Avoiding The Bad Boy

Part 39

Part 39

I was walking towards my favorite tree in the entire academy when I spotted Lauren sitting under a neighboring tree reading a book. My heart clenched when I saw her sitting all alone and wondered what it would be like to have no friends and to constantly be bullied about something you had no control over. Determination seeped in my bones, which had me going over to Lauren instead of my favorite tree.

"Hi Lauren," I greeted with a smile.

Lauren looked up at me and her eyes widened while her mouth formed an O. "Uh...hi...hi B—Bri."

"How are you?" I asked, fully intending to befriend this girl before the sun went down for the day.

"Me?" It was as if she couldn't believe that someone would be asking about her well-being. "I'm...I'm fine."

"Great! May I sit with you, if you don't mind?" I tried my best to appear friendly and not a creep who had a habit of constantly smiling at everyone.

"You...want to sit...with me? Are you sure about that?" Her eyebrows furrowed as if my question puzzled her.

I shrugged and nodded. "Yes. Why wouldn't I be sure?"

This time it was Lauren who shrugged. "In case Dash didn't tell you, people don't like me very much." She sighed. "I'm—I'm not like other girls, Bri, you shouldn't bother being friends with me."

Without waiting for her permission, I sat down beside her. "Well I don't care what other people think of you. I would like to hang out with you."

"Are you doing this because you feel sorry for me? Because if that's the case then I don't want your friendship," she stated, bitterness seeping in her tone.

Her words should've offended me but I understood where she was coming from. If I were in her place and some girl came to me offering her friendship, I would be skeptic as well. But I wasn't offering my friendship to Lauren out of pity, I genuinely wanted to be friends with her.

"No, it's not out of pity. Dash has told me a lot about you, Lauren and I really want us to be friends. I genuinely like you." I told her, making sure to soak my words with sincerity.

Lauren blinked a couple of times as if making sure I was real and not faking it. "You—you really want to be friends with me? Like for real?"

I nodded frantically, wanting her to believe me. "Yes. I'm not lying. I want you to come and hang out with Tracey and I."

A strange emotion clouded her eyes. "But Tracey doesn't know about me...about what I did or...my condition."

"She doesn't know anything now, but with time you can trust her and tell her everything if you want. And Lauren, what happened was an accident, it's not your fault," I replied.

"How can you say it's not my fault? I killed my best friend. I should be in jail but I'm afraid to stay there." She chuckled.

"No. What happened was an accident. Don't think like that," I argued.

'It's easier said than done. If people find out about me then nothing can stop me from going to jail," she said, looking forlorn.

"Well who's going to tell? Not me, that's for sure." No matter what happened I would keep her secret.

"Why are you being so nice to me? The last I remember was you freaking out over what happened," she enquired.

"Well, there are a couple of reasons. First of all, I had no idea what Dash was up to and I was angry with him for hiding all this from me. I knew what you did wasn't your fault. And call me selfish but the second reason I'm being so nice is because I need your help. There, I said it," I answered.