Innocent

Prologue

I like to claim that I don't cry, but unfortunately, I do. I also like to limit any crying for home or somewhere private, but I don't always have a choice. I was hurt, and no matter how mature I was meant to be, I was having a really bad day.

I had no idea.

In my defence, I was fourteen, and I had been subjected to regular doses of a hot emo. He might not have been my usual type, but after my last crush moved state - probably to get away from me - I had nowhere to turn. He was new, I thought. He won't know those rumours, so he's your best bet. I was not expecting what he did. He found me so repulsive - I still maintain that was the reason - that he didn't talk to me for the whole three days I bragged about him being my boyfriend. Sure, that doesn't seem too bad, but I wasn't finished. He left me for my best friend - who turned him down, but it still hurt. I was running through the open walkways of my school, trying to find a place to hide. I saw the alcove of my nerd-y friends, hoping that their senior bodies would shelter me against the pain. I walked up to the glass doors of the alcove, having to knock to tear their attention away from their laptops, books or handheld gaming consoles. My voice was shakey, tears still streaming from my face.

"Can I sit with you guys this recess?" I asked. I was answered - in unison - by nods and questions about why I was upset. I couldn't tell them the truth - they were seniors, with senior problems, and I was a junior who didn't know anything. I just told them some girl was picking on me and combined it with family drama. They all comforted me, saying I could stay there as long as I needed to. I smiled and sat next to Siobhan, who I had been introduced to on my first day of high school. To my left sat Benjamin Bower, an on-and-off crush of mine and a hardcore gamer. His blue eyes looked up from the device in his hands, steadying my heartbeat but also making it jump uncontrollably at the same time.

"Are you going to be okay, Harley?" he asked me, moving his warm hands to cover mine. At the time, I wasn't particularly attracted to Benjamin, but staring into those clear, crystalline eyes seemed to ignite something deep inside me. Our faces were rather close, easily within kissing distance. Siobhan coughed, and the mood was shattered. I turned and smiled at her, assuring her that I was fine, and everything was going to be fine from then onwards.

That was last year. A lot has happened since then, but those few seconds in the alcove still infest my mind. A lot might have happened, but not much of it was pleasant.