The next couple of days went by agonizingly slow. I had decided against talking to Leo in case anything happened to him.

I still don't know where the note came from or who sent it, but it was enough to get me not to talk to Leo. This could just be some dumb prank but you never know. I'm not willing to play with his life like that. If there's even a slim chance that this note is real, then I need to protect Leo at all cost.

I can't have him end up dead in a ditch in the middle of nowhere.

Today I was finally going back to school. I've been gone for almost two weeks and I have a lot of stuff I need to catch up on. Fortunately, my teachers have been lenient regarding my school work. They gave me a week to catch up on all my missed assignments.

I picked out a high waisted Val k skater skirt paired with a vintage white t-shirt and my black combat boots that had a 3-inch heel on them. I left my hair down, to lazy to do anything besides brush it.

My backpack was fills with all my make-up work for school. It was a struggle to close it. The papers kept getting caught in the zipper. Eventually, I got it closed and walked downstairs.

"Remember what the doctor said. Take your medicine twice a day daily for the next 3 weeks and ice it at least once a day."

"Okay Doctor. I know what to do. Trust me I won't get injured again. I will be perfectly fine."

Via was catching a ride with Leo today so that meant I was on my own on the drive to school. The radio was playing some dumb pop song but I kept it on because everything else was dumb talk shows.

I arrived at school and immediately went to my locker to unload all my work. It's too heavy for me to carry around all day so I have to drop some of it off. The doctor also told me I shouldn't be lifting anything heavier than 10 pounds until my ribs are fully healed.

I opened my locker and a piece of paper fluttered to the ground.

I picked it up and carefully opened it.

You look beautiful today when you were getting dressed. That black bra looks great on you.

Anyways, I see that you haven't ended it with Leo yet.

Tell him that you don't like him today or else something bad is going to happen.

I don't like to share my property.

What?? So this person is still threatening Leo, somehow saw what I was wearing.

UN: Don't even think about going to the police or I will kill Leo.

Me: Who is this? Why are you threatening me?

UN: Isn't it obvious? Because I love you. I'm just making sure I get all the competition out of the way so you and I can be together forever.

Me: How did you get my number? Only a couple people have it.

UN: I have my ways. Remember what I said or it won't be just a warning anymore. bye.

Me: No, wait! Why are you doing this?
Me: What do you want from me?
Me: Hello?
Me:Hello?

I put my phone away and started to shake. God, I'm so scared. This definitely isn't a prank anymore. After I got the picture I was hoping it was just some kid messing with me, but after getting the note and these texts I know that it's real.

What have I done to deserve this? I'm a good girl. I get good grades, I work hard and I'm nice to almost everyone.

This doesn't make any sense.

I was starting to get a headache from trying to figure this out. Great, and now I have a headache! Could this day get any worse.

–––

I was wrong. 100% wrong. This day could get worse and it did.

After I exited the bathroom Jenny walked past me and shoved me into the door whispering 'slut'. Her minions laughed at me as they walked by. I was also avoided Leo the whole day too. I knew the moment I saw him I was going to have to tell him that I couldn't except his confession even though I wanted to.

Then at lunch, I was carrying my tray to my table and Jenny tripped me as I walked by. My food landed all over my hair, shirt, and the floor.

Everybody started laughing as my eyes brimmed with tears. I ran out the cafeteria doors and into the girls bathroom. I sat in a stall crying for a good 5 minutes before I finally got the courage to look at myself in the mirror.

My hair and shirt were covered in pasta sauce and noodles. To top it all off, the sauce was red which meant it was going to leave a stain. I did my best to clean myself off but it was no use. There was a giant read stain in the middle of my shirt. My hair was damp from me washing it in the sink.

At least my hair wasn't stained.

I smelled like moldy pasta so I grabbed my perfume from my backpack and sprayed it all over in an attempt to get rid of the smell. It partially worked.

The rest of my day was spent trying to avoid Leo, Via and Jenny.

If I saw Via then I would be tempted to tell her what was going on and the person has made it very clear that if I tell anyone Leo is dead.

I wish I could tell someone. What am I supposed to do? How do you bargain with a stalker who is threatening peoples lives?

You can't. Not unless you know who they are and what they want and I don't know either of those things.

People stared and pointed at the stain on my shirt and whispered behind my back. Some even laughed. I forgot to bring a jacket today so I had no way of covering it up. No matter what I did, it was always visible. Why does Jenny have to make my life miserable?

When I got home, I went up to my room right away. I had homework to work on and I needed something to get my mind off my stalker.

I was half way through my math homework when there was a knock at my door. "Come in!" I shouted.

My father entered my room and walked over to me. "What are you doing home so early? Usually you don't get home for another hour at least," I asked.

"Business was slow today so my boss let me go home early. I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go out to eat with your mother and I. She wants to see us again."

"Sure," I said. I had nothing else to do tonight. Might as well go out to eat.

"Good. We will meet her at Valentino's at 7." My dad walked out of the room after telling me where we were eating and what time.

I finished all my homework pretty quickly, which was a surprise because since I had so much I thought it would take me a lot longer. It was barely five o'clock, so I had a couple hours until we needed to be at Valentino's.

My mind started to wander back to my stalker and who they could be. Honestly, my first thought was Jenny. The first note said 'end it or I'll end him' and that kind of sounds like something Jenny would say. Plus, she did attack me and fracture one of my ribs because I went to Homecoming with Leo.

The other notes, though, make it sound like someone else. It could still be her, but I have to keep my eyes wide open. Everybody's guilty until proven innocent. That's what they always say right? Tomorrow a school, I need to keep my eyes peeled for anybody suspicious looking or who keeps stealing glances at me when they think I'm not looking.

I should also set up a hidden camera in my room in case anybody tries to sneak in. Where do you buy hidden cameras? I can check online. People sell all kinds of stuff online nowadays.

Finding a hidden camera was easier than I thought. They came in all different objects; toys, pens, remotes, and even pillows. I chose to buy the pen one. It looked the least suspicious and I could put it on top of a notebook on my nightstand and position it to cover my window.

"Athena!" My dad yelled. "Leo's here for you."

I shut my laptop and ran downstairs.

"Do you know what he wants?" I asked. "No, he just said he wanted to talk to you about something. He didn't say what," he replied.

Should I go talk to him? What if I'm being watched right now? Screw it. I need to tell Leo my answer, even if it's not my actual answer. He deserves a response. He poured his heart out to me in front of the whole school and here I am 2 weeks later and haven't given him an answer yet.

I just wish I could explain to him what's going on. It would make things so much easier.

Here I go. I opened the front door and came face to face with Leo. "Hey Athena. Can I talk to you?" he asked. Leo looked nervous.

"Sure." I stepped onto our front porch and closed the door behind me. "What do you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Why you've been avoiding me all day," Leo countered. I hadn't expected him to stay that. What am I supposed to say? That I have a stalker who is threatening me with you if I don't reject you. I want to tell him the truth but I can't. It's too risky.

"I wasn't avoiding you. I was just super busy catching up on school work," I stated.

"No!" Leo exclaimed. The sudden raise in Leo's voice shocked me. "I know you are lying. You hesitated before you answered me. Whenever you saw me in the hallways, you would walk in the other direction. When I tried to talk to you, you would run away. This isn't like you. Tell me the truth."

I felt like I was being torn in two. Leo's eyes were begging me to tell him the truth. They were filled with worry, confusion, and hurt. This is going to break both our hearts but I have to do it. It's the only way.

"Don't give me some bullshit excuse either. Tell me nothing but the truth. Why have you been avoiding me?" he asked.

Summoning up all my courage, I began to talk. "The reason why I was avoiding you during school was because I finally have an answer to your confession. My answer is no."

Pain blew through Leo's eyes and they became a shade darker because of the anger and pain in them. Each word I was saying was like a stab to my heart. It hurt so bad. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from crying.

"I'm really sorry but I can't except your love. Not right now. I have too much going on and I need to focus on school. Dating you would only distract me from what's important, getting into a good college. I'm sorry Leo, I really am, but I don't love you."

Suddenly, I was being embraced by a pair of war arms. "Please don't do this." Leo's voice was muffled by my shirt. " I love you and I have for years. I know you feel something for me to. Please don't do this. Please." It took every ounce of strength in me to push Leo away. I missed his touch as soon as we were apart.

I was looking down at my shoes, trying my hardest not to cry. I wasn't doing a very good job. A tear raced down my cheek and fell to the ground. I looked up.

I should not have done that. Leo was crying. In all my life, the only time I had seen Leo cry was at his mother's funeral. He wasn't the crying type. It tore my heart into shreds at the sight. This hurts so bad. I wish I could go back to before all this started and tell him what was going to happen.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. The tears were falling faster down my cheeks now. "I'm sorry, but I don't love you." I turned away from him and wiped the tears from my face. Why did this have to happen to me? Haven't I been through enough already?

Why am I being punished? I don't deserve this, and neither does Leo. We are both good people.

I reached for the door but I felt Leo's hand wrapped around my arm. Without looking back, I shook off his hand and walked inside the house and ran right up to my room and slammed my door behind me.

Not even a minute later Via enters my room demanding to know what happened. "Why is my brother sitting on our porch crying? He never cries," Via demanded. I didn't respond to her. Instead I started to cry harder. "Oh honey," Via exclaimed. She walked towards where I was curled up in a ball on the floor and bent down to give me a hug.

"I'm sorry. Whatever happened I'm sorry. I know you will get through this. You and Leo will get through this. I promise."

The last thing I remembered is Via whispering encouraging things in my ear as she stroked my hair. My eyes slowly fluttered close and soon I was dreaming about what would've happened if I'd said yes.

-----

What's going to happen now? What will Leo do? Will Athena catch her stalker?

This last scene was hard for me to right. I'm not a very emotional person so I had a hard time portraying the emotion Athena and Leo are going through. I hope I did an okay job. Also, I hope this stalker idea I had doesn't seem like it came out of nowhere.

When I finish this story, I will go back and edit the whole thing and add more weird/ creepy vibes towards the beginning of the story.

Don't forget to vote and comment!