Monochrome beat (boyxboy)✔

Beat 26

Orlando's POV

It was happening again.

New place, new people... and the same old story.

Moving to Rittertown hadn't been one of those spur-of-the moment decision people who sought and thrived on adventure liked making. We hadn't moved for the fun of it. It wasn't something we mulled over either. My dad had suggested moving to Rittertown as an escape.

We packed our bags and moved to a town my mom didn't even like; that should tell you we were desperate enough. We had no plans, we just needed to leave. It felt like we were a family who'd witnessed a crime and had been forced to join the witness protection program. We weren't like that though, we were just a family who found out oxygen was only reserved for people the town didn't consider murderers.

Living in a tight-knit community had its advantages and disadvantages. The community members supported each other and protected each other from the evils of the world. You considered yourself lucky to have such a big family, until the day they decided the evil was you. Then you found yourself ostracized with nowhere to go.

Rittertown was supposed to be a fresh start. It was supposed to be an escape, just like dad had planned. It was for a while, but I guess that wore off pretty quickly.

When I walked into the school building on that Monday morning, I'd had one thing on my mind. That one thing had to do with why I hadn't arrived at school on the time that I usually did. I had lied to Jax. We didn't have any problems with the car. Mom had finally managed to make progress with the private school. They'd invited me to an interview that morning.

I was nonchalant throughout the interview, hoping it would be clear for them that I didn't want to be there. The big beautiful modernly-decorated building didn't impress me. Neither did their vast sports facilities and clubs.

I didn't plan on telling Jax about the interview. There was no need to distress him when nothing was going to come out of it.

I hadn't expected to be confronted by another hurdle when I entered Johan Gilbert high. I was looking forward to seeing Jax and Amy. The stares and the hushed whispers around me as I walked through the corridors told me something had happened. When I saw Jax looking healthy and fine, I decided whatever it was didn't matter. I'd been mostly worried about him being hurt, thinking the stares were related to him. It wasn't a secret we were friends.

Finding out that someone had done some research and exposed the school to the lies written about me was definitely shocking. I was surprised anyone would go to such great lengths and curious what they hoped to gain from it. Knowing their identity would maybe give me some answers, but I wasn't interested. I'd had people I considered friends write cruel things about me. Just like I didn't entertain those, I wasn't about to entertain people who couldn't say things to my face.

The hushed whispers and the stares told me some of the students believed what they had read. It stung, but not long enough. I hadn't lied to Jax. My skin was thicker. Sometimes when you see the same thing over and over again, you become immune to it. Immunity doesn't mean it doesn't affect you, just means you deal with it a lot faster than before.

Anyway, if my mother had her way, the animosity at the school didn't matter.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Jax said next to me, cutting into my thoughts.

I watched as he got off his chair and walked away. We were at the cafeteria during lunch. It was two days after the article incident. The stares and the whispering hadn't gone away, not that I expected it to so quickly.