05

« That… » I gasped for air between laughs, « That was awful ! »

« I told you ! » Jessica exclaimed, leaning against her locker for support.

Surprisingly, I was actually having fun here at school. Guaranteed, it was only my first day, and I had already been slightly bullied, but Jessica had a way of lightening the mood.

« If it isn’t the skank and the crazy b*tch. »

Oh f*ck no. I looked at Jessica, who was now staring hard at the ground, near tears. What the hell was that ? Connor can’t call Jessica of all people a crazy b*tch.

« F*ck off, Connor. » I spat out. Ignoring Jessica sharp intake of breath and warning look, I glared at Connor who was leaning against the lockers across the hallway.

« Oh my, was I mistaken ? Are you a skank and a crazy b*tch ? » He snarled, moving closer to me.

I watched as the last of the kids fled the hallway, leaving Connor, Jessica, and me. Well this could get interesting.

« Just leave us alone Connor. »

Fear filled me as he narrowed his eyes and got up in my face, causing Jessica to whimper a bit.

« Don’t tell me what to do. » He hissed, moving in closer that we were only an inch apart. Jessica let out another whimper, which caused Connor to turn his attention to her.

« Get lost. »

She threw me an apologetic look before running off to the gym. I guess I couldn’t be mad at her though, she did warn me. But really ? Leaving me with the most dangerous guy in school ?

« You’re in way over your head. » He snapped, « You don’t know the things I have done, so you better back off unless you have a death wish. » At the last part, he slammed his fist onto the locker, right by my head, causing me to flinch.

He noticed that, and smirked. God, he is sick. He pulled away and walked off, leaving me alone in the hallway. After I was sure he was gone, I let out the giant breath of air I had been holding. That was actually really scary, but being the stubborn person that I am, I made a promise to myself- I wasn’t going to let Connor control me. He wouldn’t be able to walk over me like he does to the rest of the student population.

Connor Michaels, I think it’s time you’ve met your match.

I showed up to gym class twenty minutes late, which I guess is why I was forced to run laps for the rest of class. On my 11th lap, I felt a presence behind me. Weird… all the students had gone to the field where they were playing soccer. Ignoring the feeling, I continued to run.

Then I was flying.

Uh huh, really, well, that is until I finally hit the ground. Pain engulfed my body as I struggled to sit up. What the hell happened ?

I looked up to see Connor jogging past me, acting as if he hadn’t tripped me. What an asshole. I stood up, using the wall for support. For a split second there, I black out, falling back into the wall. Groaning, I made my way to the exit- just as the side doors opened, and in flooded the rest of the class.

« Brown ! Where ya think yer goin ? » The gym teacher hollered at me.

« I-I… nurse. » I muttered, pushing myself through the door and into a tunnel of darkness.

« Are you sure she’s going to be okay ? »

Was that Jessica ?

I slowly opened my eyes, and saw Jessica talking to a lady in a white uniform. Curiously I looked around the room, recognizing it as what would typically be the nurse’s office.

« Bella ? Oh thank god you’re awake ! » Jessica exclaimed, rushing to the side of the bed.

« What happened ? » I mumbled, pain shooting through my head.

« You passed out, and Harry carried you here. » Jessica explained, helping me sit up.

Harry ?

« Who’s Harry ? »

« The ginger you called Ron Weasley. » Jessica said with a smile.

I winced as I stood up and with Jessica’s help, hobbled out of the room. The nurse had given me two advil to take during lunch, which we thankfully hadn’t missed.

« So what happened ? Connor said you fell and wouldn’t let him help you, which Mr. Rowley believed, but us students thought otherwise. »

I gritted my teeth in annoyance. I couldn’t believe that Connor would lie like that, and make him sound like the good guy.

« That douchebag ! » I snapped.

Jessica let out a short, bitter laugh. « Yeah, well, Connor is one. »

We entered the loud lunchroom, heading towards the line. After taking some pasta with Jessica, we headed towards the table where all the girls were waving enthusiastically.

« Hi ! You’re Bellatrix, right ? » One of the girls asked.

« Bella, » I corrected her with a small smile, sitting in between Jessica and a girl with blue hair.

« Well Bella, my name is Claire, » the girl introduced herself.

« Anna. »

« Lilly. »

« Natalya. » The girl with blue hair finished. All the girls seemed very friendly, and all unique in their own way.

« So… » Anna said casually, « You’re the girl who screwed with Connor ? »

« What ? We didn’t-« I started, shocked.

« She means, messed with. » Lilly explained.

Oh… well in that case… I nodded my head at her.

« Now, I’m not one to tell people what to do, but watch out with him. I’m sure Jess has told you everything-«