Fantasy Two Halves of a Whole

[mon]

While Acacia did not put Wesley's threat past her, she did not let it bother her much as she went about her day. She studied and listened like she ought to, hung out with Tyler's friends, told the coach in advance during lunch break that she couldn't make it for practice, and all that stuff. As the day neared to an end, Acacia was mentally twitching for a breather. A smoke break, anything which could numb the coming shit storm waiting for her after school.

Out of respect for Tyler's body, Acacia resisted against the urge but became highly agitated when Wesley and his two jock friends came as promised, leading her to a section of the school where most people would overlook. It was the back of the football field, in a corner where the red brick walls disguised most of the activities there.

And while it was plainly a horrible idea to follow (like a lamb to a slaughterhouse), Acacia had done so regardless, carrying herself with that same arrogant confidence that was almost off-putting. Twice, they were stopped by teachers who were concerned to see their golden boy hanging out with the jocks, but they were excused with the lie that they were merely going to "hang out". Unlike their concern when Tyler hung around Acacia, the teachers were less worried to see the boy hang around athletic boys his age.

Acacia sighed when they were finally alone, shifting her weight onto her good foot.

"What do you guys want?" she asked plainly, if not bored of their stereotypical, cliche act.

(Do u want to play Wesley or one of his jocks?)

 

[PlotBrownie]

Wesley didn't waste any time in grabbing Acacia by the shirt at her shoulders and raising her up only to push her against the wall harshly. The other two stood at his sides in case she fought back. "We're here to teach you a little lesson on who to pick fights with." He said before releasing one shoulder, fisting his hand, and punching Acacia in the gut as strong as he could.

His fists did all the talking after that. He hit her once more in the gut and aimed one at the jaw. Her head hit the wall behind her from the blow.
_______________

He couldn't find her anywhere. He knew they must be on the school grounds somewhere and he also knew that even if he did find her he'd have no way to save her.

Pulling his hood up to hide his face and zipping his hoodie till it reached his neck, Tyler made sure he wasn't recognizable to the school cameras before heading to one side of the main building where a fire alarm was. He didn't hesitate to pull it down and the school bells started ringing in the pattern that warned of an emergency.

Even if the school was empty the cops and firemen would still come and he just hoped the alarm would scare off Wesley.

 

[mon]

Acacia scowled and heaved forward when the first punch landed. Though she knew self-defense, it was difficult to fight back when she had to balance on a broken leg. The second punch had her heaving but she was never one to simply take a beating, despite the ringing pain in her ears as her head bounced off the wall. Leaning her body forward, she slammed her forehead into Wesley's face and wasted no time throwing fists back as well.

Unlike Wesley, Acacia did not aim for the gut or the face, but she slammed her fist hard into his jugular. A stannic taste seeped onto her tongues. Something sticky red was spat out at the jock beside Wesley, who hadn't expected "Tyler" to fight back. They acted when Wesley was thrown off balance, stumbling a few steps back as he fell into a coughing fit.

Acacia had stabbed one jock hard in the gut with her crutches and with the other, she had grabbed his fist and thrown him over, on top of Wesley. It was a lot easier to flip someone as a guy, she realized, but the pain in her broken leg told her otherwise. With the three of them down, Acacia could've used this chance to run away, but she was too enraged for retreat to be considered an option. The adrenaline had her blocking out the pain.

Pushing the fallen jock off Wesley and punching the other one in the nose, Acacia straddled Wesley and cracked her knuckles. "How about I teach you a lesson instead?" she asked, slamming her fist into the center of his face. Wesley had broken Tyler's leg. It would only be fair to return a favor so Acacia stroke with a vengeance with every intent to shatter the appendage on Wesley's face.

The alarm bell rang just as her fist made contact.

 

[PlotBrownie]

By the time one of the jocks got up and tackled Acacia to the ground Wesley's nose was already a lost cause. Blood was everywhere and on everyone by then, and no one could be really sure whose blood it was.

The other one was also on his feet and they'd managed to pin Acacia to the ground but otherwise didn't touch her. Clearly they'd gotten commanded to defend and not attack.

Wesley was on his feet again, one hand cradling his bloody nose, and with the first step taken in Acacia's direction the sound of police sirens getting too close to be outside the school attracted everyone's attention.

The two jocks turned to Wesley.

"Come on. That piece of shit isn't worth it." He told them. They both got up and followed him. Acacia had no hope of chasing after them with Tyler's leg.
__________________

He found her laying in a fetus position under the bleachers and cursed. When he saw the blood and immediately started panicking.

"Oh God. Oh God. Oh God." He kept repeating as he knelt on the ground and cradled her face in his hands. "What did he do? What hurts?" He asked, his hands already roaming her face and noticing the forming bruises. Nothing seems to be broken. Good. And she was awake and responding which hopefully meant only a couple bruises and maybe a cut caused the blood.

"Can you stand up? We need to get some ice on that." He said as he looked at her jaw, getting up and taking hold of her arms. It was hard pushing her up considering her body was tiny and he was heavier but without the crutches she wouldn't be able to get up on her own.

Seeing her all beat up made his stomach churn. Sure it was his body but she was the one who felt the pain and he will gladly beat himself up about not being there to defend her, but he needed to get her home and patch her up first.

 

[mon]

Despite her heavy losses and the hammering pain pounding throughout her body, the corners of her lips still pulled into a cocky smirk when Wesley had left with the jocks. With them gone, she found no reason to get up and laid with her back on the grass, groaning as the adrenaline of their fight faded. Touching her face gingerly, her smile turned to a frown as she recalled her responsibility to the body she was residing in. Poor Tyler was going to have a field day tomorrow.

Hopefully, he wouldn't find out til tomorrow, but that wishful thinking shattered when she felt small hands grabbing his face, lifting it up to meet her own worried expression.

Fuck. So much for keeping things hiddened.

"I'm fine," Acacia replied, hissing through gritted teeth as she sat up. The pain in her gut had her curling while she reached for the crutches.

And then she remembered something which had her looking up at Tyler in alarm. "Oh fuck, your parents are coming back tomorrow right?"

 

[PlotBrownie]

"We'll figure something out. Let's get you home first." Tyler brushed her off, more concerned about Acacia than this parents or maybe he didn't want to worry about them now.

He took both their backpacks then tucked himself under an arm, wrapping the other around his body's waist gently. With her height he made the perfect crutch.

"What happened?" He asked her again, since the first time she hadn't answered. Tyler wasn't sure if it was because she was avoiding answering the question or if she was too tired to speak. He wondered if she'd even be up to walking all the way to the car.

He didn't find out, as the moment they reached the parking lot two cops stopped them. They were asked what they were doing on school property after school hours and why was Acacia (Tyler) so beat up, and if they had any clue why the alarm was set off.

Tyler did most of the talking, thankful that he had tucked the hoodie in his backpack so they had no way of identifying him and getting Acacia in trouble. The second question, however, he'd turned to Acacia for.

 

[mon]

Acacia nodded and was grateful for the moment of understanding silence shared. With her lip split, it hurt to talk almost as much as it did to stand up straight. Tyler had been hit in the stomach nights ago during the fight and the addition of two more punches just worsen the already sore bruise there. His jaw was no different. Acacia could be grateful that nothing there broke.

She wasn't sure how to answer his question on what happened and frankly, she supposed it was her fault for going along with Wesley's whims instead of simply avoiding him. She had always been prideful and confrontational. Knowing the jock, he would've continuously harassed Tyler if she didn't make a stand anyways. In her mind, she believed she had done the right thing by making things easier for the boy but that lead to Tyler getting awfully beat up---which was something she had tried and failed to avoid.

Guilt held her tongue and fortunately, Acacia was spared from her explanation when the police came. "Teenage misunderstanding. You know," Acacia replied with a slight shrug. Dragging the police into their mess was the last thing she wanted, given her aversion to authority.

The police didn't see the need to pry but warned the two teens of what to do in the case of bullying. Then, they scuttled off, leaving the two to themselves.

With Tyler helping Acacia over to the car, she thought curiously in silence for a moment before turning to ask in a quiet voice, "The school alarm that was set off.. wasn't a false alarm, was it?"

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Depends on your definition of an emergency." Tyler replied as he drove off, heading to her dorm since they already had plans to go there and it was closer anyways. As he drove he kept glancing at her in worry, caring more about the pain she was in now than the pain he'll be in tomorrow. He briefly thought of his parents but quickly pushed the thoughts away, not needing a distraction.

Parking as close to the building as possible, he once again took their things and helped Acacia out of the car and they slowly made their way to her dorm.

"You have a first aid kit somewhere here,right?" He asked as he led her to the couch and had her lay down. "It's probably in the kitchen. I'll go look." He needed to grab ice packs from there anyway.

 

[mon]

Acacia looked at Tyler skeptically but wisely chose not to pursue the topic. She could more or less guess his implications, though she wasn't quite sure how to feel knowing that she had indirectly caused her good, no-rule-breaking boyfriend to commit a minor crime. At the very least, she thought, it was done in her body and not his own.

The babe was more than grateful to return to the comforts of her home, falling slack on the couch as she nursed her wounds with another silent groan.

"It's in one of the cupboards," she told him in answer, hoping Tyler's face won't swell so much so that it'll be noticeable tomorrow. His parents will have a field day otherwise.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Got it!" Tyler called out from the kitchen after a couple seconds. He returned with the first aid kit tucked under one arm and holding two frozen peas packages.

He put his findings on the coffee table then sat down on it as well, careful not to lean with all his weight so it wouldn't fall over.

"Okay, time to play doctor again. Why do I feel this is going to be a reoccurring theme?" Tyler asked with a humored smile, attempting to make light of the situation as he took out a lip salve and squirted some on his finger then leaned forward to gently apply it to his own lip. With his other hand he placed the frozen package against the reddest area on the jaw.

 

[mon]

Acacia grinned grimly at his comment but winced as it only worsened the slit on his lip.

"Gee, I hope not," she replied, taking the ice pack from him to hold against her jaw. It stung upon touch but as the chill numbed the surrounding area, Acacia found herself relaxing further into her couch.

A moment of thoughtful silence fell upon them as Tyler treated her wounds and in this silence, Acacia worked up the courage to confess ever so quietly her apologies. A mumbled 'i'm sorry' tumbled from her lips but she did not meet his eye to elaborate on why. He could more or less figure what she was talking about.

 

[PlotBrownie]

The dorm was very quiet between the two of them, so it wasn't very hard catching what she said. He looked up from attending a tiny cut on her knuckles, probably from punching someone, and gave her a little smile. Somehow he knew what she was apologizing about without her needing to tell him.

"I'm sorry too." He replied just as quietly. While she should've been more responsible, he was the one who got her in this mess in the first place. Tyler gave her hand a gentle squeeze before setting it down on the couch and moving the other ice pack to her torso, with the t shirt acting as a buffer so it wouldn't be too cold.

"Hungry? I could make us something to eat." He suggested. It seemed like Tyler was feeding Acacia almost all the time they spent together. "Or how about some popcorn and a movie?" They probably had homework they had to do but that could be done with in half an hour.

 

[mon]

"Ugh," Acacia groaned, shaking her head. The last thing she wanted was to move around more even if it were to eat. Laying down on the couch, with one hand supporting the ice pack on her cheek and the other arm covering her eyes, she shifted in discomfort as the second ice pack began dampen her T-shirt due to its condensation.

"Nah, I'll pass. I just need some time to rest," she told him, wanting time to herself to recuperate. As tempting at food and a good movie was, Acacia needed some time to her own thoughts.

Then came that thought again. A nagging, guilt-stricken thought which had Acacia regretting her rash decision. "What are we going to do about your parents tomorrow?"

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler was quiet for a long time as he thought of a way to get out of the mess Acacia accidentally put them in. At least Wesley will be off his case now so that makes any negatives a little more bearable.

"We face the music. I don't think anything is going to work with them but they can only stay pissed at me for so long." He mused aloud, moving to sit down on the ground with his back against the couch and his knees pulled up to his chest. "Though they will probably ground me, meaning they'll ground you, so that ruins our 'avoid parents' plans." He pointed out, reaching up to scratch his head as he tried to come up with a better idea.

The boy was rarely in trouble, so this was new territory to him, and the most he had to hide before was a bruise from falling off something his parents told him not to climb as a kid and that only had to last a few days. This was too big to hide using his old tactics. He kind of wished he was more rebellious as a kid. Maybe then he would've learned a thing or two.

 

[mon]

Acacia frowned at his reply but it was a given. Drastic actions caused unavoidable consequences. For someone who got into much trouble, Acacia knew this better than anyone.

"How long would they ground you for?" she asked, wrinkling her nose at the idea of being grounded. Her family had given up trying to discipline her. Grounding her was futile given how she'd use any means to escape.

"Do you think make up could hide a bit of this? I can lend you some or we can drop by the mall real quick to buy something to hide your bruises. There's not much I can do with the swelling and split lip though..." Acacia sighed.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler shrugged in answer to her question. He never got in that much trouble so he couldn't tell how his parents would react and he didn't want to give the girl a false number. However many number of days they will be they'll still be reduced to half between the two of them.

"If you think that could work then maybe we could give it a shot. Though in their eyes I still got in a fight so I don't think it'll make a huge difference how hurt I got. The punishment will still be the same." He pointed out, twisting his neck slightly to look at her. "We won't lose anything if we try. To spare them if nothing else." He added.

 

[mon]

"Wait, I thought you told your parents you injured your leg at volleyball practice?" Acacia said, getting up so that she could sit up on the couch. A hand held her numb stomach and she furrowed her brows, confused as to what their story were. "You didn't actually tell them the truth did you?"

 

[PlotBrownie]

Tyler winced when she got up as if he'd felt the pain the movement caused, which was sort of true as he'd feel it tomorrow.

"I did tell them that. I don't know about you but I'd never heard of a fall busting someone's lip." He told her before falling quiet again as he thought of how he would look without the bruises and if the swelling and busted lip would make it too obvious that he was lying about a second 'fall'. "It could work. I don't know if they'd buy it or not but it could work. Let's see how much the make up can cover." He suggested, then turned to her again. He noticed how uncomfortable she looked, holding the ice pack against her torso with one hand and her face, his face, looking like an absolute mess of reds and purples.

"We'll do that in a bit. Just stay still for now and try to take a nap or something. I'm going to get started on homework." He said as he pushed himself of the ground and got up, stretching his legs for a moment before going over to get her backpack.

 

[mon]

"Most of the bruises can be hidden by your clothes. As long as neither of us walk around shirtless, it should be fine?" Acacia said, not addressing the ones on his face. Make up could help hide most of it but if his parents were to inspect closely, they may just catch on sooner than they'd like. Reaching for her crutch, Acacia got up to test and see if she could hide the bruises after all. Getting up was a pain, but she felt responsible to help.

While Tyler worked on homework, Acacia waddled over to the bathroom sink where she tried to dabble concealer on to hide the discoloration. The ice pack had did wonders on the swelling. After a few minutes in there, she slunk back out with a small frown. It seemed they'd need a color corrector alongside the concealer. Wesley had did a number and Acacia swore in her heart to get back at him personally in her own body.

"What do you think?" she asked Tyler, pointing at her face. The concealer helped to some extent but the shadow of a bruise could still be seen if one were to look closely.

 

[PlotBrownie]

Once she returned Tyler put his notebooks aside on the couch and got up. He walked up to her and stood so close that if he had taken another step they'd be chest to chest. He had to tilt his head upwards due to the height difference as well.

After a few moments of silence where he carefully inspected her, a frown of concentration taking over his features, Tyler took a step back once he had his verdict. "I can still kinda tell. Maybe we'll need something more heavy duty. But this could work." He told her, nodding i
his approval, "The lip won't be that obvious." He added.

 

[mon]

Acacia smiled wryly at him. At least with this they had some chance of escaping more trouble, granted she was still going to be punished but at least his parents wouldn't be too upset (hopefully?). Letting out a sigh of relief, Acacia suggested, "I'd get you some color correctors tomorrow. You can use my concealer for now."

"Are you staying over tonight again?" she asked, wondering how they're going to get Tyler home.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Yeah. I have a feeling it's going to be our last night in a long time so might as well spend it together." Tyler answered with a little shrug. They weren't going to do anything since it'll be two weird while in eachother's bodies but they could always cuddle. "I'm gonna go make myself some tea and get back to my, actually your, homework. Want some coffee? Iced because that lip won't handle any heat." He asked, glancing down at the busted but less swelled lips before turning to walk over to the kitchen backwards while still facing her, waiting for an answer.

 

[mon]

Acacia groaned, remembering she had homework to do. "You should be doing your own. You don't have to bother with mine," the ravenhead pointed out, hardly ever bothering with worksheets and the assignments given to her.

At the offer of coffee, she bobbed her head and noted that she probably wasn't going to sleep tonight if she wanted to complete Tyler's homework. "Ugh," she couldn't help but think. When was the last time she actually properly complete her homework?

"Yes, please," Acacia smiled as she fished out the notebooks and worksheets in Tyler's bag. It was a good thing she was pretty good at the subjects he was taking. Most of them related to the lessons she took at Skylar's.

 

[PlotBrownie]

"Well I have this ongoing theory that if I do your homework I'll guilt you into doing mine and that way we both have finished homework. You proved me right." Tyler said with a grin as he disappeared into the kitchen. He came out a couple minutes later with a steaming mug and a chilled glass, setting both down on the coffee table before moving to sit on the couch sideways with his legs crossed under him. He pulled a notebook into his lap and picked up a pen then looked at Acacia expectantly, seeing if she had started or not.

 

[mon]

Her eyes narrowed at him and she scowled at being played, before smacking his arm in light rebuke, "The teachers would notice! Our handwriting is hardly the same." Acacia made a point, picking up that small detail. That, and she was really too lazy to properly do the school's homework when she had a ton of work from Skylar already.

Pouting, Acacia sat down alongside Tyler and began going through his homework. For subjects like math and calculus, it was easier to mimic Tyler's handwriting, but for subjects that required writing, Acacia merely wrote in her own style, hoping the teachers won't notice or find it odd. "Worse case scenario, they're going to think I'm blackmailing you to do my homework for me," she smirked dryly, propping her hand beneath her chin.