Scars [h.s au]

2.

Electra Coleman

At lunch I sat at my usual table alone, looking through all of the hurtful messages I had received the night before. This was like a routine thing for me. I scrolled through over twenty messages, all hateful.

"Nobody likes you why don't you just end it all? Put everyone out of their misery!"

"Go cut some more you bitch!"

"No wonder your dads a dirty cheat! Who would want a daughter like you?"

"I think your wrists are bleeding... Oh wait, you already knew that!"

"You're such a whore! Just kill your self already!"

"Is anybody sitting here or can I?" A voice says. I look up from my phone to see none other than Harry.

"You can sit there, if you want to," I say, I didn't want to seem desperate.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to," he chuckled. I mustered a small, fake smile and looked back down at my phone. This time to turn it off.

"What were you doing before I came over here? You looked pretty upset," he bit into a fry that he had bought from the canteen and looked at me.

"I always look upset," I almost whispered. Harry heard me but carried on eating his fry before answering.

"Why do you let them get to you so much? I mean The people who believe what they say are morons, I can tell that everything they say about you is a lie, I don't understand why others can't see that," he informs me.

"What do they say about me?" I ask, avoiding his question. He sighs heavily.

"Do you really want to know?" My mother instantly sprang to mind, she always used that phrase 'do you really want to know?' I nodded my head at Harry and he sighed again.

"They usually say how you've slept with everyone in the boys' dorms and how your dad cheated on your mum because he was sick of you. They say how much of a slut you are and lots of other things, I've never believed a word that what any of them say."

"You'd be the first," I mumbled. My voice was still strained and I was beginning to think it would always be this way.

"You don't deserve it, you know that right?" He looks at me from across the table, I don't want to make eye contact so I just shake my head no. "You don't, nobody deserves it. I may not know you but I can tell that you have a good heart, a heart that is still intact after everything that's happened to you over the years. I want to make you realise that there is more to life than surviving El, let me take you out tonight. Not on a date, if you don't want it to be," although his words were charming and persuasive my thoughts were only on one word that left his lips. El. He called me El. My childhood nickname.

"Okay," I nod slightly.

"Cool, are you not going to eat?" He points to the canteen behind me and I simply shake my head. "You should, you're going to make yourself sick. You're already thinner than you should be."

"I'm not hungry," I lie. I'm always hungry, but I don't eat because I like to think I still have some control over my life. I like to think that they can't take that control away, and they can't.

(A/N you might've realised that I use the term 'they' a lot, when I do I'm referring to the bullies.)

"Here, have these," he says, pushing his fries over to me. I shake my head.

"No, they're yours, I'm really not that hungry," although I've used this lie lots of times it feels like it's less effective in Harry, like he can read me. But that's impossible nobody has ever been able to read me. I don't let them. I keep my emotions to myself and don't let anyone in, it's my way of living- i mean, surviving.

"Electra," he says sternly. I glance at him and see nothing but concern in his eyes once again. I give in and take a fry, placing it into my mouth. I indulged in the greasy goodness and savoured every bite. I didn't know when I was next going to eat something so I ate like it was my last meal. Not that you could call a couple of fries a meal, but to me it was like a 5 star 3 course. I swallowed the last of the fry, just as Harry restarted his line of questioning. I wasn't used to people being concerned about me. Apart from my mother, no one ever has been. Until now.

"When was the last time you ate?" He asked. I thought for a moment. I didn't eat yesterday... Or the day before.

"Tuesday," I said. It was like the truth and lies were coming together as one because I'm certain I didn't eat on Tuesday either. It was Friday today and I don't think I've eaten since Saturday. I've gone almost a week without eating, new record. But Harry had ruined that, I'm slightly grateful but not by much. He had taken control of the one thing I thought I had control of.

"Tuesday?" His eyes went wide, obviously in shock.

"Or Saturday, I'm not quite sure," I admit. I was slightly afraid of Harry at this moment in time. I took another fry and placed it in my mouth as a whole.

"That's almost a week!" He almost yelled. I nodded timidly and looked around. Nobody seemed to've noticed Harry's small outburst, thank god. "This is what they've done to you?" He whispered. It was a drastic change from his yelling a second before. I nodded again.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but I checked the time to see I had 5 minutes to get to class.

"I have to go," I murmured.

"I'll walk you," he offered. I shook my head and walked away. I heard footsteps behind me and looked back to see Harry. "It wasn't a question, I'm walking you." I mustered a fake smile and kept walking. Harry walked next to me.

Just as I reached my next class I saw Brittany stood at the door, talking to Jasmine. Harry tensed beside me, obviously spotting them too.

"Well, well, well," Brittany says, noticing us walking towards them. "What do we have here? Is Harry trying to play hero or something?" She pouted that mocking pout and laughed. To my surprise, Jasmine didn't laugh along. "Look, I know that you're trying to be nice Harry but honestly, she doesn't deserve your kindness, I mean look at her!" She laughs again. Nobody laughs with her.

"Just leave them be Britt," Jasmine spoke up. I was taken aback by her actually sticking up for me but said nothing, as usual.

"What?!" Brittany snapped, obviously caught off guard too.

"Just leave them alone, leave her alone," Jasmine retorted.

"What is wrong with people today? First Harry now you? What's the world coming to?" Brittany threw her hands into the air for effect and walked towards me. "This isn't over Scars," she said through gritted teeth. She nudged me with her shoulder and I almost fell, but Harry caught me.

"I'd love to stay with you but I need to get to class," he tells me. I nod and mumble an 'okay' before he walked away. I walked over to the building, almost forgetting Jasmine still stood there.

"I know we aren't friends and you probably hate me for being such a bitch to you in high school but I'm past that now, I'm just hoping you could possibly forgive me?" She says. I look to her and muster a small smile "I know it's going to take more than some shitty apology but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make it up to you, I'm really sorry Electra. I hope we can be friends again," I smile at the thought of being friends with Jasmine again. We were best friends until she became friends with Brittany.

Brittany turned everyone against me. Spreading lies that Jasmine believed. I don't know what made her have a change of heart but I'm happy that she did. I nod and walk inside the building. People are finally starting to take to me, it may have took 4 years of sadness and struggle but I finally have a friend in Harry and I'm working towards having a friendship with Jasmine again. We may not be as close as we once were but anything a better than nothing.

Thanks for reading!
Olivia 🙈