Chapter 35 Lie.
Instead of Brooke heading in the direction her boyfriend did, she doesn't.
She heads in the opposite direction, exiting the cafeteria. She goes in search of Jason with the intent of asking him what all that was all about. She finds him close to the principal's office with Max, probably waiting for someone. She approaches them.
"Hey. Where's Chris?" She asks when she's close enough.
"He's still with the principal," Max answers.
"What was that all about?" Brooke inquires.
"You didn't hear?"
"Not really. I couldn't make out what was being said. I stay away from Ivy as much as I can even in the cafeteria."
"I guess they weren't as loud as I thought. Well --"
He stops talking when the door of the principal's office opens. They all stare as Chris comes out.
Jason speaks first. "What did he say?"
Chris shrugs, as if not affected by the situation at hand.
"I've been suspended."
Jason looks up and lets out a sigh as though he was expecting this.
"Isn't that a little too much?" Max questions.
"How many weeks?"
"Just two days," Chris shrugs again.
"Keep acting like this doesn't bother you. How do you think your mum will react to this?" Jason says, narrowing his eyes at Chris.
Chris shrugs yet again. "Well, I guess I'm going to find out."
"Hey Brooke," Chris says, just realizing she's there as he begins to walk away.
"Hey, we haven't talked about what happened," Jason calls after him.
"We'll talk later. You guys can come over after school. I'll be home," Chris replies, not bothering to stop or slow his pace.
They watch him walk away before Brooke speaks.
"Can someone tell me what the hell happened?"
"Chris got mad and decided to confront Ivy," Jason offers.
"What did she do?" Brooke inquires.
She knows Chris has hated her since they broke up or rather, she cheated on him. He hasn't spoken a word to her since then - from what she heard. Whatever she did that made him do this must be serious.
"She threatened some girl. Hazel, was it?" Jason looks at Max to affirm the name.
Max nods. "I think it's only Chris that calls her that. She goes by Stephanie."
"Steph?" Brooke gapes.
Ivy did threaten Steph but that was weeks ago.
Jason's eyebrows furrow. "Wait. Isn't she the one I asked you about this morning?"
"Yeah, she is. Ivy threatened her but it's been a few weeks ago."
"She wasn't in class for the first period and it seems Chris doesn't have either of your phone numbers, so he asked me to ask you about her whereabouts," Jason explains.
"Oh, my God! That bitch did something to Steph," Brooke bellows.
"Yeah."
"And Steph lied to me," she adds bemusedly. Why would Steph lie to her?
She clenches her fists, thinking of different ways to hurt Poison Ivy and end her social life. The boys notice the look on her face.
"Calm down," Max tells her. "Calm down before you do something that will put you in Chris' position."
"I don't care if I get in trouble, I'm going to kill that bitch."
"Max, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid. I need to talk to Chris," Jason announces and walks off, hoping that he hasn't left yet.
Jason sights Chris as he's about to enter his car in the parking lot.
"Chris!"
Chris stops on hearing his voice and looks to see Jason walking over.
"Dude, you didn't have to do that," Jason chides.
Chris opens the door to the driver's seat and throws his backpack in the passenger's seat.
"Didn't have to do what? Speak my mind to that Spawn of Satan?" Chris shuts the door with more force than necessary.
Jason sighs. "I know she's bad and --"
"Bad? She's fucking evil. She's insane. Did you hear what Luke said? She lied to him. She has been feeding him lies and he has been believing them. He thinks I was the one who cheated." He rambles in anger.
"Chris, take a chill pill. She's not worth getting yourself worked up. Who cares if she's lied to everyone about what happened? Forget about her bro. Karma will pay her a visit at the right time, dude." Jason pats him twice on his back as Chris runs a hand through his hair out of frustration. He takes a deep breath and leans on his car. Jason does too.
"Where's your jacket?"
Chris hesitates before answering.
"It's with her."
Jason doesn't need rocket science to know who he's referring to.
"Who is this Stephanie, huh? I don't even know her and she has somehow managed to gain your attention and have you do crazy things to stand up for her. And she has your jacket, dude. Who's she?" Jason asks quizzically, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
Chris clears his throat awkwardly.
"She's just some girl. A friend."
"Are you sure? She's just a friend? Nothing more?"
"She is just a friend, Jason."
"I do not believe you," Jason says in a serious tone before a grin appears on his face. "I think you like her."
Chris huffs. "No, I do not. She's not even my type."
Jason simpers, "Keep telling yourself that. So when do I get to meet this Stephanie?"
Chris pulls himself off the car, not wanting to have this conversation as he doesn't believe anything Jason is saying.
"You don't need to meet her. I have to go. You should get to class," Chris tells him as he enters his car.
"You're just trying to avoid this conversation but don't worry, very soon you'll be asking me for relationship advice," Jason says smugly.
Chris doesn't reply, he just shakes his head slightly as he turns on the ignition.
Jason shuts the door and steps away from the car. As Chris begins to pull out of his parking space, Jason hollers.
"Tell your special friend I said hi."
He laughs uproariously as Chris flashes him the finger before driving away.
Brooke is livid. She's annoyed, angry, vexed, peeved, pissed off, mad, upset - what other synonyms are there - at Stephanie. She lied to her. Steph freaking lied to her. When she didn't see Steph, she texted her, asking her where she was. Steph replied that she wasn't feeling too well so she went home. Brooke doesn't remember her looking like someone who isn't feeling well this morning but she noticed she was spacing out. She found it odd that she went home just like that but then she found out that there's more to the story. Ivy did something to Steph and if Chris didn't confront her and make a scene in the cafeteria, maybe she'd never know about it.
Since she promised Steph that she'd come over to check on her after school, she is driving to Steph's house. When she gets to Steph's, she'll make sure she expresses her disappointment and anger at Steph. Anger that she lied to her and planned to keep this from her. Brooke grips the steering wheel harder than necessary before losing her grip a little.
Aren't best friends supposed to tell each other everything? She wanted to find Ivy and scratch off the flesh on her face when she heard the news but Max managed to stop her. She's glad she didn't have to see the bitch's face till school closed. If she did, she wouldn't have been able to resist doing exactly what she has pictured in her head.
Brooke pulls into Steph's driveway and turns off the ignition. She takes a deep breath to calm herself down. Maybe she's just jumping to conclusions. Maybe Steph didn't want to tell her over the phone. Maybe she's planning to tell her in person. She really should relax. She should only let herself get mad if Steph doesn't tell her. Brooke gets out of the car and heads for the porch. As she lifts her hand to knock, the door opens to reveal Steph with a smile on her face.
"Hey B. Come on in," Steph ushers her in. Brooke bites on her bottom lip as she passes the threshold into the hallway.
Once Brooke sits, Steph asks her if she'll like something to drink.
"I'm okay," Brooke declines.
Steph smiles and sits on another couch.
"So how was school?"
Brooke shrugs. "The usual. How are you feeling now?"
"Much better," Steph replies, avoiding Brooke's eyes and she notices.
"You sure?"
Steph nods.
"Why are you lying to me Steph? Why?" Brooke groans and covers her face with her hands.
"I can't believe this."
Steph feigns ignorance. "What are you talking about, B?"
She doesn't want to tell Brooke what happened. She knows how crazy her best friend is. She can decide to do something really stupid to Ivy and get in trouble. Or reprimand her for not breaking Ivy's bones.
"I know what happened in school, Stephanie." Brooke asserts, staring at her.
Steph lets out an awkward laugh.
"You mean me not feeling well and deciding to come home?"
"No Steph," Brooke hisses. "I mean you leaving school after whatever Ivy did to you."
Steph gapes with a guilty look on her face. "How did you know?"
"The question is why you don't want to tell me about it. Why the fuck would you do that?" Brooke rages.
Steph sighs in defeat. Chris wasn't supposed to tell her.
"I'm sorry --"
Brooke cuts off. "I thought we are best friends. Why would you try to hide this from me? Were you even planning on telling me at all?"
"I'm sorry B," Steph stands and then takes tentative steps before settling beside Brooke on the couch. "I just thought it'd be better that way. I guess I didn't want to bother you with my problem."
Brooke narrows her eyes at her best friend sitting beside her. She feels bad about not telling her.
"And I know you'd murder Ivy and then end up in jail," Steph laughs slightly.
Brooke scoffs. "I would have if Max didn't stop me and I still might."
"Max?"
"Yeah. Chris and Jason's friend that isn't as popular as they are," Brooke tells her.
"Oh, the guy that always sits with them in the cafe."
Silence envelopes them and Steph sighs when Brooke doesn't say anything.
"I'm really sorry, B. I'll never try to hide anything from you again. I promise."
Brooke folds her arms across her chest and looks away, pretending she's still mad at Steph but the truth is that she can never be mad at her best friend for long.
"Bee...." Steph coos and tries to tickle her but Brooke swats her hands away and smiles.
"Fine. I forgive you." Steph grins. "This better not happen again."
"It won't. I promise. And I didn't exactly lie. I just didn't tell you."
"You told me you weren't feeling well which is a lie. You look perfectly fine to me. Now tell me exactly what happened," Brooke demands. Steph tells her, skipping the little talk she had with Chris in the cafe.
"Gosh, I hate that bitch," Brooke says.
"I know."
"Did I tell you that she's scared of you?" Steph laughs.
"It's for her own good." Brooke smiles. "I'm glad you stood up to her but you didn't break her bones so I'm not exactly proud of you."
Steph rolls her eyes. Exactly what she thought.
"I just need to get my hands on her and she wouldn't believe what I'd do to her."
"Ice cream?" Steph asks as she turns on the TV.
"When do I ever not want ice cream?" Brooke gives her an incredulous look.
"Never."
"So Chris helped you," Brooke states as Steph rises to her feet.
Steph smiles. "Yeah. He's actually a good guy, minus the fact that he's a player."
Brooke smirks. "That smile... It means something." She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.
"No, it doesn't. And Chris wasn't supposed to even tell you."
"He didn't," Brooke deadpans which causes Steph's eyebrows to furrow in confusion.
"He went to confront her and ended up punching Luke in the face. Twice. Luke probably has a broken nose now."
"So Chris got suspended," Brooke adds, waiting for her reaction.
Steph shakes her head slightly, not believing a word she said. "You're funny."
"I'm serious."
Brooke nods slowly with a knowing look on her face.
"It's a lie," Steph says as she occupies her previous position on the couch, totally forgetting about the ice cream.
The look on Brooke's face tells her otherwise.