Her Beautiful Innocence

31 | ˢᵗᵃⁿᵈⁱⁿᵍ ᵁᵖ ᶠᵒʳ ᴹʸˢᵉˡᶠ

"Y-Yeah?" I asked mildly, looking down at the ground. 
"Did they bother you?" Natalie requested, observing my face determinedly.

"Uhm..." I stumbled over my words, not knowing how to react. If I tell the truth, what will she do? What will those girls do to me? 

"Tell me the truth, Sophia," she said sternly. Leslie showed her face from over Natalie's shoulder and nodded her head encouragingly. 

I made the smallest movement with my head, telling them that yes, they did bother me. Natalie caught the act and pushed herself off the lockers, taking a step forward, closer to the three girls, who were noisily gossiping about us, not even trying to hide it. 

"What the hell did you do?" I've never seen Natalie so scary before. Her voice was calm, but the irritation could be heard evidently, which made it all the more scarier. Even I was afraid of what she might do instead of these girls. 

"Oh, nothing. Why would you assume we did something?" The girl who was in front, seeming to be the leader, spoke, smirking coolly. This must not be the first time they've interacted like this. 

"Don't lie, Carrie," Leslie spoke up, now next to Natalie again. "You're terrible at it." I wanted to follow where this was going, but something caught me off guard. 

Carrie? So the girl's - the leader's - name is Carrie. Just like my Carrie, from my old town. My ex-best friend. The one who dumped me because I, apparently, was too 'naive and innocent' for her. She couldn't handle me anymore, so she left. I didn't blame her, though. Sometimes I hate myself, too. 

"Oh, the girlfriend's joining in too now, huh," mocked Carrie. The two girls behind her cackled together, outwardly finding this amusing. 

"Got a problem with that, Carrie?" hissed Natalie, barely holding in her anger. The way she emphasized her name was pure venom. 

"Nope," she popped the 'p'. "It's just sad that you had to turn gay to get into a relationship," she said sassily, twirling her hair between her fingers. My mouth hung open, and Natalie was officially fuming. Even Leslie, the laid-back and happy Leslie, narrowed her eyes. This has to stop fast, before someone gets hurt. 

My parents always told me that if I was near a fight, I had to run away or call for help, but I certainly was not going to run away from this. They're my friends, standing up for me because I couldn't. 

"Carrie," laughed Natalie dryly, shaking her head. "I get more boys than the three of you combined, and I'm gay." I had to hold back a gasp, and tried to hide the giant grin on my face. The three girls stopped smirking and their eyes turned to slits, murderous looks on their faces. 

Carrie took two paces closer, and Natalie was here for it, rolling up her sleeves and putting her shoulder-length, black hair behind her ears. I met Leslie's gaze, wondering why she wasn't doing anything. Why isn't she stopping her? 

Leslie shook her head, sending me a small smile. "Let them," she whispered, only for me to hear. "Go to class?" she suggested, her voice sounding concerned. 

I pointed towards Natalie with my head, mouthing "what about her?" to Leslie. She simply smirked and shook her head. "She'll be fine. Have you ever seen her fight before?" she asked rhetorically. I opened my mouth nevertheless, I didn't want her to get hurt because of me. 

She placed her hand on my arm. "Don't worry, those pussie- uh...chicks won't even be able to lay a finger on her," she smiled soothingly, despite having to reform her sentence for whatever reason. I nodded. If she says so...