woman like me - j.f✔️

IV

Justin, being so new to the school, didn't know how crowded the cafeteria could be. Nonetheless, he waited by the doors for Love. He watched faces pass him, finally seeing the short, raven haired girl looking deflated. His expression changed as he approached her. "Is everything okay?"

She didn't even look at him, she just walked alongside him with her eyes on the cafeteria line. "I'll explain later." They'd waited in line, retrieving their trays and looking for a spot to sit in. There was outside seating, which Love usually preferred, but it was winter. No snow, but freezing weather. They'd carried their trays outside, Love catching a glimpse of the football team in the corner of her eye, hoping they'd just let her go.

"Love!" She heard one call out. There was no way she could ignore it, their voices were booming. "Love, over here!" She turned and flashed her fakest smile, gesturing for Justin to follow her. They sat at the table with a few members of the team. Sure, these were once the assholes who made moaning noises in her ear as they passed her, or invited her to a threesome at least twice a day. But they were more sympathetic now, after everything that happened in her sophomore year.

"How was your day?" One of them asked, she hadn't even bothered to learn their names, that's how little they meant to her. They might mean well now, but nothing would dissolve the anger she felt for them.

"Great." She answered bluntly. "This is Justin, he's new." Her voice had no personality whatsoever. It was completely monotonous. The boys greeted him with smiles. It's a shame they aren't always like this. But they'd invited her to sit with them everyday, as all of her other friends had eventually disappeared, courtesy of Rowan.

"How's your mom and Margot?" The same boy asked. It aggravated her whenever they'd mention her younger sister, despite the context. She hated the fact they even knew her name. Margot, now a happy and healthy nine year old, loved the team. Whenever they were at the house, she'd be practicing her own football skills with them.

"They're dealing with their issues," she replied softly, earning the attention from Justin. She knew she'd have to spill eventually about her sophomore year, but she was hoping not on his first day. She didn't want another pity party from another friend, and that's all they see her as. Someone to feel sorry for. Where was the sympathy when she was being harassed by the team, them begging for her to kiss her girlfriend in front of them. "But they're okay."

Lunch was painful. The jocks made small talk with Love whilst they joked with Justin, welcoming him as one of their own. The only good thing that came from lunch, was that she'd found Justin's love for football. And how much he used to play in his old school. Of course, the discussion of tryouts were mentioned. And just like that, he was in. She lost her only friend to the fucking football team. And if she wanted to stay friends, she'd have to painfully sit through meets with the team.

The bell rang, giving Love that peace she very much deserved. The team had walked away, leaving Justin and Love, walking slowly to dispose of their lunch. "So, why were they so concerned about your mom and your sister?" He asked. They walked slowly to their shared class, Sociology.

She wanted to hold off on her tragic backstory, so she changed the subject. "Long story. Are you excited about your tryouts?" He nodded eagerly, his hand gripping the strap of his bag as it hung off of his shoulder.

"Yeah. I don't know if you were paying attention to the conversation or not, but they want to do tryouts as quickly as possible, as theirs a game coming up." He explained. "Wish me luck."

"I'm sure you don't need it." They'd gotten up to the Social Studies block, their sociology class at the end of the corridor. On their walk, they met Rowan, twirling her hair outside of the Geography door. Twirling her hair was a sign of stress, she'd almost burned holes into Love's head with the glares coming from her girlfriend. As they approached with caution, Justin reminded himself to keep his distance.

"Hey, Ro." Love greeted cheerfully, grabbing her hand and pulling it away from the now knotted group of hair. "Is everything okay?" She smiled, not like her usual smile, which was bright and beautiful. This smile was forced, and she was staring directly at Justin. Love failed to mention to Justin that he was in fact a threat, so he stood with confidence and smiled at Rowan.

"You're Justin, right?" She seethed, her smile still painfully stuck to her face. "Love has said so much about you."

"Yeah, and you're Rowan." Justin responded. Love felt bad, because he was being so genuine and didn't deserve the wrath of Rowan's jealousy.

"Justin," Love interjected, before Rowan had turned this even uglier. "I'll meet you in the classroom, I just need to talk to Rowan." He nodded and walked away from the couple, Rowan's smile fading into a look of disdain.

"What is your problem?" Love accused, trying to lower her voice despite her anger. Rowan rolled her eyes at her girlfriend, wishing she could walk off, but she was outside of her classroom. Luckily, Love held the patience in her relationship.

"We might as well open our relationship, huh?" Rowan grunted, folding her arms. Love hated her tantrums, she acted younger than Margot at times. "You spent less time with me on our first day as a couple. You and him are attached at the hip." Her patience was wearing thin, so Love had left Rowan to create her own thought bubble in her head. She knew she'd receive it all in a nasty message later anyway.

Justin looked like a lost child in a grocery store, his head bobbing around as he searched for Love in the crowd of students. She pulled on his sweater as the students were called into class. "Sociology is the greatest class I've attended, Mr Rosen is the sweetest." She beamed, finding a seat beside Justin.