to you ♡

~Chapter Five~♡~

"To him,

I left everyone I cared about. Just so I could stay with you.

But in the end?

You left me too."

The bell rang, cutting the teacher off mid sentence. Students around immediately shot up. Chairs scraped the floors. Laptops slammed shut. Zippers zipped. Voices floated through the air. Frantically, Mrs Brotra threw her hands in the air, waving for the student's attention.

"Everyone!" She called out above the voices."You have your math exam at the end of next week. I expect everyone to score above 80%. In my eyes, anything below 80 is a failure, and you should've studied harder."

Everyone groaned. The math teacher was always strict with tests and exams, and would punish the students for getting bad grades. But Isla had a feeling that the last sentence was directed right at her.

At this point every math exam was the same. If you scored below 80% she wouldn't give you feedback. But punishment. Mrs Brotra would hold a grunge against you like it was personal. She'd stare at you with disappointment, like you've betrayed her whole bloodline, just by getting a couple questions wrong.

Maybe it wasn't the numbers and equations that made Isla have a hatred for math.

Maybe it was just the way Mrs Brotra made her feel like a failure. But either way it never made Isla better at Math. She would always go back home with a mark under 75%. Like Isla said before, math was never her strongest subject.

Isla let out a sigh, reaching for her bag, ready to leave the class.

"Hey." A voice stopped Isla from moving. Her fingers froze around the zipper of her bag. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was. The cruel tone gave it away.

"Where's your boyfriend Isla?" Her ex best friend asked mockingly, searching around the room with fake concern.

"Oh right," Her face turned into a sly smirk. "He left. I guess you weren't the one for him. " She laughed. A mean one. It cut through the classroom. Isla was just happy that everyone else had already left.

"I still wonder why he went out with you," Lila said, confused. " How did he manage to stay with you for a whole year? You're such a mess." A couple of the girls around her laughed.

Laughed at Isla

Laughed at her for just wanting to be loved by somebody.

"Oh Stop it Lila," A voice said tauntingly, laced thick with cruelty and spite. It was the new girl. "You don't want to hurt her poor feelings!" She had her hand over her heart, pouting dramatically at Isla. While her eyes danced with amusement.

"Whatever. At least you're a better match for Damian" Hearing his name, struck a nerve in Isla.

Lila let out a bored sigh. "Everyone knows he replaced you within a week" Lila pointed a finger at Isla and started waving it.

Lila's rude comments started sounding distant. Isla felt her head feeling heavy. Her eyes stared at the one tile on the floor. Her mind was spiralling, but it felt empty. Her heart beating unevenly in her chest. She couldn't speak. Couldn't think. Couldn't move.

"Remember when she used to be the talk of the school?" Lila sneered loudly in front of her face, bringing Isla back into reality.

"She acted like she was a celebrity, a star, and now nobody even remembers her name"

Lila leaned in even closer. Inches away from Isla. Her voice felt like smoke, wrapping around Isla

"Remember all your friends? Well I mean most of them were just your ex's Damian's friends. I guess they felt bad for you because you didn't have any friends. But little did they know you left them all the second he started giving you attention,"

Lila spat each word to Isla. "Like I wasn't good enough to be your friend,"

"But then even his friends left you when he did. It was like they planned it. Waiting for the perfect moment to leave you. They all left. One by one. Like they couldn't wait to disappear from you,

I mean if everyone left you, that surely says a lot about you. But at least they finally saw the real you. Pathetic, clingy, too much to deal with."

Lila let out a cold harsh laugh.

Isla started feeling uneasy, scared. Lila's words burned into her like a brand. Permanently scaring her. Every word she said hit deeper than the last, ringing through her mind. Her throat felt tight, her hands gripped her bag, her eyes looking everywhere but at them.

Isla felt trapped under Lila's hard, cold stare. She didn't want to be near Lila, or hear any more of the cruel things she had to say. She just wants to leave. Run. Hide. The things she was good at. Her bag swung over her shoulder. Quick and quiet steps walked away. Head hung low.

Without another word, glance, or sound, Isla made her way to the door.

Behind her, she heard the voices of the other girls making fun at her for leaving.

Isla couldn't say anything back.

Why?

Because all the words they threw at her, were the same ones floating in the back of her head.

Pathetic. Cling. Unmanageable.

But the worst part?

Isla believed them.

♡~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~♡

A couple eyes in the hall stared at her.

Before it was a lot more. She loved that attention, not in the 'pick-me way' where she wants everyone's attention on her at all times, but the kind of attention where she was actually seen.

Noticed. Like she mattered.

She used to walk confidently through these halls, with a smile that was always on her face, and an unforgettable laugh.

But now?

Her steps were falter, a hunch at her shoulders from staring at the floor, an expressionless frown plastered on, no sound ever leaving her mouth.

She's changed. A different person. But not in a good way.

They all see the flaws, the imperfections, the mistakes, that she spent so long trying to hide.

All because of him, he gave her everything, and then stripped it away.

Everyone knew that he was going to embarrass and then leave her that second he asked Isla out.

"So then why did he stay with me?" Lila's words were already messing with her head