“Remember to let her into your heart, then you can start to make it better.” The Beatles
Lena Rose Winter
My first friend in this school. The screechy mouse who was dating an asshole with a huge ego, but not as humongous as hers. I took in her appearance, with a disgusted smirk on my face. She was wearing a glittering, long, sparkly red dress that reached the floor.
Her hair was pulled to the side, falling on her right shoulder in cascading waves. With about a ton of make up on her face, she resembled the ugliest creature I'd ever seen in my whole life.
I was not a hypocrite. I didn't see the gorgeous girl every one saw, I saw a frail, wannabe seeking for attention.
She looked like the last hocrux in the Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. Weak, but feeding on others to gain strength. I saw through that prideful smirk. I knew Mark was a bad influence on her. But, Stacy didn’t.
Stacy Hennings.
She crossed the line. It was now or never.
I heard gasps in the gym, every eye was once again glued on my enemy and I. Anger bubbled in me, my nostrils were flaring and my face got hot. I clenched my fist and looked at her.
My eyes flickered to her hands, still holding the empty glass, clutching it for life. "Oups? That's all you can find to say? Why did you do that, Hennings?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. My fury was not going to get out of control this time. They were slightly shaking. This ought to be easy.
"Well? Cat got your tongue?" I smirked, crossing my arms together.
"You're a bitch," she stated, shrugging her shoulders. I felt my eyebrows go higher on my forehead.
Suddenly, a staggering Mark appeared, and slid his arm around her shoulder. He was positively drunk, because his eyes were half closed and his hand held a bottle of beer.
"Heeeeey, caatfiight! Gooooo prettyyyy..." slurred Mark, barely comprehensible. My eyes met Liam's, whose face was covered with shock, anger and anxiousness.
"I got this," I mouthed, in hope to reassure him. Well, I failed. He had a reason to be worried though. Last time I talked to Mark, my fist connected with his face.
"Nice boyfriend you got here, Hennings." She shot me a death glare, before turning to Mark.
"For your information, my man is a hundred times better than the Silent Freak here," declared Stacy, placing a sloppy kiss on Mark's cheek. I didn't have time to think about the fact that she'd insulted Liam, because, to everyone's surprise, he shook her off, then wiped her kiss.
"Ew! I got uglyyyy cooties," He exclaimed, still wiping his cheek. My mouth fell open. So did Stacy's.
"Mark, what do you mean by ugly ?" gasped Stacy, eyeing her boyfriend. He pointed at her and grimaced.
"Youuu're ugly, dumdum." I bit my lip from laughing. He was acting like a little kid.
This was priceless, but not as much as Stacy's expression. She recomposed from her bewilderment by wrapping her arms around his waist.
By now, the entire gym had gone wild. Every one was hooting for Mark.
"GUYS, GUYS. He's just drunk, he-he doesn't know what he's saying," stuttered Ugly. Mark shook her off for the second time today. He took a deep breath, looking quite like a little kid confessing something.
"Yes, I'm drunk. And you're ugly. But yesterday, and tomorrow I was and will be sober. And you'll still be ugly. If there's anyone pretty here, it's Elena. She's really pretty," told Mark.
Pure awe was written on each student's face. Including mine. Even though he'd said my name wrong, the finger pointing in my direction confirmed her statement. Although I added a little smirk.
I took Liam's hand and advanced towards her frozen expression. She looked like a fish, her mouth forming a perfect O.
I patted her back, feeling pity. "I'll repeat again, just for you, Stacy. Nice boyfriend you've got here." She whimpered, sounding like a lost puppy.
All of a sudden, I remembered why I was here.
The sticky substance on my back.
I let go of Liam's extremely soft, warm hand and searched the room with my eyes for the item I needed.
Liam handed me exactly what I was looking for, with a knowing smile.
I approached Stacy, who was still frozen. Mark had left her, to hang out with random people. I tapped her shoulder, making her face me.
"What do you want from me, you monster!" She screeched.
I smiled a little, then poured the liquid in my hands on her hair. I was pretty sure Stacy's scream could be heard from China. I shrugged nonchalantly.
"Oups?" This time, the word came out of my mouth. I walked away.
"You're nothing but a little bitch. By the way, the Silent Freak is ugly, fat and disgusting. I know what you two have in common."
I stopped in my tracks. My eyes met Liam's, he was pleading me: Don't do anything stupid.
The pain that flickered in his sad eyes made me even madder. In a flash, I was in front of her again.
Her lips pulled up, evilly, knowing she'd won."Excuse you, what did you just say?" I asked, my level of patience reaching its end.
"I said, you, Lena Winter, are a bitch. And the Silent Freak is the ugliest, most repulsive human I'd ever seen. That explains you getting along with him so well."
That was when my palm collided with her face.
"Listen right here, Stacy Hennings. If anyone's a bitch here, it's you. Liam Christopher Black is my best friend and the most amazing guy in the entire world. Insult him again, you'll have to cross me," I said calmly, while she was still clutching her now red cheek.
For the last time, and without turning back, I took Liam's hand and walked out the gym.
-
Liam had been giving me looks ever since the incident at the gym. He was eyeing me with a judging look in his eyes, then shook his head. We were walking through the halls, heading for my locker. I hoped I'd find anything to wear. Frankly, the sticky substance on my back made my mood horrible.
"Liam! Stop looking at me like that!" I exclaimed, having had enough. He raised an eyebrow, then continued staring at the cold, hard floor.
Fine, be like that.
I opened my locker, rummaging through it, wishing I'd be lucky enough to find an old shirt and sweatpants or something. Liam leaned against the locker beside me, observing me. I didn't take my eyes off the mess I call my locker.
"I mean, honestly, she ruined my dress and insulted me—" I half-yelled, talking to myself.
"—and she insulted you. She could've done anything else but that! You're my best friend, and a person I really care about, a-as a friend of course. No one gets away with—"
I was cut off by a peck on my cheek. I stopped, then turned to face him.
"Thank you," He mouthed, smiling at me. For a moment, I was so mesmerized by the way he'd smiled, that I just wanted to stay like this forever.
I shook my head to get a reality check.
"Liaaam, what am I going to wear now?" I whined, sounding like a little baby. He grinned, then typed something on his phone.
"Stay like this, you still look beautiful," I blushed, and looked at him through my eyelashes.
"Really?" I asked, biting my lip. He nodded, still smiling at me. I took my coat out and wrapped it around myself, my skin suddenly feeling a lot colder.
"What shall we do now, peanut?" A twinkle appeared in his eye. Before I could even process what was happening, Liam was running, and carrying me at the same time.
"LIAM CHRISTOPHER BLACK! PUT ME DOWN , NOW." But my pleas did nothing. I closed my eyes, and got comfortable.
Might as well get something out of it, right?
When I felt a cold breeze on my face, I opened my eyes. Liam gently set me on the ground, widely grinning. I took in our surroundings.
We were standing on the snow covered grass, outside the school. Crisp, white, shining covering that transformed the landscape making it a magical land full of wonder and undiscovered mysteries. The snow did not glide, but rather it created random patterns within the air. As it settled, it dissolved slowly into the snow already placed there by the last sprinkling. Everything looked breathtakingly beautiful, including the angel standing in front of me.
I felt confusion flood over me though.
"Liam, why are we here?" He smiled even more, a hidden secret appearing more mysterious than ever. He held one finger up, signaling for me to wait. He turned, his back facing me and was doing something on his phone.
I focused on the weather, and shivered. I was freezing. Goosebumps were present all over my arms. My teeth shattered.
Liam finally turned to face me, then music was blasting from his phone. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket, laid it on the snow and put his phone on it.
I immediately recognized the song.
"Settle down with me, cover me up, cuddle me in..."
"Liam! Will you please tell me what's going on, I'm dying over here," I said. I felt warmer. He placed his hand on my waist, and my hand on his shoulder.
"You owe me a dance," moved his mouth, as he shrugged. My breath caught in my throat. I gulped what was left of my saliva, as my mouth went completely dry. I took deep breaths to steady my heart which, as usual, was beating inhumanely.
This time, I didn't concentrate on dancing, my attention was fully directed towards the guy holding me.
And all of a sudden, nothing in the world mattered. The way he was looking at me was making me melt. As if my insides were being mashed. I finally understood the riddles. I figured everything out. From the sweaty palms, to my heart racing when I see him. From admiring his blue eyes, to having dreams about him.
I felt this way about Liam, because I loved him.
"I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet. And with this feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now," sang Edward Christopher Sheeran, who shared his middle name with Liam's.
I don't know what came over me at that moment, was it the way his eyes were reading my soul or the way he was absentmindedly smiling at me, making his eyes sparkle.
"Liam, can I tell you something?" He nodded, curiosity shining on his face now. I let go of him, so we weren't dancing anymore. The song had been over for more than five minutes now.
I plopped myself on the grass, he mirrored my actions. I pulled on the grass, slightly easing my nervousness.
"Promise me that no matter what happens we stay friends after I say what I need to confess, deal?" I said, butterflies exploding in my stomach. His eyebrows furrowed now, with worry. I looked at him in the eyes. It was almost like he glowed.
"Liam, I lo-" I was cut off by a ringtone.
Maybe that was a sign, I shouldn't say anything.
"You need me, but I don't need you, you need me, nah I don't need you,"
Liam jumped and grabbed his phone. When he saw the caller's I.D, his face flushed and he gave me the phone, his hand shaking with worry and concern. He reminded me of a little scared child. I immediately pressed the green answer button. That's how it worked, when someone was calling him, he had to give the phone to the nearest person beside him. I put it on speaker.
"Hello?"
"Hello, I'm guessing this is a friend of Liam's," greeted a manly, voice slightly trembling.
Liam was observing my every move."Yes, what's wrong?"
"This is Doctor Morrison, it's about his grandmother," Liam tensed.
"Yes? What's wrong with her?" I asked, worried myself. There was a long pause.
"Well, her heartbeat's slowing and she's barely breathing-" trailed off Dr. Morrison. Liam clenched his fists.
"Spit it out, Doc," I exclaimed, troubled. There was a long, tired sigh on the phone.
"He has to come as soon as possible. His grandmother only has about an hour or two left before-" My breath hitched in my throat, just as Liam gasped.
"Just tell him, that he has to come...it's time to say goodbye," finished the doctor, before muttering something about having work to do and hanging up.
I had to run to catch up with a very worried and angry Liam sprinting towards his car.
"Take me with you," I demanded, huffing, now standing in front of his red automobile. He ignored me, and I took that as a yes. I buckled my seat on, just as Liam started the engine. He drove.
What terrified me wasn't the fact that he was fuming, it was that behind that cover, I saw a little boy, afraid of losing everyone he loved.