HEARTBREAK HIGH; •Spencer White•

-11-

Head down, Daisy entered the school gates, taken by surprise when an eager blonde pulled her behind a corner across the yard.

Spider cupped her face eagerly as he joined their lips together, Daisy hardly having a chance to disagree as he kissed her. She wasn't exactly opposed to the kiss, bringing her hands up and around his neck. 

"Woah." Suddenly, the pair broke apart, Spider jolting away from Daisy. Sasha stood before them, her jaw slackened and her eyes bulging. "I'll just go." The pink-haired girl darted off, and Daisy struggled to fix her hair.

"Daisy, wait..."

He was too late; Daisy rushed away from him, clutching her bag. They had made a mistake. Only Ant knew about the nature of their relationship, and now Sasha; it wouldn't be long until Cash found out.

Spider groaned defeated as his head hit the wall. "Fuck." He spat, leaving the corner to join his mates in the changing room, anger radiating off of his presence.

"What were the flowers for?" Ant snickered at Malakai's romance, Spider sending him a heated glare.

"He's a simp, not a p­imp." Spider spat, his annoyance with Daisy inflicted on Malakai. Malakai let out a scoff as he pulled his jersey on.

"Congratulations, Spider. You made A-grade." Malakai taunted, riling up the blonde who turned to face him. "You happy?"

"If you put as much effort into training as you did trying to cop a root, you'd have made the team." Spider was cocky, sizing up Malakai in the process.

"Ah. See, when I play, I always score, on and off the court." Spider's face flushed red as his fists tightened. "Big dog." Another teen called out in the background as Spider crossed his arms.

"Oh, sh¡t, big man. So you did hook up with Amerie?" Dusty patted Malakai on the back.

"Oh, bro, he did." Ant exclaimed, raising his hands to his head.

"Bullshit." Spider cursed, running a hand through his own hair.

"Don't be jealous 'cause a girl picked me." Laughter echoed through the changing rooms, Spider tempted to punch the grin off of Malakai's face.

"I don't give a shit about Amerie." Spider was truthful once; his mind stuck on a different girl.

"That's right, shagging Coopers now, are ya mate?" Dusty clapped a hand on Spider's shoulder. "Sasha said-

"Get fucked, as if I'd fuck that slut." His stomach twisted in knots at his words, the only person to notice the paleness of Spider's knuckles, his best friend Ant.

Meanwhile, Daisy briskly paced towards her next class, unfortunately stuck in another SLT's class. Daisy ignored most of the content, knowing she didn't need to try as hard in this class.

She didn't pay much attention until the class was separated, the girls in the gym and the boys elsewhere. Her headphones blasted music as she watched the police officer talk for his demonstration. She prayed he wouldn't pick her; thankfully, Harper walked to the front.

Daisy couldn't take her eyes off the grip the officer had on Harper's wrist. He tugged, and her sleeve lifted up slightly, revealing a bruise. She could see a bruise on Harper's wrist.

All the girls began whispering as the bruise became more clear, the officer letting go when Harper burned his wrist. Daisy's eyes widened as she watched Harper grab her bag and rush out.

Before anyone could protest, Daisy grabbed her bag, ignoring the calls from Darren and Quinnie, and followed Harper to the bathrooms. She could hear soft curses of annoyance in one of the stalls, her feet moving closer.

"Harper?" Daisy called out cautiously, a gasp of surprise sounding.

"Daisy?" Harper's tone was confused as she opened the stall door, her expression more confused than saddened. "What do you want?" She muttered harshly as she fled towards the mirror, wiping her smudged mascara.

"How did you get those bruises?" Daisy's eyebrows furrowed, her fingers clutching around her bag.

"None of your business, fuck off, Coopers."
Daisy looked slightly hurt at her words; however, she recovered quickly as she pulled up the hem of her jumper.

"I have bruises too." Harper's face dropped when she turned to view the dark bruises along Daisy's ribs. "I wanted to let you know you're not alone."

Harper's shocked expression slowly shifted into disgust as she stormed past the girl, pausing at the exit. "Get lost, Daisy, go root Spider or something." Daisy's eyes widened, Harper leaving her alone.

She couldn't stop the tears from falling from her eyes. She wasn't really sure why, only that she had to stop. Cash would know something was up if Harper hadn't already told the whole school about her.

Inhaling slowly and wiping her puffy eyes, she returned to class as normal, attempting to shield her gaze from Cash. It didn't take long for him to figure out.

"Daisy, what's wrong?" Cash whispered softly, noticing the subtle puffiness in her eyes that she couldn't conceal completely. "Daisy," he pleaded, only to be interrupted by Jojo.

"Daisy, are you okay?" Jojo knelt in front of her, concern etched across her face. Daisy, avoiding eye contact, attempted to brush it off. Missy, however, interjected, "She's not alright, Miss. There are bruises along her arms." Daisy's complexion paled, watching as Harper fed information straight to Missy.

"What?" Spider suddenly spoke up, directing his attention towards Daisy.

"She's lying, Miss. I'm fine," Daisy insisted, rocking in her seat for a moment. All eyes were fixed on her.

"I bet it was Spider," Sasha attempted to whisper, but her words came out louder than intended. Suddenly, Cash erupted from his seat, landing a punch on Spider, and the room descended into chaos.

"Stop, Cash! Cash!" Daisy tried to grab him, failing as the boys quickly intervened, separating the two before Daisy left the room, Cash tumbling out the door after her.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" She hit Cash's chest, continuing to pace out of the school in a hurry. "Always looking for an excuse to hit someone Doug." She rushed out of the school doors furiously, the guilty eshay trailing behind her.

"Why are you obsessed with that gronk all of a sudden, is he why you were crying?" Cash got in the passenger seat as Daisy angrily fiddled with keys, starting her car.

"Forget it, Cash, always in my business." She cursed, pulling out and beginning to drive back home. Cash's face softened at her angry tone, his fingers intertwined anxiously.

"I care about you, Dais! I don't want you around Spider and his idiots." Cash's voice raised a small flinch in Daisy's face, causing him to calm down immediately.

"I know, Cashy, I know." She mumbled dryly, her shaky fingers gripping the wheel as the drive continued, the tense atmosphere remaining.