There was something about being able to put your inner creations out on paper that made Lauren love art.

It's the way that your heart swells with pride at the finished result. Knowing that you put your all into something so special and significant made Lauren's pink lips curve into a small smile.

The Cuban girl bobbed her head to the music playing through her headphones as she lightly continued to add detail to the sketch's lips. Almost naturally, she pushed up her glasses and flipped her pencil to the eraser side, fixing the small mistakes.

Lauren loved how she had perfected the curve of the girl in her sketch's face. It was beginning to actually look more realistic.

"Lauren." The sudden voice made the girl yelp. Clutching her chest tightly, the Cuban girl turned to see Cordell.

The light skin boy smirked, "Scared you ?"

"You practically gave me a heart attack."

"You'll be fine Lauren. So," The tall boy pulled up a seat, straddling the blue chair, "I need something from you."

Lauren sighed, not wanting to ruin her euphoric artistic state she was in, "Cordell, I'm not convincing another girl to add you on Instagram. The last one almost swung on me-"

Cordell chuckled and shook his head, "No no, not that favor. It's a different one," He licked his lips mindlessly and leaned in closely to whisper, "I need you to take something home for me. It's in my locker. I have basketball practice and I just need it home before I get there."

"Locker C-553, right ?" Lauren confirmed, the boy nodded, "Okay. Anything else ?"

Cordell smiled, "Yeah. Lemme see what you're drawing."

The taller boy reached to touch her sketchbook only to have it swiftly yanked away, "Stop. Don't look at my sketches."

"Lauren you've been acting this way since we were in middle school. Why can't I just see-"

"I said no Cordell," The Cuban girl's voice final and stern, "I didn't let you see them in middle school and I surely won't let you see them in high school."

The two had a still stare off, one dead serious while the other only playful. Thankfully, the bell rang signifying the end of lunch. Lauren pushed up her glasses and easily tucked her sketchbook into her side, "I'll see you at home Cordell."

"I'll see you at home Lauren." The light skin boy waved as he walked away.

Lauren sighed and looked down at the black leather book in between her fingertips with pride. She had bought it back in middle school with her own money and it was still holding strong. It was such a prideful feeling to hold her sketchbook daily because it truly was hers.

Routinely, the green eyed girl tucked her sketchbook under her arm, pushed in her chair, and bid the librarian by the exit a soft goodbye. It was almost comically sad how stereotypically nerdy Lauren was.

Lauren was a shy quiet girl that enjoyed being to herself. Parties and get togethers weren't exactly something she wanted nor had in her vocabulary. Don't even get her started on the people at her school. The only people she ever really spoke to at school were her teachers, the librarian, and her siblings (that is, if they weren't surrounded by their friends). All in all, Lauren Jauregui liked being the shy little bean artistic Lauren Jauregui she always was.

"Art class here I come." A tiny grin made its way onto Lauren's pale face as she rounded the corner towards the art classroom.

~~~

The green eyed girl pushed up her glasses as she continued to walk down the hallway towards Cordell's locker. The one headphone in her ear played some of her favorite upbeat songs, nothing but happiness filling the girl. She had finished all her work and was almost done with her latest drawing.

Nothing made Lauren's day better than being able to finish her work thoroughly. She hated leaving class with her work not finished because then for the rest of the day, it'd be stuck in the back of her mind, nagging her. In each of her classes, she had finished her work almost comically fast. She wasn't a genius but she wasn't stupid either. The Cuban girl got a decent GPA of 3.5 and wasn't a troublemaker. Lauren liked being able to live a simple, drama free life.

Easily, Lauren turned the corner right to the brown skin boy's locker. The pale girl's body swayed slightly as she tapped her foot and spun the locker dial.

"And love me. If that's what you wanna do, oh !" Lauren mumbled along with the music in one of her headphones. She was going to continue singing along until she heard a noise from behind her.

Lauren turned her head to see nothing but a vacant hallway. That was weird. Shrugging, Lauren grabbed the brown paper bag in the locker and closed it gently. She placed it in her backpack, zipped the bag up, and made her way towards the exit down the hall. It was beginning to get chilly outside, so Lauren needed to start her walk home before the late afternoon.

"You look famous, let's be friends and portray we possess something important," The Cuban girl sang out loud, feeling comfortable in the empty school hallway, "And do the things we like, we've just come to represent a decline in the standards of what we accept ! Yeah-"

"Yeah."

The sudden voice made Lauren leap a mile in fear. Spinning around, Lauren's green eyes met with three pairs. One deep brown pair of eyes stared at Lauren the hardest.

The Hispanic boy smirked, "What's wrong Mama ? I scare you ?"

The raven haired girl held her sketchbook close to her chest, "Y-yeah, everyone seems to be lately." She let out an awkward chuckle knowing none of the three people before her cared whether or not she was scared.

The light skin girl smacked her gum as she grit Lauren, "So what you doing after school ? Shouldn't nerds usually be the first ones to leave ?"

"We-we-well," Lauren stuttered, knowing she was truly in deep shit, "I was actually just leaving, so if you'd excuse me-"

The light skin girl's hand effortlessly grabbed Lauren's rushing shoulder, "Nuh-uh, wait a minute there sweetheart. You're a little suspicious. Now I was told there was supposed to be a little somethin'-somethin' happening after school. I think you're here for it, huh ?"

"Something-something ?" Lauren's eyes bounced from the light skin girl to the other two, "What something-something ? I don't know anything about this something-something ?"

Now the blue eyed Hispanic boy rolled his eyes, "For a nerd, you're acting pretty fucking stupid. Stop fucking wasting my time, yo. Where is it ?"

"Where's what ?" Lauren felt her body quiver all over. She was never good with confrontation, let alone yelling. She knew the moment she saw the three she should've ran. She was way too deep in it now.

"Look you dumbass, give it over now and stop playing dumb before I really get angry and fuck yo ass up." The brown skin girl in the middle finally spoke, making Lauren even more terrified. The girl had been quiet the entire time and her voice sent a certain feeling in the pit of Lauren's stomach.

Terror.

Now Lauren had either one of two options: she easily try and negotiate her way out of their grasp, and most likely end up getting beat up or she could run for her dear life, most likely get caught, and also end up getting beat up. It was currently a lose-lose situation for the Hispanic girl and she had no idea what to do.

"I don't like repeating myself." The brown skin girl's voice dripped with nothing but authority and trouble. Lauren gulped knowing her next decision would be her worst.

"Then don't." At that, the Cuban girl turned the other direction and bolted down the hallway. She had never felt her Converse scrap the floor so hard and fast in her life. The girl let out hard breaths as she turned multiple corners sharply, her own clothing not even able to keep up with the gravity she was defying.

Just as Lauren was about to round her last corner and lose the trio, her body collided harshly with another. The random body and Lauren's body flew in opposite directions. The green eyed girl scrambled around looking for her fallen glasses and sketchbook.

The body groaned and rubbed their sore butt, "Watch where you're going !"

"Fuck ! Fuck ! Where are my glasses ?!" Anxiety coursed through Lauren's veins as she scrambled around in search for her lifeline. She could easily spot the big black blurry block of her sketchbook but not her glasses.

The blurry body Lauren bumped into was about to tell her where until she noticed the notorious trio run in from around the corner. Oh no, this little nerd must've gotten herself in deep.

The blue eyed boy breathed heavily, "You made a bad fucking move," The boy looked over at the shook body Lauren had rammed into, staring at the trio, "The fuck you lookin' at ?"

Instantly, the body turned and ran away, leaving Lauren helpless. The brown skin girl's nostril flared as she took slow steps towards Lauren, "I'm really about to fuck your dumbass up now. What the fuck you running for ?!"

Lauren felt a lump form in her throat, "I-I-I-I'm sorry. I know you w-want something from me bu-but I don't have it-"

Roughly, the light skin girl grabbed Lauren by her sweater collar, dragging her into the nearby bathroom. With a harsh slam, Lauren let out a whimper as her back hit the bathroom wall.

The brown skin girl brought her face extremely close to Lauren's, "One last fucking time. Where is my shit ?"

Tears streamed quickly down Lauren's cheeks, expecting pain any minute now, "I don't know ! I don't know what you're talking about !"

The light skin girl's phone dinged loudly, making everyone look in her direction. She pulled her phone out to chuckle dryly at the message, "He fucking bailed. He said he wasn't gonna do it and bailed."

Almost animalistically the brown skin girl growled loudly and slammed Lauren into the wall once again, "You've been wasting my fucking time !"

"Pl-Please let me g-go ! I don't know what you're-"

The brown skin girl cocked her arm back, ready to knock Lauren senseless until she noticed how tightly she gripped the book in her hands. She snatched the book from her grip.

Lauren's body reacted instantly at the lose of her sketchbook, "No stop ! That's my sketchbook !"

The brown skin girl shoved Lauren back against the wall and flipped through the black book, "It's just some stupid drawings. Bro, a waste of my time. Drown this bitch, I'm tired of her." The girl yanked Lauren towards the other two, who gripped her arms deathly tight.

Lauren's face was beet red in fear. Not only could she not see without her glasses but her tears continued to fog up her already blurry vision. Never in her life did she want to feel this type of fear again yet somehow it managed to come back.

The Cuban girl's chest heaved as the two dragged her towards the nearest stall, "I didn't do anything I swear ! Please just let me go !"

"Shut up bitch." The blue eyed boy insulted as he shoved Lauren's head into the toilet. Immediately, panic flooded the girl's body as she failed in arms, trying to push herself out of the vile water. The light skin girl yanked Lauren's arms back, restraining her from moving.

All Lauren could do now was scream and cry. She couldn't swim nor hold her breath long and she felt herself choking on the water. After a while, the brown skin girl yanked Lauren's face out of the water by her now drenched hair, "Where. Is. My. Shit ?"

"I don't know ! Please I have nothing to do with it !" Lauren choked out through coughs and tears. She couldn't take much of this torture.

The brown skin girl angrily picked back up the sketchbook and dropped it in a toilet in the next stall. With that, off the Hispanic girl was forced, her two goons already knowing what to do. The blue eyed boy pulled Lauren up, turning her to hold her by her ankles.

Lauren thrashed around trying to free herself but somehow his grip remained iron strong.

"No my book ! Let me go ! Please just let me go-"

In that instant, in swirled Lauren's head into the toilet. As if before weren't worse, now they decided to flush it and shove her further into it. Now Lauren truly felt death approach her.

She was going in and out of her ability to breath. Her crying was making it worse. Lauren knew she was currently having a panic attack which would trigger her asthma if pushed any farther. And she knew she was close to that limit.

Darkness was beginning to overcome Lauren's sight. Her throat felt itself getting closed tighter and tighter. There was just so much water. Going through her nose, going through her mouth, flushing her eyes, there was just so much water invading Lauren.

Her book. They dumped her book. Years of her hard work and heart was just flushed down so easily. Life had never been a good one for Lauren and this just made everything much worse.

"Get off her ! What the fuck are y'all doing ?" A sudden voice made the three goons look over at the bathroom like deer in headlights. Naturally, the blue eyed boy let Lauren's body down.

In a flash, the three went running out and in came the two. Lauren lifted herself out of the toilet heaving harshly and fell back onto the floor.. The pale girl rolled over, trying to lift herself only to remain in the hands and knees position, heaving even harder.

"Oh my God, she can't breath !" The girl ran towards Lauren's crouched body, "Chance she's turning red !"

The light skin boy panicked and looked around for a solution, "Lani I don't know what to do !"

"Ba-bac-ba-bac-backp-" Lauren pushed through her heaves. She couldn't get what she needed out. The Cuban girl held her chest as her head dipped farther down, somehow trying to get more air to push through her lungs.

Kehlani's eyes jumped around to catch a small floral backpack by the wall, "Chance ! Go get her backpack !!"

The Chicago boy ran into the towards the wall and snatched the open bag up making its content spill all over the floor. Then slid Lauren's inhaler right to Kehlani's knees. The mixed girl fumbled to bring the device into Lauren's hand, "Here ! Here ! Your inhaler !"

Lauren's hands moved expertly with the inhaler as she brought it up to her lips and took several puffs, making her throat open up, but not slowing the beat of her heart.

Rather than catch her breath after everything that just happened, Lauren sprang up onto her feet and ran her way towards the other stall before being stopped by Chance.

The Chicago boy held Lauren back, "Woah ! Woah ! Slow down ! Wait what are you-"

"Let go of me !" The pale girl gritted through her teeth as she shoved her way out of his grip and into the stall only to feel her heart shatter.

Much like her before sat her sketchbook downed in water. The black book she had strived and practically slaved for to get had taken a simple thirty seconds to be discarded. More tears streamed down Lauren's cheeks again at the sight.

Not even caring anymore, the girl picked up her book and felt her bottom lip quiver, "My book."

"Shawty you okay ?" Kehlani questioned softly from the stall doorframe.

"The-they ruined my book." Lauren muttered out, her hands shaking and her vision still foggy with her tears.

Right that very second, in ran in Cordell and another person, out of breath. The brown skin boy's eyes flew towards Kehlani and Chance, "Lauren ?!"

At the sound of his voice, Lauren's grip on her book tightened. Everything had her on edge and she just didn't know what to expect anymore. The girl tried walking her way out of the stall through her messy vision only to knock into Kehlani.

"Lauren did they hurt you ? What happened ?" Cordell walked over towards the girl and held her wet cheeks, checking for injuries.

Lauren hiccuped and continued to speak through her watery voice, "The-they dunked me in the toil-let Dello. They just sto-stopped me in the ha-ha-hallway and-and-and-"

"Fuck bro, I shouldn't have let this happen to you." The words mindlessly leave Cordell's mouth making Lauren furrow her brows.

"What do you mean- you ? You did this ?"

The brown skin boy's eyes widened, "What ? No I-"

"Y-You set me up !" Lauren raised her voice, now angry tears leaving her eyes, "What you made me pick up for you ! Is that what they wanted ?!"

The brown skin boy rose his hand up, "Look Lauren, I didn't think they'd go after you."

"You fucking set me up !! Cordell how could you ?!" The Cuban girl wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, "What did you have me carry ?"

"Lauren, just listen to me-" The brown skin boy reached to touch the girl's shoulder only for her to slap his hand away.

The small girl's voice coming out with a pure toxic tone, "What did you have me carrying Cordell ?"

The basketball player sighed before bringing his thumbnail up to his lips and biting it distressfully, "Caspers."

Everyone in the bathroom gasped. Kehlani's soft voice now came out hard towards the boy, "That new drug going around like wild fire ?! You had her carry that shit for you ?"

"What the fuck is wrong with you ?! She could've gotten killed for that !!" Chance yelled furiously. The poor girl was shaking in her soaking Converse. She looked like she couldn't hurt a fly and she didn't deserve any bit of the abuse.

Cordell put his hands over his face, knowing he truly screw up, "I didn't think they'd go after her ! I shot them a text saying I didn't have it anymore ! I told them that it was going somewhere else ! I didn't think they'd grab Lauren !!" His face softened at the girl before him, "Laur, I'm so sorry. I honestly-"

"No. No Cordell. You-you, fuck you !" Lauren screamed out as she threw her fists at the boy before her, "Fuck you !"

The boy swatted away the heavy punches, "Laur-Lo stop, I said I was-"

"No fuck you !" The girl threw one more punch which sent her feet to slip. The poor Cuban girl landed on her hands and knees crying once again. Sob after sob left the girl's lips as she held her chest in agonizing pain of betrayal.

Kehlani was ready to fight the boy before her. The small girl was ready to transport an illegal drug on high demand without even knowing for him. The tattooed girl walked up ready to roll up her sleeves and get the wrecking until she heard Chance speak up.

"What did you say Lauren ?" He asked as he rushed over towards the girl, kneeling near her.

Lauren heaved out, "Where are my glasses ? I can't see without my glasses."

Shakingly, the girl that accompanied Cordell rushed to bring them to the girl. Thanking her softly, Lauren put the glasses back up her nose as she pushed her wet hair out of her face.

The Hispanic girl swallowed the lump in her throat as she grabbed her destroyed sketchbook and looked at Cordell. She stepped up to the tall boy and shoved the book in his chest, "They ruined my fucking book."

Cordell's eyes widened even wider than before at the statement, "They did what ? Your book ?!"

"They trashed my fucking book for your stupid Caspers !" Lauren's voice shook through the sentence as she tried to remain hard and stern through her tears, "I hope you're happy."

A sob left the girl as she grabbed her bag and ran out of the bathroom in a hurry. She just wanted to go home, curl up in a ball, and sleep forever.

They trashed her book and there was nothing she could do about it.