I was sure that the next thing to come would be me making the headlines as the stupidest kid in high school.

But instead of more humiliation, I was greeted with a strange sound - a chorus of gasps that quickly turned into laughter. The laughter was coming from none other than the infamous bad boys of the school.

I couldn't believe my ears. These guys were known for their brooding, tough-guy personas. It was rumored that they never smiled, and they certainly never laughed. And yet, here they were, their deep, gruff chuckles filling the room.

As I looked on, even the teacher appeared astonished, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Meanwhile, a small smile crept onto my face as I took in the sight of Kristen Slovac, Kyle Bower, and the notorious twins, known around school as the "bad boys."

Kristen, the leader as he is known to everyone, sat, dressed in a sleek black leather jacket, a crisp black t-shirt, and form-fitting black denim jeans. His thick, jet-black hair was styled to perfection, accentuating his chiseled features and prominent muscles that were visible beneath his clothing. The sight of him was undeniably striking, exuding an air of confident bad-boy allure that could easily be mistaken for that of a playboy.

Beside him sat his best friend Kyle, who had a rich, dark skin tone and a towering, slender frame that could easily turn heads. He had the kind of looks that made girls swoon, resembling a supermodel with chiseled features that seemed almost too perfect.

Behind the two were the Steele twins, Marco and Maurice, who had already made a name for themselves in the modeling industry at just fifteen years old. Their towering frames, lanky figures, and bright blonde hair complemented their piercing ocean green eyes. They were known to be the playful type, but one wrong move and you could find yourself in a tight spot.

I was so mesmerized by the sight of the school's most gorgeous and sophisticated guys that I almost failed to notice Regina and her friends shooting daggers in my direction, their expressions steaming with anger.

I couldn't help but wonder if my decision to provoke the school's queen bee and land myself on her most-hated list was worth it? Absolutely not.

Without a moment's hesitation, I made a beeline for the door as soon as the bell rang, not wanting to stick around and face any further humiliation from Regina or risk getting sent to detention by the teacher.
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As lunchtime arrived, all I could think about was finding a place to hide and never showing my face again. I longed to retreat to the safety of my home and snuggle up in bed with my baby brother, Antonio, while watching movies.

Some might call me a coward for wanting to hide away, but I knew deep down that my true motive was to survive high school in one piece. With Regina and her minions making it increasingly difficult for me, I knew it wouldn't be long before she turned all the popular kids against me.

You might be wondering why I didn't just transfer to another school, but this particular institution happened to be my parents' alma mater and one of the top schools in New York. Plus, it wasn't as though I wanted to let Regina win by forcing me out.

Taking a deep breath, I resolved to head to the cafeteria for a quick snack and try my best to pretend that none of the earlier events had happened. Unfortunately, my plan was thwarted when a group of bloody idiots decided that my arrival was the perfect opportunity to start gossiping. As if that wasn't bad enough, Steff suddenly excused herself to go to the bathroom, leaving me to face it all on my own.

As I made my way towards the cafeteria, I overheard a group of students whispering maliciously about me. One voice in particular stood out, saying, "There she is. I heard she told Regina that with enough make-up, she could be a demon from the bottomless pit."

Another voice chimed in, "I heard she also told Regina that her mom slept around...a lot."

The worst comment of all came from a third voice, claiming that I had told Regina my father was a drug lord and that I had even ordered a hit on her. My heart sank as I realized the extent of the rumors.

The cruel words of the gossipers still ringing in my ears, I reluctantly joined the line of students waiting for food. As I stood there, feeling more alone than ever, I couldn't help but groan inwardly when I heard one of them say, "Maybe I can get her locker when she's dead."

To make matters worse, I noticed that the other students were now parting ways for me and giving me sympathetic looks. It was clear that my reputation had taken a serious hit, and I felt like I was the only person in the school who didn't belong.

It didn't take long for news of my altercation with Regina to spread like wildfire throughout the school. Everyone seemed to be avoiding me, afraid of getting dragged into the crossfire. As I made my way through the cafeteria line and grabbed my lunch, I couldn't help but berate myself for letting things escalate to this point.

How could I have let this happen?

Feeling utterly alone and isolated, I retreated to the furthest corner of the cafeteria. Even the students sitting nearby seemed to notice my presence and hurried away, as if I were contagious. I felt like a pariah, an outcast in my own school.

This was bad.

Do you know how it felt? I felt obnoxious – the way I always do when I get too nervous or too excited, which makes me want to rush to the toilet instinctively.

"Hey Anna, you're completely pale, breathe," I heard Steff beside me, urging me to take deep breaths. Finally, I released the breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"Steff, you shouldn't be here. What if they... what if they..." I trailed off, my mind racing with terrible scenarios of what Regina and her gang might do.

"Anna, stop overreacting. Nothing's going to happen to you, and I'll be here to protect you," he said, trying to reassure me.

"Do you see how they're looking at us?" I asked, casting my head low to avoid being overwhelmed by the attention we were getting.

"So they do that all the time," he shrugged, as if it was nothing.

"Yeah, but usually with the popular kids, not us," I said, dumbfounded by his lack of interest.

He grinned at me. "Look at it this way - you're climbing to the top of the food chain. Now you're one of the popular kids."

"I hate attention, you know that, so how is that supposed to make me feel any better?" I whispered to my best friend.

He looked at me sympathetically and replied, "We've been best friends since diaper days. Don't you think I know that? But how are you supposed to overcome your fears if you don't face them?"

"That's the least of my problems," I whispered back. "My main concern now is not getting too overwhelmed and doing something embarrassing in front of a hundreds of students, while also trying not to get killed."

As we continued our conversation, we were so engrossed that we failed to notice Regina and her posse approach us. It wasn't until the room fell silent that we looked up and saw that all eyes were on us, including the cameras. The tension in the air was palpable as we waited to see what Regina would do next.

Regina's voice rang out loud and clear, drawing everyone's attention. "Look what we have here," she said, a sly smirk playing on her fake plump, pink lips.

Her and Kristen must've been at it again.

"I-I didn't mean what I said before, Regina," I stammered as I stood up, my heart racing. I could feel a lump forming in my throat, but before I could say anything else, Regina cut me off.

"You should have thought of that before acting like a smart bitch!" she yelled, her voice dripping with venom. And then, without warning, she grabbed my lunch and emptied it over my head.

I could hear gasps and fits of laughter from the surrounding students, and I felt my face burn with embarrassment.

Steff struggled against the football players, Jason and Scott, holding him back, his face twisted in anger. "Let me go, damn it! Regina, if you touch her, I swear I'll make you regret it!" His words rang out in the tense silence that had settled over the cafeteria.

Regina, who had been holding my wrist, turned to face him, a smirk twisting her lips. "Who said I was going to touch her?" she sneered, her eyes flicking over to me with a contemptuous gaze.

Suddenly, something cold and slimy hit my face and realized with horror that it was Regina's milk carton. Her cronies joined in, smearing food all over me as I stood there helpless, humiliated, and terrified.

"And that's not all, slut. I'll make sure your life's a living hell. Payback's a bitch," Regina sneered before sauntering away, leaving me to deal with the aftermath.

My emotions were a jumbled mess as I tried to hold back tears. Why did my heart have to be so weak? Why did I cry so easily?

As the sound of laughter echoed in my ears, I felt a desperate need to escape the ridicule. Ignoring Steff's calls for me, I sprinted out of the cafeteria and headed straight for the bathroom, hoping to find solace in its sanctuary.

When I reached the door, I was in such a state of panic that I didn't even realize it was closed. I ran straight into a hard walk, crashing to the ground with a thud.

Or so I thought.

"Fuck," I heard a gruff voice mutter as I stumbled back and fell onto the ground, wincing in pain as I landed on my bum.

As I looked up, I realized that I had bumped into a very hard chest, and my heart skipped a beat when I realized who it belonged to: Kristen, the hottest guy in school, was standing right in front of me, accompanied by his group of friends.

I could feel my face turning red with embarrassment, and I wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and disappear. Why did it always seem like I was pissing off the wrong people lately, especially the popular ones?

As I looked up at Kristen, I could see the annoyance written all over his face. He didn't say anything to me, but I could tell that he was not happy about the situation. I felt like such an idiot, lying there on the ground with food all over me, in front of the hottest guy in school and his group of friends.

"Isn't that your Bella?" I could have sworn I heard Kyle whisper, his voice carrying across the cafeteria.

"Who the fuck did this?" I heard Marco ask, his voice filled with curiosity. The other members of the group staring at me.

I felt so embarrassed and exposed in that moment, standing there in front of the school's bad boys with food all over me. I could feel my face turning red, and I tried to shrink away, wishing that I could disappear.

I knew that I looked like a complete mess, with sauce and crumbs all over my clothes, my hair in disarray, and tears streaking down my face. I was starting to reek with all the different foods I was sporting, and I felt utterly humiliated.

"Get up!" I heard Kristen yell, his voice ringing out across the crowded cafeteria. Immediately, I scrambled to my feet, not wanting to anger any more of the popular students, especially not the bad boys like Kristen.

"Who the fuck did this to you?" he asked, his voice filled with anger. I could feel his eyes burning into me, and I almost swooned under his intense gaze. However, I couldn't meet his eyes, and I cowered away, feeling overwhelmed by his anger directed at me.

"I asked you a question, didn't I? And I'd hate to repeat myself again," Kristen said, his voice growing louder as he took a dangerously slow step towards me. I could feel the heat of his anger radiating off of him, and I knew that I was in trouble.

"R-Regina did it," I stuttered out, feeling a lot scared that he might hurt me. Although Regina and Kristen weren't a thing, they sure had a history together.

As tears streamed down my face, I now had hiccups from the emotional overload. I couldn't believe what had just happened. The sight of Regina's sneering face as she walked away was burned into my mind.

Kristen quickly stepped aside with the other members, giving me one last cold glare before turning and walking away.

"I'm going to kill her," I could have sworn I heard Kristen mutter under his breath, his voice laced with anger, before aggressively storming off towards the area of the cafeteria.

It seems like I might be hearing voices because that could never happen.

*************
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