Because of Him

3

a/n: above is a picture of Ashley Judd, who will be playing Emmie's character, Lauren's aunt :)

Chapter Three

The morning had been going very well.

I had a good nights' sleep; I actually looked presentable without makeup; I succesfully made a satisfying breakfast without burning the house down; I was actually in a good mood.

But, of course, when you're in a good mood, something always has to ruin it for you.

Unfortunately for me, that "something" was Kacey.

I walked into my second period -- the only period I had with Kacey -- and made my way towards an empty desk in the back of the room. There were already many people in class, including Kacey. She was extremely popular and well known to everybody at school, so everyone was surrounding her, trying to have a conversation with her.

I was trying not to make eye contact with her, thinking that maybe she would leave me alone somehow if I didn't look at her.

However, in order to get to my desk, I had to pass Kacey's. I tried to walk past her desk as fast as I could but, as soon as I was about to succesfully pass without her noticing me, she stuck her foot out. Of course it took me by surprise, but I managed not to fall. My books, however, fell from my grasp.

This obviously caught some attention. Everybody was snickering, including Kacey.

Biting my tongue, I bent down and picked up my books. I didn't understand why she felt the need to do this to me. We didn't have any bad history; I didn't even know her. So why was I her target?

Mentally sighing at the questions I would probably never get the answers to, I sat in my desk. I looked up to see if the teacher had gotten here yet, but as my eyes flickered to the door, I wasn't met with the face I was looking for.

Standing at the door was the guy who smiled at me yesterday.

What was he doing here? He wasn't even in this classroom..

My thoughts were soon pushed to the back of my mind when I noticed Kacey making her way over to me.

"So, how've you been, Lauren?" She voice sickly sweet, pretending to act like she actually cared.

I stared at her coldly. I could tell everyones eyes were on us because the class had suddenly turned silent.

She placed her hands on my desk and leaned onto her palms, her face slowly inches closer to mine. I stayed right where I was, staring back into her eyes. She squinted, as if she was studying me. "You know, now that I actually take a good look at you," she paused, and I could tell she wasn't going to say anything nice, "You're so much uglier close up."

Everyone burst out laughing as if she had told the joke of the year. Oh, yeah, because making fun of me in front of everyone is hilarious.

As much as I hated admitting it, her words hurt. They always had. But she just kept talking, pushing me even further.

"You're so pathetic," She scoffed, shaking her head. She took a step back and removed her hands from my desk. She crossed her arms over her chest, and looked down at me. "You can't defend yourself, you don't have any friends, no one likes you.. I wonder what else is wrong with you." She tapped her chin in pretend thought and then her eyes lit up. "What about your parents? Do they even love you?"