Avoidance Tactics

[melaniecatlan]

I walked into the arcade and looked around. I wore a pair of baggy sweatpants and a Fall Out Boy concert tee. I wasn't in the mood to really talk to anybody, but I figured I'd end up talking to at least one person...as long as that person wasn't Tom. I was in the middle of an experiment. I'm going to see if I can handle life without Tom for a few days...but Tom doesn't know that I'm doing this so to him, I'm avoiding him. And I guess that's true and all, but whatever. I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and walked over to the Galaga game. I was playing really well until (whoever posts next) tapped my shoulder and threw me off my game.

[Madeleine Gold]

I walked in and greeted Bob as he put a finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet, and pointed at Melanie. I nodded and walked up behind her and tapped her shoulder. "I didn't know that you played when you are upset," I said quietly with a small smile.

[melaniecatlan]

I looked at Maddy and blinked, acting like I didn't know what she was talking about.
"What do you mean?" I asked.

[Madeleine Gold]

"Bob, here, alerted me...." I said with a shrug. "I do it too, ya know."

[melaniecatlan]

I nodded slowly and turned back to face the game.
"That's nice," I said.

[Madeleine Gold]

I rolled my eyes and responded. "Come on, it's not a bad thing to admit....I mean, you haven't nearly killed a guy...have you?"

[melaniecatlan]

I swallowed and stayed silent. Did Sam say something to Maddy about Gage and his brother? I was gripping hard on the game by now and I had no intention to stop playing.

[Madeleine Gold]

"Melanie," I said slowly, "is there something you are not telling me." I motioned for Bob to go into the storage room and he nodded his head.

[melaniecatlan]

I stopped playing and turned to face Maddy. I was biting down on my lip, something I do so I won't cry.
"Depends," I said quietly.

[Madeleine Gold]

"Will it help if I tell you part of the reason why I moved?" I said quietly.

[melaniecatlan]

I shook my head.
"No...but okay," I said softly.

[Madeleine Gold]

"About two months ago, my ex boyfriend, Marshall, tried to seduce me. I was locked up in a small room, but I did manage to escape. He was mad about that so he decided to tell the school this huge lie, twisting it the other way around, and because of that, I was known as the school sl ut. No one believed me that Marshall was lying...except for Alex. Anna, Mason, and Tara, our three best friends all believed Marshall," I said sighing. "Alex had been best friends with Marshall, and knew when Marshall was lying. After about a month of getting ridiculed, me and Alex came up with this plan to get back at Marshall. Story cut short, Marshall is now in the hospital and will most likely go to jail after."

[melaniecatlan]

I blinked and stared at Maddy. Okay, well it wasn't my fault Gage's brother died...so our stories were both completely different.
"Wow..." I said quietly.

[Madeleine Gold]

I smiled. "Alex felt bad for the whole incident...if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have dated Marshall in the first place," I said and reached for the oval locket that I was wearing, and usually wore. "He bought me this, to try to make up for it." Inside was a picture of him.

[melaniecatlan]

I nodded slowly.
"That was nice of him," I said.