"I got off the ground, I stood up when you left and, baby, look at me now."

[Song: "Look At Me Now" - Emily King]

Request: If you're a rereader from either TGGBB or BG and you wish to make a #rr / spoiler comment, please first make a comment saying "spoiler", SUBMIT the comment, then REPLY to that comment with your actual spoiler. Create this comment thread so you can protect  FTRs from spoilers while still being able to comment and discuss with other RRs. Thank you and enjoy the book!

Trigger Warning: Depictions of verbal/physical bullying, sexual harassment, and call for suicide.

I dropped my binder.

This was bound to happen when you have been tripped on your way to your next class. I crashed onto the floor, having a rough landing on my arms. I struggled to fix my glasses back in place but I already knew that my schoolwork was littered across the hallway floor.

I swear I'm not the clumsy type. I take pride in the fact that I have never broken a dish before in my life. I didn't merely trip over my shoelaces. The actual reason was that a single foot was in my way as I searched through my binder to check I had my notes for my next class. I ignored the laughter and comments surrounding me as I crawled on the floor trying to gather my stuff that had been scattered across the floor. Students that were passing by kicked them away as they walked or left shoe prints on top of them. 

We were barely a few weeks into the school year here in Dartwell high, home of the dragons, and the bullying was as persistent as ever. I had to give my peers some credit for being able to keep it up all the way to my final year in high school.

As I reached for the English essay I received full marks for, a shoe was suddenly on top of it. I was able to pull my hand back before it could crush it.

"Why hello there, Nerdy Naomi." I could hear the smirk in the voice. I knew that voice all too well.

The papers crumpled in my hand. Through gritted teeth, I responded, "Hello, Raymond."

I stared hard at the ground, refusing to look up at him, as I always did.

"Get up."

I didn't move.

"I said, get up."

I had no other choice. I began to stand up, but perhaps I was too slow for him because hands were suddenly on my shoulders and I was forced to stand up. I was roughly pushed back and pinned to the lockers. I felt the locks and door handles dig into my back. The football team's quarterback easily lifted me off the ground so that I could stare into his cold, brown eyes.

"I have to give you some credit," I bit out, wincing. "I never imagined this is how I would get swept off my feet. Call me a hopeless romantic."

"I'd say just hopeless- You read too many books," Raymond casually replied before letting go of his grip, causing me to land on my ass.

Grimacing at the pain, I attempted to stand up only for him to kick my feet from under me having me land back on the ground. This cycle was starting to get annoying.

"I thought we went through this before second period," I managed out, setting my head against the lockers behind me in defeat. "You miss me already?"

"Paper," he ordered, holding out his hand to me.

I threw my hands up in exasperation, waving at the mess around me. "Maybe you should've taken it before you did this?"

He glared at me. "It better not have been in that stupid binder of yours."

I hope not because I don't want to imagine what he'd do to me if it was. I opened my backpack and found the folder of all "forced" assignments was thankfully in there. I fished his essay out and handed it to him.

Raymond glanced at it, then tapped the paper on my head in a humiliating way. "I expect an A on this one."

"I expect it too. It's a pity it won't count for my grade though."

He didn't say anything.

I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "What's wrong Raymond? Can't come up with any better comebacks? I enjoy our daily witty banters, although I'm used to always having to bring in the actual wit."

Raymond's eyebrows furrowed together and I took it that he was trying to understand what I had just said.

"I can say simplify my vocabulary if that would help," I offered sincerely.

He then glared at me, having finally figured out it was an insult. 

"After all these years, why can't you get it through your head?" He asked me with his signature smirk. "You should stay right where you belong," he said, looking down at me.

With that, he left to rejoin his friends, laughing alongside him.

I did stay where I was as I sat there on the hallway floor. I watched as people passed by me, their whispers and snickers about my state fading into the background. They continued to kick and step on my stuff that was scattered on the floor. One person was unique enough to even pick up one of my papers just to rip it in front of me. I knew what they were doing with my papers was what they wished they were doing with me.

After regaining my composure I had left, I stood up and quickly picked up my stuff. Having learned my lesson, I inserted everything into my backpack and walked down the hallway. I ignored their painful insults and pretended to be unfazed when I was shoved by people who passed by me.

I felt numb to it all.

My peers weren't exactly clever in their insults. They shouted "four-eyes" at me because I'm obviously a four-eyed mutant, of course, not because I wear glasses. They said my long, dark brown hair was a rat's nest, but they had to cut me some slack when I always struggled to calm my stubborn wavy hair. They told me I was fat and skinny which was confusing because I didn't know how I could possibly be both. Then when they called me short that meant that they had officially run out of insults.

When I reached my locker, I removed the piece of paper that I knew was stuck on my backpack and threw the now crumpled ball of paper in my locker. I didn't have to know what was exactly on the paper given that I knew the usual list they typically loop through. I heard booing from a group of guys who I assumed were the owners of said paper.

This is the average day of Naomi Lorraine, cleverly called Nerdy Naomi. The perfect victim to bully when you just need to release any pent up anger life throws at you. I was someone to throw your newly created insults or receive your actually thrown punches just to get a laugh out of it.

And what do I do? I let it all come to me. I have practically the entire school against me so it was pointless to fight back against an army. I had no friends to cry to because who would want to be friends with such a pitiful person and be caught in the crossfire for being associated with me? Going to the teachers wouldn't do anything unless I wanted to get a harsher retaliation in return. It would break my parents' hearts if I told them I suffered through this for so long. I have given up on trying to understand what it was about me that made me the subject to everyone's bullying. I wrote it off that I was just an easy target and that it was from their strong mentality to follow the crowd without stopping to think about why you should.

But it didn't matter. I was in my final year of high school. I just have to survive one more year and then this punishment can be over. At least today was Friday and I can recharge until the next week of hell- stuck in an endless loop with no chance to jump out.

The bell for fifth period rang and I knew I was going to be late to AP Physics. It was one of the only science classes I haven't taken and it seemed interesting enough. I took my time as I exchanged my books to allow the hallway to clear out. I would rather be late to class than face the usual obstacle course of my peers just to get there.

Knowing now that the halls should be nearly empty, I quickened my pace as I went down the hall. When I took a sharp turn around the corner, I was met with another body and fell backward on the floor.

I groaned, "Thank you so much."

We were just learning about force reactions in Physics and knew that this was a perfect example of Newton's third law of motion. Looking up I saw the person who I ran into. The person, taller and larger than me, stood there unfazed when I practically ricocheted off of him.

I knew who he was- Bennett Frazier. He's one of the three new senior transfer students that came to our school. Transfer students are pretty rare in my school, especially if they were entering their senior year. In this school, people have known each other since middle school, some even all the way back since elementary school. Dartwell has a small graduating class so often you can be in multiple classes with the same people.

The both of us have two classes together: Independent Research first period and AP English Language and Composition, or AP Language, second period. Independent Research is a college-prep course in which you have the whole year to create a research paper and have the presentation as the final. Throughout the year we still had to do class debates while we worked on our independent projects.

What I know about him is that I didn't know anything about him. I knew that his research topic was something related to business which was surprising given how he didn't seem like a charismatic person I believed would fit in the business world. He kept to himself in class despite being surrounded by classmates who showed they were clearly interested in him. He only spoke when it was required so I wouldn't be able to tell what his voice sounded like if you gave me a recording of it.

He looked down at me. "Sorry, I didn't see you there," he said calmly, making me believe he was being sarcastic.

I heard that line plenty of times only they would be more obvious when they pushed me onto the ground rather than simply "bump" into me.

I shot him a glare. I had a long day. I'm back on the ground once again, the number of insults I have received has gone past its daily limit, and now I was being greeted with sarcasm from a person I have never spoken to.

"Sure you didn't," I told him. "I'd love to know what you would have done if you had."

Bennett narrowed his eyes at me and I saw how bright blue his eyes are. "I wasn't being sarcastic."

"Well, I was," I told him as I attempted to stand up.

He offered me his hand and I looked at it like it was going to attack me mostly because I knew that had happened countless times before. I ignored it and stood back on my own. I was grateful that he didn't retaliate and was confused about why he didn't push me down as others would have. I got annoyed by the harsh memory.

Maybe it was just another trap, another joke. Too many times I have found myself believing in a person who befriended me only for them to have acted friendly for a laugh. I've given up my faith in humanity at that point.

"You know, I'm tired of this," I told him. "Just because people pretend I'm invisible doesn't mean I'm going to act like it."

He frowned at me. "What are you talking about?"

"And I barely even know you and you think you can already bully me?" I let out a cold laugh. "You're not getting a fast pass just because of the rumors about you. Take a number, get into the queue."

"A queue for what?"

Oh, so he's that kind of bully. He's going to pretend he's innocent and doesn't know anything just to get a bigger laugh when I start believing him. I won't give him that satisfaction.

"I'm late to class," I muttered as I walked past him.

"Wait," Bennett said sternly and I stopped where I was.

After the number of years I've been bullied since middle school, I have grown to become quite hostile against my bullies with my comebacks and sarcastic remarks. Of course, they return back to me insults and bruises for having such a smart mouth. I knew the price that was coming for taking my frustration out at him. I never seem to learn.

My body tensed as I braced for what was going to come. He might push me back on to the ground. Throw out the usual insults. Tell me what would happen once we left school grounds and I'll get what I truly deserved for talking back to him. Maybe I should start running right now instead of pondering over what would be my final-

I suddenly heard a crumple of a piece of paper.

"Here, this was on your-" He stopped.

I turned around and saw Bennett was reading the paper. His eyebrows were furrowed together, looking confused about what he read. He folded it and hesitated to give it to me. I quickly took it from him. Did he put it there and was making a show to just give it to me in front of me or did he actually take off another sign that was taped on my backpack? I would have thought I would be more aware of my surroundings, have some sort of spidey sense, at least for when people tape signs on my back.

He ran his fingers through his black hair, making it slightly disheveled, an odd look when his hair was usually styled and calmer.

There was a slight pause. "I'm late to class too," Bennett said quietly before he walked away, going around the same corner I had just passed.

I unfolded the paper and exhaled at what I read. As I said before, my peers weren't exactly clever.

Kill Yourself.

Out of all of the things that have been written before, why did he have to see this one?

-

Although I arrived late to class, it was too chaotic for my teacher to notice me as he was engrossed in finishing up grading papers before he started class. My peers were out and about, talking with each other, using their phones and chewing gum to most likely stick it under my seat. Everyone was too preoccupied to notice me or chose to ignore me with the teacher present in the room. I quietly slipped into an empty seat and the person beside me groaned at the sight of me, but at least didn't force me out of the seat.

I rolled my eyes at that. "Right back at you," I grumbled.

Having finished his work the teacher, Mr. Ford, stood up and cleared his throat but it was useless since everyone continued what they were doing. Despite this, he told everyone, "I was able to finish creating your assigned seats. These will be your lab partners for the rest of the year."

Some students cheered while others cursed at the thought of having to sit next to me, making me be on the receiving end of their glares. The person sitting next to pumped his fist into the air.

"Freedom baby!"

"There's still a probability that we will be lab partners," I said with a sigh to which he grimaced at the thought.

"If you have any complaints," the teacher explained to us, "you can write them down on a piece of paper and then put it in my complaint box, which is located in the trash can."

After the scattered chuckles in the room died down, Mr. Ford looked down at a piece of paper. He went through a few pairs of names until mine came up.

"Lorraine and Wallace, go sit at the next available table."

I got up from my seat, seeing the smirk from the guy next to me who had the odds in his favor. The students whispered insults to me as I passed them, although one said how lucky I was. I then went to the seat next to the window at the assigned table.

There were complaints from the people surrounding my new lab partner. He stood up from his seat and waved back at them, telling them that they shouldn't miss him too much. As he walked towards me, he smiled at me. I would have preferred if he was frowning instead because at least then that meant we both wanted to ignore each other. If he was smiling, that meant he was coming up with different ways to mess with me during my class as well as make me do all the work for him.

He is another one of the new senior transfer students, Jordan Wallace. Aside from this class, we also have AP Language together as well. He was much more talkative and charismatic than his fellow transfer student Bennett. I've heard a rumor he already pranked a teacher with some glue but talked his way out of it and was left off with a warning. I remember glue being a common tool when my bullies pranked me and I fought against a shudder at the memory. If a person like that would be my bully, he could get away with anything terrible he would do to me.

Lost in my thoughts, I recalled that I have seen all three of these new transfer students hang out together a few times. There's a rumor going around that they knew each other before they came to this school, but I believe they became friends since they transferred in at the same time.

I heard someone clear their throat. I glanced at the direction of the source and saw Jordan had held out his hand to me.

"Hey, the name's Jordan," he said with an easygoing grin. "I look forward to being your lab partner for the rest of the year."

I gave him a small glance. His plan must be to give me false hope that we'll be friends and pull his infamous pranks on me. So instead, I put my hands on top of my lap then moved my gaze towards the front board.

Jordan lowered his hand and scratched his head, ruffling his tousled dirty blonde hair. "I mean, I already know your name thanks to Ford Explorer," he said motioning to our teacher, Mr. Ford. "But we should properly introduce yourselves or else I'll call you 'Student Number One' or something."

I looked right at him when he said that, the first time I actually did.

"So I'm number one?" I felt my cheeks turn warm when I realized what I had just asked.

Jordan burst out laughing. I've heard laughter before, laughter from my bullies when they made a joke about me or hurt me. But for some reason, his laugh sounded so genuine and kind that it made me feel conflicted.

"Only if you want to be," he said with a wink. "But you'd probably have to fight others for it."

"I don't think I need to waste my effort for such an honorable title," I told him.

Jordan raised an eyebrow. "That sounded like it was both an insult and a compliment."

He suddenly broke into a smile. "That was pretty clever. Color me impressed." His bright green eyes flickered when he said that, but still held an almost blinding smile.

I blinked then looked back at the board. "I'm Naomi," I told him.

Before he could respond, the teacher cut him off. "We'll be continuing with the topic of force reactions."

"I know my reaction for this class," Jordan announced.

The whole class turned to him and then he dramatically yawned. "Boring!" He exclaimed.

That got a few laughs, even Mr. Ford managed to chuckle. Jordan turned to me and looked disappointed that I didn't follow the crowd and laugh with the class.

"What, do you have botox or something?" Jordan asked me, wearing a look of concern. "If you can't show an expression, blink twice."

"That was so funny, I forgot to laugh," I said deadpanned.

Jordan smirked. "Alright, I'm taking this as a challenge."

The teacher began writing down the review concepts and formulas we would need for today's set of work problems from the textbook. I quickly copied it down before opening my textbook. But then my writing slowed down to a stop when I got the feeling that someone was looking at my work as I was writing.

I looked up from my paper. "Yes?"

He looked a bit embarrassed for having been caught before he could ask me his question. "I forgot to bring my notebook," Jordan said sheepishly. "Can I borrow a piece of paper?"

I fought back giving him a look of disbelief on how unprepared he was. If I liked to live, I needed to ignore the fact that he used "can" instead of "may" and "borrow" when he was clearly going to "keep" it. I told myself to just give him what he wants before he takes everything from you. I didn't want to go shopping for more school supplies again.

"Sure," I told him, taking out some lined paper from my folder and handing it to him.

I was about to write down the first practice problem when I was stopped.

"Sorry to bother you but..." Jordan started.

"What is it?" I asked and I scolded myself for making my voice sound tense there. I stared at my nearly blank paper that could have had three problems solved by now.

"I'm kinda on a roll here," he said, letting out a forced chuckle. "Can I borrow a pencil?"

I bit back a sigh. "Of course," I told him as I handed him the pencil I was using- my favorite one in fact. I grabbed my spare pencil from my pencil case. Maybe I'd get bonus points for giving him my favorite pencil over its cheap back up.

"How have you been managing to keep up with school for so long carrying nothing?"

"By doing this."

I turned back to my work. I already knew what I should draw for the free-body diagram, an illustration to show the forces and reactions acting on an object. I was about to begin working on it when lo and behold...

"Hey, Naomi? I-"

I suddenly gave him everything. I gave him my folder, my notebook, my pencil case. I even started digging into my backpack to find anything of value I can sacrifice to him. But then I gave up and shoved my backpack into his arms.

"You can just have everything. Just take it. I don't care."

"Whoa stop," Jordan told me as he awkwardly held my backpack. "As much as I enjoy the season's harvest, I don't need this."

He returned my things back to me then rubbed the back of his neck. "I wasn't paying attention to class at all. What are we learning again?"

I couldn't stop myself now. "Are you kidding me? Why are you even in this class?"

Although he rolled his eyes, he was smiling. "Oh ha ha, very funny," Jordan said deadpanned. "I just found out that I actually need to know physics for the major I'm going to apply for college. But just because I have to learn it,  doesn't mean I want to. Either way, taking this class is an early surprise birthday gift for me."

"What is surprising is how little work you two have completed," Mr. Ford said, giving us a stern look when he was doing his usual rounds of checking if students needed any help during their classwork. "I expect nothing less from you Mr. Wallace, but I didn't think you'd bring down Ms. Lorraine as well. I was hoping for the opposite effect."

"Don't worry, Ford Ranger," Jordan assured him with a charming smile. "I'll be sure to have Naomi carry me for the entire year just like you had planned."

I looked at our teacher and, out of desperation, I started blinking S.O.S in Morse code.

"Don't make me regret this seat assignment," he told Jordan with a sigh. "And how many more car references are you going to make?"

"When they run out of models," Jordan said with a small shrug.

When Mr. Ford left, Jordan looked at me. "I was kidding about the carrying part. I'm pretty strong myself," he said as he flexed his left arm.

I heard someone let out a wistful sigh when he did that.

"Although..." Jordan said.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Can we share the textbook? I haven't gotten mine yet from the textbook office." He gave me a sheepish smile. "Perks of being a transfer student."

I pushed the textbook between us and he thanked me. I went back to work, hoping that would be the last of the conversation. Surprisingly enough, he fell quiet when he finally started working. He used the textbook more than me as he often had to flip to the front of the chapter to check for explanations and examples when the practice problems were at the back of the book. I was left checking my work until he allowed me to use it again. This is one of the sacrifices you have to make when you share a textbook.

As he wrote something down on his paper, Jordan asked me, "So I take it you're not the sociable type?"

I scoffed and flipped to a new page on my notebook to continue my work on the problem. "I could be but others just choose not to socialize with me."

There was a slight pause and he chuckled awkwardly. "That's kinda sad."

"I don't need your pity." I snapped.

"Didn't think you did," he muttered quietly.

I stopped, pausing in the middle of a formula. What did he mean by that?

Before I could ask, Jordan dramatically let out an exasperated sigh as if he was done with the work for today when he barely wrote anything. He called out, "Hey Ford Fiesta, when will we get this party started?"

Mr. Ford let out his own sigh, perhaps considering transferring the transfer student out of his class. "Soon, Mr. Wallace, soon."

"Patience is a virtue," I mumbled to myself as I began the next practice problem.

Jordan blinked. "What does pa-tience mean?" He asked as he cocked his head to the side.

He rubbed his chin, looking like he was deep in thought. "I think I heard about it before but I never waited long enough for someone to actually explain it to me."

For some unknown reason, I managed a small smile. I couldn't believe I was hearing something so ridiculous yet surprisingly clever. You don't know what patience means because you don't have the patience to hear its definition? Seeing me smile caused Jordan to grin at me.

"There you go," he said, winking at me. "I knew you weren't a robot."

I blinked. "Excuse me? A robot?"

"Yeah, you know. Why is that human leaking?" Jordan said in a robotic voice as he waved his arms in a robotic manner as if limited in motion. He chuckled now looking embarrassed. "Y'know, leaking meaning crying not because-"

I held up my hand to stop him. "You don't need to explain yourself," I assured him, chuckling at that.

Why is he doing this? Why does he try so hard to make someone like me laugh? As if he heard my thoughts, he answered my question.

"It was going to be a pretty long and boring year if I was stuck with a serious partner," Jordan told me with a smile, leaning back against his chair.

There was a pause. "Although it would've been pretty productive," he said as an afterthought, frowning when he realized this.

"And you don't care who I am?" I asked quietly.

Jordan looked at me in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

I didn't know if he was joking this time or not. I opened my mouth to reply, but Mr. Ford cleared his throat to remind us of the upcoming quiz on this topic, cutting me off. The audacity teachers have these days.

For the rest of the class, we finished up our classwork. Rather than having him control the textbook as he flipped through the pages, I explained the material to him. Most of the time it was like a review to him and he only wanted to clarify if the procedure he was planning was correct or not. If anything, he knew what he was doing but wanted to make sure it was right because he was too lazy to work on the problem only for it to be wrong. When I confronted Jordan about it, he gave me a half-hearted shrug with a small smile before continuing his work.

From time to time, Jordan would make a big show of asking the teacher for help when he clearly didn't need it. Then he would make long, obvious glances at my work, making me cover my paper with my sleeve. He should get his grades on his own if he was so smart.

When class was dismissed, I quickly packed up my things and left the room. Jordan seemed to try so hard to befriend me, and even if his motives are good, I can't let him do that. It's best not to ruin his reputation because of me. At least he had a chance since he was a transfer student and all. Even I can be surprised by my compassionate side sometimes.

However, Jordan was either very oblivious of the fact or just didn't care.

"Hey Naomi!" Jordan called out as he pushed other kids out of his way. "Wait up! Let me walk you to class!"

There were a few gasps from kids who just heard what he had said. Fingers were pointed, murmurs followed, and snickers surrounded us, directed at the both of us. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. I blended into the crowd to hide from Jordan's line of sight.

Stay away from me. For the sake of both of us.

-

My final period was Service where I assist the school office with any administrative tasks. Service was usually for seniors who needed it for their volunteer requirement, but it also gave me an excuse to not be trapped in a room of students who hate my entire being right before school ends. Once school ended and I was off school grounds, it was a survival game until I could make it back home.

My official assignments switch between the nurse's office and the library although I can be rotated into other stations such as the main office, sports office, textbook office, and so on. The nurse's office was one of the few assignments that weren't very busy since its visitors were usually kids who were pretending to be sick or from Sports who had injured themselves although that was quite rare. Dartwell may not have the best academic standing but we have a good footing with our sports teams.

The school's main nurse, Mrs. Matthews let out a small sigh.

"Oh no," I said, looking up from a textbook as I usually used the time to finish up on schoolwork. "I know that sigh. You're going to make me do actual work."

She had a light laugh. "You're always such a gem, Naomi. But sadly, you do. One of the coaches needs this signed form permitting the return of a previously injured student."

I grimaced. That meant I had to go out on the field making myself a walking target for anyone who has a sports ball at hand.

I took the paper she held out to me. "Was it that one guy who had a knee injury?" I asked, wincing at the thought because I had a knee injury once. I must remind you again that I'm not the clumsy type so there are other obvious reasons as to how I could've gotten hurt.

"Thankfully it wasn't a sprain but I wanted him to have a rest or else it would've gotten worse," she told me. "He's apparently a good athlete so they want him back on his feet as soon as possible." She thought about it. "I believe he's the student Coach Douglass and Coach Harrison have been fighting over. The senior transfer student."

Due to it being a small school, Coach Douglass of the soccer team and Coach Harrison of the basketball team would often have to fight for students to be in their teams.

Looking at the form, I read the name Declan Lynch on it. We have AP Language and AP Calculus AB together but like the others transfer students, we have never spoken to each other. Out of the three of them, he was the most intimidating one, to the point that not a single brave soul tried to bother him- only idiotic souls like a girl feeling extra flirty or a guy believing he wasn't that big of a deal. There have been rumors going around that he got into a lot of fights at his old school so he had to transfer to Dartwell. However, he hasn't been suspended for any fights, although I have heard he had gotten into some heated arguments. The transfer student must be very talented for both coaches to already fight for him.

I left the safe haven of the nurse's office. Apparently, the coaches had agreed to have the transfer student practice every other day until he could decide what team he wanted to be in for the season. He probably got injured because they were pushing him so hard. From what Mrs. Matthews had told me, he was supposed to be in soccer practice today. The football team would be taking up the football field so that meant the soccer team would be at the schoolyard since the spring teams like volleyball or tennis aren't in season yet. Thanks to being in Service for two years now, I've gotten pretty knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the school since I had to run around the campus to do errands.

I arrived at the schoolyard to see that I was right and I felt that the universe was smiling down at me since I didn't have to waste time and energy going down to the football field. I was especially grateful because it meant I didn't have to see Raymond, our school's quarterback. Although I saw the team doing drills on the blacktop, I didn't see Coach Douglass anywhere. I didn't see Declan among the guys practicing so that meant giving him the form was out. 

I sighed to myself and knew I had to ask one of them where the coach was or else I'd get into trouble for not doing my job. I ignored the obscene insults called out to me as I went up to a guy resting at the bench in the shade. The faster I got this over with, the faster I could leave.

I think the person sitting on the bench was a sophomore or junior student named Aiden or Adrian. I settled to call him Aiden until proven guilty of misnaming.

Aiden groaned at the sight of me. "You've got to be kidding."

"Nice to meet you too," I said in return.

He rolled his eyes. "Coach is already teaching me a lesson for skipping practice by making me sit on the bench today. Why did you have to make the suffering worse?"

I could be asking you the same thing. Of course, I knew it was better to hold my tongue for that one, and I decided to ignore that.

"Where's Coach Douglass?" I asked him. "I have this form for him."

Aiden shrugged. "I think he took off to argue with Coach Harrison again. They're still trying to fight for custody over the transfer."

That would mean I should check the gym to see if the two coaches were arguing there. I thought about giving it to this Aiden-Adrian guy but there was a chance he would rip it apart and never give it to the coach which would get me in trouble.

"Alright thanks," I said curtly, but before I could walk away, he grabbed my wrist.

"Why are you leaving so soon?" He asked with a laugh. "You should at least keep me company for helping you out."

I tried to fight against his grip but he was clearly stronger than me. "What are you-"

Aiden abruptly pulled me back and had me sit on his lap. I tried to push him away but his arm had a tight grasp around my waist. He told me I was always asking for it since I always looked easy as I fought against his other hand. Before he can do anything worse, I was able to elbow him somewhere in the face, making him push me off his lap. His teammates were cheering and laughing the whole time. I scrambled back to my feet and glared at him, my face hot in both rage and embarrassment.

His hand was on his jaw where I must have elbowed him. He cursed at me and said, "Glad I dodged a bullet there. You're ugly anyway."

"I'm not a mirror," I snapped at him.

How can someone sexually harass a person and then insult them that they weren't their type right after?

Suddenly a soccer ball hit me but I moved away fast enough for it to only get my arm. I winced when the pain shot up from where it got me. As for the ball itself, its direction changed due to the angle it hit me and it ricocheted to hit Aiden square in the chest.

Aiden doubled over, nursing his chest. "Can you aim?" He shouted at whoever threw or kicked it. "Coach would make you do drills if he knew you just missed this big ass target." From that, I determined he just called me fat.

I needed to get out of here before it got worse and it always got worse. Before I could run away, Aiden grabbed me by the back of my shirt this time keeping me in place. I saw someone was positioning themselves to throw a ball at me rather than kicking it at risk of hitting their teammate again. I knew I couldn't struggle with Aiden in time to get away so I raised my arms up to my face to protect myself just as the ball was thrown right in my direction.

I braced for its impact but it never came. I opened my eyes to see that a hand was in front of me and had caught it. Aiden suddenly let go and I stumbled but managed to keep my balance without having to meet the ground once again.

Standing upright, I turned to see it was the transfer student Declan who had caught the ball. He wasn't wearing our school's soccer uniform probably because he hadn't decided if he'd join the team or not. However, he did wear soccer gear which consisted of indoor soccer cleats and socks with shin guards inserted in them. I noticed a black bandage support on his right knee. His other hand held an off-brand bottle of a sports drink that you can get from our school's vending machines meaning he must have just come back buying the drink. I heard the others murmuring and cursing that Declan came back already.

Declan looked at me. "You alright?"

I simply nodded because for once I didn't know what else I could possibly say.

He turned back to the others then hurled the ball at the person who had previously thrown the ball at me. The guy wasn't fast enough and it hit him square on the back making him yell at the impact.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Declan shouted at them. "Why are you throwing the ball at her? You think that's gonna help with your aim?"

Declan then turned to Aiden and glared at him. Aiden looked frozen in fear. "And you. I saw what you just did to her. Apologize to her right now."

Aiden's mouth was gaped open. "Are you kidding-"

"Apologize. To. Her."

Aiden hesitated then glanced away, glaring at the ground. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

"Do 50 pushups right now."

"50?" Aiden repeated in disbelief.

"You're right. 100 pushups and 100 squats while you're at it. You need it since you've been skipping practice anyway."

Aiden scrambled to the ground and began to do so.

Declan turned back to me. "You should go. I'll walk-"

Someone came up from the crowd and I recognized him as Marco, the captain of the soccer team.

"What the hell are you doing?" Marco told Aiden. "He's not your captain. Sit back down on the bench, dumbass."

"If you value your life, keep going," Declan grunted at him.

Aiden looked conflicted then continued doing his pushups. "Sorry Marco," he said as he did, "but I need to work on my daily reps anyway."

Marco glared at Declan who stood there unfazed. "Why do you keep acting like you're the captain of this team? Anyway, you need to calm down. We were just having some fun."

Declan looked at him incredulously. "Fun? There's plenty of things that are fun. Fútbol is fun. You must be sick if you think this is."

Marco glared at him. "You know, you must think you're better than us just because Douglass wants you on the team. I hate to break it to you but just because you're a little better than us doesn't mean-"

Declan snorted. "I'm not a little better, I'm a lot better. Coach told me himself that if I had been around as long as you, he would've made me captain instead. Who knows, he might even do it if you keep up the work of not having any work to show. But then again, who'd want to be captain for untalented asses like you?"

Marco stepped up to Declan. Both of them were about the same height and build, but it was clear that Declan was more intimidating than Marco whose eyes flickered with regret.

"You are not my captain," Declan told him slowly. "So stop acting like it."

"Not yet, but it'll change the moment you decide to join this team. Then I'll teach you a lesson about respect."

"You know nothing about respect, but I can teach you myself. If you want to settle this properly, we can," Declan said in a low and menacing tone. "Parking lot. Afterschool."

Marco flinched when he said that. Even I heard about Declan's notorious line. If someone pissed him off, he would say that. I don't know what actually happens afterward because I was never curious enough to see for myself. There was a rumor going around that he got into a fight with someone, but he was never suspended so it must not have been true. Then again, my bullies have done plenty of stuff to me on school grounds, and not once have they ever been suspended.

Declan turned around back to me and motioned his head to the side for me to start walking. He held up his arm behind me, and I thought he was going to touch my back to move me faster, but I didn't feel anything. He looked back, eyeing the others who watched silently before slowly going back to doing drills. When he saw that, his hand dropped back to his side.

"Thank you for earlier," I told him, breaking the silence between us as we walked together.

Declan scratched his head. "It's no problem." He paused. "You're Naomi right?" He asked me. "I think we have Calc together. Oh, and also Lang."

I nodded in confirmation and he looked like he wanted to say something to continue the conversation, but fell silent. He wiped his forehead with a small towel he was carrying, patting down the sides of his short black hair. Then he opened his sports drink and drank some of it as we continued to walk together. He must have been practicing before he took a break to grab himself a drink.

When we made it to the entrance back into the main building, I handed him his permit form which was dirty and crumpled after what happened.

"I can go back to the nurse's office to get you another one," I told him.

"Nah, it's alright," he said, taking the paper. "If the coach needs another one, I can get it myself. You shouldn't have to deliver it again."

There was an awkward silence between us. I broke it when I said, "You shouldn't be practicing without the form first."

He wore a faint smile. Having seen him frown and glare most of the time, it was surprising to see one on his face. "Don't worry. I was just doing some warm-ups. Hopefully, I won't get into trouble just because of that."

I gave him a curt smile and the silence stumbled back in again. I took it as my cue to go, but when I turned to leave, he suddenly asked, "You're going to report that right?"

I looked at him and saw his frowning again. "That guy Adrian-" Oh so his name was Adrian, not Aiden "-he just...  harassed you. You should report him. I mean, 100 pushups are nothing. Well, 100 pushups and 100 squats, but that's still nothing."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Report him? Please, tell me another joke."

Declan glared at me. "I'm serious. You should report those things."

"I'll be sure to put it in my list," I assured him. "Look, I appreciate your help, really I do, but you're wasting your effort. You shouldn't have done that or else they'll start targeting you. And from what I've seen, some already hate you."

He crossed his arms. "I don't care. I've been in my share of fights. I can take it just as much as I can give it, but you shouldn't have to."

"That's a nice sentiment but I have no say in it." I sighed.

"Is it a matter of pride?" He asked in disbelief.

I scoffed at that. "Pride? What pride? The whole school is against me. Say I do report them, then what? There will be plenty of others who will back them up and I'll just be the kid who cried wolf while being hunted by those same wolves."

"But you are crying wolf."

Aren't we all wolves in sheep clothing though?

"If anything, it just made things worse. They'll come back at me the next chance I get. And if I report them, or anyone that has done something bad to me, they'll get back at me for being a snitch."

There was a flash of concern in his dark brown eyes. "You mean others have hurt you?" He asked quietly. "Then that's even more reason-"

"Stop it," I told him. "I already told you that it's not going to do anything. Trust me, I've done it once- emphasis on once."

He furrowed his eyebrows together hearing that.

"If you want to help me, then do me a favor and leave me alone," I said quietly. "It'll be better for both of us."

I turned to leave and he suddenly grabbed my wrist to stop me.

"Hey, I really think you should still-"

My mind flashed back to how Adrian also grabbed me just before he felt me up. I turned back to Declan with that same fear clearly shown on my face. He quickly let go and stepped back, muttering an apology to me. I touched my wrist, remembering Adrian's grip and now Declan's phantom hand that was on it. I went into the building and I was thankful that he did as I asked.

He left me alone.

-

Once school ended for the day, I followed my daily routine. I waited until the last possible moment when Mrs. Matthews or any administrative staff had to close up the office I was at Service in and made sure the hallways were nearly empty. Then I would go to my locker and take out my things. I have learned my lesson for leaving any important things, especially textbooks, in my locker, or I would find my things either gone or destroyed. I believe the textbook office staff had half a mind to make a Wanted sign of me for the number of times I had to request a textbook replacement.

If you think I can simply walk out of the front door, that would be a rookie mistake. It would be like a walkway where people would hurl insults left and right. There were so many people hanging outside of the school that it was the equivalent of me walking into a minefield. Instead, I would go around the school and use the smaller, less used exit. The other main exits to the school lead to the parking lots or plazas surrounding the school, but this exit was just an uncommon emergency route in case of a fire or earthquake that led to neighboring homes on the other side of the school. Only rarely was there someone hanging around there, and I would be lucky by the fact that they wanted to be avoided just like me.

I was lucky again today.

When I arrived back home, I decided to do finish up on my schoolwork so I can relax more over the weekend. We have a Physics quiz on Monday and I wanted to work on a few more practice problems just to make sure I understood the material. Maybe afterward I can treat myself to some hot chocolate and a random movie. I was desperately in need of something that would help me forget what happened today. I touched the wrist of my hand and shook the thought away.

If I tormented over everything that has happened to me... I wouldn't be here right now.

I opened my Physics textbook and noticed a piece of paper in between the pages. Opening it to the page showed it was the chapter we were currently studying. I picked up the small note that had my name on it. No Nerdy Naomi, no nerd anything, just simply my name. Underneath it was an address. I looked it up on my phone and found it to be the local Starbooks near my school, a multinational chain of coffeehouses and book cafes.

I then turned the paper around and saw something scrawled on the note. I stared at the small scrap of paper for what felt like the longest time. It wasn't a note threatening me. It wasn't a list of insults of my imperfections or hurtful names. It was a single sentence. A sentence that I later found may have changed my life.

Meet me, Bennett and Declan here tomorrow at noon.

- Jordan

I did what any person with an ounce of common sense would do when faced with this situation.

I didn't go.

~

This is going to be fun.

For any first time readers (FTR), thank you for giving my book a chance by going through the first obstacle of judging a book by its cover.

For my amazing rereaders (RR), I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There may have been new parts that you enjoyed and perhaps others that you didn't. Change is hard but necessary sometimes. But I want to ask you to trust me as the author of the book you have chosen to reread.

With this single chapter, let it show you the potential the new version of "TGGBB", "Broken Glasses" can hold when it has an actual plot, more character development, and more ship scenes. Honestly, it made me so happy writing this chapter because I now know who these characters are and I can't wait to show more about them in the new version.

Be sure to put "Broken Glasses" in a reading list and wait for the second chapter of the story. Thank you again for reading this story and I hope you enjoy the rest.

RubixCube89201