DELICATE

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Veronica Macauley walked into school after not being there the past week, although it's not the first time that's happened. What was strange was that she wasn't following her brother in, the fact her hair was days past it's wash date, and she had day-old mascara smudged on her face.

All eyes were on her as she opened up her locker and threw her seemingly empty bag in. The whispers were invading her brain, making rumours and saying things that weren't true, trying to find a reason why she looked like she had died.

Someone was brave enough to finally come up and ask her what was going on. Of course that someone had to be Simon Kelleher. He wasn't really wanting to know how Ronnie was going, the mainly wanted secrets for his gossip blog.

"Whatever you've got to say, Kelleher, I don't want to hear it." Ronnie snapped to the nosy boy as she slammed her locker.

"Veronica, why so rude? I don't even have anything to say. I just want to ask the questions everyone is wondering." Simon said to her, leaning on the locker beside hers.

"Save your voice, Simon. I don't have anything to say." Ronnie started walking away, hoping to shake Simon off. She didn't.

"Veronica, are you trying to tell me that you have no idea of your brother's whereabouts?" he called after her.

"Nope, not at all. No idea where he is."

"Maybe you can tell me where you've been this past week then." He finally caught up with her, as she stopped by the water fountain. She looked up at him for a moment, deciding what to say.

"Fucking your mother, Kelleher." she bent down to drink from the fountain. She looked up, hoping to see him storming away, but his face stayed the same, he was just typing away on his phone. Damn, it's really hard to get a rise out of Simon Kelleher. They must teach that in 'Nosy-Asshole-101' or something.

Ronnie stood up straight after probably the longest drink someone could possibly have at a water fountain, and Simon leaned in close.

"Listen, Macauley, I know where he is," he whispered into her ear.

"W- what? How do you-?" before she could finish interrogating him, he interrupted her.

"I have my ways." that sly, conniving little snake. How she hated his guts. "I was going to give you a chance to defend Nathaniel. To defend yourself. But if you don't want to really tell me..." his finger hovered over his phone. That murder device. That phone was the source of all evil. Simon had started this blog 'About That', where he would spill everyone's dirty secrets. No one really knew where he got them from, sometimes people would spill others' secrets for a chance theirs wouldn't be revealed (he would, of course, still post theirs anyway). Sometimes he just... knew. Like right now.

The thing about 'About That', was that Simon couldn't really get in trouble. He only used initials, and never any specific pieces of information, but there's not that many people in Bayview, and it's always pretty easy to guess.

"So, are you going to share with the class, or am I going to wrongly expose him? Oh my goodness, new 'About That' update! N.M. has gone to jail for murder! Or is it arson? You decide, Macauley." Simon said, in a taunting voice.

"Fine! He's in juvie, not jail, because he got caught selling drugs." Ronnie finally broke, and she immediately regretted it. "You better tell the truth, Kelleher, and nothing but the truth. Or I will beat you senseless. You know I will." She threatened as he walked away, typing on his phone.

"Oh you know I will, Veronica! Thank you, I'll remember your honesty at a later date." He called over his shoulder, walking over to his one and only friend, Janae Matthews.

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The rest of the day, Ronnie walked around anxious. Her mind could only think of 'About That', and when Simon was going to post the next update. She walked into the cafeteria at lunch, looking for Maeve Rojas. Maeve was in her year level, and the only person who didn't stare at her in every class.

As soon as she walked in, she felt a buzz in her pocket. So did everyone else apparently, as they all pulled out their phones. 'About That'. Ronnie quickly skimmed the article, making sure that motherfucker got it all right. Surprisingly, he did. She looked up to see him already looking at her, smiling slyly. She shot him a look. A look that said 'I-hate-you-for-having-this-blog-but-thanks-for-posting-the-truth'. Simon nodded and raised his eyebrows in the direction of the centre of the cafeteria. Everyone had finished reading the article and were looking around for Ronnie, about to bombard her with fake sympathy, trying to get more details.

Ronnie darted out of the cafeteria and speed-walked to the bathroom, hoping to hide out until the end of lunch. When she opened the door, she was surprised to be met with Addy Prentiss, leaving a stall and going to wash her hands. Addy Prentiss was the school's resident golden girl. She was perfect. She was on the cheer team, she was dating the most popular guy at school, Jake Riordan, and she was absolutely gorgeous. She and Ronnie had never really talked much, she was a year older, and a completely different crowd.

"Oh, hey Ronnie!" Addy smiled. Wait, Addy Prentiss knew her name?

"Uh, hey Addy," Ronnie said, walking over to the mirror to fix her makeup, and make herself look busy.

"I was just wondering, are you ok?" this caught Ronnie off guard. Why did Addy care about her? She looked out of the corner of her eye to see her expression, and she looked genuinely concerned.

"You know what? Not really." Ronnie sighed and looked at Addy, who softened her gaze. "I mean, didn't you see 'About That'? Would you really be ok?"

"'About That'? I haven't seen anything." she didn't pull out her phone or anything though. She just looked at Ronnie, like she wanted her to explain.

"Nate's in juvie." Addy's expression turned from concern to heartbreak.

"Oh, Ronnie," she sighed, and tucked a strand of hair behind Ronnies ear. Ronnie felt an abundance of butterflies in her stomach but ignored them. She was confused. Why was Addy Prentiss being so kind to her? They've never really spoken before, plus, the whole cheer team was afraid to really talk to her since 'About That' outed her, afraid that she would develop a crush on them, which was stupid anyway. Vanessa Clark was definitely not Ronnie's type.

Addy suddenly pulled Ronnie into a hug, stroking her hair, and that was the final straw for Ronnie. She broke down into tears, balling her eyes out into Addy Prentiss's shoulder. They stayed like that for a while, Ronnie wasn't sure how long, until she finally pulled away, and went to blow her nose on some toilet paper.

Addy leaned back on the sink, "You know, Ronnie, if you ever need somebody to talk to, while Nate's away, I'm always here for you." She pulled out a pen from her backpack and reached for Ronnie's hand. "My number. Call me any time you need."

Ronnie looked down at the number, written in perfect handwriting, and smiled. "You smell really good by the way, what perfume do you use?" Ronnie blurted out. What the fuck? Why did she say that? What is wrong with her? Now she's gonna go tell Vanessa that she's got a crush on her, oh God-

"'Incredible Things', it's a Taylor Swift perfume I've had for years, and thanks." Addy smiled as the bell went, and she left the bathroom.

Ronnie just stared in the mirror. Maybe the zombies of Bayview High weren't all such assholes.

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LAILAH SPEAKS!

holy shit that is a long chapter, sorry for that lmao.
i promise they won't all be this long, i just had a few things to establish before the story actually started.

how do we like it so far? i hope you all love ronnie as much as i do, and hope you gained a little insight into her personality here.

remember to comment and vote, i hope you enjoyed!