[center][img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjYwLmQzMmYxZC5TRzkzSUZSdklFZGxkQ0JaYjNWeS4w/the-battle-continuez.regular.png[/img] [img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjYwLjdlNWQ2NC5RM0oxYzJnLC4w/vtks-rock-garage-band.regular.png[/img] [img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjYwLmQzMmYxZC5WRzhnVG05MGFXTmxJRmx2ZFEsLC4w/the-battle-continuez.regular.png[/img] [img]http://data.whicdn.com/images/181271435/large.gif[/img] [img]http://66.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luysso3w9a1qh4xsvo2_250.gif[/img] [color=8b6969][b]LOCATION[/b][/color] — The Woods [color=e32636][b]INTERACTIONS[/b][/color] — Each other [sub]([@lovely complex], [@Altered Tundra])[/sub] [color=#ffbf00][b]TIME[/b][/color] — Reckless Abandonment Time [hr][/center] What had happened shook Jackson. Even more to the point, he was getting glares. These eyes were from people who tried to help him up, to which Jackson flat out refuted their offer by shouting at them vulgarly. The other eyes that gazed upon his beaten, bloody mug were that of pity. They were eyes that felt sorry for him. They were eyes that wondered if maybe he was beat just a little too much by Rhett. But the other eyes - those that looked down upon him - laughed as they passed him. They had no doubt heard his mentions of Eve. They were the ones who laughed at him, like it was so hard to believe that Jackson Torvald Drake could have a chance with Evelyn Harding. But it was true. Jackson really had no shot with the likes of her. Sitting where he sat for almost ten minutes, Jackson now knew that to be true. After what happened with Eve, and now with Rhett, JB was not thinking of Eve in [i]that[/i] way. That meaning, he wasn’t thinking about her in a positive light. All thoughts and feelings he had for her now were drenched in metaphorical blood like his face was. Each time her name came up by people who passed him or when he would think about her face, Jackson couldn’t help but feel a burning fire in the pit of his stomach, wanting to pound the shit out of her perfect little face. And he knew that was frowned upon, but oh how he wanted to do it so badly. As Jackson felt that he had enough time sitting down, he got up. He struggled. He definitely had a few bruised ribs. That was a given. Rhett pounded his face in. The ribs were probably his least of his worries. His face had a good number of problems. One of his molar teeth was knocked out and a few got chipped. Added to that, Jackson also has some bad cuts on his face. His right eyebrow was cut open, his cheek was puffed up slightly, and his lip was cut slightly. Jackson tumbled over as he got up, so now he was back on the floor. This time, however, he was face-first. He grunted in annoyance. “[color=e32636]Hey, you![/color]” JAckson called out to the person in front of him. The guy looked a little taller than Jackson usually would be if he were vertical. He had dark hair. It was hard to tell if it was long or short from where Jackson was. He had lightish skin too, but that didn't really matter at the moement. What did matter was that he was there, and Jackson needed his help. “[color=2695e3]Who me?[/color]” “[color=e32636]Yes you.[/color]” Jackson said, confirming the man in front of him. “[color=2695e3]What do you want.[/color]” “[color=e32636]Be a lad, and help me up![/color]” Jackson requested. “[color=2695e3]Oh sure.[/color]” he said, holding out his hand. Jackson took it, and the male used his strength(of what he had left), and lifted himself up. “[color=e32636]Ah, thanks for that. Apparently getting your ass beat doesn’t leave much room for being able to get up by yourself.[/color]”.Added to that, even with other guy’s help, JAckson still found it rather difficult to get up. His body ached in all the wrong places, and everything was beyond sore. “[color=2695e3]I feel ya man. I’ve been in a few scrapes once or twice.[/color]” “[color=e32636]My man![/color]” Jackson held out his free hand in a balled fist. “[color=e32636]Bump it man.[/color]” The male did. “[color=e32636]So, what’s your name?[/color]” “[color=2695e3]The Parentals named me Wesley, but call me Wes. It’s a lot cooler.[/color]” “[color=e32636]Hells yeah![/color]” Jackson and Wes bumped fists. “[color=e32636]Okay, I should be good.[/color]” “[color=2695e3]You sure.[/color]” “[color=e32636]Mhm! Thanks for your help again.[/color]” “[color=2695e3]Sure thing bro. Catch ya later.[/color]” When Wesley took off in one direction, JAckson, very slowly, proceeded to walk. He might’ve been in a shitty situation with the injuries and overall public perception of him, but as long as he kept a slow, steady pace, he should be able to make it to the car within ten or fifteen minutes. Yeah, Jackson had enough of this party. Even if it would have been nice to things to end differently, it couldn’t have been avoided. Okay, that was a lie. Jackson was entirely at fault here. From letting Summer talk him into dancing to going off alone with her, Jackson should have drawn the line in the sand somewhere. Maybe it was when she fell on top of him when they were dancing. Or maybe it was when they went off together. Or maybe it was when she told him to kiss him. Yeah, one of those was definitely where he crossed the line somewhere. Yeah, it was a shitty mess, and Jackson wasn’t going to make it worse for himself by staying around people that he knew didn’t want him around. As he was about halfway there, Jackson caught glimpse of someone. Long,dark locks, a body that could kill, and she was heading off to the woods. He didn’t have to think about it. He knew exactly who that was. His fists balled up, and Jackson’s neutral mood was replaced with something more akin to seething anger. It was Eve, and she was heading out towards the woods that separated the beach from the entrance/exit(depends on how you look at it). A thought came to Jackson that maybe he should just leave her be. That maybe he dug his grave deep enough, but what kind of chance would he get to give her a piece of his mind like this one? She was alone, and he would be able to say what he wanted without any worry of anyone laughing or intervening. It was perfect. So in that moment, JAckson stalkerishly followed Eve. He made sure not to make so much noise as he pranced behind her. When he was confident that they both were alone, JB would confront her. “[color=e32636]Evelyn Harding![/color]” Jackson called out to her. “[color=e32636]I have a few things I want to say to you.[/color]” Was she never going to get peace? Eve got enough of this (and some) at events her and her bandmates got invited to. This is why she would rather be home writing songs at her piano drinking or even feeding Alyssa strawberries. These events were below her and for some reason, students, who meant absolutely nothing to her, felt like they had the right to talk to her. Taking a deep sigh in, she turned around to look at the culprit of the voice. They were in dark woods so she couldn’t make him out well, but she could tell that he was blonde. Crossing her arms, she watched him approach her. By now, Eve did find out what had transpired earlier, but as always, she did not know Jackson well enough to put his name to his face, “[color=8b6969]Yes?[/color]” Most girls would be afraid to be alone in the woods with a drunk man, perhaps Eve should be too, but she wasn’t. Why fear death when she was already killing herself with her deadly habit? “[color=8b6969]I have someone waiting for me, does this have to be discussed now?[/color]” [color=e32636][i]She was the cause of this, and she doesn’t even realize it? Does she have no soul? Or did she simply not care?[/i][/color] Jackson was betting on the latter. Women like her seemed to only care about how to pass their boredom. It didn’t matter who got hurt in the process. As long as they weren’t bored, they payed no mind to the suffering cause. “[color=e32636]I’m sure they can wait for a few minutes. You’re not going anywhere until I have said my peace, [i]Evelyn[/i].[/color]” he said angrily. Jackson didn’t care about what was going to happen to him after this. He was past the point of self-preservation. It might’ve been reckless to do this, but no time like the present, right? Besides, one way or another, Evelyn Harding was going to hear what he had to say, even if he had to force her to listen. “[color=8b6969]If you’re going to talk, talk.[/color]” Evelyn’s patience was already limited and this child had the audacity to tell her what she could and could not do. A selfish boy this one was, who thought he was more than a dime a dozen. Her hazel orbs never left his face, waiting for a response. All this time being wasted and for what? So he can say drunken words to someone he hardly knew and regret everything the next morning. Fine, she’ll play along. Jackson might’ve been a bit intoxicated, but those minutes of sitting down after his beatdown without a single drop of alcohol had, at the very least, gave his body enough time to adjust. So, he wasn’t as drunk as he was earlier in the night. Even with that being so, Jackson felt a little woozy still. Not enough to lose his balance, but surely enough to where he couldn’t stay standing without any support. Luckily for the blonde teen, there were several trees around him that he could use as an aid to keep his balance. As Jackson’s back was against the tree, his arms resting along the trunk, the feeling of the hard bark against his skin, he looked at Eve with a deep scowl. “[color=e32636]You..you’re the cause of all of this. Because of you and your [i]Unholy Trinity[/i], you turned Rhett into someone that he isn’t. Before you came along, before you had to dig your treacherous claws into him to fit whatever mold you [i]thought[/i] he would fit, he would have never reacted the way he did today.[/color]” Jackson sleft his support of the tree, and stumbled three steps to the right, head at the ground for a brief moment. His eyes returned to the object of his rage. “[color=e32636]Oh sure, he would have beat my ass regardless if you got to him or not. I screwed up, but what you did is far worse. You and the rest of your fucking trinity.[/color]” “[color=8b6969]Oh look who's taking out his insecurities on his [i]supposed[/i] crush. We’ve only known Rhett for a week and you already fear us stealing him away from you? Oh sweetie, that’s cute.[/color]” If the boy wanted the songstress’ attention, he just got it. Taking a step closer to him, her dark gaze scanning his face, her tone never changing (smooth, calm, silvery), Eve cooed, “[color=8b6969]For someone who was ‘head over heels’ for me, you sure move on fast. Rhett must've [i]loved[/i] seeing you kiss his baby sister. What a great friend you are.[/color]” “[color=e32636]Do not even pull that card with me. I spent the better part of the last year doing all that I could for you to even acknowledge me, and it was all for naught. At least with Summer, I didn’t have to go out of--[/color]” “[color=8b6969]Doesn’t that make you kind of pathetic? Spending all your time looking at me and then moving to a young, innocent girl, your best friend’s sister, mind you, who would probably fuck you if you let her. Do you hear yourself right now? Who in the right of mind would pursue someone who doesn’t give a flying fuck about them? AND THEN,[/color]” Eve’s tone shifted to mocking and treating him like a child, “[color=8b6969]The moment he gets his tiny little heart broken, he turns to the easiest piece of meat because let’s be honest, you don’t know what you want. Summer was just conveniently there to comfort you.[/color]” “[color=e32636]Who the hell are you to tell me what I do or don’t want?[/color]” “[color=8b6969]And you just told me not to leave. Stop playing the victim.[/color]” “[color=e32636]Trust me, if I was ever going to play the victim, it wouldn’t be to the likes of you.[/color]” The raven let out a rare chuckle. This boy was something else. If only she did notice him months ago just so she could have hurt him earlier. Looks like he’ll wake up in the morning with many regrets. She was sure of that and now that he was letting her in on all his… worries... This was just too easy. He might have just made the biggest mistake of his life. As far as she was concerned, he just lost a good hand. If anyone had the most influence over Rhett Aspen, the diamond in the rough, it was him, but look who's fucked up. Eve could already see it play out now. Dominique would attempt to obtain her throne back. Of course, Eve wouldn’t allow that. And try to befriend Rhett, who had friends in many places. She was the first Royal to point him out, after all. Yet, Jackson blamed her and her friends. How quaint. Alyssa wouldn’t care too much to have Rhett’s support but he would be a fun project for them - to see how far they could change him and make him a ‘better’ man. Were they truly his biggest concerns? No, not really. Jackson just lost a brother. Rhett was a 16 year old boy. There was only so much high school girls could do to him but the Elite? The ones that would make him feel part of a team, treat him better than a needy child, give him lifetime experiences, and help him optimize his full potential. Boys should worry about being replaced by other boys. “[color=8b6969]Hate me all you want, sweetheart. At least that means you’re still thinking about me.[/color]” Eve playfully (and mischievously) winked at him, feeling completely ecstatic. God he hated this woman. He felt so much anger towards her. He was livid And as much as he loathed her right now, he hated himself for knowing she was right. The fact that he feels this type of way about her meant that she was still going to be in his head no matter what. And a guy like Jackson Drake wasn’t the kind of guy to let these feelings go for a long while. Yet, despite those feelings of seething hatred, he may not be completely over the [i]crush[/i]. The thought of that made him sick to his stomach, and made Jackson want to bash in the tree next to him. But he couldn’t. And he couldn’t very well do anything to Eve. It’s not like it would have any effect on her. The way she’s been acting this entire conversation, she would get a rise out of it. Or something like it, anyway. “[color=e32636]You can believe what you want to believe.[/color]” Jackson was not about to give her any satisfaction - well, not more than she seemed to have plastered all over her face right now. “[color=e32636]I had said what I needed to say to you. We’re done. You can go do whatever it is you royals do.[/color]” Jackson said. Instead of even waiting for her response, Jackson turned around, and would proceed to walk away, albeit stumbling side-to-side, and using the trees to support his bumbling legs. “[color=8b6969]Oh? Maybe I’ll ‘do’ your friend. I mean, ex-friend. He’s kind of cute. Not like he’ll talk to you about us anyways. Bye-bye, [i]Jackson[/i].[/color]” With those final words, Eve felt satisfied with this surprising interaction and continued her way through the woods and to the parking lot, where Alyssa was waiting for her.