I was washing my hands in the ceramic sink when the three of them walked in. Of course out of anywhere else in the school, they'd ambush me in the one place my boyfriend wouldn't follow me. I've never been able to figure out why people hate me so much.

Sting tightly gripped my arms and slammed my back against one of the metal doors of the bathroom stalls. I gasped slightly at the unnecessary blunt force of it. Considering he was the quarterback of the football team, he was so thick with muscle that I didn't stand a chance at breaking out of his grip, but I struggled anyways because I never knew when to give up.

"You ready Minerva?" he asked without looking back and smirked in a way that unnerved me even more. I briefly wondered why no one cared that there was a girl in the boy's bathroom, but then again she was more ruthless and cold than any guy at this school. Though she rarely dished out the pain, out of the three bullies, she was certainly the ring leader.

"Of course," Minerva answered with what sounded like an amused tone. I guess I didn't see what was so funny about ganging up on the gay kid, but that had to be why they were targeting me again. It was the only thing most people even knew about me in the first place.

When I came out, there were all kinds of backlash and overnight I became enemy number one. It was only when Gray defended me and admitted that he was gay as well that the bullies moved to other victims. For some reason, being captain of the varsity soccer team gave Gray a lot of credibility that I sure didn't have as a member of the cross country team.

"Do you think he's struggling too much?" muttered Rogue. The dark haired kicker of the football team didn't have a shining role on the team, yet he was nearly as popular as his best friend Sting. I used to think he was in the closet for the blonde quarterback until he started dating some bimbo cheerleader a few months ago.

"Nah he'll stop, trust me."

All of a sudden, Sting released one of my arms and I winced as his hand came towards my face.

But the blow I was anticipating never came.

My free hand went up to press against his chest in a futile way to get him away from me. I had to try to stop him if only to lessen the pain a little bit. Most of the time, the bullies thrived more on humiliation than actually hurting me and honestly both were just as painful.

His fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of my neck and his eyes were hardened as he leaned in and pressed his lips against mine.

Well, he was right.

I was so shocked that my brain couldn't process what the hell was going on and I was completely frozen in his grip.

The kiss lasted for one….two seconds until I finally regained my senses and slammed my free fist into his cheek to get the bastard off of me. I doubt it ultimately did too much damage, but he elbowed my stomach for good measure before backing away entirely.

"How'd it turn out?"

I rubbed out the pain in my abdomen as I struggled to get my breathing back to normal. He'd kissed me! Sting, the blonde haired, heart breaking, football player had kissed me! My lips were tingling slightly and I rubbed them vigorously with the back of my hand.

When I looked up from the floor, I saw the three jerks all staring at what I assumed to be Minerva's magenta phone.

"It's even better than I thought!" laughed Sting. "And the little queer looks like he's grabbing onto my shirt and everything!"

They all smiled at my confused face before turning the phone around for me to see what was so damn hysterical.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head as I took in the seemingly candid photo of Sting and me: making out! I'd closed my eyes when I thought he was going to punch me and was I, blushing? It was so mortifying that it had even happened, but for them to take a picture of it too? Why would they use me like that?

Minerva flipped the phone back around and the two football players watched as she typed away on the screen before cackling uncontrollably.

"We shouldn't even tell him," said Sting as he threw an arm around Rogue's shoulders. "It'll be funnier that way when he finds out!"

The dark haired boy nodded and they fist bumped before all three of them abruptly left the bathroom.

I stared after them worriedly, but sighed knowing that there wasn't anything I could do to stop them from doing whatever they had planned. Splashing some water on my face and rubbing aggressively at my lips once again, I hoped Gray and I could spend some time together after practice. I seriously needed a pick-me-up after that whole ordeal.

Thinking about my boyfriend made me smile especially because he always knew how to cheer me up.

L7L7L7L7

Gray didn't say anything as he pulled me by the arm to the locker room and I was quiet as I wondered by everyone felt the need to drag me everywhere.

But I didn't complain because I was so incredibly worried. Not only had he not walked me to my last class like always, but Gray didn't visit me by my locker after school was over. We usually walked to practice together since the cross country team trained in the same arena as the soccer team, yet he avoided me altogether.

"What the fuck Natsu!?" he shouted angrily. Gray had never sounded so mad at me before, not even when we had our bantering moments. Our bickering had never escalated past annoyance towards each other.

"I know we haven't been together that long, but I thought this relationship meant more to you!"

My eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out how he'd come to that conclusion. Sure three months wasn't a crowning achievement, however that was all it took for me to fall head over heels for the guy.

This relationship, was everything to me.

"Gray, what are you-"

His humorless laugh cut me off.

"It figures you'd try to play dumb. If only I didn't have evidence."

My body went rigid at the accusation and I watched as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

When he showed me the display, it was the picture of Sting kissing me from only a few hours ago.

"It isn't what you think," I begged as I prayed he would hear me out, that he wouldn't immediately accept the picture as the truth.

"When we started this thing you promised me that you wouldn't cheat." I could see the betrayal stricken across his face. His body language was aggressive in a way that I'd only seen when immersed in a hard fought soccer game. But I wondered how on earth I had become his opponent.

My heart nearly stopped when everything began coming together and I realized the grand scheme my tormentors had put into action.

It wasn't exactly a well-kept secret that Gray had severe trust issues. Supposedly it stemmed from his parents' death in a freak accident when he was only a kid that he'd blamed on himself. But I knew that he'd really reached his tipping point when his adopted brother ran away from home three years ago and hadn't been heard from since. Everyone that he'd ever cared for had left him behind and therefore he believed that no one would stay by his side for long. He'd told me that people were liars when they used the word forever because they always changed their minds.

I liked to think that I'd been helping him slowly get over his intense desire to shut everyone out of his personal life but with an infidelity by me, I wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to recover. He wouldn't let any person close enough to fight through all his walls again. I was positive he'd even reinforce his defenses after dealing with me.

"Gray, please I-"

"I'm done listening to your pathetic lies! We're through! Don't ever talk to me again."

Before I could react, he was walking away and my eyes were filling with tears because even if there was something I could say, anything I could do, he wasn't going to forgive me.

It hurt so much to know that something so little as a picture had not only had this broken him but had shattered me.

He had been the foundation for my crumbling world.

After my father passed away two years ago, during my freshman year of high school, my uncle who lived on the other side of the country helped me emancipate myself. I lived alone in a small apartment about one block from school and due to my independence, small portions of my trust fund covered any financial expenses I had.

My grades had tanked when my father had gotten sick, so I'd transferred schools after his funeral. It was simply too painful facing friends that had spent the night at my house, had dinner with my dad, and asked about him when they'd heard he was admitted to the hospital.

Emotionally distant from the loss, I was quickly made into an outcast at my new school. It took about a year for a couple people to care enough to try to break through my shell and helped me slowly return to a semblance of my former self. However, when I came out, they turned their backs on me which made me an easy target to be bullied relentlessly. I tried to understand how my friends felt but I couldn't figure out how to gain their approval again so I gave up on relying on others once more. That is, until Gray wormed his way into my life.

He had a way of knowing what would get under my skin and what would get a reaction out of me. It made me feel human again, like I didn't need to be so caught up in my own head. Therefore, when he came out, we began hanging out all the time. His friends were instantly my friends and there was even a place for me at their table at lunch.

But now, I was alone again. I didn't have Gray, or his friends, and there was no place I belonged. Sometimes I wonder if I should've ever let Gray close to me because then maybe he wouldn't have gotten so hurt by all of my mess. Maybe I didn't truly belong anywhere.

Even so, I would always be on the cross country team because the results were solely dependent on the runner that crossed the finish line first.

And if there was one thing I was good at, it was my ability to keep on going.