𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭

chapter 11

chapter 11:

You had never quite known hatred. Of course, you had felt the bare bones of it, muddled in the pit of your stomach, but the full force of it was...it was different. It was caustic, like a cloud full of smoke had sunk into your pores, made your eyes water, and left a bitter aftertaste coating your mouth and the back of your throat, a permanent cough and waves of nausea.

When Jen had texted you at six am in the morning, you were still hungover and irritable, mostly picking the phone up so you could turn it off. As your eyes burned from the sudden exposure to light, you noticed the all caps texts and Jen begging for you to avoid the internet for a few days.

Bold of her to assume you would listen. Wide awake now, you rubbed at your eyes as you left the bed, making your way to the bathroom. You didn't want any more surprises, especially after that balcony incident, so you shut the door behind you and locked it, perching on the side of the tub. The walls were thin and you could hear the crickets making a racket outside. Moonlight peered into the small room through the cracks in the blinds like silvery threads.

With a sigh, you unlocked your phone, and after a minute of deliberation, changed the password. Not that you were paranoid or anything, although Isla's advice lingered in the back of your mind like an unpleasant aftertaste. You opened Jen's texts. She seemed panicked.

thanks jen! ill call u back sometime <3

[NAME]

BABE LISTEN TO ME, IM BEING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW OK

DO NOT

AND I REPEAT

DO NOT

GO ON GOOGLE. YOULL CRY AND FEEL LIKE SHIT.

PLS PLS PLS DO NOT, FOR ME, JUST DONT

jen wtf

OMFG [NAME] I SWEAR TO GOD

YOU READ MY WARNING NOW THROW UR PHONE OUT THE WINDOW

yates can buy u a new one

jUST DONT GO ON THE INT RN

PLEASE

ya ya ok but why???

JUST BECAUSE OK

brb im gonna go look

OH [name] YOU F**&DS(*^(S&DYK

You silenced Jen's texts for a minute, already anticipating the list of expletives she would hurl at you. Taking a breath, you braced yourself before opening google. And goddamn, you should've listened to her.

A tab that had Yates's name was still up in your phone from the google search, except this time, the bar was flooded with different sorts of results. Recent results.

Results which had your name in them.

You held a shaky hand to your mouth in surprise as you scrolled through them, stomach dropping with every second that passed. Some of them were fine, normal, just curious fans appeasing themselves with articles written by well-meaning journalists. Others were..admittedly not as nice, showcasing pictures of you all zoomed in, on the curve of your cheek or a stray blemish on your face. And yet others- others took your breath away with the sheer amount of malice they managed to hold in a once innocuous serif typeface.