Hi!

Another chapter! This one might be kinda sad. Not really, though.

Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: all Selection rights belong to Kiera Cass

I shook my head. Doesn't he understand I want to be alone?

He sighed. "America, I'm gonna keep on bugging you until you tell me."

I groaned and turned my head away from him.

There was a bit of silence. "I'm just trying to help you."

"Why do you even want to help me?"

"Because I don't want my friends to be sad," he simply said.

"Well, I'm fine," I huffed.

He didn't say anything. Then, he sighed. "You know, I'm not completely oblivious as to think that this has nothing to do with Celeste."

Did I hear him wrong? I tensed up and turned to him.

"H-how do you know?" I asked quietly.

He frowned and said, "Carter always talks about how that girl has been making your life a living hell. And I believe him without a doubt. Just two days ago, didn't she spill your coffee all over you?"

I didn't respond, so he continued, "I haven't been here for a long time, but I've been here long enough to know that she wants to make you miserable. And by the looks of it, she's succeeding."

I lowered my head. I hadn't realized it, but it was true.

"America. Why do you even let her do this to you?"

"I don't know," I said, my voice shaky.

"America," he said demandingly. "You can't let her get to you. I know she's evil, but if you keep on trying to push away, it's going to get even worse."

I looked up at him. He looked so innocent. He didn't know.

"You don't know, do you?" I asked him.

"I don't know what?" he asked, proving his unawareness.

"You don't know that every time I try to retaliate, she comes back even stronger. I've tried so many times. In eighth grade, she made fun of the hand-me-downs I kept on getting. My family's not exactly rich, so we can't afford a lot of things. But she could. I told her to stop, but all she did was tell everyone how poor I was. It wasn't really nice. Everywhere I went, I felt like I was being looked down on. I know money isn't a really good way to tell your social status, but to me, it was like the most important thing." I took a deep breath. "People probably didn't care, but I felt like they kept on judging me. The whole year, I was so self-conscious of the things I wore and brought to school."

This was the hardest part. I didn't have to tell him, but I wanted to get it out. "And I remember that every day after school, I would be so glad, because I could finally be free from her. I don't think anyone understood the situation I was in. Not even Marlee. Anyway, I remember I would sometimes come home from school and cry. Just cry, because I didn't know what I did wrong, or how I could fix it. And I remember that I would pray that she wasn't gonna go to the same high school as me, but she did."

Maxon looked at me like I was the most helpless thing on earth. Maybe I was, because that's what I felt like.

He didn't say anything.

I looked down and continued. "But I guess I got the easy way out, because Elise…" I swallowed and tried to stay strong. "Elise had to move away because it got too hard for her. Eventually, I learned that there was probably nothing I could do. So, I just let her get to me. I knew that going against her would be like fighting a losing battle."

I didn't want any tears to come, but they started to blur my vision. I had let this go on for years, but nothing had improved. I thought that after some time, she would have stopped, but nothing changed.

"America…" Maxon said.

I watched a tear fall, staining my jeans.

He reached out for my hand, and I didn't object. I needed comfort, and if he was the one, so be it.

"America, look at me, please."

I couldn't. I just couldn't. Lifting my head would reveal my tears, and that would mean that I've lost the fight.

"America, please." His voice sounded so distant, yet so close. I was so confused. But I didn't want this feeling of uncertainty anymore, so I dried my eyes with the sleeves of my hoodie and looked at him.

He looked hurt, but sure of himself. He squeezed my hand and said, "I know it's hard. But we're here to help you. I'm here to help you. So, don't be scared. We're gonna make sure you win this battle."

What did you think?

Hope you enjoyed!

Please review! Bye!