Stalker High (5 *unedited*)

Ryan arrived half an hour after Paul and, after I'd spent the appropriate amount of time mingling with the neighbours, the four of us went up to my room with our drinks and some snacks. By twenty to ten that night, we'd reached the invitable point of a party where an ancient, often used game resurfaced.1

"Okay, okay. I dare you to...." The first dare of the night went to Kristen, supplied by Paul. "Go downstairs and take a bottle of whatever alcohol you want."2

"Oh, that's tame!" Kris scoffed at Paul's dare. "When I get back you'll see what a real dare looks like." With that she marched out of the room, reappearing afew minutes later with a full bottle of wine and four glasses. 3

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"That wasn't part of the dare." Paul point to the glasses.5

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"I know- I used my initiative." Kristen shrugged, pouring wine into the glasses. 7

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"So, praytell. What does a real dare sound like?" Paul asked, leaning back against the window. 9

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Kristen's eyes twinkled mischieviously towards me, and then back towards Paul. My eyes widened and I inhaled. 11

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"Don't even think about it, Kris!" She laughed in response to this, drinking some more wine. None of us were that drunk yet. We'd - obviously- added alcohol to our drinks that night, undercover of the amount of people milling around. 13

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"I dare you..." She pointed at Paul, then looked at me to gauge how much troube she'd be in if she did what I thought she was going to do. Her eyes were laughing as she saw my resigned- but not completely surprised or annoyed- expression. "...I dare you to snog Amy. For 30 seconds."15

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Ryan's head swivelled towards me from his previously relaxed position leaning against the wall. I was lying sideways on my bed, with Kristen sat on the floor by the stereo, across the room from me. Paul looked at me as well, smiling slightly. I blushed and looked away briefly.17

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Paul sat up, holding up his hands in a surrendering motion. 19

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"A dare's a dare," he shrugged, walking over to pull me off the bed gently. 21

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"I'll get you for this later, Kris," I said, leaning around Paul to look at her, smiling. I took a deep breath, then looked back at Paul. He was smiling crookedly as he leaned in, his hands holding mine. I saw Kristen hold up her wrist-watch, and heard her say 'go' as if we were starting a race. I'm not the kind of girl to kiss and tell, but I will say one thing; Paul is a very good kisser. We'd passed the thirty second mark by at the very least half that when we stopped, looking at each other cautiously. My hands had found their way up to Paul's neck and his around my waist at some point. Ryan cleared his throat none-too-subtly from where he was sat and I blushed, letting my arms slip down from around Paul's neck. I took a step backward, looking around. My face, at this point, resembled a colour very similar to that of a beetroot as I looked at Kristen's triumphant face. 23

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"Wow," I cleared my throat. "That was unexpected." 25

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Paul was repreaved from responding to this as my sister came thundering into the room. She took a quick look around the room and then shook her head.27

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"Amy, you need to come downstairs. Now." 29

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"Why? What's wrong?"31

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"Mum's been asked about why we moved over here." Her panicked expression didn't seem to collaborate with her words.33

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"And?" I shrugged.35

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"And she's very drunk. You know what happens when she's drunk, don't you?"37

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"Oh, god." I knew exactly what happened when my mother got drunk. I rushed past her and towards the stairs. "Where is she?"39

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"Patio!" Emily shouted, running after me. I looked back and saw that Kristen, Paul and Ryan were hurrying out of my room looking very confused. I jumped down the stairs two at a time, pushing my way impatiently through the lounge towards the patio doors, where my mom was chatting animatedly to a large group of people with a glass of red wine in her hand. 41

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"When Robert asked for a transfer, the company was quite willing to oblige. And here we are." I was too far away to stop her saying anymore. I heard someone ask why my dad had asked for a transfer. Unfortunately, my mom was all too willing to answer truthfully. 43

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"Oh, it was to help Amy get over what happened. It was dreadful." She whispered loudly, in a dark tone. "That boyfriend of hers hurt her terribly. I never even knew...." She said this sadly, taking another big gulp of wine before adding abruptly. "Until he broke her arm." I froze, a metre away from her. The neighbours took in my expression, looking back and forth between the two of us like they were watching a tennis match. 45

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"Mom!" I gasped finally, "You promised!" 47

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"Amy, what's going on? Did your mom just say..." Kris faded off as I turned around and pushed past her, Paul and Ryan. 'Great,' I thought to myself, 'they all heard it.' 49

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I heard my mom continuing to tell everybody what had happened, as if I hadn't even spoken. Then again, she probably didn't even notice I was standing there. I pulled myself up the stairs using the railing, ignoring the people calling my name as my eyes filled with tears. The one thing I had been trying to shove to the back of my memory since it happened pushed it's way to the front with my mom's words. 51

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Kevin had seemed so perfect: handsome, smart and, seemingly, sensitive. I had fallen in love with him very quickly. Then it hit me. Or, rather, he did. The first time he swore it was an accident, it wouldn't ever happen again and he was so sorry. I believed him. I believed him because I was in love with him. Then he hit me again. And again. I didn't tell my family, or my friends. I covered up the marks, because I didn't want him to leave me. He became controlling, possessive, violent. Sometimes, I saw the old Kevin, the guy I'd fallen head-over-heels for. And that, I convinced myself, was why I stayed with him. For the old Kevin. I stopped going to any parties, stopped doing anything unless he suggested it or said it was alright. Even then, sometimes he'd 'punish' me for it, saying that I'd put him under too much pressure to say no even though he didn't want me to do it. I even quit gymnastics. My parents- or anyone, for that matter- couldn't work out why I quit. It was too hard to hide the bruises in a leotard. When he broke my arm, everything came out at the hospital. I'd gone to Stella's seventeenth birthday party. Apparently going to my best friends party was bad enough, but I spent the evening talking to my old friends. I felt normal again, talking to them. Kevin came and dragged me out; my sister had told him where I was when he dropped round that evening. He found me talking to some guys. 53

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This was the worst thing I could do. In his eyes, I was cheating on him. He threw me against the car and I landed on the floor with my arm bent at a bad angle and I heard a snap, followed by excruciating pain. I heard Stella screaming and Kevin shouting. I opened my eyes and saw that some of the guys were holding down Kevin. Citizen's arrest. Stella saw the bruises hidden by my top, on my arms and my stomach. I heard sirens arriving minutes later, and I was taken to the hospital. Stella sat with me, waiting for my parents to arrive. Kevin was arrested and charged for grievious bodily assault, but everywhere I turned, I saw reminders of what happened. My parents took me to a therapist to help, and it did- to a certain extent. But I needed a fresh start, and they knew it. So my dad applied for a transfer. The company were quite accomadating when they learned of the circumstances. So now, not only did my entire school know what had happened, but so did his work. I'd started school in America, half a year later, hoping I could put that behind me forever. I should have known that was impossible.55

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*****57

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"Amy..." Kristen was stood in the doorway to my room. I wiped away the tears falling down my cheeks and looked out the window. "Are you...well, you're obviously not okay," she sighed compassionately. "Do you want to talk?" I looked over at her as she walked slowly into the room. 59

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"I can't believe she'd do that. Even drunk, she should have known. She promised me a fresh start." Kristen sat down next to me on the windowseat and pulled my legs over hers. 61

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"It's true, then?" She asked me, softly. I nodded in reply and she put her arm around me, pulling my head onto her shoulder.63

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"Where's the others?" I asked, noticing Paul and Ryan's absence.65

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"They thought you might need a little space, and a girlfriend to talk to," she smiled at me. "Do you want to talk about it?"67

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"I might as well tell you, now that my mom's probably already told everybody."69

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"Emily managed to get her away from her audience before she said anything more," Kristen comforted me, rubbing my back. I sighed.71

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"I thought I could leave it behind me, by not talking about it and not even thinking about it. Look's like that isn't ever going to happen." I swiped at my cheeks and told her. I told her everything. I told her about the first time I met him, the first time he hit me, the last time he hit me, therapy, court: everything. Aside from the occasional gasp or an 'omigosh', Kristen didn't interrupt me, letting me get it all off my chest. I hadn't told Stella every detail, I only realised now. She had been too close to the situation, I might have lost her- that was how I felt at the time. Like it was my fault that had happened. Telling Kristen didn't feel like that. When I finished talking Kristen just sat there, with me in her arms, letting me cry. I heard a noise at the door and looked up. Paul was stood at the door, with Ryan behind him. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was past eleven o'clock. I'd been talking non-stop for over an hour.73

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"Are you alright, Ames?" Paul asked tentatively. I smiled at him, half-heartedly. I'd finished crying, but my eyes felt red and puffy. I sat up, smiling gratefully at Kristen. I decided to answer truthfully.75

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"Honestly? No. I haven't been alright for a while. I probably won't be alright for a while, either." I half-smiled at him. Paul pulled the corner of his mouth up.77

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"Yeah, that was a really stupid question, wasn't it?"79

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"No, it wasn't. Not a really stupid question, at least," I joked.81

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"What happened down there, Amy?" Ryan came into the room. 83

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"I don't think we need to-" Kristen said hurriedly, answering for me. I put a placating hand on her arm, shooting her another grateful look.85

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"It's fine, Kris." I looked back at Ryan. "Basically, I had an abusive boyfriend. We moved out here because I wanted to put it behind me. That didn't seem to work, though." I smiled ruefully at him, swinging my legs onto the ground and walking over to turn on some music. "I...I find it hard to talk about it."87

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"Your mom said he broke your arm, though, Ames. You might need to talk about it." Ryan frowned.89

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"No, I don't. I tried that, it didn't work. If you don't mind- I'd rather deal with my hurt in my own way." I snapped tiredly at Ryan, then sighed. "I'm sorry, Ry, I didn't mean to snap."91

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"It's alright, it wasn't my business anyway." He looked around awkwardly, then added, "I've got to get off. I told my mum I'd be home at eleven and, I'm already late."93

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"Okay, I'll see you around," I said non-committedly. "Oh, please don't tell anyone what happened tonight. I had enough of the gossip in England." Ryan nodded, refraining from saying that most of the school would probably know by Monday anyway. With all the neighbours listening to my mom, someone would tell their daughter or son, and they'd tell their friends. I was already mentally preparing myself for school next week as Ryan walked out the door. I was still stood by the stereo, flicking through the tracks until I found the right one. Paul walked over to me as I turned around, wrapping his arms around me. I rested my cheek on his chest, closing my eyes. Kristen softly stood up and lef the room, leaving the door nearly shut. More tears- that I didn't know I had- fell down my cheeks as Paul stroked my hair, comforting me. I sniffed, pulling away,95

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"I'm getting your shirt wet." 97

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"Anytime," Paul replied softly. He pulled my chin up, gently, with one hand, pulling my gaze away from the floorboards. I looked up, into his eyes, and saw nothing but concern for me. I couldn't look away. We started leaning into each other, pausing, prolonging the moment. You know the moment I'm talking about, the moment that is often better than the kiss itself. The moment you realise that you both want each other more than anything else. My tears dried themselves up as our lips connected. This time, the kiss was gentle, as if he was afraid of hurting me. I wrapped my arms around him tighter as he twisted one hand into my hair, the other on my back, pulling me closer as my lips responded to his. I slipped my arms around his shoulders, running my fingers along his muscled shoulders. I felt safe in that moment, wrapped in his arms. I forgot everything that had happened, thanking my need to move, because it brought me here- to him.99

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****101

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It was nearly midnight when Paul left, promising to be back tomorrow. I smiled contentedly, leaning against the door as he drove off, my lips tingling from his kiss goodnight. Kristen, had very subtly interrupting us with:103

"Yo! Dudes, come on! You've been going at it for half an hour,"
and since I'd invited Kristen to stay over after the party Paul graciously left us for a girls night. I turned to go inside to shut the door and stopped. Someone was stood in the shadows, watching me. I frowned, then narrowed my eyes. I left the door open and walked slowly over to the other side of the road. I crossed my arms, regretting not putting on a jacket. The watcher stood there as I walked over, not moving, but as I got closer I saw that my suspicions had been right.104

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"What do you want, Dean?" 106

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"Nothing," he replied.108

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"Well, you must want something- this is the second night you've stood outside my house. And I know it was you who sent those notes, and I know it was you on the phone on Tuesday."110

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Dean shrugged, in the dim light it was hard to see his expression. "I don't need to do that anymore." He turned and started walking away. I frowned, befuddled by his actions. He turned back to face me, walking backwards now. 112

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"Oh, nice choice, by the way."114

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"On what?!" I asked116

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"Boyfriends. Paul is a much better choice than Ryan. I don't know what he told you about me, but he's just as dangerous."118

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"Who? Ryan? Are you saying Ryan is dangerous?" I replied loudly, looking around as I noticed how late it was. I hurried a few steps after Dean. He stepped into the glow of a streetlight and stopped. 120

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"What do you think? Because it wasn't my prints found on Rissa's watch now, was it?"122

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"Have you been spying on me?"124

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"He told you about that?" Dean looked incredulous, ignoring my indignant question. Apparently he'd been meaning to surprise me with that snippet of information. I shook my head,126

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"No, my sister told me. She did some...digging." I admitted reluctantly.128

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"Hmm." Dean shrugged again. "Make what you will of the facts. I'm done. But Ryan doesn't like it when he doesn't get what he wants." He stepped out of the light and disappeared into the darkness, leaving me with more confusion. Ryan hadn't threatened me, he didn't seem like the kind of guy who would be a danger to anyone...so why was I suddenly agreeing with Dean? Was I agreeing with Dean?130