'Till There Was You

Chapter One: At the Hands of Fate

It was just another day in what I've always considered to be hell. To some it was just high school, but those people didn't live in a small town where their reputation precedes them.

To say it was the worst summer of my life was the understatement of the fucking century. I've been local news, state news, shit probably national news. I thought high school was hell before, and I'm not prepared to go back. I don't want them to look at me, I don't want their anger, or their pity.

There was no option for me not to show up. Aunt Kat said it's important to be here and wouldn't take no for an answer. Therefore here I am throwing open the double doors to accept my pathetic fate. I'm immediately met with stares from every set of eyes I pass. All of the faculty send sympathetic gazes, while students just gawked shamelessly. I wasn't prepared for the site ahead, I knew today would be hard, but this is a living nightmare.

I made my way down the halls to my locker with my head turned down. I was counting cracks in the tile floor and analyzing my shoes until I heard shouting.

"Do you idiots think this is fucking funny? The least you insensitive fucks can do is show some respect. Yet none of you can even muster that much? You're disgusting, every last one of you!"

It's a voice I've never heard, and an angry one at that with an accent.

As I approach I realize there's a circle of people around my locker. At the center is a boy with brightly colored hair that I've never seen before. To my surprise he's the one yelling at the other students. The circle breaks as I make my way through, and all of their eyes are on me. Some of them look sad, others shameful, and some of course disgusted or angry.

I expected stares, and from some people, sympathy. I expected plenty of outcomes for this day, but this was never one of them.

I locked eyes with the boy, his rage filled green eyes softening as my heart fell to the ground. My eyes were wide in shock at the sight he was attempting to hide.

My locker was entirely vandalized, words like crazy, bitch, murderer, psycho, and more were plastered there plainly for all to see. The worst part was the pictures. They used crime scene photos, yearbook pictures of her, they somehow had their wedding photo, and it was horrific. I hadn't had the courage to look at her yet. I hadn't ever looked at the crime scene photos either because it fucking hurt too much.

"Come on, don't look at that. I'm so sorry."

I was too stunned to notice that he approached me, but suddenly he was blocking my view of the scene. He spun me around and placed a hand on my lower back before gently guided me away. He walked me into the cafeteria and guided us to a table, pulling out a chair for me before sitting down across from me.

"I'm really sorry you had to see that. I'm Michael by the way." He said, flashing me a shy smile.

I hesitated, caught off guard by his kindness. In a town this small we don't see newbies often, and his welcoming demeanor is odd to me almost. He stood up for a complete stranger on his first day in what he doesn't realize is a very judgmental place.

"Josephine, but people call me Joey mostly. Thanks by the way, you didn't have to do that." I said hoping he didn't somehow feel obligated.

"See, Joey I did have to. I wasn't going to let that slide, it's fucking ridiculous. I've never seen such a disrespectful display of anything. I wouldn't ever stand by when someone was being treated like that." He spoke with conviction, and I liked that.

"We don't get new people here often. I'm surprised you were so willing to make a reputation like that on your first day. You scared quite a few people shitless." I said with a giggle, making him chuckle as well. Something about him made me feel less nervous than most, maybe it was the situation.