XXVI.                                              Heartbreak Weather

      Odessa thought she would get to start a new school year with a fresh start. Maybe she had a chance to fix her reputation. She was the All Valley champion. That gave her some what of a good name. But now, she had to worry about Hawk trying not to kill Demetri. When she got to school, she saw Miguel standing outside and she smiled. She ran up and hugged him from behind. "Miguel, I've missed you!"

Miguel flinched and laughed. "You just saw me yesterday,  Dess."

She released him and walked around so that she was in front of him. She noticed the somber look on his face. Why do you look so sad? It's the first day of school."

He shook his head. "Tory won't text me back. I don't even think she's reading them."

"Why? Did something happen?"

He paused and she saw him hesitate. "Um. . . No, not that I can think of. It's probably nothing." He shrugged it off.

Odessa hummed. "I can try and talk to her if it helps?" 

He smiled. "Yeah, that would. Thanks, Odessa."

She beamed and patted his arm when she walked away. She spotted her friends standing by the front door of the school. "Thank god, you're all here."

"Hey, girl." Hailey said and wrapped her in her arms.

"Did everything go okay with Robby after the party?"  Grayson asked her.

"He said he took Sam to his dads. I haven't heard anything from him though other than this morning." She replied and checked her phone. Her and Robby's texts were full of messages but he hadn't responded to her recent ones.

"Well, let's go ahead and head in. I told Demetri I'd meet him in the front hall," Oliver said to them.

Odessa tilted her head. "Demetri?"

He nodded. "Yea, Demetri. You know, the tall, lanky boy who thinks math jokes are cool even if they're really not?" He described and headed inside the building.

The friends separated to find their lockers and Odessa put in her combination. She sorted all of her stuff inside and grabbed the things she needed to put in her bag. "Excuse me?" A voice said from behind her.

Odessa grinned while her back was still turned.

"I'm new to this school and i'm looking for a girl. She's got blonde hair and these big and beautiful blue eyes, the most amazing smile. . ." Robby trailed with a smile.

She turned around and flashed her row of white teeth at him. "She sounds pretty amazing." She said with a hum.

"Oh, she is." He confirmed and stepped closer to her. He reached his arm up and placing it above her head.  "Hi." He said with a cute smile.

She giggled. "Hi. You didn't answer my texts. I was getting worried."

"I'm sorry. I had a rough morning. But I can't wait to spend the year with you."

"Neither can I," she responded and touched the side of his face. She leaned up and kissed him.

They pulled away when the first bell rang. "Well, can't be late on my first day." Robby mumbled while still being close to her face.

She smiled and kissed his nose. "Have a good day. If you need anything come find me."

He nodded. "Of course." He pecked her lips one more time and walked away to find his class.

Odessa shut her locker with a sigh and headed to her first class, which was biology. She walked in to the student filled room and her eyes widened when she saw Hawk sitting with Miguel. She groaned when she realized the only empty table was right in front of them. 

"Hey, Dess." Miguel greeted when he saw her walk to the table.

"Hey, Mig. Hey, Hawk." She mumbled the last part and took a seat.

Hawk felt his heart hurt by her calling him Hawk, seeing as she never did. "Hi,  Odessa. . ." He shook off his feeling and turned his attention back to Miguel. "But dude, you kissed Sam?" He continued their conversation.

Odessa whirled her head around when she heard him. "You kissed Sam?"

Miguel winced. "Yes. . .?"

She pointed at him. "You lied to me!" 

"I'm sorry! It's not something i'm proud of." He groaned.

"I think it's nice," said Hawk.

Odessa scoffed.

"No, not nice. I shouldn't have done that to Tory."  Miguel objected with a grumble.

"Why limit yourself to one chick?"

"Oh, fuck you." She muttered to herself and turned back around in her seat.

Miguel narrowed his eyes at him. "You know, if this is your way of telling her you want her back, you're really bad at it." He expressed.

Hawk only frowned. A boy walked up to him. "Just wanted to say, I wet the bed till I was thirteen."

Odessa snorted and quickly covered her mouth.

Eli glared at the back of her head. "Get the hell out of my face!" He demanded and swiped the boys books from his hand.

She turned around in her seat again. "I'm not judging you, but coming from experience, don't hide the fact that kissed Sam from Tory. You'd rather her be angry that truth than angry at the lie." She said to Miguel.

The boy looked down in guilt.

They listened to the announcement ramble on the intercom when they heard her yell out in pain. "Hey,  what. . . you're not supposed to be in here!" The static of the mic made Odessa cover her ears and narrow her eyes in confusion. "Give that back! Ow—"

The students sat in their seats confused as they listened to the commotion. "Samantha Lausso."

It was Tory. The three teenagers gave each other wide eyed looks.

"You know what you did and now you're gonna pay for it."

From her class that she had with Grayson, Hailey whistled under her breath. "This bitch is about to get her ass beat."

"I'm coming for you, bitch!"

The announcements turned off and immediately, a wide eyed Miguel sprinted out of the classroom. The ex couple stared at each other. "Should we. . .?" She pointed to the door.

Eli nodded. "Yeah."

They sprinted out of the classroom.

Oliver was freaking out in more ways than one. "Tory beating the shit out of Sam? That's something I didn't see coming." He said in disbelief.

Him and Demetri followed where the crowd of students were headed. Tory and Sam stood face to face and very done formed a circle around them so that they were the only two in the middle. Odessa and Eli came sprinting through everyone and they joined the crowd with their friends.

"I saw what you did at the party. You kissed Miguel." Tory said to Sam in pure anger.

Hailey's eyes widened. "Oh, this bitch needs to be put down." She said out loud.

Odessa wacked her arm. "Hailey!"

"I-I—" Sam hesitated. Tory swung her fist but Sam moved quickly to avoid it. The girl grabbed her by her bag and yanked it off her back before kicking at her.

"Don't just stand there!" Odessa shouted and shoved Sam back to Tory. She began throwing punches at Sam but she blocked each of them along with the kicks she sent her way. She kept ducking but not fighting back.

"Don't be a pussy!" Shouted Hailey.

Tory grabbed Sam by her shoulders and started kneeing her in the stomach. Sam covered her face. Tory threw the brunette into the lockers and everyone flinch. She saw Robby standing on the other side and she shook her head.

Unfortunately, he didn't listen. Robby quickly ran forward and yanked Tory off of Sam. He shoved her back. "You okay?" He asked Sam with a worried expression. Robby shoved Tory into the lockers when she tried to hit him. "Stop!"

"Where's Miguel when you need him?" Oliver asked with his arms crossed. Miguel flashed by them and tackled Robby to the ground. "Oh, there he is."

"Hey man, we gotta do something." Chris voiced.

"Good idea," Demetri replied and patted his back. "I'm gonna get a teacher."

Oliver's jaw dropped as he watched the boy run off in sight of a teacher. "Oh, it is on!" Hawk shouted and that's when all hell broke loose. He shoved Bert and another boy away from him and flipped over a boy who charged at him.

Odessa rubbed her arms and neck in distress as she watched people break into fights. Hailey shrugged. "I don't know about you guys but i'm going to find a certain blonde bitch and give her a piece of my mind."

Grayson and Odessa watched her walk away and turned to each other with wide eyes. "I should, go,
yeah—" he stuttered and sprinted after her.

The girl saw an older boy picking on Bert. "Hey, leave him alone you asshole!" She shouted and punched the boy in the face. She felt someone come up behind her and grab her arms. He shoved her into a locked.

Hawk saw what was happening. "HEY!" He roared. He sprinted forward and front kicked the guy holding her. He fell to the floor and Odessa rubbed her sore arms. "Dess, are you okay?"

She stood there and stared at him, breathlessly. Eli stared back. When they weren't paying attention, another boy came up and kicked Hawk in the back and he flew into her. "Watch where you're doing!" Odessa shouted and threw a punch at him. He quickly dodged it but she managed to kick his legs out fro under him.

Hawk stood there with his mouth gaped. The ex couple stared at each other not knowing what to say. "Dess—"

"I have to go." She interrupted and took ran off. Her heart was racing. She didn't have time to dwell on it. She found Hailey holding Yasmine tightly against a locker. "Hailey!"

"Let me go you fucking bitch!" Yasmin swore and elbowed Hailey in the stomach, making her leg go. Before she could do anything, Hailey raised her leg and kicked the blonde across the face. Yasmin fell to the ground in in pain and Hailey used her heel to kick her in the stomach. She faced the other blonde and huffed, blowing her hair out of her face.

"Feel better?" Odessa asked.

She smirked. "Extremely."

The fighting started to shift as students started shoving each other to the front entrance of the school. Odessa grabbed Hailey's hand and they ran to look for Grayson and Oliver. They found Oliver fighting a boy they didn't recognize in the middle of the corridor. He threw a punch but Oliver karate chopped his arm and used his other slam it into the boys face. When he stumbled back, he lifted his leg and kicked the boy directly in the jaw, making him fly backwards.

"Holy shit, Oliver. I think you broke his tooth." Grayson exclaimed with wide eyes.

He smirked, feeling proud. "I know. I heard it."

Demetri came running into the corridor with Mr. Palmer. "You have to do something, Mr. Palmer!" He shouted.

He watched Hawk fighting off a couple of guys and another teacher ran in between them, telling them to break it up. One of the boys threw his elbow in the teacher's face and flipped him over his shoulder. "Screw this. They don't pay me enough." Mr. Palmer yelled and ran away.

Oliver tilted his head at Demetri, blood dripping from his mouth. "Teacher tactic didn't work?"

"Shut up." Demetri groaned and his eyes widened when he caught Hawk smirking at him. "Not again." He took off running again and Hawk quickly followed him.

"Oliver, Gray, go help him!" Odessa begged her friends.

The boys sprinted off and Hailey and Odessa looked around the crazed high school. Hailey looked up at the second floor and she saw something. "Is that Robby and Miguel?"

Odessa looked up to see Robby fighting Miguel on the second floor. She quickly ran up the stairs with Hailey hot on her tail. "Robby, stop!" She shouted at him.

Robby quickly turned his head to her and Miguel took the opportunity to punch him. Hailey grabbed Odessa and pulled her back before she got hit. The girl stood there in fully stressed while watching the boy she was with and her best friend beat the living hell out of each other. Miguel looked up and saw Tory shoving Sam and he quickly dropped Robby to run over to her.

Odessa broke out of Hailey's grasp and grabbed Robby's arm, helping him up. "What the hell are you doing?" She shouted at him.

"This was a long time coming, Dess." He breathed out.

"Please stop before someone gets seriously hurt!"

He grabbed her face. "I'm sorry." He said before letting go and sprinting up the stairs. Miguel stuck his leg out and tripped him.

When Odessa ran up the stairs, she ran straight into Tory's outstretched fist, making her fly back. Hailey glared at Tory. "You bitch!" She kicked Tory in the stomach and it made her let go of Sam.

"Hailey, stop!" Odessa shouted at her friend, who grabbed a fist full of Tory's hair. Tory kneed her in the stomach twice before using her other hand to reach behind her and grab her hair, making her fall back and hit her head on the floor.

It was madness. Complete madness. Odessa stared in horror as her friends fought each other, the along awaited anger finally being let out. She saw Hawk chasing Demetri out into the corridor and she darted down the stairs. Oliver came in behind her.

When they stopped in front of the trophy case, Hawk threw a kick in Demetri's face and punched him. Oliver quickly ran up and grabbed his arm. He threw him across the floor. While they fought, Odessa rushed to Demetri. "Metri, are you okay?"

"Odessa, get out of here. You don't need to be in the middle of this." Demetri huffed, ignoring her question.

Before she could say anything, she felt Hawk push her out of the way and he continued trying to fight Demetri. Before he could throw another, Demetri wrapped his arms around him. "No hard feelings." He let out and spun Hawk in a circle and kicked him in the face, causing him to fly into the trophy case.

Glass shattered everywhere and Eli curled into a ball on the floor. "Sorry, Eli. . ." Demetri trailed.

Oliver helped Odessa off the floor but she quickly got down on her knees again. She ignored the glass going into her skin as she rolled Eli on his side and examined his bloody face. "Oh, my god. Are you okay?"

Eli groaned in pain. "Besides the glass in my skin, i'm peachy."

She shook her head while laughing and he looked up at her and smiled, blood on his teeth.

Oliver grabbed Demetri's shoulder and spun him around. "Dude, that was sick!" He exclaimed and grabbed the boy's face.

Demetri blinked in surprise but he stood there, smiling shakily.

From the staircase, Odessa saw Sam kick Tory in the face and she tumbled down the stairs. She helped Eli off the floor. "We have to do something. They're gonna kill each other!" She exclaimed.

Oliver followed her eyes and saw Miguel kick Robby. "Guys, they're really close to the edge." He said out loud when she saw the boys getting very close to the ledge.

"Guys, get away from the ledge!" Odessa screamed in a panic.

Grayson was checking Hailey's bloody face on the second floor when he heard Odessa and looked over to see Miguel and Robby fighting close to the edge. His eyes widened when he saw Robby go to kick Miguel and almost go over the ledge. "Robby, Miguel, get away from the ledge!" He repeated Odessa's words.

They watched as Miguel had Robby pinned down on the floor, his face smushed, and his hands behind his back. But Miguel paused, hesitating on what to do next.

"He's showing mercy." Hailey realized as she watched him.

Odessa had a tight grip on Oliver's arm. She felt extremely sick.

Miguel released Robby's arm and sighed. "I'm sorry."

But that wasn't enough for Robby, because he let out a battle cry and got up from the floor. He kicked Miguel in the stomach. Suddenly, everything became slow motion. It felt like the world was crumbling. Odessa couldn't hear anything and it was like the air had become cold. She didn't know how to explain it but she felt like she was dying inside. Because when she watched Robby kick Miguel and he flip over the ledge, she couldn't hear the sound of her own screams.

The loud crack of Miguel's spine hitting the staircase ledge made bile fill her throat and her knees weak. Her vision went blurry and she could hardly see the boy she considered her best friend land on the bottom stairs, unconscious.

The police offers appeared. "We need an ambulance at West Valley High."

A cry slipped from Odessa's lips and she didn't realize she had grabbed Eli's arm out of fear. She couldn't even feel the glass cutting into her skin. She looked up and found Robby's eyes. He stared back at her in pure fear. He took off running.

She quickly dropped to her knees by Miguel. "M-Miguel?" She stuttered.

Eli stood behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off. She gingerly touched Miguel's limp arm. "Miguel, wake up." She cried out.

From the top of the staircase, Hailey let out a cry and she covered her mouth. She was thankful she was on the floor because her knees were extremely weak. Grayson pulled her into his chest and she cried.

Oliver's eyes filled with tears and he locked his hands behind his head. He shook terribly. Demetri had his hands on his shoulders but even he couldn't find the words to calm him down.

Odessa cried like a baby as she looked at Miguel's bloody and unconscious self on the staircase. The police officer pushed past them slightly and checked his pulse. He didn't even look alive.

Life would change for the teenagers after what happened. They didn't know what was coming and weren't prepared for it. Odessa's heart was broken completely and her hand touched Miguel's arm again. She crumbled.