Class Clowns

Claire's POV

Life has a really funny way of sneaking up behind me when I least expect it, and dragging me down what feels like one hundred flights of concrete stairs.

The clock reads 4:30 am, and I haven't been able to keep my eyes closed for more than 10 minutes without waking up and feeling stressed or anxious -- I have much more on my plate than I could have ever imagined I would at this stage of senior year. As a junior, I thought I'd be pretty much set for my future by now, a college picked out, a steady boyfriend (preferably Craig) and an a stronger relationship with my parents... Funny how things change in just a year, isn't it?

Now I have Harry and Zayn... Zayn and Harry, to worry about. To think about, even to dream about if I could get myself to fall asleep for more than a few short minutes at a time. I sound like a child, but how do I decide between the two? How could I ever decide? My date with Harry was something out of a fantasy, but my relationship with Zayn is so raw and passionate. I know Harry would never hurt me and he makes me feel like everything is going to be okay, but is it too good to be true? And what about Zayn, how can I trust him again?

So how the hell do I decide? How do I continue to go to school, facing these two gorgeous, kind, and funny as ever men when I myself, a silly little eighteen year old can't even get past the fact that I'm growing up faster than I ever imagined I would. I lost my mom, I've lost parts of my sanity... I can't let myself lose Zayn or Harry, or even Craig for that matter.

So I lay here.

5 am.

6 am.

7 am.

School.

"Claire! You look like hell, did you catch a cold over the weekend?" Luke nudges me as I slump down the hallway towards him, clutching a to-go cup of coffee tightly.

"Just a little tired." I smile weakly, and notice Cassidy practically skipping into the building, high heels and winter tote bag in tow. "Here comes your girlfriend." I whisper to Luke, and his face immediately lights up at the word.

"Jesus Claire, are you okay? Do you have a fever or something?" Cass asks me, rushing to my side and putting her hands on my face. I squint went she presses her hands to my face to feel my temperature.

"She's just tired, probably had a late night with her boy toy Craig." Luke smiles, and I roll my eyes until I feel a muscular arm wrap around my shoulders.

"Somebody say my name?" Craig's voice booms from beside me, and I look up at him sporting my best 'I'm not tired' smile.

"Luke was just reminding me how we went at it last night." I wink, joking with him. Cassidy's jaw drops open, not catching onto the joke, and Craig bursts out laughing like a little kid.

"Oh my god, I thought you were serious for a second!" Cassidy punches me softly, and I join all my friends in a tired fit of laughter. Cassidy really fits the definition of a "blonde" well. When I look up at Craig he has tired eyes too, and my curiosity gets the best of it.

"You don't look so great either, everything okay?" I ask him in a serious tone, and he shrugs at me, looking a little more worn down than a few seconds ago. The morning bell rings just as he opens his mouth to respond, and I notice Zayn, Liam and Harry all walking down the hallway towards us.

"I... I guess I'll tell you later." He mumbles, tears brimming in his eyes and I can't hide the wave of concern that has taken over me. I look down slowly, and I notice his hands are shaking-- this can't be good.

"No, let's get out of here," I whisper as Harry and Zayn are a few feet away, "You look like you need a friend, and I do too." I finish, and the biggest smile unveils on exhausted face. He reaches down to hug me tightly, and once he does, of course, Zayn, Harry and Liam have made their way directly beside us.

"Mr. Anderson and Ms. Saint John, have we not had this discussion before?" Zayn asks, and as soon as we pull away I can tell Craig is not in the mood for this.

"Are you kidding me?" Craig barks back at the three teachers, and I stand their dumbfounded. Craig's voice is different right now, it's menacing... something has snapped.

"Excuse me?" Zayn says, stepping between the two of us. "No public displays of affection in these halls!" Zayn reminds Craig for the billionth time, and I roll my eyes. Not today, for the love of god. I look to Harry, who has his teacher face on and I'm thoroughly annoyed.

"Yeah, only when it involves Claire does that rule apply." Craig mutters under his breath, taking my hand and leading me towards the front door of the school.

"Who do you think you are?" Harry growls, and my cheeks flush. Could they not?

"Craig didn't mean that --" I interject, but he stops me.

"Yes I did. I think that you two are just low life creeps who are trying to get into some high school girls pants, including my girlfriend's!" Craig yells, grabbing the door, eyes wild and full of fury. Girlfriend? Is he saying that because the teachers wouldn't normally know if we're dating or not, or does he really think I'm his girlfriend?

"Mr. Anderson..." Liam sighs in disbelief, and Zayn has a stupid little smirk on his face.

"Its true! You follow us to restaurants, you always have Claire stay after class, you're young and desperate... It's disgusting! Leave her and I alone, alright?" Craig shouts, and I still, jaw dropped open.

"What would we want with a high school student? Do you really think we're dumb enough to risk our jobs to date a student? You do realize I could have you suspended for this, and no college will accept you." Zayn yells strictly with an underlying tone of sarcasm that makes me sick, and I shake my head, panicking at the situation unraveling in front of me.

"No college wants me anyway." He whispers with a sob, and I look up at him and shake my head. What? "Please Claire, can we just get out of here?" He looks at me, embarrassed and furious with either himself or Zayn.

"Craig, why don't you and Claire both just come back inside and sit down the the guidance counselor, yeah? It seems like you have a lot going on and--" Harry attempts, and Craig looks back at them with a laugh.

"Guidance counselor? What the fuck do they know?" He chuckles, grabs my hand and tugs me out of the building towards his car. Zayn and Harry both shoot me a warning glare, but I'm pretty much stuck in this situation as of right now.

In all my years as a friend, girlfriend and classmate of Craig's I have never seen him like this before. He's distraught, he's afraid and he's really fucking pissed.

"What happened?!" I gasp as we get inside his car and he pulls out of the parking lot like a maniac. I can feel my phone vibrating in my pocket, but I refuse to take it out now.

"Everything happened! I got rejected from Fordham, from Brown, from Dickinson, from North Eastern.. every fucking college I wanted to go to rejected me! The school told me I could do it, I thought I could, and now my futures fucked! The deadlines are passed for all the best schools, and I'm gonna be a fuck up!" He sobs, turning onto the highway and speeding extremely fast.

"Craig, oh my god... I'm sorry." I whisper, tears brimming in my eyes for him. "There are still other options though, You can still apply to schools like Scranton and--" I try to console him as we zoom down the road, passing every car going at least 30 miles over the 65 mile per hour speed limit.

"Scranton? Oh my god Claire... Fuck that! I can't have that, and my parents... oh, Lord knows they can't!" He cries.



"Craig, you have to slow down... Let me take over, pull over?" I suggest calmly.

"And then those fucking teachers! The nerve of the jackasses to tell me to stop hugging you, to stay away from you. What the fuck is up with that? If I want to hug you, kiss you or fuck you I will!" He continues ranting, and I slide my phone out of my pocket to see a text from Harry and Zayn, worried.

"Zayn's just doing his job and--"

"That first name shit! Fuck that too! This school is slowly ruining my life, I swear I could just burn it to the fucking ground with all those lousy bastards inside... My parents Claire, they're so disappointed, I can't do anything right!" He cries.

"Craig... baby... please calm down." I sigh, reaching over to touch his shoulder and dialing Zayn's number.

"Oh my god Claire," he screams, "I can't take it anymore!" He looks over at me, and my heart breaks into a million pieces. "I don't want to do it anymore, if I can have the college I want, if I cant make my parents happy, if I can't have you..." He whispers, reaching out and grabbing my face.

"Craig, the road!" I scream, but before he can regain control of his car it's already to late, and we swerve off of the highway and down, down down... until we hit solid ground, and my head collides with the dashboard and windshield. A seatbelt would have been smart.

The last thing I hear before everything fades away is the sound of my name being called from a mix of voices through my cell phone, Zayn and Harry's.

Notes