behind the badass ⊸ a lauren/you story

one | it's an under-the-skin kind of thing

I sat in the back of the room, watching as my teacher wrote meaningless things on the whiteboard. From there, I could see everyone—from the guy sticking gum under his desk to the class nerd to Lauren Jauregui—everyone.

My classmates were talking amongst themselves quietly since the teacher's plans ended early and he allowed us to talk.

I rolled my eyes and walked up to Lauren who was with her small group of friends. I had a cocky smile plastered on my face, and her four other best friends looked up at me with unreadable expressions. "Hey, sweet thing."

"Ew, stay away from me," she spat, lightly punching my stomach.

"Only if you let me take you out tonight," I smirked.

"No, don't even try." She shook her head, glaring at me and then turning back to her friends.

As stuck-up as I may seem, I'm a very deep person. I'm only this confident with Lauren. Every time she rejects me, my heart rips a little and my confidence gets stripped of me tiny bits at a time, yet I still try to win her over.

I sighed, walking away from her and her group, sitting down in my seat again. Before I knew it, the bell rang and I was home.

I cringed at the sight of the old shack. Inside lay my dad with beer bottles surrounding him. Rather than disturbing him, I tried walking upstairs. The floorboard creaked, alerting my dad, ultimately ticking him off even more because I woke him up from his sleep.

"Hey!" he slurred angrily.

"Yes?"

In less than a few seconds, I was on the floor with a black eye and blood trickling down the side of my face. I didn't shed a single tear—I was used to it. I walked upstairs to my room to clean myself up. I took a wipe and cleaned up the blood, then putting a gauze around the cut. I threw a beanie on my head so no one suspected anything of it.

There was really nothing I could do about the black eye, so I left it be and collapsed tiredly on my bed. It broke at the contact.

"Of course," I groaned.

I moved the mattress off the bed frame and finally fell asleep peacefully.

The night faded and it was morning in the blink of an eye. When I woke up, I changed and put my signature leather jacket over everything. Topping off my outfit with the same beanie as last night and a pair of aviators, I trudged down the sidewalk, watching teens and their friends race by me and into the school. Lauren, however, grabbed my attention with the matching jacket she was wearing.

"Hey, you know you could've asked for my leather jacket if you wanted one," I grinned, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.

"Okay, no, stop," she said, shoving me away. "You're disgusting. Come on, let's go, girls."

One of her friends, Ally I believe, sent me an apologetic smile. I grinned back, following them in, then breaking away to go to my locker.

As I walked into my first class of the day, the teacher gave me a weird look, watching me sit down in my seat. After everyone had arrived, including Lauren and her group, the teacher crossed her arms and stared at me, as did the rest of the students.

"Can I help you, Miss?" I asked curiously. She wasted a solid five minutes of class just staring me down.

"Y/L/N, you know the dress code. Please remove your hat and glasses," she shot, annoyance laced in every word.

"Um..." No one could see my face. I wouldn't let it happen. "No, ma'am."

"Y/N," she said sternly.

"I'll remove them if you let me go to the bathroom to do so," I suggested.

"How do I know you won't bolt out of the school?" she inquired.

I chuckled bitterly. "Pure trust, ma'am."

"Mm... Lauren," the teacher called out. "Please go with Miss Y/L/N to make sure she doesn't do anything... Out of line."

I stood up and walked out of the room with my bag and Lauren dragging behind.

"I'm leaving," I said, beelining for the front door.

"No you're not," the green-eyed girl fought.

"Yes I am. It's not like you care anyway. I'm just a bother to you, so leave me be," I snapped, walking faster with every step.

I heard Lauren groan loudly, her footsteps picking up. I assume she began jogging after me. "Just take off the damn hat and glasses, Y/N! Do you care about your reputation that much?! Why is it so hard to do what the teacher tells you for once?!"

I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around to face her. "Too far, Jauregui. You just pushed it too far."

She gulped as I walked closer and closer to her, making me smirk. "S-stop. W-what're you—"

"You wanna see why I'd rather go home than take off the fuckin' hat and glasses, huh?"

She thought for a moment before nodding. I internally groaned, knowing if this got out, my high school experience would become a living nightmare.

I took Lauren's wrist in a firm grip, pulling her into the bathroom down the hall. I opened every stall door to be sure there was no one in the restroom with us. There wasn't another soul.

"You have to promise me you won't tell anyone of what you see, understood?"

"Y-yes."

Slowly, I pulled the beanie off my head, along with the glasses, revealing my black eye and bandage. Lauren let out a small gasp, reaching her hand out to caress the purple-black spot on my face. It took me a little while, but I eventually smacked her hand away furiously.

"Stop."

She sighed, looking over my face for anymore injuries.

"I'm leaving now, and you can't stop me." I walked out of the bathroom without any interferences. I knew she wouldn't try to stop me, I shouldn't have expected anything more.

The door opened and closed once again, and out came Lauren, her voice ringing through my ears. "I'm coming with you."

"Ha! I'm sure you'd like to, but no, sorry!"

"I need to make sure you make it home safely and nothing happens when you get there," she declared, running to catch up with me.

"No, you really don't." I held out my hand to stop her, but she continued walking. I began getting irritated by her stubbornness, but that's another part of her I love.

"Yes I do."

"Why do you suddenly care so much?! You care if you can see the pain through marks on my skin, but every time you call me 'disgusting' or a 'player,' you don't seem to care about me at all, Lauren!"

"I—" she seemed to be thinking for a split second, "—I'm sorry..."

"No, I'm sorry for messing with you, but I can't help it," I said, sadly. "I-I'll see you later."

I felt tears brimming my eyes, but quickly wiped it away as my feet scratched against the sidewalk and my knees became weak. I could feel myself falling but did nothing in my power to stop it.