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[color=slategray][sub]A [@Silent Observer] & [@Smarty0114] Collab
Featuring: [color=997fdb][b]Ma[/b][/color][color=31ba9f][b]mie[/b][/color]
Setting: Thursday Morning Flashback Post[/sub][/color]
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[indent][indent]After the hellish explosion of emotions that was Wednesday, Marshall was determined to make Thursday an improvement. When you hit the bottom of a slump, the only way to go is up. Up, up, up! Once again avoiding his friends — if he could still consider any of them that given the recent revelation of lies and treachery — Marsh checked out of homeroom and was spending his time in the theater wing this morning. Gathering the lyrics and sheet music for his after school vocal lessons from his music locker, Marsh headed towards the practice rooms.

While passing by he nodded at a fellow thespian, a sophomore named Grace who seemed to be staring at him. She had a paper in her hand that, if he were to look closely, he would recognize as a copy of the school newspaper. [color=3c94a8][b]“Hey Marshall,”[/b][/color] Grace greeted and began to follow after him as he walked by and her best friend, a ditzy dirty blonde-haired girl named Anna, followed by her side. [color=3c94a8][b]“Not all of the Candies are so sour, right?”[/b][/color] Grace asked sheepishly, causing Marshall to pause beside the lockers.

[color=997fdb][b]“What?”[/b][/color] He asked in confusion.

[color=ab52a6][b]“Yeah, did you know?”[/b][/color] Anna chimed in with a nosey curiosity, hunting for a juicy bit of gossip.

[color=3c94a8][b]“Oh my god, Anna! You can’t just ask if he knew!”[/b][/color] Grace exclaimed following a shocked gasp. Panicked, she looked between her best friend and one of the talented upperclassmen that she idolized.

[color=997fdb][b]“Seriously, what are you guys talking about?”[/b][/color] Marshall inquired, though, if he really let himself think the situation through, he knew exactly what they were talking about. The real question was, how did [i]they[/i] know?

[color=3c94a8][b]“So… you didn’t know then.”[/b][/color] [color=ab52a6][b]“Oh, wow.”[/b][/color] The girls said in unison, followed by Grace handing Marshall her copy of the school paper. She winced slightly, [color=3c94a8][b]“I’m really sorry to be the bearer of bad news, please don’t shoot the messenger? We’ll just, uhm, leave you to reading that. See you later, Marshy!”[/b][/color] Grace said before both girls rushed off, Anna leaning in to whisper in Grace’s ear as they did so.

Thursday was supposed to be a good day. An improvement from the day before. Alas, here Marshall sat, alone in a practice room reading Jamie’s latest piece in the gossip column. He normally loved that column because a) it was Jamie and b) it was gossip, but today, today the words printed on that page burned him. He wasn’t done processing the turmoil his friend group was suddenly in, and now the whole school knew about it. This was too much, too fast.

He didn’t cry. There was no more time or energy left for tears. Instead, Marshall Radley was livid, and his anger would be directed at one specific person. One blond-haired, blue-eyed person, who was probably still holed up in the very same room where he had written this [i]trash[/i] the day before. Marshall stormed in through the door of the newspaper room where, lo and behold, Jamie Callaghan was sitting. Dramatic as always, Marsh threw the paper he held down on the desk where Jamie sat, [color=997fdb][b]“What the [i]fuck[/i] is this?”[/b][/color]

Jamie’s day, up until now, had been amazing. He’d always been well known around school, but today, he was practically walking the red carpet. Everyone wanted to know whether or not the story he’d printed was true. His answer? [color=31ba9f][i]“When was the last time I lied in an article?”[/i][/color] That normally shut them up, stunning them into silence. Today though, the sharks had smelled blood, and they wanted more. By the time he’d found solace in the newspaper room, he’d lost track of the girls who’d come up to him begging for more details, the hushed conversations he’d overheard about whether HOT was dead or not. So, when Marshall opened the door, Jamie had grinned, relieved to see a friendly face, one who wouldn’t bombard him with questions. 

Except his face wasn’t so friendly.

[color=31ba9f][b]“It’s my article?”[/b][/color] Jamie said in response to Marshall’s theatrics, his confusion clear in his tone. Why was Marshall so mad about this? He knew this was his job, right? Jamie had to put this stuff out there, not to mention, this story was hopefully going to snag a bunch of readers, enough to save the dying paper.

Marshall let out an exasperated breath, which hissed between his teeth as he rolled his eyes. Was Jamie being for real right now? The drama king folded his arms across his chest and hardened his gaze on the aspiring journalist in front of him. When Jamie still gave no response other than what [i]appeared[/i] to be genuine confusion, Marshall grew even more frustrated. Did he have any right to be angry about this? Probably not, but being mad seemed more productive than continuing to wallow in sadness. At least he felt like he was actually [i]doing[/i] something about this shitstorm now.

[color=997fdb][b]“Seriously?”[/b][/color] He asked in an accusatory tone, cocking up one eyebrow. [color=997fdb][b]“Yeah, it’s [i]your[/i] article, but did you actually process what you wrote before you put it out there? Did you even [i]think[/i] at [i]all[/i] about the impact.”[/b][/color] Marshall put a drawn out emphasis on nearly every other word as he spoke, pausing only long enough to give Jamie a chance to defend himself. Surely whatever that defense was, would be a treat.

[color=31ba9f][b]“Of course I did! I thought that it would save the newspaper, and knock Hailey, and Ophelia, off of the pedestals we all put them on!”[/b][/color] Jamie wasn’t totally sure when he’d started shouting, or when he’d stood up, but now he was standing and shouting, and he wasn’t backing down. Jamie was running on low sleep, but it didn’t help that one of the few people he thought he could trust was attacking him right now, rather than supporting him. [color=31ba9f][b]“Look, Marsh, I know that you’re friends with Ophelia, but that doesn’t make her untouchable! I get it, I’m a gossip columnist, and so my journalism isn’t real, but I still have ethics! Ophelia and Hailey did a bad thing, and they got what they deserved.”[/b][/color] 

[color=997fdb][b]“Wowww...”[/b][/color] Both of Marshall’s eyebrows shot up now that Jamie was, quite literally, fighting back. He shook his head, a laugh escaping his lips that could be mistaken for amusement, the look on his face portraying anger, and the light sheen in his eyes was the only thing in his appearance displaying how upset he was internally. Here was a boy that felt like he was losing everyone that mattered to him in school, and now he was probably going to lose Jamie because of this too. [color=997fdb][b]“I really don’t think you [i]did[/i] think about it, if [i]that[/i] is the reason you think I’m here. Jesus, Jamie, can you take a step out from under your journalist hat for just a minute? Please?”[/b][/color]

Overcome with frustration and emotion, Marshall ran his hands over his face and sighed into them. He turned away from Jamie and paced for a few moments to cool down. He had been yelling, Jamie had been yelling, they weren’t going to accomplish anything except for drawing unwanted attention doing that. Marshall calmly turned back to the blond, his face only mildly softer, [color=997fdb][b]“Okay, you’re a writer, and I’m an actor. Let’s do a little role reversal here, and maybe then you can see things from my perspective. To start, tell me, Jamie, who are your three closest friends? Don’t think too long, just the first three close friends that come to mind. And of those three, who is your [i]best[/i] friend?”[/b][/color]

Jamie gritted his teeth and exhaled slowly through his nose, trying his very best not to lose it again. After another deep breath, he said [color=31ba9f][b]“Selena. Selena’s probably my best friend,”[/b][/color] he said. He didn’t bother to continue and say that Selena was probably his only friend. Being the school’s gossip columnist didn’t really make Jamie prime friendship material.

Marshall blinked, waiting for the other two names. When Jamie didn't give them, the realization dawned on Marshall. Jamie probably didn't [i]have[/i] three close friends, he only ever hung out with Selena that Marshall knew of. That was… kind of sad, but it also wasn't the point of this exercise. Without letting this little speed bump ruin his plans to teach Jamie even an ounce of empathy, Marshall pressed on. 

[color=997fdb][b]“Okayyy…. Well, imagine that when you were a kid, you moved all the way across the country. You were at a brand new school, with no friends, and the first person you talked to was Selena. She showed you the ropes, introduced you to people, hung out with you. Over the years, she became your best friend, one of the most important people in your life… hell, probably one of the first people you officially came out to. You adore her, and she means the world to you. And then, she lies to you. For months. And it isn't just a little lie, it's a big one, one that caused your two other best friends, which are mutual friends of you and Selena, to break up. But of course, you didn't know that the break up was based on Selena's lie, so you were forced to choose sides between your best friend in the world and the girl who got cheated on, versus the guy who did the cheating. Naturally, you trust your best friend. Over time, though, the guilt starts to get to you, and you miss that guy friend and want to patch things up. But he's super strong and he kind of wants you dead, so it's [i]really[/i] scary to do that. And the night that you finally get the balls to apologize for being a bad friend and abandoning him, you find out that the whole reason your friendship has been ruined, is because Selena has been lying to you. Lying to [i]all[/i] of you.”[/b][/color]

Marshall took a breath and grew quiet for a moment before he continued. [color=997fdb][b]“Now imagine that the very next morning, before you've even had a chance to process why your social life is in ruins, nor the chance to talk to Selena about it… imagine that I wrote an article telling the whole school all about it. And imagine that I didn't even have the decency to tell you I was going to write about it. I didn't even check to make sure that you were okay. How would that make you feel?”[/b][/color] Marsh chewed at his lip and looked down to hide the growing sheen in his eyes. [color=997fdb][b]“Because I'm really, really not okay, Jamie… and you didn't even [i]think[/i] about that.”[/b][/color]

Jamie sighed. He got it now, or at least, he got it from Marshall’s perspective. Taking a deep breath, Jamie went on to do something he rarely ever did. Admit fault. [color=31ba9f][b]“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you before I printed it, but I needed to get this story out. If I’d waited, someone else would’ve found out and it would’ve been across the school in a couple hours, you know that.”[/b][/color]

Jamie’s words hung in the hair for a moment, before he stepped out from behind his desk and towards Marshall. [color=31ba9f][b]“I should’ve talked to you about it, and I’m sorry that I didn’t. But I’m not sorry that I wrote that article. I am sorry, though, that you have to deal with all this. You don’t deserve it.”[/b][/color]

[color=997fdb][b]“Yeah… I’m sorry you didn’t tell me too. You were the one thing I was letting myself look forward to, you know? … you weren’t supposed to make things [i]worse[/i].”[/b][/color] Marshall sat down in the nearest chair and propped his head up with his elbows against the table, looking both wounded and exhausted. [color=997fdb][b]“I can’t believe any of this. It’s fucking crazy… I…”[/b][/color] He sighed. [color=997fdb][b]“I don’t know what I’m going to do. Last night was the most miserable dinner I have ever h—”[/b][/color] As he recalled his eventful night at the Lyon’s, his eyes widened. [color=997fdb][b]“Oh, jesus, Jamie. You really fucked up, you [i]should[/i] be sorry you wrote this. He’s going to kill you for real this time. He literally saved your ass the other day, and you repaid him by airing out his dirty laundry to the whole school.”[/b][/color]

This conversation had been venturing back towards safety, towards a reality where this fight was something stupid, and then Marshall brought up Owen. Jamie rolled his eyes, and scoffed. [color=31ba9f][b]“I don’t owe Owen anything, and I don’t see why you do either. He attacked you at Damian’s party! Full on, almost killed you! I’m not scared of him, and nobody else should be,”[/b][/color] Jamie exclaimed, pacing around. [color=31ba9f][b]“We let these guys do whatever the hell they want! They beat people up, they play God with our love lives, they treat all of us like pawns in [i]their[/i] game! Then, they go home, and nothing happens. Because their parents worship the ground they walk on, and nothing changes. Hailey Green will grow up to be just as bitchy and closed off as she is now, and Owen will be the same psychopath in twenty years! So what, he comes and kicks my teeth in? At least I’ll hold him accountable.”[/b][/color]

Marshall rolled his eyes and shook his head at Jamie's spiel. [color=997fdb][b]“It’s not [I]their[/I] game, it's Hailey's. Always has been. And if you think you are a pawn, it's because you let yourself be one. You think she didn't account for our school's journalistic response? You, the Weekend Warrior? You guys are giving her what she wants, even if you think you aren't.”[/b][/color] He sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. [color=997fdb][b]“And you're dead wrong about not owing Owen something, those goons would have wrecked you if not for him… and he reacted the way he did at the party the same way an animal reacts when you back it into a corner. He's just a high school kid who got his heart broken and lost his best friend because the same person you claim to be so against fucked everyone over. Now you put him in the public eye again, he didn't ask for that, and he doesn't deserve it. It's not a matter of me feeling like I owe him something, I'm here because he's my friend and I care about him. Maybe that's something you'd understand if you could actually list more than one friend when I asked for three.”[/b][/color] Marshall's own words knocked the wind out of him briefly. He wasn't used to being so blatantly mean, he wasn't even sure [I]why[/I] he said that, but he wasn't going to take it back now. [color=997fdb][b]“I’m going to figure out how to fix this mess. Try to keep your teeth.”[/b][/color] He said before turning on his heel to leave Jamie alone with his thoughts in the newspaper room.[/indent][/indent]