C H A P T E R E I G H T

The night of the dance... It'll either go well, or it'll go terribly. I hoped for the best.

I curled my hair and put on the dress, adding a small amount of makeup because it's a special occasion. Then there was a knock at my door.

I walked down the stairs, opening the door to reveal a smiling Grayson.

"You look great, Bambi."

"So do you, Dolly." I laughed.

I took a seat in his car. He turned on the radio, and we listened to music on the way to the school.

Hey there, Delilah.
What's it like in New York City?
I'm 1000 miles away, but girl,
Tonight you look so pretty...
Yes you do...
Times Square can't shine as bright as you,
I swear it's true.
Oh, it's what you do to me...
Oh, it's what you do to me...

*****

"It's time to announce our king and queen of the dance!" A cheery voice exclaimed. "The queen and king will both share a dance. The king of the dance is... Grayson Anderson!" Everyone clapped.

"And the queen is..."
It obviously wouldn't be me. Unlike in the movies, the miserable lonely girl doesn't get to win everything in real life.
"Hannah Lodgeman!"

Although I knew I wouldn't win, my heart still sank a little bit. Hannah, my arch nemesis, and Grayson, my... Well, whatever he is to me, were about to share a dance.

Grayson looked really uncomfortable dancing with Hannah, but she didn't seem to notice. She was too busy squealing with excitement and smirking at me, as if she was mentally saying 'he's mine now, bitch.'

Grayson finally approached me after a long and dreadful dance with Hannah. "God, that was horrible..." He pretended to dust himself off as if Hannah was a disease, which made me laugh. "I'm gonna get us some drinks, okay?" I nodded, and with that, he left.

And seconds later, Hannah approached me. "Hi, bitch. Grayson just told me he has something for you backstage. I'm only telling you because I want to stay on his good side."

Something was telling me that there was something fishy about this, but I also couldn't leave Grayson waiting. I headed backstage.

"Now, girls!" Yelled Hannah, who'd somehow made it back to the stage before me.

Before I knew it, the music stopped and I was pushed onto the stage, where all eyes were on me. Then Hannah came out and dumped a cup of fruit punch on my head. I was shocked, and to top things off, I had extreme stage fright, so I didn't run. My feet were basically glued to the ground.

My eyes found Grayson's, who was standing next to the punch bowl looking confused as ever, but also worried. He immediately tried to shove through the crowd to get to the back of the stage. Teachers were hurrying over but it was difficult for them to get through with the huge mob of students that were staring up at me.

"Now, our little Amber here has a secret." Hannah smirked. This can't be good. "I don't think anyone knows this since no one pays any attention to her, but..."

Hannah grabbed my arm and took pictures of my cuts before I could even react.

"What I'm posting on Twitter right now is a picture of what it looks like when you give an attention seeking slut a blade."

Almost every student had their phone out to see what Amber had posted. Everyone looked shocked. She'd put a picture of my cuts online for everybody to see.

Tears started pouring down my face uncontrollably. I finally decided to run. I hurried off the stage and out of the gym. I decided to walk. Just to keep walking until my legs gave out. I heard Grayson calling me, but I ignored it and continued to cry and walk.

I felt someone grab my hand and spin me around. Grayson pulled me in for a tight hug. "Hannah is a bitch. She's a poor excuse for a human being. And you, Amber? You are not what she said you are. You're a beautiful, strong, independent girl." He said. I kept hugging him until my throat was sore and the tears were gone.

"Everyone knows. Everyone knows what I do to myself..."

"We'll get through this, Bambi. I know we will. Soon, everyone will forget about what happened tonight and will find something else to gossip about. But you're not alone. You don't need to go through anything alone." In a way, I could tell that he was promising me something. He was promising that he'd stick with me through all of this and stand by my side.

But that wasn't enough to block out everything that happened.

"C'mon, let's get out of here. You can crash at my place." He took my hand and we walked back to his car in silence.

I knew that Hannah was mean, but I didn't think she'd do something that cruel. Facing the crowd at school would be horrible, but facing Hannah again after her 'victory' would be even worse.

He drove me to his house. We headed inside and up to his room.

"My mom's asleep, so we should be quiet. She leaves early tomorrow for work though, so she won't see you in the morning." He searched through his dresser.

"Here." He tossed me one of his shirts, it was a big grey one. "Pants?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "Nah." He shook his head jokingly. I rolled my eyes and walked into his bathroom.

The shirt was oversized and went down close to my knees. I couldn't help but feel extremely self conscious with my legs on full display.

I walked out, where I found him in sweatpants without a shirt. Holy shit, he has abs...

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." He playfully winked and I felt myself go red. He did not just say that... Oh my god. I felt my cheeks go red.

He noticed how awkward I was standing, and how uncomfortable I felt in just one of his shirts. "You look lovely, Bambi. You should wear that more often." He winked at me.

"Uh, I'll pass."

He grabbed a blanket and made himself comfortable on the floor.

"Turn out the lights when you're ready to sleep." He said.

"You're sleeping on the floor?"

"Uh, yeah? I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"It's fine, Dolly. We can share the bed."

We ended up both climbing into bed. I never thought a moment like this would come.

"Night, Bambi."

"Goodnight."

I fell asleep laying on my stomach, with his arm resting on my lower back.