Blackmail

Chapter 12

I take a deep breath as I walk into the school with Alex by my side. He glares harshly at anyone who so much as spares a glance my way. I grab the straps of my backpack and pull them towards me. Alex smiles softly as we walk past a couple of his friends.
"Well look who it is. The tranny freak," Ashley says. I grab Alex's hand tighter and continue walking down the hall. I hear them follow us but I ignore it.
Alex looks around frantically and spots something. He quickly leads me into a bathroom and we wait as they pass by. The footsteps recede and I sigh in relief. Alex goes to open the door but stops.
"Where did they go?" A shrill voice shrieks. I flinch back into the bathroom wall. I go into one of the stalls and Alex goes into another. I stand on top of the toilet and stay quiet. The door to the bathroom opens and a person walks in.
"Is Alex or Mia in here?" A male voice asks. We stay silent and wait awkwardly until he leaves. I get down from the toilet and open the stall door. Alex comes out of his stall and wraps me in a hug. 
The bell rings and I look up at Alex. He smiles and leads me out of the bathroom. We walk through the empty hallways to my locker. I put my stuff away and walk to class, promising I'd meet up with him during lunch.
I walk over to a the hall monitor and ask for a late pass from them. They quickly write it down and hand it to me. I wave and walk to my class.
I open the do or and walk into my class, getting yelled at by the teacher for being late. I apologize and sit down, waiting as the hours until lunch tick by slowly. I don't see Ashley or any of her friends when I pass between classes.
The lunch bell rings and I race out of my classroom, meeting Alex and the others in the lunchroom. I sit down next to Anna who is sketching away in her notebook. I glance over and see that she's drawing Julie.
Alex puts his tray down beside me and Anna quickly slams her notebook shut. She shoves it in her backpack as Julie sits down beside her.
"What's in the notebook?" She asks Anna. Alex smiles over at me knowingly. Anna shoves food in her mouth so she doesn't have to talk.
Julie swiftly grabs the backpack from behind Anna and opens it. She holds the notebook far out of Anna's reach and sets the backpack back down beside Anna.
She turns the other way and opens it, flipping through the pages gently. Anna blushes and looks away from her. Julie finally reaches one of her pages and stops. Anna stares in shock as Julie smiles.
"This is really good," she points out. Anna nods and smiles slightly. Julie finishes looking through the notebook and sets it down on the table. She leans on her hands and stares over at Anna.
Anna looks down at her feet nervously. Julie smirks and gets out her phone. She puts her headphones in and hums along to a song. She sees Anna staring and hands her and earbud. Anna puts it in her ear and leans closer to Julie so the wires don't stretch.
I look over at Alex who is rapidly texting on his phone, a scowl adoring his face. I frown and look back at the girls. Anna looks up at Julie and takes her side of the earphone out. Julie sets her phone down and looks over at Anna.
"So I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go to the cafe with me after school? " Anna asks quietly. Alex looks up from his phone and smiles knowingly. His phone then pings and he looks back down, immediately frowning.
"It's a date," Julie replies. Anna whips her head up to look at her. Julie smiles and winks making Anna hide her face in her sleeves. I roll my eyes as Milly and Cody sit across from me and Alex. Cody looks between the two confused.
"What happened?" He asks. Anna groans and puts her head on the table. Julie laughs and pats Anna's back. Anna shoots up and stares over at Julie. I snort at Anna's reaction. Milly shakes her head smiling.
"Since these lovebirds can't seem to answer, Anna asked Julie on a date," Alex replies tucking his phone in his pocket. I frown slightly but nod along with him. Who was he talking to earlier?
Anna hides her face in Julie's shoulder and Julie strokes her hair.  I finish my food and excuse myself from the table. I walk into the library and wait until lunch is over before heading to my last class. I sit down and wait for class to start.
When the bell finally rings I jump out of my seat and grab my stuff as fast as I can. I get in the car and drive back to dad's house. I park the car out front and walk up to my room. I lock my door and sit on my bed.
I grab my headphones off their hook with shaky hands and plug them into my phone, turning my music all the way up. I lean back against my bed and stare up at the ceiling. I turn on my fairy lights and lay the rest of the way down.
I set the remote for the lights down on the bedside table and set my phone next to it. I hum along to the song as I start to fall asleep. I hear the door open as I drift off.