Cursed

Chapter seven

Courtney's pov;

Ugh Mondays.

I dragged myself out of my bed, and got in the shower.

Once I had finished in there, I walked over to my wardrobe, to pick my outfit for the day.

It was quite warm out, so I picked a pair of high waisted shorts, a crop top, and tied a plaid shirt around my waist.

I grabbed my converses and school bag, and made my way downstairs.

When I got down the stairs, I saw a familiar red head sitting at my kitchen table eating coco pops.

"Oh hey." Ellie greeted me. "Your mum told me to tell you she had to go to work early because her boss wanted her in early or something like that. She also said I could help myself to whatever food I wanted, so I made myself some coco pops and some tea."

"Oh okay. Why are you here so early? I thought you always got up the latest you possibly could?" I asked her.

"Mum was moaning at me because apparently I'm too lazy." She shrugged. "So what is it that you wanted to tell me?" She asked me and I immediately thought of Dylan.

"Well. When I got to his on Friday, he wanted to see my bruises to see if I was badly hurt, so I showed him them, and we were talking, then he kinda leant in and he kissed me." I felt my cheeks burning up.

"OH MY GOD! HE KISSED YOU?!" Ellie screamed. "YOU DIDNT f**k HIM DID YOU?"

"If you shut up and let me finish the story." I smirked at her.

"Oh right yeh carry on." She laughed.

"I kissed him back, then we pulled away and all he said was that he shouldn't have done that. Then he let me sleep in his bed, and he slept in the guest room, but during the night I had a nightmare, so I went to see if he was awake, and I told him I had a nightmare, and he told me to get into bed with him, so I did, and we fell asleep cuddling." I beamed at the memory of me and Dylan cuddling.

Ellie's jaw dropped. "He didn't f**k you? All he did was hug you? Oh my god." She said, confusing me.

"Yeah... What's wrong with that?" I asked, needing to know the answer.

"He never just cuddles with girls... He just f***s them and that's it. It's just weird that he seemed to care about you so much... He doesn't care about many girls." She said.

What does that mean? He doesn't care about many girls? But he seemed to care about me?

"Anyways, we better be going or we'll be late." Ellie said, stopping my thoughts.

"Since when do you care about being late?" I smirked at her.

"I don't." She simply replied. "But you do, and I want to see Oli." She smiled.

I got up and shouted up the stairs to Zoe. "ZO DO YOU NEED A LIFT?"

"NAH IM GOOD, IM WALKING WITH MY FRIENDS!" She shouted back. "OKAY BYE!"

"BYE COURTNEY!"

"BYE MINI COURTNEY!" Ellie shouted up the stairs causing us all to laugh.

*************************

When we arrived at school, I left Ellie, and went to my locker. I found my bracelet, with a note attached to it.

The note read;

You left this at mine. Dylan.

Wow. Seemed a bit blunt.

He was probably tired when he wrote it. I thought and slipped the bracelet on my wrist without giving it another thought.

I made my way to my first class. Music.

When I got there I saw Ellie and made my way to sit next to her.

"Oh my god I haven't seen you in ages!" Ellie squealed and jumped up to hug me.

"You saw me like 5 minutes ago?" I laughed and hugged her back.

"I know it's been so long." She laughed with me.

I saw Dylan sitting with Luke and Jamie. He glanced at me, and then glanced away. Not even a friendly hello, or anything.

Weird.

"Right everybody, quieten down now." I heard Mrs Honey say. "I'm going to announce the project I want you to work on."

I don't mind music projects, so I carry on listening.

"I want you to write a song, and I want you to perform it. It can be any kind of song you like, as long as you keep swearing to a minimum. I want you to spend this lesson, and the rest of this week to prepare it, and then I want you to perform it next Monday." She finished saying.

I only had music once every week which sucked because I was my favourite subject.

"What are you going to write about?" Ellie turned to me.

"I'm not really sure to be honest." I replied.

*******************************

The next few lessons went quite fast, and it was already lunch time.

I texted Ellie to tell her I was going to be a bit late to lunch because I was talking to my English teacher about my homework.

After I had finished talking to her, I made my way to the cafeteria, when I heard someone in the music room.

I tried to brush it off

Keep calm and collected but it just won't work

They tell me to read a book,

Learn to cook, anything to keep your mind off her.

I peeked through the window to see who the angelic voice belonged to, and I froze.

It was Dylan.

He was playing an acoustic guitar, and singing something I had never heard before.

It sounded beautiful.

I wonder if he wrote it?

I decided to lay low and listen to some more.

And now I'm soo,

Tired of feeling so low-ow,

A couple weeks in a row-ow,

I don't wanna hear about,

Don't wanna think about you,

Think about who? I wondered. I felt a bit bad for invading his privacy, but it just sounded so good. I'll listen to one last bit, then il confront him about it. I thought to myself.

I wanna make out with the perfect stranger,

Get loud need a mind eraser,

Drink up tonight I'm on a mission,

To get you outta my system,

Downtown I'll be up all night,

Get lost in the flash of lights,

Drink up tonight I'm on a mission,

To get you outta my system.

I walked in and started clapping.

Dylan jumped up out of his seat, and dropped his guitar.

"Sorry I didn't mean to make you jump." I said awkwardly.

"Um no it's fine, how much did you hear of that?" Dylan asked me.

"Only a bit of it. Did you write that?" I asked him, his brown eyes staring into my blue ones.

"Um yeah, but it's rubbish so I'd appreciate it if you didn't go telling anyone about it." He replied bluntly.

Ouch. That hurt. What made him think I would tell people about it?

"Oh um no I won't. Anyway I just wanted to properly thank you for helping me on Friday, and letting me stay at yours." I smiled at him. "Oh and thanks for returning my bracelet." I added.

"Yeah no problem." He simply replied.

I was so confused. I didn't understand why he was being so blunt with me? Maybe something happened at home?

"Dylan are you okay?" I asked him, concerned.

"I'm fine." He snapped.

"Did something happen at home, becau-" I started saying, until I was interrupted.

"Jesus Courtney, how many f*****g questions do you wanna ask me?!" Dylan shouted at me.

"I just wanted to know if you were okay!" I shouted back.

"Yeah I'm f*****g fine, like I said, now just piss off." He spat.

What the f**k was his problem?

I wasn't going to stand there and take this. I decided to do something I've never done in my life. Fight back.

"f*****g hell Dylan! What the f**k is your problem?! You were fine with me on Friday, and over the weekend, and I actually thought you cared. Now you're pissed with me for no f*****g reason! Whatever's going on with you, you don't have to take it out on me!" Dylan stared at me with wide eyes. Bet he wasn't expecting that.

"Courtney, I-" He started saying but I interrupted him.

"No Dylan, you listen to me. Just because you're the most popular guy in school, who everyone loves, doesn't mean you can be a d**k towards me. Everyone else may stand there and take it, but I don't deserve that. f**k you." I spat and walked out.

Tears were threatening to spill out of my tired eyes, so I ran towards the toilet, to try and make myself look a bit more presentable.

Dylan's pov;

"f**k!" I screamed and threw the guitar across the room.

I picked it back up again, and started to smash it up.

It wasn't mine, it was the schools so I didn't give a s**t.

I've never seen Courtney so mad before.

Yeah I've only known her for a few weeks, but not once have I seen her so angry.

Why did I have to f**k everything up?

I went to pick another guitar up to break it, when Jamie walked in.

"Woah what the f**k man!" He screamed at me. "Why the f**k have you broken all this s**t?"

"Because I f*****g did okay!" I screamed back.

"What happened?" He asked me with concern in his eyes.

"None of your f*****g business man!" I screamed at him again.

I picked up the other guitar and started smashing it again.

Jamie lunged at me and wrestled me to the ground.

"YOU NEED TO f*****g SNAP OUT OF IT MAN! YOU'RE GONNA GET f*****g SUSPENDED YET AGAIN, OR WORSE EXPELLED!" He screamed back.

"LIKE I GIVE A f**k! GET THE f**k OFF ME!" I yelled, and I punched him.

I punched my best mate.

He yelled in pain, then threw a punch back at me.

He stood up quickly, and I threw him back on the floor.

I didn't even want to fight my best friend, but I was so angry, I needed to fight someone. I've had anger issues for ages now, and this is how I deal with my anger because I don't know how else to deal with it.

He got back off the floor, and shoved me so hard, I landed on the drum kit, causing it to collapse under my weight.

Ouch. That f*****g hurt.

I quickly recovered, and wrestled him to the ground once more, and we threw punches at each other.

Just then the door swung open.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" My principal yelled at us, but that didn't bother us. We carried on fighting.

Suddenly I felt a pair of hands rip me and Jamie apart.

Luke grabbed hold of me and my principal grabbed hold of Jamie.

"MY OFFICE NOW!" He yelled at us.

****************************

I had been sitting in his office for a good 15 minutes now.

Jamie went to the school nurse because his injuries were worse than mine, believe it or not.

I've been into more fights than you could count, so the pain never really bothered me anymore.

Just then, the door opened and my principal walked in.

He took a seat at his desk, and stared at me.

"So Dylan. An explanation as to why you were fighting your supposedly best friend would be nice." He said quite calmly to me.

"I don't know." I simply replied. I wasn't going to tell him it was over a girl because he wouldn't deem that a good reason.

"You don't know?" He raised an eyebrow at me. "You don't know why you completely wrecked 2 of the music departments guitars, and you don't know why you started punching the lights out of your best friend?" He raised his voice slightly.

"I was just pissed off okay. You already know what I'm like when I'm pissed off." He doesn't like me swearing, but I didn't give a s**t.

"Yes Dylan, I do know what you're like when you get angry, which is why I have suggested to you time and time again to go and see Mrs Snowdon the school counsellor." He said.

"Counsellor?" I scoffed. "What good will a f*****g counsellor do? She's not gonna stop me from wanting to strangle someone is she?" I raised my voice at him. A counsellor isn't gonna help me.

"Language Dylan." He warned me. "And no, she may not stop you from wanting to strangle someone, but she can help you to reduce your angry feelings. Whenever you feel like you want to 'strangle' someone, as you say, go and talk to her. She won't judge you, she's in no position to judge anyone, as she was quite a troublesome teenager as well." He told me.

He saw that I didn't look very convinced.

"Look all I'm saying is just go talk to her next time. She might save you from getting a weeks detention, like you're getting now." I shot my eyes open at this.

"All you're giving me is a weeks detention?" I asked surprised.

"Well did you want anymore punishments?" He laughed. "I'm only giving you a weeks detention, because I know that you're on one of your last warnings, and I do believe in you Dylan. You're not silly, you're quite a clever boy when you put your mind to it. And Mrs Honey is always going on about how well you do in music. She hasn't given up on you yet Dylan, but if you carry on the way you are, everyone you know might give up on you." His words actually made me think. I immediately felt bad for wrecking the music departments guitars because I knew Mrs Honey would be really upset.

"Okay." I sighed. "Can I go now?" I asked him.

"Yes you can, but please, just try and stay out of trouble Dylan, you're in here nearly every week, and I feel as I have to look after you, like you're one of my own. My son." When he said that, he made me stop in my tracks.

"We'll for the record, you'd be a much better dad than mine." I smiled and walked out.

Mr Bolton, (my principal) knew all about my dad. He knew that he drunk quite a lot. My dad wasn't the aggressive kind of drunk, he was the more carefree kind of drunk. He didn't really care about me a lot. He tried to be a father to me, after mum died, but he was never really good at it. My mum died a few weeks after giving birth to me. She didn't have anything wrong with her, she was completely healthy. She wanted to get back to work straight away, to keep as much money coming in as possible, so my dad looked after me some days, and other days when my dad was working, my mum would ask her best friend to look after me. One day when mum was coming back from work, the road was icy, and a car slipped out of control and hit her. The other guy survived, but my mum wasn't as lucky. I remember when dad told me this, his eyes would tear up, and he would have to leave the room to get a drink. I don't completely hate my dad for turning to drink, because his one and only love died, because to be honest I would probably do the same. But he could at least try and be a better dad. He's the reason I'm so f****d up. I had to care for myself at such a young age because he didn't give a s**t.

I decided to go and apologise to Mrs Honey because I felt bad that she had so much faith in me, and I repaid her by breaking the instruments.

I walked in the music room, and Mrs Honey was in there clearing up.

"Oh hello Dylan." She half smiled at me.

"Hey." I whispered, loud enough so she could hear. "Look I'm really sorry for breaking the guitars. I just saw red and I didn't know what else to do. I really am sorry Mrs Honey." I said, and I meant every word of it.

"Oh my gosh, is Dylan O Brien apologising?" She fake gasped, then smiled. "Don't worry about it Dylan. I won't lie to you, I am upset with you, but sometimes we take our anger out on people, or objects in this matter, that don't deserve it."

"Yeah. I do that a lot." I admitted. "Mr Bolton told me you're always telling him how well I do in music?" I said. It came across as a question more than anything else.

"Yes I am. Because you do, do so well in music Dylan. You act like you're indestructible, but I see right through you. You do have feelings, I know you do, and you express them through your music." She says to me.

I was surprised. How could she tell all of that? I had only been in her music class for about 6 months.

I didn't really feel like having a heart to heart with her, don't get me wrong she's lovely, but the less people who know the real me, the better.

"Yeah. We'll anyways I'd best be going as I think lunch is over now, but I am truly sorry for breaking all this shit." I said to her.

She raised her eyebrow at me.

"Stuff, I mean stuff." I corrected myself.

"That's better." She smiled. "Well go on then, you better get to your next class." She said, and with that I walked out.

Courtney's pov;

I sat down in my normal seat in English, when I felt my phone vibrate. It was a text.

From: Ellie<3;

Where were you at lunch? We missed you:(

I changed her name back to Ellie yesterday because I felt like it.

I decided to text her back.

To: Ellie<3;

Yeah sorry, I got caught up with stuff. Tell you after school?<3

I needed to tell her what happened between me and Dylan, because I needed someone to talk to.

My phone vibrated once again.

From: Ellie<3;

Yeah sure. Meet me at my locker after this lesson<3

I locked my phone and put it in my pocket.

I looked up to see Shawn walking in, and my mood immediately changed.

"Hey England." He said to me, causing me to laugh.

"Hey Shawn." I smiled at him.

"Did you hear about what happened at lunch time?" He asked me.

No I was too busy fighting with Dylan and crying. I thought to myself.

"That Dylan O Brien kid got into a fight with his best friend Jamie Bower! Apparently Dylan was smashing the guitars up in the music room, and Jamie got involved and they started beating each other up!" He explained.

I froze. Dylan got into a fight? What the hell? Why? Especially with his best mate? This is why I shouldn't get involved with Dylan. No matter how lovely he can be to me, he's bad news. I tried to convince myself.

"Oh my god. Are they okay?" I asked concerned.

"Jamie had to go the nurses office, because apparently Dylan busted his nose up quite badly. Dylan got sent to the principals office, and I saw him after he came out and he has a black eye. I don't know if he was hurt anywhere else because I couldn't see any other markings on him but yeah. I think he's on his last warning or something like that." He informed me.

I hope Dylan's okay.

"How do you know all of this?" I asked intrigued.

"News travels fast around this school, you'd be surprised." He smiled.

Just then my English teacher walked in, and told us we had to pair up and write about what we thought about our partner, then we had to read it out in front of the class.

We had half an hour to write it, and the rest of the lesson we had read it out.

Shawn wanted of be my partner, and of course I said yes.

********************

Our half an hour of writing time was up, and we had to read it aloud now.

A couple of pairs went before me and Shawn, and they were all really lovely about each other.

Just then the teacher called out mine and Shawn's name.

"Ladies first." Shawn smirked at me, I rolled my eyes, and stood up and walked to the front of the class.

I had never really been a confident person, but singing and playing the piano in front of people, sort of gained me that confidence to talk aloud in front of people.

"Shawn Mendes, is a clever guy. He does his work without any complaints, and gets good grades. He's also a really funny, and bubbly character, and a really good friend. I don't know too much about him, but I would love to get to know him a bit more, because he seems like a chill guy." I finished my speech, and I got applauded from everyone including Shawn.

"That was lovely Courtney." My teacher praised me. "Your turn Shawn." She said to him.

Shawn stood up and walked to the front of the class.

"Courtney Williams. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Courtney isn't like all the other girls. She's different. She does all her work, and gets good grades. She doesn't gossip, or talk bad about anyone behind their backs. She's actually quite a mysterious girl. Behind those beautiful unique eyes of hers, she's hiding something. I may be wrong, but I intend to find out." Shawn finishes, and grins at me. I smile back and I feel my cheeks heat up.

He intends to find out? Find out what? I'm not really hiding anything.... Am I?

The bell rings signalling that it's time for home, and I pack all my things up.

"So." Shawn starts saying to me. "You'd like to get to know me more?" He smirks.

I nod shyly.

"Wanna grab some dinner after school tommorow?" He asks me.

Grab some dinner with you? Hell yeah!

"Wait... Like a-a date?" I stutter.

"Yeah if you want to go on a date with me?" Shawn asks me and I see him blush.

Gosh he's so damn cute.

"I'd love to." I beam at him.

A/N; If you're wondering, then the song Dylan sung was by Simple Plan, and it's called 'Outta my system'. I changed some of the lyrics because they didn't fit in, so I am aware that the lyrics aren't correct.