Wattpad Writing Challenge Entries

The Beauty in the Beast

[#WattpadShortStory/#RomanceCollab2019]

Lucy followed the trail of liquid as it left numbers and symbols on the white board in front of the classroom. The man speaking was barely detectable in her current state of mind; much like the rest of the inhabitants of the room. Why was she still here? In the place full of people who separated her from her best friend.

Best friend...

Is that what he was? She felt it was true, yet she couldn't remember one instance in which they spent more than five minutes in each others company. Still, those five minute encounters held so much that it left her empty when it all stopped. The distant teen glanced out the door at a spot outside a nearby building. Her memory conjured the image of two vehicles, each one with it's own flashing light. Her heart recalled worry as she recollected the tall, slender boy being placed in one of them, hands bound behind him.

The surrounding students were frozen around the spectacle. Not one felt sympathy for him. None of them even tried to understand why he was the way he was. A time bomb, that's all he was to them. An explosion they waited for to get their kicks; to get their bets in.

Everything was so wrong.

A throat clearing sound slowly registered to her as her teacher's attempt to get her attention. Lucy's eyes sluggishly found him. A small part of her mind wanted to correct herself, to follow the rules as always. However, more of it was only reminded of him. How he'd mock the math teacher's signature throat clearings all the time because it was 'messed up'. She thought back to his exact words...

"You know why he does that right?"

Lucy looked up at him expectantly as they strolled through B tunnel.

"It's 'cause he can't remember anyone's names-besides me obviously. He has no clue what anyone's name is. Even the smart, good girls," he ruffled her hair, which she brushed neatly. Her scowl as fiery as ever. "It's messed up. People should at least know the names of the people they see everyday."

"And, what? You can?" She challenged.

He flashed his tobacco stained grin, "You'd be surprised."

That's who he was. The type to remember your name and everything about you, because he paid attention. But everyone couldn't see pass the troublemaker. In fact, Lucy could bet no one ever caught on to the pattern that he'd mock their teacher specifically after the adult embarrassed one of the shy students. The one's who didn't defend themselves, the one's he saved by consuming the unwanted attention.

"Excuse me is there something interesting outside, young lady?" Her teacher interjected haughtily. Lucy felt so distant from her surroundings that she forgot she actually had to answer to the present.

"Um...no."

An awkward silence fell, but Lucy barely noticed. She knew the man muttered some passive aggressive retort since it was his usual style. But for the most part it was mostly muffled insignificance. Again her eyes drifted out the door to the tragic memory. With every replay, staying in her seat made less sense. Her body moved on it's own, gathering her things then headed toward the door.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going? I'll report you!" But she was already gone.

***

Lucy knew exactly where to go. In the tallest building on the top floor, the Senior climbed the rusted metal ladder up to the roof. Kieran stole the Janitor's copy of the key but she was quite good at picking locks. It was a secret hobby of hers that she only told her closest friends. It didn't quite fit her reputation. Of course, Kieran found it was one of her best qualities. Everything she thought was weird or uncool about herself, was immediately accepted. He made it easy to be...free. She discovered so many things about herself that she hadn't known before. Even when she's always been so sure that every stone of her life was turned.