◤ chapter four ▸ to new beginnings ◢

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        FOR FLASH, SCHOOL WAS an escape. No matter how much he hated it, finding that no matter how hard he tried and no matter how much time he spent studying he could never be excel, it was an escape from home.

         Home was either too quiet or too loud, the state of the place being in the first category ever since that night. His mother was too out of it, practically sleep walking everywhere and never spending time with her children. Jesse stayed out late and came back only to sleep it seemed like, never having time for her short-tempered older brother. They were always different, only similarity being their defense mechanism of snapping at each other and a hatred/fear for their father.

         Jesse was easily a genius. She never spent hours teaching herself concepts in math because she didn't understand it when her teacher taught it to her, too afraid to ask questions during class because then she would seem like an idiot. She never threatened to spill tears over Physics because it was too hard but she couldn't back out of it now. She never pretended to be smart; she just was.

         Flash wanted to hate her for it, it was too easy. He hated other people for the trait because they never needed to try like he did, they never had to spend hours on their fucking homework, cutting into sleep, because it was too hard for them to complete in thirty minutes. But he couldn't hate his baby sister for being better than him, it was good for her. She didn't need to go through the trouble like him.

         And at school, Flash didn't have to be the scared, little boy. He didn't have to be quiet and afraid at every moment, he could be loud and confident and surely obnoxious. Betty called him that all the time, Flash liked to think she was joking.

         It was probably sad to say that Betty was his only true friend yet she knew practically nothing about him, though he felt the same way about her. They had an unspoken agreement that she didn't pry into his family life and he never asked questions about where her mom was. It worked for them.

         They clashed easily but were terrifying when they did work together. Betty was the social butterfly who was in the good graces of Liz Allan; the girl who everyone used to love. Used to, until it was revealed that her father was a supervillain and she fell from the top to the bottom. She still held a lot of power at the school, being class president, but people just weren't as trusting of her.

         But Betty and Flash didn't abandon her, neither did Cindy Moon. Flash didn't know much about the girl, other than the fact that she was insanely smart and dreamed of working at Stark Industries one day – but who didn't? Betty seemed to like her, which was enough for Flash to like her.

         Where Betty was the social butterfly, Flash was the force. He could make people do what he wanted thanks to his days playing football, although the season was over now. He didn't care much for the sport, but his father made his play if he wanted a car for his sixteenth birthday. A car which was ultimately destroyed by Spider-Man. Not that Flash was angry because Spider-Man needed his help and took his car – Spider-Man drove his car! That was awesome!

         And every day at lunch, Flash would sit with Liz, Betty, Cindy, and sometimes Sabrina Montgomery if she decided not to sit with Toni Alderson, one of the school's junkies. Sabrina attracted everyone and had a smile that put people weak to their knees, Flash wouldn't even lie and say that he had never dreamed of dating her. But now, Sabrina was just a friend and Flash was content with it staying that way.

         "So," Betty bit down on one of her fries, looking at Flash with a teasing smirk on her face, "Who was that blonde you were with the other night?"

         "Seriously?" Flash couldn't help but ask her, staring incredulously at his friend.

         "What? Did you need see the eyes she was giving you? And the way that she trailed all along your figure as you walked away? She was so into you," Betty defended herself.

         "Woah – when did Flash get laid?" Sabrina popped into the conversation, not that her presence was unwelcome. She was probably the only other person besides Betty that he considered a sort-of close friend. Close enough, never invading his personal space.

         Flash still shot her a glare. "I didn't get laid."

         "Well you need to," Sabrina was quick to comment back, looking at him up and down before nodding, affirming her own words, "Yep, you're too tense. Need to loosen the muscles, let go a little bit. A good fuck always does the trick."

         He couldn't help but wrinkle his nose up. "I really don't need to know anything more about your sex life, Sabrina."

         Sabrina pouted, "Oh, come on. I have such great details and I can hook you up."

         "No thanks," he shot her down.

         "Your lose," she shrugged, resuming back to eat her own food and talk with Liz and Cindy.

         Betty turned to him and shot him a look before asking again, "What happened with the blonde?"

         "Nothing," Flash answered before looking up to see Betty raise an eyebrow, "What? Nothing happened with her!"

         Betty sighed disappointedly before giving him a disapproving look. "I had such high hopes for you, you know? I bring you to a party, I get you a cup of beer –"

         "Actually, I poured my own glass, thanks."

         "– and a pretty blonde comes right up to you yet you still let her go," Betty munched on another fry, "It's sad, I'm sad."

         Flash rolled his eyes. "I went to the party to look after you and take you home safely, not to get laid. I don't need to get laid."

         "He lies," Betty snorted, "Of course you need sex! Everyone does, it's normal. And I was fine on my own and if it weren't for you I could've gotten some great pussy, but no! Flash Thompson just had to come in and save the day."

         "You were drunk and she was clearly sober, I wasn't about to let her take advantage of you," Flash defended himself.

         "How noble. Really, it is, but you could've at least helped me find an equally drunk girl to drown my sorrows in while you get yourself a pretty blonde," Betty said.

         He sighed, "You know, she did want to sleep with me."

         After he said it, he regretted it. The way Betty's eyes lit up with mischief, a knowing smirk on her face. God, he really should've kept that last thing to himself. "See? I was right, she did want to sleep with you," Betty boasted before pausing, "So why did you say no?"

         "She was way too drunk and I didn't want to sleep with anyone. I'm fine on my own, no matter what you or Sabrina think," Flash shot a glare to the girl who wasn't paying him any attention. Whatever, he knew she'd flip him off later for it.

         Betty frowned slightly, tilting her head, "We just want what's best for you."

         Flash snorted, "Really? Well you have a really funny way of showing it."

         "You know that I love you, shut up," Betty swat at his hand, "And to prove it to you, I am personally going to find that blonde and get you laid by the end of next week. Trust me, I can do it. Future journalist right here, after all."

         Betty smirked at her, determination feeling her while dread filled Flash. God, he really hated school.

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         Tessa didn't know what to expect the next time she saw Caden. She was hoping that she would never have to see him again, no matter how unrealistic that was. She was hoping that it would be far away, she was hoping that he wouldn't approach her and they would never speak again and she would never have to talk to him. Ever. She never wanted to hear another word from his mouth, but it seemed like the world was not in her favor.

         The following Monday, Caden was at school and she was too and he was there and he was walking towards her. Tessa braced herself, turning back to her locker and taking out one of her books and replacing it with another in her bag. God, she hated carrying them. They were too heavy but she had to.

         And then he was right there. Caden Hayes wore his usual smirk, acting as if nothing had ever even happened between them and this was perfectly normal. They were fine, just as they had been before Finn Patterson was sent to juvie and she broke up with him. Because in his mind, nothing had changed even though it was radically different for her.

         "Tessie," he greeted her, the draw of the nickname coming out smooth as it always did. God, she hated it when he called her that. "Babe, I haven't heard from you in days."

         "Wonder why," she muttered before closing her locker and facing him head on. There was no point in giving him the silent treatment and running away like a coward. She said she would end this and if the message wasn't clear to him before, she would make it clear again. "Caden," she greeted him coldly.

         He didn't seem too fazed, just grinning at her. "Baby, I've missed you. You should come over today, we can skip if you want," he made a step to come closer to her, place a hand on her hand but she took a step away from him. Large enough for him to notice and raise an eyebrow. "Tessa?"

         "No," she told him plainly, "I don't want to skip with you and I'm not coming over. I told you, we're done."

         He scoffed, "Come on, you didn't mean it. You were just in shock over the trial, but that's behind us now. We can move on from it, it's okay."

         "It's not okay," Tessa corrected him, outraged that he could think that it was nothing – that Finn was nothing and not her best friend who held her when she cried, who let her stay over at his house when she was too scared to be home, too scared that Caden would hurt her.

         "I'll make it okay, babe. We're okay, nothing is going to tear us apart," Caden told her softly.

         She wanted to scoff, to roll her eyes at him, but she refrained. "No, nothing is going to tear us apart because you already did that."

         "Tessa..."

         "You lied and now my best friend is in juvie, rotting when that should be you in there. You fucking hit me – slapped me in the fucking face but you expect us to be alright?" Tessa was seething, she just wanted to hurt him. To wreck him. "I told you, we're fucking over and it's not the shock talking. I meant it then and I mean it now."

         Caden's eye twitched in anger, face molding from kindness to the one she remembered from many times before – from when he slapped her the day of the trial.

         "You'll regret this," he hissed at her, "You need me to be something, because without me you are nothing and you will never be anything on your own."

         She leaned in close. "Go. Fuck. Yourself." She enunciated every word clearly for him, going to say something else when someone cleared their throat.

         They both turned to see Rylie Jacobs with her blue hair and innocently fake smile on her face. "Hi, you're standing in front of my locker," she motioned behind Caden. His jaw clenched, giving Tessa a look that told her that he would find her again before he walked away. "Thanks!" Rylie called after him.

         She moved to where he was once standing and Tessa breathed a sigh of relief, eyes squeezing shut as she felt her shoulders relax. When she opened them, Rylie was looking at her with concern. "You alright there?"

         Tessa forced a smile, "Just peachy."

         Rylie eyed her skeptically. "You sure? Who was that guy anyway?"

         "Caden Hayes; my ex-boyfriend who can't seem to accept that I broke up with him," Tessa answered, anger overtaking her again as she thought of him. God, she just wanted to be rid of him but he just wouldn't allow her that.

         "Seems like a total dick," Rylie decided and Tessa couldn't help but nod, even chuckling at the assessment.

         "You're not wrong. I mean, I just kinda really realized that last week. I broke up with him on Wednesday before you got here," Tessa told her, not going into further detail as to why.

         Rylie must've noticed this as she nodded before asking her, "So, why did you break up with him? Did he cheat on you? Lie to you?"

         "Both," Tessa told her, "But the cheating thing happened before and I forgave him for it."

         "Oh, hun. Rule number one: never forgive a man when he cheats on you, you're just asking for him to do it again," Rylie told her sympathetically before tensing up for a second, "Sorry, that's probably the last thing you needed to hear."

         Tessa laughed, "No, it's alright. I totally get that now but for some reason old me couldn't understand that concept. I just, I thought I really loved him and that he really loved me...guess I was wrong."

         Rylie gave her another sympathetic look, closing the gap between them as she hugged her. Tessa felt herself grow tense again before relaxing and accept the arms wrapped around her, returning the needed gesture.

         The Jacobs girl definitely wasn't Finn. Finn would have more colorful words to describe Caden, Finn would already know the situations he was in and he would understand how she felt. Finn knew everything about her and would understand the way she felt. Rylie was new, she didn't understand her relationship with Caden. She wasn't there, she didn't understand and didn't have the all of the information to really sum up Caden.

         But, Tessa thought, it wasn't needed. While Rylie could never replace Finn, she could help fill the hole. Rylie was new and she needed that. A new beginning; that was exactly what she needed.