✓ | 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 (BYLER)

𝒗. PROBLEMS

"Friends?" Angela raised her eyebrows and chuckled. "Yeah! Super cool."

El was paralyzed with fear, and rightfully so. It felt as if she were gazing into a crystal ball, its shimmery surface displaying footage of the consequences she would face if Angela continued to taunt her.

"Come on, friend. Let's skate, shall we?" Angela smirked, holding her hand out for the brunette girl to take.

Will was on the verge of having a full-blown panic attack. He had witnessed his step-sister being bullied far too many times, and he didn't want it to happen during what was supposed to be a fun-filled spring break.

"I wanted to finish . . ." El began, averting her eyes to her unfinished milkshake.

"I'll hold on to that," Jake offered, snatching the drink from El's hands.

"Come on," Angela urged, harshly grabbing El's hand and dragging her away.

Will immediately stood up and watched the girls skate away. Fear was evident in his hazel eyes. He knew for certain that this scenario wouldn't have a happy ending. Meanwhile, Mike was completely oblivious to the situation. Had he not noticed how fake Angela sounded when speaking? Had he ignored the terrified expression on his girlfriend's face when she approached them?

As intelligent as he was, Mike Wheeler could be such an idiot.

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱

"Whoo!" Angela hooted as she forcefully yanked El onto the rink.

The brunette girl's brown eyes were widened with terror. She wasn't entirely stupid — she knew this entire scheme was an act. The blonde girl hated her guts, after all.

"Why are you so nervous?" Angela asked, her hands tightly gripping El's wrists. "We're just having fun!"

Will continued to monitor them, when suddenly, he caught a glimpse of one of Angela's friends setting up a video camera. Shit. That could only mean one thing.

"Oh no," He muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What?" Mike inquired, swiftly rising from his once-seated position.

"El? She hasn't been telling you everything," Will blurted out.

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked, perplexedly furrowing his eyebrows.

"She's lying to you, Mike!"

"Bullshit!"

"No, listen to me! She's having problems here," Will explained, praying that Mike would listen to him just this once.

"Problems. Okay, what kind of problems?" The ravenette responded, still unsure as to whether or not he believed his best friend's claims about El.

Will didn't have an opportunity to reply, as the music came to an unexpected halt and the DJ made an announcement over the loudspeaker.

"All right, everyone," He spoke. "This next song is dedicated to Jane, the local snitch."

He flicked a switch and a spotlight was shone directly onto El, making her the center of attention against her will. A bundle of teenagers began skating around her as "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris blared over the speakers.

"Freak! Go home!" One girl hollered, holding her hand out to mock El's outburst from the day before.

"Loser!" Another girl yelled, derisively sticking her tongue out.

The flock of bullies skated around the frightened girl in a perfect circle, causing her to grow dizzy and struggle to maintain her balance.

Mike and Will shared a glance. As awful as it sounded, maybe this situation would make Mike realize that El was lying to him all along.

The blonde-haired boy holding the video camera recorded every millisecond of the scene, periodically zooming in to capture every detail. The name-calling and tormenting continued for what felt like centuries. It reminded Will of first graders arguing during recess — that's how immature these teenagers were acting.

"She's a little baby!"

"Gonna cry to Mommy?"

Mike looked furious. Will could practically see the steam shooting out of his ears as his face grew red with rage. Meanwhile, El was on the verge of tears. She covered her ears, praying that some way, somehow, her powers would magically reappear. She wouldn't be satisfied until she managed to get the sweet revenge she craved.

"Hey!" Mike yelled, storming up to the DJ. "Hey, hey! Turn it off!"

"Sorry, I can't hear you, dude!" The DJ snorted, pointing to his headphones as he jammed out to the music.

"I said, turn it off!" Mike scolded him.

"If you say so," The DJ shrugged, reluctantly turning the music off.

Just then, he seized the microphone and opened his mouth again.

"Wipeout!"

Jake pried the lid off of El's chocolate milkshake and launched its contents onto her, staining her dress and causing her to slip and fall.

Everyone began cackling as El broke down. Will felt his eyes welling up with tears. He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed, and he felt incredibly guilty for not stepping in to help. Even Mike looked like he was about to cry, and he rarely expressed his emotions.

After the laughter died down a bit, Angela skated over to El with a wicked smirk on her face.

"Didn't you see the sign, dummy? No food or drinks on the rink."

El began to sob even harder, when a familiar voice suddenly filled her ears — Mike's voice. Everything hit her like a slap across the face. Her boyfriend had witnessed everything, meaning he knew that she had been lying to him for eight months.

"El! El!" The ravenette bellowed, shoving past the crowd of bullies in an attempt to reach the girl.

Not wanting to face her boyfriend, El instantly lifted herself off the ground and skated away, feeling humiliated beyond words. A river of tears streamed down her reddened cheeks, her face puffy from bawling her eyes out. She speedily managed to find a place to hide from the chaos. All she wanted to do was release her emotions without any interruptions.

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 !
i'm so sorry it took me forever to publish this chapter! i haven't been motivated to write for the past few days & i only recently got my motivation back. also, i'm super particular about my writing & i don't allow myself to publish a chapter unless it's written to the best of my ability. like i've said before, this story will have slow updates, so just bare with me! <3