(CH) Chapter 6: I Love You Maybe Not

Madison saw Brianna ahead of her outside the school, she noticed that Brianna's eyes were deadlocked on her. She normally didn't find her friend outside on the sidewalk as Brianna came in through one of the other entrances and they met at their lockers. It didn't matter to her, she had to talk to Brianna. She had to listen to Brianna's advice as to what she should do now that she had completely messed up.

The girls began to run towards each other, neither realizing the desperation in the others footing. As they came to a stop in front of each other, both with their backpacks slung over one shoulder, they stared.

"I made a huge mistake!" They both said in unison.

No one walked on that particular sidewalk as most of the students were dropped off in front of the school. Madison looked around when she realized this was going to need more then ten minutes before class.

"Anything important during your first class?" Brianna asked when she understood the situation.

"No, just a lecture. You?"

"Lecture. Let's find someplace to talk."

Madison knew the perfect place and led her friend to the stairwell, where she knew they would be alone. Both girls sat down at the top and heaved their backpacks beside them. It remained quiet for a moment while each waited for the other to speak first.

Brianna was the first to break the silence, "I ran into Caleb." She said. Madison was aware of the situation between her and Caleb, as it had been one of the first stories that Brianna had told her. "I was stupid and answered my phone when he called. Then I found out he was near me already at the shopping district. We went to dinner, and he asked me back and he cried." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I took him back, I'm so stupid."

"I slept with Alan." Madison blurted out. "We were at his mother's house and she was begging me to give him a chance. For some reason when we got home I wanted to see if there was any feeling. So, I kissed him and I didn't stop him from going further." Madison balled her fists up, "It was so fucking stupid, and I realize that I don't care for him in that way. But this morning when we woke up, he was telling me how much he loved me and how long he had waited. That he wanted to kiss me since the day we met and how attracted he was to me. All I could think was it felt like I had committed incest."

Brianna's hands dropped to her side, after hearing Madison's confession. "So, we are both in relationships that we don't want to be in, but we ignited them and will feel guilty if we end them."

"I don't know why I can't feel that kind of love for him. He's a great guy and I should be flattered and ecstatic that such a person would choose me." Madison swallowed, "But, I feel empty when I try to summon that romantic love. I love him, but not the same way he loves me. I'm afraid if I tell him that I will lose his friendship."

"I feel exactly the same way, even though I hadn't talked to Caleb in over a year, I always hoped one day we would be friends again."

Both girls sat in silence. It would be so easy for each other to just give advice to the other, but they knew they would have to take their own advice as well. Brianna had other issues with the whole situation as well. She felt anger when Madison had said she slept with Alan, and had felt jealousy when she told him of his confession. She wanted to slap Madison for having what she wanted and not appreciating it the way she would have.

Silence engulfed them both as Brianna came to sit beside Madison. She laid her head on her friend's shoulder and they both looked out towards the garden. Brianna ate her own lunch here everyday, but the two had only come here together once before. It was the day that Madison had showed her the cozy little hide away.

"How did this happen?" Brianna said with a heavy sigh.

Madison didn't respond and continued to stare off into the distance.

Wrapping her arms around Madison's, she rubbed her forehead against her friend's shoulder. She wanted to cry and release all the stress that came with a night of not sleeping and only thinking about her problems. However, she knew that Madison would tell her that crying solved nothing. That they had to find a solution that would work for all in order for this to pass smoothly.

"I guess, we just have to live with it." Madison suddenly said.

Brianna was not expecting to hear that at all. Her head rushed up and she looked into Madison's eyes. "What?"

"We've made a commitment to them. You are giving Caleb a second chance and I am giving Alan a first chance. Who knows maybe…" She sighed, "Maybe we will find out that we have overlooked them all along and learn to love them."

She swallowed and leaned against the wall.

"It was, after all, our own decisions to begin relationships with them. We can't just back out like it was meaningless, can we?"

"Won't it hurt them more if we break up with them weeks or months from now? When they find out we never loved them to begin with?" Brianna asked.

"As long as we allow it, we could learn to love them in such a way." Madison sighed, "But you are right, it will hurt more later on."

"I don't want to force myself to love him again."

"I didn't say we should force ourselves. I said we should be open to it." She brought up her knees and hugged them. "That is what I am going to do. You walk your own path if you must, but I don't want to lose Alan's friendship. Maybe I am just so use to looking at him as my brother that I allowed myself to be blind to what really could be."

Brianna gave a sharp nod, "And maybe I have been so caught up in Caleb's faults, even though I did love him a lot, that I never gave him a chance to better himself. Maybe he really is a good guy and… oh… my… god."

"Bri!" Caleb yelled in the distance as he ran towards them.

Both girls stood up and Brianna met him at the bottom of the stairs. Madison looked at the tall blonde, that carried a backpack over one shoulder and a book in his other hand.

"What are you doing here?" Brianna asked as Madison slowly made her way down the stairs.

"I thought you would be in class by now? Skipping school, naughty girl." Caleb laughed and looked over at Madison as she came to stand beside his girlfriend. He did something that Brianna had never before seen him do, and it shocked her into utter silence. "Well, hello!" He chimed at Madison. "You must be Madison! I am Caleb McBain!" He extended his hand out to Madison.

"Nice to meet you, Madison Knox." She shook his hand.

"You are very tall!" He said to her though he had a good five inches on her. He suddenly laughed, "You look like one of those hot girls in the movies where they give her a bad hair style, glasses, and some baggy clothes so she looks nerdy and ugly. Then suddenly other girls adopt her as a project and make her look hot!"

Both Madison and Brianna's jaws dropped.

"Caleb!" Brianna finally came back to herself enough to yell. "Oh my god, that was so insulting!"

He looked between them, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to be. All I meant that she was really attractive under her obvious disguise to fight off all the guys." He winked at Madison.

Madison could feel the heat of anger flooding over her body, but she quickly released it with a roll of her eyes. "I am going to class." She mumbled and stormed off in the wrong direction.

Brianna didn't correct her and immediately turned her eyes back to Caleb, "What the hell? How could you say something like that to her?"

"I didn't mean it the way it sounds. I was trying to be friendly, I really was." He dropped his head.

She shook the annoyance away, "What are you doing here?"

"I go to school here now! My dad paid to get me in late, so I am working on a business degree."

"Why? I thought you said you weren't meant for college."

"I wanted to be near you." He told her and took her hand. "I didn't think I would see you until later, but surprise, surprise you were on the stairs as I was coming in." He pointed to one of the school gates.

She sighed, "We won't have the same lunch." Looking down at her watch, "I have to get to class." She growled and began to run off, but remembered Madison's words that they had to try. She turned back to look at Caleb who stood with his head dropped. "I'll see you after school. Meet me by the front gate." She smiled which caused him to smile in return.

"With bated breath." He waved at her as she walked away. His eyes turned in the direction that Madison had gone to. With a nod, he ran after her.

---***---

"Madison! Madison! Madison, wait! Madison!" The voice screamed through the crowd that Madison was trying to avoid.

She had to walk by the tree that had become Darick and his group's playground, and she was attempting to go unnoticed. Her cover was completely blown as the blonde hair man that she had met moments before ran up to her. Turning her eyes across the quad, she looked at the four boys who were sitting comfortably under the tree.

Caleb put his hands above his knees and bent down to catch his breath. He grinned widely as he looked up at her with his head cocked to the side. "Sorry." He breathed heavily. "I really didn't mean to insult you." He continued to catch his breath.

Madison could see that Darick had spotted her and she groaned inwardly as he began to make his way over to her. "It's fine."

"I meant that you were attractive, but that you seemed to hide it. I didn't mean to make it sound like you were ugly." He seemed to be catching his breath and stood up straight. "I really want to make friends with you and… um Alanna."

"Alan." Madison corrected.

A brief look of jealousy came over Caleb's smiling face, but it was quickly erased. "Oh, a guy. Well, alright. I want to make friends with him too."

Her heart started to beat rapidly when she realized that Darick had disappeared within the crowd. "Are you free now?" She suddenly asked.

Caleb grinned. "Yeah, just a lecture. I have a half hour, why?"

"There is a coffee shop on campus. We could have a chat." Madison said as she desperately wanted to leave.

"Sure, as long as I buy." Caleb smiled.

"Madison." Darick's voice spoke behind her.

She fought the urge to jump in a start and turned her eyes to the man standing behind her. He had brushed his hair that day, or at least didn't style it in his normal 'I just woke up' look. There was enough hair to be pulled back into a small, but pitiful ponytail with some of his hair in the front being released from the gel.

She noticed his resentful stare that was deadlocked on Caleb. "Hello. Can I help you?" Madison asked nonchalantly.

His eyes slowly turned from the man behind her to stare directly at her. She was a little surprised that his expression changed from jealousy to a softer look of affection. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright… after what happened on Saturday."

"I'm fine, thank you." She kept her indifferent tone, as she didn't want to send him signals that she was annoyed with him. However, she didn't want him to misinterpret any act of kindness or friendliness in her voice.

"I also wanted to ask you if you wanted to join me and the others…" He pointed to his friends at the tree, who were all watching him. They waved when Madison looked their way. "for coffee. I know…"

"I'm sorry, but no." She responded. "I have just asked Caleb out to coffee."

Anger flashed in Darick's eyes as he looked at the man behind her.

"It's alright, Madison. If you want to go…" Caleb began. He could sense the tension between the two.

She held up her hand to cut him off, "No, I already invited you and you can't back out of it now." She said over her shoulder, before turning her eyes back to Darick. His eyes were still on Caleb. "Besides, you need to stop chasing me. I… I am seeing someone now and it's quite serious."

Darick's eyes turned back to her with a start. "Excuse me?"

"I am already…"

"I heard that. Is it Arion? Aries?"

She shook her head.

"Brad or Grady?"

Again she shook her head.

He shrugged and put his hands into his pockets, "Then it doesn't matter to me. I'll steal you away. Unless it's one of those four I won't stand by idly and do nothing." He cleared his throat. "Besides, you are probably lying just to throw me off."

"I am not lying." Madison was surprised and a little ashamed that she was using Alan to stop Darick's advances.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh, who are you dating then?"

"I… I…" She didn't want to tell him about Alan. She already knew that he was violent and didn't want Alan to be punished, especially since her feelings were unsure.

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her hand. "She isn't lying." Caleb said. He then released her hand and put his arm around her shoulder. "I suggest you leave my girl alone."

Madison was shocked into silence as she turned her head to stare at Caleb. What in the hell was he doing? Then she remembered that this was his first day, he had no idea about the inner workings of the school.

Darick came to stand directly in front of him. Caleb released his hold of Madison and stood tall in front of his fake rival. They both stood the same height, but Darick had to outweigh him. Caleb's body was slim, obviously made for basketball, while Darick would have made a better football player with his build.

Caleb didn't expect it to escalate past words, but when the fist connected with his cheek, he fell to the ground stunned. People walking around the quad started to panic and ran as fast as they could. As Darick would often hit innocent bystanders if his anger grew to the point that beating his opponent was not enough.

"Stop it!" Madison yelled.

Darick couldn't even hear her past his own rage. As soon as Caleb jumped back to his feet, Darick went in for another punch. To everyone's surprise, he dodged the punched and managed to land one of his own in Darick's abdomen. Brad, Grady, and Arion came running over. Madison wasn't sure if they were going to assist Darick or try to pull him off.

Arion came to stand next to Madison to ensure that she was out of the way. Brad and Grady tried to put themselves between the two men, but only got hit themselves. This wasn't a matter of fighting over a girl for Caleb, but a matter of pride. He had stood up for Brianna's friend and planned to go through with it.

The fight continued on as Arion held Madison back from trying to step into the fight. He eventually had to wrap his arms around her shoulder and waist before pushing her face to his chest so she couldn't watch. He knew that there was no stopping Darick until he got his fill. He would make sure to protect her in hopes that she wouldn't see Darick as a monster. Instead, she grabbed him between the legs and squeezed until he fell over from the pain.

Turning back to the fight, Grady and Brad were in on it, but it wasn't the way she expected. They were on Caleb's side and the three of them were losing, if one could tell how a battle was going by the looks of the participants' faces. Grady and Brad seemed to have given up and were laying on the ground, but Caleb kept standing back up.

Madison ran out between them and lurched towards Darick. She struck him with all the strength she could gather. His face was already bruised and his bottom lip bleeding along with his nose, and none of that had snapped it out of him. She had no idea why a slap from her would break through his rage.

"I fucking hate you!" She screamed at the top of her lungs after she had slapped him.

The bloodlust on Darick's face dissipated as he turned to look at the woman in front of him. "What?"

"I hate you! Don't ever come near me again! You are a disgusting, violent monster! He didn't do anything to you and you attacked him!" Madison was trying to hold back tears. She was afraid of what Brianna would think once she told her about this. It wasn't as if they could hide Caleb's wounds from her. "You are not welcomed in my life! So, stay out!" She struck him again.

Darick watched her run over to Caleb and grab his hand. He wanted to fall to his knees after hearing her words, but kept a strong stance. The two ran off and he looked down at Brad and Grady who were recuperating on the ground.

"What happened to you?" He asked them, but didn't wait for an answer. Just leisurely walked back to the tree.

---***---

"That was really stupid of you." Madison scolded as she put the alcohol onto the cut below his bottom lip.

They had come into the nurse's office, but she just pointed to the supplies and told them to help themselves. Madison was all too aware that the nurse knew this was Darick's work and she didn't want to be involved. The middle aged woman had actually walked out of the room when she had Caleb sit down on the cot.

"Who the hell was that guy?" Caleb asked, his normally cheerful voice was gone.

"Darick Mitchell. He is basically the prince of this school and you just put yourself on his bad side."

"Fuck him."

Madison shook her head, "You have no idea what is going to happen to you do you? I've seen better men than you last two days under his treatment. The other students listen to him. You are about to go through hell if you don't quit this school now."

It was his turn to shake his head, "No, I am here because of Brianna. I'll go through hell for her if need be."

She sighed, "Well, for what it's worth, thanks. You shouldn't have done that, I can handle Darick on my own. He's just a big child. It doesn't help that he thinks I am dating you. When he sees you loving on Brianna, you know he's going to come right back to me and announce that you are cheating on me."

Caleb tried not to chuckle. "So, I bought you some time at least."

"Why did you do that?" Madison reached for a bandage for his forehead and a clean cotton ball.

"Brianna said that I am never friendly towards her friends. So, I wanted to prove that I could not only be friends with her friends, but stick up for them too." He hissed as Madison put more alcohol on the wound on his forehead. "I guess I screwed it up. She is going to be pissed when she hears what happened."

She shook her head, "We won't tell her anything. Let's just say that Darick saw you talking to me and went ballistic. Ok?"

Caleb stared down at her, "Won't she get mad if she hears otherwise?"

"Like she'll believe Darick or even talk to him. He'll say that we are dating and she'll just think it was from his jealousy of us talking." Madison leaned back in her chair. "Even if you only said it to protect me, she might not see it that way. She is not only sensitive, but right now her feelings for you are very delicate. There is no telling what might send her one way or the other."

"Thanks, Madison. I… I really do appreciate it."

She patted his upper arm, "It's the least I can do."

He grinned, then winced when he felt the wound on his lip strike with pain. "Can't say that I didn't deserve a good beating though. I really didn't mean to say you were ugly." He sighed, "I got over zealous trying to make friends with you, and it was meant to be a compliment in joke form. I didn't want to just say 'hey, you are really pretty' right in front of the girl I am trying to get. I'm really, really sorry."

"It's alright. It was just slightly annoying to hear the truth, that's all." She crossed her arms. "I don't exactly have enough money to dress myself in the latest fashions. I get teased about it constantly or… I use to, anyway. I think Darick stopped the students from bothering me." She sighed. "That will probably all start up again tomorrow. He seemed to be incredibly pissed."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to destroy your protection." He sighed, "I just saw you standing there without a name to say and…"

"I have a name to say, but I didn't want him to know. I didn't want him to look like you. Darick knows him and would come after him for certain."

Caleb blushed, "Now, I feel stupid."

Madison giggled, "Don't worry about it. I won't tell him either."

"You're a very nice person, Madison." Caleb sighed. "I think I may have missed out on a lot by not befriending Brianna's friends in high school. She seems to have good tastes in friends."
"Well, you've been blessed with a second chance. Don't ruin it for yourself."

He gave a firm nod. "Uh, you can just tell me to shut up, but do you… has Brianna told you anything?"

"I know all about your past with her if that is what you mean."

He nodded, "Has she said anything about what's going on now?"

"Yes, she told me she was giving you a second chance."

He shook his head, "She didn't just give me a second chance. I forced it on her. Started crying like a five year old and throwing a fit. Made her feel guilty so she had no choice but to give me a second chance." He sighed, "I pretty much know that because we started again that way, it won't work."

"With that attitude it won't. She is hesitant and worried that you will fall into your old ways. However, you just need to be ever vigilant of your actions and ensure that you don't do that. If you can prove to her that you are changing, then I have no doubt her heart will remember what it was she loved so much about you in the first place."

He snorted, "She never loved me, just pitied me. Our whole relationship has been me attaching myself to her like a lost puppy. She never had a chance to make a decision on whether I was her friend or not, I just told her that I was. Same thing when we started dating. I had no one to take to the dance. She had guys asking her all the time, but in the end she broke her date with one of them to go with me. All out of pity."

Madison looked down into her lap.

"I knew it was out of pity too, but I just wanted it so bad that I was willing to ignore it."

"It wasn't just pity. She told me everything, and she told me how much she loved you and how much she hurt when she ended it. She said she didn't want for your relationship to stop, but that she couldn't do that to you anymore." Madison looked up at him. "She felt bad for allowing you to go on the way you did, because she wanted you for herself. Though, I doubt she'll ever admit that to you."

Caleb gave a partial grin, "You are a liar."

"I swear. I only speak the truth."

"Even though I don't totally believe you, I'm going to act like I do… because I want it to be true."

Madison chuckled, "You're cute." She stood up and rubbed the top of his head. "Silly, undeniably stupid, completely illogical, but cute."

Caleb blushed, "Thanks, I think."

"Our next classes are about to start. Where do you have to go? I'll walk you there."

He pulled out his schedule, "Smith Building 203."

"Second floor, third room then." They both stood up. "You're lucky." Madison said as they began down the hall. "All my classes are on the top floors. I have to run up the stairs all day long."

"It keeps you fit, I'm sure."

She chuckled, "Yeah, that and not eating much."

---***---

"That hurt, you fucking ass!" Brad barked as they took their positions underneath the tree. Arion was the one on nursing duty. "And what was with you just standing there holding her?" Brad snapped at Arion as he helped bandage up his face.

Darick was leaning against the tree while Grady seemed content to fix his own wounds near the gate.

Arion shivered slightly at the question, knowing that Darick would now be glaring at him. "I didn't want her to watch Darick like that. She already has a low opinion of him, and fighting her boyfriend didn't help anything."

The heat that penetrated his shoulder from Darick's eyes eased as he turned his attentions away. "She was really pissed, wasn't she?"

All three of them nodded.

"Don't worry, she probably doesn't hate you, but you fucked up big time." Brad told him. "I honestly can't say how you'll be able to get forgiveness for this one. If she really likes that guy, you may have screwed yourself permanently."

Darick swallowed, "I'll think of something."

Arion shook his head, "She doesn't like you. Stop bothering her. You are only making trouble for her."

His frowned deepened as Darick stared down at his friend.

"Leave him alone." Grady said surprising all of them. "Darick fucks up a lot. If this girl is really worth him then she'll realize that and forgive him. If she's just some tramp that's not worthy of him, it's best we all find out now."

Even though Darick didn't like the way his friend put it, he was glad to hear him sticking up for him.

Arion and Brad looked at each other before shrugging.

"Whatever, I mean it's your neck on the line." Brad yawned then winced at the pain in his face. "Did you have to fucking beat us so hard?"

Darick swallowed, "All I saw was people coming at me. It didn't register that it was you."

"I thought you were going to hit her." Arion looked up at him. "She jumped out there and I just knew…"

"I would never hit her." Darick interrupted. "She was the only person that I was completely aware of." He snapped.

"Somehow, I doubt that." Brad snorted.

Reaching down, Darick grabbed a handful of Brad's hair and pulled his head back. "Did I hit her when she charged me?"

"No." Brad spoke with pain in his voice.

"Did I hit her when she slapped me?"

"No."

"How's your doubt now?"

"I'm doubting my doubt."

Darick smirked and released his friend's hair.

Rubbing the back of his head where Darick's hand just was, he glared up at his friend. "You're being a real asshole, you know?"

"Yeah, it's that attitude that has her so turned off." Arion added.

The second class bell rang informing them that third period was about to begin in fifteen minutes. "I'm going to class." Darick hissed.

The three of them looked up in shock as Darick took off towards the school buildings.

"Do you even know what class you have for third period?" Arion yelled out the answer.

Darick only flipped him off and continued to move forward. He didn't look back at his friends as he began to search the quad for a familiar face. He had no idea if he would see it, but this was definitely something he had to do to get back on her good side.

After a moment, he saw the face he was looking for. Caleb looked lost as he looked down at his scheduling and tried to figure out which building held his next class.

"Hey." Darick said as he jogged up next to him.

Caleb flinched away from him. Even though he had stood up to him earlier, he didn't want another fight. After what Madison had said, he didn't know what to expect from this person.

"Lost?" Darick asked, but got no response. He was annoyed that he was being ignored, but tried his best not to look or sound angry. "Here, let me see." He snatched the schedule away from him. "Higgins 213." Darick looked up briefly. "It's across the garden. What a crappy schedule. Make you run across the campus in less than fifteen minutes. I'll take you."

Caleb kept his frown, he didn't believe a word coming out of his mouth. There was no way in hell, he was going to follow this guy into a trap. "No, thanks. I'll find my way."

"Don't be stupid." Darick barked and began to walk away.

He didn't want to follow him, but really he had no choice as Darick still had his schedule. With a sigh, he ran up beside him and hoped for the best.

"Sorry." Darick said.

It startled Caleb to hear an apology, "What?" He had to hear it again to be sure.

Darick turned his head to him. "I said I am sorry." He sighed, "You didn't deserve to be hit and I should have kept my temper in check."

He nodded. "It's alright." It was the only response he could come up with. After everything that Madison had said, he never expected an apology from the guy.

"I'm still going to take her from you though."

Caleb chuckled, "I doubt it." He covered his mouth with one hand and expected Darick to go into a rage again.

He only grinned and looked down at him through the corner of his eye. "Have you ever wanted something… no, someone so badly that you would do anything for them? It doesn't matter what they ask of you, all they have to do is ask and you'll do it?"

"Yes." Caleb nodded with his answer as he thought of Brianna.

"That's how I feel about Madison. She doesn't want me and I am aware that I am forcing myself into her life, but I don't care." He stopped in front of the building.

Caleb hadn't even noticed that they had taken a shortcut through the garden. He had focused on Darick the entire time and his heart had been pounding in fear of an ambush.

"She can keep hating me. She can keep saying that she found someone else. She can just keep on doing what she does, because I want her all the more for it. The more she ignores me, the more I want her. The more she tells me to go away, the more I want to be with her." He sighed, "Maybe you love her that way too, and if you do we are in a long battle. You get to touch her, have her smile at you, and she wants to be with you. I don't get any of that. My only victory is when she acknowledges that I exist."

Caleb swallowed. He was uncomfortable with where this conversation was leading and he didn't want to be late for class either. "Is she really worth all the trouble?"

Darick was insulted by the question, "Of course, she is! You should know that!" He shoved Caleb in the shoulder, but caught his anger before it got out of hand. "I'm not going to stand idly by while you make your mistake with her. I'm going to make sure you make that mistake, but I'm not going to hit you again. I seek no revenge for our fight. I certainly won't win against you by beating you up. That much Madison made clear. I'm just going to steal her from you."

Caleb grinned, something about Darick reminded him of himself and the way he was going after Brianna. "Then we are in for a long battle. I won't ever tell Madison that she belongs to me and can't see you. I trust her enough to know she isn't so stupid as to want a violent man who is obviously no good for her. She's too smart for that."

Darick nodded his head, "Very well." He handed Caleb back his schedule. "From this point on we are rivals. I must say that I find you to be acceptable via your personality, and perhaps when this is through we may find ourselves as friends." With that he walked away from the blonde man, who stood in disbelief at his words.

---***---

Madison sighed as she put her backpack down on the stairs and pulled out her sandwich. Her eyes fell on the large tree in the distance and she felt a swell of anger in her heart. Taking a big bite out of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she began to chew quickly in anger. She hadn't been able to concentrate during class all morning, and right now reading was the last thing on her mind.

She felt bad leaving Caleb there to fend for himself at his classroom door, but she couldn't very well hold his hand all day. She had felt the same for Brianna, when she first began and Madison walked her to a couple classes.

"Hey."

Her head jerked to see the very person she was angry with at the bottom of the stairs. A mouth full of peanut butter and bread prevented her from cussing at him and telling him to leave.

Darick grinned when he realized why she hadn't responded to him. Putting his hands in his pockets, he began up the stairs. Sitting down across from her, he leaned against the railings and sighed. She was about to stand up and leave, but he weaved his legs between hers to force her to continue to sit.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

Madison looked at his bruised cheek and his broken lip, they were the only hints that he had been in a fight. She remembered Caleb's face had far more injuries and her anger continued to boil. "You're an ass!" She snapped when she finally swallowed down her food.

Darick was surprised that she didn't pinch his legs or hit them to get them off her. "I am." He responded.

It caught Madison off guard, "What part of stay away from me, don't you understand?"

He turned his head to look through the railings at the building across the quad from him. For a moment, he watched the students that were entering and exiting it. "I won't stay away from you. No matter how much you push."

"You don't even know me!" Madison screamed and this time she shoved at his legs. When he didn't move them, she reached up his pant leg and yanked on his leg hair.

Darick growled as he pulled his leg away as Madison stood up and grabbed her backpack. He jumped to his feet before she could grab it and grasped her wrists. Smashing her between him and the wall, he put her hands above her head. Madison watched as her lunch fell on the stairway beside them.

"Shit." She mumbled when it hit the ground, as if she was totally unaware of the stranglehold that Darick had on her body.

"I'll buy you a lunch in the cafeteria." He mumbled when he saw what had happened to her sandwich.

Madison suddenly realized the situation she was in and looked at Darick out of the corner of her eyes. She remembered what happen the last time he had her in a similar position. "Let go of me." She slowly hissed.

"No." He growled back. "Not physically and certainly not metaphorically."

She tried to knee him in the groin, but he blocked her with his thigh. He dropped his head to her forehead when she had attempted to kick him and turned her head slightly to get her bearings.

"Get off me!" She screamed.

"I said I was sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't make us go back in time! Caleb still has bruises and wounds!"

"I already apologized to him!" He yelled.

Madison silenced herself, "What… what did he say?"

"He forgave me."

Her eyes told of her disbelief.

"Don't believe me? Ask him for yourself." He was looking into her eyes, and the disbelief slowly started to disappear. "I won't hit your friends ever again. I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough."

He nodded, the skin of his forehead brushing against her own. "I know. I'll make it up to you. Name what you want done and I'll do it."

"I want you to leave me alone."

"No. Something else."

She shook her head, "I don't want anything else."

The words cut into him and he could swear that his heart bled from them. Madison could feel the strength in his hands that held her hands above him waiver. When she was certain he was about to let her go and step back, his grasp tightened. "Then I'll give you something that you don't want."

She stared at him, "What do you mean?" Her voice cracked.

"Clothing, jewelry, all that stuff that you said you didn't want. It's yours as an apology for what I have done."

She sighed in relief, "Ah, that. No, thank you. I don't want anything from you. I don't even want your attention. I don't find this flattering, and I certainly don't think it's very endearing. You're just a spoiled brat, who throws a fit when he doesn't get what he wants. Well, I'm sorry, but I am not going to be one of your toys." She started to struggle against his hold on her.

Grasping her wrists in one hand, he used the other to grab her face. "I don't think you are a toy." He hissed. "I'll thank you not to lump me into your sweeping generalization of all rich people, as I have not lumped you into mine about the poor."

Her struggling stopped and she stared at him, "You're… you're right. However, you have only shown me thus far that you are exactly how I generalized the higher classes."

"Sorry. I'm not very good with expressing myself, and you aren't exactly easy to please."

The grasp he had on her jaw lessened and he swept his thumb over her lips. His eyes dropped from her own to the lips that he was touching.

"Don't even think about." Madison snarled.

Darick smirked, "Has he kissed you yet?"

"Yes." She snapped trying to deter him. "We've done much more then kiss." Suddenly she realized that she was talking about Alan, while he was speaking of Caleb.

He looked up from her lips to her eyes, "Doesn't matter. Eventually you'll be all mine and no one else's."

She snorted, "My ass, I will."

His lips gently touched her own, barely a whisper of a kiss before he stepped back with his arrogant smirk present. Madison dropped her arms, completely annoyed by what he had done, but too embarrassed to make a comment. He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and offered her some money. "Here, you can buy lunch in the cafeteria with this."

"I don't want your money!"

"I ruined your lunch." He motioned towards the sandwich. "This is the least I can do. It's not taking money from me, it's letting me repay for my error."

Madison glared at him before snatching the money from his hand, she was too hungry to be stubborn. She watched him begin down the stairs with his hands in his pockets. Her eyes diverted to the money in her hand and she sighed, realizing he had won this little battle.

As quickly as she admitted defeat, hands grabbed the sides of her face and lips pressed against hers. Not a hard kiss, but much deeper then the one before. Darick chuckled as he ran down the stairs.

"Ah!" She screamed as she grabbed the sandwich from the stairs and threw it at him. It missed him as he turned the corner. Quickly she grabbed her backpack and raced after him. He was walking away with that smirk still on his face. Running up behind him she smacked him in the back with her backpack.

Darick staggered forward, but kept his smirk. Turning around, he already knew who had attacked him. "What? Miss me already?"

"No!" She screamed, "Don't kiss me! You make me vomit!"

"If you missed me that much, we can have lunch together." He walked towards her, but Madison jumped back.

He started to chase her around the small grassed area in front of the stairs. Every time she got close he would reach for her, but she would quickly get away. Madison realized that she had started to laugh and tried to control it. While she was pre-occupied with not laughing, an arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her upward. She was being held like one would carry a small dog, and Darick started to pull her out towards the quad. Her body was stiff as she didn't want to be carried, but it only made it easier on him to carry her.

"Let me go!" She screamed, but the laughter was still in her voice. She tried to smack at his arm with her hand and backpack.

"No." He answered, and Madison realized that he was laughing as well.

---***---

Arion, Brad, and Grady looked up in surprise from their lunches when Madison was shoved into the seat that their leader normally sat in. She looked a little unkempt with stray hairs flying in every direction and some beads of sweat forming around her face. On top of that, she looked severely pissed.

"Get up!" Darick ordered one of the boys in the table behind them out of his chair.

The boy immediately stood up so Darick could take his chair, then went to find himself another one. Placing the chair beside Madison, Darick walked towards the line of students that were waiting for their lunches. They cleaned the way so he could walk to the front of the line and order his lunch.

"Hey, light haired girl." Brad's words were slow as he clearly wasn't expecting this.

Madison brought her head down embarrassed and waved her hand gently at them. It caused all three boys to smile to see her out of her element, and obviously doing as Darick had told her.

Arion sucked on his bottom lip, "How are you?"

Grady grabbed a plastic cup that they had stacked on the table, and poured some mineral water into it. He set it in front of Madison. "Here."

"Thanks and fine." Madison replied.

"Ok, I'm just going to say it." Brad began. "What the hell is going on?"

Madison could feel eyes on her from the other students; she was certain that she was the first person outside the group to have lunch with them. "Darick ruined my sandwich, so he is buying me lunch."

"How'd he ruin it?" Arion asked.

"He made me drop it."

"How'd he make you drop it?" Brad asked this time.

Madison swallowed as that was not a question she wanted to answer or explain.

"I bumped into her." Darick sat as he sat a tray down in front of her. "You guys shouldn't be so nosy. You're like old women with the way you like to gossip."

Madison looked over the tray that had two plates on it. This did not look like a schools average food menu.

"I don't know what your lower class tastes are, so you'll just have to trust me." Darick told her as he placed one plate in front of her and one in front of himself. There was a small dish of blue oysters with caviar that he placed between them, before dropping the tray to the ground.

She poked at the piece of meat on her plate, "What is it?"

Darick swallowed his mouthful then pointed at the meat on her plate with his fork, "Marinated loin of lamb with marjoram." He then turned the fork to the small layered casserole that sat next to it, "That is a mini moussaka."

"What is marjoram and moussaka?"

Arion and Brad started to laugh, while Grady just shook his head, but Darick seemed to keep a straight face. "Marjoram is an herb that has pine and citrus flavors. Moussaka is a casserole that uses meat and vegetables. I think this one is eggplant."

Madison fought the urge to push the plate away and ask if they had pizza or something. After all this was Darick trying to make amends, even though they didn't have a relationship before. He also didn't laugh at her when she asked what the food had been. She cut into the meat and picked up the freed slice, as she was about to put it in her mouth she realized that they were all watching her.

"What?"

All four went back to their meals immediately and without answering her question. She began to chew the meat, all too aware that they were watching her out of the corner of their eyes.

"Not like your peasant food, huh?" Darick suddenly asked.

She couldn't respond because of the food in her mouth, but gestured her thoughts with her middle finger.

"This place isn't exactly gourmet, but it's has a higher standard than any place you could afford." Darick continued.

"Don't talk down to her." Arion corrected before Madison could.

"It's not like she chose to be poor." Grady added.

Darick frowned, "I was merely expressing to her the importance of savoring this while she could. It's not as if she eats these types of food daily."

It fell silent as Madison tried to rush her meal without looking like a slob or as if she was completely starved.

"I'm going to the Inferno tonight." Brad informed them, "You coming Grady?"

"Yeah."

Arion snorted, "Of course, he is coming. Grady is attached to you at the hip, especially now that all his cards are turned off."

Madison tried to pretend that she didn't hear any of this, and just continued to eat her meal.

"We have a guest at the table, Arion." Darick growled, "Keep such issues to private."

She was a little surprised to hear Darick correct his friend.

Arion nodded, "Sorry." He said to Darick first then to Grady.

Grady just shrugged, "I don't care. It's not as if she'll run all around the school and tell everyone that my mother has kicked me out. She doesn't seem the type." He turned his eyes to her as she took a drink of water, "Right?"

"Huh?" Madison replied.

"See, she's not even listening." Grady gave a rare grin.

Darick put his arm around Madison's shoulders, "I guess she knows when to stay out of other people's business. I like that." He said with a smile.

"Don't touch me." She growled and shrugged his arm off.

"No way to speak to someone who just bought you lunch." He snapped.

"You wouldn't have had to buy my lunch had you not ruined mine to begin with!" She shouted.

"You shouldn't have let go so easily."

"I'm sorry I didn't have an iron grip on it! Who knew you were going to manhandle me?" Madison stood up, pulled the money he had given her earlier out of her pocket and tossed it at him. Grabbing her backpack, she stormed out of the cafeteria, all too aware of the eyes that had followed her out.

Darick collected the money that had fallen into his lap and on the ground, before clearing his throat and returning to his meal.

"I am starting to like her." Grady said with another grin as he took a sip of his water.

Darick frowned, "And why is that?"

"She reminds me of a feisty Maxine. Able to put you in your place regardless of the consequences. We've known you for years and have never been able to do that."

Arion nodded, "Had one of us just said that to you, we would be out cold on the floor by now."

Brad agreed, "She caused a scene everyone in here was staring at us. I'm sure they thought you were going to knock her on her ass."

Darick could feel the proverbial vein pop in his forehead, before standing up. He didn't say a word as he walked out of the cafeteria.

---***---

"Madison! Hey, Madison!" Her name was called out as she headed out the front gates. It had been a long day and she was just glad that it was over, even though she knew she had to face Alan at home.

Turning her eyes, she watched Caleb run up behind her. She smiled before frowning at the wounds and bruises that still covered his face. "Hey, Caleb, how are you feeling?"

"My face still hurts a lot, but I'll be alright." He chuckled, "Actually, it turned out to be a conversation piece all day long, so it worked out for me."

"Has Bria seen yet?"

He shook his head, "No, but she is going to meet me here in a bit." He patted her upper arm, "Don't worry she won't be mad. Bri isn't like that. She won't hold you responsible for someone else's actions."

She frowned, "Caleb, I have to apologize to you."

He had been scanning the area for Brianna, but turned his eyes back to her. "Don't worry about it. I am the one that put my nose into it, and metaphorically speaking it got broken. It's my own fault."

"No, not for that. I had lunch with Darick today after all that. He ruined my lunch by making me drop it on the ground, and bought me a new lunch." She sighed, "He originally just gave me money to buy it on my own, but somehow through some strange turn of events I ended up eating with him. I am really sorry. I feel that I may have betrayed you and Bria by doing so."

Caleb smiled then winced when the wound on his lip broke open again, "Ow." He put his hand over his lip, "Don't worry about it. If it couldn't be helped, then it's no fault of your own. He seems like the type of guy who can whisk people along in his plans regardless of what they want. So, just be careful."

Madison gave a gentle nod and a grin, "I will, thanks."

"Hey, you two!" Brianna bounced up next to Madison and grabbed her arm. Her eyes fell on Caleb, "Oh my god, what happened?"

"After you left I went to apologize to Madison for what I said." Caleb began.

"Darick saw him talking to me and became outraged. He started to beat on him." Madison continued.

Brianna covered her mouth with her free hand, "Oh no!"

"Madison was able to step in and snap him out of it though. It's nothing more than a couple cuts and bruises, I'm fine. She cleaned up my wounds at the nursing station." Caleb patted Madison's upper arm again.

She shook her head slowly, "That Darick!" Brianna barked. "I knew he was no good! All you were doing was talking! What an asshole!"

"Brianna!" Both Madison and Caleb yelped. Neither were use to her saying such words.

"Oops, sorry." She blushed. "You didn't provoke him to do such a thing. I can't believe it. Nobody helped either, I bet!" Her eyes turned to all the students that were leaving, "All a bunch of cowards!"

Even though Brianna spoke with worry towards Caleb, he noticed that she hadn't touched him. Normally she would have hugged him whenever he was hurt, but instead she remained latched onto Madison's arm.

"Do you want to walk us to work, Caleb?" Madison asked.

Caleb smiled, "Sure!"

She could feel Brianna's hold on her strengthen. It was a silent signal that her friend was unhappy with the invitation she had just given.

Caleb didn't notice Brianna's discontent and weaseled his way in between the two girls. He grabbed Madison's arm and Brianna's and began to walk towards the shopping centers with them.

"Oh, almost forgot!" Caleb chimed. "That guy apologized to me, so you don't have to be mad at him. I forgave him." He told Brianna when he confused her dislike of the situation for being upset with Darick.

Brianna looked slightly shocked, "He apologized? Really?"

Madison had already known as Darick had told her, but it was still surprising to hear that it was the truth.

"He doesn't seem the type to apologize very often. So, I made sure to accept." Caleb grinned then winced. "Damn cuts."

"Madison!" The name was called out and all three looked ahead of them. Alan came running up to them with a smile on his face. He stopped in front of them, his eyes diverted to Caleb's arm around Madison's, before he looked back at her. "I came to walk you to work. I see someone already is." He tried to say playfully, but there was jealousy in his voice.

"This is Caleb, Brianna's… huh…" Madison was trying to decide the word for it.

"Boyfriend." Caleb told him and immediately dropped Madison's arm. "You must be Madison's boyfriend."

A look of relief came over Alan's face, "Sort of. We aren't official or anything."

Madison was surprised to hear that reply, but she agreed with it whole heartedly. Alan grabbed her hand with a smile as they all began to walk towards the shopping centers. After a time, Madison realized that Alan was allowing Caleb and Brianna to walk ahead of them. When there was finally enough space between them, he turned his attention to her.

"I couldn't wait to see you. Sorry." He told her.

"It's… it's alright." She tried to smile.

He stopped walking which forced her to stop as well, "I know you aren't a hundred percent sure about this." He used his finger to motion between the two of them. "However, I'll prove to you that this chance you are giving us was worth it. It will be rough with me working two jobs, going to school, and you're much in the same situation. I'll spend every spare moment I have trying to prove to you that this is worth it all."

Madison felt her heart drop when she heard those words. She didn't deserve him. She didn't deserve this treatment. She didn't love him, but she was going to try. She was going to make herself worthy of all of this.

She smiled, "Thank you for understanding."

Relief passed over Alan's face. "I'll be patient for as long as you need me to be." Leaning in he kissed her lips gently before standing up straight.

"Hey! You two!" Caleb yelled from down the street, "This is a sidewalk not a hotel."

Brianna giggled beside him.

Madison stuck her tongue out at the two playfully, then looked over at Alan who seemed to be blushing.

He squeezed her hand. "Come on, we don't want to be late for work."

---***---

Kate giggled as she looked over the pictures that she had on her digital camera. Turning around she ran back to the school as quickly as she could in hopes to find Darick and the others. They didn't go home right away after classes were over. Instead they liked to lord over the exiting students.

Her smile widened when she saw that she was correct. The four men stood under the tree and watched as the groups of students left. "Hey, guys!" She chirped as she ran up to them.

Darick's lip curved upward in disgust. If Kate hadn't been Grady's cousin, he would have already ensured that this girl had been removed from school.

She held up her digital camera, "How are you, Darick?" She asked when she stopped in front of him.

He didn't even turn his eyes towards her and only grunted an answer to be polite.

Kate frowned, "I saw you having lunch today. What was that girl doing there? I'm not even allowed to have lunch with you."

"Special circumstances." Grady told her. He was afraid that her feelings might be hurt.

She ignored her cousin, as she was getting annoyed that Darick was ignoring her. He had been doing so since Arion saved the charity case the week before, "That Madison sure is a slut."

That got his attention, "What did you say?" He growled.

"Kissing you on the stairway, then…"

Darick grabbed her arm, "Were you spying on us?"

"I was just passing by." She grimaced as the pain in her arm grew. There would be a bruise there by morning, but she was use to this rough behavior by him.

"Let her go." Grady ordered.

Darick released her. "Don't spy on me and don't tell my business." He began to walk away.

"Wait! Look at this!" She held up her camera with the screen on the back pointed at him.

There was a picture of Madison linking arms with Caleb. Brianna was conveniently not in the picture.

"So, I know she is dating him."

She flipped the picture, "And him?"

Darick looked at the picture of Alan and Madison kissing. "Just friends." The words were spoken too low to be heard. He snatched the camera out of her hands and looked at the picture before it of Madison and Alan holding hands.

"What is it?" Brad asked and came to look over his friend's shoulder.

After seeing the picture, Brad stepped back afraid of the reaction that it would cause in his friend. Darick stood tense for several long moments. He wanted desperately to break the camera in his hands, instead he gave it back to her after deleting the photos.

Kate tried to hold back a grin, "I'm sorry, Darick. You should have known girls like that are no good."

"It changes nothing." Darick spoke calmly.

"What?" Kate asked and Brad echoed behind her. Arion and Grady didn't know what was going on, but they understood the basics.

"So, I have to compete with two others instead of one." He shrugged.

"How can you act so calmly? She's playing with you. Making you think that there can be something, then going around with these guys." Kate snorted, "I don't know how you can allow your pride to take a hit like that."

"Kate, don't provoke him!" Arion barked.

"I'm not provoking him!" She snapped back, "I'm making him see the truth! He can't walk around blinded by his puppy love any longer. She does appalling things too! She isn't as perfect as he makes her sound! She is nothing more then a gold digger!"

Arion snorted, "She told him she doesn't want anything to do with him. How can she be a gold digger?"

"She's the worst kind. Makes sure that he thinks she doesn't want his money. Makes him chase her, so in the end he'll always think she loved him, and not his money. It's not true though! That's all she wants. How can anyone be this poor and turn down someone as rich as Darick?"

Darick swallowed.

"Shut up, Kate!" Brad snapped. "You're an idiot! You don't know what you are talking about!"

"She's right." Darick said.

Everyone looked at him with surprise.

"It's so obvious now that it's been said aloud." Darick nodded and put his hands into his pockets. "All women are like that. Why should I fight for this girl? I know all the issues that will come with it? I can just take a rich girl and not have to deal with my parents." He shrugged.

"She's not like that, Darick." Arion stood up from under the tree. "There is no way in hell this has been an act on her part. How could she have known for certain that you liked her? You never even talked to her. How could she have known that you would chase her so aggressively? You've never shown an inclination to do that before."

"In the end, that's all they ever want. She can deny it all she wants, but that's what she'll use me for. This tactic is just a way to make sure she can use me longer, since I'll believe she doesn't want anything to do with my money." Darick sighed.

Grady came to stand next to his cousin, he could see the cocky grin on her face. Darick began to walk away, but Arion and Brad chased after him. Kate was going to go after him as well, but Grady caught her upper arm. He tossed her to the ground in front of him.

"Grady, ow. That hurt." She moaned as she leaned up on her hands, but didn't dare stand up.

"That's my best friend that you did that to." He hissed, "He really liked that girl. It was the only time he ever really showed a true interest in someone before. You destroyed it. I would go as far as to say that you broke his heart."

"I was just telling him the truth."

"Don't lie to me, Kate. I swear, woman or not, I'll slap you." Grady growled. "I may not approve of the relationship anymore then you do, but this was his mistake to make. Stay out of his life and don't come around us anymore."

Kate stood up and arranged her clothes. She straightened her back and grinned, "I don't have to listen to you. Your mother told us that she threw you out. So, you can keep fooling the school to think you are a rich boy, but we both know you are poorer then Madison right now." She chuckled. "You can't do anything to me if you tried."

Kate stumbled back and grasped at her cheek. "You hit me." She gasped.

Grady crossed his arms, "Every time I see you near Darick, I'll do that." With that he spun around to see where Darick had run off too.

Kate felt the tears well up in her eyes and she fell to the ground on her knees. "Jerk!" She screamed as she watched her cousin walk away.

Chapter 7: http://rkphunt.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=382