Always Be Here

Chap. 1

I hated school. Coming here every morning just seemed to put me in a horrible mood. I ran my crooked fingers through my long brown hair and fixed my back pack strap as I trudged through leaves in the school's football field I had cut through to get to the building quicker. I could feel the cold wind slicing through my blue jean skinny jeans and my black hoodie, making me shiver. I saw kids and teachers scattered around the school, trying to get out of the cold. It was the middle of September, and the summer had finally gone, taking the smoldering heat with it. I hated the heat, but I loved the time away from school. Good thing I was finally a senior. I would be away from all of this soon. As I got closer to the building, I saw the three people I hated the most. Tori, Dinah and Demi. Fuck. They made sure they made my days in school a living hell. They have since I moved here to Nashville during 9th grade school year. I huffed as I readied myself to be antagonized by the three bigger girls. They were huddled up in a circle, snickering quietly. Dinah looked up at me and tapped the two other girls.

"Hey Lauren." Demi said with a smirk.

She was definitely the little ring leader of the bunch. I rolled my eyes and stuffed my hands into my jean pockets. I made my way around them only to be snatched back my my back pack, causing me to fall to the ground. I looked up and they were all standing above me, a position I'd found myself in plenty of times over the course of 3 years.

"What the f-fuck do you guys want?" I said angrily. This only caused them to laugh.

"F-fuck do you guys want? Face ass." Dinah said, causing the other two to laugh. I rolled my eyes then felt a foot connect with my chin, causing me to yell out in pain. I felt my ribs being kicked and my hair being pulled, wondering why the hell this was all happening to me.

"HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE!" I heard a light but dominant voice yell out. The attack stopped but the girls began to laugh.

"Who the fuck are you?" Tori asked the girl. I sat up and saw one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen in my life. Her beautiful dark skin was shining in the morning sun, her long, black, curly hair glistening and her dark brown eyes exhibiting nothing but kindness when she looked at me, but rage when she looked at the 3 bullies.

"That doesn't matter. Now leave her alone and go to class." She said, her voice much calmer this time. They chuckled and stepped closer to the woman, trying to intimidate her, but failing from the look on her serene face.

"Or what? You gonna tell on us? We're sooo scared we're shakin' in our big girl panties!"  Demi said mockingly. The woman smiled at Demi, revealing a set of perfectly straight and white teeth.

"Just go. Trust me, its your best bet." She said. Demi looked back at her girls, giving them a head nod, then swung her fist at the woman. She dodged it and grabbed her arm, cracking it to Demi's back. The girl screamed and her friends backed up a little bit, frightened.

"Go to class." The woman said again, throwing Demi to the ground. Demi quickly got up holding her arm, running to the building, her sidekicks close behind her. I watched them run in the school then turned to find the woman right in front of me. I jumped a little, scared at how quickly she had made her way toward me. She extended her hand and I took it, getting up off the cold ground. She looked me in my eyes and a smile tugged at her plump, dark pink lips.

"Th- thank you m-miss." I said softly, not able to snatch my eyes away from hers.

"Are you okay?" She asked me, tilting her head slightly to the left. I wanted to say no, but I said yes instead. She somehow knew I was lying. She touched my chin and I winced, pretty sure it was bruised and two of my teeth at the bottom were loose. My ribs ached and my scalp was on fire. I ran my hand through my hair, attempting to fix it a little. I stepped back from the woman and dusted myself off.

"I'll be fine. Happens all the time." I said, looking down at the ground.

"Go to the nurse. You need ice."

"Why did you help me? Who are you?" I asked her. She just shifted on her feet uncomfortably, dusting off her white skinny jeans. I just noticed she was wearing all white, looking like she stepped down from heaven to come to my rescue. White jeans, white vneck T-shirt, and white sneakers. Despite the bitter cold, she wasn't wearing a coat or at the very least, a jacket. She turned around and started to walk off, toward the football field.

"Hey wait!" I called to her, but she just kept walking. I jogged to catch up to her, but she was walking extremely fast.

"Please! Wait!" I said, a little louder this time. I heard the first bell ring in the distance, signaling that it was time for me to go to first period. But not before I talked to this mystery woman. She continued to ignore me though, walking in long strides across the field, almost to the street. When I was by her side I tapped her and she stopped dead in her tracks. I must've been sweating horribly.

"Yes?" She said. Did she not hear me call her before?

"What's your name? Can you at least tell me that?" I said breathlessly. She looked like she was fighting an internal battle on whether to tell me or not.

"Its...Normani." She said softly. Her voice sounded just like an angels. I could smell remnants of soap and some sort of fruity perfume on her.

"I'm Lauren." I said to her with a weak smile. She returned it and nodded.

"I know." She said before jumping over the fence that separated the football field from the street, walking quickly. I watched her until she disappeared around a corner. She said "I know." How? I had never met her a day in my life! Who was the strange girl? Who was Normani?
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