Class Clowns
Chapter 13: Gone
Claire's POV
"I wish you boys could stay longer, I miss having you around." My dad sighs across the kitchen table. It's Monday morning and my brothers are leaving tonight which completely sucks.
"We really wanted to meet Andrea." Mark says with a mouthful of cereal and I can't help but roll my eyes. It seriously annoys the hell out of my how interested he is in my dads latest girlfriend because to me, they're all the same; a tall blonde with a big chest and boring personality.
"You're not missing out on much." I chuckle, earning the stink eye from my father.
"I'm sure she's cool, Claire." Alex nudges me to be nice, only making me more annoyed. I look at the clock and realize that if I left now I'd be really early for school but I don't even care.
"I've gotta get to school." I fake smile, grabbing my bag and heading towards the door. "See you next weekend dad and I'll see you guys tonight?" I offer but Mark quickly catches up to me at the door.
"Take me with you to school?" He asks and I scrunch my nose at him. Why the hell does he want to go to the school? "I want to say hi to old teachers, I barely come around anymore and I'd like to talk to a couple of the other English teachers!" He reads my mind by answering my question and I cringe. Mark in the same building as Zayn and all my other teacher like friends? Um how about no?
"C'mon Mark, don't you wanna spend the day with dad or mom? I'm sure mom wants to hangout with you once more before you--"
"I think it's a good idea to say hello to your old teachers in the district, I'm sure a few of them are still there, right Claire?" My father cuts me off and I just roll my eyes and walk out the front door.
"Don't be too excited." Mark chuckles and I laugh nervously, putting my key in the ignition of my car. Excited? How about annoyed and afraid out of my fucking mind? That's much more accurate than 'excited.'
The ride to school is noisy with Mark rambling about his rambunctious and catty middle school students and me voicing a few concerns about mom to him. I wish they both lived around here because maybe things would be different but I can't ask them to just drop everything and move back, it's their lives.
"Same old school." Mark chuckles, slamming the passenger door and taking off his sunglasses. I notice a few girls in the parking lot point at him and smile and I just roll my eyes. He's 25, not 15 bitches.
We walk inside side by side and we're both immediately greeted by Craig and Luke in the hallway.
"Big Mark!" Craig shouts, running up to my older brother and giving him a long hug. They were always close for some reason, unlike Alex and Craig who never really got along too well.
"Craig! How are you doing bro? Taking care of my baby sister?" Mark asks and I chuckle at Mark saying 'bro' to my ex boyfriend.
"Of course I am!" Craig smirks, pulling me into a head lock and ruffling up my hair. I try to swat him away and pull out of his grasp, but he's clearly too strong and Luke and Mark are laughing uncontrollably.
"Craig, seriously?!" I growl, biting at his arm around my neck to release me.
"Damn, Claire!" He laughs, pulling away and shaking his arm out. I give him a quick smirk and squeal when he pulls me back into him and starts tickling my chest.
"Stop!" I squeak in Craig's grasp and the sound of Luke and Mark's laughter brings a smile to my face.
"If these two weren't made for each other then I don't believe in love." Mark laughs and the both of us stop in our place awkwardly. He had to ruin the friggen moment with that kind of comment.
"Miss. Saint John?" I hear Zayn's voice echo through the hallway, breaking the now awkward silence between the four of us. For fucks sake. I immediately slip myself out of Craig's grasp and smile at Zayn who is waltzing down the hallway side by side with Harry... I am not in the mood for him this morning.
"Introduce me to your teacher?" Mark mumbles right before Zayn and Harry are standing in front of us.
"Umm," I stammer awkwardly amongst the five boys, "Mark! Mark, this is my art teacher Z-- Mr. Malik, and this is my math teacher Mr. Styles." I introduce them all as they shake hands. I receive a small glare from Zayn as I take another step away from Craig.
"I hope my little sister doesn't give you too much of a hard time." Mark chuckles, and both Zayn and Harry give me an awkward side glance.
"She's an excellent student, one of my favorites." Zayn shares, and a smile lights up on my brothers face. Such a mushy big brother. I can't help but awkwardly look up and release a stupid laugh to ease the invisible tension.
"And how about you, Mr. Styles? Does she give you a hard time?" Mark tries to joke and I nervously look at Luke and Craig who are both laughing to themselves. I mouth 'walk away' and they both do as I asked.
"Claire's a sweet girl... She could use a little help with her skills however." He smiles and I look down at my feet. I'm still not happy with Harry after his little kiss with my best friend.
"I'm sure." Mark laughs just as the bell rings. "Well I've got to get going, it was great meeting the two of you." He says, leaving a quick peck on my cheek and disappearing down the halls, presumably towards the main office.
"He's a nice guy." Zayn smiles at me and I have to hold myself back stepping towards him and kissing him. If there were not rules about dating teachers, I can't seem to imagine keeping myself away from him. Harry excuses himself and heads to his classroom and I innocently take a step closer towards Zayn.
"Do you want to do something after school?" I smirk and Zayn looks up and down the small hallway to see if anyone is there.
"What did you have in mind?" He bites his bottom lip, taking a step closer. Just as we make sure that the hallway is completely empty and Zayn leans down to press his lips to mine, the backdoor swings open.
"Zayn?" Miss. Edwards smiles, coming inside and bringing the autumn chilled air with her.
"Good morning Perrie." He smiles at her and she smiles back. Oh, it's Perrie now is it?
"Hello Claire, I didn't see you there!" She giggles softly, tying her blonde locks into a ponytail. I look up at Zayn who has the slightest blush on his cheeks, making me cringe. Bet you didn't.
"I'm sorry?" She chuckles and so does Zayn. Fucking why do I keep saying things out loud that I don't mean?
"I mean uh... I just..." I smile awkwardly and so does she.
"Well I just came over here to confirm with Zayn our plans for tonight, are you ready to finish what you started?" She laughs and I shoot him the best death glare I can. What the fuck is she talking about?
"Sounds good." He smiles at her and she exits the hallway. I storm off down the hallway in the opposite direction and hear his footsteps behind me.
"Claire." He sighs, his footsteps quickening along with mine. Just as I'm about to turn the corner, Zayn's hand wraps around my wrist and he pulls me into the stairwell.
"What!" I whisper shout at him, folding my arms over my chest. To be one hundred percent honest, I don't even think I want to know what him and Perrie have to 'finish.'
"I'm helping her set up her new apartment and she asked me if I would paint a few of the rooms for her." He sighs and I roll my eyes.
"Bullshit." I spit, turning on my heels but he stops me and pins my against the railing. "Zayn, I don't want to hear your--" I start to say but I'm suddenly cut off by his lips crashing into mine. I fight him on it at first, pushing my hands at his chest but his big build over my frame wins and I kiss back.
"You're the one for me. Perrie is just a friend." He whispers, looking straight into my eyes as if it's hypnosis. I nod my head slowly as he pulls away and gives me the smallest smile.
"I wouldn't do that to you." He reassures me, walking away and leaving me stunned.
What the hell just happened?
(A/N: LISTEN TO THIS SONG STARTING NOW FOR FULL EFFECT:) !!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eg6-5vmCZc
Driving home after a long school day and afternoon with Mark is probably the funniest thing ever that has happened to me in the longest time. He's overly excited about meeting the 'brilliant british new English teacher' who just happens to be Liam--Mr. Payne.
"And also, he said you're one of his better students! Can you believe my baby sister is an incredible writer?" He teases and I roll my eyes.
"That's from all your student lectures and annoying explanations at home." I remind him and he nods with a chuckle.
"So do you miss having me around?" He asks, and the car ride gets very serious.
"I really do." I say as more of a whisper. He looks at me and pats my thigh softly, trying to comfort me.
"I know it's not easy with mom but--" I put my hand up to stop him as we pull closer and closer to my house.
"Are those police cars in front of our house?" I gasp, stepping on the gas and zooming down the road. The closer we get, the more people I see standing on the front lawn in black uniforms and the red and blue flashing lights get brighter.
"What the hell is going on?!" Mark shouts as I finally stop the car in the middle of the street. I follow him out of the car and sprint towards the front door which is wide open, policemen and paramedics everywhere.
"Excuse me, what's going on?" I shriek, ducking under the yellow caution tape and tugging at an officers arm. He turns to face Mark and I but I pause when I fear a faint sob come from the side of the steps.
"Alex, what happened?!" Mark shouts, running up to our middle brother and shaking his shoulders. Loud cries and violent sobs pour out of Alex's body and I get a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I pray to god my worst nightmare is not coming to life.
"Is it mom?" I whisper, and Alex's face drops even more, glancing past me.
Almost in slow motion, Mark and I turn our necks and watch as men carry a woman out the front door on a stretcher. I leap towards the door and cover my face at the image. A vision of my cold and pale mother lies before me and I drop to my knees.
"No!" I scream, clinging to the side of the stretcher. "Fix her! Please fix her!" I bawl, shaking the man beside her.
"Claire..." I hear Mark's voice behind me.
"Stop standing around! All of you!" I scream, pointing towards all the police and paramedics standing around the lawn. "Fix my mom! Fix her!" I shriek, clutching my heart to stop the physical pain that I'm feeling.
"She's gone." Alex's hoarse voice mutters from behind me. As the men carry the stretcher towards the ambulance, I can't stop the immense amount of pain and heat washing over my body. I feel numb, I feel lost... I feel like the one thing in my back of my mind that I knew could always happen, happened.
She's gone.
"I wish you boys could stay longer, I miss having you around." My dad sighs across the kitchen table. It's Monday morning and my brothers are leaving tonight which completely sucks.
"We really wanted to meet Andrea." Mark says with a mouthful of cereal and I can't help but roll my eyes. It seriously annoys the hell out of my how interested he is in my dads latest girlfriend because to me, they're all the same; a tall blonde with a big chest and boring personality.
"You're not missing out on much." I chuckle, earning the stink eye from my father.
"I'm sure she's cool, Claire." Alex nudges me to be nice, only making me more annoyed. I look at the clock and realize that if I left now I'd be really early for school but I don't even care.
"I've gotta get to school." I fake smile, grabbing my bag and heading towards the door. "See you next weekend dad and I'll see you guys tonight?" I offer but Mark quickly catches up to me at the door.
"Take me with you to school?" He asks and I scrunch my nose at him. Why the hell does he want to go to the school? "I want to say hi to old teachers, I barely come around anymore and I'd like to talk to a couple of the other English teachers!" He reads my mind by answering my question and I cringe. Mark in the same building as Zayn and all my other teacher like friends? Um how about no?
"C'mon Mark, don't you wanna spend the day with dad or mom? I'm sure mom wants to hangout with you once more before you--"
"I think it's a good idea to say hello to your old teachers in the district, I'm sure a few of them are still there, right Claire?" My father cuts me off and I just roll my eyes and walk out the front door.
"Don't be too excited." Mark chuckles and I laugh nervously, putting my key in the ignition of my car. Excited? How about annoyed and afraid out of my fucking mind? That's much more accurate than 'excited.'
The ride to school is noisy with Mark rambling about his rambunctious and catty middle school students and me voicing a few concerns about mom to him. I wish they both lived around here because maybe things would be different but I can't ask them to just drop everything and move back, it's their lives.
"Same old school." Mark chuckles, slamming the passenger door and taking off his sunglasses. I notice a few girls in the parking lot point at him and smile and I just roll my eyes. He's 25, not 15 bitches.
We walk inside side by side and we're both immediately greeted by Craig and Luke in the hallway.
"Big Mark!" Craig shouts, running up to my older brother and giving him a long hug. They were always close for some reason, unlike Alex and Craig who never really got along too well.
"Craig! How are you doing bro? Taking care of my baby sister?" Mark asks and I chuckle at Mark saying 'bro' to my ex boyfriend.
"Of course I am!" Craig smirks, pulling me into a head lock and ruffling up my hair. I try to swat him away and pull out of his grasp, but he's clearly too strong and Luke and Mark are laughing uncontrollably.
"Craig, seriously?!" I growl, biting at his arm around my neck to release me.
"Damn, Claire!" He laughs, pulling away and shaking his arm out. I give him a quick smirk and squeal when he pulls me back into him and starts tickling my chest.
"Stop!" I squeak in Craig's grasp and the sound of Luke and Mark's laughter brings a smile to my face.
"If these two weren't made for each other then I don't believe in love." Mark laughs and the both of us stop in our place awkwardly. He had to ruin the friggen moment with that kind of comment.
"Miss. Saint John?" I hear Zayn's voice echo through the hallway, breaking the now awkward silence between the four of us. For fucks sake. I immediately slip myself out of Craig's grasp and smile at Zayn who is waltzing down the hallway side by side with Harry... I am not in the mood for him this morning.
"Introduce me to your teacher?" Mark mumbles right before Zayn and Harry are standing in front of us.
"Umm," I stammer awkwardly amongst the five boys, "Mark! Mark, this is my art teacher Z-- Mr. Malik, and this is my math teacher Mr. Styles." I introduce them all as they shake hands. I receive a small glare from Zayn as I take another step away from Craig.
"I hope my little sister doesn't give you too much of a hard time." Mark chuckles, and both Zayn and Harry give me an awkward side glance.
"She's an excellent student, one of my favorites." Zayn shares, and a smile lights up on my brothers face. Such a mushy big brother. I can't help but awkwardly look up and release a stupid laugh to ease the invisible tension.
"And how about you, Mr. Styles? Does she give you a hard time?" Mark tries to joke and I nervously look at Luke and Craig who are both laughing to themselves. I mouth 'walk away' and they both do as I asked.
"Claire's a sweet girl... She could use a little help with her skills however." He smiles and I look down at my feet. I'm still not happy with Harry after his little kiss with my best friend.
"I'm sure." Mark laughs just as the bell rings. "Well I've got to get going, it was great meeting the two of you." He says, leaving a quick peck on my cheek and disappearing down the halls, presumably towards the main office.
"He's a nice guy." Zayn smiles at me and I have to hold myself back stepping towards him and kissing him. If there were not rules about dating teachers, I can't seem to imagine keeping myself away from him. Harry excuses himself and heads to his classroom and I innocently take a step closer towards Zayn.
"Do you want to do something after school?" I smirk and Zayn looks up and down the small hallway to see if anyone is there.
"What did you have in mind?" He bites his bottom lip, taking a step closer. Just as we make sure that the hallway is completely empty and Zayn leans down to press his lips to mine, the backdoor swings open.
"Zayn?" Miss. Edwards smiles, coming inside and bringing the autumn chilled air with her.
"Good morning Perrie." He smiles at her and she smiles back. Oh, it's Perrie now is it?
"Hello Claire, I didn't see you there!" She giggles softly, tying her blonde locks into a ponytail. I look up at Zayn who has the slightest blush on his cheeks, making me cringe. Bet you didn't.
"I'm sorry?" She chuckles and so does Zayn. Fucking why do I keep saying things out loud that I don't mean?
"I mean uh... I just..." I smile awkwardly and so does she.
"Well I just came over here to confirm with Zayn our plans for tonight, are you ready to finish what you started?" She laughs and I shoot him the best death glare I can. What the fuck is she talking about?
"Sounds good." He smiles at her and she exits the hallway. I storm off down the hallway in the opposite direction and hear his footsteps behind me.
"Claire." He sighs, his footsteps quickening along with mine. Just as I'm about to turn the corner, Zayn's hand wraps around my wrist and he pulls me into the stairwell.
"What!" I whisper shout at him, folding my arms over my chest. To be one hundred percent honest, I don't even think I want to know what him and Perrie have to 'finish.'
"I'm helping her set up her new apartment and she asked me if I would paint a few of the rooms for her." He sighs and I roll my eyes.
"Bullshit." I spit, turning on my heels but he stops me and pins my against the railing. "Zayn, I don't want to hear your--" I start to say but I'm suddenly cut off by his lips crashing into mine. I fight him on it at first, pushing my hands at his chest but his big build over my frame wins and I kiss back.
"You're the one for me. Perrie is just a friend." He whispers, looking straight into my eyes as if it's hypnosis. I nod my head slowly as he pulls away and gives me the smallest smile.
"I wouldn't do that to you." He reassures me, walking away and leaving me stunned.
What the hell just happened?
(A/N: LISTEN TO THIS SONG STARTING NOW FOR FULL EFFECT:) !!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eg6-5vmCZc
Driving home after a long school day and afternoon with Mark is probably the funniest thing ever that has happened to me in the longest time. He's overly excited about meeting the 'brilliant british new English teacher' who just happens to be Liam--Mr. Payne.
"And also, he said you're one of his better students! Can you believe my baby sister is an incredible writer?" He teases and I roll my eyes.
"That's from all your student lectures and annoying explanations at home." I remind him and he nods with a chuckle.
"So do you miss having me around?" He asks, and the car ride gets very serious.
"I really do." I say as more of a whisper. He looks at me and pats my thigh softly, trying to comfort me.
"I know it's not easy with mom but--" I put my hand up to stop him as we pull closer and closer to my house.
"Are those police cars in front of our house?" I gasp, stepping on the gas and zooming down the road. The closer we get, the more people I see standing on the front lawn in black uniforms and the red and blue flashing lights get brighter.
"What the hell is going on?!" Mark shouts as I finally stop the car in the middle of the street. I follow him out of the car and sprint towards the front door which is wide open, policemen and paramedics everywhere.
"Excuse me, what's going on?" I shriek, ducking under the yellow caution tape and tugging at an officers arm. He turns to face Mark and I but I pause when I fear a faint sob come from the side of the steps.
"Alex, what happened?!" Mark shouts, running up to our middle brother and shaking his shoulders. Loud cries and violent sobs pour out of Alex's body and I get a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I pray to god my worst nightmare is not coming to life.
"Is it mom?" I whisper, and Alex's face drops even more, glancing past me.
Almost in slow motion, Mark and I turn our necks and watch as men carry a woman out the front door on a stretcher. I leap towards the door and cover my face at the image. A vision of my cold and pale mother lies before me and I drop to my knees.
"No!" I scream, clinging to the side of the stretcher. "Fix her! Please fix her!" I bawl, shaking the man beside her.
"Claire..." I hear Mark's voice behind me.
"Stop standing around! All of you!" I scream, pointing towards all the police and paramedics standing around the lawn. "Fix my mom! Fix her!" I shriek, clutching my heart to stop the physical pain that I'm feeling.
"She's gone." Alex's hoarse voice mutters from behind me. As the men carry the stretcher towards the ambulance, I can't stop the immense amount of pain and heat washing over my body. I feel numb, I feel lost... I feel like the one thing in my back of my mind that I knew could always happen, happened.
She's gone.
Notes
More will be explained next chapter!Claire's gonna need people right now... Who will be there for her and who won't be?
My last update I barely received any comments and I got bummed out cause I felt like maybe you guys aren't liking the story as much? Please comment your reactions if you want updates, they make me update!! x
didja like the song? how are we feeling? Vote and comment, xx :)
p.s. Happy birthday Alice Rose! have a great day love!
love it
1/25/15