Dark Angel

Chapter 15

I can’t tell if I appreciate the stares I’m getting for my new look. I’m pretty sure everyone thinks I’m a new girl. Everyone is talking about me and just staring. The minute I’m about to round the corner to my locker is when Amanda walks up to me.

“Hi,” she says with a smile on her face.

“Um, hey, Amanda,” I say slowly. She hasn’t talked to me since Hunter’s party, so I figure that the fact that I’m emo now is enough to put me on her radar or something.

“How do you know my name?” she asks. Okay, I guess the other reason is that she doesn’t realize it’s me.

“You were flirting with my boyfriend at his party last week,” I point out. Amanda gets very confused for a second before the light bulb turns on over her head.

“You’re Hunter’s girlfriend?!”

“Yeah. That’s me.”

“Holy shit!”

I don’t stick around to talk much longer. Instead I continue rounding the corner and start to open my locker. I can see Allie and Jase making out just down the hall at Allie’s locker, and I’m not going to lie, I feel a little bit jealous. I want a boyfriend like Jase. Not Jase, really, just someone like him. I want Hunter to treat me the way Jase treats Allie. Then again, if Allie wants to trade with me, I’m not really going to object. I’m getting butterflies just from the thought of making out with Jase. Why, though? We’re just friends!

“God, what the hell, Devin? Emo girls are so stupid,” someone says from behind me. I turn around and it’s a guy who’s in my Geometry class. I flip him the bird and turn back to my locker.

“You looked so much hotter before,” someone else says as they walk past me.

“You’re such a poser. Not even close to an emo bitch,” a third person says.

I choose to ignore all of them and continue at my locker. I’m pulling my books out when I hear Lyss come up behind me.

“What happened to you?” she asks and tries to get a good look at me.

“Went emo. Wanna go explain that to Allie so she doesn’t have to ask like everyone else did?”

“Whoa,” Lyss breathes. I slam my locker shut and kick it really hard. It gets a white scuff mark from the toe bumper of my high tops. It also dents a little, but that’s only because it’s old. I’m not that strong.

“I didn’t believe Jase when he first told me,” Allie says. I didn’t even notice her and Jase walk up to me.

“Yeah, well, you believe it now.”

We all stand there awkwardly. I don’t feel like explaining why I’m emo now, and they know that enough not to ask. A few more negative remarks about my new look come my way. This is the opposite of what I expected to happen. I didn’t think it would give everyone even more reason to talk shit about me. I figured things would die down some.

“The stoner slut becomes an emo escort,” Hallie sneers. I turn to look her stupid blond self in the face and glare.

“Really? You’re so desperate to have a name for me that alliterates that you use a word for slut that nobody even realizes is a synonym for slut?” I retort. Hallie huffs a breath and looks at her stupid freshman cheerleader friends.

“I guess I’m just smart enough to know that. I am in the top ten of my class,” she points out. I still don’t get how she has such good grades, but hell, I’m not too bad on my rankings, either, so why not? I’ll just throw it right back.