Not So Bad After All

# 5

(Picture is Ryder)

The bells finally rang indicating lunch was over and it was time to move to the next to last class for the day. Ruby, Anastasia, and Peyton made their way back to their lockers, grabbing their required textbooks. "Gotta run, see you guys after school!" Anastasia shouted, running off to her next class. "I'll see you later, Ruby, I'll be late if I don't go now." Peyton said, jogging off to her class. Ruby sighed, shutting her locker and making her way to her next class, the opposite direction that her friend's went. A sudden shove and she was sent sprawling onto the ground, her textbook sliding out of her grasp. "You think you're all high and mighty, don't ya?" A voice growled from behind her, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her up. She saw the three guys that Ryder was with. She mustered up her courage before replying, "N-No, I don't. That was just where-" Ruby didn't even get to finish her sentence before she was slammed back onto the ground. "Yeah? Well news flash, NOBODY CARES." Another snapped, kicking her in the stomach, making her cough up a little blood. "Come on, she isn't even worth it." The third guy said, scowling at Ruby as she tried to get up. The three unknown friends of Ryder walked off, leaving Ruby alone to gather her things and limp to the bathroom. She cleaned herself up before heading to her last class. "Ms. Jones, would you care to explain why you were late?" Ruby sighed before coming up with an excuse. 'Can my day get any worse?'

'I should have just kept my mouth shut...' Ruby groaned inside her head, entering the study hall that was used after school for detention. And guess who is sitting at the very back. Yep, Ryder King, the source of all of today's problems. She went to the desk at the very front of the room, glancing at the teacher who was supposed to be watching them, who instead had his full attention on the newspaper he grasped in his hands. She rolled her eyes before taking a seat, quickly taking her phone out and texting her friends that she wouldn't be able to see them later and that she would text them later tonight. She put her phone away and grabbed a random sheet of paper and pencil that was sitting on another desk, beginning to draw a little. "You are the last person I would expect to see here, princess." Ruby tried to ignore him, but when he jabbed the spot one of his henchman's hit on her back, she couldn't help but give a small hiss of pain and she turned to glare at his smirking face. "What do you want, Ryder?" She spat, glaring hard at him. He only smirked, taking a seat right behind her and resting his chin in the palm of his hand. "Just curious as to why you're here. No need to be so uptight, princess." He replied. Ruby gnawed at her lip for a second before replying. "I'm here because of you, since you distracted me when I was going to class, you made me late." She paused a second before adding, "And the reason why I'm so uptight is because you sent your little friends to beat me up." She replied, venom lacing her tone. His smirk disappeared and he furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?" He asked, removing his chin from the palm of his hand and sitting up straight. "As if you don't know." Ruby snapped, facing back to her desk and focusing on her doodling. He remained silent for the rest of detention.

The teacher stood as he announced, "Alright everyone, detention is over! Go home." Ruby quickly stood, grabbing her things and rushing out. 'Mom is going to be so worried...' She thought, causing her to speed up. She sprinted all the way to her house, out of breath and exhausted once she reached her doorstep. Once she entered she was bombarded with a series of questions. "Where were you? What took you so long? What happened? Are you okay?" Her mom asked in one breath, grabbing her daughter by the shoulders and scanning her body with worried eyes. "I got distracted and was late to class, so they sent me to detention. Yes mom, I'm okay." Ruby replied, lowering her gaze. Her mom wrapped her into a tight hug, causing Ruby to tense up and do everything within her power not to hiss out in pain. "I'm just glad you're okay... I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you, too." Her mom said, whispering the last part. Ruby heard though, and returned her mom's hug. "Now go get washed up and get ready for dinner." Her mom said, releasing her from the hug and patting her on the head with a soft smile. Ruby returned the smile before making her way upstairs. As she stripped, she could see bruises start to form where Ryder's group had hit her. She sighed before getting into the shower. 'I want nothing more than to forget this day...'

After she was done getting cleaned up and having dinner with her mom, she grabbed her phone to check her messages. She selected Peyton's contact first.

PeytonBear2534: Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. Be safe and make sure you text me when you get home.

Ruby smiled before sending her a quick reply telling her that everything was okay. Next was Anastasia.

AnimeGirlie143: What happened? Is everything okay?

AnimeGirlie143: Little worried about your text, text me ASAP.

AnimeGirlie143: Oh geez, I hope you weren't murdered.

Ruby giggled before responding to her text messages. Last, but not least. Leo.

LeoTheLion01: Hey babe, wanted to check in and see if you were okay.

LovelyRuby149: I'm fine, just had a rough day. But it's better now that I can talk to you. How are you feeling?

LeoTheLion01: A little bit better. Sorry to hear that, want to tell me what's going on?

Ruby contemplated before responding.

LovelyRuby149: No, it's fine, just a few bumps in the road. I'm going to bed, I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully. And since tomorrow is Friday, I was thinking we could do something this weekend.

LeoTheLion01: I'm not sure, babe, I've got a lot of things I have to do this weekend. But I will definitely see you tomorrow. Sleep well and I love you <3

LovelyRuby149: Okay, same to you and I love you too <3

Ruby put her phone away before curling up in her bed. She closed her eyes, hoping tomorrow will be a better day.