Hallows: Eulalie

He's A Cool Dude

Amy Winehouse- You Know I'm No Good

Ashley:

My hands ache as they work over the keys. They're stiff and swollen and I'm a f*****g i***t. I can't stop thinking about what happened. The entire school is talking about it. The girl's name was Kayla Dawson. She was a senior this year. Cheerleader, gymnast, and ballerina. Her grades were average. Her dad barely made a fuss about the entire thing. There's nothing on news and Tiffany came back to class as if none of it had happened.

Except, she's with a boy now. I'm guessing that's Carter Kennedy. Tamara and Kelly have been close behind since Monday. I've also been forced to endure Dante and his band practicing. They have a show coming up this weekend and they've been at it nonstop.

"Am I distracting you?" Kelly asks from the center row of the theatre. I look over at her to see her working on something in her red binder.

"My hands are stiff," I press down G F with my middle finger. She sighs, shutting the binder, and gets up.

"Let's go then,"

"Where are we going?"

"I need a f*****g drink. It's been a long week. Dante gets a little impatient during show weeks. I'm just glad he's going on vacation after this. He'll lock himself up in his room for a few days with his little f**k boy and we're back in business," she smiles. "I can't wait to get my hands on all that Southside p***y,"

"You're insane, Kels," I roll my eyes.

"You pay me the greatest compliments," she giggles. "Come on. Sheldon doesn't card us,"

"Who is Sheldon?" I ask, cleaning up the piano area. We walk out of the theatre together.

"Hayashi," someone calls from behind us. We turn around to see Tiffany's brother standing in the entranceway that leads to the dorms. She groans.

"Give me a minute?"

"Take your time," I nod. She hands me her binder and walks over to him.

Carter Kennedy is handsome. Pretty blue eyes. Sharp cheekbones. Dark preppy boy-styled hair. Like Dante, the guy screams old money. The way he's standing there in his expensive button-up and sweater that might as well be a f*****g cardigan. His hand is tucked into the front pocket of his slacks. He's got a really expensive watch on.

The two of them look super cute together. In a Bonnie and Clyde kind of way. You know, if Bonnie and Clyde had been rich as s**t and serial killers. They're arguing in hushed tones, but the chemistry between them is intense. My body tightens up when his hand lashes out and he pins her to the lockers with his huge hand covering her mouth. I don't move because that crazy b***h looks like she's enjoying herself. He leans into her and says something before releasing her and walking out the door he had come through.

"Uh," she taps her hands together as she walks over to me. "Change of plans,"

"Okay," I laugh and offer her the binder.

"Can you take that to Danny for me?" she asks. "He's in his room. Fourth floor, third door on the right,"

"Yeah, sure," I agree. "Are you okay?"

"I am f*****g great," she smirks. "I'll come to find you later. Do not leave the school and, for the love of ninjas, no fighting."

"I make no promises on that last one,"

"Ash, the more you fight. The less practice you get. You can't afford to f**k this up. Lay low. For me or for your mom?" she puts her hands together like a prayer.

"Got it, but I still can't make that promise," I nod.

"Okay. At least you're not a liar," she shrugs and gives my arm a smack. "Be careful,"

"You too," I call after her as she runs in the direction Carter went.

I walk over to the boy's dorm and go up the stairs until I reach the fourth floor. I tap on the door she told me to. The door is pulled open by Anthony Daniels. I hold up the red binder to show him why I'm here. He grabs my arm and pulls me into the room. This is his f*****g room? It looks like an apartment.

"Villanueva," Dante waves me over to the leather couches on the other side of the room. Rudy Whitmore and David are sitting with him. They're both just reading while Dante writes in what looks like a journal.

"Kels asked me to drop this off," I hold out the binder for him. He takes it from me without looking up. He opens it up and starts looking through it. I look around and decide that I don't want to be here anymore. "Can I go?"

"No, sit down," he says and points at the armchair in front of him. I open my mouth to protest but Anthony grabs me by my shoulders and makes me take a seat. He sits down next to Dante, who gives him the binder. "How are your hands?"

"Better," I lie.

"Liar," he rolls his eyes and shuts the journal he had been writing in.

"Leave her alone," David shakes his head. "Tell her what you want to say,"

"I'm kind of scared now," I admit. They all laugh. I feel like I'm in the middle of a wolf's den while wounded.

"You've been a real asset, Villanueva. You've paid your debt off tenfold," he says. I meet his eyes not fully understanding what he's saying. He sits back, giving me time to let it sink in. I look around the room to see them all looking at me.

"Okay, where does that leave us?" I ask.

"In the clear, I guess," he shrugs.

"I'm not following," I admit. He laughs.

"You're done, mensa," David shakes his head.

"I've been working for you for like two weeks,"

"Right. Everything we do is taken into account. You killed some people for us. You got me in with Clara. That's a lot of money coming through. I actually owe you a cut," he nods.

"I don't want your money. I just want my parents alive," I shrug. "What happens to my dad?"

"We'll watch over your parent's little store. Clara loves your mom and so do a whole lot of other people. Don't worry about that," he reassures me.

"Okay," I nod.

"I still owe you some money,"

"Keep it. I wouldn't even know what to do with it. If I can keep the threads Kels got me. We'll call it even,"

"You sure?" he looks me over.

"I'm sure," I stand up. "Can I go now?"

"Ashley, you can stay, you know?" he says nervously. "You can keep working with us. Kels loves you and she's not the kind of person who likes people."

"Do I have to not be friends with her now that we're not working together?"

"Is that what you want? To be friends with her? What do you get out of it?" he asks, skeptically.

"A friend," I laugh. "Is that a foreign concept for you guys?"

"Kinda," Anthony nods.

"Well, f**k. Yeah, that's all I want. I don't want s**t in return. I can take care of myself," I shrug. "We can all be friends. You guys can call me Ash or whatever,"

"Okay, well, you're free to go, slave girl," Dante dismisses me.

"Don't call me that. I thought we had a breakthrough over pizza," I shake my head.

"We did. Now get the f**k out," he picks up his journal. I laugh and go for the door. "Where's Kelly?"

"She's uh-" I look over at Anthony and instantly feel bad. "She said she'd catch up with me later. Didn't say where she was going."

"You're a shitty liar," Anthony smirks. "I appreciate that, Ash. She's with Carter."

"f**k," Dante sighs. "Go with her. Keep your f*****g hands to yourself,"

"Yes, sir," he gets up.

"You don't have to," I shake my head.

"I want to," he opens the door for me. "The last time someone distracted Kels you hurt your hands. That's not good for any of us,"

The two of us walk down in silence.

"We can hang out here. I'll go get my stuff in my room," I say.

He nods and goes into the common room. He starts looking over the books. I get my things and come back down. I really have nothing to do but I can't imagine the look on Kelly's face if she were to barge into my room to find us both alone in it. It gives me time to work on my music. When I get back, Anthony is sitting at a study table with a book in his hands.

"Sit down. I'm not going to bite you," he smirks. "Not unless you ask nicely,"

"Shut up," I laugh and sit across from him. He shuts his book and looks up at me.

"Where'd you learn to play piano?" he asks.

"Self-taught,"

"You're f*****g lying," he smirks. "Seriously?"

"Seriously,"

"What got you into it?"

"When I was a little girl we took a trip to the History Museum at the Halestorm Estate. There was this man there. He was playing Moonlight Sonata and I don't know. I couldn't look away. I knew that I had to learn how to play that thing or I was going to die,"

"Wow, I don't think I've ever loved something that much," he admits.

"I don't love it," I admit. "I f*****g hate it,"

"So, why do you play then?"

"I don't know. It's all I ever think about. I think about that man a lot. How he was sitting there in front of one the most beautiful grand pianos I've ever seen, dressed in his expensive clothes, and drinking what I used to think was apple juice," we both laugh. "He just seemed so sad and then he started to play and he came back to life.

"When I first learned how to play that song perfectly, I cried. I went home and I didn't say a word to anyone and didn't eat. I just crawled into my bed and cried. I didn't know what it was like to be alive until I heard it. Until I felt the vibration of the piano echo the same way I did that day. I knew that no matter what I did after that, there would be nothing more that I wanted but feel that,"

"That sounds like love," he smirks.

"It's an obsession. Love isn't as violent, I think. I mean it's not supposed to be,"

"Playing the piano is violent?" he laughs.

"Everything I do to make sure I play the piano is," I hold my hands up to show him the dark bruising.

"You're f*****g weird," he laughs. "No, I think love is supposed to hurt. I think love is the only thing that should hurt,"

"Is that why you let Kelly run off with Carter?"

"Kelly isn't the kind of girl you let do anything. She does whatever the f**k she wants and it's pretty clear that I'm not it," he shrugs. "I don't think I'm in love with her. I just f*****g hate Carter. I hate that he can give her what I can't, you know?"

"Like what?" I laugh.

"A future," he shrugs. "Something real,"

"Why not? I mean you've got everything he does. You're a lot prettier. Seriously, Anthony, you've got crazy demon eyes. Blonds are a lot more fun, anyway. You look like the knight in shining armor that scoops up the princess and never lets her go,"

"Thanks, Ash," he smiles. "If you keep hitting me with compliments like that, we're going to be very good friends."

"Are you good at literature?" I ask.

"I am. What are you struggling with, Shakespeare?"

"Yes, and the super emo dude. Edward or whatever,"

"Ugh," he takes my binder. "It's Edgar. If we're going to be friends we're going to have to get you cultured," he looks over my notes and goes over to the books. "Here are some books I think you'd appreciate. You got serious feminist vibes. Read these first before you dive into the dark stuff,"

"Wuthering Heights," I read the title of the first book he places in front of me out loud.

"That's right. Live by these, Villanueva. The teachers here are all wet over this s**t. It's romantic."

"Eww," I flip through the pages. He laughs.

"I know but some chicks are into this. Maybe they'll teach you how to pick up on rich bitches while you're here."

"That I am down for. All right. Let's do this," I flip back to the front page. He laughs and sets a couple of other books in front of me.

"If you ever have kids, make them read all this s**t religiously. Never let the darkness die, Ash. The last thing you want is a kid who doesn't understand the importance of art. The importance of drama. Life would be too boring without it,"

"I promise," I laugh. "Now be quiet and let me get cultured."

"Yes, ma'am," he salutes me. I decide here and now that I like Anthony Daniels. He's a cool dude.