Atelophobia [Raphael x Reader]

Chapter Nine

I'm gonna go ahead and apologize now if Casey is ooc
•~•

The walk to school was absolutely dreadful the next morning. (Y/N) had become quite accustomed to Raphael walking her home over the weekend, and now that she was all alone, she felt uncomfortable.

She hoped that when she got to school, people wouldn't be able to tell where she'd spent the night. Gabe said himself that she smelled like a sewer. She wasn't sure if it was just him being a jerk or if she actually did smell.

(Y/N) assumed it was the latter.

She climbed up the steps to the school and braced herself for the day to come. The hurtful words, the nasty glares, and the worst part - in her opinion, anyway - lunch alone.

She hoped April would find her. (Y/N) was too afraid to approach her herself, even though Raphael told her multiple times before she left that April was a nice girl and that she had nothing to worry about. She just didn't want to bother April.

She really didn't want to bother April.

Then again, she would feel bad for making the guys go through all the trouble of getting in touch with April. And she really did need help.

(Y/N) walked past the jocks standing in a circle with her head down. She managed to sneak past the popular drama kids.

Her locker was clear. All she had to do was grab her textbook and go. When she got there, (Y/N) put in the combination and then took out the old, heavy book. She held it tightly in her arms as she shut the locker.

(Y/N) was almost to her English class when the head cheerleader stepped in front of her. Of course, her fateful friends were right behind her.

(Y/N) didn't want any trouble, so she lowered her head. "Excuse me, please."

"Excuse me, please." Chanel mimicked.

Chanel Oberlin was an absolutely wretched girl. (Y/N) didn't like her at all. She was always trying to find ways to make (Y/N)'s day miserable or make her self esteem drop even lower than what it already was.

And it wasn't just (Y/N) she mistreated. She didn't even bother to learn her friends names. She liked to call them her minions. When Chanel wasn't calling them her minions, it was Chanel #2, or Chanel #3.

Not even (Y/N) knew their real names, she was sure no one did.

"C'mon, (Y/N) what're you doing here? You know you don't belong."

"I-I just need to get to class." (Y/N) tried to maneuver around them "Please-"

Chanel #2 blocked her path while Chanel laughed.

"Just go home." She pushed (Y/N) slightly.

The other Chanels stared down at her. (Y/N) could almost feel the judgement from the girls. She was trying her best not to let the tears fall.

"Can I just go to my class?"

Chanel crossed her arms, showing off her perfectly manicured, pale pink nails. "Hm, it's sad really. Don't you think? You're such a waste, (Y/N). You shouldn't even bother."

Just when the first tear fell, someone stepped beside her. (Y/N) didn't glance up at the person next to her, she didn't want to let anyone know how badly it hurt.

"Guys, just back off, okay?"

Chanel scoffed and seemed like she was about to retaliate. Instead, she only snapped her fingers. The sound of heels tapping on the ground told (Y/N) they were retreating.

"Hey, you okay?"

(Y/N) nodded, still looking at the ground.

"You sure? I know how mean they could be." He said.

She glanced up at the boy. She hadn't seen him around before. His sea green eyes were staring down at her in concern, worry almost.

"I'm okay." She said quietly.

"Good. I'm Percy, by the way."

"(Y/N)." It was barely audible.

"I'll see you around." With that, Percy jogged off down the hall, probably to get to his next class.

(Y/N) stood there for a moment before she went into her class, just thinking about how he stood up for her. No one had ever tried to help her before.

The action made her feel a little bit better. It calmed her down a bit.

•~•

Lunch slowly crept up on (Y/N), and she had yet to talk to April. She'd seen her multiple times in the halls, but never really got up the nerve to speak to her.

Now, she was sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, all alone. It felt like everyone was staring at her; judging her for sitting alone. No one even gave her a second glance.

She hoped maybe Percy would find her and sit with her, but he never did. It was a long shot anyway, she probably already scared him off.

(Y/N) spotted April walking across the cafeteria, talking to a boy. She watched them quietly to see if they were possibly looking for her.

Soon, April looked at her. (Y/N) quickly looked down at her tray. She didn't want them to come over anymore. She didn't want to screw anything up.

She quietly pleaded that they weren't coming her way. Just when she got the courage to look up, a tray was placed on the table across from her. April sat down and smiled, the boy right next to her.

"Hi." April sighed. "Sorry it took so long. Casey, here, didn't know what to eat."

"It's a hard choice!" He protested. "Nothing in there looked edible, anyway."

(Y/N) poked at the sandwich on her tray with her plastic fork. Casey wasn't wrong.

"Anyway, you're (Y/N), right?"

She nodded.

"And you know the guys?"

(Y/N) felt like she had to clarify. "Raphael an-"

"Yeah!" She seemed relieved. "We got the wrong person last time."

(Y/N) didn't really know what to say, so she just looked down.

"Anyway I'm April O'Neil. This is Casey." She motioned to her friend.

He winked at (Y/N) when she looked at him. She only looked away.

She wanted more than anything to just run away. Chanel's request of (Y/N) going home seemed more and more appealing as time ticked by. The silence between the three of them made her feel panicked. They were waiting for her to say something, she just didn't know what.

She pulled on the edge of her sleeves as she prayed for the bell to ring. She wanted to go to class.

(Y/N) got a familiar uneasy feeling. She saw April talking, she just didn't hear anything. It felt like everyone was staring at her.  She couldn't take it.

(Y/N) stood. "I'm sorry. I have to g-go."

As she walked away, she held back tears. She screwed it up. She messed everything up.

Again.