Forget 1/2 (On Hold)

Chapter 2

"Ryder, it's okay. You don't have to stick up for me." I tried calming my friend down. He already hated Damien Hannover.

"He shouldn't be allowed to talk to you that way." Yeah well, I'm used to it.

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Our bus had arrived in the school parking lot (you didn't have to look through the window- you could tell by the students standing abruptly despite the vehicles movement) and I did not want to be here.

I searched for familiar faces in the ocean of bodies that was flooding into the building. There were maybe two I wanted to see and it used to be three but, I guess that's okay.

Rolling up my earbuds, I felt a pang of guilt for what had happened to that third person I used to look for in the crowd.

Walking down the bus aisle I was tripped by Tallara.

God.

Cliche high school moment.

"Watch your step rag doll." I couldn't think of a dumber insult. Rag doll?

Tallara started calling me that when she got together with Damien. She said that I used to be something important and loved. Now? I'm forgotten. Like an old rag doll.

I personally don't mind the name calling, I just embrace it when I'm sad.

Looking up, I realized Damien never had any emotion when other people made fun of me. Like he wasn't even there.

Why did I always look at Damien when bad things happened to me?

I held on to the nearest bus seat to maneuver myself away from the level of shame I managed to end up in on a daily basis.

At the bottom of the bus steps waiting for me were my best and only friends- Annabel and Kallee. I missed those losers. I was enveloped in a group hug for tradition.

Rule #1 of the AKA Friendship-

Group Hugs are required for any hello and goodbye moments.

"Eeeeeeep! I've missed you both so much!" Annabel was EXTREMELY hyper and loud despite popular opinion.

"Me too. It's good to have everyone together again." Kallee there, she was the mellow one of us three.

"This year is going to be great. Us against the world." And that's me. The one who tries to say the right thing and it never happens.

That's why Annabel and Kallee were my best friends. They didn't care.

And so, we walked. You know the way that girls walk into their Senior year of high school in the Cliche movies? Yeah. That's the way that we did.

We all put our arms around each other and made small talk on our way inside the building. It felt like our fourth freshman year. Sure, we're getting older and we get the hang of things and there's new teachers and harder curriculum.

But,

everything was mostly on repeat.

The same people (new kids easily fit in), same grudges, same type of studying (no studying) .. gossiping. All of that.

Except this was going to be the first year with Tallara and Damien, my two favorite people.