"Oh, you can't help that," Said the cat, "We are all mad here." - Mad Hatter

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I woke up in the morning to a bad headache and when I mean bad, I mean bad. Like the one even aspirin couldn't fix.

I groaned as my phone buzzed next to me. No, if you thing it was the phone buzzing that woke me up, then you are wrong, for who on earth gets up to that when it seems like hundreds of oompa-loompas are dancing in your head! It was the stupid open curtain that brought in the excruciating sunlight inside my room that woke me up.

Turns out I had forgotten to close the curtains after I came in through the window last night. Yes, after yesterday's little mishap, I couldn't bring myself to go through the front door. I knew mother would have been sleeping, but I didn't want to take a risk and in case she was awake or woke up when I came in I didn't want to give her a heart attack looking the way I was last night.

I must have been a sight though. Mascara running down my cheeks, red, puffy eyes, broken heels, not to mention the hair.

My phone buzzed again. Sighing, I picked it up.

23 missed calls. 2 voicemails. One message.

Turns out Autumn had called me continuously after I had left the party. The two voicemails were hers too. Apprehension consuming me, I opened the first one.

1:00 a.m.

"Listen Wisteria, it's not at all what it looked like I swear. I know you saw me standing there not doing anything while you- and I know you saw Will standing over me. I know what you must have thought, but it was nothing like that. In fact, it was far from that. You need to give me a chance to explain. After three years of being the closest to you, I deserve this much. I love you and you know I would never have let that happen to you."

Listening to Autumn's quivering voice, I could tell she had been crying. But on the background, there was the muffled sound of You Belong With Me playing. She hadn't left. Losing hope in her, I clicked on the next voicemail.

2:13 a.m.

"Hey, it's me again. I just realized it's all my fault. All of it. And I understand if after all this you never want to speak to me again, but just hear me out once. After that I'll let you decide."

After that I just sat that for what felt like an eternity. Staring out the window. For that's all I could do. I didn't have the energy left in me to shed tears, didn't want to either. I also didn't want to give Autumn another chance. She had one, she lost it. So, I picked myself up from the bed and headed to the shower, hoping to erase yesterday from my memory.

I was late and I had no ride. Autumn had come to my house to pick me up, but before mother opened the door I told her to tell Autumn I had already left. Confused though she was, she did as I told her. After waiting for ten minutes after I heard her car driving away I carefully let myself out the front door. Thus, here I was still half jogging half running towards the red bricked building in the distance.

I reached just three minutes late. I barged into the school and sprinting, took to my first class, English. Saying Mrs. Raymond was surprised to see me open the door to her class with a loudest bang ever would be an understatement. I already wasn't in her good books and don't even ask me why because English literature was one of my strong subjects.

Mumbling a hopefully audible sorry, I turned to take the last bench at the very back of the class when Mrs. Ryamond stopped me.

"Miss Brooks, I am sorry but...detention for you." She said, not looking sorry in the least.

I groaned. This would be the first detention of my senior year and the second of my entire high school life. I was not pleased. Taking the slip from her, I turned to face the seemingly infinite many eyes of my classmates. Keeping my eyes on the ground I walked to my seat.

"Mouthbreather." I mumbled as I sat.

I had just taken out my pen, when I felt the seat beside me getting filled. I stilled. The last time that seat had been filled, I had slime stuck to my hair for a day.

I whipped around to find a very jolly looking Reece Grey grinning at me. I returned his smile with a scowl.

"Get out of my seat." I whispered as loudly as I dared.

"Good morning to you too sweetpea." He said, not bothering to lower his voice.

"I told you not to call me that!" I whispered-yelled at him.

"but it's a sweet name!"

I let out breath of frustration. He was incorrigible.

So, I decided to ignore him for the rest of the class, by behaving as if his warm body wasn't seated next to me, which turned out to be harder than thought not because he was too hot to handle, but because he continued to nudge, poke, grin at me every two seconds.

Finally after he snatched my pen right out of my hands as I was writing, I slammed my hand on the desk and said, "What do you want Grey?"

"A lot of things babe." He said, winking.

"you wish." I snarled.

He leaned in closer to me and with our breaths intermingling whispered, "You have no idea what I wish for sweetpea."

My gaze dropped down to his lips, I swallowed and then came the sound of a throat being cleared.

I jumped and faced forward to see the entire class looking at us. Somewhere someone let out a whistle. Mrs. Raymond's head whipped towards the sound so fast that I think she got a whiplash.

"You! Detention!" She shouted, "And you too Mr. Grey." She hissed, narrowing his eyes at Reece.

Leaning back, Reece smirked, "Gladly Emma." Replied Reece.

That was the last thing I remember before being sent to the principal's office.

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Mrs. Raymond charges were completely false. As soon as we entered Mr. Witherspoon's office, she began screaming her head off about how kids these days had no morals and respect for the elders. When, she finally calmed down and Mr. Witherspoon asked her about what had happened, she declared that she had caught me and Reece making out in the middle of the class.

I was horrified at the allegations. Reece and me kissing? That wasn't going to happen in like forever. But unfortunately, Mrs. Raymond these remarks brought back how tempting Reece's lips had looked and how kissing him would feel. Vigorously shaking my head, I looked the devil himself, who was currently standing beside me, with an amused expression on his face looking at Mrs. Raymond Trying to persuade Mr. Witherspoon to suspend us.

Wait. What?

"Hey! I- I mean Mr. Witherspoon, what Mrs. Raymond is saying is a complete lie. I never kissed anyone! It was him," I pointed at Reece, "he came to my desk and started harassing me, suspend him not me!" I said, looking at our principal with my best puppy eyes.

"What you trying to seduce the principal out of this?" Reece's hot breath fanned my ears. I pushed my elbow into his guts. He cursed.

"I know Miss. Brooks. Looking at your records, especially of the past two years, I guess I can let you out with three days detention." Mr. Witherspoon smiled at me, as if he expected me to fall onto my knees and tank him for this little act of kindness. I might have even.

"As for you Mr. Reece." He pushed his spectacles higher as he looked at Reece with pursed lips.

Reece put his hands in his hoodie pocket and raised and eyebrow as a reply.

"Three days for you too I guess."

I gasped. That was not fair! He was the reason I have gotten into Mrs. Raymonds Book Of Top Ten Bad Girls and he was being letting out with just three days, same as me?

when we left the principal's office, I was fuming. The moment his office doors closed, I was on Reece.

"You asshole! What do you think of yourself! you gave me detention for three days, you are the reason why I might never get into my dream college, you-you-"

"Out of words sweetpea?" The Satan's spawn said, cocking his head to one side.

I huffed. I actually had forgotten all my choicest curse words due to the rage that had currently taken over my mind.

"Stay. Away." I said, poking him in his ribs at each word. Then, I turned on my heels and went away with all the dignity I still had left, Reece's laughter echoed behind me.

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I put my books in the locker, humming 'Before He Cheats' as I headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Out of nowhere, a hand grabbed at my arms and I whisked into one of the classrooms. My first thought was kidnapping. What do you do in such a situation, like any other sensible girl, I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Hush, not so loud Wisteria! Its only me." Came Autumn's voice.

I wrenched my arm from her grip and rubbing at the area said, "From when didyou get such a strong grip?"

She shrugged, "I've been working out."

"No, but seriously, Autumn, what do you want?" I asked her, inching away from her as images of yesterday filled my mind.

"About yesterday Wist-"

I waved her off.

"I don't wanna hear your side of the story."

"Wisteria Brooks. In all of the three years, four months and seventeen days that we have known each-other, have I ever deceived you?" Said Autumn, placing her hands on her hips.

Taken aback by her exact calculation, all I could do was shake my head.

She nodded. "So, why on earth would you think that this time would be any different?" She said, flaying her arms wildly around her.

I remained quiet for a moment. Then said, "To the library. Now."

The librarian, Miss Hastings, an old fifty-ish woman, knew me and Autumn pretty well, considering we had been having most of our lunches in here for the past two years.

She smiled warmly at me, as I dragged Autumn into the most seclude corner of the library- The Science section. There I let go off Autumn and looking at my watch said, "You got exactly ten minutes to spill."

And thus she started.

"Wist, you remember when at the party Regina first started bullshitting yu?"

I nodded.

"Well, I held your hand at that time didn't i?" She asked me.

I nodded.

"After that, when Auna came, guess what Tyler McCoy somehow sneaked up begind me and grabbed my wrist. I tried to move away, but that jerk, he twisted my wrist every time I squirmed. He forced me to move away from you and stand beside Will. The entire time, you wished for me to be there beside you, I couldn't be because I was having my wrist broken by a bully." Autumn wouldn't meet my eyes, but I knew she had tears in her eyes.

She extended her right hand to me, still not meeting my gaze. All around her pale wrist were blue marks. That ass had bruised her. That too, badly, for in dome regions her skin was purple. I mentally kicked myself for ever doubting the loyalty of my one best friend.

"Oh, A, I am so sorry." With that I pulled her into an embrace. I hugged her with all my might, pouring all my strength into her. We were both weak right now, but I knew were so much stronger than all the atrocities the elite made us go through every living moment of our lives. We both cried that day. We cried more than we had when Autumn's mother had died. We cried for a lot of reasons that day, a lot of things combined that let loose at that time and we refused to stop until we had cried our hearts out.

"By the way," I asked her when we calmed down, "Did you really remember exactly for how long we had been friends or was that just made up?"

Shooting me a smile she replied, "I actually spent half an hour calculating that yesterday, starting by asking dad how long we had been here for exactly. The things i do for my best friend." She added, rolling her eyes.

I smiled at her stupidity. 

The rest of the lunch, I made Autumn eat hers as well as my lunch for fear she might not have enough strength to even stand after our little cry show. Autumn had smirked and reminded me that it was only her wrist that was bruised, not her body. But I don't know how true that was.

While my best friend ate, I plotted revenge for the Elites. While they were at me, it was all right I suppose. I deserved it one way or the other. But they can't go around messing around with my family.

It was pay time.

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