"And that concludes our conversation on the mechanics of the atomic bomb," Mr. Brown concludes. I gather my heavy books and begin to leave the science lab. "Hey, Han," Josh approaches me. "What's up?" He has a playful grin on his face. I love his smile; it's a little lopsided, in a cute way. "So," he begins, "would you allow me the honor of walking you to class?" He kneels down and extends a hand. We've been best friends for quite a while now. He doesn't know it, but I kind of have a crush on him. "Could 'walking me to class' qualify as carrying my books?" I ask him, smiling hopefully. "Oh, yeah. Sorry! Let me get those for you." I plop my books into his hands and we walk to my locker. Once we arrive, I thank him, and he heads off toward his locker. I begin putting my books away when all of a sudden, I have the sensation that I'm being watched. I turn around slowly, and find three pairs of perfect eyes watching me from across the hall. Bella Johnson. She struts forward, her two minions right behind her. "I thought I smelled trash," she giggles. Bella is five foot seven, has ridiculously long legs, and she weighs only 110 pounds. Her dad is the CEO of some huge company, so he is literally a billionaire, while her mom sits around all day on the family's private yacht. Bella even has her own personal stylist. "Oh hey, Bella. I thought the room just got colder." "Shut up, dork. So, let's discuss why I'm really here. I saw you flirting with my boyfriend, Joshie, earlier. I know you think he likes you, but he really doesn't. Sorry," she pouts and I cringe. Josh's dating Bella is a really sore subject for me. "Listen: You need to stay away. Got it?" She says this through her teeth to make a point. "He's not your property. I can't control what he does. You know, I think he just wants to get away from you and be with his actual friends. I sure can understand why he can't stand you. Yeah, he just rants about how he wishes he could end his relationship. It's kind of sad, really, how desperate he is for someone—anyone but you. Well, I guess I'll see you later!" Bella's face falls from an arrogant smirk, to a frown, to an expression of pure anger. "YOU LIAR!!!" She screams. "YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS BECAUSE HE LOVES ME AND HE'LL NEVER. LOVE. YOU." It feels like I've been punched in the gut, but I keep my composure and try to smirk. It hurts so bad, and I just want to run away, but I stay. Thankfully, she looks like an idiot screaming her head off like that, hair in her face, eyes wild—just what I was going for. She smooths her hair down, and realizes how stupid she looks. It's my turn to talk now. "Sorry to break that news to you, but someone had to. I just don't want Josh to suffer any more than he already has with someone as awful as you." Bella then looks at me with such intense hate, I think every flammable object in existence ignites. Suddenly, something catches her eye and a switch flips. She sits on the ground and starts crying dramatically just as Josh bursts through the crowd. "Bella! What's wrong? What happened?" Bella sits up and sniffles. "I-I really don't know! Hannah shoved me against a locker and just insulted me, sh-she started yelling at me telling me to stay away from you. I-I thought we were friends, Hannah," she looks at me like I betrayed her, "but I guess I was wrong." She bursts into tears. I have no idea what to do, so I just stand there. "Hannah? Is this true?" I just shake my head and look down at the floor. "Hannah. Look at me. Is this true?" My voice comes out in a barely audible whisper. "No." Josh looks from Bella to me and puts his hand on his forehead. "I really don't know who to believe." A long pause occurs. Bella breaks the silence. "Josh,"-sniffle-"I don't think we should be together anymore," I stare at Bella, surprised. "If Hannah doesn't want us to be together this much," her voice cracks "then I don't think it's a good idea to be together," she pauses to let it all sink in,"I don't want to ruin your friendship, which is obviously really important to you,"-sniffle-"I-I'm so sorry!" She collapses to the ground. Josh stares at me, "Hannah," the look of pain in his eyes is too much for me to bear. "Why?" I just stare at the ground. "She's lying," I choke. "Hannah," Josh is still looking at me. I raise my head, and I see how hurt he is by this. "Please don't try to blame this on Bella. I'm already disappointed in you enough. I really-" I cut him off, "No. You don't understand. She's lying!" He shakes his head. I can see he's angry now. "Hannah, stop. You've already hurt us enough. You ruined my relationship. Does that make you happy? Huh? I love her Hannah, but you just can't seem to get that, can you." Bella still lies on the ground, her head in her hands. "I don't even understand why you're trying to pin this on Bella! This is your fault." I interrupt again,"She's lying! I didn't do anything! She came up and-" "HANNAH!!! Stop! You know I really hate you right now! Could you stop trying to make yourself look like the victim for once and accept what you did?" I'm desperately clinging to the truth, praying he'll believe me. "But Josh, I-" "Save it. You ruined my life enough. I'm sick of you. You never stop lying, do you? I hope you die someday. Painfully too." I start crying. "Stop it Josh!" "You're dead to me." And that's when I burst through the crowd of students around me and run. I run away from everything.
