Anxious Love

Part 1: Beginning of the End

August 26th 5:30am
An alarm ringing loudly wakes Jayden from her very light sleep. She turns it off and lets out a small groan. She sits up and runs her fingers through her greasy, messy hair. She looks around her room before sliding out of bed. She grabs her phone and smiles when she sees two notifications. Her smile disappears when she sees that one notification is telling her to pay her Netflix bill and the other is a missed alarm at 5:00. She sighs and turns off her phone. She tosses it on her bed and shuffles to the laundry room. She pulls a towel out of the dryer and throws it over her shoulder. She stops in her sister's doorway on the way to the bathroom and looks inside. She sighs and goes into the bathroom. She pulls her shirt off and tosses it on the ground while she avoids looking at the mirror, so that she doesn't waste hours pointing out her flaws to herself. She takes off the rest of her clothes and gets in the shower. She stands under the water for a while, enjoying the warmth. She climbs out 10 minutes later and wraps a towel around her body. She brushes her teeth and hair. She stares at her face in the mirror. She examines her features. She sees a big nose... pimples... crooked teeth... one eye smaller than the other... she hates it all. She frowns and goes back to her room. She throws on a white shirt, black jeans, black high top sneakers, and a maroon hoodie. She goes into the kitchen and opens the fridge.
B: "Ew... its you..." Belle says as she enters the kitchen.
M: "Leave her alone Belle." Matt says following her. Jayden sighs as she closes the fridge.
M: "Are you excited for Junior year?" He says as he eats a handful of dry cereal.
J: "Not really..." she says quietly.
B: "You'll be fine. Don't be a baby." Matt glares at her.
M: "I'll help you as much as I can..." he puts a hand on her shoulder. Her phone rings and she goes to the living room.
"L: Are you on your way to school?
J: No... It will only take me a few minutes to walk there though... meet me at my locker.
L: Ok... bye."
She sighs as she puts the phone in her back pocket. She throws her backpack over her shoulder and takes a deep breath as she steps outside. She walks for a few minutes before arriving at school. She stares at the door before hesitantly opening it. She goes inside and tries to walk so that it won't attract attention. She goes to her locker and looks at the combination lock. She tries it and fails. She looks around to be sure no one noticed, and tries it again. She fails again and starts sweating when someone looks at her. She feels a hand on her shoulder and jumps a little. She looks at her friend and smiles lightly.
L: "Do you want help?" She asks kindly. Jayden nods and looks around as Lacy unlocks her locker. Jayden opens it and puts her extra binders and supplies inside. She puts her backpack on again and closes the locker quietly.
L: "What class do you have first?" She asks looking at her schedule.
J: "Culinary..." Lacy frowns.
L: "Oh... let me see your schedule..." Jayden gives her the paper and watches as she reads. She hears people yelling and looks up just in time to see a flash of red hair run by. She smiles sadly and a raven haired boy shoves her into a locker.
L: "Stay out of my way Cow!" He yells and chases after the redhead. Jayden sighs and holds her wrist.
L: "Are you ok?" Lacy says as she grabs her hand. Jayden winces and Lacy frowns. Jayden grabs her bag and walks to class sadly. She walks in and tries to walk to the back unnoticed. She sits at an empty table in the back and takes out her binder. She starts fidgeting with her fingers while moving her leg quickly to soothe her nerves. The teacher starts talking and the door flies open. The redhead comes in panting and gives a note to the teacher. She reads it and nods. He scans the room and sits next to Jayden. She tries to stop moving but she can't. He shuffles through his bag while the teacher talks. He looks over at Jayden, who is working quietly, and taps her shoulder. She jumps a bit and looks at him.
A: "Sorry if I startled you... can I borrow a pencil?" He whispers. She nods and hands him a blue mechanical pencil. He smiles.
A: "Thanks... Im Aiden... Im from Northshore." He whispers. Northshore doesn't have a high school anymore so all of the students get transferred to Roosevelt High. Most students are already friends with some of the people from Northshore. One of Jayden's few friends, Katie, is dating Aiden.
J: "I'm Jayden..." she whispers and continues working.
*20 minutes later*
The bell rings and Jayden leaves the class quickly. She looks around as people bump into her. She looks down at her schedule and smiles.
J: "Room 201..." she whispers to herself. She looks up and looks at the room number above her. She sighs. Someone hands her a peice of paper and she looks up at Aiden. The paper is a map of the school. It shows that her class is at the end of the hallway across from her. She smiles and gives the paper back to Aiden.
A: "Keep it. I have copies." She smiles and he walks away. She walks into her next class and sits in the back. Jamie sits next to her and Katie sits in front of her.
K: "Hey Jay... how's your day so far?" Jayden smiles.
J: "Not any better than I expected..." she says sadly. The next couple classes go by fast until the bell rings for lunch. Jayden gets money from her brother. He drives her to the store and she buys a deli sandwich. She is standing in line when Katie links arms with her.
K: "Is Matt taking you back to school or do you want to walk with us?" She asks as Valerie finishes paying.
J: "I'll walk with you." She says quietly. Katie smiles as they pay. Dustin and three girls are in front of them. Those girls are the slutty girls that think they are better than everyone. Dustin is the man whore that has sex with all of them, even the girl who claims she is lesbian. Jayden used to be friends with all of them but in freshman year, they became drug and sex addicted whores. Katie gets frustrated as they start walking even slower than they were before. Someone pulls Jayden's hair and she turns her head quickly and the raven haired boy from this morning is smirking. She turns around and keeps walking. He pulls her hair again.
L: "Walk faster cow!" He says loudly. She speeds up but can't go anywhere because of the people in front of her. Katie and Valerie try to talk to her but her hearing is faded. She looks around and slips in between Valerie and Dustin. She fast walks around them and goes back to school. She goes as fast as she can into the bathroom and starts hyperventilating. She takes her pills out of her bag and shoves two of them down her throat. She takes a drink of water and reapplies makeup to the bags under her eyes and the scars on her arms. She sighs and takes the sandwich out of her bag. She takes a bite and the bell rings. She frowns and shoves the sandwich back into her bag. She goes to her next class and sits next to Lacy. Lacy looks at her sadly.
L: "I heard Lucas was messing with you..." Jayden looks at her confused. Lacy sighs.
L: "Kit said a boy was pulling your hair... his name is Lucas Myers... he is a transfer from Northshore." Jayden smiles sadly. The class falls silent when the teacher stands in the front of the class.
T: "My name is Miss Jensen. Welcome!" She says happily.
MJ: "I am going to ask you some questions. Those who answer correctly, will get a piece of candy."
T: "I like this teacher." Lacy whispers.
*20 minutes later*
The bell rings and Jayden stands up.
L: "Who do you have for advisory?" Lacy asks as she throws her bag over her shoulder.
J: "Miss Jenson..." Lacy frowns.
L: "I have to go... bye Jay..." Jayden frowns and moves to the back. She takes out a book and waits for the rest of her classmates to arive.
MJ: "Flowers of Algernon... one of my favorites..." Jayden jumps.
MJ: "I'm sorry if i scared you..." Miss Jenson says sadly.
J: "Its ok..." Jayden says quietly. Miss Jenson smiles. The rest of the class comes in and Jayden sighs. The class goes by fast and the bell rings. Jayden puts her stuff in her locker and looks at her schedule. She sighs and grabs her gym stuff. She is walking when Kit and Jamie link arms with her.
K: "We have gym together!" She says happily. Jayden smiles sadly and they walk into the gym. They stop when they see Lucas, Chuck, Dustin, and Aiden tossing around a football. Lucas looks at her and smirks. The other three boys turn around and all of them share the same evil grin except Aiden. He has a genuine smile. Kit and Jamie pull Jayden into the locker room.
J: "We are going to die." Jamie says as she sits on a bench. Kit puts her stuff in her locker and Jayden stands there frozen.
K: "Are you ok Jay?" Jayden snaps out of her trance.
J: "I'm fine..." she says sadly.
J: "Are you sure? You look like you are about to vomit..." Jamie says as Jayden becomes even more pale.
J: "I'll be back." She says before she runs into the bathroom. She pukes violently in the toilet and pants as she sits on the ground with her back against the stall. She sighs and stands up. She flushes the toilet and sprays herself with perfume. She pops a mint in her mouth and straightens her hair and clothes. She changes into her gym clothes and goes into the gym. She sits next to Kit and Jamie on the bleachers. Lucas looks at her and grins. She breaths shakily. The teacher finishes explaining rules and tells them to split into groups. Kit, Jamie, Jayden, and Jamie's friend, Vicky, form a group. They pass a volleyball back and forth for the rest of the class. After class, everyone leaves and Jayden is left alone in the gym. She opens the door to the girls locker room and sees Lucas pinning a blonde girl against the locker. She is moaning loudy amd they are rattling the lockers. Jayden quickly closes the door and tries to erase that image from her brain. She goes into the bathroom and reads on the floor in a stall. The blonde girl enters the bathroom, fixing her shirt. Jayden sighs and leaves the bathroom. She goes into the girls locker room and opens her locker. She puts her stuff in her locker and looks around before taking off her shirt. She hears a chuckle and jumps. She quickly puts her shirt back on and her heart races. She looks behind ber and sees Lucas leaning against a locker.
L: "Nice stretch marks, cow." He says smiling. She frowns. Lucas walks closer to her and she starts breathing heavily. She freezes in fear. He touches her bra strap and she looks at his fingers. He puts a hand on her hip and she panicks. She slaps him and pushes him against a locker. She grabs her stuff and runs out quickly. She runs to the back of the building and sits down against the wall. She takes a deep, shaky breath and holds her arm out in front of her. Her arm shakes uncontrollably and she tries to oppress her emotions. She calms down and walks home.
A: "Jayden!" Aiden calls her name from his porch as she unlocks her front door. He walks over to her.
A: "I'm your new neighbor!" He says happily. She tries to smile. Aiden drops his smile.
A: "Are you ok? You're shaking... what happened?" He asks. She ignores the question and tries to unlock the door but drops the keys. Aiden picks them up for her and unlocks the door. He gives her the keys and she frowns.
A: "Are you ok?"
J: "Do you value your reputation?" He looks at her confused.
A: "Well... i mean i..."
J: "If you value your reputation... you won't talk to me. If people see you being nice to me, especially Lucas... you will become an outcast..." she says as she goes inside. Aiden frowns and goes home.