𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 (j.foley)

𝚃𝚊𝚙𝚎 𝟺, 𝚂𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝙰

"Seriously, Pratters? Jesus!" Hannah says from the table next to her.

"I'm just saying, alright, if you're getting fat-shamed, then... you know, don't be fat." He defends himself and everyone rolls their eyes at the boy's constant stupidity.

Justin gives Grace a look of amusement, finding humour out of Pratter's stupidity. She glances at his hand that has his palm faced down on the desk next to hers. Any closer and they would touch. Deciding to be bold, she moves her pinky finger over slightly to begin to interlock their fingers together. Justin smiles at the action, giving her a discreet wink.

"Pratter's, that's like someone saying to you, don't be an idiot and a dickwad, you can't help it." Zach insults from Grace's table, making the class laugh.

Grace chuckles from her spot at the back of the class, but suddenly gasps at Justin's hand that begins tracing small circles on the inside of her thigh with his other hand. She turns her head, giving him a warning look but all he does is smirk, her shaking her head.

"Exactly, thank you."

"Totally not on your side, dude." Zach replies.

"Alright, people, so remember the compliment bags." Their teacher speaks up. "Um, it's always best to give a compliment face to face, but sometimes it's easier to be anonymous. Alright, see you tomorrow."

Once the teacher dismisses them, Grace finds herself walking over to her compliment bag, finding a note and a drawing. The drawing was of a bunny, which was no doubt off of Clay. She catches him drawing them all of the time.

She pulls out a note and a curious smile appears on her face.

"Yσυ ʅσσƙ ʋҽɾყ ρɾҽƚƚყ ƚσԃαყ" The mysterious note reads.

She wonders who it's from, but no names pop up in her head, at least, none but one. But she quickly shakes her head, getting rid of the thought. Sighing, she puts the drawing and the note in her bag and walks out of the class with everyone else.

"It happened after Valentine's Day... when you really feel that lack of human contact. Especially when you make contact with the wrong human. That's a whole new level of lonely. But through it all, you still want to believe there are good guys in the world. You were kind that night. You just sat there, letting me ignore you, until it was almost comical. Welcome to your tape, Zach."

Grace has never been close with Zach either. She didn't hang out with jocks, she found them to be ruthless and cruel. And he was a jerk from association. Zach and Grace has never even spoken a single word to each other, even though they've been to the same school for many years.

She only knows things about him from Justin, who would rant to her about all of his friends happily. And Grace would stare at him at awe as he began to talk about all the things that make him happy.

"Those of you that aren't Zach, you can relax. As for you, Zach... I wonder if you've ever felt what it's like to be lonely. Is it even possible to know when you're one of the most popular jocks and not one of those kids who sits alone in the cafeteria, hiding behind a book. You said something stupid, Zach and I yelled at you. Big deal. You should have let it go. But you didn't let it go. You didn't like that someone told you no. Because guys like you get everything they want, right? Maybe you think you deserve everything you get and more. Maybe you're just used to hearing the cheers of the crowd. Maybe you can't imagine what it feels like to be on the sidelines. Like most of us are. You can't imagine why a little piece of paper could mean so much."