Changed For The Better

Photo

I woke up and the room was bright, we must have forgotten to close the curtains yesterday. Oops. I rolled over and looked at Ryan who was lying in his bed on his phone.

"How long have you been awake?" I asked, making him aware that I had woken up.

"Morning" he replied. "Not long. I haven't been up"

"What are you doing?"

"Looking through some photos from last night. You're not going to like this"

"What?"

"Well most of them are fine. Just pictures of people having fun and stuff but there's one that someone's posted...just come and have a look"

I groaned as I got out of bed. He could have just turned the phone around for me to look at or something. But no instead I have to get up and walk across the room, having just woken up. I sluggishly ambled across the room and flopped down onto Ryan's bed next to him.

He held the phone up for me to look at. For a moment I squinted at the brightness of the screen as it burned onto my fresh morning eyes. Once my eyes adjusted, I stared at the picture, and for a second felt like I was going to be sick.

It looked fine at first, but then I noticed in the background, somebody had taken a photo just as Harley tried to kiss me. Worse still for Harley, in the photo I was resisting. I can't believe someone caught that on camera, then had the guts to post it.

"Whose account is that on?" I asked.

"Quite a few people. I don't know who took the photo or posted it first, but people have been reposting it. Harley is getting a load of hate"

He flicked onto a different page where people had been reposting the photo. Ryan was right, Harley was getting a load of hate. I couldn't help but feel responsible. People were accusing him of forcing me, which I guess he did.

But they were overdramatising it, and some of the words they used...I don't know what I would do if I were in Harley's shoes. There's np way he can get rid of this photo now. It's everywhere! The weird thing is, and I don't want to sound selfish, but I'm not getting any hate. For once, nobody is hating on me.

I'm not thinking they like me though, I'm not falling into that trap again. They are just sticking up for the underdog and girls united and all that. Yeah there were a couple of boys doing it too, but seriously you can't argue with these girls on social media.

I opened my phone to see a bunch of notifications, messages from people at the party. They were asking if I was okay and if I wanted their help or support. I didn't bother replying, they are only asking so they can look like the hero and be involved in the drama. Harley should definitely be scared to go into school tomorrow. I know I would be if I were him.

"Ryan what are we going to do?"

"What can we do?"

"We have to do something!"

"Marie, what he did is there on the picture. What he did was wrong, why are you trying to stick up for him?"

"Because he's been going through so much at the moment and this isn't going to help him to get any better"

"But it shouldn't. He deserves to feel the consequences of what he did. It doesn't excuse him of anything. If he feels awful then he's only got himself to blame"

"You're only saying that because you don't like him"

"Oh and can you blame me?!"

"What would you do if it were me?"