~Lucas~

I look around for Maya, again, to try to apologize or tell her I like her. Or to just at least talk to her. I push past people in the crowd, in a hurry to find her. I really don't want to lose her and I certainly don't want her to think I'm shallow and hate me.

I see beautiful blonde locks in the distance which could only belong to her and everything around me becomes a blur. I start to approach her when I realize Billy has his arm wrapped around her and is standing way too close for comfort. I stop in my tracks. My blood starts to boil as he gets closer to her. To say I'm a little jealous would be an understatement.

All my anger and jealousy fades however, when I see she slaps his arm away. "Atta girl" I chuckle under the pounding music. I'm heading towards them when people stumble in front of me giggling like children and barely able to walk. Are they drunk?

I take a cup from one of their hands but they're too out of it to notice. It looks like soda but I know for sure there is something else in this drink. I brace myself for the disgusting taste and quickly chug a load of whatever the drink is. It burns my tongue and I can feel it setting fire to my throat as it slides down.

"I should've never left Billy in charge of drinks!" I grow angry at my best friend as I throw away the cup containing alcohol. I storm past the tipsy girls and drunk guys and head to where I saw Billy last. But I don't see him anywhere and instead I get dizzy from spinning around trying to find him. I finally see him in a quieter, darker place, kissing a girl against the wall.

I'm sick of this. I'm sick of him not taking any responsibility for what he does. Not thinking about the consequences. He thinks that just because he's fairly popular he can do anything. As I get closer to him, I see that he tucks a blonde strand of hair behind the petite girl's ear.

I immediately realize who he is harassing and I'm overcome with rage. She has her eyes squeezed shut and I can tell that she's afraid, though she would never admit it. I march over to him, my face becoming harsher as I grow angrier with each step.

"Hey asshole!" I yell. Billy turns around, still not letting go of Maya. With the force of a train crash, I slam my fist into his face, releasing Maya from his grasp. He stumbles back and doubles over in pain, I grab his collar and smash him into the wall before he's able to fight back. I put my arm across his chest and press down so he struggles to breathe.

I intimidate him by getting close to his face when I growl, "you lay a finger on my girl again, I swear, I will kill you." I glare at him with narrowed eyes, still pushing down on his chest until he's gasping for air. "Now get off my property." I spit as I release him and shove him away. I watch him leave as I shake my head. "What a jerk." I mutter through gritted teeth.

I turn around to see Maya looking down at the ground holding her wrists. "Are you okay? Did he hurt-"

She finally looks up at me with a frown, she looks...angry with me. "I don't need to be protected. Least of all by you." She shoves past me and starts walking away.

I'm astonished by how ungrateful she is and decide to speak up. "What're you talking about?" I turn and grab her arm before she leaves. "I just saved your ass."

"I'm not yours to save!" She snaps, looking like she's on the verge of tears. "I didn't need to be saved! I had it under control." She retorts, pulling her arm back.

"Yeah, it looked like it." I say sarcastically as she glares at me then walks away, again."You're welcome!" I yell after her.

~Maya~

I walk away from the scene, tears brimming my eyes. I push past the sea of teenage party animals 'dancing' to unbearably deafening music and start running out of this place before anyone can see me cry.

Once I reach the gate to this mansion I start slowing down. I close my eyes, appreciating the fresh air and quiet. The nighttime breeze gently blowing on my face, cooling me from the heat produced by so many bodies at the party. When I open my eyes I see a familiar brunette crouching against a half wall across the street.

Wondering what she's doing here, I walk towards her and she immediately gets up. "What's wrong?" She asks and I get confused. "Why have you been crying?" I realized that I hadn't wiped away my tears when they streamed down my face.

"I-I'm not," I quickly wipe them away, sniffling. "I haven't. I don't-"

"It's okay to cry." She interrupts me by hugging me. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

I shake my head as she pulls away and she nods understandingly. "Thanks for caring though Riley."

She looks at me wide-eyed like a kid. "You know my name?!" She practically yells.

~Riley~

I can't believe Maya Hart, the most popular girl in school knows my name. She chuckles slightly. "Of course I know your name. You're Riley Matthews. The pretty, shy girl at the back of the class. You dress in bright colours to show you're a fun, goofy person deep down if-" She pauses and frowns as she looks down. "if people didn't bully you."

I frown then snicker. "You know a whole lot more than my name huh?" I'm kind of angry that she knows I get bullied yet she's never done anything to help me.

There's a long, awkward silence where neither of us make eye contact. I look down at her wrists and see that they're both grazed and bloody. I look up at her frowning out of concern. "You're hurt. Who did that to you?" I ask.

"I don't want to talk about it. Can we just... get out of here?"

~Maya~

We go to a little park nearby and gently swing on the swings. Neither of us have spoken since I suggested to come here so I finally speak up.

"I'm sor-"

"Why don't y-" We speak simultaneously.

"You first." I say.

"If you know I get bullied, why don't you ever stand up for me?" She asks, the feeling of betrayal coating her words.

I look down at my feet, ashamed by my reason. "Because that's how our school works. You're the girl everyone makes fun of. For some reason the school thinks you have no feelings, that it's okay to tease you because you don't care. Because you won't fight back."

"And what do you think?"

I look up at her with a genuine smile. "I think you're the bravest person I know. I think it's disgusting how people, including me, don't treat you the way you deserve to be treated. Even though I've never insulted you, I didn't stand up for you and that makes me just as bad as the bullies. I don't wanna be a bully. I'm so sorry Riley." I reach for her hand and I get upset when she pulls away. I get off the swing and start walking away, feeling guilty about hurting her feelings.

Before I could leave she runs up in front of me and wraps her arms around me squeezing me in a hug. "You're not a bully Maya."

"Thanks, you're a good friend Riley."

"Am I your good friend?" She pulls away from the hug.

"Nuh-uh I don't do friends. I'm more of a lone wolf."

"Am I your friend?"

"What did I just tell you?"

"Am I your best friend?"

"You're not gonna give up are ya?"

"Nope." She says with a massive grin as she pops the 'p'.

I sigh, rolling my eyes. "Sure, why not? You've already seen me cry."

"YAAAAAAY!!" She shouts as she suffocates me in another hug.

I laugh, I'm glad I have someone like Riley now. She'll be like a little ray of sunshine peaking through my dark cloud. I make a promise to myself to always protect her. She's an innocent little plant and little plants need to be protected from bullies who can stand on them.