Chapter 1:

Bitch.

Slut.

Fat.

Whore.

The insults kept coming and there was nothing I could do to stop them. I took a shaky breath and put my headphones over my ears, being lulled into a calm stupor by Marilyn Manson's Mechanical Animals. I got to my locker and slowly slid down until my butt hit the tile, the music screaming in my head. Putting my head between my legs I began to slowly lose my cool when the tears began to overflow. Suddenly the headphones were ripped from my ears and the noise of the hallways came in a tidal wave. I kept my eyes on the ground as Diamond Stevens' voice fills the space around me.

"Hey Marilyn. How are you today?"

"Fine," I mumbled, hoping that she would just disappear.

Two hands wrapped around my arms and yanked me off the ground so I was standing directly in front of Diamond and her friends, Ruby Hanson and Emerald Brady. "Now that's better," Diamond cooed as she ripped the headphones out of the jack and threw them across the hallway. "Look at me when I talk to you," she growled.

I pulled my shoulder bag close to me and bit the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming at her. Suddenly I heard a crack and my head snapped as she slapped me. Ruby took my bag and proceeded to dump the contents onto the floor. My mouth had that icky metallic taste as the blood from my cheek filled my mouth.

Three steady beeps filled the hallway as students began to head to class. The three girls stepped all over my papers as they walked away, laughing. Slowly I bent down and began to shove things in my bag while my music unconsciously still played through the iPod.

An all too familiar shoe stepped directly on top of the papers I was about to grab. Looking up, I saw Greg Sanders standing over me. Standing up I walked over to my headphones and plugged them back into the jack. He continued to stare at me until I looked back at him. "What?!" I snapped.

He opened his mouth to say something, but instead he smirked and said, "Nice face." I gaped at him as he walked away. Sprinting to the nearest bathroom I dropped my bag and looked into the mirror. A red mark was prominent on my cheek and a purple bruise was starting to form. I pulled out my compact and winced as I began to pat the powder on the red and purple colors.

I trudged home blasting my music and wincing at the throbbing in my ribcage. I just hoped my mom and dad weren't home so I could just take some time to myself. Rounding the corner to my block I grimaced as I heard the roar of a car whiz past me and park in the drive way next to mine. My breath caught in my throat as Greg climbed out of his car and grabbed his bag out of the backseat. I took in his every movement as the passenger side door opened and one of his friends stepped out. I dropped my head and kept going, hoping he didn't see me looking.

My mood only worsened as I noticed my dad and my mom's car in the driveway. I slipped in through the front door and made it halfway up the stairs before my mother's voice sounded from the kitchen. "Marilyn dear! How was school?"

"Fine Mom."

I continued to my room and shut the door, grateful she didn't press it. Plugging my iPod into its dock I began blasting Manson again, hoping that the music would drown out everything. Sitting down at my window, I opened it and blankly stared at the tree growing between my yard and Greg's. I heard my door open and my music suddenly stopped as my dad's cologne filled the room. "Marilyn please turn down that awful music. Is that really what you wore to school today? It's not very flattering, but then again no matter what you wear you won't look very good. Anyway dinner is at six, but you may want to eat less tonight, you are getting fatter."

With that he closed the door and I began crying. The Gems, I can take. Greg, sure. My dad is always making comments and it really breaks my heart. No father should say that to his daughter.

I stayed in my room for the rest of the night, listening to music and messing with my chemistry stuff. I was deep in concentration when I heard a tap on my window. Lowering the volume on my iPod I went over to the window and threw it open in annoyance. Greg was leaning out his widow with a smirk on his face. If the circumstances were different and he actually felt the same way I did, it could have been a romantic moment.

"Can't you turn that down?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why?"

He mimicked me and rolled his eyes. "Because it is annoying and I'm trying to concentrate."

"Whatever," I said as I began to close window.

"Marilyn, wait."

My heart fluttered as I opened the window again. "Yeah?"

"Do you check me out on a daily basis or was it just a one-time thing?"

All the air left my lungs as a stumbled backwards and slammed the window closed. I shut off my light and crawled into bed, utterly broken.