𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 ✧ 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐜

chapter one.

i had heard about the girl first from grace, who was probably my closest friend.

as close as she could be to me, with being so popular and also her head so stuck in drama all the time.

she was kind to me, even still. we'd had been friends since i moved here, and she kept me up to date on the school tea without forcing me to be apart of it. an attribute i really appreciated.

and she was fun. she was weird and quirky, but honest. and always herself. like me.

"you did what?" i cringed as i opened my locker door, shoving my books inside, and grace frowned.

apparently, she had bursted into her chem class, spilling all sorts of uncomfortable tea about the new girl in town from new york, when she was indeed sitting right next to her. skylar, grace's other good friend, was an innocent bystander.

jackie howard was her name. i had heard the whispers in first period, but not anything super concrete. new yorker. preppy. apparently on the news?

and quickly gaining popularity.

unfortunately, we never really get a lot of new people here. so she was destined for the spotlight.

grace pushed her forehead harder against my open locker door, "i know right."

grace was honest, but she was all about the drama. for sure.

"did she seem okay?" it was my turn to frown, hearing the girls backstory mixed in with the summary of the encounter.

moving here from new york because her entire family tragically died? to colorado? i wanted to laugh that was so sad sounding, but unlike grace, i could read the room.

"yeah, she seemed cool, but quiet. also, already love struck for cole walter."

i gave her a look. that wasnt really my question.

being adopted, i know what it's like to live without your own family. but i had never been used to their presence. not old enough to remember anyway. i couldn't imagine losing someone i really loved.

i also could not have imagined then getting ripped away from my home and starting somewhere completely new. like, why colorado? must be distant family.
like a true last resort.

i sighed, "that poor girl. hasnt even been here for a full day yet and already is feeling the cole effect." i said it with jazz hands and an concluding gag. i hated the term started by the teens of silver falls, but it was also scientifically, and hormonally, truth.

however, after asking again about the girls state after graces exploitive gossiping, apparently the new yorker had shrugged it off and the three had bonded during their chem lab.

i opened my mouth to ask another question, but grace linked arms with me and rushed down the hall, "there she is!! come with me, you should meet her."

i didnt really have a choice at the moment, but curiosity had started eating away at me anyway. so, as i do a lot of my time being grace's friend, i nodded and let her lead the way. usually to more drama.

i was not one for the stuff. at all.

i was a natural watcher. i never dreamed to be apart of a clic or get wasted at some party. just by watching most of the girls at this school, i had learned that the more you act the way others do, or the way they want you to, the more you lose yourself. and the more you get stuck in that role.

like i said, grace was able to know the drama, but not become it. and thats why i liked her. i was able to watch drama up close, like i was about to, and not fear my emotional safety. not feel like she was going to peer pressure me, or guilt me when i said no. it was entertaining, but still comfortable.