Playing with Claws

Cecilia licks the pad of her thumb and flips to the next page in her textbook. Her eyes drink in every single word printed out with caution while her pen scrawls out the notes she believes will be helpful for her exam. Basically, she's copying everything she is reading.

Everyone has their own methods to doing things. This is hers. She been studying the entire weekend, but it's not enough. She needs to work harder. She has to.

For four hours straight, she's been studying nonstop and she has no intention of quitting until she can recite the information she's come across in her sleep. She cannot afford to mess up on this test. She has to bring home a perfect score. It's expected of her. It has always been that way.

A soft knock echoes through her room before her door, which is painted an ivory white, cracks ajar. Her mother, a beautiful woman with bright blue eyes and honey blonde hair, pokes her head inside. "Cilia, dinner is ready. Are you going to join us tonight?"

"Not right now," the girl says absentmindedly, her focus never abandoning the hefty anatomy book sitting on her desk. "I'll eat later."

The corners of the woman's lips etch up, forming a subtle smile. "Okay. I'll leave a plate for you on the table then. And Cilia?"

"Hm?" she hums, still not bothering to spare the woman a glance.

"Your father and I are very proud of you. You know that, right?" Mrs Isles proclaims, her voice filled with tenderness.

There is a prolonged pause. "Yeah," Cecilia mutters at last. The door shuts with a soft click and she finds her hand slowing down. "I do."

The night flies by quickly. Too quickly, actually. The analog clock on her nightstand has already struck 3 AM yet the lamp is still on, illuminating a warm glow in the room. Once she decides that she is prepared for the exam she has tomorrow (or today), Cecilia stands up and stretches out her limbs. It's too late for her to eat now, so she doesn't.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Cecilia crawls into bed and burrows herself beneath the covers. Her bed feels like a fluff of clouds, but she doesn't fall asleep. Her body is exhausted, but her mind is in a flurry. She is mentally going over all of the stuff she has to do tomorrow and she immediately grows restless.

Hayden infiltrates her thoughts and Cecilia grabs her phone, excited to see if he has left any cute messages for her. He normally does, especially when he knows that she is busy studying. He always manages to make her heart flutter with his words, and knowing Hayden, he probably isn't even trying to woo her on purpose either. That's how she fell for him, you know.

Unconsciously yet, somehow, ever so naturally at the same time.

To her dismay and surprise, there is nothing from him. He must be worrying about the SAT. If she remembers correctly, he is scheduled to take his next month. Despite this fact, a discomforting feeling settles in her stomach as she tucks the device under her pillow.

Cecilia is aware she will not be able to get any rest unless she receives assistance. She doesn't want to rely on them, but she has no other alternatives.

It's the only way.

Sitting up, she reaches over to her nightstand and pulls the drawer open. A bottle of sleeping pills is stashed in the back, behind her stationery items, and she dumps three tablets into her palm.

Over the past three years, her body has become resistant to them, which means she has to take a larger dosage in order for the pills to be effective. She tosses them into her mouth and takes a gulp of water from the bottle she keeps nearby. The pills slide down her throat with ease and she sighs in relief. Then, the girl turns onto her side, pulls her knees to her chest and curls up into the fetal position.

What would he say if he found out? Would he understand? Or would he be utterly disgusted with her? Her heart starts to race and she tries her best to shake the feeling off. She doesn't want to think about it anymore, she shouldn't.

Her eyelids begin to feel heavy and before she realizes it, she is out cold.

* * *

"I don't know," says a girl skeptically, as she fixes her bangs. She examines her reflection from various angles in the mirror, which is rather dingy, before she turns to look at her friend. "I still find it hard to believe that Hayden's actually dating Ian's little sister. But I guess it makes sense since they've known each other for, like, forever. What do you think, Opal?"

"You're still on that, Dev?" The girl with dark purple hair drones, shaking her head in disbelief. "Why do you care so much about who's dating who? It's not like their relationship affects your life."

"Did you forget what I do for a living?" Devyn questions as she flicks her hair over her shoulder. "I run the school's gossip column. So of course their relationship affects my life. It would have been juicer if he had been dating Cecilia Isles. They could've been the school's dream couple." Then she becomes bitter. "I was positive that Charlie had a thing with her so-called friend. My credibility definitely took a huge hit because of her."

"It's your fault for making speculations on your own. Nobody told you to make those rumors up without solid proof." Opal convicts unremorsefully.

"That's not the point, O. Whose side are you on anyways?" A stall door is kicked open and slams against the wall, creating a loud bang. The sudden noise causes Opal and Devyn to jump up, startled.

"So you were the one that started those lies?" A voice sneers and the two girls look back, stunned to find Mariana glaring fiercely at them.

"What are you talking about?" Devyn sticks her nose into the air. She refuses to accept her faults. In her overly conceited mind, she is a creature with no flaws.

Mariana sucks her teeth and laughs. "You must not have anything better to do with your life. Because of you, people have been misunderstanding her since her freshman year. Don't you feel ashamed of yourself?"

"I'm sorry, but have you looked in the mirror?" Devyn taunts condescendingly. "If anybody should be ashamed here, it would be you." Next, she exits the bathroom with Opal, leaving Mariana tremoring with rage.

Irrationally, the girl charges out after them. Her arm reaches out for Devyn's raven-black hair, and she manages to grasp onto a fistful. "What did you say to me, you stupid bitch?" She shouts as she yanks her head back.

"Let me go, you psychotic jezebel!" Devyn screeches, her nails clawing against Mariana's flesh. A crowd quickly encircles them, but nobody is doing anything. Opal tries to break them up and is shoved to the floor by Mariana. Devyn twists and turns, finally breaking free from her captor's hold. Once she is liberated, she charges towards her opponent and slaps her across the face.

The stinging subsides in a few seconds, and the hit sends Mariana over the edge as she completely loses it. She tackles Devyn to the floor and straddles her, returning the favor.

Jillian and Charlie notice the commotion and force their way through the useless statues. They arrive at the front and are shocked by the scene. "Isn't that Mariana?" Jillian gapes. Charlie's eyes widen upon recognition and without thinking, she throws herself into the brawl. "Charlie, what are you doing?" Jillian cries out.

Everyone watches in bewilderment as Charlie wraps her arms around Mariana's waist and tears her off of the other girl. "Let me go! I need to teach that piece of trash a lesson!" she screams, her face as red as a beetroot.

"Mariana, you need to stop it. You're making a fool out of yourself!" Charlie hisses. She doesn't know what's going on, but she knows that this fight isn't going to do anyone any good. She has to get Mariana out of there before a teacher shows up.

"I don't care!" Mariana kicks her legs in the air, daring Devyn to come at her again.

"I know you don't, but you need to calm down. You're not helping yourself right now." Charlie drags her outside and once they're away from everyone else, she lets her go. "Have you cooled down yet?"

Mariana scowls at her, but nods stiffly.

They go over to the football field, where it is more secluded, and take a seat up in the bleachers. "I don't know what happened, but that was one hell of a catfight. I didn't think you had it in you. I thought you were actually going to gouge her eyes out back there," Charlie praises, trying to lighten the atmosphere up.

"She deserved it," scorns Mariana with condemnation. She doesn't regret her actions. In fact, she would do it all over again if she gets the chance. "She was the one who started those rumors about you. You know, the ones about you being a lesbian. I can't believe she would go around, making up blatant lies about people. Even I would never stoop that low."

"Wait, you attacked that girl because of me?" She blinks, baffled.

"Yeah."

"Well, thanks for defending my honor, but you didn't have to. I told you that I didn't care what people thought about me, and I meant it." Charlie sighs.

"I owed you that much," Mariana declares, staring out into the vast turf field in front of their eyes. "You were right, you know."

"About what?"

"Everything," she states solemnly.

Charlie catches the hint of sadness and is on high alert. "You aren't going to cry again, are you? Because I'm not really good with comforting people. So it's going to be awkward. Just thought I'd let you know ahead of time."

Mariana's face scrunches together as she pretends to gag. "Ew. As if I'd cry in front of you," she snickers jokingly.

"Are you good then?" Charlie chuckles.

She nods. "I will be. I also wanted to say sorry. For all of the times I threw a hissy bitch-fit at you."

"How about we call it even then?" Charlie offers.

Mariana thinks about the idea and agrees with a smile. She might not be able to make amends for all of the monstrous things she has done, but at least this is a start. She would just have to take this one step at a time.

In order to run, you have to be able to walk first. She's in no rush.

Today, Ian is catching a ride with Matt since they're going to hang out later. According to Matt, they need more "bro time," whatever that means. Alexander has also joined the debate team, which is why he is absent. As of right now, the only people cruising in the old, rust pickup is Ethan and Charlie. His car is still in the shop because some of the required parts the mechanic needs haven't arrived yet. They are on their way to get Cameron.

"When did you and Mariana become besties?" Ethan inquires, turning the volume to the radio down. He heard about the vehement scuffle when he was in fifth period. He's been dying to ask Charlie about what occurred.

"We're not," she answers curtly.

He purses her lips out as creases formed on his forehead. "So you didn't save her during the fight she had with Devyn Deupree?"

"She didn't need to be rescued," Charlie points out. "She was handling Deupree just fine on her own. I just didn't want her to get caught by a teacher and risk suspension."

Ethan is still having a difficult time grappling onto the situation. "Why? I thought you hated her."

Charlie shakes her head in disagreement. "I never said I hated her. I just found her unbearable. Besides, she's got a lot on her plate already. She doesn't need more trouble."

"Something happened," he predicts.

"Yeah," she confirms.

"Care to share?"

"I don't think it's my place to disclose what I know."

"Come on." He nudges her side. "I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Fine," concedes Charlie. "Mariana doesn't have the clap. She's not the one who gave it to that Tamberelli kid. He has it but he didn't get it from her. He only said it was her because she didn't get down and dirty with him at the party."

"How do you know that?" Ethan is extremely suspicious and he doesn't bother hiding his skepticism.

"I overheard her the other day," states the driver.

Automatically, his jaw slacks open. "And you seriously think she was telling the truth?" he balks. How could she be so naïve and gullible?

"I do," Charlie says without skipping a beat.

"Why?" Ethan can't help but ask.

"Because everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt. Remember what I told you? No one can be completely bad." She pauses and adds in, "Well, unless they're demented, sociopathic, serial killers or something. Then that's different," she chimes reasonably.

Ethan finds his heart hitching again and he stares at her in a daze. There's definitely more to Charlie Whitmen than what lies on the surface, and he is determined to explore every part of her. "What are you?" he whispers.

Her eyebrows furrow. "What was that?"

Shit, did he say that out loud? Ethan mentally curses himself and whips his head back forward so that he's looking straight ahead. "Nothing," he fibs, afraid that she wouldn't drop it. Most of the girls he knows sure as hell wouldn't.

Fortunately, Charlie doesn't pester him and shrugs the matter off. Like always, she believes Ethan and takes his word.

What's a friendship without trust?

- - -

Author's Thoughts: I love how you guys are responding. Thank you for your kind words <3 I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Sara-HVS and bookcraziii. I'm so happy you gave my story a shot.

I'm absolutely in love with my characters, and Mari is included! I have casted her as well! Over time, I hope I can convince you to love them as they are, if you already don't. As you can see, even the senior class' valedictorian has problems of her own. Please comment and vote if you'd like :)