A Dirty Game - Chapter Thirteen

Hey guys!! This is Chapter Thirteen, I hope you had an amazing Christmas, and enjoy!! Comment my lovelies =] xx

School the following Monday was weird. Ruby tended to take over wherever she went, and schools were no exceptions to her charms. She already had half of the current one under her thumb; boys ready to do anything for her at the wink of an eyelid, girls ready to spread gossip at the purse of her lips, teachers ready to forget detentions at the tug of a purse. The other half however, was not content to let her take over. As she walked through the corridors, people stared as usual, and some waved. She smiled and kept her eyes on her locker, making a show of her entrance. As she neared to her destination, someone called out.

"Sluuuuuuuut."

That was all it took. A serpentine hiss of a derogatory name, and she froze mid step.
The person didn't bother to hide, or even attempt to get away.

Rachel smirked broadly into Ruby's face. Ruby considered scratching all that foundation off the little beggar's face, but then realized it would ruin her nails. She wondered just how stretchy Rachel's skirt was, and how thin her tights. An evil smile began to form on her face, and the whole corridor hushed, eager to witness this public humiliation.

One step. Click.
Two steps. Clack.

Ruby's heels made an eerie death bell on the floor as she approached her victim. Rachel blanched when she saw her 'friends' visibly inch away, terrified of the girl who's eyes were literally flashing the color of her namesake.

"Would you like to repeat that?" Ruby asked sweetly. She knew what the answer would be, but she still asked. It was part of her game. A ritual, if you will. Rachel stood her ground, admirably, and held eye contact.

"No she wouldn't" a male's voice called out behind Ruby. She turned to look at Braiden, confused. He titled his head, and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure she can speak for herself Braiden" she smiled. She expected him to walk away then, and leave her to do what she had to do. Which was to make a lesson out of Rachel to all the other girls in the school.

'Don't mess with me' it would say. Loud and clear.

Instead, Braiden took her hand and pulled her back towards him.
"What are you doing Rube?"
She shrugged.
"You heard her right? She wants to call me a slut; she can deal with the consequences."
Braiden ran a hand through his hair wearily.
"Ruby, you'd be sinking down to her level then" he pleaded.

Ruby considered this because she knew he had a point. She knew what he felt about fighting, and hate, and harsh words. Yet at the same time, she had a way of living. And surviving was what she did. If she let Rachel get away with this, then she'd be sending out a signal to everyone. 'Come get me'. She met Braiden's innocent eyes, and she regretted what she was about to do. She didn't want to hurt him, but to stay on top; you have to kick a few people to the bottom. She turned her back on him, and retraced her steps to Rachel.
The last she heard from him before she grabbed a fistful of Rachel's hair, was a long, and tortured sigh as he walked away, guitar slung over his back.

The rest of the day passed without incident. She soon realized though, that she had only seen Braiden in classes, and even then she didn't get a chance to speak to him once because he kept his headphones on under his hood. She knew he was doing it deliberately. That he was hurt and he needed time to process why she'd done what she had. So she left him to his devices, and hoped he'd get it all out of his system by the last bell. Fourth period, she was called into the headmaster's office. Mr Bell sat her down and watched her apprehensively for a few silent moments. Then he dropped his bomb.

"Ms Snow, do you believe you are in charge here?" he asked.
"No sir" she answered, smiling like butter wouldn't melt.
He raised an eyebrow.
"So why then, since your arrival here, have you proceeded to torture several young women, and a few young men too?"

Ruby's jaw dropped slightly. What was he talking about?
"That's a bit of an exaggeration" she protested calmly.
"I'm afraid it isn't. We don't tolerate bullying in this school Ms Snow."
"I'm not a bully."

Mr Bell leaned forward in his chair and studied Ruby.
"I'd be very careful if I were you Ruby. There are people in this school who have contacts in the same league as your own. I wouldn't want to see you harmed" he patted her hand. Ruby eyed him. What exactly was he trying to say with that comment? She couldn't believe he was threatening her! Ruby fumed on the inside, while on the outside she fluttered her eyelashes and thanked him for the warning. As she left his office she heard a soothing voice in the reception seating area. Rachel was seated on a sofa with an ice bag to her head, and her eye was starting to go dark around the edges. She jumped as Ruby passed.

"Aw, look...Mrs. Bludge; I've bruised the little darling" she cooed, speaking to the receptionist trying to pin Rachel's skirt back together. The woman looked up and accidentally stabbed Rachel with the safety pin. Ruby left laughing, her hair swinging as her whole body shook. Romeo had told her about how Kim, when she'd been there, had severely injured Rachel, in the toilets of all places! Rachel wasn't as hard as she liked everyone to think she was.
Ruby had English but she'd rather not go. Instead she left the building and made her way to her tree. As she walked she pulled out her iPod, plugging her ears and playing her favorite song. It was probably her favorite because it reminded her so much of herself. It was irony in the best form.

"You never say hey or remember my name, it's probably 'cuz you think you're cooler than me..." she sang under her breath as she walked towards the tree. She was still singing when she sat down and pulled out the book that Sacha had finally leaned to her. She didn't get much free time to do this; to sit down and relax. Time to read a book, time to listen to music, time to reflect...it wasn't a regular part of her life. She hummed as she found the first page and started to read.

"My, my."

She jumped and screamed a little as someone tapped her shoulder. She whipped the earphones out and glared at the intruder. Braiden sat next to her, an amused smile playing about his lips. She clutched her chest and sighed.

"You scared the hell out of me!" she rolled her eyes.
"Oh please. You scared the hell out of me!" he laughed. She was confused and just stared at him.
"The oh so wonderful Ruby Snow...can't sing" he whispered and started laughing again.
Ruby stared at him some more. How dare he?!
"Look okay, no one's perfect!" she glared, because she knew that she was tone deaf. She couldn't carry a note to save the world. He wiped a tear from his eye and tried to calm down.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean it maliciously. I'm just shocked" he took her hand in his.

Ruby guessed that this conversation was the fixing of their rift. She was prepared to forget his latest comment as long as he was no longer in a huff with her.

"You forgive me then?"
Braiden looked at her, all humor gone from his eyes. She knew he would say yes.

"No." he replied simply, shocking her. She snapped her head up.
"I don't forgive you for making a fool out of yourself. I don't forgive you for portraying yourself as a heartless monster. I don't forgive you for hurting another living being. Ever since Kai, I refuse to have anything to do with violence. It gets you nothing but trouble, and it would kill me to be in a position like that again. I don't forgive you for pretending to care about how I feel about those things."

Ruby couldn't believe what he was saying to her. He was being so cold, and...careless. It wasn't the Braiden she'd grown to know. She wondered if this was it for them. And thought that she wouldn't be surprised. She was after all, the destroyer of souls. It would be just like her to rip the loving nature out of the only kind person she knew on this earth beside her mother. She opened her mouth, so that she could end it before he did, because she was still Ruby. He hadn't that much of an effect on her life yet. He saw all these emotions flicker across her face and covered her mouth with his hand.

"I am, however, prepared to forgive you for murdering that song" he smiled. Ruby froze; slow to understand what he was saying. And then she smiled. There was hope yet. She relaxed into his arms, sharing out the earphones between him and her. He changed the song to Trouble by NeverShoutNever!, thinking that there wasn't a single song out there that summed up how he felt about Ruby than this one.

"I'm in trouble
I'm an addict
I'm addicted to this girl
She's got my heart tied in a knot
And my stomach in a whirl..."

Ruby watched as he sang, running her fingers through his hair, feeling the softness. His voice was so unique, perfect to a T.

"But even worse
I can't stop calling her
She's all I want and more
I mean damn
What's not to adore?

I've been playing too much guitar
I've been listening to jazz
I called so many times
I swear she's going mad
And that cellular will be the death of us
I swear, I swear"

He was moving to the beat as he sang, jogging her and making her laugh with his facial expressions. She could see that with his free hand he was alternating between strumming an imaginative guitar, and fretting the chords onto the air. He was just so amazing and talented beyond words. She wished that she could have something creative about her, something to call her own. A random thought struck her. She was creative; she could act. She damn well could. She'd been acting for over two years hadn't she? Playing the role of her life to an audience that just kept growing. She had them all fooled. She had them all. Ruby found herself sinking into dark thoughts and Braiden bumped his head against her chest just in time to drag her out of their grasp. He pointed at her as he sang this bit, directing every word at her, keeping eye contact, smiling.

"And oh
O-oh, o-oh, o-ooh
Ooooh

I'm running my mouth
Just like I got her
But I surely don't

Because she's so
O-oh, o-oh, o-ooh
Rock 'n roll
And out of my league
Is she out of my league?
Let's hope not"

If she wasn't such a...bitch...she'd have melted and told him that he made her feel the same sometimes. But she wasn't that close to him, yet. She couldn't claw down that facade, yet. She couldn't be just Ruby for him, yet. He sang along for a while and then stopped as he frowned, having been flicking through her playlist and seeing something utterly weird.

"What the hell...?" he muttered, shocked.
Ruby laughed at his expression and peered over his arm. He was staring at a particular song.
"It's a classic!" she cried, slightly embarrassed. He pressed play.

"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie woooooorld..."

She hid her face in his chest as she laughed his heart out, her cheeks vibrating with every chuckle that shook his body. God, she just knew he wouldn't ever let her forget this.