Somber Shackles

• Chapter Two •

Olivia

I took one look at the black-haired beauty in the cheerleading outfit and knew who she was. She had a glare on her face, a hand on one hip and was gripping her smoothie with the other. I could tell she wasn't happy.

"Uh, hi!" I started, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm Liv!"

"Oh, I know who you are!" she sneered, her blue eyes icy as she watched me. "I just came to make sure you know to keep your filthy hands off my boyfriend!" 

My assumptions were correct. I was looking at the notorious May.

"No, I–"

"Don't even try to deny it; I saw you twirling your hair and flirting," she said, taking a step towards me. I backed up slightly.

"I wasn't—"

"Do what I say or else," May snapped, cutting me off.

"Okay! I get it. Now let me go," I replied, stepping around her. She shifted slightly so I bumped into her accidentally but really didn't care enough to apologize.

"You stupid blonde bimbo!" she yelled, holding me back by the shoulder. I tensed at the sudden contact and slinked away from it.

Suddenly, I gasped as a cold, thick liquid came into contact with the top of my head, and slid down my back. I glanced around to see everyone either laughing or whispering and pointing. Unshed tears were burning in my eyes, and the humiliation was almost suffocating.  Before I could think, my feet were slapping against the floor as I ran out of the cafeteria. 

I was sprinting so fast that I bumped right into someone and landed with a thud on the concrete walkway. 

"S-sorry," I mumbled, looking up.

Standing above me stood a guy holding out his hand to me. He had beautiful olive-toned skin that complemented his green eyes, which sparkled like emeralds. His dark brown hair was in a short, messy kind of quiff. It looked like he'd run his hands through it a couple of times. I took the extended hand and stood up. It seemed I was meeting a lot of people this way. 

"Are you okay?" he asked. His voice was smooth and reassuring, but I didn't trust my voice, so I settled on a head nod. "You don't look okay. Is that a smoothie in your hair?" I swallowed hard.

"Um, yeah," I mumbled.

"Oh well, I heard fruits make good conditioner," he joked. I tried to smile, though I was sure it was much closer to a grimace. "Remind me not to pursue comedy." I nodded.

"Look, I've got to get this out of my hair, but I guess I'll see you around," I said, not meeting his eyes. He nodded.

When I got into the girls toilets, I let go of the sobs that had been building in my chest. As the tears rolled down my cheeks, I filled my hands with water from the sink and poured it onto my head. I stood there scrubbing and trying to rinse the smoothie out before drying it to the best of my abilities with the hand dryer.

I then took a few deep breaths and collected myself before I washed my tear-stained face. I stared in the mirror and frowned at my messy hair, and tied it into a bun before heading to my next class. As I walked, I kept my head down, avoiding the glances that my earlier incident had caused. I sat in the back of the room and tried to not get noticed. 

I didn't want anymore unwanted attention, as I felt humiliated enough by May. While I could tell she was going to do her best to make my life a living hell, I also knew that anything was better than living at home. This I could deal with.