The Heartthrob Won't Leave

Chapter Thirty-Seven (New Chapters)

She had been fortunate, no one said anything negative about her hair. She had covered it with a hat for the most part, although later that day when she got back to the group home after school and she took off the hood, Stacy had taken one look at her and looked like she was about to faint. It resulted in a field trip for the girls to the hair salon, where she finally got it fixed and the other girls got theirs done too after a long time without it. She could only just stare at herself in the mirror, sitting in the dressing chair. Her hair hadn't been this short since she was in primary school, only a few inches below her chin and hardly touching her shoulders. Maybe she should have even been grateful to Melody for her sociopathic tendencies. But, a trip to the hair salon hadn't fixed much. 

After the incident with Amanda in the hallway, Blake had been branded a psycho, the other girls avoided her. Well, except Bridget, saying something about them being able to be crazy together. it was only two weeks later that she had been told that the investigation into every facet of her life had been completed. She was free to go home, after being gone an entire month she was finally home. She was so relieved when she heard that her knees nearly buckled. Bridget had been the only girl to see her off, telling her to smarten up.

"Not everyone has someone waiting for them to return home" was the girl's words. Blake knew that Bridget meant to convey that she should never take for granted the people in her life, especially those that came for her. She wouldn't think of doing it again, and she was grateful to Bridget, smiling and waving goodbye as they pulled away from the group home. . Karl had picked her up in the family van, hugging her close, blessing her with her cell phone and laptop. The drive home with her bags in the backseat, it wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but she had to admit it was a little strange. She found herself repeatedly glancing at the older man next to her in the driver's seat.

"What did the police do?" she found herself asking

"They went through everything, interviewed everyone, it definitely wasn't a normal experience" he retorted. Blake found her head falling, glancing at the tied fingers between her hands.

"I'm sorry Karl, it's all my fault"

"Yes, it is your fault" he retorted, and she found her head lifting, glancing at him. The older man sighed, the crows feet on the corners of his eyes falling more pronounced "But, it's also my fault" Blake's eyes widened slightly, confused by his words "I knew something was going on with you, but I hadn't gotten the chance to talk to you about it" She realized what he had meant

"Maybe if I had taken the time to talk to you about it, this entire incident could have been avoided"

"It's not your fault, please don't say that" Blake insisted, shaking her head "Even if you had tried to talk to me, I probably wouldn't have been forthcoming anyways" The silence between them for a few moments, it wasn't awkward. It felt more like just some time for them both to reflect on the words that had been exchanged between them.

"Well-" she turned her head as he spoke, "At least tell me the next time you decide to take a stroll in the dark" she found her smile surfacing at his words.

"Don't worry about that. I think I'll stay away from those for the time being" she retorted, leaning back against the seat and letting out a sigh. She smiled, feeling like she was back where she was meant to be. Familiar streets outside the window gave her relief at the sight of them. She knew this place, this was her world.

"How was your time in the group home?" Karl asked, glancing at her.

"Oh god," she grumbled, running her cold hands over her hot cheeks "Please don't make me relive that" the old man just laughed. She had played it off, but she wasn't entirely sure she was ready to tell anyone about that experience, maybe she never would be.

-

He was following her around, and she was getting really fucking sick of it fast. Every corner she turned in the school halls, he was behind her. It was like he never left her alone! Like he didn't want to. Usually, Blake was there, she worked as a mosquito coil, keeping Jace away, but she hadn't come to school that day, leaving Mikayla all alone to be pecked at by the annoying pest that continuously followed her, trying to suck the life out of her. 

She hurried down the hall, feeling his eyes against her back before she slipped into the girls' bathroom. At least she could hide from him there, if he wasn't as stupid as he acted at least. She half expected him to walk in like he owned the place even though it was off-limits to boys. But, surprisingly he didn't, and she just let out a breath of relief, lifting her bag onto the counter and glancing at herself in the mirror.

He had claimed to like her, but looking at herself in the mirror she just couldn't understand why for the life of her. Half his followers on and off the football field were double the hotness then she ever expressed, and she hated him. Surely there had to be someone else that would be easier to hook up with than a girl that hated him more than she probably hated anyone else. Maybe she hated the thought so much because she wasn't even sure that any of it was real. For all she knew, this could have been some sort of prank he was pulling with his friends, or just something he was doddling with for fun. Despite what she told him, she didn't think he was stupid. She thought he was cunning, she thought wasn't capable of being trusted. The person he portrayed was nothing but a fake, the person he wished he was rather than who he actually is. She still didn't know how far he was capable of going just to make himself look better to those around him, and she could be nothing but a pawn that he would throw to the wolves when it suited him.

A slight squeak to her right had her glancing in that direction, towards the stalls. She hadn't realized that one of the doors was actually closed, the stall was occupied. She didn't think much of it, instead turning to face the mirror once again. She found herself digging through her bag to get her small travel brush, pulling it through her hair. A sniffle, a shift, it was weird listening to the noises of someone else. But, there were 8 billion people on the planet, and she suspected it was just something she was going to have to put up with as a side effect of her life on this planet. The toilet flushed, and the door opened, and Mikayla found herself surprised, watching Stella come out of the stall.

"Oh, hey" Stella's eyes shot up at her words, and she looked startled to say it gently. Mikayla found it weird, just how surprised Stella looked because of her presence. They both went to the same school, it wasn't that strange to think they might run into one of the only two female bathrooms that existed for them to use.

"Hey" Stella responded. Mikayla watched as the girl pulled her bag over her shoulder, rubbing her hand on her upper lip. No other words were exchanged between them before Stella left through the door back into the hall, and Mikayla was left there, standing in front of the mirror.

"Well, that was weird" she muttered to herself, continuing to brush her hair absentmindedly. She kept replaying the moment in her head, when Stella lifted her head and looked at her, startled after she had greeted her.

 It was strange, Stella wasn't usually one to do stuff like that. Their friends had always joked about Stella, how she could never be startled by anything because she expected everything. If anything startled Stella at all, it definitely shouldn't have been Mikayla. It just nagged at her brain, and she just sighed, knowing that it was just going to keep bugging her if she didn't take the few steps over to the stall. So, she did, leaving her bag on the counter. She pushed the door open to the stall that Stella had exited from. Listening to the creak it made as she forced it away, revealing the small space. 

Nothing seemed odd, it was a toilet, surrounded by a dark red tile flooring, just like every other toilet in the building. She sighed, about to turn around when something caught the corner of her eye. She turned back, pushing the door open further and leaning down. It was a piece of some sort of paper, a small square with the creases suggesting it had been folded at least twice. There was something on it, and that sprinkled off into the air when Mikayla picked it up. The paper was smooth, she realized it was made of wax, slippery to the touch. That wasn't the weirdest part though, that happened to be the little bit of white dust that appeared floating through the air from the piece of paper. She felt the small grains against her fingers holding the paper, lifting up her finger closer to her eyes to sight the tiny white flecks, smaller than a grain of sand.

Stella, what the fuck have you gotten yourself into now?