SWNOVELS Chapter 25 — Rewind
(Authors Notes: Chapters with the title 'Rewind' take place sometime in the past.) -Dominic's POV (a couple of days prior)-
After school, I walked to the front of the building with my head held high, and my hood over the top. I looked around until I found her. Jessica had seen me at the same time and waved towards me to which I nodded. When we got together, we started walking towards the back of the school building.
"So, tell me about him," I said, and she nodded somewhat nervously.
"Jerome is the most charming guy ever. He acts all gangster and hard with others, but with me, he's so nice. He's always complimenting me and saying that I'm the most beautiful girl he's ever seen!" Jessica had a gleam in her eye as she exclaimed this which made me instantly tell that she really liked this guy. I felt bad for her.
Jerome is a jerk. Always acting as if he's the best one in the school, acting as if everyone should and does want him. He uses every female he can get his hand on, but I knew that if I were to show him that he's not all the great, if I were to take it all from him, then he would be done for.
Jessica had kept on talking about Jerome until we got to a corner where her voice suddenly drifted off. I turned to her questionably to see that her eyes were staring sadly at something in front of us, tears welling up in her eyes. I also turned to look at the same direction to see Jerome with another girl, kissing her as if the world depended on it. They pulled away slightly and you could hear him say, "you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," before going back to making out with her, it sickened me.
I grabbed Jessica's hand when I realized that this was probably painful for her and took her over to a wall where she couldn't see them anymore. When she was hidden, she then burst out crying, which caught me off guard. I looked around, unsure what to do before making a 'tch ' sound with my mouth and held my arms out a bit. I hadn't expected her to think anything of it but she instantly hugged me which was unexpected, but it seemed to work in our favour because she started to calm down.
"You knew he was cheating on you and looked absolutely fine during lunch?" I asked, and she nodded while still in my embrace.
"I try to keep it in. I don't want other people seeing me cry. I use other guys to try and forget about him, but I can't help but be upset when I see it in person," she then seemed to realize how close we are and suddenly pulled away, "I'm sorry!" she apologized, "I made your shirt wet too!" she worried which almost made me smile,
"Hey it's okay-"
"No, it's not! I-"
"Jessica!" I said, raising my voice slightly and she stood quietly, waiting for what I was going to say.
"Jessica...you're a beautiful girl. No matter what anyone may say, you need to believe that, and you don't need a cheat like Jerome to confirm it. You're beautiful and you're strong. So please don't let some fucktards take that away from you. I need you to take things into your own hands without stooping down to his level. You're better than that. Okay?" I say, almost unsure of where all of that came from but stood firm with it anyway. Jessica seemed surprised by it herself because she looked at me agape before nodding slowly.
"I'm going to go get rid of the other girl with him. When she's gone, you go and end it with him." I order, and she wipes her tears before standing tall,
"Alright," she confirms so I then turn and walk towards Jerome.
The girl that was with Jerome noticed me first and pulled away from him, looking at me with confusion and annoyance. Jerome looked at her facial expression before turning to look at me too. When he realized it was me, he started to smirk. "Dominic! I haven't talked to you in ages!" He says, and I scoff,
"I liked it better that way," I say replying and he faked a hurt expression before laughing,
"What do you want Demonic?"
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"Not you that's for sure," I say with disgust before looking back at the girl.
"You should leave him, he's a cheater and not worth your time. You can do better, trust me." I state but she seemed hesitant,
"You're just saying that because you're jealous!" I rolled my eyes at her reply before throwing her my phone, which played a video I caught of Jerome kissing another girl just before school ended. Jerome tried taking the phone away from her but by that time it was too late, she had seen it and her eyes started tearing up. I couldn't fathom why they were crying over this guy, but as long as she knew, I didn't care. She then turned and slapped him, hard, before marching off which caused me to smirk.
"Damn it! What the fuck was that for?!" Jerome exclaimed towards me, but I kept my smug look and raised a hand to stop him from speaking before letting Jessica come through. She stood in front of him proud and tall. Her tears were cleaned up as if she had never cried in the first place. She looked strong and I loved it. She stepped closer to Jerome and he seemed happy to see her, reaching forward to her.
"I'm breaking up with you," she announced confidently which made him freeze.
"Jess, come on I-"
"Don't fucking touch me ever again either." she slapped his hand away from her, "I made a mistake ever trusting you, ever liking you even. The whole school knows how much of a cheater you are, so good luck ever getting a girlfriend. Goodbye Jerome." Jessica turned to me happily and I nodded at her accomplishment before she skipped away.
"Wait, Jess―!" Jerome tried going after her, but I didn't let him have that freedom. There was no way I was going to let him ruin her happiness and take away her strength again. So, I grabbed his collar and pulled him back rough enough to have him fall onto the floor. "Ow! What the fuck Dominic?!" I kneeled down beside him and took hold of his collar again threateningly. His eyes showed fear which was exactly what I wanted.
"Jerome, don't you think you've hurt enough people? I think it's fair if you feel their pain too. So, if you dare to touch them again, I'll make you regret it." I let go of his collar and stood up, grabbing my phone in the meantime, looking down at him. "They're human just as you are. Treat them more like one rather than treating them like toys and you might actually feel something." He stayed silent for a bit, still laying on the floor before sighing sadly. "If they're human, what're you?" I smirked down at him and he grinning at me.
"My nickname is 'Demonic' isn't it? Shouldn't that answer your question?"
"And do you, a demon, feel like they do? Can you love?" I took out a cig, and lit it up, putting it in my mouth while thinking of my answer.
"Demons don't love."
The day after was a good one. Jerome stood on top of one of the tables at lunch with a bunch of flowers at hand. He cleared his throat and started speaking as if he had a whole speech memorized.
"I've stood up here for the sole purpose of apologizing. I realized that the way I've acted towards all the girls I've been with hasn't been how they should have been treated. They all deserve real love. They all deserve someone who truly believes that they're the most beautiful girl they've ever seen. And so, I'm sorry and I hope these flowers can be a way for you all to forgive me and for the school to let me start fresh."
People applauded him and even I couldn't help but smile despite it being kind of cheesy. I turned around as Jerome went and handed out the flowers to the people he's hurt until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned again to see Jerome standing there with a rose in hand. "I want to give this to you as a way to say thank you. I guess I deserved what I got yesterday and if I do end up hurting others again, I trust I'll deserve whatever punishment you'll give me too." I chuckled and accepted the rose from him which made him grin, "Oh and I think, despite what you said, that you will be able to find love one day, Dominic." He carried on and walked away.
"What did you do to him?" Jake asked from next to me, amazed, and I smiled, looking down at the rose, spinning it slightly in my hand.
"Nothing at all."