DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. Except for the two really long author's notes that I think you guys should read.
It has creeped up on us. Even me, and I'm the writer. The inevitable ending. Yep, this is the last chapter. I intentionally had two more chapters planned before the last, but the only way that would be possible was if I write useless drabbles that would just make the story drag on and on. So, this is the end. This is my first finished story. I feel proud of myself, but I also feel sad. It's over D:
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS READ, REVIEWED, FAVORITE-ED AND ALERTED. THANK YOU FOR KEEPING UP WITH THIS RETARDED STORY EVEN IF IT SOMETIMES SUCKED AND EVEN IF I WAS A CRAPPY UPDATER SOMETIMES. THIS STORY IS DEDICATED TO ALL YOU GUYS.
And the title of this chapter came from Let Go – Boys Like Girls (cover). Also, I never planned on it, but this chapter takes place on Friday the 13th.
Collide – Chapter Sixteen
'Cause There's Beauty In The Breakdown
BOCD
New Café; Table Eighteen
Friday, November 13
12:04 PM
It has been one week since "The Incident", as the PC sans Massie call it. They don't talk about it at all in front of Massie. In one hundred sixty-eight hours(seven days), they have never once said his name in front of her. She'll just walk away, like the time when Dylan said the words 'goalie' and 'Tomahawks.'
These thoughts flittered across Claire Lyons's mind as she watched Massie Block play with her food. Correction. Silently play with her food. She has barely talked, let alone smile. The only time you would hear her voice was if they were in private or if she had something important to say.
Everything has changed. There were no more ratings, no formation. Just for experiment's sake, Kristen wore her mom approved outfit to school yesterday and Massie only gave her a once-over before staring out the window again. Claire thought she would be happier if the ratings and formation disappeared, but she was obviously wrong.
Everything's way different. They barely even hung out with the guys. Not that Claire really had anything to complain about that. She and Cam were trying out this new friendship thing and yes, their previous relationship brought an awkwardness, but surprisingly, it was slowly disappearing.
"Hey look, the guys are coming in from the trailers," Kristen Gregory announced to the table, and the redhead and the blonde turned to where she was looking. Claire side-glanced at Massie, but she was already preparing to leave. Before Claire could say anything else, Massie stood up and swiftly walked away, with the whole café watching her.
"Great, Kristen, look what you did," Dylan Marvil snapped.
"I'm sorry! I forgot," Kristen said, looking at the doors that Massie went out of.
"You know what, I'll talk to her," Claire said.
"Really?" Kristen asked, just as Alicia Rivera's voice filled the whole café.
"Yeah. Wait for us here," she said, standing up and following Massie. She saw the brunette at the end of the hallway, turning right.
"Massie!" Claire called out, but Massie was ignoring her. She ran to keep up with her, and they ended up in the bathroom.
"What is it, Claire?" Massie asked curtly.
"What's wrong with you, Mass?"
"Nothing."
"You've barely said a word this whole week!"
"So? I'm talking to you now, aren't I?"
"Come on Massie! You're the Massie Block! You have to snap out of it!"
"I don't want to be the Massie Block anymore," Massie said, looking down at her feet.
"What?" Claire asked, shocked at the words that came out of the brunette's lips.
"You know what? I never really liked Dempsey. He was more of a distraction to me. With Derrick, he made me feel carefree and alive and happy and just plain old Massie Block. With Dempsey, I had to keep up my act. I had to be the Massie Block. The one everyone is scared of. The heartless queen. The alpha.
"Derrick never really cared if I was alpha. He liked me for me."
Claire just kept quiet, not quite knowing what to say. Massie continued.
"Sure, we were opposites. He was goofy, silly, aloof and immature. I was serious. Mature. Sometimes I think I'm too mature. But that's what made us perfect. We balance each other out."
There was a moment of silence wherein Massie just looked at the floor and Claire just looked at Massie. Seeing her alpha like that unnerved her. Massie is the strong one. She looked so vulnerable now. So diffident. So…broken.
"Maybe I was wrong. Maybe we're not perfect. Maybe he deserves someone better than me," she said.
"How can anyone be better than you?" the blonde asked.
"Lots of people are better than me. Like you. I never really hated you. You were a threat to me. You were confident. Cam liked YOU when I liked him. Everyone loves you. You're kind, sweet, cheerful and caring. I'm cold, cruel and heartless. You managed to turn my friends against me. You were the closest to dethroning Massie Block, the alpha bitch."
"That's not true."
"Yes it is."
There was silence. Claire can't really think of anything to say. She's never been in this position before. Seeing someone so strong break. It was different from the time when Massie broke down and cried in front of her, because that Massie was still Massie. Claire has no idea who this person in front of her was.
"I just wish I could find something I'm good at. Somehow, I can't find any. Alicia can dance. You can act. Dylan is so funny, and she's not fat at all. Kristen is really good at soccer and she's really smart too. Everyone loves you guys. I want to be loved, not feared. But I'm not loved. I'm feared. I'm not good at anything," she said.
Claire grabbed Massie's shoulders and forced her to look at the blonde. "Massie! What the hell are you talking about? You're amazing, okay? You might not see it, but we do. You're destined for greatness. You're brilliant—sure, your schemes could be mean and hurtful, but they're brilliant nonetheless. You are good at something. You're good at a lot of things. You can sing. You can dance and no matter what Rupert Mann says, you can act. You're innovative. You have a brilliant mind. You're determined. You pursue what you want and stop at nothing to get it. You're hard-working. You've worked for everything you've achieved. You're a great person and no matter what you say, we love you."
"But the one who really matters doesn't, does he?"
"Yes he does! He loves you."
"But he doesn't love me enough."
Amber met blue.
Claire dropped her hands.
"I'm going to go out for some air. Don't follow me, kay? I need time to think." Massie said with a small, sad smile.
Claire nodded and watched Massie as she walked away.
"I'll see you next period," she called out.
~O~
Madame Vellon has been teaching for sixteen minutes and Massie Block is still not sitting beside Claire. Actually, the PC hasn't seen Massie yet. Five minutes before French started, the PC spread out around BOCD and looked for her. They didn't find her. She's also not answering her phone.
Massie Block is missing.
Claire, Alicia, Kristen and Dylan have all been fidgeting in their seats due to worry.
"Can we just go and look for her, please?" Alicia asked, on the verge of desperation. "In addition to being deaf, Madame Vellon is practically blind. When she turns around, she won't see us sneak out."
"But we could get suspended for cutting classes!" Kristen said, worrying about her scholarship.
"But this is an emergency!" Claire reasoned.
"If I get suspended, I might lose my scholarship—"
"What' s more important? Your scholarship or looking for your missing best friend?" Dylan demanded.
There was silence for about five seconds before Kristen said, "Fine. Let's go."
Once Madame Vellon turned around, the PC hurriedly stood up and swiftly—but silently—tiptoed out of the room.
Dylan, Claire and Kristen turned right, towards BOCD's doors, but Alicia turned left, towards the art department.
"Leesh! Where are you going?" Kristen asked.
"We cannot do this alone. The boys have art after lunch on Fridays. We need their help," Alicia pointed out.
"She's right," Dylan agreed.
"Point." Alicia raised her index finger.
So they made their way towards the art department.
Dylan: We're here outside the art department. Go out. NOW. Don't ask why, just go out NOW –D, A, C, K
Dylan pressed send and her heart beat a little faster with every second it took for Plovert to reply.
Plovert: we're on our way out. we just need to distract Vincent.
A few seconds later, the girls heard the sounds of chaos and four boys came out.
"Where's Derrick?" Claire asked.
"He doesn't feel like going out," Cam said as he examined the orange paint on his forearm.
"What did you guys do?" Kristen asked.
"Paint fight." Kemp shrugged, paint free.
"We have an emergency here!" Alicia snapped her fingers, bringing attention to her. "And Cam, I bet Derrick wouldn't hesitate to go out when he hears that Massie's missing."
"What?!" The boys asked in unison, their eyes widening. The girls put their fingers on their lips, silently telling them to shut up.
"Yes, she's missing, now go get Derrick because we have to look for her!"
The boys hurriedly sneaked back in and a few minutes later, Derrick Harrington rushed out. and looked at the girls, waiting for an explanation.
"I'm sorry, Derrick. We were just talking in the bathroom, then she said that she would go out and talk a walk and that I shouldn't follow her. I didn't know it would lead to this," Claire explained, her head bent down low.
"It's not your fault," he mumbled before sprinting away, leaving everybody watching his back.
"Friday the thirteenth was never a good day," Plovert said.
"Can we just go and look for Massie now?" Dylan said, on borderline desperation.
~O~
Derrick Harrington was pedaling as hard as he can. Normally, the feel of the wind on his hair would make him feel calm, but it wasn't working now. It wasn't working at all. He looked left and right, searching for even the slightest hint of the silky auburn hair he knew so well.
After biking around for nearly an hour, Derrick hopped out of his bike and collapsed on the green grass of the Westchester park. He looked up at the gray sky that was threatening to soak the world in it's tears.
At least the sky was empathizing with him.
"You can see everything. Tell me, where is she?" he demanded from the sky. The moment the words escaped his lips, he instantly felt like slapping himself for being an idiot. He just demanded the sky to talk to him.
The sky answered with a million raindrops.
"Nice answer," he mumbled, sitting up and wiping the water away from his eyes. As he did so, he saw a couple, the girl sitting on the swing with the boy pushing her. The scene transported him to ten days ago, November 3. His and Massie's ruined date.
The answer popped in his mind. He tilted his head to look at the sky. "Thank you!"
He grabbed his bike and started pedaling to the park near the pre-school.
~O~
The first thing he saw was her hair, dripping wet. She was sitting on the swing. He approached her reluctantly, and when he was behind her, he pushed the swing. She didn't flinch, and he knew that she knew he was there.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Alicia, Claire, Dylan and Kristen are looking for you," he said.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you too."
Silence overpowered them.
"Mass—," Derrick started.
"Stop the swing," Massie said, cutting him off. She stood up and turned around to face him and her amber eyes were glistening, either from the rain or from her own tears, Derrick doesn't know.
"We can't do this," she whispered.
"What? Why not?" he demanded.
"What you did," she started, and the sky thundered. "What you did hurt me, and it hurt a lot."
"I'm sorry. I never meant to do it," he mumbled.
"But you still did and if I took you back, how can I be so sure you wouldn't do it again?"
"Look, Massie, it was a moment of weakness! I swear it'll never happen again," he said.
"How many weak moments will you still have, huh? I can't just be a toy you hurt and you can't just expect me to take you back that easily!" she said, her voice raising an octave higher.
He was silent.
"Plus, we'll never be the same again," she added.
"We can fix this! I know we can! Come on, Massie!" he said, reaching across the swing to grab her shoulders. She flinched at his touch, but he didn't drop his hands. He wanted to hold her, to never let her go.
"No, Derrick. You can't fix something that's already broken," she said, tears dripping down her cheeks. Her tears, not the sky's.
"Yes, you can. You can stick the pieces together," he reasoned.
"But it'll never hold. There's always going to be that one piece that'll break away and everything would be different and it won't be the same again. It'll never hold," she said, her voice thick with the silent tears that were rolling down her cheeks.
The deafening silence fills their whole bodies and swallows them whole.
"Please. Just let me go. Maybe in the future. If we meet again, maybe we can be together again. Maybe that means we were meant for each other. But not now," she said, and he dropped his hands, both of them feeling empty. But they were both strong. They'd hold on to themselves and wait if they were really meant to be.
He took a deep breath and said, "Goodbye, Massie Block."
"Goodbye, Derrick Harrington," she said, turning around and walking away with her head held high, in true Massie Block fashion.
"I love you," they both whispered, but only the sky heard them, and it gave a loud crack of thunder.
Massie Block kept walking away.
Derrick Harrington kept watching her go.
Standing out in the rain,
Knowing that it's really over,
Please don't leave me alone,
I'm flooded with all this pain,
Knowing that I'll never hold you,
Like I did before the storm
(tears stream, down your face, when you lose something you cannot replace…Fix You – Coldplay…that was the motivation song for the ending, but I used Before The Storm by Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus, because it fit more)
That was the saddest ending I've ever done, but it feels…right. There was too much drama in the way and they were too young. How can you be so sure at thirteen?
Feel free to attack me with torches and pitchforks.
Yeah, I know, you guys probably hate me right now. I feel the same way.
I hate romanceismyguiltypleasure too.
BUT…
Don't fret, my loves, for there will be a sequel!
Entitled…
A Little Too Not Over You!
"Tell me why, you're so hard to forget." After 8 years of trying to move on, Massie Block and Derrick Harrington find each other again…does this mean they're meant to be? Maybe. Maybe not. Sequel to Collide.
They'll be 21.
So read it. I'll be posting it soon.
Love,
Romanceismyguiltypleasure
PS, for the sequel, would you want to keep it a ClaireCam and DylanPlovert, or would you be okay if I made it a DylanCam and ClairePlovert?