Hey guys, looks like we're going to have a nice appearance from a certain character in this chapter. *wiggles eyebrows* I'm not really sure what else to say, so hope y'all like this chapter and don't forget: don't anger a monkey unless you know they're strength. They might flick poop at you!

I walk to the elevator, hitting the button. I realize it's 5PM. Oh no, that means that-

The doors open.

I sigh looking up and mouth, "WHY?!"

"Hey, Nipples," Noah says with a grin.

I sigh again, "Is that your nickname for me now?"

"Oh 100 percent," he says, smirking at me. 

Can somebody help me? I'm crawling in my skin. 

I hit my head on the wall, forgetting that it would hurt from the bruises.

"Shootnuggets," I mumble under my breath, trying to keep the look of pain off my face.

I clearly fail as Noah walks to me after the doors close, "Whoa what happened?"

"Huh," I act dumb. 

His smirk quickly drops as he asks me again, "What happened?"

I see the look of anger on his face as he (somehow) realizes the bruises are in the shape of fists, even through the make-up. 

"Nipples, what happened," he asks again, a little less patient this time. 

I hope for the elevator ride to be over, but I got on at level 12 and we're only at level 9. 

I don't answer him, counting the seconds until I get off. 

"WHAT HAPPENED," he says a little louder. 

I try to avoid his question, "Why do you care? You've known me for less than a day!"

"This isn't about me," he says, quickly realizing what he's doing. 

"Isn't it, though," I ask with a smirk on my face. 

He responds a little too quickly, "No."

I mentally chest bump myself as I keep stalling him. We're on level 6. 

"So, you aren't going to admit that you care about me," I say with a huge smirk on my face. Level 5.

He becomes flustered as he answers me, "No." Level 4. 

"So, you don't care about me," I ask. 

"Yes," he says. Level 3. 

I stifle a laugh I try to trick him, "Yes, you don't care about me, or yes, you DO care about me?" Level 2. 

He quickly presses the "STOP" button on the elevator, "I know what you're trying to do."

I pull it back out, "No, you don't"

"Yes, I do," he pushes it back it.

"You have no idea," I say as I pull it out. 

He pushed it back in, "Yes. I. Do."

"No. You. Don't," I say as I pull it out again. 

All of the sudden, I hear a crashing sound and the lights in the elevator go off. 

"Way to go, stupid," I respond angrily.

"Is that your nickname for me, Nipples? I'm so touched," he puts his hand over his heart. 

I roll my eyes and get ready for this mess. 

_____

"I hate my life. I hate my life. I hate my life," I repeat, sitting on the floor of the elevator, resisting the urge to choke Noah. 

It's been 2 HOURS. We called the number, but they said they wouldn't be here for a while. 

I'm on the edge of insanity. 

"I love my life. I love my life. I love my life," Noah repeats, a grin on his face. 

I stare at him blankly. 

For the last two hours, we've been chatting about random things. He's ignored the topic of my bullies so far, that is until now. 

Noah looks at me, "So, are you going to tell me what happened to your face?"

I look at him, "You're as bipolar as Alex Karev."

He looks at me, clearly not amused as he raises his eyebrows.

I sigh, looking away, "Ok, fine. I have these bullies and whenever they're girlfriends catch me doing something they don't want me to, I pay the price for it."

"Oh," Noah says. 

I roll my eyes, "Yeah, oh. Why do you even care anyway?"

It's his turn to roll his eyes as he hears my question, "No one should do that to a girl. Dudes fight dudes and chicks fight chicks."

That was oddly sweet. I turn back to him, "Thanks. I think."

He chuckles, "No problem."

We turn back to staring at the wall, the silence enveloping us. 

"So, you always come here for your dad's lunch break," I ask, the awkward silence annoying me. 

His grins pops back on his face, "As much as possible, yes. My dad works really long hours, so his lunch break is at 4 even though he goes to work at 7AM."

I nod, understanding what he means, "Yeah, I get that. My mom also works here."

I know what you're thinking, how the pineapple tree are you poor if your mom is a pediatric surgeon?

The thing is, a lot of it goes to paying for my brothers' college tuitions and her student loans. A ton of it also goes to my dad's medical bills. It adds up. That means that if I want to go to college, I need a scholarship. 

We focus on our own things for about 5 minutes when he suddenly asks, "Do you want to listen some music?"

"Sure, any requests," I ask with a smile on my face, pulling out my phone. 

Noah smiles, "Do you have anything by Parachute?"

I eye him, wondering if he's serious, "Yes, is 'Forever and Always' ok?"

"Sure," he responds. 

I press play on the song, surprised that we have the same taste in music. 

She's sitting at the table

The hour's getting later

He was supposed to be here

She's sure he would've called

She waits a little longer

There's no one in the driveway

No ones' said they've seen him

Why, is something wrong

She looks back to the window

Suddenly the phone rings

A voice says something's happened

That she should come right now

Her mind goes to December

She thinks of when he asked her

He bent down on his knee first

And he said

I want you forever

Forever and always

Through the good and the bad and the ugly

We'll grow old together

Forever and always

I sit there listening to the song, remembering how sad it is. For some reason, this song reminds me of the relationship my parents have. 

Remembering what happened, I take a deep breathe, trying to get air back into my lungs. 

Continuing to listen, the melody calms me down and I breathe again. 

The song ends and I look to Noah to see him staring off in thought. I wonder what he's thinking, but I don't question. 

We sit there, listening to the rest of my playlist, when the lights come back on. The elevator begins to move and we both let out a breath of relief. 

We slowly reach the lobby and stand up while the doors open. Looking at the time on my phone, it's currently 8PM. I was stuck in a elevator with Noah for 3 HOURS. 

I walk out of the hospital and head to my car to get home. 

Once I reach home, I get started on my homework, finishing in about an hour. 

I grab out my school laptop, going to Netflix to watch Grey's Anatomy. I've always loved crime/cop/doctor shows, so this fits into that category. 

I watch Alex be a buttnugget to... well EVERYBODY for a while before starting on chores. 

I walk outside to take out the trash, humming 'Piano Man', when I bump into a wall. Wait, when did that get there?! I swear, I bump into too many walls. I wince, knowing I hit my bruise. 

I look up to see that it is in fact NOT a wall, but a human being. Oh, cool. 

It takes me a moment, but I soon recognize who it is. 

I put the trash bag into the thingamabooby with the wheels, and turn back around. 

It's the "butt cream" dude. 

Now that I see his face more properly, I also notice who he really is. 

I smile awkwardly, facepalming myself internally, deciding to make conversation, "Heyyyyy, what's up?"

He chuckles, replying, "Not much, Gloria. What about you?"

"Not much, Lucas," I respond. 

The silence is awkward for a moment until I realize something, "Wait, what the pickle are you doing in my backyard?"

"I saw a can that fell out of the trash bag, so I went to grab it," he responds. 

I nod, grateful, "Well, aren't you quite the environmentalist?"

He rolls his eyes at me, "I suppose so."

I chuckle, slightly confused, "Wait, but what were you doing in this neighborhood?"

"Well, if you must know, I was visiting Klayson a couple doors down," he tells me. 

I nod again, remembering that his friend, Klayson, lives down here. I haven't seen him lately though. I thought that he moved or something. 

I haven't seen Lucas around much, but whenever I did, I went the other way. After about 6 months of my dad being in a coma, Lucas stopped sending those texts. He soon ignored me all together and we acted like we were merely acquaintances again. We talked whenever needed, but it wasn't in a "friend" way. Then, in middle school, we were on different teams and I haven't talked to him since then. 

This is the first time we've talked in 6 years. It wasn't awkward with Caden because we left things the way they were supposed to be, I guess. With Lucas, it's just so awkward. 

We both nod at each other, and making our way to our separate territories. 

I go back inside, finishing up my chores, before watching some more Grey's Anatomy on Friday night. 

_____

I'm in music class in 5th grade. We're playing a game the day before we have to do the "Music Memory" test. You listen to different famous pieces and figure which one they are. 

I'm on my knees, sitting in a group of three or so.  My music teacher, Mrs. Cornwheel, is talking about the difference. I go to stand up, and swing my arm back. 

My arm suddenly stops as it hits something. My eyes widen as I turn around and see Gage, a classmate, lying on the floor holding his cheek. 

Oh... battleship. 

I just slapped a random boy in the face. And he is currently on the floor... in pain. 

My jaw drops as I realize the entire class is staring at me. 

His friend, Klayson, bends over laughing his butt off. 

"I'm so sorry, Gage," I say. 

He gets back up, looking at me incredulously, still holding his cheek. 

I stifle a laugh as his expression is like, "What the heck?!"

Embarrassed, I quickly walk the other way as she begins to play the music. 

I pass Klayson and he holds out his fist for a fist bump. I bump it, my huge Chiefs Sweatshirt sleeve covering my hand. 

I let out a small chuckle and continue to prepare for the test. 

I hear a beeping sound, and recognize it as my alarm. 

Ugh, Mondays. Wait, is this deja vu? I swear I did this last Monday. 

Juan sighs, that's because you did, stupid. 

Not wanting to deal with Juan's knickers in a twist, I get up, doing my business in the bathroom. 

I put on my black Chief's hoodie and sweatpants, my usual attire. 

I let my hair out of it's usual bun and let is fall down my back in its typical wavy appearance. 

I walk downstairs to the kitchen, making my smoothie and thinking my weekend. 

The weekend was pretty uneventful. My mom had work off though, so we had an Avengers marathon. The ending of Endgame was horrible. I love the series, but it was the worst ending ever. No spoilers. 

I remember when my mom and I watched the ending, we started cussing out the screen. 

Well, she cussed out the screen and I said some pretty colorful words too. 

"That was the worst f****** ending ever," my mom shouts. 

I agree with her, "Yeah, you yellow pig! I can't believe this red dude has to be so blue with his orange watermelons! How you like dem apples?!"

My mom gives me a look, "Seriously?"

I look away, "Maaayybbeeee?"

"Sweetie, ya need help," she tells me in a Corey Mathews voice. 

I look at her perplexed, "Are you even allowed to say that?"

She chuckles, "Yes. Yes, I am."

"Well, ok then," I say. 

The rest of my weekend was spent in my room, reading and going to take care of Gloria's garden.  

Not going to lie, I spent some time wondering why I saw Lucas for the first time in a while JUST NOW. I didn't give it much thought as I got distracted by a book I was reading. 

I get everything ready, after finishing my smoothie, and go out to the car, already wanting the week to be over. 

I get in the car, subconsciously driving to school.

Luckily, my mom never saw my bruises, I hid them pretty well. They still look pretty purple, because obviously bruises don't heal in 2 days, but they were starting to fade, very slowly. 

I turn on the radio and "Staying Alive" by Bee Gees comes on. I jam out, stopping at a stop sign to have a mini dance party doing moves like the sprinkler, the roll thingy with the wrists, and the pointy thingy to opposite sides, whatever that's called. 

I arrive to the school and park in my spot, walking inside. 

I hadn't talked to Caden, as I forgot to ask for his phone number. I don't think I would've texted him anyway. He would probably just interrogate me anyway. 

I walk through the hallway to my first class. I get to English and sit down, grabbing out the homework. 

I look at the clock, realizing it's only 7:40AM. I grab out my phone, playing a shooting game until a hand slaps on my desk. 

I look up to see Caden smiling at me, "What's up, G?"

He seems to have let the "bully" thing go, to which I'm grateful, "Just like a trillion stars. What about you, bro?"

He rolls his eyes, "You should get a sarcasm shirt, but not much. Will you put your contact in my phone?"

He hands me his phone, and put my number in, naming myself "Broski", "Ok, first, I DO have a sarcasm t-shirt that says 'Sarcasm, one of my many talents' and second, sure."

He goes over to his class and the bell soon rings. I would go into detail about what we're learning about, but I read on this app, I can't for the life of me remember what it was called, and it seemed that no one actually cared about school. 

The day went on, and everything was pretty normal. Luckily, HE doesn't beat me everyday. He only does it when he feels particularly angry, and that's when I become HIS punching bag. 

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that he doesn't hit me everyday, but he could he have a schedule or something so I know when to bring my makeup to cover it up. 

I hate makeup, but if it keeps people from being suspicious, I'll wear it. 

Right now, it's lunch and Caden finds me in the library, so he sits with me. 

"Hey, what are you up to, G," he asks as he eats his sandwich. 

I smack his hand, "If you make a mess, they will ban us both from the library for lunch."

He grins, "So, if I were to, hypothetically of course, make a mess... you would be forced to eat in the cafeteria?"

I roll my eyes at him give him a nice punch, "Yes, hypothetically, doofus. I'd rather not by the way."

He groans, but soon recovers with an ornery expression on his face as he grabs his milk carton and imitates Dory, "I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it."

"Those aren't even the right-," I stop as I hear a quiet splatter. 

I look over to see milk all over the table. 

I internally groan as I see the librarian rush over. It was quiet, but that librarian has got the ears of a moth. Do moths have ears? I know they have the best hearing in the animal kingdom, but do they specifically have ears. Do worms have ears? Do elephants have exceptional hearing because they have big ears? Did Dumbo hear more than normal? That movie was sad. It was so good though. The live-action one wasn't that-

I'm getting off topic. I snap out of my daze and look at the librarian who glares at me, her whole arm pointing to the door. 

"I'm sorry," I say as I walk past, Caden following me. 

I can't blame her though, I would be mad if I had to deal with Caden. Oh wait, I do. 

Remembering this is his fault, I lick my pinky, holding it out to him. 

He stammers, "Listen, w-we can talk about this like the r-responsible adults we a-are."

I glare at him. 

"We can work this out rationally. Let's not make a rash decision," He says his back turned around so he can see me. 

I raise my eyebrows, fake offended, just to make him nervous. 

He quickly realizes his mistake, and I stifle a laugh, "I'm very sorry. I'll tell her it's my fault."

"Ok," I respond. 

He goes to turn around and tell her when I stick my pinky finger in his ear. 

"EWWWWWWWWW," he screams like a little girl, trying to budge, but I hold his wrist with my other hand, silently telling him it would be better to not run away.  

I hold it there, "That's what you get for interfering with my books. You get a wet willy. Are we clear?"

He make a disgusted face, answering me, "Yes."

Just to have a little more fun, I continue, "Yes, what?"

"Yes, ma'am," he squeaks. 

I quickly take my finger out of his ear, thankful there's no ear wax on my finger. I wipe the spit off on my pants and walk away, giving him time to recover, while I laugh evilly. 

Hey y'all! Here's another chapter... that no one is reading. *ugly sobs* 

I took like an hour break from writing so I could watch Tim Hawkins on YouTube. I triple dog dare you to look up "Tim Hawkins Alternative Cuss Words". It made me laugh so hard I was crying. 

Anyway, what did you think? We saw Noah, Caden, AND Lucas. I'm beat. I hope you liked this chapter! Most of all, I hope you laughed. I love getting ideas and comments, so please comment! Bye dudes!

-AFatBurrito