bare [h.s.]

Humiliate

A crowd of students rise from their
desks like a restless herd of starving sheep
as the bell dismissing them
to lunch rings.
I'm the last one to exit the classroom, sliding my phone
from my pocket.

Elijah: Sorry I'm not here today,
had to help my old man out.
Enjoy your day sweetie xx

I roll my eyes,
unbelievably thrilled
for what the rest of the day
has to offer.
I nod the text, and the sense of being alone, away,
not paying attention to where
my feet are leading me.
An enticing, familiar fragrance of
mint and cologne dance around
my nose as my face smashes
against soft skin.

"Excuse you," Harry shoots a
glare through me as
I steady my balance.

"I-I'm sorry," I stammer,
slowing my pace and slipping
the phone back into my pants.

"Save it," He hisses, elongating
his legs as they carry him down
the set of steep stairs.

The mocking words bring me
back to that day
when I pushed him away
and aided the bleeding boy
that lay still against the concrete.
I had a decision to make;
Harry or the boy who made me
feel frightened and loved
all at once.
Needless to say,
I made the wrong choice.

But my senses are now alert,
my mind clear of the right thing
to do: apologize.
As I step quickly into the packed
cafeteria, the usual table
we share is empty,
the four chairs neatly pushed in.

I narrow my gaze to the table diagonal from where I stand,
filled with gorgeous girls.
Ally sits at the head of the table, surrounded by her clan of
preppy cheerleaders.
Only there's something odd
about the setup;
two new chairs are
scooted up to the group,
Harry and Niall
occupying them.

There's a hurt in my chest that
knocks me back a bit,
but after that fiasco,
how did I expect anything less?
Now I'm left with two options:
humiliate myself as I sit alone,
or make a scene as I ask
to sit with them.
Neither choices are in my favor,
so I push my shoulders back
as I stride over to the table.

"May I sit here?" I ask,
my voice small over the
chaotic noise projecting
throughout the room.
Ally, with a surprised expression
against her lovely features,
nods and offers me to pull up
a nearby chair.
But I notice Harry tense up,
slightly shaking his head at her.

"I don't know if that would be
a good idea," Ally suddenly changes her mind,
lowering her eyes.

"But why?" I protest, now insecure
from the multiple eyes on me.

"I think you know why," She states flatly, looking directly at him.

"When did you two become such good friends?" I raise my voice,
setting both hands on my hips.

"He doesn't want you here,
so save yourself the embarrassment and move on,"
A new voice from behind me says, and I turn to see the petite girl
that sits too close to Harry.

I frown at her beauty;
how her dark brunette curls
lay perfectly against her shoulders,
her cheekbones prominent
on light, flawless skin.
Her plump lips form into an intimidating smirk as she places
a frail hand upon
his broken knuckles.
He doesn't dare look up at me,
and I slouch my shoulders
in defeat.

"How do you know what he wants?" I begin, but she raises
her hand at me, a gesture
ordering me to be silent.

"I know more about him than you could imagine," She says, sending me a cocky grin to top it off.

"Lauren," Harry warns, stopping
her from continuing.
"I can handle this, but thank you,"
He smiles as she obediently nods,
planting a kiss against his jawbone.

He stands from the table,
grabs my hand,
and leads me away from the snickering girls.
All the while I try to process
why she kissed him.