seven souls seven sins - Chapter 42: Chapter 42

Natasha's pov:
I spot my locker in the distance, but there's two people leaning on it.
As we walk closer to my locker, their figures become more familiar each step. They're both, 6ft ish, both have dark brown hair, and then Nico and I get close enough to recognise them.
It's the twins, and they DON'T look happy.
"I wouldn't blame you if you turned around and left right now." I quietly tell Nico. "I'm not scared of them, don't worry Ms.Perfect." He bravely assured me. Xavier's eyes reach mine and he looks pissed, and I mean pissed. Xander too notices our presence as we walk up to my locker.
"We're so utterly fucked." I murmur to Nico.
He smirks at my worries. The twins lean off my locker and make their way towards us. "Harper." Xander establishes in fury. "Morales." Nico declares with his head held high. "Harper." Xavier greets him with anger laced within his iris. "Morales." Nico repeats again but to Xavier this time. He then turns to me.
"Clark." He says with a mischievous grin.
Ohhh, I know what he's doing. He used 'Clark' as my last name instead of 'Morales' to piss off my brothers. He's a smart kid when he wants to be. I watch Xander's jaw clench and unclench as he says my surname. "Harper." I respond back to him with a soft smirk.
He grins at me and turns back to face the twins.
"Let me explain, before anything gets out of hand." I hastily but in. All their eyes are now solely fixated on me. "We were doing La bise in French then Nico and I accidentallyhadasemi-kiss (accidentally had a semi-kiss). BUT, it was okay because it was a complete misunderstanding with his right and my right and that's about it." I say all within one breath.
I also add a little smile in there to lighten up the tension.
The twins then direct their attention towards a silent Nico. "What she said." He grins and points towards me. He protectively wraps his hand around my waist. We both glance at the twins but they're staring at Nico's hand around my waist. Xander watches Nico's hand and suddenly slams him against my locker. Xander's arm is pushing Nico's neck against my locker.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
How did this escalate this fast? I watch in horror as Xander punches Nico in the face with his spare hand. Nico smiles at his attempt and Xavier tries to pull Xander off of Nico. Key word, tried. "Is that the best that you can do Morales?" Nico triggers Xander.
"Xander stop! You're hurting him!" I shout trying to get Xander to stop.
By the time Nico swings back, a crowd has already gathered around us. They're constantly hitting each other and everyone's just watching. It got worse when Nico's friends and Xander's friends started to yell at each other and they wanted to get involved with the scrap too. "Xander get off, he's not worth it." Xavier tries to persuade him to stop.
Spoiler alert, it doesn't work.
Instead, it only motivates Xander more. He hits Nico's nose and Nico groans in pain. Nico stumbles back and whacks the back of his head against a locker. "XANDER STOP YOUR'E HURTING HIM!" I yell. Xavier holds me back from involving myself. Nico swings back at Xander and strikes his temple. "Fuck you Harper." Xander groans and clutches his head. "Don't touch me Morales." Nico adds and walks towards me.
There's blood dripping from his battered nose.
"Let's go Ms.Perfect." Nico lends his bruised hand out to me. My hand reaches out to him but before our hands make contact, a familiar fist punches Nico's cheek. I gasp in horror. "Touch her again, and I'll remove your ability to touch." Xander scoffs. They're both panting looking at each other with rage consuming their vision.
They both stare at eachother, not breaking eye contact.
"She won't even let you touch her, you can't say much Morales." Nico bites back and slams Xander's head into the locker row. Xander groans in pain. Xavier covers my eyes and turns me into his chest. "Don't look Tash." He whispers into my ear. I hear the boys swing at each other again in the distance behind me. I breathe in Xavier's musky cologne and I hear someone walk off whilst my eyes are closed.
Their steps echo throughout the corridor.
I turn around to face Xander leaning against a locker. His chest moving up and down. I examine the scene in front of me. There's blood all around my locker. A LOT of blood. Xander has an awful scratch on his temple and is clutching his head. His eyes find mine and he looks infuriated.
He looks hurt.
Xander gets off the floor and walks over towards me. Xavier protectively guards me with his body but Xander quickly shoves him away. He then glances at me and pushes me to the ground. "Fuck off bitch." He scoffs and walks off in anger. "You were meant to be on my side." I overhear him mumble to himself.
I watch him jog to the entrance.
Xavier immediately rushes to my side and picks me up off the floor. Usually I'm good with fights and I can handle them. But there was something off about this one. It was different to the rest because I was the cause. I was the reason they fought. I was the reason why they're both hurt, mentally and physically.
This is all my fault.
"For fucks sake, LEAVE! ALL OF YOU!" I hear Xavier shout at the crowd. His voice snaps me back to reality. They all scatter in fear which leaves just him and I alone together in the hallway. "Follow me Tash." Xavier holds out his hand. I get up off the floor using his hand to lift myself up.
I have no idea where he's taking me.
He guides me towards what seems to be an empty classroom. He opens the door and brings me inside with him. "We're alone here mk?" He assures me. "Ye-yeah." I stutter. I usually only stutter when I'm either crying, nervous, or scared. But this time feels different.
Maybe because, I'm the reason that they fought.
There's no one to blame but myself for the fight. Two people that I know are injured and it's all my fault. It's all my fault. "It's all my fucking fault." I shamefully admit. "They're hurt because of me." I say to myself. Xavier notices this and walks up to me. "Tash look at me." He asks softly.
I look up, my eyes meeting his.
"It is not your fault, you hear me?" He says. I look down to the floor. He tilts my chin back up to him. "That was none of your fault Tash. They both have a complicated history with one another and they fight like this almost every other week. This was nothing of the sorts. It was none of your fault so don't beat you over it." He reassures me in a gentle tone.
He leans in to hug me.
His warm body engulfs me. I melt into his chest. His hand rubs up and down my back. "Are they going to be okay?" I sniffle into his blazer. "Of course they are. They're strong and they'll live through it. Don't worry love." He calms me down with his soothing voice. I pull away from the embrace.
"Is Xander mad at me?" I question.
He pauses and goes stiff. "If I'm being honest, I don't know. He's like this with everyone so don't mind it. I'm not trying to justify his action but he was probably furious with Nico and took it out of you with that push. He'll probably apologise soon." Xavier answers truthfully. I nod to show my understanding.
"Are you mad at me, for earlier?" I ask.
"I was, but I'm not anymore. It was just a mistake and I was just caught up in the moment." He honestly confesses. He brushes a loose hair out of my face. "I'm more mad at Harper than anything." He says Nico's name with disgust in his voice. "Is Nico as bad as everyone says he is?" I question.
I don't even know who to believe or not anymore.
"He is. I'm not biased or anything but he is an arrogant, dishonest and manipulative man. You saw what he did to Xander, I don't want to jump to any conclusions but I don't think that he's a safe person to be around. He does more harm than good. For your own safety, don't go near him, alright?"
I nod my head in shock.
Xavier pulls me into another tight hug. "I love you." He starts. "I might not always show it, but I love you Tash. So fucking much." He adds. "I know, don't worry Xav. I love you too." I assure him. His head rests against my shoulder.He leans into me, hugging me so tight, not wanting to let go.
Xavier's pov:
I hold on to her, not wanting to leave. I inhale her signature scent of berries and sugar. I don't want to let go, to let her go. The last time I let go, she left. She left for 9 years. 9 years without her. 9 years without her laugh, her smile, her smell, her voice, her love. I don't even know why I'm being so sentimental at 11am on a Friday but it just hit me.
It hit me like a knife in my heart.
After seeing Xander fight this morning, I felt affected for some reason. Xander and I usually get into fights with other people every week or so. So in theory, this would be nothing unusual but it isn't. Watching Nat scream at Xander to stop broke my heart in more ways than one.
Watching Xander push Nat hurt even more.
Over the past few days I actually thought that Xander was warming up to Nat. They weren't at each other's throats and they were able to sit in a room together without fighting. Xander pushing Nat must've been tough on her. She thought that Xander was making progress too.
It's always two steps forward and three steps back with him.
After Nat left it was hell for him. His mental state was so bad and he refused to leave his room for 2 months straight. He missed her so bad. He was the worst one that was affected by her departure. He always kept a photo of her and him in his wallet at all times. That wallet was his most prized possession. When she returned we all assumed that the old Xander would be back.
We were wrong.
He's mistreating her. He isn't the same Xander as before. He's changed since her return. He's changed a lot. I don't know if the old Xander is even still there. Hopefully Nat will be able to bring him back, we're all counting on it.
The bell rings out loud which brings me back to reality. Theres a few freshmen waiting outside. I still am holding on tight to Nat. "You okay love?" I ask and break the embrace. "I will be. I just need time to figure it out." She replies with her soft voice. "Want me to walk you to your next class?" I ask her.
"It's okay. I'll just find Flynn." She compromises with a subtle nod. "Alright love. " I reply back. I open the door and let her out first before myself. Her Portuguese class was only down the hall. I watch as she walks through the door. She gives me a small smile before walking in.
"Thank you." She mouths before leaving my field of vision.
As soon as she walked through that door I turned the opposite direction, towards the back entrance of the school. That's where Xander was. After a fight he usually goes there to smoke to relieve the adrenaline and pain. If anything he was definitely there. He has to be.
I need to talk to him.