*****Content Warning****

There will be some violence and profanity in this chapter. If that's not your thing, you can always PM for the cliff note's version. If it is your thing...what's the matter with you? Just kidding. Enjoy :)

~~Don't Blame me, love make me crazy. If it doesn't you ain't doing it right.~~ Taylor Swift Don't Blame Me

Matt

Kurt Fucking Whitman

The name left a bitter taste on my tongue as I silently mouthed it to myself. I glopped another hunk of wet clay onto the bowl I was crafting in pottery class as I glowered at him from across the room.

He shook his shaggy brown hair streaked with blonde out of his eyes as he stood up from the table he was working on his own art project at. Blowing out a breath, no doubt from hours spent laboring over his masterpiece; he brushed his palms off on the thighs of his light wash denim jeans. He wore a navy polo shirt with another tee layered underneath and the sleeves cuffed so that the white of his undershirt was visible.

I didn't get the appeal. Ooh, I'm Kurt and I have olive skin and hazel eyes. Pfft. So what? Like that made him any more special and unique than the rest of us?

My sights followed him as he strode his way across the room, stopping only a couple of feet away from where I was seated next to the supply shelf. I raised my gaze to him as he opened his mouth to speak to me. "Hey, Matt, would you mind passing me a paintbrush?"

Without taking my eyes off of him, I reached my hand out to the pile of brushes on the shelf nearest to me, feeling around until I had one in my grasp. "Here you go," I said chucking it at him with more force than what was necessary. I tried to stifle a laugh as he watched the paintbrush bounce off his chest and onto the tile floor.

"Chill bro," he said giving me a strange look. "This ain't dodge ball."

"Sorry. Let me get you another." I whipped a second brush at him, watching in delight as it followed the pattern of what had happened with the first.

Kurt curled up a lip as he bent over to scoop one of the paintbrushes off the floor. "Fucking psychopath," he muttered under his breath as he walked away.

I beamed to myself as I continued working on my bowl, even though it was quite a sorry sight to behold. It was lopsided with one side nearly caving in like a mound of sad, neglected clay. Couldn't I be talented at anything? I sighed as the bell rang, signaling the end of class and scooted out my chair to place my bowl on the shelves with the others that needed to be put into the kiln for firing.

I reached the shelf just as Kurt was walking away from placing his freshly painted canteen on it, the intricate patterns of yellow and blue making for an impressive display piece. It would be quite a shame if anything were to happen to it.

I set my bowl on the surface, just inches in front of his artwork. It's a little too close to the edge, I thought to myself. Better make sure it's on there nice and securely. I nudged my pottery a few inches forward, in turn moving Kurt's along with it. That's still not good enough. Nudge forward. Nudge forward.

A faint smile turned up the corner of my lips as Kurt's canteen slipped over the back of the shelf, falling onto the floor and shattering into a dozen pieces. "Oh no," I whispered. "I'm so sorry, Kurt."

"Oops," I said aloud, my tone devoid of any emotion as the students in the classroom turned their heads in my direction at the sound of glass breaking.

"Are you fucking serious," Kurt shouted from across the room, his face turning red. "What's your problem man?" He crossed the room in all of two seconds, yanking my bowl off the shelf and throwing it to the floor before stomping on it.

I gasped as it crushed into a shoe-printed pancake underneath the weight of his foot.

"Oh, don't cry about it," he spat out. "I improved it for you." He had a point but even still, it had taken me hours to get it to that level of measly and pathetic.

"Kurt that will be enough," Mr. Jackson called out sternly as he wiped his hands on his paint-smeared apron.

Kurt gestured at me, anger flashing in his eyes. "This punk started it. He broke my canteen."

"It was an accident," I said through clenched teeth. It wasn't an accident but I would die on the hill of swearing that it was.

He raked his hands through his hair as he nodded. "Yea, ok. Sure it was an accident. Then so was this." He leaned forward, shoving me in the chest and causing me to stumble backwards. Thank you, Lord for giving me a legitimate reason to put my hands on him. I shall do so with pleasure.

"I told you it was an accident," I shouted. "But this is on purpose." I pushed him back with all my strength sending him crashing into the shelf behind him, causing a few more pieces of pottery to fall off and shatter.

"Matt and Kurt, stop that right this instant," Mr. Jackson yelled.

We continued to ignore him and as fifteen kids crowded around us, some with their mouths agape and others with grins and cries of encouragement, Kurt yanked me to him by the hood of my sweatshirt. He wrestled with me trying to get me into a headlock but I was wiry and managed to avoid being shoved underneath his armpit. However, just as I pulled away for a third time, I felt his fist connect with the corner of my mouth. The punch stung and I could already feel my lip puffing up. "You low-life, piece of shit scum," he growled into my ear.

Mr. Jackson raced over, tearing Kurt off of me as he scolded us to break it up but that didn't stop me from spitting in his face. "Yea, well at least I'm not a goofy-looking pansy with bad hair." You tell him, Matt. Hit him where it hurts.

The art teacher pointed to the door instructing us both to go to the principal's office immediately and as I walked out the door, Kurt came breezing past me bumping me with his shoulder. I do not think so, Mr. Whitman. I jogged ahead until I caught up with him, proceeding to body slam into his side and sending him sailing against the lockers.

The loud clang of the metal and our angry shouting at one another caught the attention of one curvy brunette who just so happened to be bent over the water fountain, holding her hair off to the side as her soft pink lips drank in the cool liquid.

She glanced over at us, her eyebrows shooting up as she watched Kurt and I scuffle around in the hallway. "Matt," Vanessa called. "What's going on?"

I didn't answer as I was too busy being charged at by Kurt as he pinned me up against the lockers on the opposite side of the hallway before wrapping his hands around my neck. "You want to keep going Jones," he asked through gritted teeth, his face only inches away from mine. "Because I'll kick your ass right here."

I clawed at his arms as I gasped for air, trying desperately to get him off of me but his grip was just too powerful and I knew I was outmatched. "Troy was right about you all this time," he muttered. "You really are fucked in the head."

Suddenly, all the rage that had been building up inside of me over years of bullying came out in one swift motion as I raised my arm and butted Kurt in the nose as hard as I could with my elbow. At the sound of a sickening crack, he stumbled backwards, instantly releasing his chokehold on me as his hands flew up to cover his nose and blood began spurting out. "Somebody should really put you down," he sputtered as he stormed off towards the bathroom, leaving a trail of red droplets in his wake.

I slumped against the lockers, rubbing at the front of my neck as I tried to catch my breath. I could feel her standing there staring at me but I couldn't bring myself to look at her. Even though it felt good to hit Kurt in the face, I was ashamed that she had been there to witness that side of me.

"What was that all about," Vanessa whispered.

Slowly, I raised my gaze to see her brown eyes wide and her body slightly trembling as she continued to stare at me.

"Nothing," I muttered pushing off of the lockers and making my way down the hall towards the principal's office. She followed me until I was just outside of it and then turning on my heel before ripping open the door, I spat out to her in an ice-cold voice," Perhaps, you should check on your crush to make sure he's alright."

***

As I waited on the bench outside the principal's office with an ice pack pressed to my swollen lip, Addison plopped down beside me. We glanced over at each other and she raised her eyebrows slightly at the sight of my disheveled hair and the fingerprint bruising on my neck. She bit her lip before opening her mouth. "So...the hot gossip in the lunchroom today was that Kurt Whitman and Matt Jones got into a brawl in the art room." She shook her head in disbelief. "I thought to myself, 'Nah, that can't be' but I guess it was true...," she said shrugging as she trailed off.

She placed a manicured hand on my arm, concern etched onto her perfectly made-up face and the light reflecting off the glitter of her eye shadow. "What happened," she asked softly.

Was she under the impression that Matt had yet again been the subject of this hellhole school's favorite past time of bullying? "I accidentally broke his canteen and he didn't take kindly to it."

The corners of her mouth twitched slightly as she struggled to keep her neutral composure. "Are you sure it wasn't on purpose?"

I narrowed my eyes at her as I adjusted the ice pack. "What are you trying to say, Addie? That I have some sort of vendetta against Kurt?" I scoffed. "Yea, sure. The guy had his pottery just dangling over the edge of the shelf. It's not my fault he was careless with his work."

She nodded as she ran her hands down the thighs of her red skinny jeans. "Were we perhaps feeling a little bit hostile that he scored the number one slot on a certain really pretty brunette's hot guy list?"

I rolled my eyes. "Pssh. Please. It was merely a coincidence."

She searched my face for any type of indication that I was being dishonest but thankfully, I was saved by the sound of my phone buzzing in my pocket. "I have to go, Addie," I said sliding it out. "My dad's here. The school's suspending me for another three days and they want to have a meeting with him." I sighed as I raked my fingers through my hair. "I'm so excited to get yelled at over dinner tonight and find out I've been grounded for the next month." I gave her a half-hearted smile as I stood up and pointed to my face. "Take a good look because this is the last time you'll be seeing this face for quite a while."

She smirked at me. "I don't need to look. Trust me, the ugliness of your mug is already seared into my brain and keeping me up at night." She joined me in walking down the corridor. "So many nightmares," she whispered to herself.

I nudged her with my shoulder. "Don't lie to yourself, Addie. Those aren't nightmares, those are dreams and you only wish you could have this gorgeous face in your bed." I stopped to grin at her, placing my hand underneath my chin and then immediately wincing at the pain in my lip.

She rubbed my back. "Easy does it, Reaper. I know smiling's a new thing for you. Take it slow and don't hurt yourself."

I pressed my palm to my chest in mock gratitude. "Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me. Who would know better about chuckles and smiles than Bozo the Clown?"

Grabbing my head in between her hands, she pulled my face to her mouth as she smeared red lipstick kisses all over my cheek. I moved out of her grasp, scrubbing at my skin the best I could with the back of my hand. "Yuck," I exclaimed. "You are such a girl."

"And you are such a demon." I let out a small yelp, my eyebrows flying up as she gave me a playful smack on the behind. "Now go off my little delinquent in training and share your light with the rest of the world."

Addison stopped to stand in the middle of the hallway as I kept on walking. I turned around to face her, continuing to move backwards and stumbling over a random ass garbage bin that the janitor had left out. "Shut up," I said as a laugh escaped her mouth. "I hate you."

She gave me a small wave. "You love me though. See you in four to six weeks, Mattie!"

***

Vanessa

It was early November and the last bit of fallen brown leaves crunched beneath my boots as I made my way up the sidewalk to my house. I felt desolate and the grey of the sky and the cold barren Earth matched my mood.

I missed Matt like crazy. After his fight with Kurt and his subsequent suspension, his dad hit the roof and forbade him from going anywhere except for school for the entire month of October. Gone were our Friday night reality TV binge fests and afternoon runs to the bookstore to check out the latest releases.

There had been no Saturday movies or leisurely Sunday drives with no destination in particular and especially no late-night bonfire parties at "the spot" followed up by a midnight meal at the diner to help absorb some of the alcohol we had consumed.

Matt was still allowed access to his car, often arriving at school tardy in the morning with strict instructions to come immediately home in the afternoon. However, his phone had been confiscated by his father so I didn't get to fall asleep with my cell clutched to my chest as I waited for his next text message to come through while we wrote back and forth before bed.

The only time I had been able to see him was during the twenty minutes we were given for lunch and even then, he was disengaged and often kept a quiet demeanor as he pushed his food around on his tray. I wanted him back and my heart felt heavy as I trudged up the concrete steps leading up to my house.

No sooner had I slipped inside the empty foyer and tossed my book bag onto the hardwood floor, did Addison come bursting through the front door. "Vanessa," she exclaimed breathlessly, her green eyes sparkling as she grabbed my arm to lead me into the living room and onto the couch. "You will never guess what I heard today at school."

I perked up. Was Matt being released from being held prisoner in his own home? Or perhaps he had told somebody that he missed me too. My heart started racing as I began to get excited over all the possibilities of things Addison could have overhead about him. "What is it, Addie," I asked the smile on my face growing larger by the second.

She flailed her hands. "Kurt Whitman was asking about you!" She let out an excited squeal. "Tammy told me that she was eavesdropping on a conversation he was having with one of his friends and he questioned if he knew the name of the cute short girl that eats lunch with Addison Miller."

She pointed at her chest. "That's me! So the cute girl that eats lunch with me has to be you unless he's referring to Matt." She let out a giggle.

I slumped back into the couch cushions. "Oh."

Addison leaned forward to grab me by the shoulders, shaking me. "Are you listening? Kurt freaking Whitman called you cute! Your number two wants to know who you are, V."

I shrugged. "That's nice," I said my tone expressionless. "Do you want to go to the diner?"

She gave me a look like I had just confessed to having a naughty dream about Alex Banks. "Vanessa, this is huge news. Why aren't you more excited?!"

I wrinkled my nose as I folded my legs up underneath me and propped my chin in my hand, fingering a loose thread on the fabric of the couch. "I'm not really interested in Kurt anymore." Images of him shoving Matt up against the locker and pinning him there with his hands around his neck flashed to my mind and I shuddered. Anyone that could hurt my love like that was of no importance to me.

True, Matt had countered with a bash to his face which did frighten me a little but what else was he supposed to do when he was being choked out? Just take it?

Addison blew out her breath as she ran her fingers through her glossy locks. "V, this change of heart towards Kurt wouldn't happen to have anything to do with him beating up on lover boy would it?"

I shrugged, avoiding her gaze as I stared down at the plaid pattern of my sofa cushions and traced the squares with my fingers.

She reached out, sliding her thumb underneath my chin and tilting my face up to look at her. "Vanessa, it's been over two years and Matt has yet to come around and proclaim his love for you. Don't you think that it might be time to explore other options?"

I hugged my knees to my chest as my eyes welled up with tears. I shook my head wildly. "I don't want to, Addie. I love him."

She pulled my head to her chest as she stroked my hair. "I know, V." She let out a long sigh as she slid her hand down to my back. "I'll talk to Matt and see what I can get him to admit. If he doesn't confess to having any feelings for you then will you promise me that you will finally move on and at least attempt to go on a date with somebody else? It doesn't have to be Kurt but just make it anybody that doesn't have beautiful grey-blue eyes, pierced ears, and is shrouded in all black, ok?" She looked me in the eye. "Do you think you can do that for me?"

I sniffled as my best friend held me in her comforting arms. "I...I guess so," I replied softly, closing my eyes to visions of Matt's hand being torn away from mine as I lost him in a bustling crowd only to never be seen again.

A/N Do you all think Kurt will retaliate against Matt? Also how do you think Matt will respond when Addison probes him for information about Vanessa? 

Next update possibly tomorrow 02/01. As the next part will be a brand new scene that I have to write, I'm not sure how far I will get with it today. However, prepare for some cuteness overload as Matt definitely starts feeling that puppy love and finds it a little hard for him to control. 

Kurt Whitman

He was added as a new character after I began rewriting the book so that's why he's not in character profiles but if you want a visual of him, this it/ish.