Passive me, aggressive you || Solo
Sienna knew she was soft-hearted; she had been told time and time again that she was a walkover, that she needed to stand up for herself, that she couldn't blame anyone but herself for getting hurt when she let her defences down so often. And she'd always nodded, actively agreeing but silently brushing the comments off. So she was a nice person. Why should she be chastised about her inability to be bitter about the actions of other people? What was that quote, the one that she'd written all over her notebooks in high school? 'Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned'. It sounded so laughably naive now.
Because she'd tried so hard to forgive Antonia. It had taken her weeks, trying to recover from first the physical wounds that she'd inflicted that night in the parking lot, and then the mental scars that had cut far deeper. Ant, the boy she'd known, and loved, didn't exist. Hindsight made Sienna see that she'd been played, perfectly. Part of her even wanted to congratulate Antonia on it. Because the girl had got in touch with her exactly when Sienna had been at her lowest, with her mother in hospital and her future in jeopardy, and had fed her compliments and encouragement that were so damn generic, now Sienna thought about it, that even she was surprised that she'd fallen for it. But she had. Hook, line and sinker.
That was her fault. She shouldn't have offered her heart so completely, shouldn't have tried to build herself a home in a person she'd never met. And whilst Antonia had deceived her, over and over again, she must have had a reason for that. Sienna didn't know what it was, but people don't just pretend to be someone else for no reason. Maybe the other girl was struggling. Maybe she had issues. It didn't matter. All Sienna knew was that she needed to forgive Antonia, and then she could move on.
But those text messages. Sienna had never felt anger surge through her like that before, like the sun breaking out from behind a cloud and dazzling her with its intensity. No one else had ever refused her like that. When she offered an olive branch, people were supposed to smile, take it, apologise. Ant... She'd rejected her, again and again. Told her she was meaningless, worthless. Sienna snorted. Two months ago, maybe she would have believed those things, but not now. Now she believed she could do anything she wanted. She was an adult. Her father was disinterested and her mother may well be dying, but she refused to let this ruin her life. She'd tried to be good, be the perfect daughter, friend, girlfriend for so long. Now she was done.
And Ant deserved exactly what was coming to her. Sienna smirked when she saw the pile of posters which were spilling out of the library printer. They were black and white, but striking. Ant's face was huge, unmistakeable. The screaming headline - 'Caution: do not trust this violent criminal' - was large enough to read from across the room. And the small print, detailing how she was a lying, selfish, aggressive bitch who didn't even go here - well, it walked a fine line between boiling fury and absolute truth. There were 100 posters stacked up in the tray by the time Sienna was done - she'd used up the last of her printer credits printing these babies - and she started by pinning a few to the notice-boards in the foyer.
There was a certain grim satisfaction that came from plunging the tacks into cork boards, imagining they were piercing Antonia's flesh. Making her way across campus, stopping in dorms, the coffee shop, lecture halls, Sienna knew she was receiving more than a few concerned glances, but really, what did it matter? Who was going to stop her? The worst that would happen was that she'd be dragged into the Dean's office, yelled at for illegal postering. So what? One blemish on her otherwise perfect report card.
It would be worth it, knowing that Ant wouldn't be able to step foot on campus now without every other person knowing what she'd done. The thought of Antonia coming back here, experiencing the stares and whispers until she found one of the posters - it made Sienna buzz, excited. Not only would Ant be unable to deceive another person at Hailgrove, she'd be ostracised by most of the student body. Sienna couldn't pretend that this thought didn't fuel the furious fire in her heart.
And yes, maybe it was petty and passive aggressive in the extreme, but Sienna couldn't help herself. If she's going to get in trouble for this, she might as well make the most of it. Her final poster has been reserved for one very special spot, designed to cause the most damage, get Antonia into as much shit as possible. Sticking the tacks into the four corners of the poster, she stands back to admire her handiwork, taking a photo on her cell with a wry grin. She types a few words into a message, and sends it, along with the image to Antonia's number.
Sienna wishes she could be there to see Ant's face when she realises that her face is staring sullenly from the centre of Dean Ashkirk's office door.
