concealer // a.i.

1 // lonely.

the hope was fading from ashton's mind as school came closer into view. he hated school; he was an obvious outcast. he wasn't picked on, anymore, but ignored, and loneliness was painful, because it never ended.

he watched as his peers rushed into school without any hesitation, because they were constantly together with someone. he walked to school, without any rush, alone.

in class, he was ignored. when group work was assigned, he worked alone. nobody wanted to be in a group with ashton irwin, the outcast.

when lunch came, ashton didn't eat. he didn't eat because to eat, he had to sit down. and all the sitting spaces were taken up by people he didn't know.

the library was his safe haven. it was the only place he could truly be himself. and if the library let him, he was sure he would've eaten his lunch there, every day.

there was a special place where he'd sit. it was the corner of the library, where no one ever touched it. he liked that. he'd sit there for hours, hiding, not going to classes, just reading any book he could find. there were tons.

today, there was someone there. when ashton reached the corner, a girl with brown hair and caramel eyes was sitting, tracing her arm with her fingers. even from where ashton was standing, he could see scars, evident and sore. he stepped forward, so as to approach her carefully, but a book jutting out of the shelf next to him struck his shoulder, and hit the wooden floor with a loud slam.

the girl looked up, startled. she pulled down her sleeve and stood up abruptly. he recognised her. she was farrah, the most popular girl in his year.

ashton stepped forward a little more. "are you okay?" he asked, his voice a hushed whisper. farrah didn't say anything. she simply barged past him, stepping over the fallen book and slamming the library door behind her as she left.

ashton glanced behind him, slightly surprised. he'd spoken to farrah. somehow, her gentle expression as she traced the scars on her arms caught him off guard. but of course she didn't want to talk to him.

he was ashton irwin, the outcast.