Staying Hidden

Rumors

Monday morning rolled around and I was dreading reading the rest of that newspaper. No one at our school usually read the paper, but with this story, I had a feeling everyone would "enjoy" it. Considering my name never made it as far as homecoming nominations, and people loved gossip.

I love telling the truth.

I snuck out of the dance studio in a white frilly skirt and pink shirt. When I got to school, no one was doing anything but the day has just started. And thankfully, John and Grace would be back in school today. At least, I hoped they would be.

Come to find out, Grace's great aunt passed away, so they were still there. And John said they wouldn't be back for another week.

Fantastic.

"Hey, have you seen the paper?" Casen asked.

"Do I want to?" I asked.

He handed it to me and I picked up where I left off after the hateful assumption of me sleeping with Casen.

I took a poll around the school, asking them what their thoughts were on the whole situation and some didn't seem to care, but others had plenty to say.
"Vanessa is a slut."
"They seem cute together."
"I ship them."
"I thought Vanessa was dating that John kid."
And I even sat down with Casen to talk about the situation.
Me: What's the deal with you and Vanessa?
Casen: I met her a month ago and I'm still getting to know her. She's a nice person.
Me: So are you two dating?
Casen: No.
Me: Then why was she sleeping over at your house?
Casen: Because it was late, she didn't have a ride, and she was really tired, so she took the couch and I slept in my room.
Check back in next week to see my interview with Vanessa!

I looked back up at Casen, not sure how to react.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I think so. It just makes me mad that it's stuff like this that people like," I said.

"At least the truth is in there," he said.

"Yeah," I shrugged. "Oh well. Hopefully this goes away. I don't like people knowing everything about me."

"Vanessa!" Angela ran up to me.

"Hi," I said.

"Mind if I interview you?" She asked.

"Doesn't look like I have much of a choice," I held up the newspaper.

"Okay, come on!" She sat down at the table and I sat across from her.

"So, do you like Casen?" She asked.

"As a friend, yes. I'm still getting to know him," I said.

"A source said he had his arm wrapped around you. You really didn't notice?"

"I had no clue. I was just so happy to be there, I just didn't realize it. Plus, it was late, so I wasn't all there. I was mostly tired," I tried to laugh.

"And the rumors of you two sleeping together?"

"False. I haven't slept with Casen or anyone else," I clarified.

"Why do you think other people call you a slut?" She asked.

"I don't know. Some people don't like me, some do. Turns out I have a lot who don't."

"Do you like anyone?" She asked.

"Not at the moment, no," I said.

"A source told me that yesterday, after Casen dropped you off at the dance studio, Rydon showed up. The source didn't make it inside, but they saw his truck. Care to share the encounter?" She asked.

"He just swung by to ask me a few questions. He wasn't there for long and we didn't have any 'romance.' He hates me too much to like me in that way," I said.

"Okay, thank you," she said and left.

~

As the day drug on, people kept coming up to me. Most didn't say anything, but almost everyone mean mugged me. Rydon walked up to me and as he approached me, I became more scared. I wasn't sure why, but I was.

"Hey, can we talk?" He asked.

"Okay," I said.

We walked down the hall and turned a corner to where we were alone. We sat on a bench against the window and I looked at him.

"Look, I'm sorry for always making fun of you. You're actually really good at dancing and you're not a bad person," he looked at me.

I looked down. "Thanks. Uh, why are you saying this?"

"Because a friend of mine killed herself because she was bullied like how you're being bullied. It woke me up a bit. I'm sorry," he said.

"Sorry about your friend. And don't worry about me. I'm fine," I looked up a little bit.

"Well, I know with all these rumors and stuff, it can--"

"I said I'm fine. Don't worry. Thanks though," I stood, but he pulled me back down.

"I wanna get to know you more," he said.

"No, you don't. You think you do, but you don't," I said.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"Where are you two supposed to be?" The principal asked us.

"This is my off period," I said.

"Mine too," Rydon said.

"Okay," she walked off.

"Vanessa, please. I can't get what your mom said out of my head. Do you have a place to sleep?" He asked.

I nodded. "Rydon, seriously, don't worry about it. I can take care of myself."

"Vanessa--"

"I have to pee," I stood.

I walked to the bathroom and I felt a presence behind me. I turned around and it was Vincent. A guy from my English class.

"So Casen may say nothin's goin on, but I think there is. I think you do it all the time. You wanna do it with me?" He asked as he got closer to me.

I went into the girls' bathroom and locked the stall. He grabbed my ankle and tried to pull me from under, but it didn't work. So he decided to crawl underneath the stall and stand. He pinned me against the stall wall and I kneed him in his area crawled under the stall to get out. Vincent was right behind me and I ran down the hall back to where Rydon was.

He stopped me from running and put me behind him. I could still hear Vincent's footsteps and Rydon made him come to a halt.

"Stop it, Vince. You don't wanna do this," Rydon said.

"But she does it all the time! I don't get why she's runnin," he said.

"Because she doesn't do it all the time. Now leave," Rydon said.

"Whatever," he said.

Vincent walked off and Rydon faded me. "The rumors only get worse from here."

"Oh well," I sighed.

"You okay?" He looked at me.

I nodded and looked down.

"Don't worry. Remember?" He said.

I nodded again. "Thanks. And later."

"Here's my number. Call me when you are ready to get to know me better and when you're ready for me to get to know you," he said.

"Okay," I took it and walked off.