Demi Lovato Imagines

Truth will out

TW - bullying

One, two, three--

Louise's hands hit against your shoulders, pushing you painfully into the lockers behind you again.

One, two, th-

And again.

One, two, three, four, five-

And again. Her eyes still haven't lost the sharp glint in them that tells you not to get your hopes up just yet.

Breathe. Start again - one, two, three, fou--

A kick, this time. To the shin. You can't stop the small yelp from coming out as you buckle down to the sticky linoleum floor. But you immediately know your mistake. Last time she played this move, she planted her knee in your face and you had to stay off school for the next two days with a concussion. You can't let that happen this time. Mom's going to be at home - for once - and she'll definitely ask questions.

You begin to count in your head again, waiting for the searing pain to burst across your head. By the time you count to ten, you realise it's not going to come. Looking up, all you can see is Molly's firm grip on Louise's shoulder, warning her not to go any further. Louise looks pissed - but I mean, when doesn't she? - and she reluctantly takes a step back before disappearing down the hallway with her flurry of sidekicks.

"You okay?" Molly asks, holding her hand out to you. You don't take it, keeping your eyes to the ground as you stand and brush yourself off.

"M'fine."

"Y/n, you don't need to pretend th-"

"I said I'm fine," you repeat, still rubbing your hands across your jeans, looking for some kind of physical distraction. Your palms start to burn. It feels good. Molly falls silent but you know she's watching you, waiting for you to finally admit that you're not fine at all. Ain't going to happen, you scoff to yourself, not now. Not this weekend, of all weekends.

"Okay...if you're sure," she sighs, glancing over her shoulder at Amy and Sam who have now congregated around your locker, "Uh, still on for tonight?"

"Yeah. Yeah, of course," you nod, picking up your bag and zipping it up.

"Cool," she smiles, waving everything behind her like she knows you want her to do.

"I've got Lit," you say, only meeting each of their eyes for split seconds before darting away.

"Right. See you at lunch then," Sam says as you turn and walk away in the same direction as Louise. You know they're all worried about what Louise might do in your literature class. You've never let on how that bitch doesn't seem to care that a teacher is in the room, watching her torment you from the back of class. They don't push you too far though. You're grateful for that.

You don't deserve friends as good as them.

***

"So..." Amy says as she swallows a huge bite of her sandwich, "...what're we gonna do tonight then?"

All three of them look at you from across the canteen table as you pick at what you grabbed from the salad bar.

"Um...I don't know, we could watch a movie or something? My mom'll probably not want us to do anything crazy. She'll be tired and all."

"Yeah, of course," Amy nods, taking another bite.

"Have you spoken to her about...you know...?" Molly trails off.

"No. I haven't. But I'm not expecting her to care so it's fine," you reply, stabbing your fork into a lettuce leaf repeatedly.

She's talking about the bullying, of course. Molly always is. You can tell she's really anxious about you - but you don't have it in you to open up and tell her just how much it's really affecting you. It's not for Molly to worry about. These kinds of things...that's for you to speak to your mom about, not your best friend at school.