Winter's P.O.V

To Harper...

I am about to read on until I hear a knock on my door. I quickly close the book shut and place it on the table beside my Diary of a Wimpy Kid book that I finished yesterday.

The door opens slowly and I look at Alec who is holding his phone. "Your mom wants to talk to you." He says and I nod as he gives me the phone. I press the speaker button.

"Hello?" I say and I hear my mother sigh.

"Hey baby, how are you? Are the boys behaving?" My mom lets out a chuckle but I don't join in. I don't feel like laughing. This wasn't time for laughing. I look at Alec who nods slowly towards my direction and for some reason, I know what he meant by that nod.

Add that to my mysterious things in my life.

"I'm good and yeah, the boys have been fine." I say with a little frown. Not all of them, I can't help but think to myself. In the corner of my eye, I see Alec smiling at me before he leaves the room.

"Baby, what's wrong? You sound upset." My mom says and I let out a sigh.

"Its nothing. I'm just tired."

"Oh, well, I'll talk to you later today, okay? Love you."

"Love you too." I say and hang up the phone. I place a hand on my head as I feel a tear slide down my face.

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I wake up to the sound of my alarm going off and I open my eyes, pressing the 'disarm' button. I throw my legs off of my bed and walk to my bathroom. I look in the mirror and run a finger over the bruise that is clearly visible on my cheek. I decide to leave it there since no one really notices me at school. How I love my life, I think to myself.

I wash my face with warm water and dry it with the cloth that is folded neatly on the sink. I walk out of the bathroom and grab my uniform, putting it on. When I am finished, I walk downstairs to see Alec sitting at the table and I sit next to him.

"Hey," I mumble.

"Morning." He mumbles back as he looks at his fingers that were slightly shaking.

"You want to walk to school today?" Alec asks and I can't help but nod. At that moment, I notice Cole and Hayden walk down the stairs. I wave at the two and they wave back weakly. Then, my eyes catch onto another boy as he walks down the stairs with his hand pressing against his forehead. Out of fear, I look back at Alec.

"Should we go now?" I ask and he nods, getting out of the chair.

I motion for Cole and Hayden to follow and they walk over to me and Alec but Sam suddenly grabs Hayden by the wrist, making Hayden hiss at him. As if to make me feel more sick to my stomach, the events from last night appear into my head as I remember Hayden's injuries.

"Sam, let him go!" I snap, making Sam look up at me.

"Don't make me give you another bruise." Sam bites back with a smirk and I go to say something until Cole throws his hands in the air.

"Sam, shut up! You're lucky I didn't tell mom about your drunk act last night!" Cole shouts and Sam rolls his eyes, motioning for Hayden to follow him out the door. Seconds later, we hear a car reversing out of the drive way and I sigh knowing that Sam is gone.

"Aren't you gonna hide that?" Cole asks, referring to my bruise and I shake my head.

"No one really notices me and if they do, they shouldn't care because all they want is gossip." I say with a small smile and Alec and Cole smile slightly.

At this exact moment, I know that Cole and Alec are people that I can really trust.

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"Is that Damien?" I ask, pointing to the guy that is walking on the other side of the path and Alec nods.

"Come on, let's cross." I suggest and they nod as we cross the road to the side where Damien is on.

"Hey!" I shout, catching his attention. He turns around and glares at Cole and Alec but when he notices that I am here, he smiles and begins to walk towards us.

"He doesn't seem angry..." I whisper and Cole chuckles.

"That's because you're here." He whispers back and before I can reply, I notice Damien in front of us.

"Hey Cutie," He says, wiggling his eyebrows and I accidentally step back into Cole's chest. Suddenky, I notice Damien's eyes glow with anger and jealousy as Cole's arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

Wait, what's going on now?

"You with this jerk?" Damien asks me and I pause when I hear Alec's laugh. Alec walks over to Damien and puts an arm around him, looking at the sky.

"You know Damie, there are plenty fish in the sea but we both know you don't want to settle for a real relationship because we all know that all you want to do is screw someone and make them become your new toy for the week. But to answer your question, she's taken." He says and gives me a quick wink before walking back to my side.

"Don't call me Damy and that's not-"

"One hundred percent true, my horny friend." Alec says, wearing a big smile on his face and I can't help but chuckle.

"Fuck you." And with that, Damien turns on his heel, heading towards the entrance of the school. I feel Cole's arms drop from my waist and I turn around to face the two boys, a laugh escaping my lips.

"Why did you put your arms around me?" I ask Cole and he rolls his eyes, a small smile on his face.

"So he wouldn't hit on you." He says and I nod in realisation. I turn to Alec and a grin spreads across my face.

"That was hilarious!" I say and Alec grins, beginning to bow. When he is finished, he grins at me.

"But your face when Cole put his arms around you... I died!" Alec laughs and I smack his arm playfully.

"C'mon, we're gonna be late." Cole cuts into our conversation and we nod as we start to walk in the direction of the entrance.

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"Hey look! It's Winter the Whore!" I hear someone say and I look over to see Gemma Hill and her little followers smirking.

Oh my gosh, I just want to run away right now. I'm getting tired of this game she keeps playing!

I ignore them and continue to grab my books out of my locker and my jacket I left yesterday. Once I am done, I shut it and instead of walking to class like I was planning to do, I am suddenly pushed into my locker, my head crashing on the vent. I feel the tears beginning in my eyes but I fight to not let them fall.

"What's wrong Winter? You going to cry like the little baby you are?" I hear Kate say and I clench my jaw. Kate is Gemma's best friend who likes to be a pain to everyone - mainly me.

"You were always the easiest to pick on you know that? You were sensitive and unaware of everything." Kate says, throwing her heel into the back of my leg, making me fall to the ground. My books spread across the ground and my jacket is now in my lap. As I look up at the group in front of me, I can't help but quietly whimper.

Kate smirks at me, taking a step forward and raising her leg backwards.

Oh god...

"You were never special-" kick "-never loved-" kick "-never worth anyone's time-" kick. I feel a tear run down my cheek and that's when I hear Kate laugh. She crouches down to my level and runs a finger over my cheek where the bruise is.

"Who did that? The boys decided to make you their new punching bag?" Kate and the others begin to laugh and I look down so she can't see the rest of the tears but I know she already knows that I am crying.

"See you later, whore." Gemma spits, beginning to walk off. I begin to roll up into ball, every inch of my body throbbing in pain from Kate's kicks.

Alone again, I think to myself as I let the tears rush down my face.

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I stand up, not bothering to wipe my tears away as I begin to pick up my books. When I pick them all up, I begin to head to the nearest bathroom.

I walk in and to my surprise, it was empty. I throw my books in the bin and place my hands on the edge of the sink, looking at my reflection in the mirror.

"What did I do to deserve this?" I ask myself, letting my tears drop.

I heard the door open and my head snaps towards it. Suddenly, I see the person I never expected to walk in here.

"Amanda?"

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A/N - Edited.

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-XmysterysmileX