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Ciel smiled at Melissa, but it faded when Melissa said she had to leave earlier. "Aw, shoot. That sucks. But yeah, meet you there." She nodded, disappointed that she didn't get to spend more time with Melissa. It was probably Branden texting her. It usually was.
Melissa nodded. She leaned back on the wall. "We still have like 5 minutes," She said smiling slightly. She leaned slightly on Ciel slightly.
"And for that, I am quite happy," Ciel replied, grinning. "I only wish it was longer." Sure, the stuff she was saying was quite cheesy, but whatever. It was true.
Melissa nodded. "I do too," she said resting her head on Ciel's shoulder not really thinking about what she was doing. She didn't want to leave Ciel.
Ciel's heart nearly burst, both from surprise and sheer joy. Melissa was leaning on her shoulder! Everything was good in the world. Ciel slowly tilted her head towards Melissa, a smile appearing on face despite herself.
Melissa stayed like that for a few minutes. She didn’t say anything until she stood. “I’ll see you at gym,” she said smiling wide.
Ciel was in heaven for those few minutes she had with Melissa. Even when Melissa stood, her joyful mood couldn't be dampened. Ciel stood up as well, a warm smile on her face as well. "See you then," She said softly.
Melissa nodded and left. Waving but at Ciel. Later on right before gym starts she is in one of the locker rooms shower stalls with Branden. The locker room is pretty much empty the stalls curtains are closed.
Ciel waved after Melissa, her hand dropping when she could no longer see her. After checking to see if anyone else was there, Ciel danced in a little circle, waving her hands around a lot and smiling uncontrollably. It was silly, but she couldn't help it. She had a little spring in her step as she walked into the gym right on time. Ciel checked the weight room first, waving to Katherine before deciding to check the locker room. She walked in quietly, not wanting to bother anyone that was in there.
“Just leave me alone. Ciel is meeting me here soon and you should get bac-,” Melissa whispered but was cut off.
“I told you not to talk to her anymore,” Branden said slightly louder than Melissa.
“Oh come on nothings going to happen between us. Even if it did you fuck everyone in this school and people-“ she cut off again by a slap sound. She backed up stumbling out of the shower. Her shirt was raised slightly showing bruising on her side and stomach. Her left cheek was red.
Ciel stopped dead at the sound of other people's voices, but couldn't resist getting a little closer to the sounds. She frowned– that was Melissa and Branden in there, wasn't it? Why did Branden not want Melissa to talk to her? This was defiantly the type of stuff she had promised her moms to avoid. But– Ciel managed to avoid gasping out loud at the sound of the slap, but she couldn't stop her exclamation at the sight of the bruises on Melissa's side and the red mark on her cheek. "Melissa!" She breathed, taking a few quick steps towards her. Who cared if Branden was there too? Ciel would fight him herself, especially if he was the reason Melissa looked like that. And based on what she had seen so far, he totally was.
Melissa’s eyes widened when she saw Ciel. She quickly straightened herself and pulled down her shirt. She stood there shocked for a second. Branden walked out of the shower. He tried not to seem fazed but was definitely shocked to see Ciel. He walked over to Melissa and helped her steady herself. “Hey babe you need to be more careful. I know we were having fun but the showers where probably not a good idea,” he lied kissing her harshly. She was tense at first but then played along. He pulled away and left the locker room. Melissa faces Ciel but didn’t say anything she knew she’d have to smooth things over but she just hoped she somehow fell for Brandens weak attempt.
"Are you okay?" Ciel asked softly, walking over to her. She threw a dirty look over her shoulder at Branden's receding back– she didn't buy a single thing that he had said. There was no way the sound of a slap plus Melissa's red cheek could add up to anything but Branden slapping her. Ciel reached out to place a hand on Melissa's shoulder, but she panicked halfway through and let it drop. "Is your side and face okay?" She bit her lip, eyes full of worry. "I'm… sorry," Ciel added, her emotions a mess of embarrassment and worry and anger and a whole lot of other things. There were a million things she wanted to say, but at the same time, her head was totally blank. Above all, though, she was worried for Melissa.
“I’m fine,” Melissa said backing up slightly. She wanted to just tell Ciel the truth but she knew she couldn’t. “It’s fine. I-it’s not what it looks like.” She hugged herself slightly.
"Okay." Ciel nodded slowly. "I… I know it probably doesn't mean much, seeing as we only met a few days ago, but… uh, I'm here if you ever need me." She bit her lip slightly and shuffled her feet a bit. What could she do or say to help Melissa? Would leaving help her? She had no idea.
“I said I’m fine,” she snapped picking up her backpack that was next to the shower. She hesitated before walking past Ciel.
"Alright." Ciel's voice was so small and she hated it. Her heart was beating way too hard in her chest as well– also something she really didn't want to be happening. She stayed there, her eyes fixed on the wall in front of her, and had no idea what to do. But she did know she wouldn't be following Melissa, at least not yet.
Melissa left the locker room. She looked around the gym before just leaving completely.
Why was Ciel feeling like this? It was Melissa who had all the rights to feel bad. Ciel had just made everything worse, hadn't she? She did that too much. Ciel took a deep breath and pulled out her phone. She was tempted to text Melissa, to apologize about… everything, but shoved the phone back into her pocket before she could do anything. Melissa probably wanted some space. She turned and walked out of the locker room, looking around the gym for Melissa. When she couldn't find her, she walked to an empty space on the gym wall and sat down.
“I’m sorry” she texted Ciel right before the bell for the end of the day rang. She wasn’t sure why she was messaging her. She shouldn’t be. She should try to push her away. Not get her involved but she couldn’t get herself to do it.
Ceil went through the rest of the day worried about Melissa, and how Ceil's relationship with her was affecting her. But she didn't want to just stop seeing Melissa! She was staring at the clock, urging the bell to ring, when she got a text from Melissa. Ciel opened it hesitantly, fearing it to be Melissa saying they couldn't be friends anymore, but all she got were the two words she should be saying to Melissa.
"It's not your fault, it's mine," Ciel wrote back. "You don't have to apologize."
“I snapped at you. You where just concerned,” she sent back. “It’s not your fault just wrong place wrong time.” She went home still texting her.
"I guess. You must be tired of hearing this question, but are you okay?" Ciel typed, still sitting in her last class. She should probably be getting to GSA, but she wanted to finish talking with Melissa first.
“I’m fine. It really wasn’t what it looked like” she lied. “Also sorry about GSA I can’t go.”
"Okay," Ciel responded, not really believing what Melissa was saying. "That's okay. I'll see you tomorrow?" She stood up and started towards GSA, not wanting to be too late. That would call way too much attention to her, and she didn't want that. She kept her phone in her hand, though.