Broken (Travis)

Seeing Van escort Jay through the courtyard made my mind think that something was up. "Maybe he's leading him to have a make-out session with Alex. She did say that they would talk later," a voice in my head said to me. I pushed it aside. I knew that that was the last thing Alex would do. But still, why...?

"Hey, Trav," Lucy called to me. I don't think she even let go of my arm since I sat down at their table. She was still clinging to it now, annoying the hell out of me. However, no matter how annoying she was, I had to play nice with her. She was very important to Alex, after all, especially to make her smile like she did.

"What is it?" All of the girls giggled. Oh god...

"Didn't you want to ask us all something? You said that we might like the topic."

Oh, yeah. That's right. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me!" I smiled as best I could at her, but it wasn't sincere. Nevertheless, Lucy looked as if she would melt, while the others just sighed with pleasure. If only Alex was this easy...

"What do you all think of Alex? I don't see many other girls near her besides Lucy." They all perked up immediately after I said it.

"Oh my god, she is soooooooo cool!"

"I just Love her body!" A red-head jumped.

"She's so elusive, and perfectly toned!" A blond flexed her arms, as if she had muscles.

"I wish I had her boobs." A brunette grabbed hers.

"I want to lick her face!" A short blond chirped.

"I want to marry her!" Shouted a quite girl with long, black hair. All of the other girls stopped to stare at her for a moment, before they brightened up, squealing, "ME TOOO!!!"

I blushed. You don't see girls act like this every day...

"So, why don't you all hang out with her. I mean, if you l-l-love her that much?" I really wasn't use to this girl-to-girl stuff.

They looked sort of sad, while some others looked frightened.

"It's because she won't let us," said the brunette.

"She's so closed off..." said the quiet black-haired girl, hugging herself in emphasis.

"She'd hate us if we did. She said so herself!" cried the short blond. All the other girls cried with her. I'm seriously starting to feel uncomfortable...

"Lucy is the only one she lets near her," said the flexing blond. All eyes fixated to Lucy, who was staring behind her. Isn't that where Van led Jay...? Lucy snapped out of whatever kind of trance she was in, and smiled to the other girls.

"Sorry, but I have something that I need to talk to her about. See you all later!" Before she left, she went on her tip-toes to whisper something in my ear, then she waved back saying, "He's all yours girls! For now..." That last part was more towards herself, but, for some reason, I heard it too. Of course, the girls squealed in delight, rubbing themselves against me. I swear, I'd probably become deaf by the end of the day if it continues like this.

Still, I couldn't get Lucy's words out of my head: "I'll deal with you later." To any other guy, her seductive voice would've definitely made them overly excited, but it just gave me the creeps!

The guards called out that it was time for our next class, which, for me, meant Horrific English class with Mr. Wallflower. Well, at least Lucy isn't in the same class. Maybe there's someone in this world that doesn't hate me after all.

"Now, is there anyone absent?" Mr. Wallflower started to write checks in his attendance book.

"Jay McKinley is absent, Mr. W."

Mr. Wallflower looked a bit uneasy at the news, as if this wasn't the first time he heard it.

"Yeah," said another guy, "I saw him walk to the nurse with Lucy. He was all bloody, and he looked like crap."

"Maybe he ate some crap, and his insides couldn't take it. After all, they're only use to drugs and singing, so crap isn't exactly on the menu." Another guy laughed. Most of the class erupted in laughter, including Alex, while other just kept talking about the injuries that they saw.

"I saw so much blood that I don't think I'll sleep for weeks! And it just kept coming like a waterfall!"

"He was cradling his arm, so maybe it's broken?"

"I don't know, man, but he wouldn't stop screaming. You could definitely tell that that guy was in some serious groin pain with the intensity of his screams. They were almost bloodcurdling." The guys shivered, as if recalling the sound right now. I definitely heard Alex give a small satisfactory noise at that.

"All right everyone, settle down! That's enough talk of that!" Mr. Wallflower's commands were useless, though, for everyone couldn't stop talking about it. Easier said than done, Mr. W.

I turned in my seat to face Van and Alex.

"What do you think happened to him?" I asked them. Alex was leaning back in her chair, eyes closed, and arms folded over her chest. "Beats me," she said, tone uninterested, "maybe he ran into a bear, sang it a song, and got mauled as a result." Van rolled his eyes, a small smile showing.

I remembered the event that happened before we all went to lunch. When Jay had asked Alex out. Van had asked me-once she left-if I was ok, and I knew he caught me staring after her, but I couldn't help it. My eyes wouldn't leave her face for a second. I didn't know what I intended to find.

Shock?

Anger?

Excitement?

Or perhaps a sign of disgust...?

Whatever it was, I didn't find it. More like couldn't. I got to hand it to her though, she hides her feelings very well. Since then my chest has become tight, and it's been bugging me like hell!

"So, did you let him down easy?"

"Excuse me?" Alex looked at me with wide, confused eyes.

"Jay. I meant did you let him down easy? How did you tell him 'No'?"

She seemed to smile to herself for the utmost second before looking to me with a dull expression. No interest what-so-ever.

"What makes you think I said no?" Now Van even looked at her, done thinking about whatever he was thinking about to make him smile to himself like that.

"Alex..." he cautioned.

"What? I'm just trying to say that Orchowski shouldn't just jump to conclusions like that without any proof, or any leads for that matter." She shrugged.

I turned myself to face the white-board, where Mr. Wallflower started to write down one of Edgar Allen Poe's poems. Why is every topic in this school somehow linked to death, or something morbid? "Well, you don't seem to like him if you make fun of what happened to him. That, and he doesn't seem like your type."

She seemed to get annoyed, but then started to question me. It's...almost like...she was interested? "And how, exactly, does he not seem like my type? Enlighten me, Orchowski." Van was as stunned as I was, which means he must have thought that she was interested too.

I composed myself, playing her little confusing game, "Well, for one thing, he's a laid-back kind of guy, so I don't see why he'd be in a relationship with you. After all, I don't think he could handle your violent side." Plus, your just too damn argue-mental, and your sarcasm is practically dripping with the same amount of acid as Lettas, maybe even more. I definitely know that if I said that out loud, I'd probably end up right next to Jay in the infirmary. Surprisingly, Alex just turned up her nose, turning to the window, and murmured, "Damn idiot."

Like usual, I turned to Van, hoping for an answer to her changing attitude. He just stared at her, a sort a pain showing in those brown eyes of his, as if he wanted to understand, but couldn't. I felt a bit of pity towards him with and equal amount of jealousy for knowing her so well. If I knew her like he did then I would probably be done with my mission by now. Which, I might add, I have absolutely nothing to start from! The photo thing only got me to go in a complete circle. Damn old-hag, she tricked me!

Sighing, I looked up to the clock, just waiting for this class to end so I could go back to the room. Tick-Tock... Tick...Tock... Tick... Tock...

Well, class had ended, and here I was, lying in my bed, bored out of my freakin mind! Alex had disappeared half-way through class, and took all the guards with her. It was a good thing I got the route to the room pretty much down solid, or else I'd be pretty much screwed. Sudden rustling on the other side of the door gained my full attention.

Thinking it was Alex, I hollered, "It's your room too, stupid. Just come in." I wonder how mad she'll be? My heart started to thump rapidly with a certain fear as the knob slowly turned. What is this, a horror movie?! Well, if it were, I guess I'd probably be the heroine right now. I gulped, D-Doesn't the girl always gets killed f-first?

To my relief, it wasn't Alex, for Lucy came through the door, dropping her shoes on the floor, with a grin spread across her face. That grin definitely wasn't just a friendly "hey, what's up" grin either. I noticed that she had one hot-pink sock on, but where was the other?

"I'm glad that you see it that way, Travis." They way she said my name slowly made me shiver, while her stepping uncomfortably close made my insides scream with panic.

"I'm so glad you think that this is my room too. After all, we did have some unforgettable moments in here."

"U-Unforgettable moments?" My voice cracked. I don't think she realizes that I thought she was Alex...

"Well, we will anyway," she said in a low, seductive voice, right in front of me. I was way past feeling uneasy now!

"Wha-" But before I could finish my one word, she jumped on me, sending us both backward onto my bed then she smashed her lips unnaturally against mine in an attempt of a kiss. I swear that I was going to throw up as she practically forced her tongue into my mouth. What the HELL?! I'm being attacked! Due to the fact that I was mentally panicking, I did not think to shove her off of me. How smart is that?

There was a knock at the door. Lucy pulled off of me with a look of satisfaction as I tried to catch my breath. I'm saved! I thought, Thank the freaking Lord!

"Come in," she said, voice low, her green eyes boring into mine with a look of lust. Our bodies were tangled together, making it very uncomfortable, but Lucy didn't complain one bit. Something deep inside my chest felt alien, as if I wasn't suppose to be here, with her. Something in the back of my mind lit up, my instincts. Now I knew that this was wrong, but I didn't know why. Yeah, she was annoying, and more clingy then anyone I've seen in my entire life, but that wasn't it.

At that moment, she walked through the door.

Alex just stared at us, expressionless. Her green sweatshirt was folded over her bloody left arm. There were red stains on her tank-top that matched the red streaks along her arms and on her chest. She was covered in blood, and seeing the wounds all over her, that blood was her own. She threw a hot-pink sock on the bed, next to us, and walked over to place her sweatshirt on the bench, not once meeting my horrified eyes. Why is she covered in blood? Who did this to her?! Why...Why isn't she looking at me or even speaking...?

"I'll be at the nurse in case anything goes wrong." She narrowed her eyes as if disgusted, then she looked in our direction, "Luce, it looks as if I'll be late for dinner, so start without me. Tell Van also." Her tone depicted no emotion, but it seemed tired. Alex walked to the door without waiting for an answer from Lucy. With her hand on the doorknob she glanced back, eyes looking straight to...me. Those brown eyes of hers looked tired and, though hidden, I could feel the smallest amount of sadness. This showed her now sunken features which brought a dull pain to my chest. She was listening to Lucy's happy voice, which I finally noticed. Alex nodded and left, silently closing the door behind her. I heard a slight creak from the other side. Was she leaning on the door? At that moment, Lucy to turned to me and started talking, but I didn't hear her. All I heard was soft footsteps on the other side of the door, running down the hall, away from me. The pain in my chest grew sharper. Right then, I wanted to go to Alex; to hold her and comfort her, saying that everything was alright, that what she saw wasn't true, like it never happened. But it did happen, and I regretted every moment of it. I should have never let Lucy in. I should have broken away from her when Alex entered. Alex... Wait, why should I care? I remembered the moments when Gabrielle got dumped by some of her drunk-ass boyfriends. I probably pictured Alex as her. However, my rage was suppressed for the moment. It hurt so much to see Alex covered in her own blood... But, more importantly...I made her sad... This was so not going to help my mission!

Getting up, I went towards the door, not caring that I practically dropped Lucy onto the floor as I did so. She grabbed my arm as I reached for the doorknob, "Where are you going? We're not done yet! You can't just leave me here! We haven't even had sex yet!" I looked at her sad, helpless face. God, she's annoying! Sighing, I turned to face her, ripping my arm from her tightening grip. "Look, I'm sorry, but I have more important things to do, and you're not one of them. I'd like it if you just left and forget that this whole thing ever happened." She looked at me confused and teary-eyed. Just freakin perfect. I took her shoulders and stared straight into her charcoal-hidden green eyes. "I don't like you in that way. More important things are on my mind right now that is not of your concern." I let go of her shoulders, "Maybe one of the other guys here can give you more attention than I can. You're nice and all, but I can't see someone who only sees them-self. Sorry." Her eyes were full of shock, but no surprise. It's as if she knew what would happen from the start. That, or this has happened to her a lot, a guy walking out on her before they even had sex. I turned back, opening the door.

"Wait!" I turned my head around to her again. Her face was shadowed by her curly red hair. "Don't leave me for her. If you truly had any sense, you would come back to me...and leave that monster alone."

"What? I thought she was your best friend?" What was she saying? Maybe she was in so much shock that she lost control of her own mind.

"Hah! Like I would actually be friends with a person like her! How she is now...it disgusts me. I dream about the person she was, hoping for that person to come back, but I know they won't, with her acting like everything is fine and all. The sight of her repulses me! So, why on earth do you think, even for a moment, that I would even be friends with such a murderer? Soon, Travis, you will think the same, for if you go after her now, you'll never look at her the same, especially when the truth comes out."

"Why are you saying all of this? What did she do to make you like this?"

Lucy turned toward the bed, her tone sounding hurt, "She murdered the only person I could count on, even worship. The only person I ever loved, she killed that person, and she was happy that she did. 'People like that are meant to die' she said. I can never forgive her, ever." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I wondered if Alex knew that Lucy hated her. Who knows, maybe she felt bad and is being nice to her because she remembers killing Lucy's boyfriend?

"I don't care," I replied, seeing her jump, "I'm doing this for my own sake. I'm on a mission, and I can't back down no matter what. I'm going now." Before I left, I looked over my shoulder, "Don't be here when I get back, and just stay away from Alex." I then ran down the hallway, not hearing her whisper, "Not if I want my Apparition back."

Surprisingly, the guards weren't at their posts and benches like they always were. They must've gone with Alex after all. However, I still felt like something was wrong, so I continued to run down the hallway. I ran right past a figure who stepped aside as I dashed past. Meg gave me a curious look, but it was filled with annoyance. Like I would apologize to her. She was in my way after all.

At the end of that ridiculously long hallway, I came to the split. To my right was the route that contained the way to the cafeteria, and to my left was just the other hallway that connected the prisoners bedrooms to the school. Frankly, I have yet to see the part where they're treated like prisoners. To me, the kids here are treated a hell of a lot better than those who are actually treated based on their title. Was there even an actual prison cell in this damn place?

That's when I noticed it.

At the end of the hallway, to my left, I saw that-what always appeared as a dead end-there was a door that was propped open just a slight bit. It was the same pattern as the wall and had no doorknob. As I walked toward it, I noticed that it opens from the inside. The inside... Now that was something else. The entire interior was made of solid wood, the walls reached up like a cylinder-like column, as if it was one of the towers in a castle. A castle inside of a prison? And still no cells or dungeons? I rest my case. In the middle of this olden-castle-like-room-thing was and an iron staircase, spiraling up to what looked like a door to...? Another level? Curious, I climbed the stairs, uncaring of things like snipers appearing at the top, or booby-traps that go along with this "olden" theme, dangerous and all. That wasn't really on my mind as important. No, all I thought about was: Alex is on the other side of that door. It was open, which is why the room was so light. Just imagine what it would look like without that light. That's probably why no one ever saw it before, but then, how did Alex know about it?

When I reached the top I was greeted by a large gust of wind, almost knocking me over, but I managed to grab the doorframe and hoist myself back onto my feet. Man, what the heck is wind doing inside the building. Actually bothering to look around, I found my answer.

I was on the roof.

It was like any flat school roof, perfectly fine to walk around on, but there was many old boxes and crates scattered all around, especially across the roof where a giant metal door stood, tall, and cold. Impressive yet intimidating. It fits this Center perfectly. But Alex... She came up here, didn't she? So where...?

That's when I saw her. I really need to look before I start asking questions, but anyway, I saw her. I stood frozen in the doorway, hands grappling the frame from fear of falling, for Alex...she was crumpled on her side in the middle of the roof, closest to the high barbed-wire fence.

She wasn't moving.