~~Pogue~~

I can't believe that they talked me into this. I'm back, walking the halls that I've dreaded returning to for weeks. They are staring. Like people at a rodeo, they're just waiting the crash. I need to make a mental note to hurt Tyler.

They're everywhere. Stopping, gawking with no shame at all. If I had the energy I would glare at them. But I don't want confrontation. I just want to get through this torture and get back to my apartment. God, I need a drink already. I tried to sneak a small bottle of vodka in with me, but unfortunately Tyler found it and disposed of it. Apparently getting suspending for having alcohol on school grounds would be a bad thing.

Kate. She stopped mid-stride to join the club of gawkers. Hurt flashed in her eyes, but I just turned and headed to find Ty or Noelle. I forgot which hallway I was in, which locker I had to go by. Caleb's. His locker had been turned into a mini-monument, complete with candles, letters, and flowers. At the top was Caleb's last school picture.

A sudden rage came over me and I couldn't stop the thoughts that came to my head. Why did he have to be soo stubborn?! If he had just let us help, he would be alive right now. They would both be alive. We would all be together. Those words just kept running through my head. It angered me. I couldn't stop myself as I raised my fist and struck the locker. A satisfying throb went through my knuckles, as well as a satisfying dent in the locker. But it didn't subdue my anger, I was still silently fuming. I was too rapped up in my little world to notice all of the people that had stopped to watch me. Kate had made her way over and was about to approach me, but then Elle, amazing Elle, came up and in one word:

"Scatter."

They all left. Kate stayed. Elle didn't care. She walked up to me took my hand and said,

"Come on, let's go."

I followed her. I had no idea where we were going. I just knew it would be safe. We ended up in the pool room, the second area that I had been avoiding the most. We sat down on a random bench and quietly she asked,

"What happened?"

She wasn't mad, or even questioning really, it's like she knew that I was still holding the rage in and that it needed to get out.

So I talked. Through the entire first class of the day, we just sat there as I talked. It had been so long since I had talked that much that I couldn't even remember the last time I had. Noelle was patient and understanding. She held my hand through it all. Her hand was a sign of comfort, and a sign of stableness. It wasn't romantic or anything. But that little hand held mine and I didn't want to let it go.

The bell signaling the end of the first class sounded. It seemed like way more time had passed. Noelle asked,

"What class do you have now?"

"AP English"

"Me too. Come on, let's go."

With that we got up and walked towards the English classroom. I hadn't even noticed that I hadn't released her hand. I did notice everyone staring at us though. I glanced at Elle as we walked. She was glaring daggers at anyone who dared to look for too long. Ty was right, this girl was something else.

We met Ty in the classroom, seeing as we all had this class together. Before, I always sat in between Caleb and Kate, but I didn't get to dwell on it for long. Elle quickly led me up and left a spot between her and Tyler. Reid's old spot. We still had a few minutes until class started, so Tyler turned to me and Elle and said,

"You two sure are making a rift aren't you?"

He had Reid's old shit-eating grin on his face.

I didn't quite get what he meant, and he motioned for me to look around the room. Just as my eyes scanned the room, everyone else's seem to magically move to the floor. Except Kate and Sarah's. Theirs stayed firmly planted on Noelle. But she just ignored them. It was it that moment that I noticed that I still had her hand. I had it tightly sandwiched between my thigh and my hand. I saw Tyler's eyes stray there just for a moment, and I quickly let go of the hand. But her's didn't move.

With that one small gesture I knew that this girl, who I had once called fat and ugly, was going to stick it out for the long haul. But then a thought popped into my head,

What's in it for her?

………………………………..

I am rapidly falling in love with this story, but I'm still debating wither or not to keep posting chapters on this sight.

Please let me know what you think of it. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I want to hear it all!

Thanks.