I sit down next to Sierra and plop my lunch tray down on the table. "Hey Stephanie, how ya doing?" Cameron asks.
Sierra pokes his nose. "How do you think she's doing, dippy? After you shared that link last night? No one slept well, right Steph?"
I nod. "That was... unsettling. I'd rather have waited till first period this morning to find out about it."
He shrugs. "Better early than never."
I give Sierra a confused look and she just punches him. "You don't make sense," she says.
"Yeah, I do!" He protests with a mouthful of food, "I make plenty of cents! Because I'm old enough to work."
Grace pinches her nose. "I'll say you make plenty of scents. I can't stand to be around you for too long."
We all burst into laughter, which feels good after all the sadness that's been lurking around.
***
"Ah, there's the dork we need to see," Grace smirks as we walk towards Ryan. Sierra trips him and makes him drop a few papers he was holding. "Oopsie, my bad," she smiles.
He picks up his papers and turns to face us, not making eye contact. "What do you want?" He asks, taking us by surprise. He rarely ever speaks to us.
"Are you an emo now?" I ask, referring to his black clothes.
"Does it matter?" He sighs.
"Aw, what's wrong? Got a low grade on your math test?" Cameron says, taking the paper from his hand.
Ryan just turns and starts walking away from us. Grace follows him and pushes him against the nearest locker. "You think we're done with you?"
Brian and Tiana appear from around the corner. Tiana whispers something to Brian, and he helps Grace with the struggling sophomore. "Let me go!" Ryan shouts.
"What's with you today?" Sierra asks. "You usually just stay silent and then go on your way. Are you really an emo now?"
Ryan stares her directly in the eyes. "You all make me sick. You pretend to be good in class, but this is what you do when no one can see."
I roll my eyes. "As if that matters. It's not like we care about what you think."
His eyes make contact with mine and I can see the daring fire inside of him. "You call yourself Emily's best friend, but it was you who made her cry yesterday. You pretend she's your friend but then you don't act like it. You'd rather be popular than consider-"
I punch him hard in the face, right under his eye. "You don't know my life, okay? Who do you think you are, Ryan Marshall?!" I yell at him.
He goes back to being silent, and the fire in his eyes fades to nothing.
I spin on my heel and walk away.
Once I turn the corner, I see Emily with her arms crossed. "Really, Steph?"
I realize that she just heard and probably saw everything.
"I-I didn't, uh, think about.."
"Stephanie, you hurt one of my friends. You know I hate when my friends fight, but this is way too far. I'm telling Mr. Seate to cancel the concert, and I don't want to see you hurting any of my friends again. Do I make myself clear?" Even though she's shorter than me, I feel as though she's looking down on me.
"I-I'm sorry," I stutter.
"Yeah, I don't care. You're not my friend anymore, and you will never be." She brushes past me and a shiver runs down my spine.
I notice a small paper on the ground, and out of curiosity, I pick it up. I glance at the note, realizing that it's a poem.
"Hey Steph, you alright?" Sierra asks. I pocket the paper and turn to face her. "Yeah, I'm fine," I fake a smile.
"Okay. Want a ride? It's raining outside. I know it's not that far-"
"But we don't want to let you freeze to death," Cameron interrupts.
"She's not gonna die!" Sierra punches him playfully.
***
"Do you want to hang out?" Sierra asks as we pull out of the school parking lot.
"I would, but my parents are gone and I have to babysit my little brother," I sigh. Cameron winces. "Little siblings are the worst."
"Say that again and I'll hurt you," Sierra glares at him.
"No, no! I didn't mean you, I meant the little tiny ones who can't even speak right. You can never tell what they want and they always scream until they get it." Cameron glances at Sierra.
"Yeah, okay I have to agree with that." She smiles.
***
I walk into my room and set my backpack down by my bed. I don't even bother with homework, I just plop down on my bed and scream into my pillow. It feels good to let out my emotions when no one can hear.
I take the small paper out of my pocket and begin to read it. While I read the poem, my blood starts to rush and my head starts to spin. The words on the paper are so full of meaning, but it scares me.
My heart pounds as I look over the note once again, realizing that it isn't just a poem.
.
.
.
It's far worse than that.
YOU ARE READING
Shatter My Heart
Teen Fiction~ Discontinued ~ "Silver Lake High is responsible for more than a dozen missing teens, most of which are victims of suicide, believed to have been caused by bullying..." but Xander Hopkins was no suicide victim. Niether was Allison Packer, Caleb Col...
