No one ever saw Alice. She was invisible. She was there, but people refused to acknowledge her exsistance. Every day, she'd walk through the school corridors with her head down in hope that nobody would push or shove her to the ground. People threw more than just words in her direction, and it was never by accident. Alice knew the reality was that where ever you go, there is always people out to ruin your life just to make themselves feel better. Alice had been the target for this since she was little, and now at seventeen years old, she was nearly at breaking point. She never saw her father because he was always working and her mother was killing herself slowly by smoking. Alice's shoulders were so heavy from her life as well as others, she could barely keep hold of her sanity. Rushing through the dark corridors, Alice had almost got to her lesson untouched. As the thought crossed her mind that she might have, for the first time, avoided any confrontations, she was proven wrong. Very wrong. She heard her name being called and she looked up. It was worse than she thought. The three main culprits stood in front of her, looking down on her small frame, in an attack position, poised and ready. Little Alice cringed as she took in the evil looks on their faces. The one in the middle, Kylie, was the shortest, but still taller than Alice. Her long black hair framed her face and twirled around her shoulders. She would be pretty if she wasnt such a horrible person. Then there was, to the right, Carlie. She was tallish, and slightly chubby looking, with dirty blonde hair in a pony tail. She frowned down at Alice. Then to the other side of Kylie was Martin. Martin was huge. He towered over most people, so this made him more intimidating to little Alice. He wore a black hooded jumper and had his long dirty hair in a pony tale. He wasnt the cleanest looking guys at school, which made him look even more threatening to Alice.
Alice stumbled into the lesson and hurried to the back. She sat down breathing heavy, clearly shaken. The teacher at the front pushed her glassed forward and studied Alice. She said nothing and carried on. Alice pulled out her book and concentrated on the blurred words, not letting the tears spill out from her moist eyes. She kept telling herself in her mind; Im stronger than this. Im stronger than this. Im stronger than this. Alice knew she was lieing to herself, but she pushed that thought away and chose to believe it. She walked home alone, as usual. She liked the time she had to herself on the way home. She was at her safest. In a place where nothing could hurt her. She didnt have to think about the people hurting her at school nor did she have to think about what was happening at home. She knew that she was walking home to the unknown, not knowing if prehaps her mother had passed out from another coughing fit and stopped breathing. She told herself to worry about that when and if the time came. She let her mind wander as she followed the path home. She thought about what-ifs and could-have-beens. She often got home too soon. She steps through the back door and into the hazy smoke once again. She'd look at her Mother, sat at the table smoking. Alice would hurry herself upstairs and to her bedroom, her sanctuary. Throwing her stuff to the side, she would switch her old dusty laptop on and pray that it works just for a while. That day, it didnt work. She slammed it shut and chucked it to the side, getting up and running down the stairs to the bathroom. She locked it and began to cry quietly, so that no one would ask her what was the matter. No one ever did, and maybe thats why Alice hoped no one ever would, because she had no idea where she would start. She'd slide the wooden panel behind the sink to the side and feel her way through the darkness to find her only friend. She pulled the small sharp object out. With crippled anger and tears that still drip sore, she moved it to her skin. Alice found the relief once again.
Alice didnt want to be afraid, and she didnt want to die inside just to breathe in. She was tired of feeling so numb all the time. She only had that one friend, but she dreamt of having a better life almost every night, if her dreams were not filled with darkness and pain. She used her dreams as another way to escape her cruel reality, and nightmares just bought more pain. Alice couldnt escape in nightmares. Walking through the corridor the next day, waiting for the inevitable to happen, she bumped into something. She cringed and looked up, waiting for the pain, but when she looked up she met soft eyes and a soft smile. She was confused to why someone would want to smile at her, because no one had for such a long time. Little Alice muttered her cautious sorry and went to step around him, but he felt for her and grabbed her arm gently, not to startle her. She winced at his touch and looked up at him with pleading eyes. He smiled reassuringly and pulled her into a warm embrace. She was so confused, she wanted to cry again in this strangers arms.
The stranger made a habit of being around, Alice noticed. He was often there. He didnt say much, but he didnt need to. Alice was thankfull she had someone close to her that wasnt out to hurt her every second of her life. That afternoon, under the grey skies, he walked her home. His name was Jasper and Alice looked up at him as if he was a hero. To Alice, Jasper was a hero. A saviour. That night, she smiled when she sat on her bed, listening to the drip-drip-drip of the rain on her window. She didnt search the darkness behind the sink that night. She had found a different saviour, or he had found her. It took a while to notice, but Alice realised that no one had bothered her all day. No one had shouted abuse at her. No one had thrown food at her. She fell asleep that night with the image in her head of her hero, her saviour, her angel in human form. He chased away her nightmares and brought light to them, His smile warming her, starting from right inside her heart and working its way outwards. Alice found confidence in herself for the first time in so long. She finally felt like she was supposed to be on this planet. Jasper was the only reason she kept breathing. And Jasper was happy with that. He felt the same way. Being the new kid at school was easier than Jasper first thought. They were happy. They deserved to be. Like everyone does. Even you.