Chapter 7 – Will

    Appearances. Appearances were something that a lot of people couldn't go without upholding. Whether it was your appearance at work, making sure your bun was in tip top shape to impress your boss, or it was how you looked in public. Almost everyone had some kind of will to look good no matter where they went, or at least in certain instances.

But as I walked into theater class the next day, I was certain Analise was not one of those people. Her usually long cascading waves of brown were thrown up messily into a ponytail-bun combo of sorts. There were bags under her usually wide awake eyes, and she looked like she hadn't slept in days. She wore a pullover black hoodie and grey sweatpants, when usually I'd noticed she liked to wear jeans. I tried not to judge her appearance – to me, she still looked beautiful. But I couldn't help but wonder why she looked so rundown today.

I made a move to talk to her, but Tommy got to her before I could. The entire time in class was spent with me looking at her, watching, waiting to see what she would do. Every once in a while her eyes would drift closed, only to be snapped open out of what I could only place as instinct.

By the time class was over, she was gone, and I knew I'd have to wait until our first rehearsal. That is of course if she showed up. Analise didn't seem like the type to listen to authority very well, but there again, I was just assuming prematurely. I still hadn't gotten a chance to get to know her and accurately judge by my findings, or lack of.

The school day flew by relatively quickly and not much went on until the end of the day. I was packing up my bag by my locker when students ran by me, practically knocking me into my locker. I sighed, looking around before Justin clapped me on the shoulder. "You good?"

I nodded, shaking some hair out of my eyes. "They were pretty hasty. What's going on?"

He shrugged to himself, looking towards the direction the guys had run in. "Looks like a fight. Probably one of the outcasts."

"Which one?" I asked him, trying to seem nonchalant and inconspicuous but I'm sure we both knew which one I was inquiring about in particular. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't in any trouble.

Justin got on the toes of his shoes, trying to look over the mass of students that had accumulated at the end of the hall. He hummed to himself, moving around trying to see the best he could, before sighing. "Can't tell, but I see Colin and Tommy off to the side, so it's one of the girls."

I began walking towards the circle, shutting my locker as I went. "How do you know it's one of them?"

"Because every fight in this school has to do with one of the four of them."

As we approached, we realized that instead of one huge circle, there was two slightly smaller circles. In the center of one circle stood Analise and some blond girl I'd never seen before, and in the center of the other circle, stood Analise's friend – Raven? - and Mallory. At the sight of Mallory, Justin's eyes widened and he sprinted forward. I felt like I was at a crossroads – help my kind of acquaintance and future co-star in the play, or help my friend who'd actually made me feel welcomed here?

Neither particularly looked like they could be helped. Still, I felt I had to do something. Off to the side stood Colin and Tommy and I chose to stalk over to them. "Why aren't you stopping them?"

Tommy shrugged, smirking to himself. "It's hot when chicks fight, and it's even hotter when it's them."

"Besides," Colin cut in, his eyes not straying from the circles. "They've not gone to blows just yet, Willy. Give it time, wait for the real action."

"You shouldn't condone this at all!"

"Not your monkeys, not your circus, lover boy," Tommy mumbled, glaring at me briefly before returning his eyes to Analise.

I groaned, running a nervous hand through my hair before walking away from the nimrods who couldn't be helpful if they were paid to be. I tried fighting my way through, before a hand clamped down on my shoulder. I turned slightly to see Toby stood there, watching himself. "Ah, they've never done a two for one before."

"Who is Analise arguing with?" I asked Toby, A.K.A wondrous knower of all information.

"That's Ashlynn Collins," Toby answered easily. "Blond, cheerleader, popular girl, and Analise's mortal enemy since as long as anyone can remember."

"Why?" I queried, seriously wondering. It seemed Analise had a plethora of enemies or non-friends and only a couple actual friends, and it was something I couldn't understand.

He shrugged. "No one really knows. But every guy that tries to get with Analise tries to get with Ashlynn, and vice versa. It's one of the rumors on why Analise doesn't date – If she did, Ashlynn would stake her claim faster than Columbus to America."

I nodded, absorbing. "And if you're the mediator, as you called yourself, why aren't you breaking it up?"

"All in due time, Will," Toby answered sounding wiser than his years. "These are girls fighting. You have to approach thoughtfully and carefully to be able to break it up. Approach too soon, and you'll be on the receiving end of nail scratches from your hair to your neck. Approach too late, and the damage is done and you can be to blame if you're in the general area."

"So when's the right time?"

His eyes scanned over both circles and he licked his bottom lip thoughtfully. "Right now, the girls are all just arguing. Probably throwing petty insults at each other to psyche the other out, if I had to bet. It may not even turn physical, it just depends what is said. When it starts to get physical, wait a minute or two and then intervene. Let each girl get some aggression out first or you'll be the receiving end of both girls' aggression."

"How did you learn so much about girls?"

"Listening, watching..." Toby paused thoughtfully. "Being close to someone who's close to two of those girls four girls, and being in love with one of them."

My brows shot up, obviously showing my blatant shock like an open book. "Who? Analise?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "No. Not my type. Too... standoffish, to put it nicely."

"That's nicely?"

"Nicer than anyone else is when referencing the outcasts. Nah, my girl of choice is the fiery red head arguing with Raelynn."

"Mallory?" I voiced my thoughts.

He nodded. "She's beautiful, but doesn't know it, or show it, or boast it. She's confident, but not too confident that it's suffocating. She's friendly and nice when she needs to be but cocky and fierce at other times. Perfect fiery spirit for me, the perfect melting pot."

I nodded along, honing in on the arguments. They'd progressed it seemed, Analise and Ashlynn were almost at each other's throats. Ashlynn scoffed at something Analise said and brought her hand back to slap her. The sound reverberated through the hall, making Mallory and Raelynn stop their argument and turn too.

"I can not believe Ashlynn struck first," Toby mumbled to himself, eyes wide.

Everyone standing around chorused what he'd just said in different ways, and I knew the Ashlynn girl had made a mistake. Analise's hand was on her red cheek, her jaw set and her eyes darker than I'd ever seen. Tommy and Colin went to pull her back, and I turned to Toby. "What happened to not intervening too fast?"

"Ashlynn has never hit first, that's what."

Analise shrugged her two friends off, her deadly glare not leaving Ashlynn. The blond looked scared, but stayed in place, feet firmly planted in a defensive stand. How bold of her. It was like a light clicked inside of Analise and she punched Ashlynn with what looked like all the force she could muster. Ashlynn fell to the ground, holding her nose, but that didn't stop Analise. She kept punching, rapid fists flying faster than I could type on a keyboard, and then the unthinkable happened. She grabbed Ashlynn's blond locks, slamming her head into the ground.

The guys and Raelynn finally convinced Analise to get off of Ashlynn who laid there, useless. She stared up at her enemy defiantly. "That all you got?"

Analise audibly growled, lunging for Ashlynn but Tommy and Colin held her back. "Talk about my family one more fucking time and you'll be sorry, you stupid bitch! I mean it, if you value that ugly fucking hair of yours you better learn when to shut your trap."

The principal came then, breaking up the fight and pointing to Analise, Raelynn, Mallory, Colin, Tommy, and Ashlynn, and motioning them towards the office. I locked eyes with Analise and her eyes had the same murderous glint in them, but I recognized hurt and sadness there too, but she masked it just as quick as it had come. But I knew what I had seen.

She turned around, following the principal and muttering how it was worth it, and the rest followed suit. The students around dispersed, talking quietly to each other about the fight, and I turned to Toby who was watching where the fight had just been.

"Toby?"

"Wow, that was some shit."

I nodded, agreeing with him before telling him goodbye and heading for class. I couldn't help but wonder what hurt Analise so bad she went that crazy. What had caused the hurt and sadness in her eyes? She had mentioned something about her family, but that was the extent – obviously not wanting to alert onlookers to what Ashlynn had said so wrong. Surely it was a secret for a reason, but how had Ashlynn known whatever it was?

I went to look for Analise after school to run lines and I couldn't find her, so I figured she'd went home for the day. I walked home, thoughts of the day running through my head and I couldn't shake them. When I was about five minutes from my house, my phone rang, an unknown number flashing across the screen.

"Hello?" I answered, confused as to who it could be. It was a Chicago number, and I hardly knew anyone here.

"Rando," Analise's breathtaking voice sounded over the phone, making my stomach do a flop. "Where are you?"

I stopped, looking around at my surroundings. "Uh, near Northside park. I couldn't find you after school so I decided to head home."

"Well we need to run lines because I'll be damned if I'm failing something as easy as theater."

"We won't fail for not running lines together."

"You know that for sure?" She shot, and I quieted down. I didn't know for sure. She took my silence as a reason to keep going. "Just come to my house, I'm almost home now. I'll text you the address."

I nodded before realizing she couldn't see me and told her I'd be on the way. She sent it, and I saved her number under her name. When I started heading towards her house, my phone beeped with another message.

Analise: And don't save my number, Rando.

I smiled to myself. Too late, Analise. Too late.