Behind the Iron Mask (Part III) - A Harsh Exchange of Words
“And, that’s about it really.”
Jack shook his head in amazement. “My God.”
“When at any point in time did I claim that I was a good person?” He asks them. “Did at any given point in time try to defend myself, excuse my actions, or claim that I used to be a good kid? No.
“Maybe I was a decent kid at one point in time, but I’m not a good person.”
Scoffing, Aria sneered. “I fucking knew you were full of it.”
“Aria,” Yuffie pleaded.
“Who the hell gave you the right to judge and condescend?!” She snarled. “Who the hell gave you the right to stick your noses up at me, or Flash, or any of us?! HAH?! Tell me that you stuck-up narc!”
He laughed. “You’re the former mean girl turned wannabe hot chick who’s made almost every argument we’ve had so far about yourself, and yet I’m the narc?!”
“Guys.” Flash tried.
“At least, I have the balls to admit that I like a guy instead of toy with my food!” Aria snapped.
“At least, I admit my faults!” Gary yelled back. “You never apologized to your mom or Mike for hiding your dad’s affair! Hell, you ever bothered to apologize to Jenna or Toby for what happened that night, even after Spencer started dating him!”
“Well, at least, I don’t try to use the “pull the pigtails” excuse with my crushes.”
Gary’s face hardened, teeth grit.
“Playing that card, huh?” He said, nodding he continues, “Okay, I’ll play.”
Turning to Mercury he asked him. “Hey, Merc, how long are you gonna keep playing the knight in shining armor for?”
Mercury frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Let’s all walk through a hypothetical, shall we?” Gary began, a cruel smile on his lips. “We’re back at school, and Aria happens to pass you or Flash in the hallway and says hello to either of you, what are you gonna do next? Well, you’re gonna play nice, maybe have a bit of chit-chat, then Spencer or Hanna will walk over to drag her away from you because everyone knows you’re “bad news”. And, if or when Monty or the others on the team begin asking Flash about what happened, he’s gonna cover it up by claiming that he hooked up with the literacy whore to save face.”
“Hey!” Aria yelled, offended.
“It’s true!” Gary snaps. “And the same applies to Alice and Yaoyorozu.”
“You’re an asshole, Gary Oak.” Momo says, eyes stinging.
“Jesus Christ, Yaomomo!” The younger boy seethed. “Do you honestly think any of this” He gesticulated with his arms. “Us being friends and pretending that whatever cliques or friend groups we belong to don’t exist – is gonna last beyond today? Come Monday morning, you and Luna won’t even go within each other’s peripheral.”
“That’s not true!” Luna objected.
“Really?” Gary says skeptically. “Picture this: it’s Monday morning and Flash is hanging around his football buddies, then you walk up to him – wearing your second hand clothes and homemade jewelry, reading one of your fantasy books upside down – and you say hi. But, when Monty or one of his other cronies cracks a joke about the unmedicated foreign kid–maybe to your face, maybe after you leave–do you honestly think that he’s gonna stand up for you?”
“Gary,” Yuffie warns.
“I don’t know.” Flash admits.
All heads swerve in the ashamed athlete’s direction.
“Honestly,” He continues. “I don’t know what I’d do.”
Turning to Aria, Gary asks her, “And what about you, Aria? What are you gonna say if Alice or Momo walk up to you and say hi?”
“Unlike you, my friends aren’t bullies.” Aria retorted.
“They used to be.” Gary returned sharply. “Then Alison–sorry Courtney Dilaurentus fell off the map and ended up in a coffin three months later when that lady decided to dig up the backyard to put in a pool*!”
“What exactly does any of that have to do with us?” The older girl countered.
“Come Monday morning you won’t even look our way,” Gary sneered. “Even if you didn’t want to, you will. Because that’s what people like you, Flash, and me do Aria. We ignore the riff-raff and glide along with the in-crowd. It’s like you said, if you don’t go along with any of it, then you’re socially dead.”
“So that’s the secret to popularity then?” Mercury snorts, crossing his ankles. “Just saying and doing the same shit other people are doing, and letting them hear what they want to hear?”
“Better than going around pretending not to give a shit.” Gary retorts.
“That’s not not caring.” Alice cuts in. “I know what not caring about anything looks like, I’ve done not caring. What you’re all describing isn’t not caring or pretending to not care about anything, it’s being fake so people will like you.” Turning to Flash and Gary she continues, “And, if your friends care so damn much about who you two hang around with, then they’re the problem–not you.”
“You really think it’s that easy?” Gary snapped. “That I can just wave a magic wand or snap my fingers and reinvent myself again?! Well, I can’t. I fucking hate it, but I can’t turn back the clock and make everything better no matter how much I fucking want to!”
Turning to Aria he sneered, “Since we’re all being honest, I might as well get this off my chest: the prank with the soda can wasn’t my idea, it was Mona’s.”
Aria blanched and the group fell silent.
“Yeah,” Gary continued. “Mona wanted me to put the soda can in Spencer’s locker, but I thought that picking on Dunce Deku Midorya would be even funnier. And I was right!”
SMACK!
Gary toppled back onto his butt, cradling his stinging cheek as Yaoyorozu glared daggers at him.
“Why on earth would you do that?” She hisses.
“I think the question you all should be asking is, why would Mona ask me to do something like that?”
“Mona’s my friend!” Aria refuted.
“Mona is Hanna’s friend.” Gary corrected. “And, their friendship doesn’t even go that deep, no matter how much Hanna wants to believe it. I-Do any of you even know why Loser Mona Vanderwaal suddenly decided to become Hanna’s friend?” He asked them.
“And you do?” Aria sneered.
“Yes, I do actually.” Gary replied evenly. “See, Mona told me that something really bad had happened to poor Jenna Marshall-Cavanaugh when they were in middle school and the cops refused to believe her, despite the fact that Mona had the really nasty burn scar on her stomach to prove it and saw everything that went down.” Aria falters, fear shining in her eyes as the realization dawns on her. “So, Mona decided to take matters into her own hands and get revenge-sorry, justice for her best friend by screwing over the people who hurt her.
“See, after Courtney died and you and your folks hightailed it to Iceland, your little girl group fell apart, and Mona set her sights on the formerly Fat Hanna Marin. While she was rubbing elbows with the girl who used to bully her–the same girl among four who never even bothered to apologize for all the crap they put her through!–and found out some not so pleasant things about you guys. Including the fact that Jenna and Courtney set the whole “Jenna Thing” up.” The others gaped at him. “Yeah, Mona dug through Courtney’s diary and dug up a lot of dirt on you and your little girlfriends.
“For instance, that lie about Toby’s dad molesting her? Well, it wasn’t a lie.
“Jenna wanted to screw the old man over and get Toby and her mom out of the house, so they set up your little fireworks show. All Jenna wanted was to set the treehouse on fire and freak out her stepdad, but things got out of hand and Courtney had to improvise.”
“T-That-” Aria shook her head. “That’s not true.”
“Oh, yes it is.” Gary replied icily. “And, you know that anonymous e-mail that aired out your dear old dad’s extramarital indiscretions? The very same extramarital indiscretions you and your dear departed bff “Alison” Dilaurentes helped cover up?”
Aria’s stomach dropped.
“No.” She muttered, shaking her head in numb disbelief. “No no no NO!”
“Yes!” Gary grinned maliciously. “Granted, Mona didn’t know how far it would go, but at least she helped get rid of the creepy post-grad with the STD.”
Aria stiffened. “What the hell are you going on about?”
Gary paused, then let out a loud, mocking laugh that did nothing for Aria’s mental state. “Good grief, Aria!” He barked incredulously. “Did you actually believe that you were the only one Mr. Fitz got between the sheets with?!” The brunette threw his head back and cackled. “Oh, honey,” He cooed in mock sympathy, which only made Aria angrier. “You were just one of many underage girls he got involved with.
“A little birdie told me that Ozpin and Principal Goodwitch did a background check on him and found out that not only had he done the same thing to four other girls during his stint as a TA–two of those girls were middle schoolers mind you–but that he also has a kid in Phily!” Gary laughed, arms wrapped around his midsection as tears streamed down his flushed face. “He’s five by the way, the end result of having a kid at the prom.” He sighed. “And, no, Fitz doesn’t talk to him or the Baby Mamma, but he does pay child support. Although, I have no idea how he does it or if he’s still doing it, considering his current financial status.” Gary paused upon seeing the glares and aghast looks on the others faces. “Look, I know some girls like older guys, and I laugh along with the Daddy jokes the others aim at Old Man Oz from time to time, but this is just pathetic even for you.”
“You’re twisted, Gary.” Yuffie hisses, shaking her head in numb disbelief. “You are so fucking twisted it’s not even funny.”
“Yeah, Kisaragi, I am twisted.” He retorts. “I’m a conceited self-absorbed prick with an empty cavity in place of a heart! But, unlike some people” He says, giving Aria a pointed look. “I don’t try to hide or rugsweep it, or pretend that I’m a good person! I know what I am! And, I hate it!” He yelled. “I hate the fact that I have to put this mask up and act like an unrepentant asshole just to get people to notice me and like me! I hate the fact that I had to cut ties with one of my best friends and start picking on him just to get people to stop picking on me! Most of all, I fucking hate the fact that I can’t even confide in my own damn parents about any of this because THEY FUCKING KICKED ME OUT!”
…
…
…
“The day I pulled that soda can prank, my folks had to pick me up from school.” He confesses. “I got into an argument with my dad when we got home and I-” He swallowed thickly. “I came out. It wasn’t like I meant to do it! I-I just–i-i-it just came out!” He laughed slightly. “He–They didn’t take it well. But, I don’t think they’re gonna come around and change their minds like Emily’s parents did.”
“Gary,” Aria tries, only to be cut off by Gary angrily asking her. “WHY DO YOU THINK I’M LIVING WITH MY GRANDPA, BITCH?! Apart from my sister and gramps, literally everybody in my family hates me!
“Apparently, they could live with the fact that their sweet little boy turned into an insufferable asshole, but they didn’t want him to be a queer asshole!
“And, I tried! I tried so damn hard to get them to notice me!
“I spent the whole fucking week trying to get them to talk to me–look at me even, but they would rather pretend that I don’t exist! Daisy told me that they got rid of all the pictures they had of me the second I left the house! I-” He let out a dry sob. “I tried to talk to my parents yesterday, and they wouldn’t even open the door! My own mom… She wouldn’t even look at me.” A tear slid down his cheek.
“Be thankful for what you have, Kisaragi.” He hissed. “Hell, you should all be grateful that you all have people who actually give a shit about you. Because I don’t.” He smiled; it was bitter and cold. “Apart from Daisy and my Grandpa, I have nobody. And, I hate it… But, I can’t do anything about it. Because I brought it on myself.”
And then he walked out.
No one followed him.