i like (the idea of) you • grayson dolan

thirteen

OPAL'S POV

The sound of breaking wood woke me up before my alarm. They started early, I guess.

We had some people in our yard, removing our fence today. It was getting old, and broken in places, and we wanted it gone before the first storm of the year. We had a light dusting, but nothing major.

I didn't think they'd get started so damn early in the morning, but I guess it worked out. I got up and got ready early, even had breakfast, and then left for school. I got there and made it to class a lot sooner than usual.

Of course I was extremely tired, so I zoned out for most of first period. As I was walking toward second period, I ran into some of Grayson's friends.

"Opal!" Ryan smirked, wrapping one of his arms around my shoulder. "We heard that you're hot underneath those baggy clothes."

"Yeah, mind sending us those pics?" Mark laughs. I can feel my skin paling.

Grayson knew I was embarrassed enough about that already. The fact that he still blabbed to his friends, even after how they behaved when he told them I was a virgin made me so pissed.

Because they found it funny, they dragged it out and annoyed me about it. That didn't happen when everyone thought I lost it a few years ago. Now I was on their radar more, all because of Grayson. This just added more fuel to the fire.

Every time I think he might be cool, every time I think I can trust him, he does something stupid. It just reminds me of why I spent years avoiding him.

"Or, show us in person?" Josh suggests, gripping my upper arm. "Kill two birds with one stone. Let us see how hot you apparently are, and lose your virginity."

"Where's Grayson?" I ask quietly, moving out of their grasp.

"Let's go find him!" They begin leading me away, the kids nearby glancing as they talk more. They're definitely being loud enough that everyone can hear.

"No. Just tell him I never wanna see him again."

They laugh as I go, someone letting out a wolf whistle. My breathing is shallow as I enter second period, sitting in the back and trying to ignore everyone.

Feeling my phone buzz, I sigh as I see messages from Grayson. The last person I want to hear from.

Grayson: opal
Grayson: can we please talk?
Grayson: lunch?

I leave him on read and shut my phone off. Maybe it wasn't the worst thing in the world, he wasn't able to show them, but he'd done this more than once now. I can't keep forgiving him just for him to continue doing these stupid things. I'm tired of his friends harassing me, and him enabling it.

Knowing that he'll be looking for me at lunch, I skip it. It's a good thing I ate breakfast today.

I end up sitting in the library, away from everyone else. It's quiet, mostly empty, and there's a nice cozy corner seat open. I'm surprised to see Celia come up to me a few minutes in. She's barely responded to any of my texts lately.

"Hey, why aren't you in the cafeteria? Is it everything to do with Grayson?" She hums, sliding into the seat across from me. If she had heard, that meant most people probably had now. At least I knew a lot of them wouldn't care—a small laugh at my expense and then it blows over. Except for his friends, who can't let anything go. "...are you mad at me?"

"A little," I mumble, reaching for my headphones.

"I've been spending time with my girlfriend, Opal," Celia sighs. "I know you've been—"