Informer
Abigail stands in front of the mirror in the communal bathroom, blow dryer in hand. It's been a long day of rehearsal, prepping for third year mid-term exams in both dance and academics, and she's beat. It would've helped to have gotten some sleep last night, but she and Sammy and stayed up watching movies, him claiming that she needed a break from the constant routine she pulled herself through.
So of course she'd agreed, and when morning rolled around she woke naturally, yawning before realizing that her alarm wasn't blaring and there was a glaringly obvious reason as to why. Sammy moved a bit from his place next to her, and she panicked.
Abigail Armstrong panicked in a moment of complete bliss because her schedule was thrown off.
So she sidled off the bed, being sure that his laptop, still running a Netflix marathon, was closed and secured on his desk. He stirs then, rubbing his eyes. He opens his eyes to the sight of her, slightly panicked and hurrying around the room, and stifles a laugh. Upon hearing the sound Abigail pauses, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. She turns slowly then, meeting his eyes and attempting to look angry at him. It comes out as a sort of scrunched up smile, and this makes Sammy laugh even harder, trying desperately not to wake Christian.
"I'm guessing there'll be a 'no' to more movie nights, then?"
She simply grins at him, brown eyes sparkling with a glint of mischief as she leans down to capture his lips in hers.
"I never said that."
When she gets to class, Kat stops her at the door.
"We need to talk." She seems angry, the blonde spitfire, and drags Abigail over to the barre with a tighter-than-normal grip on her arm. As Abigail stretches Kat watches, fuming while formulating what she's going to say. Abigail simply stares back at her for a while, curious, until she can't take the glaring anymore.
"Are you going to stare at me like that all class, or are you actually going to say something to me?"
This gets the blonde going.
"Oh, I'm going to say something alright." She bends down so that she's at eye-level with Abigail, and the look the brunette receives is enough to make her want to run away. "How could you possibly do this to Sammy after everything you've been through? After everything he's done for you!"
"Did I miss something?" Abigail glares back at her with piqued curiosity. "Because honestly, I'm super curious as to what I've done now."
"Oh, this is rich." Kat spits back, shaking her head. "You're going to pretend you've done nothing wrong now. Of course."
"Honestly, Kat, I wish I could tell you but I have no idea."
"Oh."
"What?"
"No."
Taking a moment to glance around, Abigail notices that most eyes in the class seem to be on her. Reading this-and Kat's sudden, panicked expression-as a bad sign, she leans in toward her friend.
"What the hell is going on?"
"No. No, no no…"
"Kat!"
"Alright, so…there may have been a little misunderstanding." She uneasy now, her eyes scanning the room. She pushes the stray hair from her face and begins to pick at her fingernails, unwilling to meet Abigail's eyes.
"What kind of misunderstanding? Why is everyone staring at me?"
"Some people saw you this morning coming from the boy's floor…"
"No."
"And they think you were-"
"That I was what, cheating on Sammy?!" She tries her hardest to keep her volume down, but the disbelief in her voice makes it waver, and she bites her lip to keep herself under control. She meets Kat's gaze then, brown eyes burning with intensity and sincerity, her voice dark and low. "I would never do that to him."
"I know, but I guess some people don't."
"I'm about to-"
"Alright girls, I hope you're warm. Class is about to start."
Before she can say anything she's lined up with the other girls, beginning warm-ups. They stare at her with accusing eyes, and she stares back at them. Maybe, she thinks, if she glares hard enough her eyes can burn holes in their gossipy little minds.
She sets her class straight the moment she can, sparing every single detail while informing them of just how completely idiotic they're being. But that doesn't stop the rumor mill to continue passing it around. Abigail's day is filled with glaring and tired arguments, half with people she knows Sammy doesn't really talk to and all with people she thinks need to mind their own business anyway.
It isn't until she's in the bathroom that night that she's absolutely had enough.
Abigail's drying her hair in the process of getting ready for the following day when a few girls she doesn't know, presumably second years, join her at the mirror. Over the sound of her dryer, she can hear the sting of their gossip, and they continually glance over at her with disgusted, judgmental eyes.
At first, Abigail attempts to ignore them. They're second years, anyway, and she doesn't have time to pick fights with them. It isn't until she hears their stifled laughter that her blood begins to boil.
"I mean, let's be honest." One of them finishes, wiping the makeup from her face and giggling to her blonde friend "He's probably not too great a boyfriend. I bet he's never really kissed a girl anyway besides her. If I were her, I'd be bored too."
"I'll have you know," She begins, flipping her hairdryer off and whipping around to face them. "That none of that is anywhere near true. And before you can say anything else, no I'm not defending myself, I'm defending Sammy."
The girls stare back at her, incredulous, and the blonde rolls her eyes, wrapping the chord to her straightener while shaking her head. Abigail is fuming now and sets her hair dryer on the counter, moving toward them in quick, heated steps until she's right in front of them. Her eyes are flaming.
"You can call me every name you have under your skimpy little belt or say anything you want about me, but not him. I would never do something like that, let alone to someone as incredible as him. If you knew half of the story…if you took even one second to get your head out of your ass, then you'd know that. I love Sammy and I'll always love him, and I'm not afraid to admit that. Sorry if that's not good enough for your prying eyes and your big, nosy attitudes, but it'll have to be. My relationship isn't bathroom gossip. It's actually none of your business. So I suggest you spend a little more time worrying about your horrible turnouts than my relationship if you want to even think about the company accepting you."
The girls rush out of the bathroom, taking a last few nervous glances back at her before the exit. Abigail sighs when they're gone, feeling the rush of heated adrenaline crash within her. It had taken every last bit of her energy to tell those girls off, and she was tired of fighting seemingly everyone with a pulse.
When she gets back to her room she sits on her bed, pulling out her phone.
"Hey," She texts, "Up for another movie night?"
It only takes Sammy a brief moment to respond.
"Come over. You must need to vent too. People are idiots." She grins, throwing on a pair of flats and locking her door on the way out.
"They sure are."