13 Reasons why // The 14th Reason

// 26//

What's the best part of High School?  The great friends you make? The romance? No. We both know the best part of high school... is summer break. It's the great reset button. And after everything that happened to me sophomore year... I couldn't wait to start fresh... to tear the rest of the pages from my journal and forget it all. Except I didn't get very far. At work, my usual partner in crime was spending the summer with his grandparents. His temporary replacement was nice enough, but entirely too normal. And I couldn't escape my past. I needed a change. I needed to be someone new. Have you ever felt like that? I wasn't going to be invisible anymore. I was going to start brand new. I was going to cut away the past and leave it all behind.
I was going to work harder. Be smarter. And be stronger. Because you can't change other people but you can change yourself.

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School was crappy as usual and I had donned a largely oversized jumper that had probably belonged to Zach many months ago.
In fact he picked up on it when he drove me to school that morning.
"Is that mine?" He questioned suspiciously.
I looked over at him with a small smile,
"It's mine now." I then quickly dropped my gaze back to my hands in my lap.
We both stayed relatively silent until we pulled up into the school parking lot. Zach turned off the engine and I made to step out of the car but his hand on my arm held me back. I turned to look at him inquisitively and his gaze was sharp. He gently raised a hand to my cheek, stroking it with his thumb.
"Your eyes are red. Have you been crying?"
"Huh? What- I mean..." I trailed off, unable to think of an excuse.
I had been crying. All night long.
"Look Zach, I'm fine. Okay? If it was anything to worry about I would talk to you. I promise."
He removed his hand from my cheek and placed a gentle kiss there instead. As he pulled back he looked deep into my eyes.
"I'm always here for you Mel."
I stared back into his earnest gaze and felt a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. I leaned over the gear stick to drag him into a hug and he returned it just as tightly.
"Come on, lets do this!" I cheered enthusiastically, trying to gather the energy to bother with school and the socialising that lay ahead.
We walked over to the front of the school where our friends usually hung out. Jess was there with Justin, Sheri... and Bryce.
My stomach turned once I saw him and I gripped Zach's arm. He stopped walking and looked down at me with concern.
"Everything okay babe?"
I nodded with a tight lipped smile.
"Just not feeling great today."
We carried on walking, this time with Zach's arm wrapped around my shoulder in a supposedly comforting move but in the situation it felt as though I was being restrained.
"So she's trying to punish me by giving all my stunts to this 80 pound freshman. Go ahead, you really think she can lift Melanie Opsted's fat ass into pyramid formation? Good luck!" Jess laughed as we walked over.
"Your coach is such a bitch." Bryce agreed. I kept my gaze on my boots.
"She's actually cool as long as people show up to practice." Sheri interjected.
"Alright, alright. It's cheerleading not saving lives." Jessica rolled her eyes in response to the jab. "Anybody down for a little pick me up?" She grinned, removing her metal water bottle from her bag and taking a gulp. She winced and swore with a laugh as Justin took the bottle from her.
"Is this vodka?" He asked sniffing it suspiciously.
Jess raised her eyebrows in response and frankly I was shocked at her behaviour. This wasn't the Jess I used to know.
"You never drink at school."
"Since when do you turn down a drink?" Bryce jostled Justin before grabbing the bottle and taking a swig for himself.
He didn't bother to try and persuade me, thank god but he offered the bottle to Zach.
"Come on Zachariah, there's no strawberry."
"Uh nah, I got a test in bio." He shrugged, one arm wrapped around my shoulders and the other resting in his pocket. Bryce sighed and turned his efforts back to Justin.
I was starting to get uncomfortable and cast my eyes around the entrance to the school. Some of the buses had arrived and a fresh wave of kids were walking past us through the doors. Clay was one of the stragglers at the back of the large wave and I saw him stop and stare at our group. More specifically at Jessica.
She seemed to have noticed.
"Alright I gotta go copy my Spanish homework before the bell rings." She joked, excusing herself. "Adios losers!"
Yo, Jess." Bryce stopped her before she entered the school, "You coming to mine tonight? You're  all invited." He turned to the rest of us with a smirk. Before he could say anything else however, his gaze travelled over my shoulder and he let out a low whistle.
"Who is that?"
The group turned around curiously and my gaze followed Bryce's to see a familiar figure walking towards the school. Many students were staring at her as the tall girl strutted towards the school like she owned it, her shorts showing off her long tanned legs and her red baseball jacket making her stand out. She tossed her golden brown hair over her shoulder and I gasped, remembering that gesture all too well.
"Do you know her?" Zach asked me quietly. I looked up at him and shook my head,
"No, why would you think that?" I asked with a small nervous laugh.
"Because she's coming over here." He replied. I groaned and turned around only to be engulfed in a bone crushing hug.
"Oh my god, Melanie! It's been so long! I heard what happened and on behalf of all of us I want to say sorry."
"All of us?" Sherri asked curiously, watching the girl standing beside me as she detached herself.
"Yeah, Thanks Eden." I sighed, my hands hanging by my sides.
"Do you know each other?" Bryce asked, unashamedly checking Eden out.
I rolled my eyes.
"Eden and I went to school together. The school that I moved from to come here." I explained.
"We were best friends." Eden added with her award winning smile. She noticed Zach's arm wrapped securely around my waist and grinned at me,
"Mel, is this your boyfriend?" She sang sweetly. I nodded with a stiff smile,
"This is Zach." I explained, hugging him tightly before releasing myself from his arms.
"I'm going to show you around." I grabbed Eden's wrist and pulled her along behind me. Just as I was leaving Zach called after me,
"Mel, are you okay?"
"Bye!" I yelled back, ignoring the stares of my classmates as we rushed down the hall.