Jane was walking in the halls, reaching her locker under the murmurs of everyone around. She was sure they thought she was crazy, but maybe they would stop bothering her. She opened her locker without fearing a paper or whatever, she knew it was all Alban and Abigail's ideas, and the two assholes were not here today. Will approached her with a big smile in his face.
- "Hey Jane," the young boy greeted.
- "Hey" the girl answered, taking her books.
- "I, I wanted to thank you. You always come back after, I mean, they tried to take you down, but you always showed everyone that you are stronger than this and you won't let anyone take you away this part of you. It's really encouraging for people like us."
Jane frowned and turned her head to her friend. Will was looking at her with a smirk and eyes meaning everything. She understood the hidden message in his thanks and appreciated that he felt safe enough with her to tell her. She answered with a nod and a small smile. Mike arrived in running, wrapped his arm around Jane's neck and began to ruffle her hair.
- "What the fuck Mike! Stop that!" the girl grumbled, pushing him.
Mike stepped back with a laugh while Jane was killing him with her eyes.
- "I missed you," the black-haired boy told.
- "I just missed two days of school!"
- "It was long! And plus, I heard you had a new nickname!"
- "What is it, Crazy Jane?" Jane rhetorically asked.
- "No, the Pruner!"
Jane wide opened her eyes, surprised by this nickname. She was especially surprised to find it kinda funny.
- "This is so badass!" Will stated. "I'm jealous now!"
- "Me too!" Mike added. "The Pruner, put your dick in her mouth and she will keep it!"
Mike presented it like if it was a slogan for a presidential. Will didn't dare to laugh, and Jane was still not very comfy with this story. She placed her hand on her throat and looked at the floor with a frown.
- "I'm sorry, I didn't want to embarrass you..." Mike apologized.
- "It's fine...it's just a bit too soon, that's all," Jane reassured with a weak smile.
- "I won't do that again, I'm sorry..."
- "It's fine, let's talk about something else."
Her wish was going to be granted. Lucas and Gabrielle approached the group of three, both hugging Jane to greet her.
- "How many time are you going to keep that?" Gabrielle asked, showing Jane's left arm.
- "One week," Jane answered. "It could have been worse."
- "Yeah...I'm glad you made it."
- "I'm glad too!"
- "How are you?" Lucas asked with a concerned tone.
- "I'm...better than I thought," Jane said, biting her bottom lip on her left. "I gotta go, I don't wanna be late."
Jane grabbed her bag and walked away.
- "She is not okay, right?" Lucas stated.
- "No," the three others answered at the same time.
- "What can we do?" Mike said.
- "Nothing, except supporting her, it's not up to us to play the psychologists, I'm sure her sister won't let her like that without doing anything," Gabrielle answered. "We should just try to avoid the subject, even if she is denying it, it's still a rape."
The word gave a bad shiver in the three boys' backs. Mike was feeling more guilty for laughing of it. He was so stupid sometimes!
- "But if she talks about it with one of you, listen to her, it's harder for her than for us," the black-haired girl finished.
The boys nodded. Gabrielle wanted to study psychology and already read some books about it, so the boys were trusting more her advice than anyone else's.
Jane met Beverly and Max on her way to class.
- "Hey Jane," Beverly smiled.
- "Hey," Jane sighed.
- "You okay?"
- "Yeah, I was just going to class."
- "Really? It's in the other way you know?"
- "Yeah...I just want to...take this way, instead."
She didn't let the time to Beverly and Max to answer and quickly walked away again. Bev and Max frowned to each other.
- "What's wrong?" Bev asked.
- "I don't know..." Max answered.
Jane opened the door to the stairs. She knew no one was taking those stairs because it was always cold and there were other stairs more direct in the school. She was breathing heavily and needed to hide. She leaned against the wall and let her body sliding on the floor. She grabbed her head and began to cry uncontrollably.
- "Jane?"
The girl brutally started and looked up. She had to wip her red puffy eyes to distinguish her interlocutor. It was Dustin, looking at her with concerned eyes.
- "What's wrong?" the boy asked, crouching in front of her.
Jane was still breathing heavily, not able to say a word. Her entire body was shaking and the tears were still falling, looking away.
- "Hey, look at me Jane," Dustin said, placing his hand on her cheek and forcing her to look at him. "Breath with me, slowly."
The young boy and the girl took a moment to coordinate their breathings. Jane managed to calm hers but was still crying.
- "I, I can't go to class..." Jane told with a high voice due to her tight throat.
- "Why?" Dustin frowned.
- "Because...it's...too close..."
- "Too close? Too close of what?"
- "Of...the locker room..." Jane said with a gasp.
- "Oh...You know they are not here, right?"
- "Of course I know! But I can't!" Jane got angry with more tears in her eyes. "I can't anymore..."
Dustin felt his heart breaking. He always saw Jane as a rock ready to fight, but the girl seemed to give up now. Alban and Abigail managed to break her.
- "I, I'll go with you," the boy said.
- "No, no, I don't wanna go," Jane cried.
- "No one is going to hurt you, I promise, none of them are here today. You trust me?"
Jane took a deep breath and slowly nodded. Dustin grabbed both of her hands and helped her to stand. He felt her body shaking and decided to take her in his arms. She shook more and began to sob silently on his shoulder. Dustin tightened more, wanting her to feel safe. He didn't know what to think about it, he didn't want her to give up because it would mean that the bullies won.
After a moment, Jane stopped crying and broke the hug. Dustin smiled to her to cheer her up, but it didn't work. He wiped her face with his thumbs and grabbed her hand to squeeze it. The two friends went in the halls, in direction of Jane's class. When they arrived near the locker room, Jane tightened more her hand on Dustin's and stopped walking, feeling the panic coming back.
- "Hey, hey, it's okay Jane, it's okay, you're not alone, I'm here, I'm with you," the boy quickly said. "Breath slowly, okay?"
Jane gulped and nodded. She kept walking with slow steps, fearing the room. Once in front of it, Jane froze. She could hear their voices and feeling their hands on her and his...inside her throat, the blood flowing, the tears falling, their screams, and the bodies laying down...They got her.