Disclaimer: Contains bullying and violence

Arizona huffed as she looked up at the flights of stairs staring back at her like a ginormous monster. It was the break of dawn followed by a long night of shifts and studies and this big hurdle was the devil separating her from the love of her life - her cool cuddly bed.

Sunlight was slowly sipping through the railings lighting before her a cascade of tangerine, just the shade she loved. But Arizona was too spent to take in the view. The double shifts in her part-time job and school in between were beginning to feel too much on her body. She was so tired that she would lay down then and there if someone gave her a pillow. But her dorm room was just by the corner and she had no intention of sleeping on cat piss and cigarette butts, so she dragged her tired two feet up the muddied steps. She did not know if the dorm was unkept like this because it was for the Pocahontases like her or because the students happened to be certified morons in throwing litters and the janitors were just done with them because it looked worse than a pigpen.

Ok! Both!

Arizona thought and kicked an empty Coca-cola can from in front of her which landed right into the bin down the flights.

Oh yeah! Bullseye!!!

Arizona grinned fumbling for her keys in the pockets. Her room was now stepped away and then there was that empty cold bed just waiting to hug her exhausted body and the promise of a long, cold shower just widened her grin. Plus the fact that she just hit bullseye perked up her mood just the right amount. The day seemed to be off to a good start and she was already somersaulting in her mind.

But her high just snapped as she heard noises she had no intention of filling her ears with this early in the morning.

Seriously! Get a room!

Arizona thought in disgust. But the fact that the noise was getting more vivid with her each step was telling her that she was about to have an awkward interaction with the party involved. This was not the first she was about to walk into people sucking the face-off each other and in situations as such, she would always brush off without looking at them saving both the parties the tangible amount of awkwardness but her nose picked a familiar smell of expensive face powder which was totally out of place in this substandard building. She took one step. And two till she was staring at her door being towered over by the 6 feet plastic that she feared she would see. It was Plastic Pansy and she was making out with the boy who lived just in the room beside her, who she saw so little that he was just - the - guy - living - next - door to her. But

This building is basically for all Annexan and Pansy hates outsiders. What's she even doing here?

Arizona's face crunched in disgust as she realized it was not a mutual thing. While he was not doing anything to reciprocate or recoil from the gesture, his eyes looked completely defeated and crushed. They looked away from Arizona's as Pansy smooched all over him making the most disgusting noises ever. But clearly, the boy was not enjoying this. And Arizona did not know a single boy in her high school who did not kiss up to Pansy just to be her minion which then hit her.

Maybe he's not into any girl at all. Wait-

Something in Arizona snapped. If she could tell from 10 feet apart that he was not into her, Pansy knew it too.

Is she doing it just to bully him?

It's sexual assault damnit!!

She grabbed a rolling wine bottle from the ground and threw it at the wall which smashed into million pieces, just a hand away from Pansy. Pansy screeched as she looked at the bottle and then at Arizona. She was first shocked and then angry.  Broiling angry. She glared at Arizona to which Arizona shrugged.

"Oops! I missed."

Pansy stomped to her and went for her hair but Arizona grabbed her tiny wrist just in time which crackled like a toothpick in her hold and gave her a tight smile.

Don't underestimate the strength of a working girl. Cuck!

Pansy just burst into rage. She pulled Arizona by her neck her face and gritted her teeth.

" What are you as smiling at bitch? Happy much?"

" Oh yes!" Arizona's smile widened," I'm swooning in happiness realizing that I'm not the same breed as you. By the way, which breed is your father?"

It took quite many seconds for Pansy's pea brain to process what she just was implying and once she got, her rage just went blind. Her nails dug into Arizona's neck and she smacked her against the wall. Arizona was lucky to be quick enough to be able to place her free hand on the wall just in time. Otherwise, the dirty wall would have been dirtied more with the insides of her skull.

Pansy turned Arizona to face her but instead of a scared defeated face, she found a nonchalant face staring back like it was a Sunday morning routine for her which in reality was. Arizona had been bullied so much in Annexa and afterward that almost everything was predictable to her. Bullies were nothing but dumb monkeys to her at that point.

Pansy strangled Arizona, puller her to her eye level, and hissed, " Just who do you think you are to even dare to look me in my eyes huh? You bitch be coming here stinking Kollier with bitchy Apexa smell and think you own it all, " Pansy said shaking her from her neck. She clasped her chin and turned it to the boy who was still looking at them as a dead fish.

" Look at him. He's a sophomore from your stinky Apexa but he's beneath me. Do you know why?" Pansy chuckled turning her head back to her, " because he's a fag from Apexa. A deformed fag who doesn't even know what to do with his penis. Just like you bitch, who doesn't know her place. And I'll send you to sweet Jesus too just like I was sending him."

"What a nun! Ain't Jesus thrilled!"

Pansy hit her against the wall again." Just a few days here and you've grown wings, huh?! But do you know what happens to those who try showing off their ugly ass to me? I crush them." Pansy's nails were digging Arizona's cheeks at that point but Arizona showed no sign of pain. The last thing she wanted was to keep this arse in front of her the satisfaction of hurting her.

" All of you from Apexa are nothing but uncouth roaches trying to be cocky just because you learned a bit of ABC. You guys are living at our mercy. And beggers don't. Get. Free. Will. You sit when I ask you to sit and you wag your tail when I ask you to wag your tail. Got it bitch?"

" I got no idea what you were saying cuz all I heard were barks," Arizona smiled at her as she smashed another bottle on the wall that Pansy did not even see her picking and dangled the jugged piece on her hand dangerously close to Pansy's face which worked like magic.

Pansy let go of her instantly and looked at her like a cornered hyena and Arizona treated her likewise.

" First of all, you badly need a dictionary update on your slang. Seriously! There are so many more satisfying slangs in the world than to describe who you are. Second of all, I did not kiss my way up here and neither did anyone places me up here for my face. If you're gonna look down on me, at least look for a proper reason,"

Arizona breathed and clenched her teeth, " and lastly, don't care if you pronounce Kollier or Whorelin but it's Annexa. Not Alexa. Someone from Kallier at least should have that much knowledge in their small skull. Someone with a human brain that is." Arizona completed with a tint of slash. She did not have Peggy with her today. To protect or to be restrained by. And neither did Pansy have her minions. Even if she did, Arizona doubted if she would have done anything differently. Forcing off pocket money was one thing but using someone's sexual orientation to tame them was a different level of stooping low.

While Arizona stood resilient in front of Pansy with her wine bottle gizmo, Pansy was fuming with rage. This was not how it was supposed to go. Arizona was supposed to be scared and curled up in a ball right now. That was how it always was and that was what Pansy was used to. Complete submission and absolute dominance. But since that was not how it was going at all, her brain was lagging in response.

Screeching like a rat was all she could think of and trying to grab Arizona's hair was all she could think off. But before she even started acting upon it, Arizona placed the jagged end directly on her body, just a few fibers away from tearing apart her plastic skin.

" Careful Miss Kollier, we are uncouth roaches and roaches are not known for their best behavior. Stay here few more minutes and I'll reach into places you can't even imagine," Arizona sided tracing the bottle in places worth worrying. Pansy gritted her teeth and retreated one step at a time, all the while eyeing Arizona with a grueling amount of hatred in her eyes. Arizona knew she would be getting it all paid back in equal and with interest but -

Psst! that's for the future me to worry

After the horrible smell of fancy face powder was clear from the air, Arizona threw away the bottle and looked at the boy. He was leaning against the wall, run-down and surprisingly unimpressed. Arizona started to wonder if this was actually how he looked and Arizona just interrupted them while having pleasure due to her mind being over the top creative in reading situations. The possibility of that being true started increasing by leaps and bounds as Arizona neared her door and the guy stayed nested in his indifferent glory, making her want to dig the ground and make it swallow her whole.

Please don't say it wasn't a bully case and I just... God no!

Arizona prayed and entered the key into her keyhole.

" What is staring at? Did you think I would kneel before you, thank you, and pledge my life at your service for saving me just from another session of disciplining?" the guy put forth, air-quoting the word 'disciplining' as he stood straight and turned his knob as well.

Not that I would mind but just a 'thank you would do

Arizona did not say anything, however. She did not know if he was too shocked to care or simply did not care enough to be polite, she got the vibe pretty well that he was going to be a bad sport in entertaining her sarcasm. So she just shrugged and turned her doorknob, dying inside to jump dramatically on her bed.

" You got no idea what just got yourself into," he remarked as if he was informing more to himself than her.

Arizona flashed her brightest smile and responded, " Don't worry. I mostly got no idea anyways."

He just slammed the door with a loud thud. Arizona scoffed. This was the first time in two months she got to confirm that the person living beside her was not a vampire by the day and drug lord by night and this was how he ended their first encounter.

He still could be a drug lord by the night!

Arizona just got in. She agreed with herself that she had already had enough drama for the day. She just dropped her backpack on the floor and slumped on the bed facedown. The adrenaline from her little chitchat before was gradually wearing off and the exhaustion that she had been holding at bay for so long was sipping back fast. She pulled the phone from her pocket to check the time and immediately remembered the reason behind all of her exhaustion and headache.

If it ain't you Mr. 13 Cartoons of Ice Cream

Arizona stared at the pair of blue eyes looking back at her from the screen which felt unfairly small to only get her this short a glimpse. It was an intruder selfie that her front camera captured automatically upon wrong dialing of password. Despite not clicking the picture intentionally, he looked stunning at that skewed angle because all the time Arizona ever got considered an intruder by her phone for her clumsy fingers, her selfies were quite the piece of art with over zoomed nostrils and googly eyes. His one however came out beautiful, like he was sculptured just for that pose. Even in that small screen and even smaller capture, the depths of his blue eyes did not go missing. They were sharp and lively even in that dimmed photo. Just like the last time. One week ago.

For one week Arizona had been waiting for him to come to buy his unhealthy amount of ice cream and for one week she had been working in the day shifts and night, in the rare chance that he decided to change his suspiciously pronounced night routine. But to her utter dismay, he did not visit the Fruity People. Not once. And with each passing day, her guilt turned into remorse to the point he was all Arizona thought about the last seven days.

The hoodlums still did not dare stay on the same side of the street as her. And her phone was intact in her grasp, which was still on running installment.

And here I was busy throwing the lion into my castles like an impulsive jerk!

But since Arizona was the impulsive jerk she believed herself to be, she jumped up on the bed, dialed Ms. Queen's number, and called in for two days' leave.

And just three hours later was standing by his bed, to find him in the most unexpected way she thought.