Blackmail 0/0

Melissa shrugged. “They aren’t really hidden more like dead ends that aren’t visible front the actual hall. Come on I’ll show you,” she said walking off she took a few turned and went down a small hallways that was hidden from the hallway. It was narrow but enough room to sit with your legs out.

"Ah, I see. Still sound fun," Ciel said, following Melissa down the hallways and round turns. She was totally lost after only a few turns, which did not bode well. Still, she was with Melissa and she wouldn't let Ciel get lost. "This is kind of cool. There's something really… I don't know." Ciel shook her head, trying to think of the word, but came up empty. "There's something about empty school hallways that I love."

“Yeah I used to go here a lot last year. One of my many hiding spots,” she said “one good thing about big school is there’s lots of them. Want to hang here for a bit or keep walking around?”

"Oh, yeah. I had a few of those at my school, though they weren't as good as this one," Ciel sighed, a little smile on her face. "Uh, sure, I guess. Is this your favorite one? Do you have a favorite one?" She asked, smoothing back her hair with her free hand. Were those too many questions? She really hoped she hadn't asked anything too personal or something that made Melissa uncomfortable.

Melissa shrugged smiling. “Yeah I guess it is,” she said nodding. She slid down the wall and sat on the ground hoping Ciel would follow.

"Awesome." Ciel sat down next to Melissa– maybe a little too close, but hey. If Melissa wanted to move, she could. It would make Ciel feel a little awkward, so hopefully, she wouldn't, but if she did it was fine. "Heh, school floors usually aren't too nice, but I like it!" Ciel looked over at Melissa with a smile.

Melissa laughed slightly. She noticed how close they where and blushed slightly but didn’t move. “Yeah…I wouldn’t recommend sitting on the floor in some places,” she said.

"Believe me, I've noticed." Ciel laughed. "How can people care so little about being tidy and not making a mess? Honestly, they're all crazy." She shook her head slightly, eyes fixed on the ground in front of her. Melissa hadn't moved away, which gave her a little too much hope.

Melissa nodded laughing slightly. She turned to face her but then sucked in a breath. She grabbed her side. Swearing under her breath at the sharp pain.

Ciel quickly looked at Melissa, her mouth turned down slightly. "Are you alright?" She asked, her eyebrows drawing together in worry. Ciel didn't know why Melissa's side was hurting, but she wanted to make it stop. She didn't want Melissa to be hurting at all.

Melissa nodded. “Y-Yeah I’m fine,” she said getting some painkillers from her bag. She took two of them dry and attempted to smile. “J-just a cramp.” She lied not meeting her eyes.

"Okay…" Ciel said slowly, not sure if she totally believed Melissa. But it did make sense for her to have cramps, so Ciel wasn't going to press her. "Well, are you okay to stay here? Or do you want to go somewhere else?"

Melissa shrugged. “Staying here’s fine. We are already close to the gym so we won’t have to walk far,” she said checking the time. She rolled her eyes slightly from a text from Brandon. “We have about 10 minutes.”

"Good. I like it here." Ciel laughed slightly, running her hand over her hair. She was feeling nervous, for some reason, and didn't really know what to say. "Oh, nice." She nodded.

Melissa looked at a Ciel. “I like it here too,” she said leaning on the wall. Then her phone vibrated. She picked it off and tried not to glare. “Well turns out I have to go in 5. Have to go get something before Gym but I’ll meet you in the locker room?”

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.