I wake up to fluorescent lights shining from above. So bright. Where am I? I wonder to myself. I sit up, a little too quickly, and feel a little dizzy.

"Oh, Miss Rogers, you're awake I see," the nurse says softly.

"Looks that way, yeah. Where's Arlo?"

"You mean the sweet boy who brought you here? I sent him back to class."

"Oh. What time is it?"

"About 1:15 in the afternoon, fourth hour."

"May I go back to class?" I ask nervously.

"I don't know if that would be the greatest idea, but I guess if you're feeling okay, you can. What is your fourth hour class?"

"Physics with Mr. Johnson."

She quickly scribbles her signature on my pass, "Here you are, dear," she says, handing me the pass.

I walk out and up the stairs. I stop by my locker for my things and slip into the bathroom for a moment to examine the damage.

I look like shit. A big black eye, bruised jaw, fat lip, and bruises all up my arms. Suddenly I wonder if any of my cuts split open. After all, the most recent ones are only a few days old.

I set my stuff by the sinks, step into the stall, and lock it. I slip my pants to my knees and see a bloody mess. I grab some toilet paper and dab at the cuts. Once I'm done I grab my stuff and slip back out of the bathroom.

I slowly walk into physics, and all the boys stare at me. I quickly put my head down and stick my pass on Mr. Johnson's desk. I then take a seat at my desk that's closest to his desk.

They're whispering about me. They saw my face and arms. This cannot be happening. Everyone knows.

Blake sits directly behind me. He leans forward toward me.

He creepily whispers in my ear, "No one will ever love you, FREAK. You'll always be alone."

I try biting back the tears but fail. I keep my head down so no one will notice. A puddle of tears starts to form on my desk next to my notebook. A tear drops onto my page and smears the work for one of my force problems. Maybe he's right, I think to myself, how could anyone love me anyway?

Mr. Johnson's booming voice pulls me from my thoughts. I look over at him, and he's already looking at me. He sees my mangled face. He sees the tears rolling down my cheeks. Shit, he saw me. He continues with the lesson, but he knows that something is up. I know he does. I worry him enough as is. He's the only reason I'm in this class. He sees my potential.

He then sends us off to work on the homework problems. He sits in the wheelie chair at his desk and wheels over to me. My heart is pounding.

"Gwen, is everything okay?" he whispers.

"I'll be fine," I try not to let my voice break though I'm looking away from him.

"Would you look at me please?"

I slowly look up at him. His face drops.

"I'm sorry," don't show weakness.

"Who did this to you?" his voice even quieter.

"Blake and his buddies. Arlo stopped them, thankfully."

"Do you want to step outside with me?"

I nod my head yes.

We take a step outside of the classroom, and all I can think is, Here come the questions.

"How long has this been going on, Gwen?"

I take a deep breath and reply, "Since grade school."

"It needs to be stopped. What did Blake whisper to you after you sat down?"

"He said 'No one will ever love you, FREAK. You'll always be alone.'," my voice breaks.

"I'm going to talk to him."

"No," I say quickly, "it'll just make things worse."

"Fine, but if this happens again, I have to say something. Deal?"

"Deal."

We walk back into class, and Arlo rushes toward me. He gives me a quick hug as I just stand there. I start thinking about what's going to be in store for me tonight. I know exactly what it is, and I absolutely cannot tell Arlo.

Author's Note ~

Hey guys! I'm really getting into this story. I hope that you are, too! Due to the fact that I'm really liking how this story is going, I'll probably be updating it daily, so long as I have the time. I'm really excited to see where this story ends up. Anyway, I love you all bunches! Peace out, yo!