Burning Bridges ✷ Gale Weathers

02. TEENAGE DIRTBAG

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The halls were crowded with students either rushing to get to class or fooling around by their lockers, leaving sixteen year old Harriet to get caught in the stampede.

She stuffed her hands into the pockets of her hoodie—well, her father's hoodie—and tried to maneuver through the ocean of people. No one usually paid attention to her except for a certain someone, and she desperately wanted to get to first period before she got pummeled with insults and giggles.

She was just inches away from her classroom when a figure stepped in front of her, preventing her from walking any further. Harriet didn't even need to look up to know who it was, but she raised her head anyway.

She was instantly met with the icy blue gaze of Gale Weathers, number one popular girl and prom queen. Two minions stood on either side of her, nowhere near as beautiful as Gale but just as intimidating.

"Aw, is that your boyfriend's hoodie?" Gale smirked, planting a hand on her hip. Harriet couldn't help but acknowledge the faint bruise on the girl's cheek, directly beneath her eye. It was clear she had tried to cover it up with make-up, but you could still see the grey-ish tint.

Harriet felt contrite for a split second before quickly brushing the feeling away. This girl had been nothing but cruel to her ever since the first day of freshman year. She didn't deserve her pity.

"Wait," Gale snapped her fingers before Harriet could respond. "I forgot. It can't be your boyfriend's hoodie, because you're not into guys."

Her voice was loud. Too loud. So loud that everyone in the hallway turned their heads to listen to the gossip.

Harriet's face felt hot with anger and embarrassment. How did she know she liked girls? She hadn't told anyone and she only wrote it down in—

Her notebook. Gale must've found it somehow and flipped through it, finding Harriet's crush's name scribbled all over a few pages. And the crush was definitely a girl.

"W-What?" Was all she could sputter, all the eyes on her making her feel lightheaded.

"That's right, I know the truth." Gale smiled proudly. "All this time I thought you were just a weirdo. And you are, but you're a lesbian, too!"

Snickers and giggles erupted all around her, turning her legs to mush. She felt about as strong as a piece of paper, ready to crumble at any moment.

"She's so fucking weird," one of Gale's minions murmured, snickering behind her hand.

"I know, right?" The other one countered. "Imagine being a girl and liking other girls. Sounds like a mental illness."

Harriet couldn't take it anymore. She flew from the halls and into the girls' bathroom, finding an empty stall and locking herself inside.

Her breathing came out in ragged gasps. She fell back onto the toilet and pulled her knees up to her chest, silent tears running down her face.

She hadn't wanted anyone to find out her secret. Liking girls was wrong, or at least that's what everyone had told her. It was a sin and she'd go to hell. The priest of her church made sure she knew that.

So she kept it to herself. No one was supposed to know. But now everyone knew, all because Gale thought it would be funny to humiliate her in front of the entire school.

Gale Weathers was a snake. The devil disguised as an angel. A person you shouldn't cross if you didn't want your life to be completely ruined.

And Harriet's was. Her life was ruined, or at least the life she had at school. There was no hiding anymore, no more blending in with the shadows. Everyone now knew her as the weirdo who was attracted to girls instead of boys.