I break the news to my mom as calmly as possible and thankfully she took it in good stride. Flinette on the other hand was a slobbering mess and we had to pet her in order to get her to stop crying. Adaira on the other hand doesn't even care as long as it means she's not going to be admitted to the hospital for any reason.

School is like a breath of fresh air for me because it allows me to momentarily forget everything happening at home and become the Jolly red head that I am.

"So?" Jordan says to me as we're having lunch

"What?" I ask him and take a bite from my sandwich which tastes good.

"How did it go?" he asks quite annoyed with my ability to forget things, "between you and Kevin"

"Oh, that" I say and begin to feel heat rise to my cheeks at the simple mention of his name, "nothing happened sadly"

"Why's that?" he asks and I shrug, "I didn't see him all the while I was there, plus I had to take Flinn home because she was dead ass drunk"

"Must have sucked" he says and tsks before turning to the other inhabitant of our circle, "how did you enjoy your first high school party?"

Renae at first looks shocked to be added to the conversation, "it was fun up till the point where someone left me all alone"

"And I apologized for that" I say feeling honestly tired with the way she has been going on about the whole issue since the party, "or would you have preferred I left Flinette all alone?"

She rolls her eyes and continues to poke at her salad and I also choose to ignore her attitude and begin to think of why I haven't seen Kevin or heard from him since the day of the party.

"You know what guys" I say as I get up from the table, "I need to check on something real quick, I'll be back real quick"

"Leaving again" Renae says, "it seems to be your specialty now"

"I said I would be back real quick" I grit out and get up, and then toss over my shoulder, "I hope you get rid of the dick on your forehead that is making you act like an ass"

I walk out of the cafeteria and run across the school courtyard to where Kevin normally hangs out during this time of the day. I spot him sitting alone with a book in his hand, he's probably reading.

I take a seat beside him and take a good look at the book cover, "I really like this book"

He jumps a little and looks relieved when he sees that it's only me, "hey J"

"Hey" I say and begin to fiddle with my fingers, "I didn't see you at your party"

"Oh that" he says and lets out a little laugh which sounds like music to my ears, "I got a little caught up with something, but I caught a glimpse of you when you walked in with your friend" he adds, "that was a real hot dress by the way"

"oh" I say and smile because it's like an indication that he didn't confess to anyone yet and was probably busy throughout the party to do so, "that's cool"

We fall into silence and I begin to fiddle with my fingers again when he interrupts me, "is there something you wanted to tell me?" he asks and puts down his book.

"I like you" I blurt out and feel my heart hammering against my chest, "I have for a while"

He let's out a laugh and it catches me off guard, "you like me?" he asks like it's the funniest thing he ever heard.

"What'?" I ask confused.

"I hate people like you" he says seriously and I lose the smile on my face, "people like you who act all cute but are total sluts"

"Excuse me?" I say dumbfounded by his sudden confession, "are you referring to me?"

"Is there anyone else here beside you and I?" he asks sarcastically.

"Why would you say something like that?" I ask trying to really grasp what is going on.

"I said I hate people like you who behave that way for popularity" he begins, "to think I actually thought of you as better, thank the Lord that she warned me about you before it was too late"

"Who told you all this?" I ask feeling anger building up inside me, "it's not even true"

"Why would I tell you that when you will only go and set Flinette lose on her" he says venomously, "and you can't even dare lie because so many people saw you with Shaze at the party all chummy not to even talk about the others you're always with"

"But it's not even like that" I try to defend myself

"Just stop it" he says, "I don't want sluts like you near me, so stay far away from me" with his words said he picks up his things and leaves me standing there confused and heartbroken.

I try my best to get through school without breaking down and finally I hear the final bell and pack my things hurriedly into my bag.

"Where are you going?" Renae asks me as I begin to pack the last of my things in my locker into my bag, "will you stop what you're doing and look at me?" she demands

"Will you just shut the fuck up?" I scream at her, "for once just shut the fuck up and leave me the hell alone, I am tired of your incessant nagging" I notice that people are staring at us and I push past Renae and rush out of the school.

I get home and the first thing I do is to run into my room and fling myself on my bed where I begin to cry. I don't know for how long I cry but I am interrupted by my door opening and I look up to see a startled Adaira.

"JJ" she says and sits on my bed while hugging me, "whats wrong?" she asks and I can hear the worry in her voice.

Desperate for someone to offload to, I tell her everything and she shakes her head when I am done, "boys are all dicks" she says finally, "am I right or am I right?" she asks with the ghost of a smile playing on her lips.

I laugh at her attempt to make me smile which actually worked, "we really need to find out where your horrible vocabulary is coming from" I say and hug her back and we remain like that in each other arms.

*

"So, he rejected you" Flinette says finally after I tell her everything that happened while we are having dinner, "I always knew that dude was a useless specimen" she adds and I can tell she is limiting her language because of Adaira and our mom.

"Agreed" my mom adds, "Anyone that says such things about my baby girl without actually getting to know her well is a useless specimen"

"I agree too" Adaira adds and I send her a flying kiss which she accepts and then sends me a wink.

"And just who is the useless creature that told him all those false things about you?" my mom enquires

"Yeah, I'd like to know too" Flinette says and just by the way she is squeezing her fork makes it look like she wants to kill someone.

"I honestly don't know" I say, "he didn't want to tell me because he said Flinette would hunt the person down"

"Damn right I will" Flinette chips in and goes back to her eating, "and if I do, I will make sure the person has the most horrible high school experience of their life"

"And that my dear child is why he didn't tell your sister" Our mom says and we all agree to that and go back to our eating.

After dinner I go straight to bed because I honestly just need sleep and a place where I can forget everything that ever happened today.

*

I go to school the next day feeling miserable and with an ever growing headache. I avoid Renae completely because it seems like being around her won't help my mood.

As soon as I enter the school hall I see people looking and pointing to me and it confuses and scares me as to why they would do so. I reach my locker and I'm about to open it when my phone vibrates and it's a message from one of my classmates telling me to check our school group chat.

I do so and my eyes widen in shock. Pinned on it is a video of Kevin and I in a heated discussion and I could tell immediately what it is. Jordan rushes to me and begins to ask me if I am okay but I can only stare in shock at my phone screen unable to even think properly.

"Who did it!" I hear a voice shout and I am pulled out of my state because I recognize the voice to belong to Flinette, "someone better come up or I will show no mercy"

"Calm down" a girl from Flinette's class says in a haughty voice, "you're only proving that it's real"

Flinette is about to open her mouth and speak when the sound reverberates around the hall and everyone is stunned into silence. I look up at Shaze who has a menacing look on his face, "the next person to talk trash like that will get more than a slap and I am not afraid to hit girls"

Heated whispers begin and my phone begins to vibrate constantly as peoples comments on the video and what just took place floods the group chat. The world begins to spin in front of me and I grab Jordan's hand to keep me steady.

"I'm going home" I say, "Flinette, Shaze, the two of you go back to class right now". I start to walk away when the same girl says something that sounds like 'of course she runs away from her problems'

"What did you just say?" I ask as I walk up to her and use my hand to signal for the rest to stay back, the girl doesn't say anything and just glares at me, "because it just sounded like you said something bad about me"

"And if I did?" she asks defiantly, "are you going to hit me again?" she says and I see that everyone has their cameras out.

"Damn right I am" I say and before she can respond I slap her across her face and she falls on the floor from the impact of the hit.

I turn around and walk hurriedly out of the school with Jordan hot on my heels, "Jossie stop for a minute" he says as he grabs hold of me.

"So that people can take a picture of you and I standing and start another gossip with it?" I ask and tell myself to be calm because Jordan is not the enemy, "I just want to be home right now, alone with my thoughts"

He let's go of my shoulder and gives me a small hug before walking back into the school and I continue my walk back home with my mind filled with so many things.

*

I spend the rest of my day sitting in our living room looking lost and confused and crying so hard. I thought people liked me so why did they not back me up and instead chose to believe what they saw instead.

I lock myself in my room afterwards and remained that way for the next few days that passed by.

"Jossie at least talk to me" my mom says from the other side of my door that has been locked for a whole week now, "we're all worried about you and just want to make sure you're okay"

I only increase the volume of the music playing and drown out the sound of her pleas. I don't want to see anyone anymore, I just want to be alone.

 I haven't seen or spoken to anyone since I got back from school that day, I only come out in the dead of the night to get some snacks from the kitchen.