So the perfect song for this chapter is in the sidebar, :)
Ps: For those Cara lovers, I hope you like this!
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As I walked through the hallways, I heard a lot of things coming out of people’s mouths about me.
“Why is she even here?”
“What a whore…”
“I can’t believe she’s that desperate!”
“Poor Jace…”
I just clenched my fists and continued on with my head high. The bell rang and I was still a ways from my next class. With a sigh, I continued walking before I went straight into someone.
“Sorry!” I muttered and tried to walk past them but they grabbed my arm. I looked up to see the eyes of Sean.
“Is it true?” He asked in an urging tone. “The video. Is it true? People are saying that you only used Jace to make me jealous.”
“Jace used me!” He just raised an eyebrow, which said to me that he didn’t believe it. “Yes. I used Jace to make you jealous but he knew—“
Sean cut me off by pressing his lips to mine.
I was so surprised that I didn’t shove him away the second they touched. After a few moments, I finally came to my senses and pushed him away from me.
“What the hell was that for? Just because I wanted revenge, that doesn’t mean that I like you still!”
“But you were still going along with the whole plan so that means you at least care about me.” When I didn’t say anything, he knew the real answer. “Just what I thought.” Then he left me alone in the middle of the hallway with people that sent me glares every five seconds.
He was right. I may not like him but I do care about him. Even though he’s done some mad shit, I loved him at one point and you’ll never lose every string with them no matter how hard you try.
With a huge sigh, I continued to my class and walked in only seconds before the bell rang. Once I was inside, everyone’s eyes went to me. Some looked hurt, others looked pissed, while some looked disgusted. I took a seat in the front row and to the side where no one else was seated and hoped that homeroom would pass by quickly. I felt something lightly hit my back and when I turned around I saw Lauren glaring at me. I was about to turn back around when she nodded toward a paper ball on the ground. While rolling my eyes, I picked it up and read it once it was opened.
Congratulations, the whole school believes that you’re a lying whore.
I bit my lip but resisted the urge to turn around and beg for her forgiveness. Please let this school day go by faster…
Finally the bell rang and I walked to my next class while people purposely bumped into me, saying rude things under their breath as they passed. This time when I walked in, no one was there. I took a seat in the back where—hopefully—no one would bother me. I plan on going through the rest of today with minimal conversation with my peers.
Then Jace walked in.
I immediately put my head down and turned bright red from what I told him this morning in the car. Way to go, Peyton. He now knows that you like him. What other things are you going to say without fully thinking through?
“We need to talk,” I heard Jace say which meant that he was right by my table.
I slowly lifted my head and stared at him, “I’m good—“
“No, we do about the… thing you told me in the car this morning before you bolted.”
I stiffened, “There’s nothing to talk about—“
“The hell there is, Peyton!” He slammed his fist on my desk, which made a few of the students that were in the room stare curiously at us.
I looked down and fiddled with my fingers, “You shouldn’t be talking to me… You don’t want to be known as a whore or a liar like me.”
“I don’t care about my reputation.”
“Well I care about myself and I don’t want to be around you.” With that, I turned my chair so I was now facing the door and not Jace. I heard him sigh and his footsteps sounded away.
As I watched the door, people would walk in and give me weird looks al except for Dillon who just ignored me as always. Then Kayla walked in and gave me the biggest smirk in the world. She trotted over to Jace, sat on his lap, and then gave him a kiss straight on the lips. I clenched my fist and didn’t even try to cover my angry expression. Jace leaned away a little but then Kayla whispered into his ear, which made him purse his lips. I saw him visibly sigh and let her stay where she was. It probably had something to do with the fact that if he wanted the money, he’d have to continue along with the last part of the plan. The last part meaning that he had to be interesting in Kayla even though I already know that it’s fake. Oh well, judging from the look on Kayla’s face, I’m doing exactly what she wanted.
I slid in my seat as more and more people started coming in. I peeked over at Jace and Kayla and was surprised to see him staring back at me. I bit my lip and averted my eyes down because I didn’t even want to look at the two anymore.
The next few classes went by slowly and I still sat alone with no one talking to me. When lunch came around, I walked through the lines and got an apple before stepping through the middle of the cafeteria having no idea where to sit. That’s when I noticed that everyone was quiet and glaring at me.
“Oh my gosh…” I whispered to myself then cleared my throat so everyone’s eyes that weren’t on me before now watched my every move. “That video was fake. Yeah, I said those things but there’s much more to the story!” I spoke loud and clear to everyone. “I’m still the same Peyton as before so no one should—“
“You’re not the same Peyton,” I looked out into the crowd to see Lauren now standing with a hurt look on her face. “The real Peyton would never lie to her best friend and look what’s happening now.”
Well, that hurt.
“Lauren—“
“No, Peyton, listen. It’s true. You’ve changed since the beginning of the school year and trust me when I say that it’s not for the best. Just look where you’re now,” She rolled her eyes and sat down, leaving me alone, pained, and embarrassed because she’s absolutely right. I’m not the same heartbroken, sorry girl that I was in the beginning of the year. I’m not saying that I’m some huge slut now but I definitely do some things that I could never even dream about doing before.
Like purposefully hurting people such as Sean.
Or even making-out in public when I hate PDA.
I even lied to the entire school and people out of it like Jace’s mom and my parents.
These are just a few things that I have done that made me who I am today: A fake. I faked a relationship, I faked that I didn’t care about certain people, and I even faked that I live an extremely normal, happy life even though it’s anything but that.
Peyton Brandt, who the hell are you?
I felt the tears well and before I could stop them from falling down my face, I ran out of the cafeteria while people threw insults behind my back. I sprinted down the halls, threw my apple in the trash, and once I turned a corner, I ran into someone.
“Peyton?” I pulled myself to my feet and looked up at the person whom I had knocked over but hadn’t completely fallen like I had. Of course, it’s Jace Harley. “Are you crying?”
“No!” My voice cracked as I frantically wiped them away. “I-I just had a eyelash in my eye.”
“What happened—“
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, “Why do you even care? No one else seems to care about my side of the story or my feelings so why should you?”
When I opened my eyes again, he was looking down to the floor where the ends of his crutches rested. “This is all my fault, that’s why. What happened?”
I snorted sarcastically, “Oh you know, people calling you a desperate slut because someone purposely took the worst part of a conversation and turned everyone against me. Just everyday stuff so now if you excuse me—“
“Where are you going?”
I walked by him and headed for the doors that left the building before turning around to answer Jace’s question, “I would say home but it’s anything but that now.”
That’s where I left him as I ran down the street and to my house before realizing that I had left my keys in my locker. I hit my front door in frustration and ditched my school bag under some bushes before grabbing some spare money then just walking around the town. School ended in two hours plus Dillon’s soccer practice was an extra two as well.
Once I had gotten myself something to eat from a fast food joint, I just walked around with no set goal as to where I was going. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t even notice the car that pulled up next to me.
“Peyton, aren’t you supposed to be in school?”
I looked to my right halfway expecting my parents and halfway expecting some other adult that is oblivious to the drama in high school but whom I didn’t expect was Cara, Jace’s sister. The blood drained from my face when I thought of something.
“You helped him…” I whispered as fury clouded everything. “You helped Jace! That’s why you were so eager to change me because you knew what he was up to this whole time!”
Her eyebrows knitted in confusion the exact same way that Jace’s would. She turned off her car and got out, walking to my side. “Wait, what are you talking about?”
“You helped Jace deceive me! You knew that he was faking so you helped him!”
“I don’t understand—“
“Shut up!” I screamed. “You’re a liar as well! You’re one of the reasons why I’m being betrayed at school, you helped Jace!”
She walked up to me and put her hands on either one of my shoulders, shaking me lightly. I tried to leave her hold but her grip was too tight. “Peyton, listen to me. Explain what Jace did.”
I narrowed my eyes at her accusingly. “He was being paid by Kayla to make me fall for him and then to break my heart.”
Her eyes widened in shock, “What? That can’t be true, you two—“
“Are as done as a fake relationship can be and the whole school knows. Well, they only know the part that I used Jace to get revenge on Sean and how Dillon accused me of being some desperate whore which they now all think of me as.”
Her hands dropped to her sides and she put her fingers on either of her temples. “Shit, he’s such an idiot… Look, I had nothing to do with this, I promise, Peyton. I honestly thought you were just trying to get revenge and he had no other motive other than to help you out.”
I stared at her and her face showed no signs of lying. I sighed and sat on the curb while putting my face in my arms. “This is horrible…”
“Why? Just the school thinks that you’re a whore? That’ll pass over in a week or so—“
I looked Cara straight in the eye, “Kayla’s plan worked. I fell for Jace, well, the Jace that was around me.”
Cara smiled slightly and sat down next to me, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “Honey, I already knew that you liked him and personally, I thought he liked you as well. He played more than just you. He played my mom, everyone, and me. You’re not entirely at fault here.”
“Well, that’s not what the school thinks. They have video proof and there’s not much you can do about that.”
“It can’t be that bad—“
I raised an eyebrow and stared at her while taking in all her features. I found myself loving the ones that were the exact same as Jace’s but forced that thought out of my mind. “My best friend Lauren is against me, Dillon is, and everyone else. I honestly think that the only person who isn’t is you.”
She laughed carelessly, “That’s because I’m in college, high school drama is nothing.”
I smiled a little then looked around at my surroundings. I realized that I was a couple houses down from Jace’s where Cara must’ve either been coming from or to since it’s a Friday now. I gently pushed some red hair behind my ear and wiped away yet another stray tear that had fallen.
“This sucks,” I muttered. “I have no one… I tried to get everyone to know the truth but they wouldn’t listen. These people thrive on gossip and aren’t afraid to bring people down.”
“That’s because they’re dicks,” she shrugged as if it were no big deal. “There just has to be some other big thing to happen then everything will go back to normal.”
I shook my head. “Dillon won’t even talk to me and you weren’t in the cafeteria where everyone was screaming things from slut to trash,” My voice trembled as I said the next part. “I’ve never felt so alone in my life before.”
A sob escaped my throat and more tears fell down but I wasn’t embarrassed about them. I already looked like crap and Cara is actually easy to talk to. She wrapped her arm harder around me and stroked my hair. “Calm down, everything will be okay.”
I glared at her through my tears, “That’s a bullshit line.”
Cara gave me a cheesy grin, “Hey, I’m not Doctor Phil but I will try my best.”
We stayed like that for a while: Cara comforting me while I had my own personal Niagara Falls coming from my eyes. By the time Jace got home, I was still crying but not as hard.
“Go away, Jace,” Cara said angrily. “I can’t believe you did that—“
“Just let me talk to her.”
Cara stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. “Just so you can lie to her face some more? Just to call her a slut? I don’t think so. You should just get home—“
“Please.”
Cara’s light eyes—the same as Jace’s—glanced at me for a second and I acted like I wasn’t paying any attention to the siblings. Cara lowered her voice but still spoke loud enough that I could here. “You hurt her, Jace. You hurt her after that idiot Sean had just cheated on her only months ago. What kind of an asshole are you?”
“I know—“
“No, I don’t want to hear it. I know exactly why you did it for money too. If you really wanted to pay for your college then you should’ve gotten another job or something, not this!” She stared at me sympathetically. “She really likes you, Jace. Not liked because she still does or she wouldn’t be crying. You screwed over a girl that’s been heartbroken before, she’s never going to trust guys again!”
To my surprise, Jace was silent for a while before finally speaking again. I never thought about it like that—“
“Sure as hell you didn’t. She might have to miss school from all the bullying for the students which makes her grades go down meaning less scholarship opportunities. That’s yet another screw up on your part. She lost her best friend, her brother, and everyone else because of you. She told me she’s never felt more alone.”
“Because of what I did?”
“Yes, Jace, because of what you did meaning you fucked her over in more ways than one and you come here, wanting to apologize but I’m pretty sure it won’t do anything.”
Jace’s eyes went to mine and took in my appearance where I could only imagine how I looked. I probably had messed up hair and mascara running down my face in the least. I most likely looked like the perfect example of a girl who was screwed over by a guy.
“Please, Peyton…” He whispered to me but I got stood up and walked away from the siblings because I didn’t want to hear anymore.
It took me about an hour to walk back home and by then Dillon was home judging how the car was in the driveway. I went in it and opened the garage using a little remote control before finally going in. I walked up to my room, opened my laptop, and went to my Facebook, which was still swarming with horrible comments.
I realized that Kayla had tagged me in a picture and when I opened it, I realized that it was probably in the moment right before I had fled the cafeteria because I looked heartbroken and betrayed. The comments below it ranged from how stupid or fake I was to how ugly. Really now? Don’t these people know of a thing called cyber bullying?
I went through the rest of the comments before I had Jace’s comment at the very end, it had only three words.
She looks beautiful.
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READ ME!
Important message is on my message board, please go read! It's SUPER important.
Plus, I have a question that I've already asked before but things have changed since then.
Team Jace or Team Sean?
My plan is that before this story is over, I want you guys to cry because this is actually having a huge issue involved in it. Cyber Bullying is horrible, just saying one mean thing over the internet might be the one thing that could push someone into purposfully hurting themselves or committing suicide because you don't know what kind of life they live.
Just don't do it.