T H E - R U L E S - O F - L O V E - A N D - W A R

a - s t o r y - b y - m a d f o r f i g s - ( 2 0 1 0 - 8 - 2 7 )

I love my boyfriend, there is no denying it. But then HE steps into the picture and beats the daylights out of my boyfriend and then war ensues. What's a tired-of-the-drama girlfriend supposed to do? Go on a date with HIM, of course.

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Rule #1 - Never Interfere

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"FIGHT!" Someone from down the hall screamed, as the sound of a body being thrown against the lockers rang out. I grimaced as shouting ensued and desperate cries to appease the opponents filled the air. I shook my head, praying that it wasn't who I thought it was beating the crap out of each other.

But who was I kidding? For quite some time, Luke Hillman and Wade Reynolds have been on each other's cases. No one knew when it first started, not even me, despite the fact that Luke was my boyfriend. Yes, we have been together for three years, and he has been attempting to kill Wade for two years. Yet, Luke still to this day refuses to tell me anything.

My best friend, Tanya Greenberg, sighed from next to me. I knew she was thinking the same exact thing I was. "How much do you want to bet it's the macho men at it?" she groaned, rubbing her temples as we approached the scene. I merely shook my head, not even in the mood to put up with Tanya's attempt at lightening up the situation.

She knew how much I hated fights. She knew how much I hated when Luke and Wade were at each other for some godforsaken reason. She knew how much I loved Luke, willing him to stop the violence each and every day. But she also saw how he brushed me off, saying that Wade deserved every punch and jab thrown at him. She saw how quickly he was capable of turning violent, to the point where she feared that one day he'd lay a hand on me.

If I hadn't known Luke for so long, I probably would have broken up with him after the fifth fight. The problem was that I knew he had a loving side – the side of him that initially caught my attention when we were freshman in high school. But now, that side of him was virtually gone. It was replaced with this evil doppelganger, set on destroying Wade Reynolds, even if it was the last thing he ever did. But I couldn't find it in my heart to end things with Luke. All I could remember was the sweet fifteen year old boy who had asked me out to Friendly's for our very first date and had his mother drive us around.

Too bad that Luke Hillman was more than gone.

I pushed my way into the middle of the growing mob, only to see Wade Reynolds punching the shit out of my boyfriend. Luke was lying there, helpless, as he took each blow to the face without complaint. Without thinking, I shoved my bag into Tanya's arms and stomped over to the pair. I grabbed Wade's arm, just as he was about to deliver another blow that could've easily knocked out Luke.

Wade looked up in shock, but intensified his glare when he saw it was me. "Well, if it isn't Luke's little girl out to save him." He sneered, pushing himself off of Luke's body. I glanced over at him, but he wasn't really moving as his friends rushed around to help him up. I wasn't paying much attention to the guy in front of me, until I realized I was backed up against the lockers with nowhere to go. "Why are you with that punk-ass shitbag anyway?" he laughed, putting his hand up against my neck.

I tried to turn away from him, but he wouldn't take any of it. Instead he pulled me closer, bringing my face only millimeters away from his. "Don't touch me." I hissed, using my hand to push away from him. Instead of faltering, he merely held on tighter, much to my dismay.

"Stay out of our fucking business." He spat menacingly. I cringed slightly, not wanting to get any closer to him. No, it wasn't because he was an unattractive person. In fact, he was quite the opposite. Though I've never told anyone, Wade was, hands down, far more attractive than Luke in every way. It was a known fact, even to all the girls in our circle of friends. Of course, no one dared to say anything, in fear of being ousted. Wade was taller, much buffer (hence Luke being pummeled to the ground), and just an overall much hotter guy.

Asides from that, he had nothing. He was simply a bully, a guy who picked on everyone, no matter their size. Rumor has it that he does Brazilian Jujitsu and mixed martial arts, in hopes of being a part of the UFC before he hits the age of twenty. To be honest, I would not be surprised by those rumors if they were in fact true.

Without another word, Wade released me, pushing me back gently, glaring at me as he backed away from me. "Tell your boyfriend to back the fuck away from me. Maybe then, he'll be able to save some pride and dignity before I put him into ICU next time." He laughed, purposely bumping shoulders with Luke as Wade walked past him. Luke stumbled slightly, but said nothing as Wade joined his friends at the back of the circle, high-fiving and slapping his back as if he had just thrown the final touchdown in overtime to win the Super Bowl.

Fuck him and his friends. All of them were worthless.

"There's nothing left to see, people." Luke's best friend, Sal Cambroni, snapped as people began dispersing, talking quietly amongst themselves as they recounted another epic fight between the infamous duo. "Get outta here. It's none of your business." He approached me as I stared after Wade. "Lana, are you the only one getting sick of this?" he said in a hushed voice, glancing between Wade and Luke.

I shook my head, turning my eyes towards Luke. He had a bloody lip and a fading black eye, courtesy of the fight Luke had started only two days ago. Based on the swelling of his other eye, another bruise was about to pop up. It was a wonder his parents didn't care about the so-called mysterious injuries appearing on him every other day. It frankly shocked me that they could not care less about his well being and the constant phone calls they received about his behavior.

But that's what happens when you have parents who are more focused on their job rather than their own son.

"But what can we even do?" I retorted blandly, grabbing my bag from Tanya. "It's not like we haven't tried before. What's to say he's not going to call us a bunch of dumbass idiots who don't know what we're talking about, like the other seventeen times we've begged him to stop."

"No." Sal shook his head, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I'm not telling you to talk to Luke about this." I stood there silently, cocking an eyebrow at him. If he was about to suggest what I thought he was, I would – "I want you to talk to Reynolds." – have no hesitations in kicking him in the balls.

I stared at him, my mouth dropping slowly with every passing millisecond. Was this boy crazy? Did he want me to be killed?

"No, I don't want you to be killed. You think aloud by the way." He tacked on tartly. "But that asides the point. We want this to end just as much as you do. But you're the one that actually might be able to end this thing. So just please, talk to him, alright?"

"UGH." I groaned, slamming my head back against my locker. "Fine, I'll do it, I'll do it. Now let me go help my boyfriend before he takes another fall down the stairs." That last part, I spoke up extra loud just as a freshman Biology teacher walked past us. He gave Luke an odd look, but said nothing as he continued on his way.

For some reason, the teachers knew never to question because neither Luke nor Wade would say anything to incriminate the other. No teachers were ever around to see the fights themselves; however they always happened to come by a few minutes after the fight. The first few altercations had resulted in some questioning as the 'loser' of that round was left to defend his dignity. However, neither would rat the other out. It was as if they had some unspoken rule that they wouldn't let teachers get in the way; instead, they wanted to handle it the 'manly' way.

Also known as, pummeling each other into a pulp.

"I don't need your help." I heard Luke snap. I turned to see him hoist his backpack onto his shoulder, shaking his head as he straightened his back. I shot him a weird look as he shouldered past all of us. He was acting as if he hadn't just been in the biggest fight with Wade Reynolds in the past two years. He was acting as if nothing had happened, and that he wasn't bleeding from three different cuts on his face. "I'm perfectly fine." He called out to us, speaking to no one in particular.

The man was officially insane. Sometime during the fight, Wade must have punched him too hard in the frontal lobe…

"Luke, wait up." I jogged slowly, appearing at his side. I gripped his arm slightly, stopping him from walking further away from me. "Luke, listen to me."

"What is there for me to listen to, huh?" he suddenly spat. "There's nothing because all I know is that you're going to tell me to fucking end this shit with Reynolds, but guess what? It's not going to ever end and there's nothing you can possibly do to change that. Get it through your head, woman." He tapped his head thrice, wincing with each hit, probably remembering that he had just been pummeled into the ground.

I bit my lip, and looked down. What else was there for me to say? I told him the same thing every time and his reaction was always the same. He frankly never cared about my opinion. In the end, he just wanted to prove himself to be the Alpha Male in this feud, but Wade wasn't making it easy for him. If Luke gave up now, well… he'd lose all his credibility as being the tough, first-string quarterback and captain of the wrestling team persona he had made.

"You're right, and I'm sorry." I finally said, letting go of his arm. "I'll just let you go, alright?"

Luke must have suddenly had a change of heart, for I heard him let out a frustrated sigh. "Lana, I'm sorry. I really wish you didn't have to be involved in all of this. I don't want you to be there when I do my thing." Yeah, which includes getting your brains bashed in by the most hardcore guy in the state? "I love you," he paused briefly after saying that, allowing the words to sink in, "I hope you know that. I still do, even after three years. Nothing's changed. But, I just can't tell you anything about Reynolds. I hope you understand?"

I was silent for a moment, fuming on the inside and ready to burst out, lashing out at him like a rogue goldfish. Yes, goldfish are actually relatively intimidating when infuriated. It just took a lot of time and effort to get them to that stage, especially considering their lack of memory and intelligence.

"Yeah, sure, I understand." I smiled saccharinely. "I won't impose anymore, alright?" I leaned up, pecking him lightly on the cheek. "You'll be able to drive home fine?"

Luke was baffled for a moment, probably shocked by my more-than-surprising behavior. Usually, I was on his case about Wade, but today, I decided not to be. It was understandable for him to be freaked out beyond belief. "Uh, yeah, I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow then? Seven at night, I'll pick you up?"

"That's completely fine." I smiled, hoping to cover up the monster that was stirring up inside of me. I needed to go, I needed to get out of here so badly before I lashed out at him and beat him up even more than Wade just did. "Call me when you're outside, okay? I'll see you then!"

Luke stared at me for a little bit longer, but said nothing. Instead, he merely nodded at me and walked towards the back door of the school. As soon as I saw the door swing shut, my smile quickly turned upside down into a frown.

I needed to find Wade Reynolds, and fast.


Author's Note

I know you must be thinking, this girl is fucking insane. But this has been stuck in my head for so long and I suddenly began reminiscing about high school so I wanted to write a high school one :[ I know I have MCT but I'm actually stuck to be honest. So that one's on hold for the moment. I'll be doing mostly THIS story and LFLS until I finish one. Please do tell me what you think of this, as I am very interested to hear your feedback. It won't be too long. Definitely no more than 15 chapters.

I hope you enjoyed! And please review or favorite it ^^

Second year of college, here we come ^^