complete. He opened his laptop and went on his instant messenger. His eyes scanned the page. Everyone was online except for…Ariana. He clicked her name and the chatbox popped up
“Hi Ari”
“Hi Rai” came the response about a minute later”
How’s things with you?”
“Good, you?”
“Could be better…”
“Wanna talk?”
“Wanna listen to my problems?” he asked curiously
“Always =)” came the reply
A smile crossed Rai’s face and he started telling her about his sister but had to stop as there was a knock on the door

“Be right back” he typed
“Come in” he said lowering the lid of his computer
Shai was standing there
“What can I do for you sis?”
“Rai…I need a favor from you” she said and sat down on his bed
“You…need a favor? From me?” he asked perplexed
“Yup, wanna help me out?”
“What do you need?”
“Well see I booked a restaurant as a date for me and Matthew for the beginning of the Christmas holidays in a few weeks, but they only had a table for four. I called a friend who said she could come with her boyfriend but now she can’t. I can’t change the reservation and I don’t want to cancel. So I need you to come along and bring someone with you. Wanna help your big sis out?”

“So…let me get this straight…you need me to come along with you to a restaurant that you’re going to on a date?”
“Yup” she nodded
“And you need me…”
“To bring a friend along” she nodded
“I’m not really sure that there’s anyone I knew I could bring with me…”
“What about her?” she asked pointing to his laptop, apparently being able to read his conversation
“Oh…Ari…ana…I…”
“Perfect, ask her if she can come!” she smiled
“But I…”
“Just do it Rai, for me?”
She got up and kissed his cheek and left

Rai stared at the spot she had been sitting in for a moment. If he asked Ariana would that mean it was like…a date or something? By the way Shai had put things it would be. He certainly enjoyed talking to and being around Ariana, but a date? Would she even say yes? His mind turned to her and he reopened his laptop
“Back…”
“Welcome back! Everything alright?” she asked
“Not entirely sure…”
“What’s wrong?” she asked concerned
“My sister needs me to go to a restaurant with her and her boyfriend at the start of the Christmas holidays”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“The table’s for four people, she told me I need to bring someone…and she saw our conversation and said I should ask you”
“Are you asking me Rai?” she asked
“I don’t know…do you want to go?”
“Like a date?”
“Do you want it to be a date?” Rai asked, genuinely curious
There was a long moment where there was no response
“Yes”

Rai stared at that word for a while. She wanted to go out with him? He didn’t know whether she would just type ‘just kidding!’ or if she was being serious
“Seriously?”
“Yes Rai, I uh…nevermind”
“What is it?” he asked
“I…I kind of…like you…”
Rai stared at those words as well and a smile crossed his face
“I like you too Ari” he responded
“You…you do?!” she asked, shocked
“Yeah, yes I do”
“Well then…it’s a date!” she responded
“Yeah, it’s a date”
Rai couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the night

Chapter 6 - Juliet

Five and half years ago. She could still remember it vividly. It was the last true memory she had, or that she cared to remember, until recently that was. Her mother leaned down and gently kissed Juliet on the head
“Be good my baby girl, and enjoy your lunch. I made you your favorite”
Juliet smiled
“Thanks mommy! See you after school!”
She cheerfully ran out of the door of the mansion, her 12 year old self full of joy. It was the last day of term before the Summer Holiday. Juliet skipped cheerfully off to school, not a care in the World. But half way through the day, just as she sat down to lunch, the headmaster came in. She was too busy unwrapping her lunch to notice he was walking over to her and he gently placed his hand on her shoulder

“Juliet Knight?” he asked kindly
“Y…yes. Did I do something wrong Sir?” she asked afraid
“No, I’d like you to come with me please”
Juliet nodded timidly and went with him. She never even got to eat the last lunch her mother ever made for her. The Headmaster sat her down in a chair and carefully explained to her that an hour after she had left her mother had an accident and fell down the stairs
“She’ll be alright though won’t she?” her innocent voice kept crying out
All the teachers had already been informed what had happened and not a single one wasn’t moved to tears as she ran through the school and then all the way home desperately crying out for her mother. All that met her when she got there was the cold stare of her older brother Dason

Their father had died 5 years ago so they were left as orphans. Their mother had left Juliet the house and the vast majority of the money, but had asked her to be left in Dason’s care should something happen to her. Dason was 17 at the time and would turn 18 in September, so once he did he could legally take care of her. And when that time came he did anything but. Their father had always favoured them, so jealous that Juliet got most of the money and the house, and taking advantage of the fact that she was unable to be legally responsible for it until her 18th birthday, Dason set her to work as his personal slave. He replaced all the portraits in the house of ones of him and their father. Juliet only managed to keep one of their mother for herself. The rest were locked in storage

Over the next few years Juliet did everything Dason asked of her, no matter what it was because she thought she had to. She had been traumatized by the experience and since the day their mother died she hadn’t uttered a word, not matter how hard Dason tried to force her to. That was of course, until the night of the first rave of the new school year. Juliet had been even more timid since her Mother’s death so wasn’t able to find the courage to stand up for herself, so she was grateful that Geode did. He seemed to care about her. She knew her friends cared, but he seemed to be something new…something more. Something she hadn’t even dared to dream about…

Juliet woke up after dreaming about her mother and looked out the window. For Winter time it was rather beautiful outside. She had always loved Rain and Snow. She slipped one of her dresses on. No matter what the weather she wore these dresses because of how much they reminded her of her mother. A lot of things she did were inspired by her. She slipped her shoes on and started walking towards the door when Dason stopped her
“Where do you think you’re going? Where’s my breakfast Juliet?!” he spat out
Juliet looked down
“GO! NOW! Eggs and bacon with a cup of coffee and make it quick!”
Juliet looked at him sadly for a moment before remembering he never had any sympathy. She quickly went into the kitchen and made him his breakfast before leaving for school
Dason knew that during the Easter Holidays Juliet would turn 18 and inherit the house and more money than she would ever know what to do with. The fear and control weren’t just a way for him to make her do what he wanted, it was a way of making sure when that day came she wouldn’t dare lift a finger against him or throw him out the house. She would be his slave forever
As Juliet marched off to school she ran into Rachel, her best friend, and gave her a small wave as Rachel ran to her
“Hey Juliet! How are you?”
Juliet gave a small smile indicating she was good. Rachel was brilliant at understanding her facial expressions and what they meant. It was her way of talking to her without actually talking
“Did you sleep well last night?”
Juliet nodded and pointed to Rachel as a way of asking her the same thing
“Yeah but I…oh never mind” she said turning her head to hide a bit of blush
Juliet just giggled knowing what she meant

Once they got to school they met up with everyone and Juliet found herself next to Geode. She didn’t know what it was about him but he gave her the same confidence that her mother had always given her. Despite that she knew he wanted to hear her talk, but she still didn’t feel she was ready, even though she had already said something to him, even if he didn’t know it. Even so, they had grown close and worked as a team. In class Juliet would know the answers, write them down on a piece of paper and give them to Geode for him to answer aloud for her. At lunch he would order what she wanted, always somehow knowing what it was she liked, and he even offered to carry her books for her. She couldn’t believe how nice he was

They were in a class the 7 of them all had together all sitting in a long line with Juliet on one end and Geode on the other. She looked at him for a minute then took out a pad of paper and started scribbling something down. She looked at it and then handed it to Rachel who was beside her and made a gesture for her to pass it down to Geode. Rachel looked at it and just giggled and Juliet went bright red. Rachel scrunched the paper into a ball and threw it at Geode, hitting him on the head
“Aaaaaand she scoooooooores!” she laughed quietly and high fived Ariana who was beside her

Geode looked at Rachel confused then picked up the piece of paper and slowly unraveled it as Anthony leaned over his shoulder to see what it said. The handwriting was elegent yet at the same time her hand had clearly been shaking and she had been nervous when she had written it
‘Hi…hi G…Geode. Would you uh…like to come over…after…school…if you want?’
Geode smiled seeing it
“Soooomebody likes you” Anthony laughed quietly to him
Geode went bright red
“Y…you think?” he whispered back

George leaned over from beside Anthony
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing except Juliet has a crush on her hero” Anthony whispered to him
“Hero?” Geode asked curiously
“You saved her from those bullies…and you do all those things for her. She likes you Geode. It’s obvious”
Geode went even redder
“Well what are you waiting for? Don’t leave the poor girl hanging!” George whispered
Geode nodded and scrawled ‘I’d love to’ underneath her words and passed it back to her. When Juliet read it she beamed with excitement

After school Juliet waited for Geode by the gates. When he came out they started walking towards her house in silence. Geode looked up at it when they got there, still being amazed by it. She led him inside to the foot of the grand staircase then stopped and looked at him. Geode looked at her and smiled
“Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are Juliet?”
Juliet blushed madly and Geode went a bit red, not even knowing why he had said it, but he knew he meant it. Juliet looked at him and slowly opened her mouth, clearly trying to say something but couldn’t bring herself to. She collapsed on the floor and started crying silently, hiding her face from Geode

Geode knelt down and gently helped her up. He wiped her tears away and hugged her. She was taken aback but hugged back nonetheless. They broke it moments later and Geode looked right into her eyes
“Juliet…I….I don’t care if you never say a word to me…I like you…no…I think…I think I’m in love with you”
Juliet’s eyes sparkled
“Really?” she asked without even realizing she had spoken, then gasped silently when she noticed
Geode was stunned and looked at her
“Yes, really. And your voice is just as beautiful” he smiled
Juliet blushed more

“G…e…o…d…e” she managed to croak out
Geode only smiled more
“I…I….I…”
“Good enough for me” he said and kissed her on the lips
After what felt like an eternity to her, Juliet kissed back the best she could. This was her first kiss and she loved every second Geode’s lips were on hers

“Awwww. Aren’t they adorable?” came a voice
They broke the kiss and looked at the foot of the stairs where Dason was standing
Juliet took a step back as Dason moved between them and faced Geode
“I don’t like you. I don’t want you coming near my sister ever again. Got me?”
“Hey! Don’t tell me…” Geode tried to move froward but as he did Dason pushed him back hard
“I said don’t touch my sister little man. Got me? My house, my rules”
Geode growled at him and clenched his fists. Dason just laughed
“Get out of my house, and if I ever see you in here again, or if I find out you’ve so much as touched a single hair on Juliet then I will kill you” he smirked
Geode looked over at Juliet who was too frightened to move
“I love her…and nothing you say or do will change that”
Geode grabbed his bag and left

Dason looked at Juliet when he had who was still too scared to move
“So you do talk then don’t you?”
“Now go to your room. I don’t want to see your miserable face for the rest of the night!” he yelled
Juliet scurried off into her room, locked the door and started crying into her pillow until she fell asleep, where the only thing she could dream of was the feeling of Geode’s lips against hers

Chapter 7 – George

It was weird. George and Rachel had been best friends for 11 years. Nothing had ever changed between them. They had gone to the same school, sat the same exams, they were even applying to the same Universities. They had always been inseparable. But that had all changed. It was the last week before they broke up for the Christmas Holidays and things were buzzing at school. There were few lessons this week so people mostly spent the time with friends planning when they were going to meet up and whose New Year’s Eve party was the one to be at. It was a time where people were spending more time together and planning to spend even more time together. But for George and Rachel, they had been spending less and less time together

Rachel, Ariana and Juliet were sat on one side of the Common Room with Rachel and Ariana gossiping away. George, Anthony, Rai and Geode were sat on the other side of the room chatting about whatever came to mind
“So how’s the ‘No talking to Juliet or even being within 50 feet of her thing working out for you?” Rai asked a sullen looking Geode
“Suckish. I really like her but every five seconds I try and talk to her I have to look over my back to make sure Dason isn’t somehow there watching us. She’s too afraid to come to my house. She thinks Dason will find out even if she pretends she’s going to Rachel or Ariana’s”

“Hey, hang in there man, everything will get better, I know it” Anthony said looking up from his book
“Coming from the guy who’s pretty much been constantly locked lips with Jeanette?”
Rai and George snickered
“What’s wrong with Jeanette?” Anthony asked closing the book and looking at Geode with a slight glare
“Nothing’s wrong with her…but with the probable exception of us three, rumor has it she’s slept with every guy in the school”
“Hey! That’s not fair! She’s slept with 2 guys and she was very upfront about it. I don’t want another bad word about her from any of you”
He stood up and shoved his book into his bag and looked over at the girls who looked at him
“And that goes for you three as well thanks very much!” he shouted, now knowing what they were gossiping about
He stormed out of the Common room
“I give them a week!” Rachel called out laughing

After a minute the girls came over and joined the guys. Ariana slipped herself beside Rai who went a little red and gently took her hand making her blush. Juliet sat opposite Geode and they occasionally exchanged sad looks with each other. After a while Geode and Juliet headed to class and Rai and Ariana did the same
“So uh George…how’s…things?”
“Oh…good…I guess” he said unsure of himself
There was a long moments awkward silence
“So…who’s New Year’s Party you going to?” she asked looking away slightly
“Yours of course”
“YEAH! DAMN STRAIGHT! IT’S GONNA BE FING EPIC!!!” she shouted at the top of her voice
George shrunk into nothingness as everyone in the common room…and everyone outside it stared at Rachel, but it didn’t seem to faze her

George stood up
“Where you going George?” Rachel asked, looking a little sad that he had to go
“I gotta go to the loo”
“God George! Too much information!”
“You’re the one who asked me” he said sounding confused
“Yeah, but you didn’t have to tell me that! Honestly George!” she said rolling her eyes
George sighed a bit and left

George started walking then realized he needed to go to his locker. He turned around to walk the other way when Esmeralda was standing there. Who’s that? The single most popular girl in the entire school of course. George looked surprised and it showed on his face
“Hi there Georgie”
“Georgie?” he asked confused
“You sound confused” she said in her sweet voice
“Well uh…it’s just…you’re the most popular girl in this place and you’ve never spoken to me before”
“Well maaaaybeee I was just too embarrassed to do something like that” she said innocently
“So…what can I do for you?”
“I want you…to come to my New Year’s party…as my date! How great is that?!”
“No thanks” George said and turned around

Before he could go anywhere Esmeralda had moved in front of him
“You seem to be under the impression I’m giving you a choice George. Listen to me. You have the potential to be cool. So come to my party, as my date and you’ll be as good as set” she said smiling
“And I said no. I don’t like you like that and I already have a party to go to, so kindly shove off” George said pushing past her
“Oh what? You gonna go to that freak Rachel’s party? Don’t even make me laugh George”
“Know what I almost did to the last person who called her that? I really don’t want to get suspended twice in one term” he said plainly
“Oh what? Next you’re gonna tell me you’re in love with her or something” she said giggling cruelly
George said nothing. Esmeralda stared at George confused for a while
“Oh Em Gee…you…you’re in love with her?” she said shocked
George simply nodded
Esmeralda growled lowly at him and stormed off in a mood mumbling something like ‘what’s she got that I don’t?’
From the corner Rachel peered round having heard the whole thing

“Ray?” George asked seeing her there
“Oh uh…Hi…George…” she said nervously
“Did you…”
“What? Hear you? Of course not! Don’tbesosilly!” she laughed nervously
George gave her a ‘suuuure’ look
“Hey uh…George? Can I ask you…some…thing?”
“Course, anything” he said
“Well see…Rai and Ariana…they’ll be kissing at midnight…and Geode and Juliet…they will be too. Anthony has Sluterella or Jeanette, whatever you wanna call her…so…”
“You…want…us to…kiss?” he asked not sure of himself
“I guess so…I just didn’t want us to be left out and of course if you didn’t wa…”
She was cut off as George kissed her on the lips and she kissed back without hesitation
From the other corner Anthony peered round and watched them with a smile