Between Ties

The Kiss Of Death

Rhyett's Point of View

It's been two weeks since Maverick and I had last spoken and two weeks since I'd felt his hands on my body and lips on the soft surface of my neck.

I was still confused about if whether I have feelings for him or not but that didn't matter anymore...because even if I did, he doesn't care.

He made that quite apparent.

I didn't want to talk about that night with him because I was confused and I just wanted things to be normal between us, 

but me pushing him away had caused him to stay there,

Away.

I regret it. Not talking to him about us when he really wanted to. Maybe he was scared and confused too and I didn't give him, give us both a change to figure it out, but things was different now,

he was different now and I swear I hadn't seen a glimmer of my old Maverick in his eyes for even one second. I felt like he was gone,

And maybe he was...but that was okay,

I think.

Xander was there for me and him and I had gotten pretty close over the last two weeks, we even shared our first kiss and although I didn't get the same feeling I had felt when Maverick had touched me, it was still a good feeling. Xander and I are okay,

We are good, we're great.

But was being good with Xander better than being good with Maverick.

I don't know. I don't want to think about it.

"That's the 4th girl this week." Xander said as we walked down the hallway holding hands, his hand grip was loose but still tight enough to hold onto me,

As we watched Maverick kiss a beautiful blonde girl, her back was pressed up against his locker as she looked up into his eyes. He smirked and then she used her index finger to pull his bottom lip down, he then licked his lips and went in for another kiss.

Blonde wasn't his type, but then again the boy with floppy dark hair that I was now staring at wasn't Maverick.

"I know." I told Xander, shaking my head "I honestly don't even know who he is anymore." I pulled my head from watching Mavs and then smiled sadly at the blonde cutie that was all about me,

and then saw Beth march down the hallway strutting her stuff like she was a Victoria's Secret model on the runway with her new boyfriend Diego. To be fair she was gorgeous and somewhat resembled a young Angelina Jolie. Diego on the other hand lacked her confidence in his walk as they were now both approaching Maverick. I think he was friends with Maverick, they played on the Ice Hockey team together.

She was totally using Diego to make Maverick jealous but I don't think he cared as much as she wanted him to.

"See y'all in class." She said to Xander and I smiling her bitchy but genuine smile, prowling past us like a gush of wind, dragging poor Diego by his hand to follow her, as if he was her child.

"s**t, she's loosing it." Xander shook his head as we reached his locker so he could grab his English textbook while we both watched Beth and Maverick's soon to be interaction.

"She lost it last week already." I smiled referring to her new relationship with Diego, as I still felt all of the guilt I had felt in my heart when Maverick wanted me and I had wanted him, but I had it push it aside. I was going to tell her and Xander what had happened but I'm scared and,

I just need time.

"So you're going to throw a party at your apartment tonight and not invite me?" She placed her hand on his shoulder and then twisted him around to have him fully face her while the blonde girl just stood dead still in her spot.

I could tell she was scared of Beth the whole school was.

"You ended it with me." He shrugged "the f**k outta here, Im busy." He turned himself back around as he smirked at the girl he was probably going to sleep with tonight.

Since him and Beth had ended, and things were confusing between us. He had brought a girl home every night, getting drunk and having s*x.

The girls at this school were practically waiting their turn in some invisible line to get to sleep with him, all thinking that they would be the one to save him and to be that girl who convinces the player stop playing,

To basically be the new Beth.

It was obvious that this was tragic, a blind person could see it and it was hard to watch him be this way,

but I couldn't say a thing because I walked out on him.

All of this is just so messed up but I would be lying if I said that seeing him touch another girl, kiss another girl and look at another girl the way he had looked at me that night...didn't hurt me, because it did.

"Maverick, I'm the hottest girl in school. Without me, you can't have a party." She said smugly and then he laughed lightly "and the rest of the girls in school wanna f**k me, and every guy wants to be me. So trust me sweetheart my party won't miss you." He said and then the bell rang as I turned to face Xander while he gathered all of his things, I grabbed his favorite pen from his locker and then handed it to him because he had almost forgotten it and then I smiled warmly as he said "thank you!" giving me a forehead kiss before shutting his locker.

The hallway began to clear as people rushed to class and then Beth stomped away with Diego while Maverick kissed number four again and then told her "I have practice after school, I'll see you after?" He asked and then she smiled "wouldn't miss it for the world." Before gently kissing his cheek before walking off to class as he opened his locker,

Maverick wasn't the old Maverick anymore I knew that, but I found comfort in knowing that he was still always late and at least that didn't change.

I watched him take a bottle of Jack out of his locker and then necked about 3 shots before shoving it back in.

Is he for real.

"Lets go." Xander said pulling me from my thoughts as his eyes lifted from closing his bag.

"You go, I need to go to the bathroom. Save me a seat." I smiled and then he kissed me sweetly "sure." before he walked off and then I glared at Maverick as he was trying to clip the lock of his locker to close it.

He was struggling as he exhaled deeply in frustration and quickly twisted his neck to the left to see if anyone was still in the hallway so that he could use magic to lock it. He pulled a scissor out and then sliced his thumb diagonally as it began to bleed.

The locker then quickly shut itself as he dragged one strap of his bag over his shoulder.

Idiot.

I confidently walked up to him, feeling anger in my chest as I shoved him and then he turned around to look at me "what the f**k are you doing?" I glared with eyes of a demon about to kill him.

"She speaks." He said sarcastically, smiling thinly and then continued to walk but I had pulled him by his arm which was a bad idea because his eyes flipped from mild irritation to dark rage as this caused him to instantly snap.

His eyes were no longer hazel. They were pitch black I had never seen his eyes change color before.

He pulled himself from me "Don't f*****g touch me Rhy. I will burn this school to the ground with you in it." He said and then I ignored his little threat.

"You day drinking now!?" I shrugged "you know, for such a smart person Mavs. You're acting ridiculously stupid."

He pulled a disgusted face at me "why the f**k do you care!?" He was serious. "This is my life and you don't get to f*****g dictate."

"Why are you acting like this!?" I said looking into his eyes again and still had seen nothing, I wasn't use to this,

to him being like this,

His caused mine to feel a gloss of water well up.

I hated this.

"Rhyett. You and I..." His eyes wide as if to get his point across "We're f*****g nothing! We aren't friends! We aren't anything!" He screamed "Just stay out of my f*****g way before I rip that necklace from you neck and let Nixon turn you into his slave. I don't give a f**k about you anymore! So if I were you, next time...come correct when you f*****g approach me." He had no emotion on his face as I felt a lump in my throat, tears sat in my eyes as I felt angry.

We had our differences but that was a low blow, bringing up Nixon was out of line because out of all people, he knew how vulnerable I was when it came to Nixon.

I exhaled deeply as tears fell from my eyes I could feel it trailing down my cheeks as I tried to keep a straight face, I swallowed but it felt dry as he watched drops fall and didn't bat an eyelash. I pulled my hand back and smacked him clean across the face with my flat hand as my heart had hurt from his words,

I watched his face twist at the impact as his hair flew in the direction of his head.

I sniffed feeling like I was drowning in a pool of pain. I inhaled deeply as if doing that would stop the hurt.

"Go f**k yourself!"

"I don't have to. I'm Maverick Novak." He refereed to every girl wanting him as I half laughed out of anger and shook my head at how far gone he was, I was angry but mostly,

I was hurt because it was true, all of this was. He was gone.

I walked away as he stood standing still while his face had begun to turned red, I could hear him breath as my steps carried me away and then I opened my English classroom door,

Feeling like he had just ran over my heart with a truck,

How could he.

I hate him.

Rhyett's Point of View

I could hear the music from Maverick's party blasting all the way from my apartment. I now understood Peggy's frustration towards me for playing my music loudly in early hours of the morning.

I'm sorry Peggy.

I felt the warm water of my shower hit my skin as I began to lather up my pink luffa, the comfort of the warmth and the steam washed over me as I began to cleanse my body.

Today was a lot.

Firstly I smacked Maverick, and secondly I f*****g smacked Maverick.

I'm a monster. I do regret it but I was mad and he hurt me but that wasn't fair and I probably should apologize but I don't think him and I are ever going to speak again.

I breathed in, rotating to have the water rinse over my hair so that I could wash it. I grabbed my shampoo bottle and then squeezed more than I should in the palm of my hand and had began to massage my scalp, smelling the lavender scent that I adored.

I wonder what Xander was doing. I knew that he was at Maverick's party but I couldn't help but wonder if he was having a good time. I hope he was, because Beth had been calling and texting him none stop unloading her Maverick issues onto him and I think he just kinda need a break from her.

I guess all of this was heavy on him because he had to be friends with both Beth and I and Maverick as well, but at different times. I hope trying to balance this doesn't take too much of a toll on him.

I began to rinse my hair and my body as I heard my phone vibrate from on the top of my basin and it was probably Xan, Beth or my dad texting.

I hopped out of the shower and then began to dry my body with my larger towel before wrapping my hair into my smaller one. They were matching, they were both white, and looking into my bathroom mirror had made me feel like I was staying at a hotel,

My towels never match.

I checked my phone to see a text from my dad telling me that he wanted to talk to me about something important tomorrow.

This was weird. I paused for a moment and then replied "okay no problem

Dad, I have an assignment to do tomorrow after school, but definitely after that." brushing off the feeling of discomfort but I'm sure nothing was wrong.

"Okay my princess. Goodnight sweetheart." He responded.

"Goodn.." I began to type and had then heard the sound of my guitar playing. I had an acoustic guitar but I hardly played, in fact I couldn't play for s**t.

I froze listening to the sound of Bob Dylan's Knocking on heavens door coming from my lounge. I'm loosing it.

This is the end, I'm going crazy.

I slowly turned the knob of my bathroom door and then slightly pulled the door open as the sound became clearer. I grabbed the can of air freshener as if that was a good choice of weapon but it was the closest thing to me.

A hear a voice, an angelic voice begin to sing the lyrics of the song as my heart had drummed in my chest.

I took one step out of my bathroom and then locked eyes with him from down the passage, sitting on my couch smirking as he continued to play as I had backed up a little, my eyes wide as if I had seen a ghost and I would rather have that than to be staring at the sight of him in my home,

"Nixon."