The whispers and conversations along the hallway made Ruby wanna claw her ears off. She walked towards her locker with such quick footsteps as she grabbed her bag "holy shit can you believe what just happened! Hope is a real bitch".

"Tell me about it Olivia, I gotta go so get a ride home with someone else today" Ruby pushed her locker shut as Olivia looked at her. "Is this about James? Because I don't care if he's into drugs or something, I mean he used to always bring me candy in the morning before class".

"Which is why I have to go help him and make sure he doesn't relapse again, I'll text with any updates" Olivia grabbed Ruby's arm "let me go with you, I can just hang around in case something happens".

Ruby was hesitant but the truth was she didn't wanna be alone in case James actually did relapse. "Okay, let's grab Anwar too while we're at it, he's coming with" they walked off down the hallway.

Anwar yelped when Olivia grabbed his arm and dragged him outside "woah, what's going on! We still have class". Olivia huffed "it's a code red, or midlife crisis if we're being specific. We gotta go!".

James' trailer door wasn't locked when Ruby walked towards her, she looked back at Olivia and Anwar as they gave her thumbs up. She walked inside "James?" The place was dark and a mess as she made her way towards his bedroom. "James don't do anything drastic, I just wanna talk is all".

She pushed open his bedroom door and let out a breath of relief at the sight of him sitting on his bedroom floor. "I didn't take anything, if that's what made you come running here, I'm getting better".

He looked up at her and she could see the tears that stained his face as he sighed deeply. Ruby kneeled down in front of him as she set her purse down "I know, I just came here so you weren't alone".

"My life's ruined Ruby, I don't know what to do and Daisy's threatening me now, she's gonna have Andrew get taken away if I don't do what she wants. She's like mentally insane or something".

"Look, we can stop her, she can't do anything if you're stable and sober. We just gotta pick up around here and then if she tries anything, I'll kick her ass all over again, I told you she was crazy".

He huffed "don't pull the I told you so card" Ruby chuckled "well I did happen to mention she was a bit psycho, I mean look at who her mother is for goodness sake. She likely takes after her. Come on then, get off the floor and go shower".

James groaned as he stood up "alright fine, but don't even think about touching anything in here. I can pick up here on my own, thank you very much". He winked at her before he walked into the bathroom.

James for the most part was slightly surprised to find most of the trailer cleaned by the time he stepped out of the shower. Ruby sat on the couch with Olivia and Anwar both on opposite sides of her as they talked about what happened at the school.

"I mean gosh it was horrible and just depressing to watch, I can't wait to see the look on Hope's face later at opening night, she's gonna absolutely lose it". James pulled the towel off the top of his head as he looked at the trio with a stern expression "have you just been sitting here the entire time?".

Ruby smirked as she stood up "of course we have, you gotta come back to the school for opening night, everyone put together the perfect plan to save the school and I think you'll love it".

—

James walked along the corridor as he held onto Andrew's hand "alright you gonna see some pretty cursed things on the screen when they start it, I did warn you in advance. You could've stayed with Josh tonight if you wanted". Andrew shrugged "I wanna sit with Ruby, you can drop me off at Josh's after, he got this cool new game I'm dying to try out".

James smiled "alright then, we'll likely be here for just a few minutes". He walked along the row of seats and sat down beside Ruby "Andrew insisted we sit here, so sorry in advance if he talks a lot".

"I don't mind, it should be starting any second now" the microphone chimed loudly as Hope smiled proudly and walked onto the stage.

"I'm sure some of you probably had your reservations about coming here today. I don't think anybody wants to send their child to a school that's famous for STIs and sex musicals. But I'm here to assure prospective parents that these scandals are a thing of the past. And so it is my promise to you that if you should choose Sparkside Academy for your child, that they will receive their education on a safe and sex-free campus. We will protect our youth at whatever costs".

James chuckled under his breath as he looked at Hope "I hope she cries after this shit show is done". "Now, let's hear it from a shining example of Sparkside's new ethos, Vivienne Odusanya!".

Everyone cheered loudly and James smirked as Vivienne walked onto the stage with a bright smile as she grabbed the microphone from Hope. "Thank you, Hope, for giving me the opportunity to speak today. Firstly, I'd like to invite Jackson Marchetti onstage to reclaim his position as head boy".

Everyone clapped and screamed loudly and James looked at Ruby slightly "so what exactly did you all put together? Aside from giving Jackson back his role as the head boy". Ruby smirked "oh just you wait".

"Thank you, Viv. It's good to be back.We agree with Hope that students should feel protected whilst on campus. The students of Moordale Secondary would like to share some ideas on how we think listening to young people could make our new campus the safest place to study in the UK. We hope you enjoy it!".

James held in his laugh as the projector screen creaked loudly as it attempted to lower. "That thing hasn't been used in centuries, talk about embarrassing". The video began to play and while James for the most part didn't care what it was about he watched Hope as the woman angrily stood up.

Ruby huffed "not on my watch" she stood up and followed after Hope "I think we should go after her dad, I wanna watch her fight someone!". Andrew stood up quickly and James sighed as he followed after the little boy and ran towards the tech booth.

When James ran into the room Ruby was practically fighting Hope for the plug while Eric and Otis both gasped. Ruby smirked as the video began to play again and James moved forward "don't you even dare think about it, if you touch her I'll end you".

He glared at Hope as the woman pushed Ruby back and unplugged the plug. James grabbed a hold of Hope pulling her away from Ruby, he screamed when she elbowed him in the face. Eric gasped "you mustn't do that! Oh god!" James could hear the video stop once more as he rubbed at his eye.

Ruby quickly tugged Hope back and sprayed her perfume into the woman's eyes making her scream as she moved back. "That is very expensive perfume" Ruby smirked as Hope angrily stormed out of the room. Eric smiled "you're incredible" Ruby laughed as she flipped her hair back "I know".

Andrew ran forward "that was awesome! Dad can we do that again! Did you see the way Ruby took down that lady! And the perfume, that was smart!".

"Was that Fleurs du Mal?" James chuckled at Eric's sudden question "let's just get down there, I think we've finally won this battle with Hope". They all walked out of the room going towards the crowd.

Everyone was screaming and cheering as they put signs on over their heads. James looked at the stage as Viv walked onto it "Thank you! Thank you all for listening. And now the choir will sing us out with our beautiful new school anthem".

The choir all began singing and James covered Andrew's ears quickly "alright that's my que to get you out of here. I doubt you'd wanna hear about sucking on tits". He grabs a hold of Andrew's hand and then looks at Ruby "stop by my place after? I wanna talk about everything. I think if you're ready we can give this another chance. I'm dropping James off at his friends for the night. Just stop by even if it's for a few minutes, please".

"I will" he smiled "okay good, I promise I'm gonna do better this time, no more excuses and definitely no lies, that's a promise Ruby Matthews". He kissed her cheek quickly before he walked off with Andrew.

—

James walked inside his trailer to find the place once again destroyed. "What the fuck" he sighed in annoyance and then he jumped at the sight of Daisy sitting down on his couch as he turned the light on. She stood up as she walked towards him "did it make you feel satisfied making my mother's life a living hell tonight! Your stupid little friends worked against her, you ruined a perfect opportunity for her!".

James rolled his eyes "like I care about your mother, she's downright crazy just like you are Daisy. You can't do anything to me, I don't care if that thing inside of you is mine, I'm not helping you raise it".

Daisy chuckled slightly as she walked around him "oh you don't have to worry about that anymore, I already took care of it. Now I just want to destroy you James. You see I used to think you were so hot and this guy who could be perfect for me. But you're still obsessed with that bitch of an ex of yours. Ruby doesn't deserve you, you're a shitty father, a terrible partner and not to mention you fucked with my mom! She may be a bit insane but I'm worse, and I don't appreciate you making her so embarrassed. She'll never be taken seriously again, it's your fault".

James scoffed "no it's not, your mother did that to herself the second she started trying to change things. She had it coming from the very beginning of school, now get the hell out of my trailer before I call the police. I don't want you here anymore Daisy".

She laughed slightly "oh that's so cute, you think you can have enough time to call the police, or anyone for that matter. By the time they find you, you'll probably be on the verge of death, how sad".

"What are you..." he looked downwards as the needle was shoved into his arm roughly. His eyes dilated almost immediately as he gasped "you're a junkie after all James, it's only fair you go out the way you were always meant to. This is what happens when you fuck with my family, you're pathetic".

Ruby had stayed behind for exactly an hour before she finally got the courage to drive to James trailer. She let out a heavy breath as she walked towards his door and knocked, for the most part it was silence. Yet she could hear the muffled noise of his television playing cartoons, which was odd given Andrew wasn't home.

She knocked again "James, it's Ruby. I've decided that I agree with you for once, I want to try being with you again, even if it's messy and terrible". She turned the doorknob and was surprised to find it unlocked, she walked inside quickly "James? Are you sleeping?".

It was dark inside and the television was on full volume making her turn it off as she made her way towards James bedroom. She walked inside reaching for the light switch "James, did you pass out already! It hasn't been that long since I saw you last".

The air inside her lungs left the second she turned the light switch on. The room felt so warm as she looked down at James, his eyes were weakly open as foam ran down the side of his lips and face. "Shit… James!" she ran forward as she kneeled down toward him "what did you do".

She looked at the needle in his arm before she touched his face "James, can you hear me? James!" he didn't respond and he was barely breathing. Ruby grabbed her phone out of her purse before she dialed 911.

"James stay with me, please don't die" Ruby didn't know what to do except hold onto his hand as she heard the sirens get louder. Everything was falling apart, and she didn't understand why.

—
authors notes:
One word: trauma!
let's face it, we all knew this was bound to happen eventually I mean Daisy is pretty insane. That's like one of her only traits these days. Not to mention the fact that she blames James for everything that happened with her mother. This just another basic filler chapter but it's still pretty important to the plot of James story. We have one more chapter left on this act! Proud that I managed to get this far in a matter of like 3ish or 4ish days. I might not write act four right away but I'm still like 50/50 on it. I kinda wanna wait like a few months before I finish this story completely but then that means you have to wait for updates. I might just power through and finish this story by the weekend, but idk yet. I want the last act to be special and longer since it's the last we'll see of James. Also definitely gonna make another sex education book once this one is completed, I wasn't going to at first since this one took me so long to write but honestly it's a vibe so look out for a Maeve story or maybe even Otis? Idk yet it's a work in progress still. Feel free to comment any other characters you'd like to see a story for I'm open to other options.