Secrets Always Find a Way of Coming Out :: Katie

Craig Manning should really be more careful.

Willow had never been humiliated in her life. She nearly ran into Bethany Manning and Matt Del Rossi, because Craig had told her that there was nobody in the room. She had run into the man and the two were definitely ready to have some fun. As he opened the door, though, she saw the heads jerk up and she quickly got out of there. She was nervous all weekend, but after yesterday, it was obvious that neither had actually seen her. It was a close call, too close for her comfort. And now that she was out of the woods, it was time to make someone else feel the way she had all weekend.

She had headed to the washroom with Rachel, since they were doing the two of a kind day together, and as soon as she saw Marissa, she pretended as if she hadn't. "--and he was bragging about it! What kind of guy cheats on his girlfriend with her sister and then brags about it?" she scoffed, turning to the mirror.

Rachel, who up until then had experienced silence, had no clue what she was even talking about, but went along with it. "I don't know" she said, shaking her head sadly.

"Only Matt Del Rossi. He has gone way downhill this year, you know? I heard that he threw fireworks in Jack Basely's house. Talk about a creep." And, mission accomplished. Willow knew that Marissa heard; she had to have. Now, Matt would be feeling the nervousness that Willow had felt. She was pretty proud of herself for a job well done.

Rachel looked at Willow god, you better not be lying. But, she knew she most likely wasn't. Willow was underhanded and sneaky and evil, but she didn't lie. In fact, she usually double checked her facts. Looking back at Marissa, she sighed. "I'm sorry, Marissa." She felt like the two shared a bond, because of Scott. She had sought to protect Scott and Marissa both, since Scott got into that coma. She didn't want to see her get hurt.

Willow turned around, as if she hadn't known she was there. "Aww. Well, at least you don't have to worry anymore. You got rid of him, and thank goodness. He is really starting to be bad news. But hey, I hear that Mike has the hots for you. And I know I've seen Kristofer eyeing you. You have your pick of the crop, Rissa. Don't worry about psychopaths like Matt" She sounded comforting, though she knew she was just rubbing it in. The worse she made Marissa feel, the better she felt. And she was aiming to feel one hundred percent better.

Willow scoffed. "I'm not anybody's keeper. It's not my responsibility to know where people are." It wasn't that Willow didn't know. She probably did, if she thought about it. But, Willow wasn't just anyone who could be stopped and asked for directions. She was the queen. And she wasn't in the business of giving out information. Anyone with half a brain could have told Marissa this. Had she addressed Rachel, it would not have been an issue. Rachel held a much lower rank than she did.

Apparently, Rachel was going to answer the question, anyway. Clearing her throat, she said "I, uhm. I saw him on the front steps." Her voice was filled with sympathy. Poor girl! What was it with the cheerleaders being cheated on this week? First Augusta, now Marissa. Too bad Marissa hadn't heard about this yesterday, he could have been included in that cheer. Rachel couldn't help but be amused by the cheer. She might have envied Augusta, but she had to admit that cheer was pretty good. It embarrassed Ali, too, and he deserved to be. She halfway hoped Marissa did something equally, if not more embarrassing to Matt. "Hey, Marissa. See you after school?" she wanted to. She missed hanging out, even if just under the pretense of being nice because Willow says to be.

Matt stared at the ground, listening to what he had to say. His jaw was clenched, he wanted to punch the boy. But that would have been stupid. Not when Jack was informing him that he planned to go visit his sister. Why couldn't he just stop? Matt knew why. Because he was a murderer who belonged behind bars. And Matt had stirred up some attention by throwing damned fireworks into his house. God, Matt had been so naive to think that he could really do anything. Gullible and naive. Worse than Natasha. And now, he had stupid juvenile court breathing down his neck. And to make matters worse, Jack had gone psycho at the dance. He had killed Marissa's mother.

"I heard you yesterday," he growled at Jack, and just like that, he was gone. Matt sighed and pulled out a cigarette, only to hear a throat being cleared and stood up. "What?! You gonna tell me to watch out for a--" he turned, only to see Marissa. He stopped. He hadn't meant to yell at her. Honestly, the two hadn't really spoken since they broke up. And Matt liked the distance, because it kept her safe. He blinked, gazing at her before he shook his head. "You shouldn't be here." I'm liable to get you killed.

Matt looked down. So, she had heard. Of course. Everyone probably knew by now. Matt Del Rossi, criminal. But, what made her think that it was to hurt her? Matt wasn't trying to hurt anybody. Ok, so that wasn't true. He was out to hurt--to kill Jack. Obviously, that didn't work. "Marissa." He sighed. She didn't get it. He didn't expect her to. He didn't expect anyone to. Who did the kinds of things he did that year? Nobody. Nobody sane, anyways. He sighed and looked at her.

"You don't get it. I wasn't out to hurt you. I thought--Hell, I don't even know. It was stupid. And believe me, I learned my lesson. I went through hell and back after I got caught. And I would really like to stop being reminded of it every ten seconds. If you only knew why, you would have done the same thing. I swear it. But that's all I can really tell you."And it was true. If only he could tell her everything. Why he went and got those fireworks out, why he set them off, why he told the police what he did. He wished he could open up. But he couldn't. Because the second he did, he'd end up with blood on her hands.

"I thought I did," he muttered. but she continued. And, slowly, he looked at her confused. "So this isn't about--" but, again, she kept going. Matt slowly realized, this wasn't about what he had done to Jack at all. This was about her sister. Matt went silent,waiting for her to finish. Of course he regretted it. Of course he loved her. And he was ready to tell her that, too. That is, until she mentioned toying with her emotions. It was then that he felt his temper flee. Clenching his fist, he shook his head and kicked the door.

"You got us mixed up, Marissa. Toying with people's emotions--using them to get at exes, that's your game, not mine. Right up there with sleeping with cousins. But you know what? I forgave you for that. But don't you dare act like you're any better than me. You're not." His conscious was screaming at him. But, he was so tired of being a puppet. Of being pushed around. He felt ready to scream. He needed to walk away, before he did anything too stupid. So, without warning, he jumped down to the grass and started to walk.

He stopped in his tracks, when she blocked his path. "Riss." he shook his head. The question was pounding in his head. Why? He didn't even know anymore. "I--" what could he say? He wanted her to feel the pain he felt? He couldn't say that to her face. He looked in her eyes. Those soft, doe-eyes. They always made him melt. And before he knew it, he had put his hands on her. He had grabbed her shoulders. Before he knew it, he had pulled her closer to him. Before he knew it, he had kissed her.

He would always long for her kiss. If he got over anything else, he would never forget what her kiss felt like. He would never want anything more. When the kiss was broken, he pressed his forehead against hers. "I don't know. It's not good enough, I know. But it's the truth. I don't know. But, hell, Marissa--"and there went the kiss again. He put a hand in her hair, getting lost in the moment. He would never want anything else