Behind Closed Doors // Billie Eilish

Chapter 5

I walked out of the bathroom and stopped mid-step when I heard my name. "No, I heard that they broke up because Maria has a girlfriend."

"Wait, she's gay?"

"Are you surprised? Look at how she dresses. She's definitely off. That's probably why she always hung out with Andrew."

"Oh. You're talking about that girl that used to hang out with that gay guy?"

My eyes went wide. I walked into the hallway and looked to the left. Three girls were gathered around a locker. "You little..." I shoved the one in the middle into the lockers. I was sure her name was Clarington. She was always talking shit, being close to Alex, and I was over it . "Don't talk about him! You didn't know him!"

"But it's the truth. He was gay. That's why he—"

I pulled her away from the lockers and slammed her into them again. "Shut the fuck up! Who told you that? Who said I'm gay?"

"A lot of people are saying that, but it was Alex who started it."

"God damnit. They're lying. Stop spreading that shit. Stop running your mouth for once in your life." I clenched my jaw, wondering how this was gonna go.

"You wouldn't be so offended if it weren't true," she mused.

I opened my mouth and then closed it, not knowing what to say. She was honestly right.

"Exactly." She laughed, pushing me away from her. "Could you stop trying to kiss me now?"

"You little bitch!" I turned around and punched her in the face. I almost left it alone but she just had to keep going.

"You just fucked up." She threw her backpack off and socked me in the jaw. By now, a crowd was gathered around us, most of them recording. One of the other girls that she was talking to shoved me back into the lockers, my head slamming against the thin metal. Clarington threw another punch at me.

I locked my foot behind her ankle and pulled her leg out from under her, making her fall to the ground before sitting on her and punching her again. "You're gonna learn to keep your damn mouth shut! I'm so tired of you and Alex spreading rumors about me and talking shit about Andy! Let it happen again!" I grabbed her collar and pulled her up. "I fucking dare you." I punched her one more time for good measure. "I won't go easy next time."

"You're just showing everybody that the rumors are true. You're just like Andrew. Wow."

I wrapped my hands around her throat and squeezed. "Let me hear his name in your mouth again."

She tried to pry my hands off of her neck.

"I'll choke you until your face is blue."

Suddenly, somebody yanked me off of her. I wiggled around in their arms, trying to get away. "Stop it, Ramirez. You're coming to my office."

"Let me go. I can walk."

He let me go and I stood up, following him to his office. He shut the door and I sat down in a chair. "I get that what happened with Andrew is frustrating—"

My eyes widened in shock at his ignorance and I stood up. "Frustrating?" I repeated, raising my eyebrows at him. "Frustrating? It's not frustrating! It's disgusting! He was—" I bit my lip, my eyes glossing over. "He was—he... he didn't deserve that! The way he was treated was disgusting and nobody tried to make anything better until it was too damn late! He's gone! What the fuck are posters and an assembly gonna do, huh? It's too late to care." By now, my cheeks were covered in tears. I wiped my face and sat back down. "Fuck this school, dude. You're a selfish bastard and you only pretend to care because you have to."