Love Me Badly

he returns | twenty-three

It was safe to say that now the whole school knows about Dean and Kelliana's current relationship. Although they were meant to be on the down-low, they chose to show their status in the school by spending time together during lunch. They weren't a couple so they didn't show any signs of affection, just simply sitting next to each other and talking.

It was weird seeing everyone staring at them with shocked faces, some even smiled at them nodding their heads as if this is what they've been praying for. Then there were the bad reactions, mostly girls who glared at her just by simply being near Dean as they walked down the hallways. She chooses to ignore them as always, not confronting anyone.

The people included in the negative reaction towards Dean and Kelliana was Uriah's friends, who she noticed was at school today. But they wouldn't spare a glance her way and she felt an emotion of shame whenever they would ignore her. Yes, she only spent time with them when Uriah was here but the time she spent with Jason and Niko, she could tell that they were genuine guys who didn't care about worldly possessions or reputation. She always had such a refreshing time with them, not always talking about grades or stupid rumors like who did Teighan sleep with again this time.

She always used to judge them, making them out to be a couple of lazy and simpleminded boys who didn't care about their lives, just relying on the ecstasy of being a rebellious teenager. The exact depiction she made Uriah out to be. But from what she knew about them, they were anything but that.

Dean had football practice again during lunch and she chose to not watch him and Gina was busy trying to finish her assignment that was due this morning in the library. Her best friend never fails to amaze her though, as much as she's absent and behind on class work, she still manages to catch up quick enough with good grades.

As Kelliana wanders the halls, she thought back to Uriah's friends and decides to grab the chance to go talk to Jason and Niko who were sitting outside and to her surprise she also sees Petronella there too.

Slowly walking over to them while some students and people she knew passed by her and said hello, her returning their greeting with a nod and fake smile, she clears her throat as she comes near to their table.

"Hey guys", she hesitantly approaches them, her fingers curling around the strap of her handbag for support.

They were sitting at their table and they all looked at the sound of her voice and as she expected, their faces weren't pleasant. Jason gave her a tight-lipped smile that looked more like he was pursing his lips at her presence, Niko just gave her a blank stare and shook his head, his eyes returning back to his food and Petronella blatantly rolls her eyes at her and mumbles something under her breath.

"Are you guys mad at me?", Kelliana lamely says as if she didn't know the answer to that but she did.

Petronella twists her body so she can face the redhead and there was a scowl on her face. "Why are you still talking to us? Uriah's not here and it seems you sure as hell don't care about him if you go around cheating on him with that preppy boy of yours", she sneers.

Kelliana scoffs at her attitude. She's never hung out with "Nellie" and she didn't have to. Who does this girl think she is?

Seeing that Jason and Niko made no attempt to shut down their loud-mouthed friend, her tongue pokes her inner cheek at disappointment. So it's like that huh?

She shakes her head as she takes another breath, not immediately replying to her but then she meets the frizzy blonde-haired girl's gaze head on, seeing her own eyes falter beneath her glare.

"I'm not with Dean. But now that you mention it, I'm here because I'm worried about Uriah. Has he texted any of you yet?", she inquires them, her own attitude seeping in. She was sick of playing nice and people not respecting her.