Lauren's POV

The whole day I had tried my best to keep to myself and just try to stay away from large groups in general, too afraid to be met with the angry girl that had almost killed me yesterday. I managed to successfully keep from any contact and keep my head down the whole time without being noticed. Classes were officially over and I was currently making my way into the locker room to change into my Softball uniform, which was given to me only as of yesterday.

I hum softly to myself as I push the doors open, making my way past the showers and into the far end of the room where a faded, blue locker was half opened. I place my duffel bag into the tight space and begin to strip from my uniform and jeans, leaving me in my undergarments. I begin to dress into my short-sleeve Jersey and straighten out the slightly wrinkled material, running my hand through my messy hair.

Once I have my knee high socks over my pants, I tie the laces to my cleats and adjust my hair under the navy and gold visor I wore over my head neatly. I carefully buttoned the buttons on my jersey and admired my uniform in a full body mirror hung on the wall, a content sigh leaving my lips.

I make my way out of the locker once I realize I have five minutes to get into the field before practice began. I jog towards the end of the field where the rest of the girls stood, calmly talking and laughing with each other. Some would politely wave or smile when I walked past, welcoming me into their team with no comments or rude remarks. I smile to myself once I'm on the other side with the rest of the girls, leaning against the gate and wondering why we were just chilling here.

My eyes wander over the large field, noticing how there was a small office in the far right corner next to the rusty bleachers. There are scattered food wrappers here and there, along with cups around the bleachers thrown into the grass like a personal trash can. I shake my head and squint into the office where no one stood, not even the coach of the team was anywhere in sight.

I was really confused.

"The coach is late, again." A voice mumbles next to me, the sound familiar from somewhere as I would never forget the raspy, sensual voice of a flirt. I turn around to meet a pair of bright brown eyes and my mouth goes dry, my breathe audibly hitching inside my throat. My slightly wide eyes quickly turn away from her and nod, trying my best to hide the coloring bruises on my face.

The cut in my lip is constantly bleeding out and the ring of bluish green under my eye is only worsening in color than before. There is also a long scratch running down from the corner of my lip to my jawline, most probably leaving a scab in a few days. Thankfully the large bruise on my rib wasn't visible under my attire, but even so, I looked terrible.

"I'm Dinah," The girl rasps out into a casual tone, her eyes set on my face but my eyes anywhere near her. I don't nod or spare her a single glance as the grip on the gate behind me tightens,

"I know who you are," My voice is barely audible, but is very hoarse and unintentionally sounding defensive and slightly angry but at this point, who the fuck can blame me? I swallow thickly when I hear her voice again, silently praying she would just walk away and leave me alone.

"You sound angry," She speaks, the girl now walking around me so she's on my left now. I raise an eyebrow, my eyes still set on the dirt beneath my feet. "You didn't sound this way yesterday,"

I feel my heart sink and the anger inside of me is hard to calm when the girl who knows nothing about me, walks over to remind me of what her own best friend did. I look up at her and my eyes meet her as narrowed as I possible can with the bruise under my eye, "What the hell do you want?"

Dinah gets a good look at my face and her eyes flicker over to each wound with parted lips, her brows creased and her whole demeanor changed. Up close, the tall girl is way more prettier than when I first saw her yesterday. Her skin is flawlessly tan, a warm color that was oddly fair as well. Her lips were plump and soft looking with the gloss she wore over their natural shade of pink. The girl was pretty with no doubt and I wasn't questioning why Normani liked the girl because it was clear why.

"I don't know," The girl shrugs, looking far into the street on the other side of the gate with furrowed eyebrows. "I was hoping you knew why my best friend went from being the kindest senior in school to a bully in a matter of a day..."

I look away from the blonde and sigh, "Why? So you can leave a bruise on my other eye, too?"

"If I wanted to fuck you up too, I would have done so a long time ago." She states coldly and I almost feel bad for the girl then and there but I simply raise an eyebrow,

"Then why don't you?" I don't mean to sound challenging, but I'm confused to why she doesn't hate me like her best friend does. Maybe she didn't know about the past Camila and I held, but she sure as hell didn't sound too friendly about it. "Has Camila not told you about me?"

"Of course she has," Dinah nods, wiping the sweat off her forehead with her sleeve as she looks back at me. I'm taken back by her response and in my head, I'm thinking this girl isn't actually mad about the things I've done to Camila. "They were so bad that I actually felt bad for you instead,"

"Why?" I whisper.

"Because I figured that a person with an actual heart would never do such a thing to an eleven year old," Dinah genuinely pities me, shaking her head as she looks down at me with hooded eyes. She leans back and sighs softly, slowly sliding down the cement until she's on the floor, "So I figured...You must be fucked up, right?"

"Of course I'm fucked up for what I did to her," I reply, not sure why she was making me feel like shit by stating the obvious. This was only hurting me inside because every word the girl muttered was more than true, we both knew it. "If you're trying to make me feel like shit by telling me I'm fucked up, this is nothing new to me.."

"No," Dinah clears her throat. "I don't mean fucked up because of what you did to her. I mean you must me messed up in the head, Lauren. There's something wrong with you, right. In your head? You're not normal."

At that moment, my world of secret completely shatters into nothing but ashes as I stare back at the blonde girl, the familiar pang inside my chest hitting me over like a ton of bricks falling on top of me. I simply look down at my cleats and I feel like I can't breathe again, my heart beating quickly as if I had run his whole field over and over. How the hell did she suddenly know I was mentally ill? No one knew about my disorders besides me parents and maybe by now, Ally and Normani.

Dinah simply nods at my silence and sighs before muttering a bit louder as if it were casual, "Major Depressive Disorder and PTSD...You?"

I lean against the gate and take a deep breath as I watch the rest of the girls take practice swings, tossing the softball in soft lazy swings to pass time. I run my tongue over my chapped lip, feeling the organ come into contact with the hard scab on my bottom lip. I mumble out a respond as I plop down next to her, "PTSD, Anxiety Disorders, plenty of shit I'm diagnosed with every visit to the hospital. It's all bullshit,"

"I have hope of getting better, but you? You're hopeless.." Dinah looks me in the eye, her hazel ones swirling with humor as the corner of her lip twitches under my gaze. I look down at the ground with a sheepish smile and shake my head, laughing softly which only elicits a small one from her. Dinah nods and her eyes soften, "You're fucked up here, but you're not fucked up here." Her hand transitions from her head to her heart.

I smile softly and bite my upper lip, "I always thought about it that way, too. I just stopped believing I could get better when Camila happened."

After a long brief silence, the girl looks up from the ground again and I can see her struggle to get her response out. Dinah soon clears her throat and sighs, "Car accident...killed both my parents. You?"

"Child abuse, attempted to kill me, set for adoption." I reply as it had become an instinct. "I have two dads now, it's better but I still can't help but hate myself."

"The world is a filthy place, Lauren." Dinah's eyes remain on mine with so much emotion that I can't tell if she's angered of upset about the subject, maybe neither. "It brings out the worst in us so that once it's all out, we become better people in the future. We do things that make us seem like monsters so that are minds are finally at peace and we become cleansers of this horrible place."

"What if we're still monsters after even the worst in us?" I mumble, finding the girl more weird as time progressed.

Dinah smiles softly, offering a small shrug as she begins to get up from the dirt beneath her.. I look up in time to see a middle aged man walk onto the field, blowing onto the whistle hung around his neck and I know for sure it's our coach. I give her a questioning look and she finally turns around when I call her and softly,

"Everyone has monsters inside them. Even the nicest people in this cruel, horrid world. Some people just know how to control theirs better than others,"

With that, the blonde softball player smiles and continues to walk towards the other side of the field.

***

After almost two and a half hours of practice, our coach had finally let us shower and head home. I was called down into his office and he congratulated me for making the team and also told me I was a very talented person. He even stated that in a couple of months, he could make me one of the best players on the team if I really put my heart into it. It made me sort of happy to know that I was starting off on a good start, so far.

I walked down the end of the field until I reached the familiar doors to the locker room, where all my things were carefully stored in one of the lockers. Once I'm inside the small room, I quickly make my way towards my lockers and grab my duffel bag, grabbing my backpack and reaching in to grab my towel. I wipe the sweat off my face and decide to shower at home, not wanting to shower in the locker room where anyone could barge in and find me naked.

Even though the locker room was empty, I was still keeping it safe.

I swing my duffel bag over my shoulder and begin to zip my backpack up when I hear the sound of the steel doors being pushed open. I instinctively pause and look up, letting out a chocked breathe when I notice the mound of long brown hair walk inside along with two other girls. I quickly make a move in grabbing my stuff and stand, keeping my head hung down as I rush over to the front door.

Once my back is facing them, I instantly try to push my way through the doors but I'm pulled back instantly by two strong hands and I stumble backwards. I gasp softly and spin around to be greeted by a pair of brown eyes and a teasing smirk, her hands to her sides in large boxing gloves.

"Oh thank god your Jersey says Jauregui, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to greet my dear friend." Camila smiles too sweetly, earning giggles from the two girls on each of her sides. "That's right! Lauren was the best on the softball team, if I remember correctly. Isn't that right, Jauregui?"

I continue to stare at the girl with quiet eyes, swallowing hard when her smile instantly vanishes and her brown eyes meet mine in challenge. A pair of darkened brown eyes find my green ones and the girl adds lowly, "Doesn't this picture looks familiar?"

I continue to stay silent.

"A group of girls against a lonely, completely bruised girl with no one around to help her." Camila takes a step forward, slowly removing the boxing gloves off her hands so that only the white tape around her fists are visible. I slowly take a step back and it doesn't go unnoticed, her eyes trailing down my uniform before looking back up at me again. "You really can't defend yourself now, Lauren?"

"I don't want any problems, Camila." I mutter, feeling my heart beat increase in only a matter of seconds. My chest was heavy and my stomach was almost hurting to the point where I felt nauseous. "Do what you want and get it over with."

Camila looks taken back and a short laugh escapes her before she shakes her head, looking more stunned as she asks me quietly. "You really don't realize it, don't you? This isn't anger I've been holding back, Lauren. This is fucking revenge. Revenge for all those years you tortured me and made my life a living hell!"

"Do you think I wanted to do any of that!" I feel the tears sting my eyes, my voice cracking as I alter it. "I was just a kid, Camila. I was a stupid, depressed child that felt like I was going through things so I unleashed everything I had on you! It was almost an instinct. Camila, I was just a kid!"

Camila's nostrils flare and her cheeks grow flushed in complete anger as she storms towards me, pushing me up against the wall behind me harshly before nearing my face until her lips are inches from mine. "Just a kid? You were pretty fucking sick for being just a kid, Lauren! You left me traumatized after eighth grade, after everything you did to me!"

"I'm sorry, okay!" The tears well up in my eyes and I breathe in heavily through my mouth, whimpering softly as I try and hold back all the tears. "I never meant to hurt you the way I did...I regret all of it! It hurts me to know I made you miserable, okay? No one deserves through go through what you did, and I feel like shit for it!"

"You should! You'll be sorry you ever even laid a single finger on me!" I can see the tears blur her eyes, the girl slamming me against the wall again before gripping my collar and pushing me onto the floor on my back.

"You're lucky those cuts are fresh, otherwise I would have sunk your whole face in." Camila spits, her chest rising and falling quickly.

The two girls behind her await for any instructions from the brown eyed boxer as she spins around, addressing them in a hoarse voice. "Lucy, grab her bag. Keana, you grab her backpack."

My heart sinks when the girl picks up my bag, the sound of pill bottles clinking against each other faintly being heard from inside. "No! Please, stop."

Camila's eyes trail over to the bag I seem to be burning holes into and she smirk as she hears, grabbing the bag herself before unzipping it slowly. I feel my stomach churn and I make a move in standing but I'm held back by the girl named Lucy, who silently looks confused to why I'm aggressively pushing her away. I rush towards Camila and I'm held back again, a tear rolling down my cheek.

"Looks like we found the jackpot," She murmurs.

She can't know. No one can know.

The girl fumbles with the zipper before pulling it open all the way, turning the backpack upside down so the contents inside fall onto the floor in a complete mess. I feel my heart sink when papers fall down one after another until loud clanks are heard.

My stomach drops when over five bottles of pills fall into the floor along with tablets and needles I usually inject myself to keep from unwanted thoughts. The room goes silent and I sob quietly into my hands when I notice the look on Camila's face, confusion and horror written all over her face.

In complete shock, Lucy let's me go of both my shoulders and I stumble forward to cover up the bottles of pills with both my hands. Tears slip down my cheeks and I sniff loudly as I shove all of them back into my backpack, noticing the way Camila slowly stands back and allows me to do so.

I zip of my bag and look up with tear stained cheeks to witness the look on Camila's face, an unreadable look on her face as she clenches her jaw and her wide brown eyes look into mine. I swallow hard and stand on my feet when both girls behind her laugh, confused to why Camila wasn't laughing, too. "W-what the hell was all that, freak?"

I swallow hard and back away slowly, rushing past her and towards the door a few feet away. I violently push past someone on my way out and I don't bother to turn around when blonde hair whizzes past me, along with that familiar, sultry voice.

"Lauren, wait!"

I don't turn around or stop to give her a chance and speak. I simply rush towards the end of the hall until I'm pushing past the doors and completely ignore the loud yelling for my name behind me, running down the block to where my car was parked. I quickly unlock the vehicle, hop inside and drive off hoping Camila would forget about today by tomorrow morning.

***

"Poppa, I really don't remember." I mutter into Dash's head as I look up at both my parents through my lashes, who stood with my little sister Vanessa that didn't look to happy to be in this situation.

"Lauren, I've been your father for almost a year now." My dad's voice is soft, his usual throaty tone lowered down in concern and worry. "I know there's more to this story, but you have to trust us."

I shake my head and sigh while running my hand through my hair, "There's nothing more to tell you, okay? I was fucked up the first day of school and I don't know who did it!"

There was this look in my poppa's eyes that killed me on the inside. The look of disappointed and so much concern about what had happened to me was worrying to him and I understood. He had just come home from a business trip and my father had told him about it, not to mention he was already stressed out. He was definitely upset about it.

"Poppa," I sigh. "Daddy has already talked to the principal about it and he's doing everything he can to find the boy."

"The boy!" He gasps.

"Oh my god," I groan, making my way up the stairs before he has time to say anything else. I hear him call my name a few times before I rush into my room and shut the door behind me, locking it carefully before walking over to my bed.

Why was this such a big deal for them? This wasn't the first time I had gotten into a fight and I'm sure it won't be the last, so the least they can do is stop throwing questions at me. I plop over the edge of my bed with a small sigh and mumble,

"Please let tomorrow be a peaceful day,"

-

This would become a daily routine, basically.

The three of us would chat over Skype or Oovoo and just talk about nonsense for about two hours after school practice.

"So I've been meaning to talk you guys about Dinah," Normani squeals, clapping her hand together excitedly. "Her schedule was changed to our first period, so now she's in choir with us!"

Ally rolls her eyes and a small smile plays at her lips, "Great. More reasons to why you're always so loud and annoying."

I chuckle, playing with the sleeve my flannel. "I think it's pretty cute. Dinah's sweet and very...interesting."

Normani raises an eyebrow, "How do you know?"

I suddenly remember I hadn't actually told them about my encounter with Dinah back in practice. The girl had been so blunt and honest with me that I almost wanted to continue talking to her, but her best friend was the only reason I stopped myself from becoming attached. "I had softball practice with her, I spoke to her for a few minutes."

"Softball practice!" Normani gasps, "How could I have forgotten! What did she say?"

"Nothing, much." I lie smoothly. "She was welcoming me into the team and wishing me a good season. We spoke about techniques from getting nervous on the field, is all."

"She's so sweet!" Normani gushes, making both Ally and I