Yes - if Daniel Parker would ever be close to a mental break down; Today was that day. Though he had distanced himself from Delilah - the racing of his heart hadn’t calmed down as his mind faltered over the news again. "Positive" - a word that kept repeating in his mind over, and over, and over again. What was he going to do? What was she going to do? They couldn’t keep it - for god’s sake they would be terrible parents. Wait… why did Daniel even think it was his? There was a chance it wasn’t… after all, Delilah was known not to be discrete with her indiscretions with other men. Lyonrad for one… but… despite that - whether it was Daniel’s or not - he felt a pang of… no what was this emotion? Did he feel… guilt?
A sigh left his lips as Daniel walked down the hall - his eyes flickering towards that which was his locker. Well… if he was already here, perhaps he could see what he had gotten for his ‘secret Santa,’ - hopefully, it would lift is spirits after possibly the worst news a man could get, though he doubted anything could get him out of the newfound slump he was in.
Placing the combination in the locker, he opened it only to find a single piece of paper falling to his feet - nothing else within his locker to indicate it was from his secret Santa. Here he was hoping for chocolate or something. Yet another sigh escaped his lips as he leaned down to pick it up - though unless it was a certificate saying “YOU’VE BEEN PRANKED”, he didn’t think it would lift his mood.
However, what was presented on the certificate was the opposite of what he was hoping. As he looked at the piece of paper, reading through it - his eyes widened almost immediately, connecting the dots within a second. Initially, a flash of confusion overtook his body, however, it was soon filled with another emotion. Anger.
Slamming his locker - Daniel, who was now a force to be reckoned with, walked through the hallway with an air of purpose - searching for the one person in the world he thought he could trust. Boy, was he wrong… He should have known better. Locking eyes with the back of the girl’s head, Daniel marched over towards her - making no indication to notify her that he was behind her before screaming “Did you know this entire time?”
Reina smiled at Tala complimenting her name. “Thanks, your name is nice too.” Reina turned, softly closing her locker so she could give Tala her full attention. Reina nodded in response to Tala saying what she had gotten. “Nice. That’s good that it was something you like. It’s really easy for something like this to not go well. Oh, I got this.” She said passing the paper she had in hand over to her. The paper was an invitation. It didn’t say who it was from, just that she would find out who on the 20th at 6:30PM. “I really have no idea who it could be from. Just to meet them at Olive Garden then.” A night she would remember. “It’s a little crazy right? I don’t even know who it is, but they invited me out.” Reina was very curious about who it could have been from, and even why. She truly had no idea. She barely knew anybody there still, so who would even want to invite her out. Even then if everything went right, what would happen after she met her mysterious secret Santa.
From the moment Jezebel had gotten to school, she was trying to find the right words to say to Daniel. Jezebel had hoped to talk to him, and possibly even tell him before he opened his locker. If she could have, maybe it would have made things easier. Unfortunately, she was too late. Daniel had opened his locker and seen the truth for himself. Her heart sank as she heard Daniel’s words behind her, asking if she always knew. In that moment, having heard the anger in his voice, she realized just how big of a mistake it was to have never told him. She couldn’t lie to him. She had to admit the truth and tell him everything she knew. Taking a deep breath, Jezebel turned, though she still couldn’t make herself look Daniel in the eye. “It was before we became friends. It was why I first started talking to you…” The more Jezebel spoke, the more guilt she felt, but she couldn’t avoid the full story any longer. “My mom begged me not to tell anyone. It’s the first thing she’s ever trusted me with. I found out, and she trusted me to keep her secret… My grandparents still don’t even know. But, I should have told you… I should have told you a long time ago.” Jezebel felt really bad about keeping it secret, and she felt worse about it by the minute. She already knew that there were not enough words to show how sorry she was.
His body had gone numb as he awaited for her explanation. Though, she didn’t need to say anything - the way she looked at him told him everything he needed to know. The fact that she couldn’t even look him in his eyes was all the answer he needed. Anything after that - well, they were excuses.
“It was before we became friends. It was why I first started talking to you…”
Perhaps he was wrong - because that sole statement, it hurt more than anything else he had heard today. Any sanity that had remained after his confrontation with Delilah had stripped away within an instant. The man could feel his eyes burning - but he wouldn’t let her see him cry. No, she didn’t have that clearance anymore. As far as Daniel Parker knew, Jezebel Sloane was a nobody to him. Or should he say - Jezebel Parker.
Daniel stood still for a second, the birth certificate quivering in his hands ever-so-slightly. At this point, Daniel didn’t give two sh*ts who heard him. He was past caring. Taking the birth certificate in his hand - Daniel crumbled it up in a symbolic manner and threw it in the trash can next to them.
“As far as I’m concerned, Jezebel. I don’t know you anymore. We’re not friends anymore, and we sure as hell aren’t siblings…” he started, shaking his head - saying so in an eerily emotionless tone. “I suggest you find your own ride home from now on… I’d say have a good winter break - but I really don’t give a damn anymore,” Daniel stated, walking away the moment he uttered the last word - there was no turning back now.
Jezebel watched as Daniel crumbled the copy of her birth certificate into a ball to throw in the trash. Then every word she heard Daniel say broke her. Jezebel certainly wasn’t someone to cry in public, but his words as he began to walk away brought tears to her eyes that she couldn’t fight back. “Daniel, please! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for things to go this far… I just wanted to know you. I never thought you would become my best friend. I trust you more than anyone, and you know me better than anyone else. This was the only thing I had never told you!” How could she have told her best friend that she was his half sister. “Please, please give me a chance to show you. I’ll do anything, just please give me a chance…” The guilt was eating away at her, and in that moment she knew she had lost everything. Any chance of her mother trusting her would be gone as soon as she heard that the identity of Jezebel’s father was out there. Blue Royalty was the only chance she had to have anyone actually give her any recognition, but it was yet to go well for her. Her birthday and Christmas, were both virtually ruined. Worst of all, she was losing her best friend. She couldn’t avoid the tears that were falling down her face. She just hoped that Daniel would turn around and give her a chance to make it up to him. If he didn’t, then it’d mean she had truly lost everything.
“Thank you,” Tala said at Reina’s return of compliment, watching her as she closed her locker. She arched her brows at the girl’s reply to her statement about the Secret Santa, nodding in agreement. “Yeah, especially when tasks are involved…” she added, receiving the paper that Reina passed to her.
Her eyebrows furrowed as she read the text and listened to Reina. An invitation? It wasn’t hers, but she still found it not so assuring, though she was curious who was behind it. “Yeah, it is…” she replied as she read the text one more time before looking back up at the girl again. “Are you going?” she asked with slight concern as she returned the paper. She’s yet a stranger to her, but still she couldn’t just let her be. She might get in danger, especially when she doesn’t know who it’ll be that she will be meeting.
It was fairly obvious that as soon as Delilah starts talking, their exchange had become a public spectacle. In this occasion, Delilah loved it, as it was clearly in her favour judging by the laughs that followed her after his question. Things like her conversation with Daniel, however, was something she didn’t want having attention, as it could spread many bad rumours about her.
His reply to her astounded her. Delilah raised her eyebrows and laughed condescendingly to him, an echo of laughing following behind her by the watching crowd. “I’m sorry, are you deaf?” She asked, though quite threateningly. “You’re the problem, person whose name I don’t care to know.” She said. Then, just in case he still didn’t get it, she broke it down again - explaining it extremely patronizingly. “That scarf, that you are destroying simply by wearing, belongs to me.” Then she paused, and before he could reply, she added, “Understand?” WIth her eyebrows raised.
He ate one of the dark chocolates but one was enough. The taste actually was good but it oddly left him wanting some Cheetos now. He thought about walking to the vending machine, the one in the basement because it was broken and would give you two for the price of one but he was talking to Sadie now. When she said she was good and didn’t want any of the chocolates, he put the lid on it and slid it back into the locker along with the card. Mikel being a closeted sentimental -ss wouldn’t let anyone know but he would save the card when he got home and put it in a box that he has been saving with cards from people since he was eleven.
“So do you have any plans for the Winter break?” “I think I’m going to Hawaii or Aspen or both.” He replied back to her and closed the locker door shut softly before turning back to face her. “Daniel invited a few of us to go and I’d rather be there than home with my parents. Though they probably won’t be home either.” It was odd to think that the house would probably be empty this year. Well not empty by any mean. It will be filled with decorations but no one to enjoy them. “Do you have plans?” He asked her with a raised brow as he leaned back on the metal lockers behind him. He noticed that Sadie sort of beat around the bush about her own secret Santa gift when he asked back to her the same question she asked him. “What did you end up getting from someone?” Mikel questioned her being a bit nosy but also intrigued. @novella
Dom smiled, happy that she liked his little painting. He released her, taking a step backward to give her some space to put the sketch in her purse.
“I guess this is where we go our separate ways…”
“I will always be here if you need me.” He told her, pulling his backpack up onto his shoulder. He thought about what she said about them maybe doing it again one day. “We should definitely do it again sometime.”
Daniel walked away - his head held high even though he was falling apart internally. This just… really hadn’t been his day. He could see out of the corner of his eyes, students taking videos of the loud interaction - one that would likely spread around the gossip mill within seconds, as it always did. Though - Daniel was putting up the front he didn’t care.
As he walked away, the man could hear Jezebel justifying her actions - ones that simply couldn’t be justified in Daniel’s mind. Because the simple issue is: Jezebel used Daniel. She used him from the very moment she met him with a goal in mind.
"… I trust you more than anyone, and you know me better than anyone else. This was the only thing I had never told you…Please, please give me a chance to show you. I’ll do anything, just please give me a chance…"
Taking a deep breath, Daniel turned around - his features once again emotionless as they had been before. “You can’t trust someone you never actually knew. Any friendship we had was started and built on a lie. The foundation is broken, Jezebel, and as far as I’m concerned - I have no intention of fixing it. If anything, you should know better than anyone that I don’t give second chances - especially since I never lied about who I was. It’s one and done - and we - you and me, Jezebel - we’re done.”
With those words, Daniel turned back around and walked away from the girl - hopefully for the last time, as Daniel never wanted to see Jezebel Parker ever again. The man walked all the way back to his car - everyone intelligently avoiding his path as he did so. It was only when he was in the confines of his car that he felt a tear streaming down his face as he drove away.
Reina was unsure why Tala seemed to trail off in regards to tasks. It could have been that a task had caused a problem for her, or that there was something more about the gift that Tala had gotten, but just didn’t say. Reina watched as Tala read over the invitation. Reina was questioning it enough already, but Tala’s concern made her question the invitation even more. “I uh, honestly don’t know… If I don’t then I could be missing something that could have been a good thing, but if I do go it could be a mistake.” Reina had concerns about even if the invitation truly had good intentions. She had some bad experiences at her old school. The entirety of her old school had even become toxic for her, so every part of her worried that could happen again. “If I knew who it was it’d be a lot easier to figure out whether or not it’s actually a good . Got any advice, or any idea who might have given this mystery invitation?”
They nodded in agreement, beginning to walk towards their first-period class alongside Safiya. They had Spanish first period, and they knew from past observations that Safiya had math first since they pass that class on their way every morning.
Alright, I’ve had my fun. They thought biting the inside of their cheek to keep themself from smiling. “I’m glad you liked the bracelet.” They let the words slip from their mouth nonchalantly as they walked, one hand holding their backpack.
In all the years that Tala’s lived, what she learned was that it’s never safe for one to go alone—especially when you don’t know what you will get yourself into. Perhaps it’s to the influence of her father’s movies, but it isn’t really undeniable that danger is everywhere. She is one to be confident of her defense knowledge, so that was not one of her greatest concern for herself. Needless to say, she’s been to a “few” successful fights from before.
And Reina’s case was familiar. Tala was sure she had seen it in one of her father’s movies, where he received an anonymous letter, but then it led him to danger. She knew it was purely fiction, but what was the harm to assuring your safety? However, hearing what Reina had to say, she nodded at the point of “missing out something.” It’s true—Reina could miss out on something, and Tala obviously is in no place to take that away. “It’s up to you,” she said, shrugging. “I have no idea who it could be, and we can only find that out if you do end up going. I don’t have an advice for you, either, but I can offer you my assistance. I can be your body guard for a day.”
She chuckled. Though Tala was still technically a stranger to Reina, she just had to offer it. She’s known for doing so to basically everyone, after all. It wasn’t oblivious to her that it might just be a task, but better be safe than sorry, right? Plus—she can’t just turn her curiosity down now, can she?
Reina was trying to run through the different possible scenarios in her mind. She could go, and it could be a setup against her. She could go and be stood up. She could go and it could be a good night, or bad. Whoever it was could want more out of it than Reina was willing. There were too many ways it could go wrong, but she couldn’t help but wonder who it was and if it could be a good thing. Reina didn’t have any enemies, at least not at Cerulean high, so odds were that it couldn’t be too bad. Reina smiled at the sound of Tala’s offer. They had just met, but Reina already appreciated Tala for being nice. She laughed slightly with a bright smile. “My bodyguard for a day? I’d kinda like that actually.” Reina had no idea how much of a bodyguard Tala could actually be, but she definitely appreciated the offer, even if it was just a joke or to be polite. “Anything could happen, and it could be anybody that gave me this, but whatever way it goes, I would appreciate having a friendly face close by.” Reina had seen how she had been given a task for Blue Royalty when she was getting the gift for secret Santa, so the thought had crossed her mind that a task could have had something to do with the invitation, but even then, she still needed to know who it was.
Everyone nearby watched the interaction between Jezebel and Daniel, and it was only a matter of time before everyone would know the truth. All Jezebel wanted anymore was a chance to make it up to Daniel. She would do anything if it would make a difference. She first started talking to Daniel because he was her half brother. She wanted to be closer to him, but they had become friends. She just never told him why she wanted to get to know him, but everything from the moment they became friends was genuine from her. They told each other everything, and she only never told him that she did know who her father was, everything else she was honest about. Even if she had told him when they first became friends, she could have lost him then. The only thing that changed by him finding out now, was that it hurt them both that much more. A small part of Jezebel had hope when Daniel turned back towards her, but that hope was quickly crushed by his words. She knew she had made a huge mistake. One that she couldn’t take back, and she couldn’t make up for it. Daniel’s words hurt Jezebel more than anything else she had ever heard. It hurt her more than any of the arguments she had had with her mother, even when her mother told Jezebel that she was a mistake and wished she had never been born. Daniel was probably the one person that Jezebel had been able to truly count on. He was the one person that always seemed to make Jezebel feel like she did matter, that she actually was worth a second glance. She had her grandparents, but she knew that she was a reminder of how they failed with her mother and they were always busy at the hospital anyway. Her mother resented her, and now, Jezebel had lost Daniel. “I’m sorry… I never meant to hurt you…” was all she could say as Daniel walked away. She watched as Daniel left her, and when he was gone she saw everyone around and just wanted to get away. There was nowhere she could go though, she couldn’t leave school. Not even concerned about what might be in her locker she just went to the only place she could think of to go. She didn’t want to have the whole school watching her cry, the tears that she couldn’t hold back were more than enough to let virtually the entire school see. She couldn’t hold herself together any longer, so she just went to the bathroom to at least limit the number of people that could watch her completely break down.
Taking the keys from Dom, she waved him goodbye to the man before grabbing the rest of her presents from her car. Usually, Candice was the type of person to have a little something for everyone - even if they weren’t necessarily close to her. If anything, Candice always had a bag filled with candy canes/chocolates to give to students randomly, as well. Although, if someone knew Candice, the girl usually had a personalized gift for them - it was one of the few pleasures left in Candice’s life, after all.
With her hands full, Candice walked through the hallway - one by one finding her friends and handing them their gifts, before searching for the next one. Within 10 minutes, Candice had faired well and given most of the presents to her friends, the main ones consisting of:
Valerie Wood: A gift bag with Pairs-themed gifts in the excitement of the news that Candice would be taking the girl to Paris for a few weeks over break. These included 1. First Class Tickets, 2. An adorable beret, and clothes - as per usual.
Maverick Weston: A soccer jersey signed by the man’s favorite team. And by “team,” she quite literally meant that every player on the team had signed it. That, along with subsequent gifts for his little sisters - which had two bags from the new Marc Jacobs Winter line; the reasoning that both of his twin sisters loved fashion.
Brandon Marshall: A basketball signed by LeBron James
Though she had a few more gifts for her other friends - Including Tala, Kara, and Zion - as well as a few people who were more passing friends - Mikel, Dorian - etc. In searching for them, Candice stumbled upon a scene that she was probably not meant to witness. Well - her and about 50 other students who had crowded the hallway at the commotion that centered around Jezebel Sloane and Daniel Parker.
Though Candice hadn’t been there for the whole thing, from what she could tell - something had happened and Daniel had seemingly cut ties with Jez. A frown met her features as Jezebel started crying, running to the bathroom as people around them laughed. “What the hell is wrong with you guys,” Candice yelled at the student’s videotaping what happened and followed the girl into the bathroom - locking it behind them as she did so.
Candice could hear the sobs as she slowly approached the stall that Jezebel was in and knocked slightly. “Hey…” Candice started - taking a seat on the floor next to the closed stall. “I know you probably don’t want to talk to anyone… but I’m here to listen if you do,” she explained - putting the gifts beside her. As she listened to the girl cry - CC grabbed the bag with the chocolate and pushed it under the stall - “I know chocolate can’t fix anything - but it’s all yours,”
Kara finished washing her hands, but then she realized that her hair was messed up from earlier.
“Oh, great.” She decided to dry her hands off and work on her hair in front of the mirror. Her ears were semi - focused on the loud noises coming from outside of the bathroom. It was sort of normal for that to happen so she didn’t think much of it. Suddenly, she saw and heard two people burst into the bathroom, which made her jump up in surprise. She turned around and recognized them as Candice and Jezebel. Jezebel was crying for some reason and Kara watched her go into the stall with Candice trying to comfort her. She didn’t know if she should get into the drama so instead she leaned against one of the stall doors, observing what was happening.
As she reached the bathroom, everything that had gone wrong was all that was on her mind. She had messed up and made everything worse. Everything was falling apart around her. She sat on the floor of the stall, head tucked against her knees, crying. She only looked up slightly as someone sat on the other side of the stall door. Hearing the girl’s voice she recognized that it was Candice. Jezebel didn’t know how much Candice had seen in the hall, and she didn’t really want to talk about it, but everyone would know exactly what happened between her and Daniel by the end of the day anyway. When Candice slid the bag of chocolate to her, the sobs decreased just slightly. It wasn’t much, but it was something to try and help her feel better. Her crying only paused for a few moments as she grabbed a piece of chocolate and squeaked “Thank… thank you.” It was a couple of minutes longer before Jezebel quietly said, “Everything’s falling apart… I lost everything… and it’s all my fault…” In that moment, Jezebel felt like her life was ruined. “He’s never going to forgive me…”
She smiled and nodded as he talked about Mikel’s vacation plans. “Wow, that’s really cool,” Sadie exclaimed, genuinely with her eyebrows raised and another smile. Though some part of her was upset when he mentioned who he was going with. She was slightly disappointed didn’t make the cut to get in Daniel’s group, as it would have been perfect for making friends - but her and Daniel were not very close, and so, Sadie was mostly just happy for Mikel for getting to go.
“Oh, I think I’m just staying here for Winter break,” Sadie replied when he turned the question to her. The Monroe family had only just recently moved to the greater area of Beryl Heights. For one, they had decided to be careful with the rest of the money, and two, they still had yet to experience all the privileges that came with living in an upper-class environment - which was enough for them during the break.
Sadie gestured to the jacket she was wearing, as an answer to his question about what she ended up getting. “This!” She replied, finally giving a verbal answer. When she stopped, Sadie remembered the note she had made when she first got here - Mikel looked like he wanted to go somewhere else, and now was probably the time to bring it up.“Did you need to go somewhere? Before I came. We can go- or you can go if that’s better.”
Mikel was really excited to go actually. Even if he didn’t show it very well. He was more excited for the Aspen part, mostly because he knew there would be lots of snow there and he could go skiing. That was something him and his family had a good time doing together from a young age. Really the only thing ever that he can remember being with both his parents and all three of them being happy at the same time. Mikel also liked the colder weather better. In Hawaii he knew it would be hot and he would get burnt. He always did no matter what or if he put sunscreen on or not!
“Oh, I think I’m just staying here for Winter break,” He nodded to her answer. “With family I assume?” He asked her also. Mikel was a little envious of families who could do the cliche holiday things together. Christmas, Halloween, thanksgiving, etc. “This!” She pointed to the jacket she was wearing. He liked it and was a little jealous of how cool the gift was. “That’s great, like really.” He looked at it a little bit more on her but didn’t want to be a creep and basically check her out especially with them stranding so close to each other. “Do you know who you got It from?” He also wondered what she gave as a gift to someone a little. He was proud of his gift he gave away and hoped the person really like it also.
”Did you need to go somewhere? Before I came. We can go- or you can go if that’s better.” “As much as I appreciate these chocolates, I’m more of a salty foods man so I was considering going to find myself something like that. If you want to tag along we could go together.” He sort of thought about just leaving school to go somewhere to get himself some food instead of only the vending machine. If she wanted to come he didn’t really care. As much as he seemed like a loner, he did like being around people and didn’t like being alone. @novella
