While I'm climbing the stairs to return some books to the school library this morning, images from yesterday play in my mind. I can't help the smile on my face as I think about how lovely Max's family has been -- the fact that I'd never been close to anybody aside from my family since the incident last year makes it even more overwhelming.
I step on the second floor leading to the twelfth-grade classes, and something makes me halt. There standing against the wall are Rory, Mikaela and Nadine, talking to each other.
My grip on the books I'm holding against my chest instantly tightens. I better walk away quickly before they can mock my existence in this world.
Rory sniffles, wiping the tears below her eyes as she speaks to Mikaela, "What should I do? He must hate me so much right now."
Mikaela sighs, pulling Rory into a hug before caressing her back, trying to soothe her. "I'm sure that Max didn't mean what he said at your party. He's new and has no idea about who she really is."
Rory hugs Mikaela back, resting her head on Mikaela's shoulder, while Nadine pats Rory's back in an attempt to comfort her too.
"I don't know what Luna said to him." She sniffles again. "She must have told him bad things about me. She must have lied to him."
Hearing this conversation makes my blood boil. However, I feel grateful that there's only anger filling my insides -- there's no more pain, because my heart has indeed been numb from the scar Rory has created. This girl is a snake, and I can't believe that she used to be my best friend.
All the words coming out from her mouth are poison, manipulation at its finest.
Unfortunately, there's no other way to reach the library without passing them, so I walk past them, ignoring them.
Their heads are automatically snapped toward me, and while I keep walking, Mikaela's voice booms, "Hey, Lunatic. Are you happy now that you've fooled another guy to crawl at your feet?"
My jaw tightens. There's no point in arguing with Mikaela, because that girl would always say something nasty about me.
I guess that the rumors are true -- some said that Mikaela and Tyler were arguing at the beginning of their relationship because she felt like she was a backup plan for Tyler after I rejected him.
No matter what, she would always feel like a second choice.
She's not worth it, Luna. They're not even worth all this anger.
So I don't stop my steps, still heading to the library.
"You're just a slut like your mother," Mikaela yells, and those words make me abruptly halt in an instant.
I'm utterly shocked that the books I'm holding fall from my hands.
What did she just say?
Slowly, I turn around, my whole body shaking with anger. Other students in the hallway start to whisper, watching the scene.
Mikaela scoffs. Something glint in her eyes, something like satisfaction. The sight of me seething seems to feed her need to piss me off even more. Rory and Nadine watch behind her, and judging from the anticipation on Rory's face, she would gladly let Mikaela hurt me.
"Do you think that you're special because your mother is a famous celebrity?" Mikaela asks, her voice filled with disgust. "A superstar, my ass. She used to be labeled as the nation's whore. Like mother, like daughter."
I ball my fist on my side so tightly that I wonder why my skin doesn't bleed with how deep my nails sink into my palm. I storm toward Mikaela, rage consuming me.
"What did you just say?" I hiss when I come face to face with her.
I'm used to be insulted by the whole school, but I can't hold myself back if one says something nasty about my family, especially about Mom.
"Do I need to repeat myself?" Mikaela smirks, her eyes piercing right through me as she says the words very slowly and clearly, "Your mother is a slut. A whore. And your father is one of the stupid men who fell for her tricks, the tricks you also used to make Tyler and Max--"
Before she can finish her sentence, I grip her shoulders, pushing her against the wall, causing Rory and Nadine to let out a small scream.
"Take that back," I snarl, my voice shaking.
How dare she said that?
She doesn't know anything about my parents. About their love. Their pain. Their miseries. She doesn't know anything.
I'm trying so hard to prevent my angry tears from falling -- I'm so angry, so very angry.
But it seems that Mikaela is too. To her, the fact that this Loony Luna is now cornering her is degrading -- it makes her livid, and I can see it clearly in her amber eyes that I'm now looking into.
Mikaela pushes my chest with both of her hands, with such a force that makes me stumble back, but I quickly regain my balance so that I won't fall on my back.
"Who do you think you are, threatening me like that?" she bites out, advancing toward me before pushing my chest again.
I step back because of the push, and she steps forward again.
"You have no right to speak to me like that," she lashes out, her eyes burning with equal rage. "You're disgusting. You're just a joke in this school. You're a nuisance." She pushes me again, this time with all the power she got in her body.
Before I know what's happening, there's nothing below my feet, and my body is falling back into thin air, falling so low. My heart freezes as I see the railing around me, and fear wraps around me as I realize that I'm falling off the stairs.
My eyes widen while I prepare myself to feel the extreme pain of my head being knocked on the ground, and just as I squeeze my eyes shut, I feel a tight grip on my wrist.
I snap my head to my side, only to find Tyler holding me back from falling. He's in the middle of walking up the stairs, and I release my breath in relief.
Or not.
Tyler's eyes turn cold as ice the moment he realizes that it's me he's holding back, and a second later, I feel myself falling in mid-air again as he lets go of me.
No, it can't be.
Tyler.
Tyler hates me that much.
A sharp pain strikes my heart, just as powerful as the fear that now engulfs me again. I can't believe that the last thing I see is Tyler's back as he continues climbing up to the second floor.
Everything is happening so fast, and the railing is too far for me to reach.
It is time.
But instead of the hard ground, my head and shoulders hit something else. Something warm. I feel a pair of arms wrapping around me from behind, steadily holding me in place.
My feet finally settle on the ground as I feel the chest of the person behind me heaving up and down. He's panting.
His ragged breath is so close to my ear, letting me know how panic he is. "Fuck." His voice is shaking, filled with unmistakable rage, and fear, lots of fear.
I don't need to know who the person is.
Max holds my shoulders and turns my body so that I can face him. I stare at his worried face and feel tears in my eyes again.
"Are you okay?" he rasps, still panting from the adrenaline rush he might have just had.
I can't hold it anymore. My lips tremble when I nod, a tear finally dropping onto my cheek as I close my eyes. I've never been so scared.
Max pulls me into a tight hug, and I don't ever want to be out of his embrace. "Oh, God." His voice is still shaking, as though he can't believe that he could lose me just now.
But then, the moment he pulls away, his eyes are cold and deadly, his jaw clenched tightly as his eyes dart on the second floor.
My whole body is still shaking too when he leaves me and walks upstairs. I have to grab the railing to keep standing, because my legs are still very weak.
I shut my eyes, letting out a soft cry.
Oh, God.
"Why the fuck did you do that, Tyler?" Max's voice echoes, and that makes me abruptly climb the stairs with my shaky legs while putting the pressure of my body on the railing for support.
"Did you think that you could just do that?" Max lashes out. "Did you not know that Luna could have been harmed?"
When I finally step on the second floor again, I see Tyler walking away to his class with Mikaela, definitely ignoring Max, who's seething with rage.
Max's fists are balled on his sides, shaking with fury.
At the side of the corridor, Rory is watching Max, and she doesn't look happy. Her lips form into a thin line, her jaw tight.
"Tyler!" Max roars, and the corridor becomes dead silent -- all the whisperings stop in an instant.
Max storms at Tyler, and people gasp loudly as Max throws a punch into Tyler's face, making Tyler stumble back. Mikaela lets out a small scream, covering her mouth in her hands.
Another silence falls.
Slowly, Tyler looks up, wiping his mouth, and the moment his eyes land on Max, I can see how deadly they are under his messy bangs. A small scoff leaves his lips before he spits the blood. He storms back at Max, and the next thing I know, his fist connects with Max's jaw.
Frantic whispers start to fill the corridor again as the other students watch the two guys fight.
My heart sinks as I see a cut on Max's lips, but in no time, he already launches toward Tyler and punches him again, this time making Tyler knocked to the ground.
Before Tyler can stand up, Max grips his collar.
"What a hypocrite," Max bites out harshly, glaring at Tyler. "You never care about her. Funny when you're the one who confessed your feelings and asked her to be your damn girlfriend."
My heart thumps wildly against my ribcage. I don't want something bad to happen to Max because of me, and he's already fighting with Tyler now.
Tyler only scoffs in response, his eyes filled with hatred. "Cut the bullshit. She was just a bet. A fucking bet."
The words that roll out from Tyler's tongue shatter my heart. I swallow a lump in my throat, reminded of how he used to shower me with affection, how he showed me that he cared.
Was it all a lie?
"She's famous." Tyler's smirk touches the corner of his bloody lips. "I just wanted to have a taste--"
Another punch lands on Tyler's face before Tyler can finish his sentence, and Max doesn't stop at that. He keeps punching Tyler's face, over and over again.
I've never seen Max so angry -- he has lost control. His eyes darken, cold. His jaw clenched.
"Max." My voice is shaking when I call him, but it only comes out as a whisper, so weak and filled with worry. "Max, stop," I cry, but my body is frozen on the spot.
The whispers around us have turned into shouts and yells, and I watch as some guys trying to stop the fight.