Hold Me Close, Don't Let Go. [Oliver Sykes]

Prologue.

"Bitch."

"Whore."

"Loser."

"Freak."

"Trash."

"Piece of shit."

These were all the terribly sweet compliments I received from the teenagers gathered in the hallway I was walking through. As basically anyone could tell, no one here liked me. I was just some stranger, the weird new girl from Australia, who liked black and "emo music". When I first came to Sheffield, it wasn't as bad, to be honest. No one really cared about what I wore or listened to, and quite a few boys took a liking to me. But then I was invited to my first party in Sheffield, and as it turns out, tequila really does make my clothes fall off. I ended up having sex with one of those boys who fancied me, and he turned out to be Nick Bridges, captain of the rugby team, most popular boy in school, and the center of Maria Loren's affections. Maria Loren was captain of the cheer squad, and the most popular girl in school, of course. It was only fitting for Nick and Maria to be together, and apparently I was a "home wrecking slag" for sleeping with Nick. Yes, I would agree with them usually, because cheaters really piss me off, but I had no idea he was with anyone. That party was the night after I had just started school there, and I knew nothing about anyone. I hadn't even known who Nick was, just his name. I blacked out after being at the party for twenty minutes, and I didn't remember a single thing from that night. Nick was the one who said we had hooked up, and since I had woken up next to him, both of us completely naked, I had no choice but to believe him. After Maria found out about it, she went out of her way to make sure everyone knew. Of course, since she was Miss Popular, when she made it clear that I was a whore and she didn't like me, no one liked me.

I had been here in Sheffield for two months now, and it got worse every day. Maria had no problem with making up rumors about me, either, so at this point, everyone thought I had already fucked the whole rugby team, and then some. I put on a brave face at school, though, not willing to let anyone know any of Maria's shit hurt me, and that always pissed her off. So, she tried harder every day.

They're right, you know, my subconscious snickered.

Yeah, I know better than anyone, I fired back. That shut her up. I talk to myself, so what. I have issues.

I sighed and continued on my way to lunch, my eyes darting around in search of that long blonde mane that belonged to Maria. I had successfully avoided her for every period before now, and I was trying for the whole day. Which I already knew was impossible; she always found me. I managed to make it safely into the lunch room, through the lunch line, and outside to the fountain I always sat at during lunch, when I heard that nasally voice.

"Well, look who's here. Again." Something hit hard against the back of my head, causing me to stumble and drop the tray of food I was carrying. Not like I was going to eat it anyways, I thought, sighing before I turned around. There was a thin textbook lying on the ground near me. I assumed it was what had been thrown at me.

I glanced around, noticing that everyone was watching our encounter, not daring to move, because who would want to get on Maria's bad side? No one ever helped me. I sighed again as Maria stalked over to me. "What do you want, Maria?"

She faltered at my harsh tone, but only for a second. "Bitch." I felt a familiar sting against my cheek as she slapped me, not for the first time. I clenched my jaw and squeezed my eyes shut to push away the tears, before turning my face back to her, only to feel her bony knee slam into my stomach. Of course, it hurt, I sunk to my knees, holding my stomach and gasping for the breath she had knocked out of me. "You have no right to even think my name, let alone say it, do you understand me?" I nodded, hoping this was her only problem for today, but I was never that lucky. I felt her hand press against the back of my head just before her knee came up again, this time colliding with my nose. I felt it crack, and I knew blood was beginning to pour from it. "And I told you to stop coming out here, this is where I sit now," she growled, gripping my hair to yank my head back. She brought her fist up, and I flinched away, closing my eyes and bracing for the hit.

"Hey!" The voice of an obviously angered male rang out. I felt Maria's hand fall from my hair, and I let myself fall to sit on the concrete beneath me, dizzy from losing blood. I opened my eyes enough to see a tall, lanky boy pushing Maria away from me, with his fist raised. He spoke again. "I'm not one to hit a girl, but I fucking will if you touch her again, do you understand?!" He was shouting by now, and I wondered who my brave savior was. I felt the familiar dizziness grow stronger, and I let my eyes fall closed, not being able to see Maria's reaction before everything went black.

I woke up several hours later, in an unfamiliar room. It was decorated much like mine, dark colours with band posters covering almost every inch of the walls. My eyes landed on a male figure sitting at a desk, obviously engrossed in whatever it was he was doing on the computer. I felt a sharp pain in my nose suddenly, and I squeezed my eyes shut, groaning aloud, alerting the boy that I was now awake.

"Lucia!" I heard, causing me to open my eyes, seeing him kneeling beside the bed. To say that he was attractive, would be an understatement and honestly, an insult to him. His brown hair was slightly longer than most boys', it covered his ears and fell into his eyes, but I liked it. I had always liked longer hair on guys. His eyes were a beautiful hazel, brown mixed with the most beautiful green I had ever seen, and they were filled with concern for me, some girl he had just met. Who is this boy? "Lucia, are you okay? My name is Oli. I'm sorry for seeming forward for bringing you back to my house, just, you were hurt and I didn't know where you lived, and I just wanted to get you away from there," he rambled, but my eyes were focused on his lips that were moving, parting with every word, they were slightly enticing, and I struggled to come back to reality, so I could focus and communicate with the first person in two months who was actually nice to me, aside from the older people I worked with.

Oli. The name strangely fit him. I finally managed to gather my wits enough to speak. "Uh, h-hi, it's o-okay," I stuttered out, my voice throaty. Oh, come on, Lucy, get your shit together, this one's hot. I cleared my throat a little, pushing myself into a sitting position, much to my body's protest. There was a dull throbbing in my stomach, and I knew there was a bruise from Maria kicking me. "Um, it really wasn't necessary to bring me anywhere, I would have been fine," I said, memories flashing of the many times I'd made myself bleed enough to pass out. I was always okay an hour or two later. Then I remembered that this had all happened at school, and I quickly added, "I mean, I appreciate what you did, and for getting me out of there, but you could have taken me to the infirmary or something."

Oli looked uncomfortable for a second, but he hid it rather quickly with a small smile. "Well, you can go home anytime you'd like, I mean, I just brought you here so Maria couldn't find you and get to you while you were down." He explained himself.

I watched him warily. Why did he care so much?

He chuckled suddenly, and I grimaced when I realized that I had spoken aloud. That probably sounded rude. I mean, this guy just saved me, when no one else dared to, and here I was, questioning him.

"I'm just not a fan of Maria and the way she treats people." His answer didn't surprise me.

"Well, no one is, really. But no one wants to cross her."

He grimaced, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah, well, she doesn't bother me." I raised an eyebrow curiously, and he elaborated, though hesitantly. "I dated her awhile back, when she first moved here."

I couldn't contain the giggle that bubbled up. "You dated that monster? Wow, I'm sorry." He laughed along with me, and I slowly felt myself getting comfortable around this stranger.

"So, what's your story, Lucia?" He asked me, seeming genuinely curious. I glanced up at him, shocked. No one usually cares.

"Uh, you can call me Lucy." My voice was barely audible, but I knew he could hear me. I breathed in deeply, then launched into my life story, spilling everything to this boy I had just met. Strangely, I felt at home.

Maybe things will be okay.

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Just to be clear, this is not a high school story. This was to show how they met and became friends. Next chapter, we're gonna fast-forward to 2011, before Sempiternal is even in the works. Hope you all enjoy!

-K