Trust wasn't something that came easily to Mae and it wasn't something that she had ever planned on changing. Her heart, enveloped inside a wall of thorns like a single rose, was the only thing she was afraid of losing.
Though, when the alluring "b...
A couple of painful days later, I returned back to my regular classes. Wearing a short, dark, swishy dress, I strutted down the corridor in style. My tall black laced boots clipped and clopped against the tiles and my straightened hair swung from left to right. If I wanted to feel good, I had to look good which was the reason why my smile went from one ear to the next.
Waving across to Avril, I rushed over and hugged her tightly.
"Hey- ouch- I haven't seen you in forever!" said Avril, muffled from beneath my brunette mane. Pulling herself from my clutches, she dusted her outfit down and grinned widely. "You're looking much better today."
"Yikes, did I really look that bad?" I asked, recoiling in horror. Over the past week or so I'd not put any effort into my looks and it must have been showing. I was glad to be back on track.
"You only look great when you've stolen something from me, so yeah, you looked horrendous." she cackled, winking and holding her stomach.
"Hey! I haven't taken anything of yours for today's outfit!" I protested, folding my arms defensively.
"Oh really? What are those?" asked Avril, poking to my ears. Swinging backwards and forwards were her small golden hoops. After a few awkward moments, she began to laugh once more. "See what I mean?"
"Okay, fine. You're right." I laughed, nudging her slightly. "I just can't help myself."
I'd missed this, the calm and effortless conversations with my sister. Danny was right, I'd let Nate win. I'd let him take away the people I cared about most, the people that had always stuck by me. I'd lost a piece of myself in the shattered pieces of my heart, through the tears that dripped down my cheeks at nightfall. I'd lost myself - and yet I'd found myself again between the crack of my bedroom door.
♡
The day flew by and soon it was lunchtime. It saddened me that I wasn't able to sit in my usual spot and talk to the usual people but not because I enjoyed it. It was familiar to me and that was what I had to keep reminding myself. Just like I had to remind myself that Nate was a familiar thing and I didn't miss him. The mind has a way of manipulating your thoughts into a novel of lies and I hated that my own body could make me feel so out of control - but I felt a little better when I saw my best friend waving across at me.
Sprinting over to the lunch queue, I took my space beside her. A few groans could be heard from the people behind us but I paid no notice, I needed that last slice of pizza and I would fight anyone to the death to get it.
Grabbing it tightly, I munched and munched until there was nothing left. It had been a while since the cafeteria had made pizza and strangely enough, it was one of the nicest pizzas I'd ever tasted. Although my inner bliss didn't last long, because the loud glares from Lexi were deafening.
"What?" I asked, sighing heavily. Lexi had a small frown and her lips pursed outwards like a toddler.
"I just saw Hanna come in here and she didn't look happy. I'm not in the mood for confrontation today." she explained, gesturing across to our mortal enemy. Hanna's hands waved around dramatically as she held court over her new friends. I couldn't help but wonder if they were tired of her voice, or if she thought she was the leader of their group too.
But just when my thoughts had began to wonder, her dark eyes met mine and I saw nothing but rage. Within seconds, she had walked across the hall and was standing over me.
"I want a word with you." She spat, her perfectly manicured hands resting on either hip.
Sighing heavily, I looked up at her momentarily before looking away again.
"Mae!" She demanded, stamping her foot.
"What have you got to say to me, huh? You've already said seven, I thought that'd be enough." I responded, folding my arms and standing up.
"What are you talking about?!" She questioned, completely missing my sarcastic remark. "I want to talk to you about Nate!"
Gagging slightly to emphasise my point, I then looked at her and laughed. "Can you please not swear around me? It's like, so rude."
"I'm not messing around, you violent bitch! Nate told me all about you attacking him and I'm not happy." She said, prodding me in my chest.
"Attacking him? Oh really!" I laughed, stepping forward. "So he didn't tell you about him attacking me?!"
"Look, I get it. Nate totally found someone better and you're jealous. It's understandable, I mean, just look at me. But seriously, there's no need to attack him like you did. I thought we were friends." said Hanna, condescendingly. I was thankful that her minions had decided to watch from a distance because I knew they'd be chuckling away at this point.
"Listen, Hanna. Don't come over here yelling at Mae like that without facts. What she did to him was self-defence and if you don't believe us, then leave. We owe you nothing!" screamed Lexi, standing up and coming over to Hanna. I saw the anger in her eyes and I knew that shit was about to hit the fan. Hanna didn't know when to stop and Lexi knew exactly how to make her - and whilst it gave me extreme joy to imagine what could've happened next, I stepped in and broke them off.
"Go away, Hanna. You bring me nothing but pain and I'm so done with you and your drama. Tell Nate to stay the hell away from me - you two can go and be whatever you are, I'm happy for you. But please don't harass me when he's the one bashing my door down demanding to speak to me." I said, looking her sincerely in the eyes. Picking my stuff up, I turned and sighed. "Please, please do not talk to me ever again. We are not friends."
And with that, I walked. I walked out of the cafeteria and I walked out of the school grounds. I needed some air and I knew just where to go.
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