Haphephobia ♚ BOOK ONE ♚

Chapter Two - Teen Idle

❝ℕiall's POV ❞

The new guy looked around the room, his eyes landing on me. I looked at the wall instead of at him, and then ended up watching him. He's hot, don't judge me. He turned to Louis and said something to him, a smirk on his lips. "He's a fucking freak, man!" Louis exclaimed loudly.

"He had like a mental breakdown or some shit because someone grabbed his arm. I'm pretty sure he's on drugs, but it was fucking hilarious." Louis said, well shouted and I knew exactly who they were talking about. Me. "Eh, it's not worth it then." The new guy said back, but he wasn't fucking shouting like Louis.

Louis liked to make fun of me, but never to my face. He'd talk shit about me to the entire class and I'd just pretend he wasn't there. They sat in their usual spot, the new guy sitting next to Liam. I have no idea how he managed to become BFFs with them, but lucky him. Nobody will make fun of him because of his hair now since he's probably best friends with Louis now.

******

Remind me again why I go to school because I don't think I learned anything besides some new insults. I should just hide out in the bathroom all the time. I hide after school because it's like a fucking frenzy because everyone needs to get out at the same time. Crowds aren't my favourite thing, so I lock myself in the bathroom until everyone is gone.

I picked at my nails and leaned against the sink. I ran my fingers through my hair for the hundredth time and let out an over exaggerated sigh. Fuck, I hate this school. I'm kind of a bitter person if you can't tell, but I have a reason to be bitter. I unlocked the door and stuck my head out, looking for anyone in the hallway.

The hall was empty, so I grabbed my backpack and walked out of the bathroom. I walked towards my locker and fumbled with the combination. My locker swung open and I tossed my backpack in. What? Do you expect me to actually do my homework?

I shut my locker and spun the lock to zero and turned to walk down the hall and out of this hell. I heard footsteps behind me, but I thought it was just a teacher. I felt the person grab my wrist and slam me into the lockers.

I squeezed my eyes shut and all I could feel was the person's hand on my wrist and shoulder. "Open your eyes, freak." The person said. It sounded a bit like the new kid, which scared me even more. My breathing was getting faster and my throat was dry.

Fuck, I'm going to start hyperventilating. Someone is touching me. A complete stranger is touching me. "Please, stop touching me." I whispered, my voice cracking. The person moved their hand off of my shoulder, but they kept hold of my wrist.

I opened my eyes to see the new kid and just about burst into tears. Wait, I did burst into tears. He let go off my wrist and I ran straight for the bathroom. I locked the door and collapsed onto the floor. I don't know how long I was on the floor, crying my eyes out, but a loud knock on the door caused me to shut the hell up.

"Niall! Is that you?" My principal's voice called out. Shit. "Y-yes." I said back. "Can you open the door?" Ms.V asked. I stood up and wiped the tears away before unlocking the door. "What happened?" She asked, her voice sympathetic.

Ms.V knows about my phobia and she's the only staff member that knows. I didn't want the other teachers knowing because they would tell everybody that I was 'special.' I'm not special. I'm a goddamn freak. Even the new kid knows it.

I shook my head and looked at my shoes. "C'mon. Let's go call your mum." She said and I followed her to the office. "Do you want me to call your mum or do you want to?" Ms.V asked, filling up a small cup of water and handing it to me. I grabbed it by the rim of the cup and took a small sip of it. "I-I'll call her. Don't want to freak her out to much." My voice was hoarse so I drank more of the water.