HG AU Normal

Angel's father luckily hadn't found out about them skipping. She got so lucky with that. She was sure that her dad would find out and kill her. She parked and got out of her car before going into the school and to her locker. She had told Hannah about how she was going with Brandon, and she didn't seem to happy, but she tried not to complain. She just couldn't see why Hannah didn't like Brandon. He was funny and handsome. What more could she want? Hannah simply said that he was immature and needed adult supervision all the time.

The moment Drake's father had found out about the fight, he had lectured him. Then, he went on to scold him about skipping school, since the school had contacted him about that as well. Drake was lucky he got out of that alive. He stared into his car mirror and sighed. His father's anger had gotten the best of him, and Drake had ended up with a black eye. The realization was even worse than the actual pain; he was just like him. He walked into school with his head down and his hood pulled out so that he could cover his face.

Angel was in the middle of putting things in her locker when she saw Drake. "Hey!" she said, but then she saw how he had his head down. "Drake...are you okay?" she asked him, and she took his hand. He really didn't look too good. She knew that his father more than likely did it, but she wasn't going to say anything about it. Brandon soon caught up with the two. "Hey, did you guys hear? Maddox is in the hospital," he said.

Drake didn't look up. Instead, he just whispered, "I'm fine." He fumbled with his lock, and just as he got it open, Brandon had come over. The news left him dumbfounded. "You're kidding," he said, frowning. He grabbed a few of his things before he closed his locker once more. What he wouldn't kill for a painkiller at the moment. "Are you sure?" he continued.

Angel bit her lip nervously, and she took his hand. At Brandon's news, her eyes widened. "How?" she asked. Brandon nodded. "I'm sure. I heard that he was mugged and his dad found him, but if you ask me, something doesn't add up. And you know his dad hasn't all been...the most honest man," he said. Angel have him an odd look. "So you are saying his dad did it?"

Drake furrowed his brows at that, but that only made the pain of his eye shoot up. He pressed his lips into a thin line. "Why. That makes no sense," he muttered. Of course, Maddox was never his favorite subject to talk about, especially since all of the drama he had caused. He then shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh. "How bad was it?"

Brandon bit his lip when he asked how bad it was. "I think he's pretty bad to be honest. It sounded bad when my parents were talking about it," he said, and he looked over at him. "Are you okay? You don't look too good," he said. Angel sighed to herself. If only the boy realized she just asked him that. He really needed to learn to listen.

Drake frowned slightly as he mulled that over. "How did your parents even find out about it?" he asked; he almost wondered if his father knew about it. He doubted he would have told him if he did. His question made him let out a frustrated huff. "I'm fine. Just tired," he lied before he pulled out his sunglasses and pulled them on over his eyes. It was better to just avoid all questions.

Brandon shrugged. "It's a small town. Word gets around fast," he said before giving him a look. He knew that he wasn't okay, but he wasn't going to say anything to him. "Okay," he said, and he sighed to himself. "So, I was thinking that while the girls go dress shopping, we can go tux shopping," he said with a smirk. "It will be quick, and who else will tell me honestly if my butt looks big other than my best friend?"

Drake leaned against his locker and rose his brows at Brandon's answer. Yeah, well apparently not fast enough. When Brandon dropped it, he relaxed a little bit. He would rather not bring up his father, especially now. His suggestion made him half smile. "Yeah, it would be better than spending hours looking at dresses," he agreed, then chuckled at what he said last. "I am not going to comment on that one," he muttered. At least Brandon seemed to be back to his old self.

Brandon chuckled, and he rolled his eyes. "You know that you would do it," he said. He couldn't help but notice the odd look that Angel was giving him. She probably knew that it was nothing like him to act that way. That least ever since Livia started dating Derek. He just shrugged. He told himself all the time that it was fine and he didn't need her, but he knew deep down that he did. He just couldn't say anything.

Drake rolled his eyes and muttered, "Because a big butt is what you should be worried about." He shifted his backpack on his shoulder and crossed his arms over his chest. He sent a half smile Angel's way before he looked between the both of them. He still couldn't shake the feeling that someone was missing, like a lost puzzle piece. Thankfully, Damon came over to pull at least some of the tension away. "Hey, guys. Uh...Drake...is everything-," he began. Drake shook his head and muttered for what felt like the hundredth time, "I am fine!" He pushed past everyone and headed down the hall.

Angel was finishing putting her things up, but then she heard Drake. She sighed, and she followed after him quickly. "Drake, wait up!" she called, and she took his hand. "You obviously aren't fine. You are scaring me," she told him, and she looked up at him. What was wrong with him? Why was he acting like that? She just wanted to talk to him, but he wasn't going to budge it seemed.

Drake turned on her then. "Angel, I said I was fine!" he snapped as he snatched his hand away. He hadn't meant to, but everyone was cornering him. He pushed his hood back and huffed. "I am fine," he whispered again. He hadn't realized he had started crying, which he rarely did. He shook his head and muttered, "I just need to be left alone."

Angel flinched when he pulled his hand back, and she looked at the ground. "I-I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone," she said, and she walked off as quickly as she could, keeping her head down. She wanted to know what was wrong, but he wasn't going to speak to her. She went back to her locker quietly, not speaking to anyone on her way back.

Drake felt bad, but he had a lot on his mind, and he just couldn't deal with people continuing to ask him how he was. He turned and stalked off quickly. He just needed to get away. Damon glanced over at Angel as she came back and hesitated before he said, "Hey, don't take it...bad." He sighed and glanced after where Drake had stalked off. "A lot has happened."

Angel looked up at Damon, and she shrugged. "It's fine. He doesn't want to talk to me and it's fine," she said? Playing it off as if it was nothing, but it really meant everything to her. It felt like a knife was being jabbed in her. She just wanted Drake to be happy, but she couldn't do that. "It's not a big deal," she said, but her voice gave away that she was about to cry.

Damon hesitated; he could tell that it wasn't fine even if she said it was. Being that he was an only child, he rarely was around people who cried, especially girls who cried. "Hey," he said as calming as he could muster. He reached out to pull her into a hug. "Don't, uh, don't cry...it's fine," he said, hoping that he was right. Drake had to be fine.

Angel looked to at him, and she hugged him back. "Thanks. I, uh, I should go to class," she said, and she took her books. She went as quickly as she could to get I class and not be late. She came to the room, and she sat down in her seat quietly and grabbed her notepad. Maybe no one would talk to her. Especially Derek. If he got near her she would probably end up hitting him.

Noticing Angel had come in and Drake hadn't followed right behind her, Derek rose a brow curiously, hiding a small smirk. Since Livia hadn't made it yet, he moved to sit in Drake's usual seat. "Where's your boyfriend? Heard he sent Maddox to the hospital, at least that has been what is going around the rumor mill. I knew he was insane," he said with a shake of his head. "Especially after vandalizing my locker because he is some possessive boyfriend."

Angel narrowed her eyes when Derek came over to her. "First of all, Drake didn't send him to the hospital. Maddox was fine after he fight, and his dad found him. If you are going to try and make me angry by anything other than your presence, please have the decency to get your facts right. And we didn't vandalize your locker so you can shut it with that son story of yours," she said, and she went back to looking over her notes.

"I said that is what I heard," Derek snapped back, rolling his eyes. "Did I ever say it was accurate?" he muttered. Her next comment made him scowl. "And if you two didn't," he muttered before he leaned towards her. "Who did?" He would have spoke more if Livia hadn't stepped in. "Nice talking to you, Angel," he said with a fake smile before he stood and headed towards his seat.

Angel narrowed her eyes at Derek. She wanted to slap him so hard right then. He was just so stupid! And if she could sew his mouth shut, that would be nice too. "What do you think I'm trying to figure out? Wouldn't you want to know who framed you?" she muttered before going to her work. She couldn't understand how Livia wasn't able to see that this guy was two faced and a jerk.

Derek rolled his eyes and muttered, "Well, you should try harder because I want to know just as much as you." Livia glanced between them before she took her seat and whispered, "What was that about?" Derek glanced at Angel and smirked. "She was just apologizing about what happened. We were making amends," he whispered to her. Oh, that wouldn't come without a big price, however, even if they didn't come near to amends. He just had to play along for now. Livia arched a brow and moved to sit in her old seat. "Is it true? Did you apologize?" she asked Angel.

Angel rolled her eyes at his words. "If you wanted to know so bad, how about you help? I'm sure you can do more than just stand around and look pretty," she said, and she tried her best to think of what Drake had written down. She was getting a bit worried since he hadn't come in yet. Would he really risk skipping again? When Livia came over, she gave her an odd look. "Apologize? What are you talking about? He came over to insult me some more and make me uncomfortable. I don't think he deserves one."