Finley' P.O.V
I sighed deeply as I trudged into my history class, just ready to go home and sleep for hours like I have been doing for the past week, the week where I haven't been talking to Eli.
And even though this class was with Mr. Parker, I still wanted to stab my eyeball with a pencil.
I kept my eyes down as he talked, keeping them firmly placed in my paper where my messy handwriting had scribbled notes. He was talking about oligarchy and forms of dictatorship and suddenly the dreaded words came out of his mouth- "Everyone get in partners and do this worksheet."
I sighed again, even more deeply as everyone scrambled to be with their friends while Mr. Parker handed out the worksheet. I stayed where I was, knowing I had no friends in this class and I was about to settle for working by myself yet again when I heard a tentative voice come from the side.
"Wanna be partners?"
I looked over and saw a girl with dirty blond hair and blue eyes smiling at me.
"S-Sure," I agreed, deciding that i needed to get myself new friends, or, rather, some friends in general.
She smiled at me, showing her braces. "I'm Ashton," she offered.
"F-Finley," I answered.
Ashton sat down next to me and Mr. Parker handed us our worksheets." "Okay," she began. "Oligarchy is a form of dictatorship, which is an example of tyrannical government-"
I sat back and listened to her talk, and thought to myself, maybe I don't need to hide who I am at school.
Then I understood what Eli was yelling about.
...
At lunch, I went off on my own again, sitting in the corner of the cafeteria as it was too cold to eat outside. I had just bit into my sandwich when Ashton slid into a chair across from me.
I blinked at her as she smiled. "I saw you by yourself," she explained, fiddling with her fingers. "Thought you might want some company."
I smiled. "It's o-okay," I said.
I looked at her lunch tray and saw that she didn't have one. "Aren't y-you going to e-eat?" I asked her, frowning. By lunchtime, I was starving and couldn't wait to eat.
Ashton smiled slightly. "I'm anorexic," she explained, as if stating that she had braces, that's how easy she made it sound.
I blinked and stammered, "Oh I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean-"
"It's okay," Ashton reassured me. "It's my problem, I choose to do it and it's my problem, not yours. Besides, you didn't know."
I nodded, understanding. "F-For the record, i-if it helps, you're r-really skinny. You're pretty, and you d-don't need to do th-that to yourself"
Ashton laughed. "Thanks, but you wouldn't understand. My sister's a model, and even though she's a good six inches taller than me, she's good twenty pounds lighter. Not good for your self-esteem, especially when your parents always compare the two. "
I pondered that for a couple seconds then said, "Well, you're n-not your sister, you're Ashton."
Ashton smiled, a bright smile that I hadn't seen on her face. "I've just met you, and yet you're nicer than my entire family so far."
I shrugged.
Ashton chuckled and then swung her feet up to rest on another chair. "So what about you?" she asked. "Anything frowned on by society wrong with you?"
I cracked a smile. Her bluntness reminded me of Allie. "I have anxiety. I g-get anxiety attacks a l-lot."
Ashton nodded, letting that sink in before breaking out in a big grin. "Well, I guess we're all a little messed up, huh?"
Eli's P.O.V
I'm such a stalker.
Sitting here at lunch, watching Finley talk and laugh with a girl that I don't know filled me with several different emotions; pride for Finley, for making new friends, jealousy, for not being the one she's talking to, extreme dislike, for the girl, for talking to Finley, and guilt, for not liking Finley's new friend.
I couldn't take watching her anymore; I couldn't take seeing her and thinking of her and not be able to talk to her. It had been a week. I want to talk to Finley, but whenever she sees me, she runs in the opposite direction and in science she always has her earbuds in.
I stood up abruptly, pushing my chair back and I walked out of the cafeteria, ignoring the stares I was getting. Let the rumors begin. Before, they made people leave me alone. Just everyone, leave me alone.
I walked towards my locker, walking faster than normal because I was so pissed. I opened it and shoved some books it, my movements jerky and fast. I slammed my locker shut and I turned around.
Some guy was walking down the hallway, his backpack slung loosely over his shoulder.
"Hey, Sanders," he called.
I stopped dead, closed my eyes and exhaled slowly before turning around. "What?"
The guy stopped a couple feet from me, and I recognized him. His name was Trey and he was in my math class. He was the typical dumb jock.
"Bad day?" he smirked.
I sighed, hiking my backpack over my shoulder. "What do you want, Trey?"
"Hey," he feigned innocence. "Why is it you think I want something from you?"
"You only talk to people you aren't friends with if you want something," I said flatly.
Trey shrugged. "Anyway, Sanders, you're right. I want something."
"What do you want?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.
His smirk widened. "That girl you've been hanging out with for the past like three months."
"Finley?" I asked, my heart dropping into my stomach and I started getting angry again, my fists clenching.
"So that's her name?" he asked. "Well, then yeah, I want your Finley."
"No," I said through clenched teeth.
Trey tutted. "She that good? Because I know guys like you only hang out with girls for so long. What, she hasn't offered it yet? Damn, get a move on that, Sanders, because I know several guys who want to get their way with-"
I punched him square in the jaw, and he almost fell over and I was on him again, punching him again and again. I pushed him against the lockers and punched him. He pushed me off him and threw a punch at me but I dodged it.
There was a crowd now and people were chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!" and Trey started edging closer to me.
"What's the matter, Sanders?" he taunted. "Got a thing for the freak?"
I launched myself at him, tackling him and once he was on the ground I kept punching him over and over again, his blood from his mouth and his nose getting over my knuckles.
"Stop!" someone yelled and suddenly teachers were pulling us apart.
Trey spat blood out of his mouth onto the floor and smirked at me. "I'm gonna have fun with your precious Finley," he sneered. "Especially after she saw you beat the shit out of me."
I whirled around and saw Finley standing there, her hands over her mouth and suddenly I was extremely aware of how Trey's blood dripped from my hands onto the floor.
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Okay guys, here's a new chapter, and let me explain myself better about the whole update thing. Its not that seeing those comments makes me not want to update, but then I feel rushed and then I feel I write too fast and its a crappy short chapter, and then sometimes people say its short and then I feel bad but it was only short because I was rushing to update because you guys wanted an update and yeah....
So THATS why I hate those comments so much, plus, the thing about telling me to update when I updated an hour ago is kinda annoying, you know? Like, I just wrote this chapter and now you gave me an hour to write another chapter? I'm sorry for being blunt, but I'm busy with school and soccer and its only going to get worse when the official soccer season starts with games and whatnot, and I'm sorry, but I'm just not on wattpad as much anymore. I feel bad when I can't update everyday, but its just not realistic for my lifstyle, and I'm sorry.
That was depressing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter :) bye!
-T A Y L O R