Dedicated to MizzAwesome123 for making that amazing banner in the side!
Sorry this took so long... Every time I try writing, something important would take me away from my laptop! Mostly family and sport stuff... And this chapter is pretty boring but also what some people have wanted for awhile now :)
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“Are you sure you want to go to school today, Peyton?” My mom asked while fiddling with her fingers.
My backpack was on my lap, I was tucked into the car that Dill and I share, him in the drivers seat, and my wheelchair was in the back ready to be used. Since I couldn’t quite fit into my sweatpants by myself and I didn’t want to call anyone to help me, I wore some athletic shorts that showed off my cast on my leg and the huge burns on my other one. I was able to get my bandages off finally so all that lay from my burns were either bright pink scars or scabs. I still looked horrible especially because I wasn’t able to get that hair appointment in so I literally looked like the fire barfed me up.
“I’m sure, mom,” I told her for the millionth time. She reluctantly closed my door and let Dillon and I drive to school. The ride was quiet and short and soon we were in the parking lot right next to Jace’s car so he could help me into the wheelchair along with my brother.
Dillon killed the engine but turned to me instead of getting out. “Look, if anyone gives you a hard time today, ignore them. I don’t want anyone bringing you down because you’re… You know.”
I bit my lip and nodded. He gave me a little smile and exited the car while Jace helped him get the wheelchair together. When they were done, Jace opened my door with a bright, gorgeous smile on his face.
“You ready to go, Pey?”
I gave him the best smile I could conjure up underneath the nervousness of coming back to school after a month hiatus. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
They helped me into the wheelchair as more and more students drove up in their cars. Dillon wheeled me around, Jace held my backpack, and I kept my head down all the way to the building. As soon as we walked into the noisy school and people took notice, all conversations stopped.
I looked up and saw the eyes of everyone who believed that I was some sort of lying slut for the past few months. Did Jace ever tell them the truth about he was the liar, not me? I really have no idea.
As they escorted me down the hallway, Dill and Jace acted like they couldn’t hear the words that everyone was muttering about me but I could.
“Whoa, that’s Peyton Brandt.”
“I thought Jace and Dillon hated her.”
“How is she even alive?”
“I heard that Jace saved her by running her all the way to the hospital after digging her out of the shed that collapsed on her while on fire.”
“Wasn’t she trying to commit suicide?”
I looked over at Jace who peeked down at exactly the same moment. He gave me a little smile of encouragement, which barely did anything for me, but the thought was still nice.
When we finally reached my locker, I opened it to find a very thin layer of dust covering everything. Huh. I guess I really have been gone a long time. I got my schoolbooks, sat them down on my lap, and had the two guys lead me away to my homeroom while more stares continued.
“Peyton Brandt?” I looked up with a smile to see my homeroom teaching staring at me in awe. “You’re here! I’m so glad that you’re okay.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Fitzpatrick,” I grinned up at her. “Dillon? Wheel me over to that desk by the window.” Since Lauren and I are friends again, I’m pretty sure I can sit with them all.
The bell went off and Jace and my brother looked at me with worry. “Are you going to be okay, Peyton?” Dillon asked with his eyebrows scrunched together.
“I’ll be fine. Now go to class!” I gave them both a fake smile and brushed them away. Dillon left the room first but Jace was more hesitant.
“I’ll pick you up after, okay? We’re going to the same class anyways and I’m closer to you than Dill.”
I rolled my eyes, “Okay, Jace.” Then left as a few people entered the room, staring openly at me in confusion.
I ignored everyone and relaxed in my seat, my eyes slowly closing. This was the first time that I’ve been up at eight o’clock in the morning in a month. It was hard adjusting to this new schedule.
“Peyton!” I sprung up in surprise as Lauren sprinted towards where I sat and engulfed me in a hug. “I knew you were coming but I didn’t know if you’d change your mind!”
I smiled as she pulled away. “I wouldn’t change my mind. So what have I missed?”
If there were one word to describe Lauren, it would be that she’s a talker. For the whole class period she went on to talk about everything I missed. Mostly the social stuff: How people were awestruck over my performance at the Dance Bash, how everyone found out that I was in a fire and then a coma, how Dillon, Jace, Lauren, and I were all peachy, and how Kayla had… changed.
“Yeah, she’s not mean to everyone now,” Lauren said about her. “Lindsay is basically taking over. After it was spread that the fire rumor about you was true, she completely transformed. There were no more mean comments, no rumors, no nothing.”
“Huh…” I muttered through my array of thick thoughts. The bell rang so I couldn’t ask Lauren any more questions about how Kayla has been acting. Why was she so different now? Did I have to do with this?
True to his word, Jace showed up at my homeroom door only seconds after that bell had rang and walked to me with a bright smile. “Ready to go, gimpy?” I glared at him, which made a belt of laughter erupt from his mouth. “Fine, I won’t call you that. Let’s go!”
He took his place behind my wheelchair and pushed me out the door. From all the stares we got, it was almost as if it was the first day of school again. Every move we made, another pair of eyes would watch us, another whisper would involve our names, and many more emotions would play out among them all.
What did they see when they saw me? Was I a girl with burns all over her body? A girl who has withheld herself from the horrible words that were said? How about one who was nice to them awhile back? What did they feel when they saw me like this? Pity? Regret? Guilt? Happiness? I slumped in my chair and willed myself to become invisible as we continued our trip to math class.
Since we had a… harder commute with my wheelchair and the crowded hallways, Jace and I got there as soon as the bell rang. Once we walked in, all eyes went to me and I started turning bright red just like my hair.
“Peyton!” Mrs. Gallagher yelled triumphantly. “It’s great to see that you’re back!” Her face turned grim. “I heard about the… incident.”
I slightly shuttered and I knew that it hadn’t gone unnoticed. Jace put his hand on my shoulder and Dillon hopped up in his seat, waving us over. Gratefully, Gallagher took the hint and called all the students to do what the prompt on the board said. Just looking at it, I knew that I missed so much and it’s going to be hard to catch up.
“Hey, Peyton,” I looked up from my notebook where I was definitely struggling over this problem and into the eyes of my ex boyfriend who decided to take a seat to my right and Jace on my left. Huh. Here I am with the two guys on either side of me who have hurt me the most in life.
“Sean.”
“How’re you feeling?”
“Just fine?”
“Yes.”
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the most awkward conversation of the year.
All tries of talking to me ended when Gallagher actually started the class. I probably looked like an idiot with my wide eyes because I couldn’t understand anything that was going on. Around halfway through the class when we had a work time, Jace nudged me and I looked up into his light eyes.
“Hey, since you don’t understand anything—“
I turned red and interrupted him, “I d-do!”
He just raised an eyebrow so I slouched in defeat, which told him that he was right. “I’ll tutor you after soccer practice. I would have Dillon do it but I’m pretty sure that he needs help as well.”
The two of us looked over at where Dillon was chewing on the eraser of his pencil. He realized what he was doing and spit it out all over the girl in front of him. She shrieked, turned around, and started yelling at him while my brother tried to clean his mouth out. Jace and I snickered before I turned back to him.
“Okay, but as long as I can do something to repay you—“
“No, from what I’ve done to you, this is completely free of any charge.”
The glint in my eye told me that he was serious. Was he still Kayla’s little bitch? By the look in his eyes, I would say no. I sighed, ready to give into Jace’s offer. Besides, what other choice did I have? My ex-boyfriend? Definitely not. My brother who was choking on bits of his eraser? Don’t think so.
“Okay but we’re just studying.”
“I didn’t think it would be anything else,” He answered with a smile on his face. He looked like he was about to add more but our teacher shushed us and continued on with the lesson.
After that class, Dillon helped me to my next and until lunch, everything went smoothly. I had to wheel myself down there, which was pretty painful, but I also liked being in control of myself. Around halfway there, Jace caught up to me and took over.
“So how is everything right now?”
I shrugged, “It’s school. Boring but completely necessary.”
“No, Peyton. What I meant was how are the people being to you?”
I blinked and thought about all the whispers and looks I’ve gotten today. “They’re all being okay.”
He stopped wheeling me and walked around so he could look me in the eye. “You can trust me. Just tell me the truth.”
I averted my gaze to the burn marks on my arms and let some very stupid words bubble out of my mouth. “Just like how I thought I could trust you when we were ‘dating?’ Yeah, I don’t think so.” I lifted my head and my eyes widened at what I had said. A hurt look passed through Jace’s features and as stupid as it might be, I regretted saying those things. “Jace—“
“No, you’re right. You can’t trust me because of what I did…” He looked at me and closed his eyes for a brief moment. “I completely understand.”
I tried again, “Jace—“
“No. You have every right to not trust me. If I were you, I wouldn’t trust me either. I’m just glad that we’re friends or something close to it again.”
I slightly smiled at him, “Me too.”
He nodded once and returned to the place behind my wheelchair to take me to lunch. For a moment he seemed stumped as to whether he should lead me to Lauren and them or Dillon and his friends. Finally, I nodded over at my brother—mostly because I know that my brother would freak out if I didn’t—and Jace brought me over.
“Peyton, oh, Peyton!” Luke bellowed. “It’s nice to see you back!”
I smiled at him and noticed that Dillon had his arm wrapped around Alyssa’s shoulders. I wagged my eyebrows at him and he just glared. I snuggled into my wheelchair and pulled out the sack lunch that my mom had surprisingly packed me so I wouldn’t have to deal with the long lunch line. It was actually pretty good. In a moment of clumsiness, I dropped my bag of chips and reached down but Jace beat me to it.
“Don’t worry, I got it,” He flashed me a smile and gave me my food.
“Thanks,” I grinned as well but I felt a flash of pain on the side of my face from that show of emotion. I reached up to scabbed over gash that ran along the length of my head and bit my lip from the sharp pain.
“What’s going on, Peyton?” Dillon asked in concern as he untangled himself from Alyssa and leaned closer to me. “Are you hurt?”
“It’s nothing, Dill. Just a little pain—“
“It’s not nothing! Remember what the doctor said—“
“I’m fine!” I snapped and pulled my hand away from my head. “I’ll be fine. Stop freaking out about every little thing.”
The whole table looked at me in surprise. Never once have I yelled at someone for being concerned but to be honest, his over-protectiveness was getting annoying. I love how we’re talking again but this is too much.
“Sorry…” I muttered. “It’s just been a long day. I should probably go…” I turned in my wheelchair but ran right into a familiar face.
“Peyton!” Chase’s everlasting smile met me. “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”
“Chase!” I yelled like a child and held out my arms for a hug. He returned in by leaning down to my height and wrapping his sturdy arms around my pained body. Weren’t these painkillers supposed to work the full day?
“So how’s it going?”
I flashed a glance at everyone at the table then turned back to my friend. “I was just going to go outside. Wanna come?”
He nodded and started to take me out of the cafeteria. Before I completely left, I turned around and saw Jace looking back at me with a sad look on his face.
The rest of the day went slowly. I just wanted to go home, sleep, and never do anything again. Maybe I needed a few more days off from school… I did just get out of the hospital. But I really have to be here and try my hardest to get my grades perfect. Junior year is the most important part of your high school career because that’s where colleges mostly look.
Regardless, I still have two more hours until I go home because I have to wait for Dillon’s soccer practice to get over with. Jace met me at my last class and wheeled me out with no conversation.
“Can you take me to a girls bathroom?” I asked while people piled out of the school, stealing confused glances at us.
“I can’t take you in there—“
“I don’t need to be babied. I am completely capable of going to the bathroom all by myself. I’m not some child, Jace.”
He sighed in defeat and brought me to the restroom closest to the field where they’d be practicing. He left his place behind the wheelchair and stood there awkwardly, leaning against the wall.
“Go to practice, I’ll be down there soon.”
He looked like he was about to object but decided against it. “Fine, but if you’re not down there in ten minutes, I’m going to think that you got hurt.”
“I’ll be down there in nine minutes just to make you angry,” I grinned at him, hoping to get a positive response. He just gave me a slight smile and walked out the back door to the boy’s locker room with his hands in his pockets.
I wheeled myself into the bathroom and into the stall that was wheelchair assessable. I did my business and started to lift myself back into my wheelchair when the door opened and someone walked in.
“I wish Kayla was here to see her,” A familiar voice said but I couldn’t quite place who was talking. “She could be laughing with us!”
“Seriously, Lindsay!” Another voice commented. Lindsay? Jace’s stalker Lindsay? Since Kayla isn’t here she must be the one in charge.
“But to the real topic on hand, did you see her with Jace all day? The only reason he’s talking to her is because he feels bad. She might be in a wheelchair but she’s still a lying slut.”
My eyes widened and I cringed back into my chair. They were talking about me.
“Definitely,” The other girl commented. She was probably another cheerleader like Lindsay and they were on their way to practice. “She probably just set that house, or whatever it was, on fire to get attention and pity. She’s so desperate for attention now.”
“Have you seen her body though?” Lindsay went on to say. “She’s so disgusting! She looks like she just came back from the dead with all those marks. Damn, if I were her I wouldn’t even come to school. She’s more ugly than she was before.”
Tears welled up in my eyes as they exchanged another bit of conversation about something but I could barely hear them over my thoughts. They both left and I slowly exited my stall and wheeled myself to the mirror to wash my hands.
I looked up and stared at the mirror as I bit my lip. They’re right. I am ugly. Why is anyone even talking to me now? Do they feel bad for me like Lindsay said or are they just wanting to look like the good guys now instead of the bad?
I exited the bathroom and instead of going to the field, I went to the front of the school and started on my long journey home. I can’t stand to look at any one of them. I want to know the truth. I want to know why all of a sudden they’re talking to me and I want a true apology from every single one of them.
The usual ten-minute drive to school took me almost two hours to wheel myself there. By the time I reached the front door, my arms felt like they were going to fall off.
“Hey, honey!” My mom called to me and walked in. “How was school? Is Dillon here with you—“
“Leave me alone!” I yelled. She’s only here because she doesn’t want to look like a horrible mother but she is. I clumsily lifted myself out of my wheelchair and began dragging myself up the stairs while my mother tried to stop me. I disregarded all of her tries and pleas for me to tell her what was going on and continued on with my journey until I met with my second wheelchair at the top.
“Come on, Peyton. What’s going on—“
I slammed the door in my mothers face, locked it, and then collapsed onto my bed. Well… This sucks. A few minutes later, a voice that wasn’t my mother called out to me and knocked on my door.
“Peyton?”
“Go away, Jace.”
“No.”
“Jace—“
“I’m not leaving until you open this door.”
I sighed and reached over to open it. He walked in with his soccer gear on, sweat dripping down his face, and a confused look on your face. “Coach wouldn’t let me out once you didn’t come back. What happened? Are you okay? Is it—“
“Do you just pity me?” I asked him. “Is that why you’re being nice? Or is it because you just owe me. You know what you owe me, Jace? An apology. A true one.”
He stared at me in surprise before speaking again. “What can I tell you, Peyton? I know everything that I say won’t make you forgive me a hundred percent. I fucked up and I’m truly sorry for everything that I did to you. If it makes you feel any better, I even declined the money from Kayla—“
“Wait, what?”
He dropped his gaze to the ground. “If I took that money, I’d be the worst person in history.”
I gaped at him. Did he really reject the money after all that he did? “Really?”
“Really.”
“Oh…”
There was an awkward silence. There was no way he could’ve declined the money that could help him get into college. I guess that’s something I need to ask Kayla about when we ‘talk.’
“Why didn’t you go down to the field, Pey?”
I winced at the thought of those harsh words said about me. “I heard Lindsay and another girl talking to me in the bathroom. They said some bad things—“
“Like what?”
“How everyone stills hates me. How ugly I am… Everything that’s true.”
I watched as Jace clenched and unclenched his jaw. “That’s not true. Don’t listen to anything that she says.”
“How can’t I? Admit it, Jace. I look hideous. I’m completely and utterly repulsive—“
“Stop it!” He grabbed my shoulders painfully and looked me straight in the eye. “I know I caused all of this but I’m also going to stop it. It starts tonight.” And with that, he just… left.
I fell against my pillows as more anger built up inside of me. Why can’t everyone just have a day where they say every little thought in their head, no regrets. Wouldn’t that make everything much easier?
“Peyton?” An arm shook me and I shot up to see Dillon looking down at me in concern. “I just saw Jace storming out of here. What’s going on?”
“I want an apology, Dill. A true apology. You made me feel like shit during all those months and just a simple ‘sorry’ doesn’t cut it. I gave you a legitimate apology so I deserve one from you.”
“You’re right…” He said. “You do deserve one. I was a horrible brother back then and I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I don’t like being lied to, Pey. It hurt me that both my best friend and little sister kept something so big from me. I most definitely shouldn’t have realized that I was a dick the moment when your life was in jeopardy. I’ll tell you what, you can do whatever you want to me. You want me to be your slave for a week? A month? How about—“
Slap.
I grinned at him, turning bright red, and wiped away some tears that I didn’t realize had fallen. “Sorry but you kind of deserved that…”
He also smiled and rubbing his red cheek. “Jeez, I never knew that you had that in you.” He held out a fist to me. “We cool?”
I bumped knuckles with him, “We’re cool.”
“Good, I’ve missed you and now, do your homework,” He winked and started leaving. “You have a lot to catch up on.”
I groaned as he exited but pulled out my backpack anyways and started into the huge piles of work that I had to do.
A few hours later and tons of assignments done, an empty plate of dinner, and a pounding headache, I received a text message.
Check your Facebook.
It was from Jace. Why on earth would he want me to check my Facebook? Either way, it would be a nice break to check it and get away from my schoolwork for a few minutes.
I pulled my laptop to me from my desk and signed into my Facebook. Immediately, I saw the bright red number on the top left that said that I had ninety-nine plus notifications. I clicked on that in confusion and it said how many people wrote something on my wall.
Instead of clicking on them all, I just went straight to my profile and saw what everyone was posting me about.
You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.
I’ve always been jealous of you and I still am.
You’re absolutely amazing.
And they continued on. Each came from people at my school, people I both new really well and some I barely knew. Each said something completely positive and they actually brought tears of happiness into my eyes. Once I reached the bottom, one comment stood out to be the very first one that had popped up here and started this whole thing.
You’re beautiful.
And who posted it? No other then Jace Andrew Harley and I guess this is what he meant by ‘it starts tonight.’
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NEXT CHAPTER: Why Kayla hates Peyton :)
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