Chapter 10...

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Semi-Edited!

Song above is...Insecurities by Jess Glynne (this actually fits Riley so well!)

Happy Reading! :)

Despite not having my car again the next morning, and the fact it was raining outside, I was still in a good mood. I got up on time and even spent more than five minutes on my hair and clothes.

Because of the rainy cold day I opted for a simple pair of black skinny jeans, a cute cream colored sweater I hadn't even realized I owned, and a pair of dark brown boots. And I even kept my hair down in soft waves today. It wasn't much but to me it was more than I normally do; especially for school.

(Third from the left, although I love all four :D)

Since I got up on time I even managed to make myself a quick Nutella and Banana sandwich for lunch. I was quite proud of myself for getting all that done before it was time to head to school.

I was even more surprised to open my door and find a familiar truck idling next to the curb. Just as I opened the door wider my phone started buzzing in my hand. Seeing Olivia's name on the screen I answered, still looking at the truck.

"Hey! Come get in!" Olivia didn't wait for me to answer before she hung up. Putting my umbrella under my arm I stepped out onto the porch and locked the front door. Taking a deep breath I clenched my backpack strap tightly before making a mad dash towards Derek's truck.

I basically threw myself into the backseat and slammed the door behind me. Olivia turned in her seat grinning widely at me as I wiped the few raindrops off my face.

"Hey." She greeted at the same time as Derek.

"Hey. What are you guys doing here?" I asked, moving to put my seatbelt on.

"Alex told us you don't have a car so I'm here to save the day." Derek grinned at me through the review mirror.

"You did save the day. I would have had to walk in the rain." At my words I swore I saw Derek puff his chest out. "Thank you."

"No problem." As he started driving away from my house Olivia immediately launched into questions.

"How was yesterday? Did you meet Harper? Was it fun? Was Alex nice, because if he was a dick I'll kick his ass." I laughed and shook my head.

"Yesterday was fun. Harper is super sweet and such a cutie. And no Alex wasn't a dick...surprisingly." I answered all her questions.

"Alex not a dick? Hm thats a first." Derek mused from the front seat.

"Aren't you his friend?"

"Yeah, so?" I looked over at Olivia who rolled her eyes and mouthed 'boys', to which I nodded.

"But anyways, it was fun." Last night on the walk home from Alex's house I had a permeant smile tattooed on my face. Even when I got home to an empty house I didn't feel that down about it.

I was surprised at myself for how fast I got comfortable around Alex and his sister. Ever since Mitch I've been shy, stand-offish but with Alex, hell even his friends too, I came out of my shell a bit more.

Before Mitch I wasn't so...rigid. Hard to believe that I was actually out going before everything. I wasn't necessarily 'the life of the party' type but I wasn't shy either. I was just your average 17 year old. But then along came Mitch Lingston.

I was put out of my comfort zone when I was with him. Going to parties every weekend, meeting new people all the time, having the 'spotlight' on me. I never liked it, which of course made Mitch angry. He never liked that I wasn't very social and would rather stay home than go out.

Then after it all ended and I had no one by my side I put my walls up and became a shell. It is the only way to get through school and everything else on top of it. Its just easier not feeling anything, yet I still feel everything.

But being around Alex and his friends the other day it felt good to be a bit more like myself. To not hide as much. Being around Rina, Layla, and Harper I was able to be myself and have a bit of fun. Something I definitely needed.

"Are you still free to hang out this afternoon?" Olivia asked, as we turned into the school parking lot.

"Sure! I don't have to work today." I watched as her eyes brightened and she grinned widely.

"Great! We can do whatever you want!" I found myself smiling along with her as she excitedly listed off the things we could do after school.

"Liv breathe." Derek placed a hand on her arm to try and settle her down.

"Sorry." She apologized but I just shook my head.

"No need to be sorry." I found her giddiness cute. At first Olivia seemed like the very social, popular girl but in reality she was pretty shy and only close to her friends.

Once Derek pulled in I noticed the rain had stopped but I knew it was for only a moment. Here in Astoria it rained about 75% of the time, so it wouldn't surprise me when it starts raining again at any moment.

Grabbing my bag and umbrella, I piled out the truck along with Derek and Olivia. As soon as I got out of the truck I found myself looking around for Alex. I needed to thank him for having Derek drive me to school.

"Do you guys know where Alex is?" The parking lot was pretty full but I couldn't see Alex's signature motorcycle or his camaro.

"He doesn't have classes until 8." Olivia answered.

"Wait really?" Now I thought about it I never saw Alex on campus when school started at 7. 

"Yeah he has to drop his sister off at school."

"Oh his parents can't do it?" I hadn't realized how loaded my question was until I noticed Derek and Olivia sharing a look. "You know what never mind." It wasn't my place to ask them questions about Alex and his life. The questions were for Alex to answer not anyone else. And from the looks of it there was more to Alex's life than anyone but his friends knew about.

I didn't miss the relieved looks on their faces as I dropped the subject. I knew what it was like having someone pry into my own life so I doubt Alex would like to hear that I was doing the same thing. So instead I stayed silent as Derek changed the subject as we headed into the building.

Like always the moment I stepped through the front doors of the school I was stared at. Normally I can hide within the crowd with my head down but since I was walking in with none other than Derek Coseman and Olivia Dante, I was gazed upon with wide eyes. It was the same reaction I got yesterday when Alex and I walked to Art class together.

No one could believe that I, Riley Carson, was associating with the likes of them. Or better yet, why they were associating themselves with someone like me. I could just hear it now....

School slut Riley Carson smooching up to Alex Kinley's friends to get into his pants.

Or at least something along those lines. By the end of the day I knew I would hear that being said about me.

"Please tell me you did Mr. Cannon's calculus homework." Olivia suddenly asked, her arm looping through mine. I quickly masked my surprise at her gesture and nodded.

"I did. Need help?"

"Yes please. Mr. Cannon is the worst I swear." She sighed dramatically. Beside her Derek rolled his eyes.

"He's not that bad."

"That's because you are good at math dork." She shot back at him.

"You are good at math?" I asked.

"I'm not horrible at it." Derek shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"I think we found ourselves a new math tutor." I grinned at Olivia who in response nodded.

After a quick stop at my locker we made our way towards Olivia's locker who shockingly enough had one right next to Derek. I couldn't help but smile as I watched Derek open her locker for her before doing his own.

I stood back watching them interact with each other. There friendship was really cute. I don't think either noticed the things they did. Like Derek opening Olivia's locker for her and holding her books while she put her own umbrella away.

Or how Olivia subconsciously moved into Derek when he leaned towards her. Or how she smiled up at him with an expression I've personally never experienced.

It was clear both were oblivious to their feelings about one another.

Looking away from the pair I reached into my bag and pulled out my Calc homework. Ignoring the cynical voice in my head that Olivia only wanted to use me for my homework, I handed it over to her.

"Here you go."

"You are a lifesaver!" She took it with a grateful smile. "I did most of it but the last two which I couldn't understand."

"No problem, although I can't guarantee that they are correct. I suck at math." I shrugged. Math was NOT my strong suit. I had to study hard to even understand what was going on most of the time.

With the first bell ringing overhead the three of us groaned. Thank god it was Thursday which meant only one more day. After a goodbye to Derek and Olivia I made my way to English. For the first time in a month I wasn't dragging my feet to class.

Its crazy how suddenly having a few people around can improve your mood. I knew it wasn't wise to get attached to anyone so soon. I knew that at any moment I can end up alone again, and if I got too attached it would only end with me getting hurt.

I was already iffy about people and their motives, not wanting to get hurt and humiliated like I have been. I didn't know if getting close to Olivia, Derek, or Alex was a good idea but that wasn't stopping the giddy feeling I was having.

Last night as I laid in bed my mind kept thinking about Alex and his friends. Wondering what it would be like being friends with them. I still had no clue how the others reacted to the things being said about me. For all I know the others believed it and made up their minds about me. Hell, I still didn't know what Olivia, Derek or Alex thought of the rumors.

All class period long my mind was in over drive. I barely heard a word the teacher said and I didn't even notice all the whispers and glances being sent my way. Before I knew it the bell rang and everyone was gathering their things.

Knowing I was over thinking everything I forced all those thoughts away for a moment. I was going to drive myself crazy with all the 'what if's' and worrying about things. What I needed to do was take it one day at a time, exactly what I've been doing for the last month.

One day at a time. I repeated in my head as I made my way to Calculus.

I barely sat down when Olivia came bouncing into the room. I watched her with raised eyebrows, wondering how she was so energetic this early. It was only 8:10 in the morning for crying out loud.

Once she took a seat next to me I turned to her.

"Why are you so happy this early?"

"How can I not be." I stared at her in confusion. "We are hanging out after school so of course I'm happy." All I could do was shake my head at her.

"So I was thinking me, you and Lexi can go shopping or something." At the mention of Lexi, Alex's other friend that went to Crescent High, I froze.

"Uh Lexi is coming along?"

"Of course!"

It wasn't that I didn't like Lexi, it was I don't think she liked me. Whenever I looked at her last weekend she was giving me death glares. As far as I know I didn't do a single thing to her. I mean we went to separate schools for crying out loud and I've never seen her before until Friday night.

Olivia must have seen the look on my face for her smile faded.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I quickly shook my head.

"Riley."

"I just...I don't think Lexi likes me very much." I mumbled the last part.

"Don't worry about Lexi, she's always like that." Olivia waved me off. "It takes awhile for her open up and like people. Hell, it took her like three months to stop glaring at me."

Great I had at least three more months of glaring ahead of me. Wonderful.

"Once you get through her hard exterior she's a good person." Doubtful. I mentally replied but then scolded myself. I knew nothing about Lexi to make assumptions like that.

So as class started I told myself I was going to give Lexi a chance. If Olivia can give me another chance than I can do the same.

* * * * * * *

The next two class periods went by fairly quickly. I only briefly talked to Derek in Government before we were hit with a pop quiz that took the entire class to complete. I was glad both classes went by fast for my stomach was grumbling from hunger. Just the thought of my Nutella sandwich made my mouth water.

"You still sitting with us?" Derek asked as we walked out of class.

"Yeah, I just need to drop these off." I lifted my heavy textbooks. "I'll meet you there." Derek nodded and headed down the hallway.

As I made my way to my locker the giddy feeling was growing inside of me again. I was once again having lunch with Olivia, Derek and Alex, instead of sitting alone in the library. It was a nice feeling knowing I had someone to sit with at lunch.

The hallway was pretty much empty after I dropped my textbooks off, grabbed my umbrella incase it was raining, and headed in the direction Derek took me in yesterday.

I was only halfway down the hallway when a hand suddenly snaked out and grabbed my wrist. I was yanked roughly to the side before being slammed against a wall. I grunt at the pain that went through my back.

I barely had time to notice I was in an empty classroom before a face appeared in my line of vision. I gulped nervously as the person stepped towards me.

"You have some balls you know that." Mitch sneered down at me. His blue eyes were hard and his jaw clenched as if he was trying to hold back his anger. I knew better than to say anything so instead I pressed myself further into the wall.

"Going after Alex Kinley like some slut." I flinched at the insult. It sounded even worse coming from his lips.

"I-" Mitch didn't let me continue as he cut me off.

"The only reason he is letting you near him is because of me. He only wants to get into your pants. Wants my sloppy seconds." Nothing could stop the tears from forming in my eyes. At the sight of them Mitch smirked, knowing he was getting to me.

His hand lashed out and grabbed my wrist tightly. He applied enough pressure to make me whimper. I tried yanking my hand free but his grip was unrelenting.

"Once he realizes how much of a whore you are he will drop your ass. Just like every other guy. Because Riley, you're not worth the hassle." With each word his grip tightened. Pain lashed up arm and brought more tears to my eyes.

"Let me go." I whimpered, my voice small. "Mitch stop." I tried pulling my hand free once more.

"Just remember this Riley." With the grip on my arm Mitch yanked me forward, making me hit his chest. My head craned up to see his face. "I made you known in this school." Yeah, as a slut. I mentally replied, not brave enough to say it out loud. "And I will continue on making your life hell until I am satisfied."

With another harsh squeeze on my wrist Mitch let me go. With a smirk he turned and left the classroom. The moment his figure disappeared from few I sagged against the wall, tears silently flowing down my face.

I gripped my aching wrist to my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. That was the most Mitch has said to me since he 'broke up' with me a month ago. I could have gone forever without talking to him again.

My breathing came out shaky and my wrist burned. I knew it was going to bruise by the end of the day. I could feel my whole body shaking as my mind replayed what just happened. Mitch had never been so physical before.

On the night he tried to sleep with me and I said no he was physical. Gripping my upper arms and leaving bruises. Two days later he announced the bet he made. But other than that he's never laid a hand on me. Yes, his grip on my hand would tighten whenever I did something he didn't like or he'd glare/yell at me sometimes but that was it.

It took a good ten minutes for my body to stop shaking and the tears to dry up. Mitch's words kept replaying in my head though, and I knew they would for a while.

I knew lunch was almost over and I had to fix my appearance before the bell rang. So with weak legs I slowly made my way to the nearest bathroom. I sent a silent thank you when I found the bathroom completely empty.

Looking in the mirror I found red eyes staring back at me. The little makeup I had on was slightly smeared from where the tears ran down. I grimaced at my reflection and quickly looked away. Glancing down I finally looked at my wrist.

I wasn't surprised to find a bright red ring around my entire wrist. If you looked close enough you could see it was in the shape of a hand print. I could already see some bruises appearing around the edges of the red as well.

I couldn't help but want to yell at myself. I was angry that I let Mitch corner me like that. Let him grab and hurt me. I was suppose to be strong not some whimpering, crying mess.

With a loud sigh I pulled the sleeve of my sweater down and over my hand. As long as I kept it covered until later it will be fine. Using my fingers I wiped away the tear stains on my face until it looked like nothing had happened. The only thing I couldn't change was the redness of my eyes but hopefully no one would notice that.

Clenching my jaw against the pain in my wrist I lifted my backpack higher on my other shoulder before leaving the bathroom. A few people dotted the hallway but I ignored them as I went back to my locker. The bell was going to ring at any moment and I wanted to be in the classroom when it did.

As soon as the bell rang I threw my umbrella inside my locker and headed for Biology. Keeping my head down I weaved past the kids making their way through the hallway. Thankfully I made it to Biology without being ran into or shoved.

I was the first one in class as I took my seat in the back. After taking out my notebook I stared blankly down at the empty sheet; my mind still stuck on what just happened. I was so stuck in my head I didn't realize the class had filled up until the chair next to mine scrapped backwards and a large body sat down.

I couldn't bring myself to look away from my notebook as Alex placed his things on the desk. I felt his gaze on me as he did so.

"You weren't at lunch." He spoke a moment later. I didn't answer. Wants my sloppy seconds. Those words kept replaying in my head; amongst others.

Mr. Roden started talking making Alex turn his attention away from me. I needed another minute to gather myself before I could talk to him. Mitch's words were bouncing around my head which did not help. I knew he only said those things about Alex to get to me but it didn't make them not true.

We were a good fifteen minutes into class when Mr. Roden handed out coloring sheets for us to complete. I was internally grateful because they were the easiest things to do. All we had to do was color in each bone a different color to help memorize them.

Before I could get up and grab

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