• 22: Whispers •

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Melody

I spent most of my Sunday morning in bed scrolling through social media pages. I mostly kept fashion related pages rather than ones to connect to other people – I didn't really have friends, so who was I going to connect with?

I sighed. That was a lonely sentence. I thought going to a new school would have changed something. That maybe I'd have an abundance of friends and it would be better here, but I guessed I was wrong. Mia was probably going through the pictures taken at her party, while I was locked up in my room alone.

I knew it was partially my fault. I kept to myself and got on Rose's bad side on day one. But maybe it was better this way. No one knew me at Alcott, and I was scared people would find out who I was and why I left my old school.

A knock on my door pulled me out of my thoughts, and I got excited, thinking maybe my dad decided to check on me after he came home and didn't see me downstairs.

"Come in!" I called, sitting up against the backboard of my bed.

The door opened slowly, and Leslie walked in with a tray. I felt my shoulders slump slightly, but I pasted a smile on my face.

"Hey, honey. I thought I'd bring you breakfast; yogurt with granola, and some fruit," she told me. I smiled as she brought me the tray.

"Thanks Leslie." I paused, debating whether to ask or not. "What's my father doing?" It was so quiet; I didn't think I actually said it.

Leslie gave me a kind smile, and I knew the answer before she said it. "He has been in his office since he got home."

"Okay," I mumbled. Leslie turned to leave when I asked, "What does downstairs look like?" I hoped Mia found a way to clean it all up before our parents got home.

"It's the same as it's always been; why?" Leslie replied. I gave her a meaningful expression and a knowing look appeared on her face. "I won't tell on her if you don't."

Leslie knew that if Mia got caught, I'd most likely get in trouble too, so she never told if Mia threw an unauthorized party.

"Thanks," I told her before looking back to my laptop.

And then she was gone. And once again, I was alone.

***

Monday morning rolled around, and I pulled on a light blue, turtleneck tank top and a pair of black high-waist jeans. I left my hair down, but did my makeup, finding a nice shade of lipstick to match my outfit. I pulled on a pair of white sneakers and grabbed my black backpack to go to school. When I got downstairs, Mia was sitting on the couch watching television. She gave me a once over and wrinkled her nose.

"I hate that shirt," She said looking back at the television.

I frowned and went back upstairs immediately, to change into a white, flowy top that hung off my shoulders. I changed my shoes to white heels, which matched my outfit more, and came back downstairs.

"Better?" I asked. I hated giving her this much power, but I actually wanted to look cute today if I was eating lunch with Carson.

"I hate it less that the first one," Mia said, after glancing at me. She sounded bored and apathetic, which made me feel a little sad. It was like she just stopped caring about me all together, and nothing I did could change it.

I walked into the kitchen to see that Leslie was cooking scrambled egg whites. She smiled at me. "Good morning, sweetie, are you having breakfast?"

"No, thanks Leslie," I said picking up a water bottle and filling it up. "I want to get to school early," I lied.

"Okay, dear," Leslie nodded. I put the water bottle in my bag and left the kitchen, breezing passed Mia as quickly as I could.

Suddenly, my phone rang, as I was opening the front door.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Have you left your house yet?" Carson asked, skipping the pleasantries.

"No, I'm just stepping outside though." I replied in confusion. "Carson, what's –"

He hung up and left me standing there, feeling a little lost. I shrugged slightly, closed the door and began walking down the driveway, only to be stopped by Carson's white car pulling up in front of me. His passenger window rolled down and Carson's smiling face greeted me.

"Good morning Mellie! I thought I'd drive you today," Carson grinned cheekily.

I laughed, trying to cover up the outrageously happy feeling that bubbled up inside me. "I bet you just didn't want me to trip on the way to school."

"That may have had something to do with it," Carson teased in response. "Especially by the looks of those death traps!" Carson shook his head at my white high heels. I stuck out my tongue at him and opened the car door. I got into the car and closed the door. Carson had an indie music channel on. The screen read Cherry Wine by an artist named Hozier and though I'd never heard it before, the song made me feel relaxed as we drove to school.

It was an incredible juxtaposition to the way I felt when we pulled into the parking lot of Alcott High. All eyes were on us as we followed the lineup of cars waiting to park. I pretended not to notice as Carson and I continued playing our question and answer game, but my heart was beating wildly in my chest and my eyes darted around following the students who stopped mid-stride and nudged their friends.

Carson parked in a spot facing away from the school and the onlookers. I glanced in the side mirror to see people pointing at Carson's car or chattering away. They weren't even trying to hide it.

"Everyone's staring at us Carson," I whispered, glaring down at my hands. I was wringing them nervously until Carson placed his hand on top of them. Half of me felt calmer, but the other half felt giddier at the small contact.

"Ignore them... I do," he told me. I glanced up at him. His smouldering eyes held my gaze and it me feel more confident.

We got out of the car and I decided to ask him a question. It was what we were doing before, and it would keep my focused on him, and not the students gaping open-mouthed at us as we entered the school.

"What's your favourite movie?"

"I actually love movies, so it's incredibly hard for me to pick just one," Carson grinned at me. "Do you have to go to your locker?"

"Yes. Do you?" I replied. I didn't want to go our separate ways just yet, but we were at school... we were bound to at some point.

"No, I'll come with you to yours," Carson said, causing a soft smile to form on my lips. Maybe that point of separation was not now and I was okay with it. "So, I have different favourites in different genres," Carson continued as we walked. It was a little embarrassing how interested I was in what he had to say. But the more I focused on his every word, the more the rest of the school seemed to fade away.

I was only brought back to the present when we walked into our English class and everyone stopped to stare at us for a moment before turning back to full-fledged whispering. The tension of their energy concentrated on us was so heavy, it felt like I could reach out and grab it. I wished I could. I'd grab it and hurl it out the window.

"It's like my first day all over again," I muttered to Carson. He laughed.

"I take it every day here is like the first," Carson retorted leaning in towards me. I sighed and nodded, making him chuckle once again. We sat down at our desks and waited for class to start.

***

After English class, Carson and I went our separate ways and as pathetic as it was to admit, a part of me missed having him by my side. I walked towards history class with my head held high and a neutral but pleasant expression on my face... that is until I ran into Rose and the terrible twins. The colour drained from my face as the three of them blocked my path.

The twins stood on either side of Rose. Summer was leaning against the lockers and smiled wickedly at me, while Serena stood with her arms folded across her chest. Rose stepped towards me with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"I did try to warn you," Summer smirked.

"It's true! She, like, totally did," the less intelligent twin echoed. I raised an eyebrow at Serena and waited for their queen bee to speak. I already noted the small crowd beginning to form and people looking on as they walked past us.

"I keep giving you little warnings, little hints, telling you to watch your back, but it seems as if you're a really stubborn person... or you have no sense of self-preservation," Rose said. Her voice was low and intimidating.

"What's your point?" I asked. It was all for show. Though I stood my ground, my knees quivered, and I could almost hear my heart beating in my ears. Any type of confrontation was always way out of my comfort zone. I was hoping to escape, or at the very least figure out what her problem was and then escape.

Rose stepped closer to me until she could easily slap me if she wanted to. Luckily, she didn't. She opened her mouth and spoke swiftly and quietly, so that only the two of us could hear the conversation.

"Stay away from Carson White. You don't belong with him, or even at this school. You stepped into my turf, so you'd better watch what you do." It was unnerving that she said all of this with a smile on her face.

Though she was menacing, I still found myself asking "And if I don't?" There was a smile on my face as well. Did I have a death wish? Or maybe I was finally admitting to myself that I really liked Carson?

The fake smile on Rose's face turned harder but didn't disappear. "I'll be sure to make your life a living hell," Rose said as if it was the simplest thing on the planet. I nodded and brushed by her.

The joke was kind of on her... my life already was a living hell.

I doubted it could get much worse.




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Author's Note: I hope enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Haha it was lots of fun! And there's cuteness involved and it's killing me! Haha! What do you think of Carson and Melody? And oooh what do you think Rose is going to plan? Comment and vote if you liked this chapter! <3

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