Don't You Dare Mess With My Friends
-Morning, Hallway, Seaside High-
Stacy, wearing her red cheer uniform and her blond hair in a ponytail, warily walks while looking around anxiously. She stops at someone's locker.
"What is it, captain!" another girl in cheer uniform asks her with a cheery tone.
Stacy smiles nervously and asks, "Hey... you know what? Never mind..." She looks away.
The other girl, Jade, smiles at her and brightly responds, "Okay, then!"
She leaves Stacy there, leaning on the locker with thousands of words lingering around her chest.
She may have some power as a cheer captain. However, with just one wrong move, another girl will gladly overthrow her and take the position. It's not an easy decision, especially knowing it might not be worth it.
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Joanne is walking toward her locker when a guy suddenly shoves her against it, yelling, "Wow, it smells like fish here! I think someone just brought some stupid sushi here!"
Her eyes widen, and her feet are weak. Fear and anxiety that seldom come suddenly say hello to her. She takes a deep breath as her chest sinks to the bottom.
It's the guy from the restaurant who flirted with her, Chris.
Although she could've defended herself, the sudden gesture shocked her much that her nerves weren't listening.
Val, who saw Joanne get pushed against the lockers, dashes at her with concerned eyes.
"Jo, what the hell just happened?! Are you okay???" Val asks restlessly.
Joanne looks at her and stutters while out of breath, "N-No... I'm not okay...."
Val sighs and hugs her gently.
"It's okay... Everything's gonna be okay..." she comforts Joanne.
Joanne hugs her back while trembling much, with horror messing with her mind.
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-Back Alley, still around the school-
"You son of a bitch!" Caleb yells ragefully and punches a guy's nose.
Yes, it's the guy that shoved Joanne against the locker. His nose bleeds, and he groans in pain.
"Why the hell did you shove her, you sick bastard?!" Caleb rants while kicking him in the chest.
The guy's thrown against the wall and moans while grasping some air.
"Caleb, stop!" Joanne shouts his name with worry, but he can't hear her now.
Beside her, Beca stands there looking worried over the sight.
While out of breath, Caleb yells, "Just one victory, and now you feel like you own everything?!"
The guy lies down, and Caleb climbs on him to crunch the guy's collar neck and punch him again.
Caleb's hands start to get red as he punches the guy more and more.
"What the hell, man? Is that your girlfriend?" the guy obnoxiously asks Caleb.
Caleb scoffs and yells, "It's my best friend, you freakin' bastard!"
The guy shoves Caleb out of his belly and gets up while rubbing red blood of the corner of his lips.
He laughs brutally and shouts, "You got some nerves, dude?! You're just a basketball player! You got no chance of beating me!"
The guy punches Caleb's cheek so hard that his hand bleeds. He laughs again and kicks him in the gut, striking him against the walls.
"CALEB! NOOO! GET UP!" Beca shouts from the top of her lungs. She's terrified and angry at seeing her twin brother getting beat up by someone else. She impulsively runs forward, but Kai, who just arrived there, quickly holds her. Kai hugs her while Beca still violently tries to help her twin brother. It suffocates her, unable to stop the pain that Caleb is feeling right now.
The fight gets more stringent, and Caleb moans in pain again.
The sound of it is terrifying and banging in Joanne's ears, and she cries, "Caleb, no!"
Although his stomach is crying in agony, Caleb gets up. Anyone can hit, slap, punch, and kick him down, but he will always get up to protect his precious ones.
Caleb firmly stands while clenching his fist. He closes his eyes and opens them again with a different gaze. His eyes are filled with madness and fierceness as he gets more eager to make the guy pay for some lessons.
-After School, Gymnasium-
The cheer team is practicing with their uniforms and hair up in ponytails.
Then Stacy yells in rage, "Oh, what is wrong with you guys?! Your moves were sloppy and not flawless! Your bodies are also not beautiful! What happened to the diet that you all got?!"
The others just look down, knowing that they might be at fault.
"Do you know what people said about us in the first game? They said we're fat! We're not good enough, and our quality has decreased!" Stacy screams with fury.
The others just stay quiet.
Stacy sighs and continues to yell, "If you think being a cheerleader is some sort of joke, you can leave right now! The door is open! We don't need people who aren't ready to commit here. We'll sit together at lunch, and I'll supervise your diet myself."
They just stay silent, realizing that they're not good enough.
They get a break, and Beca quickly sits down.
She sighs and grabs her head from all the things messing with her head.
Stacy quietly walks to her and whispers, "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"
Beca lifts her face to see her with a pair of tired eyes. She sighs, "I don't have time or energy to talk about this..."
"What do you mean?" Stacy asks Beca in confusion.
Beca exhales slowly and answers, "My twin brother got into a fight real bad. He's probably sulking in detention right now, and I can't be there for him..."
Stacy's eyes widen out, and she asks worriedly, "What happened to him???"
-After School, Detention-
The guy, Caleb, and Joanne are sitting in an empty classroom with a teacher standing in front of them.
"Really? Violence?!" Mr. Bowman yells furiously at them.
Caleb stands up with rage and asks, "But why the hell is she here?!" while pointing at Joanne.
"Well, it's because of you," Mr. Bowman says while looking at Caleb.
Caleb hits the desk and shouts, "This bastard hit her first! It's not fair for her to be here!"
Mr. Bowman sighs and answers disappointedly, "You don't fight violence with violence, Mr. Farrell."
He leaves them all with some assignments they have to do.
Joanne looks at Caleb, full of fresh red scars, and her heart sinks.
It hurts to see her best friend suffering for her.
Joanne gently holds Caleb's right hand.
Surprised, Caleb immediately looks at her.
She just rubs his hand softly and smiles sorrowfully at him.
"I'm sorry..." she says while holding back her tears.
Caleb takes a deep breath after hearing her. It hurts him to see his best friend going through this thing.
He kneels and says, "Hey, hey, hey... Look at me. It's not your fault, okay?"
"Oh, get a room already!" the guy, Chris, says obnoxiously.
Joanne rolls her eyes and shouts sarcastically, "Well, I forgot there's an asshole in this room!"
Not wanting to get into more trouble, Chris just looks away while sulking.
Caleb and Joanne just secretly chuckle from realizing that they're winning.
Stacy secretly watches Caleb and Joanne holding each other's hands without realizing it. She just stands between the door, realizing she might be in the way of something special. Guessing that there's no place for her, Stacy walks away.
-After the detention-
Caleb looks at Joanne and cheerfully says, "You go first! I'll meet you down in a second!"
Joanne just nods, leaving Caleb and Chris alone in the room.
Caleb's gaze quickly turns cold, and he says, "You lay your dirty hands on her one more time, and I'll kick your ass to death."
Chris rolls his eyes and asks, "Tch! What is it? You secretly like her?"
Caleb scoffs and answers, "Dude, you don't have a real friend, do you?"
"You're a guy, and she's a girl! You can't be just friends!" Chris insists.
Caleb squints his eyes and says, "Dude, you are so sad and pathetic..."
-Lemon and Life Cafe-
Caleb and Joanne enter the cafe, and the others are already sitting at their usual spot near the window where they can see the blue ocean.
"Oh, here they are!"
"Hey! You guys, okay?"
"Holy shit! Look at your face, Caleb!"
"Dude, you're a hero!"
They all shout at the same time.
Caleb and Joanne just laugh, and they tell the story in every gory detail possible.
Then, they all give the best reactions to comfort the two after facing a stupid and mean bully. After a long day full of fights and sighs, meeting them is the remedy for Joanne.
The golden sun washes over them, and the sound of the relaxed cafe is filled with their laughter and shouting. They talk, laugh, diss, and cry together. The pain that Joanne felt for the past few days is sinking their hearts to the bottom sea, but they are here for her. It's okay if the whole world hates her. As long as her best friends are on her side, she knows she can overcome any dirt thrown at her.
They spend the warm afternoon in the corner of that cafe to make sure that Joanne feels loved and protected.
Because for them, that's what friends are for. When someone messes with one of them, they'll violently protect each other at all costs.
-Night, Twins' House-
Caleb is sitting on the edge of the pool, dipping his feet. He can see his reflection with a bunch of stars on the water. As the cold breeze sweeps in, a familiar voice appears.
"Hey... You weren't in your room. So you must've been here!" Beca says to cheer him up.
Caleb just chuckles and looks at the water again.
"You okay, buddy?" Beca asks him calmly.
"I'm sorry you had to see all of that..." he says to her with guilt in his eyes.
She looks at him, and she smiles. "Well... I knew you'd do that even if we had a time machine. But, it hurt, you know. Seeing you in pain like that. Even if we turned back time a million times, it would always hurt to see you like that..." Beca says.
Caleb smiles genuinely and tastefully responds while hugging his twin sister, "Oh, you love me so much, don't you?"
Beca, annoyed, playfully pushes him to the pool.
"AAACCK!" he screams while holding onto her.
"Now, that's what you get for being annoying, you dumbass!" she responds.
They just giggle while looking at the bright stars shining over them. It's a chilly night, but it feels warm for them. Knowing that they get each other's backs, their hearts are at ease.
Because they realize that no matter how dirty things get, they'll always be there for each other.
They're twins, siblings, best friends, and, more importantly, they're families.
It's their job to make sure no one gets left behind.