Chaos and Amusement (Alyssa)

[Ryou Jackson]

Ryou walked through the doors and entered into the school. It was the morning of the next day after he had plastered the pictures in the hallway of Sean and his "dirty little secret." Immediately he was greeted with noise, all around him people were murmuring and muttering to their friends. Looks like people already saw the pictures, not that he wasn't expecting any less, if anything, he'd be surprised if people didn't chat away about it.

Immediately the members of the basketball team ran up to him, their captain. " Ryou! Did you see the pictures of Sean?" " Ryou! What're we going to do?" " Calm down." Ryou managed to inject, as the guys around him started to panic. As much as they hated Sean, they knew that he was still needed...until now. " I already have a player in mind to replace Sean if anything happened. I already had it all planned out, so calm down."

The reassuring words of their leader calmed them down, and they all left in different directions. Ha, everything was going accordingly as planned. Sean's reputation would go down the drain, and Ryou would watch it all happen. As he made his way down the hallway to his locker, he was wondering where Sean was, he wanted to see the look on his face.

Well, speak of the devil, Sean was nearby, looking like his entire world had crashed down. Ryou turned his face into his locker, since a mischievous smirk had appeared on his face. He knew Sean's friends were trying to comfort him, and it took all of Ryou's effort to not burst out laughing. He wondered where that girl, Pearce was. Probably somewhere, going to look for her is like flashing in neon letters that it was he that plastered the pictures.

No way, he didn't need that kind of attention. After school, he was going to have a team meeting and talk to Sean. Yeah, he'd act concern and all that, he was the captain after all. He finished taking the books he needed for class and closed his locker. He passed by Sean, and flashed him a sympathetic gesture, but inside, he was laughing his ass off. The plan had come together, all that was left was to see how the students would react to this. With the Watchers gone, and the Principal out of commission, Ryou had no fear of being caught, he had covered his tracks well, no one would ever know or suspect he had been poking in the school computer lab or files.

[Alyssa]

It was going to be a beautiful day.

Alyssa had retired for the night at exactly 11pm, after a good night read and a final text message from her good little freshman friend, Paul. It had simply said 'The deed is done x'. What a fantastic night's sleep she had, so much that, when her alarm clock rang out, she was awake in no time feeling completely refreshed. Well, a shower and a glass of orange juice kinda helped too. It was a wednesday though, her third day at Hircine and already she was up to no good. Naturally, she picked out an outfit for the day that would reflect her good mood. A wide sleeved, knee length, v-neck spring/summer dress. Wide, vertical pinstripes in black and white elongated her body, while a vivid red, wide belt added a little fashion to the outfit. The dress wasn't fitted, but skimmed her subtle feminine curves, allowing it to be worn either casually, or possibly as evening wear, with the right accessories. But red ankle-sneakers with no laces made the dress more appropraite for daytime and, more importantly, for school. Though, it didn't exactly hurt to accessorise with a large, plastic red bracelet, and matching red leather shoulder bag. Besides, the only make-up she would wear, would be a natural skin-foundation, and clear lip-gloss. Her hair, being mostly short, was easy to style though, she missed her longer locks. Hopefully if she resisted the urge to keep cutting it, her dark brown locks would be longer again by the time she was a junior.

Indeed, Alyssa was positively glowing with confidence as she left her apartment, turning the key behind her and venturing downstairs on the elevator. She had plenty of time, and was situated close enough to the school to walk whilst enjoying the cool, morning weather. A few others opted for the same path, but she'd only been at the school three day now. Not that she'd made any effort to start forming any 'friendships' though. Alyssa saw little use for friends other than as scapegoats in the larger scheme of things. But ah, what was this? A large crowd by the school gates; seemed the seeds she'd planted had blossomed overnight. Time to play the innocent, naive new girl. Her expression changed, into that of wide-eyed curiousity. Why was everything gathering around the gates? Not wanting to seem too desperate to get in on the gossip, she walked past one crowd, up to the main steps of the main building. The main corridor resembled a sardine can, causing her to sigh heavilly at the daunting task of having to weave her way through the gathering bodies. Conversation was jumbled, but the topic of conversation revolved around one boy. Sean Jameson.

Acting like the lost new girl, Alyssa manouvred her way over to her locker, where three girls were standing mulling over a piece of paper they'd obviously removed from a wall of doorway. One seemed quite distraught, what seemed to be her closest friend had her arm around her shoulder, while the third girl stood there rambling on. Naturally, Alyssa caught the conversation, while she fumbled around for her books.

Girl 3: "I can't believe Sean's a fag!"
Girl 2: "For fucks sake Natalie just drop it already."
Natalie: "No way, this is just-"
Girl 2: "I said drop it!"
Natalie: "I'm just saying how I feel, geez! Don't get all-"
Girl 1: "Oh yeah? And how'd you think I feel?"
Girl 2: "Told you he was a bastard."
Natalie: "Plus, it was your own fault for-"
Girl 1: "Don't even finish that fuckin' sentence! Dammit I don't want everyone knowing I...you know."
Natalie: "...Look on the bright side, at least you know now, why he wouldn't go all the way."

Despite the subject of their conversation, they actually spoke quite loudly, and Alyssa figured they didn't actually possess the brains to realise they might as well be shouting from the rooftops. So she shut her locker, adopting a sympathetic and curious stance, as she looked to the three girls. Only the one she had heard being called 'Natalie' seemed to notice Alyssa staring at the picture she held.

"So it's true then? I thought it was all just a nasty prank." So much for reverse psychology, Natalie responded like a gem.
"Are you kidding? Look at how real it is!" She practically shoved the image in Alyssa's face, who actually had to fight hard to supress a laugh as she was forced to stare at the incriminating image again. 'Jackson' really had made a good job of it. "Whoever shot the photo is really talented. Kinda mean though I mean I would never expose someone like that."
"Hmm...yeh, I guess you're right. Who was he anyway?" The two other girls clearly weren't interested anymore, and as one rolled her eyes, the other led the way to their own lockers. Only Natalie stayed, more than happy to share the gossip.
"Oh my God are you serious? Does the basketball team ring any bells?"
"Sorry, I'm actually new here."
"Oh! Well he was on the basketball team but...I guess he won't be for much longer. I just can't beleive he's gay. Between you and me, he was pretty popular with the girls. Bit of a jock wannabe sometimes, but my friend there really had the hots for him. Well, actually I think they both kinda did. He ain't that bad looking...probably figures that he's gay, all the good ones are."
Alyssa could only smile in a friendly manner, as she handed the paper back to the rambling gossip queen.
"That's a shame."
"Damn right it is. Poor Sean. Anywho, I better get to class, cya."

Annoying girl. Alyssa rolled her eyes somewhat once she'd turned her back, then let her eyes briefly search the crowds. Most of the conversation it seems, had moved on, aside from those just arriving to see the photographic evidence. She was looking for that Jackson kid though, wondering how he was dealing with the situation. Sometimes people think they can handle something, then when push comes to shove, the guilt settles in. She needed to make sure he was alright, otherwise she'd need to make some kind of move on Sean instead. A smile produced itself faintly, as her eyes spotted the boy in question, standing by his locker. She briskly approached, calling his surname before she really got to him. This would be interesting.

"Hey! Jackson!" Smiling warmly as he would turn, she even offered him a friendly little wave of recognition. "How's it going?" It didn't matter to her if he caught her hidden question; she'd judge him mostly by expression and reaction to her presence.

[Ryou Jackson]

Ryou turned at the sound of someone calling out his last name. Well speak of the devil, it was that girl, Pearce. " Well, if it isn't Pearce." he replied, a smirk playing on his face. " All is well." he shrugged his shoulders, as he closed his locker door, his bag slung on his shoulder, he perceived the hidden message in her casual question. " I guess you heard the news." he said, gesturing casually to one of the posters he had plastered, though nobody knew it was him that did it.

" Shame really. I never had any idea that one of my teammates was like this." he sighed, he was acting all right, and loving every minute of it. Although the chatter and shock of the event had died down somewhat, there were still people around talking about it, mostly those who had just arrived at school.

Oh how he loved it, everything was unfolding perfectly. The chaos was spreading like wildfire, and he was getting amusement out of it. Now this, was a good start to a morning, could it get any better? The answer? Hell yeah. One group nearby, a trio, was chatting loudly, clearly they had no qualms about hiding their feelings.

Guy 1: Shit! Did you see the posters this morning!?
Guy 2: Heck yeah! I can't believe Sean was hiding this, so much for being best friends...
Guy3: Shut up Jay! You want everyone to know you're best friends with Sean? I say just leave him alone, don't bother to associate with him anymore.
Jay: But, he's my friend, I can't just leave him...
Guy1: He's right man, don't go digging your own grave.
Jay: I guess you're right...

Now this is what Ryou was expecting to happen, all around, those who were friends with Sean were slowly abandoning him, first it was the team, now his friends. His plan to destroy Sean had proceeded smoothly. " So, how're things with you?" he asked Pearce, his hands in his pockets, as he smiled at her, but his eyes showed his true emotion, amused and sarcastic.

[Alyssa]

The boy was far too comfortable with his surroundings, and as Alyssa scrutinised him closer, his whole appearance was that of someone who was actually enjoying this a lot more than she was. For now, she'd bite the bullet, and accept the fact that she'd managed to perform a good deed, for once. So, she rested one hand on her hip, and leant against one of the lockers with her opposing shoulder. If anything her body language was giving all the wrong signals, but it was merely a facade for anyone who was listening in on their conversation. Even just a glance in their direction would spell out an entirely different story. As Jackson gestured to one of the posters, her expression took a more sympathetic turn, as she nodded quite solemnly. Generally she didn't really have anymore devious plans for the day, but then again, a certain very interesting bedtime story might've given her a few new ideas for a new victim. The current victim however, needed a little time to recover, before the next portion of torture was served. Already he was losing friends, and it wasn't even nine o'clock yet. Humans, such fickle creatures, especially the teenage variety.

Diverted away from the conversations around her, Alyssa looked back to the rather casual Jackson. Her expression simply 'friendly' though no doubt the reasoning behind her warm smile was the sweet result of someone's downfall. What a great start to the school year. "It's disgusting how people are still bothered by such things. So he's not attracted to females, big deal. I bet he really needs someone to talk to right now." Those words alone forming a new plan in her twisted head. Lots of teenagers had problems...imagine if these teends came to her, to volunteer to share their concerns? Someone just served Alyssa the largest, fattiest desert imaginable. "Someone without prejudice," someone like me.

She didn't need to say anymore. She couldn't. A scene was breaking out as she spoke even, and it was about to get ugly given the time. So she paused to stand silently as he observed. Apparently, while she'd been talking, Sean had removed his head from the safety of his locker, to slam the door and furiously rip off the poster that someone had pinned there especially.

"Y'all got somethin' to say then say it!" He shouted to the Hircine High kids, screwing the poster he held up into a ball, and tossing it at his ex-best friend. "Common bro! Four fuckin' years and you beleive this shit?"

"Sean dude, chill. Look, see I-"

"- Chill!? I ain't the one trippin'" Now he peeled his bag from his shoulders, and tossed it furiously. His former best friend stood more relaxed than anything, but the other friend was loving every second. Maybe they possessed some secret dislike for each other, but the whole event was giving him more reason to show his apparent dislike for Sean.

"Listen man," he stepped infront of the former best friend, creating a rift between the two friends that really wasn't needed right now. "If you-"

"If I what Carl? Y'know, you gotta fuckin' asshole habit of buttin' in."

"Hey! Chill man. I'm jus' tryin' to help an' shit-"

"- Help!? Bullshit!" He punched another locker door, the whole scene feeding his general anger and frustration.

"Listen Sean, none of this is my fault. Maybe you should, I dunno go home or somethin'-"

"Maybe you should fuckin' shut up!" The words accompanied by the stride he took towards the three guys, but his main target was the one insistant on butting in. Carl, the leaner and short of the three. Compared to Sean's taller frame, he was an easy target, especially when no one was making any attempts to hold Sean back. He obviously just wanted a punching bag right now, so it was only natural that Jay should feel the first fist smack against his cheek. The force of which, would hurl him sideways against a locker. Regardless of whose side they were on, the break out of the arguement had caught enough casual attention, but now the remaining students were more than happy to crowd around the fight scene.

"C'mon ya gonna let a queer kick your ass? Huh Jay?" He pounded another fist into the cowering boys side; already he had him corned against the locker relentlessly. The other two tried their best to control Sean, but filled with such anger, he was a difficult force to stop. Alyssa looked on, shaking her head slowly. Brown eyes turned to Ryou, as if to say, 'so what are you going to do now?'

[Ryou Jackson]

Ryou sighed, when Sean's anger exploded, it was like dealing with a raging bull, a rage that he too often had to deal with. " Sean, enough." his voice shot out, as he stepped forward from his locker and grabbed Sean's arm before it had the chance to plant itself in Jay's side. " !! Ryou!" Sean screamed at him, turning his anger away from his former best friend to his captain and rival. " Did you see the pictures!? It's all fuckin' bullshit!" he wrenched his arm out of Ryou's grasp, furious.

" If I found out who did this bullshit, I will stomp the living shit out of them!" he shouted, trying to vent his anger. " Sean, you have to calm down. What will screaming and raging do?" Ryou asked calmly, as Carl helped Jay to his feet behind him. " Shut up Ryou! I can fuckin' do whatever I want, you may be the captain of the basketball team, but outside it, you're not the boss of me!" he shouted, firing his fist as his captain. It appeared that the anger and frustration Sean had held in for years had finally burst, like a fragile twig.

Ryou however, didn't want to hurt Sean anymore than he had already done, as he ducked underneath Sean's outstretched fist, his anger had taken over his common sense, but Ryou connected a light jab with Sean's chin, sending him falling backwards. Sean fell to the floor with a loud crash, as Ryou stood over him. " Sean, I suggest you keep your anger in check, before something worse than a light jab happens to you." Ryou said, as the crowd that had gathered around began to murmur.

" Se...Sean?" one of players in the basketball team spoke out tentatively, Brent, as Sean sat up, nursing his head. Sadly, the only way to stop Sean from rampaging all over the entire school was to knock some sense into him something Ryou had the unfortunate task of doing for the last 4 years he had known Sean. As Ryou turned around, heading back to his locker, it seemed Sean still wasn't finished with his former captain. If Sean had to go, which he probably would, he decided to go out with a bang, particularly taking out his former captain. He charged at Ryou's back, planning to aim punches to immobilize Ryou. The crowd around Ryou gasped in shock.

" Is Sean serious?" " Man, has he sunk that low to want to take out his captain with his back facing him?" " How pathetic." " Talk about cowardly." All around Sean, whispers broke out, how he had sunk so low to the point that everyone was looking at him with disdain. Sean however, didn't care anymore, he just charged at Ryou, closing the gap. He was close to hitting Ryou when Ryou turned, and aimed a uppercut at Sean, connecting with his chin again. Sean was lifted into the air, for a brief moment, he looked like he was floating, until he came down with an almighty crash. He laid sprawled on the ground, the fight knocked out of him.

" I don't care how low you've sunk, but trying to take me out with my back turned, how cowardly." Ryou said quietly, but from the look on Sean's face, it was like Ryou had shouted at him, he looked defeated and pathetic. The crowd around once again erupted into murmurs and muttering, as Sean just laid there, no one wanted to help him anymore. Ryou once again turned, and made his way to his locker. He picked up his bag, and gave Pearce a fleeting look, his eyes locking with hers, as if to say, " That's what I'm going to do about it. I hope you were watching."