On my way out of English class I place my essay on the front desk. I am pretty pleased with how it came out, hopefully A+ worthy. I gave Ethan his assay before class. As I pass through the corridor on the way to my locker, it disturbs me to witness Lacy making out with Jace against his locker.
"Get a room," I murmur to myself. Thankfully they can't here my remark over the noise of their obnoxious kissing. However their coupley behaviour remindes me that I need to speak to Ethan.
I load my locker up with my un needed books, since it is currently lunch, and head towards the cafeteria. I am glad to finally leave the snoggers alone. I spy the whole cafeteria with attentive eyes, in search for any trace of Ethan. Nathan mentioned they are friends so I assume they will be sitting together.
Ethan's a good guy, maybe he can help me calm Nathan back down and get him to be himself again. I suddenly spot the back of his head.
"Hi Ethan," I approach the table he is sitting at and smile down towards him. He is sat at the very end, under my nose. Then Josh is opposite him with Nathan to his left. A few other team mates of Ethan and Josh's were at the table too.
"Umm, hi, and are you?" He replies, his eye brows turned up in confusion. Puzzlement washes over my face. Why is he pretending to not know me?
Oh no, is he acting this way because I stood him up? I feel so bad. "I'm so sorry for not turning up for our date!" I blurt out, desperate for him to forgive me. "I was grounded but couldn't tell you as my mom took my phone-"
"Wait, we were never going out on a date," Ethan disconcerted. I send him a very confused look. "When did I ask you out?" He emphasises the you, as if I am some horrible creature or outcast. Why is he acting this way? Is he suffering from amnesia or just being plain rude to me?
"I said I was sorry. I couldn't come. But you don't have to be-"
"I don't even know you." Ethan continues. Josh cracks up into laughter, Nathan shielding his face with his hand and sniggers.
"Pardon?" My lip quivers. Everyone on the table joins in with the laughing as Ethan encourages them. They all point fingers at me as a roar of laughter erupts around me. Burning through my cheeks, the humiliation gets to me with my hands shaking by my side as a sweat breaks out upon my forehead.
"Why are you still standing here? Whatever your name is," says Ethan, not even acknowledging the tear about to seep out from the corner of my eye.
"You know my name," I almost choke, a sob swelling up in my throat. "It's Paige."
"Well, Saige." Everyone laughs. "Get lost," his eyes rise to meet mine, a grin spreading across his face. The embarrassment reddens my face as I glance around the room to find it silent with the hum of gossip travelling from table to table. It is evident that my face is now shining bright red and I have began to cry. "Nerd." He spits out at the end.
"I thought you were different," I say, before running out of the cafeteria doors in a haste. My vision is a blur, sprinting into the girl's toilets. I slam the cubical door shut and pull my knees up to my chest on the toilet seat.
I feel completely alone. Well, that was, until I hear someone else enter.
"Um, hello?" A female voice spoke from behind the door. I wipe under my eyes with some tissue. "Anyone in here?" I see some black pumps under the slit that was between the floor and the bottom of the door.
"Go away," I sob, the tears soaking into my cheeks.
"Paige?" The girl's voice sounds peculiarly familiar. She knocks on the door. "It's Lacy..."
My heart jolts in my chest. Why would she want to help me? Ugh, she probably wants to get a pic of my crying to post on social media or something. "I already told you, go away." I state more forcefully this time. However with my throat swelling up I sounded more weak than powerful.
"Is there anything I can do? What happened?" She spoke in a low voice, her tone softer than before. Could it be true that she is really concerned about me?
"Why would you care?" I sniffle, grabbing more tissues to dab my tears away. My legs begin to ache with the weight of my body on top, making them weak as I shiver on the toilet seat, not daring to put my feet back on the ground for her to see.
"We did used to be friends." Her voice is merely a whisper, not judgment. "We may have fallen out but I do still care," there is some kind of inconspicuous sympathy in her voice. Maybe she is worried about me after all...
"You promise not to laugh?"
"I promise."
I unlock the door and push it gently, Lacy visible as I step out. She gasps at the sudden sight of my blood shot eyes, my face tear stained and blotchy. I glance at the mirror in horror at my ghastly appearance.
"Oh my gosh," she breathes with her hands covering her mouth.
"I know I look bad." I bite down on my lip and turn full on towards the full length mirror. My hideous reflection mirrors back at me and I let out another long sigh. My tears had dampened my hair, the water making my hair all straggly and frizzy at the ends.
"I'll lock the door," Lacy runs to the entrance of the toilets and makes sure no one can come in. "Tell me what happened."
With another exhale, I lean against the sink and run the basin with cold water. "Ethan used me," I say looking down, ashamed I let this happen. "He only wanted to date me for his advantage."
She gasps again but this time more shocked. I shake my head to indicate she has got the wrong idea. "Not in a sexual way. He was never interested in going out with me, he just manipulated my intelligence so I did things for him," I let my head hang low, my nose skimming the water of the full basin. "How was I so stupid?"
"You're not stupid," Lacy rests her hand on my shoulder, supportively. "He's just a jerk for using you. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you to see that."
"Did you know?" I dart my eyes over to hers. Her eyes enlarge with a rapid shake of her head.
"No, but Jace suspected he was bad news."
Jace. Oh great, that reminds me of that time at the party. Do I tell her the truth? Is this the right time to explain what really happened when he almost kissed me?
"Paige?" Lacy shook me as I zone out.
"Oh sorry," I splash some water onto my face to wash away my tears. Hopefully when my skin is dry and is lightly covered with makeup, it will be unrecognisable that I'd been crying.
"Ethan isn't right for you," she continues. "You don't deserve this."
My heart it aching to tell her! I want to say the truth. I want her to know...
"Lacy," my voice stutters slightly. But I soon got hold of myself. She detects my change of voice and stands up straight.
"Yes?"
"I need to tell you something and I need to tell you now." I state. She glances across my face then studies my eyes with a nod. "Jace was the one who tried to kiss me at Laura's party. I had nothing to do with it. You two were dating and he wanted to cheat on you, I tried to push away but he was too strong. You didn't believe me but you need to know who he is. I'm so sorry."
It takes Lacy a while to process the information just thrown at her. With a few eye lash batters and sniffles of thought, her eyes drop to her shoes. "Did he really try to cheat on me?" Her voice is low, a sadness draining the colour in her cheeks.
"I'm afraid so."
A single tear rolls down the side of her face. I pull her into a friendly hug and let her pour out her emotions. I whisper reassuring words into her ear and how much he doesn't deserve her. No one should be treated the way we were. I feel bad for not being able to know the truth earlier.
"I guess we were both stupid," she lets out a weak giggle. I join in and wipe her tears away.
"We're teenage girls. We're not supposed to be perfect."
"True." We laugh off our pain and let a healthy silence fill the room.
"So, friends?" I hold out my hand, waiting for her to except. Lacy didn't need anymore convincing.
"Friends."
A/N- So guys, how do u feel about all this???
-Ethan's gone!
-Lacy's back!
-This is the second time Paige has been dumped 😟
Please comment your opinions.
More coming soon...