Wishing I Was 23

↞chapter three↠

Lanie's POV:
*August*

Summer went by too fast. Today, I started high school, and I wasn't prepared to deal with people. I got dressed and walked downstairs where Riker was waiting for me. I didn't want to ride the bus this year, so he offered to drive me to school. We got in the car and headed to school. Ryland also went here, but his friends picked him up. We arrived, and I was about to get out but Riker grabbed my hand.

"Are you going to be okay?" he said in a very caring yet protective voice.

"I've had to put up with it this long, so I don't see any difference now," I said.

He sighed,"Okay, but if you need anything, please call me."

"Okay. Bye!" I walked into the high school only to be pushed down. Emma.

"Oh, look! This school has a loser club. Why don't you join?" Emma said.

"Oh, look! This school has an obnoxious jerk club. Why don't you join?" I replied. She scoffed and walked away. I was pretty pleased with myself even though I knew she would get me back later. The next six hours of school was pretty boring. No one talked to me except teachers and the kids that made cruel remarks. Next was free period. I was walking to class when I was suddenly pulled into a random empty classroom.

"Who do you think you are trying to make comebacks?" Emma asked.

"I am Bond, James Bond," I said in a dramatic voice. She slapped me so hard I fell down. Generally, she didn't physically bully me, but everyday is a new day with her. She continued on with her little scene until I finally regained my composure. I stood up and walked into class like nothing happened. I really wanted to cry, not because I was slapped, but because she constantly put hate on me for no reason. What did I ever do to her? Free period finished, and I walked to my locker. I looked in my locker mirror to find a bruise on my face. I didn't wear makeup, so this would be fun explaining. I gathered my things and walked outside to find Riker's car. I found it, ran to it, and got in. He smiled at me until his eyes trailed down to the large bruise on my face. He drove home because he knew I probably didn't feel like talking about it yet. As soon as I got to my room, I broke down. Life is cruel. I have no friends at school. Actually, I don't even have any nice people at school. I really wanted Riker right now, but he probably couldn't hear me. I definitely didn't want to take my chances of getting stopped in the hallway either.

Riker's POV:

I hoped Lanie was ready to talk about what happened today. I walked in her room to find her curled up in a ball crying. I almost felt like breaking down with her, but that wouldn't help. I lied down beside her and put my arms around her. She dug her face in my chest and cried for about five minutes.

"Shh... What happened?" She proceeded to tell me about what happened. "I didn't know my best friend was James Bond!" She laughed. "Yay! You're laughing!" I still couldn't believe someone would slap her multiple times, but I had to cheer her up instead of focusing on that. After she calmed down, she went to take a shower. I sat there taking it all in. How could someone be so cruel to her? I really wanted to slap Emma right now, but that's illegal. By the time Lanie got back, I was fuming.

"You okay?"

"No. I can't just sit back and watch someone hurt my best friend." She came over and hugged me.

"Dinner's ready!" I heard my mom yell. Suddenly, a stampede of footsteps were heard going down the stairs. Lanie had put something on her face to cover up the bruise, so we headed downstairs. Everyone stared at us like we had waddled in the kitchen in penguin costumes. I remembered that I was holding her hand.

"Really?!? Like you haven't seen two best friends holding hands!" I said.

"Gosh, you don't have to be so defensive!" Ross said with a smirk. I was about to slap the smirk right off his face, but Lanie pulled me back.

"Riker, calm yourself. Ross, I'm 14. It's not even legal." We ate our dinner, and Lanie and I went back upstairs. We talked for hours about random things in her room until I noticed she was asleep. I went to my room and got ready for bed. I had a big day ahead of me.

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Anyone wonder what Riker has planned?😏