Persona (11 page)

Moira sits next to him with a frown, and knows this is going to be a long afternoon since he is now sitting as far as he can from her. The teacher comes in then and tells them they have some lab experiment to work on, involving mixing more chemicals together with powders of some sort, to see which gets a reaction. He passes out slides and samples throughout the room, and they get to work trying to not touch one another again. When class is almost over, Moira keeps looking behind her at Spencer and finds that he’s already looking at her. Whenever she turns back around, Liam is always watching her too. She thinks that she needs to ask him to stop doing that.

But is it wrong that she kind of likes that he does it?

Chapter Seven

When school lets out that day, Moira can’t get to the busses fast enough. Since she and Spencer are going out tonight, she finally has something to look forward too. After Chemistry earlier, he had given her a hug before going to his next class and told her he’s see her later. So she pretty much floated through the rest of the school day, and it helped that she didn’t see Liam again. Her mind was much clearer, since she didn’t have cinnamon following her like a shark.

Marty is already sitting at the back of the bus, when she boards. Smiling, she hurries to join him and sits down with a huff.

“You’re in a better mood, I see.” He says smiling back at her.

“Yeah, I really I am.”

“Good. I was pretty worried about you this morning, you were like a zombie. What was going on?” He asks as his face gets worried.

“It’s nothing really, just some stuff going on at home. But it’s alright, nothing I can’t solve.” She reassures him.

She wonders to herself if that’s really true. Can she get past everything that’s happened to her in the past? Some days she thinks she can, but then it sneaks up on her. She wants to move on and be happy with things, and hopefully she’ll have the chance. All she need is for that bill go get approved, and then no one will have to be afraid. She remembers then, that she decided to be honest with Marty about herself.

“Would you want to hang out this weekend? I realized we never see each other outside of school.”

“I would like that actually. Be nice to talk and not be sitting in cages.” He winks at her, and she laughs.

They makes plans to get together for tomorrow as the bus pulls up to her stop. With a smile, she rushes off the bus and runs all the way home. When she reaches her house, she is pleased to find that no one is home tonight. This makes her feel even better about her date with Spencer. More time to get ready and not have to worry about her dad wondering where she is going. Moira pulls open her front door, and immediately rushes up the stairs and into her bedroom to get ready.

Two hours later found Moira standing in front of her closet door mirror. Satisfied with her appearance, she spins slightly to get a better view. She decided to dress up a bit, and is wearing a lavender slip sundress. It has thin spaghetti straps, and falls lightly mid-thigh and the bottom has black flowers hemmed into it. She slipped on a pair of white flats that make her feet look tiny, but they are comfortable. Her hair has finally behaved for once and falls down her back in loose curls. She didn’t overdo it with makeup, but just highlighted her cheeks and sprinkled her eyes with shadow making her hazel eyes shine.

She’s never felt more beautiful, and hopes that Spencer thinks she looks nice. As if summoned by her thoughts, the doorbell rings downstairs. Grinning at her reflection, she grabs her clutch purse and runs for the door. Still alone in the house, she gets to be the one to open the door and opens it to find a grinning Spencer. Her heart swells at the sight of him, and he looks even more beautiful to her than usual. He’s freshly showered and is in dark jeans and a white collared shirt. He’s wearing a sweat smelling cologne, that makes Moira want to touch him.

“Wow, Moira. You look great.” He says, as his eyes take all of her in.

“You look pretty great yourself.” She’s blushing as she steps onto the steps and closes the door behind her.

He takes her arm in his, and walks her to his car, which is a tiny black sports car that she doesn’t know the name of. He open the passenger side door for her, and kisses her hand before letting her climb in. He shuts the door, and she can’t help grinning like an idiot as she waits for him to climb in. As soon as he starts to back the car out of her driveway, he takes her hand in his and doesn’t let it go.

Moira feels her cheeks get hot, and then feels her persona tingle under her skin. She lets it go a little though, and allows her eyes to shift. It’s dark in the car, and he won’t see the difference. She’s too happy to be concerned with her persona tonight, and is tired fighting against it so much.

“You seem to be in a better mood.”

They are on the main road now, so he doesn’t look at her.

“I am actually, thanks to you.”

He glances at her quick and they share a grin.

“I’m glad I can help. I was a little worried earlier. You looked like something horrible happened. But everything’s all right now?”

His voice waivers a little and Moira wonders why for a moment.

“It’s not perfect yet, but I have a feeling that it will be soon.”

He squeezes her hand in his, and she leans back into the seat with a sigh. They reach the theater in no time at all, and Moira feels like she’s in a dream as they walk inside. She doesn’t even pay attention to what movie he picks. She’s just comfortable wrapped in his arms. They grab some candy at the concession stand, and make their way to the seats in the back of the auditorium.

When they sit down, Spencer places his arm around her shoulder so she leans into him. He reaches for her hand with his free one, and with a sigh she leans her head on his shoulder. They stay this way for the whole movie, but to be honest, she doesn’t even know what they are watching. All she pays attention to his arms around her, and the feeling of being safe and warm. Her body is relaxed and alive all at the same time, and it’s the most wonderful feeling.

The credits roll at the end of the movie and Spencer turns to her and leans in close. He’s a breath away from her, when he turns and picks up the uneaten candy and makes a move to stand. Pulling away from her, Moira feels confused for a second. She’s almost sure he was about to kiss her, but he didn’t. Why not, she thinks to herself? He walks away a step and turn back to take her hand in his. His palm is sweaty, and she wonders if he’s nervous to make the first move.

He pulls her gently out of the isle, and they follow the mass of people leaving the auditorium. As they clear the door, and start for the entrance, Moira sees a familiar blonde head.

“Spencer wait...” Moira says, pulling him to a stop in the middle of the crowd.

“What is it?” He asks facing her.

“Quinn is here. We shouldn’t let her see us, it might hurt her feelings.”

Spencer looks surprised a moment, and turns to glance behind him. He sees Quinn, and is about to move towards her, but Moira tries to stop him. He none to gently rips his hand from hers and pulls away, and not looking back, he walks right over to Quinn. Moira at first thinks he’s going to say something mean to her, but that leaves her mind when Quinn turns to him with a smile.

Moira watches in shock as Spencer walks right into Quinn’s arms, and pulls her in for a long deep kiss. She doesn’t know how to feel about this, but her stomach gets pushed up into her throat as she feels the ground fall out from under her. This can’t be happening she thinks.

How could she have misread everything?

Her vision narrows down to just Quinn and Spencer as she feels her eyes fill with tears. Around her she senses they’re friends laughing and pointing at her, but nothing matters more than the sight of being betrayed.

***

Spencer steps back from Quinn, and Moira can see the smile on the other girls face as she turns to her.

“How does it feel to be humiliated, freak? Hurts don’t it.” She spits out with a laugh.

Moira feels all the air get pushed out of her, at the admission that it was a trick. Feeling worse than humiliated, she turns to Spencer not able to hide the hurt in her eyes. He doesn’t even have the decency to feel bad, and it makes her feel stupid for not listening to her friends about him.

“Sorry Moira, but you really shouldn’t have messed with us.” He says with a smirk.

He doesn’t look beautiful to her anymore. His smile seems darker and full of hatred. Moira doesn’t understand how someone can let themselves be this way. She never done anything to them to warrant this, and the tears finally fall free from her eyes without her consent.

“Is the poor baby, crying?” Quinn laughs at her, and Spencer joins in.

There is a crowd around them now, and Moira realizes they are all Spencer and Quinn’s friends. Some of them are brandishing their cellphones, and she knows without a doubt that they are taking her picture.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Moira demands.

Quinn steps up to her and says, “Why? Because no one makes a fool of me and gets away with it, that’s why.”

“I’ve never even done anything to you. You’re the one that has made my life miserable, from my first day too.”

“Yes you have, you worthless piece of garbage. You betrayed your own kind, and stuck with the freaks. That makes you a loser in my book.”

Moira is taken aback by this, does she mean Marty? How can anyone think that way about them? They are now different than anyone else. Sure they might have moments, but we are still all human. Just because she stuck up for Marty, she has no reason be act this way. It shocks her, how hateful some people can be.

“There is nothing wrong with my friends. It’s you, that’s the problem. If you weren’t so busy hating everyone else, you could see that you’re the freak Quinn.”

“Bitch!” Quinn yells, and steps closer to Moira.

Before Moira can see it coming, Quinn swings out her hand and smack her in the face. She stumbles back from the blow, and can hear the gasps from their audience around them. With her head turned away, Moira touches her aching lip and pulls it away with blood marring her fingers. Her heart starts racing then, and her persona rises up through her like a wave. Her breath comes out in pants, and she can feel her whole body shaking in anger. She hasn’t felt this way since she was twelve years old.

She has the strong sensation of bugs crawling along her skin as she feels her eyes get sharper suddenly. Her head feels all tingly right before she feels her hair rise up into tighter auburn curls on her shoulders. Hearing the cries of alarm around the room, Moira slowly brings her gaze back to Quinn. She gasps, and takes a step back from Moira with wide eyes.

Moira feels the tingling sensation get stronger in her hands, and feels her nail stretch out into pointed tips. Next her face feels stretched tight, and the pain in her lip disappears as her teeth slowly shift to pointed tips. She steps closer to a nervous looking Quinn and with tears falling freely from her eyes, she actually growls at her. She knows she probably shouldn’t but she’s so mad, she just want to hit something. And Quinn is the perfect target right now.

The other girl screams then and runs backwards into Spencer, who looks like he might throw up. Everyone else in the room goes silent and freezes in the same spot. Moira feels everyone’s eyes on her, but she doesn’t care, she’s so full of rage and hurt.

“I always knew you were a freak. Look at you, you’re a monster. It’s discussing!” Quinn yells at her from behind Spencer.

Moira growls again, and it tickles the back of her throat as she does. She’s about to take a step toward them, when the sound of a shotgun being cocked, startles her from behind. Turning around, she sees an older gentleman who she thinks is the owner, aiming a shotgun at her.

“We don’t take kindly to you kind around here, young lady. If I were you, I’d leave before things get worse.” He says, and aims the gun higher at her, to signify how worse they could get.

Moira holds her breath, and looks around at everyone in shock. What has she gotten herself into? She made everyone afraid of her, and her stomach rolls at the thought. Shacking, she slowly makes her way to the door. As she does, everyone moves out of her way, afraid she might infect them or something. Not looking back, she pushes the door open and blindly runs down the busy main street.

She hasn’t run since the first week of school, and uses it now to escape from anything. It starts to rain, but she doesn’t let it slow her down as she gets drenched. She just pushes herself until she feels her persona retract and is left with a hollow numb feeling. After running what feels like a lifetime, she comes to a stop with a cry and falls to her knee’s sobbing. Not caring where she is, she just lets the tears fall as her body shakes uncontrollably. She can’t quite catch her breath, and feels like her heart is breaking in two. Falling forward into the grass, she lets the rain wash her away as she rolls to her side and curls into a ball. She squeezes her knees to her chest, and lets out great hiccupping sobs.

She doesn’t know when the tears stop, but eventually they do, and she’s left with an empty shell. Laying in the wet grass, she clenches her eyes shut and rocks back and forth. After a while, Moira feels someone gently pick her up, and she doesn’t even have the strength to fight of this stranger.

To her surprise though, it’s her brother Damon. Somehow, she made it all the way home from the theater, and was collapsed in her yard. She didn’t see or hear him pull up with his mother’s car, or when he came up to her. When he tried to rouse her, and she didn’t respond, he took her in his arms. Whispering soothing words to her, he carries her inside the house. She doesn’t really know what’s going on though, she does notice it’s warmer being out of the rain.

Swiftly, he brings her upstairs without alerting they’re parents. Taking her in her bedroom, he gently lays her on her bed. She rolls over onto her side instantly, as more dry sobs rack her body. Noticing her shivering, he quickly grabs her blanket at the foot of her bed and tucks it tightly around her. He stands by her bed not sure what to do, but when Moira begins making breathy sobs, he climbs onto the bed with her. He takes her in his arms again, and holds her tightly.