Sure, being the school's mascot wasn't a feat that anyone would ever catch me proudly screaming at the top of my lungs on a rooftop, nor was it something that I'd be able to look back on in a few years and laugh about with other people, it wasn't even something that I'd ever consider worth sharing after high school.
But Lord knows that I was always punctual for my duties. In fact, the earlier I showed up, the better. I usually could get a few stretches in here and there before the cheerleaders would swoop in and douse out my school spirit and, best of all, I always had a few minutes to walk up and down the court, feigning nonchalance.
You know, just plain-old, regular hedgehog business.
So what a coincidence it was that Hero also shared my views on this.
He'd be in the gym seconds after I'd waited for him- I mean, after I'd started my warm-ups. He'd join me for a bit, taking the other side of the court to give me some space and we'd let our bodies do the talking.
Then he'd go through some drills while I caught my breath at the bleachers, barely clutching on to my lifeline that, by then, would be thinner than a dead hair strand.
I've never tried to cross on over to his side before.
With the way my summer fails had played out though, I was grateful that the gym was nearly packed today. I don't think I have the strength to withstand any more of those awkward stare sessions. And then having to pretend to love working out just as much as he did?
No, just...no.
Cracking the gym door open, I slid in through the gaps and blended in beautifully with the crowd of students until I had made my way safely under the bleachers undetected. I peeked through the gaps between the seats after tossing my bag somewhere behind me.
There was a group of teen boys ranging from freshers to seniors on one side, the starting lineup on the other and Hero and the coach in the middle.
Although Hero's form while he had the ball tucked away under his arm was drool-worthy, I pulled out my phone and went into a heated game of tetris because, as much as I would have loved to sit and watch him all day, his girlfriend would skin me alive if she ever caught me-or anyone else for that matter-staring at her beloved obsession.
As if abandoning me at my lowest wasn't enough, Donovan's text came in at a critical part in my block placement, nearly costing me the game. I violently swiped his text off the screen, almost letting out a cuss word for the first time while sober.
A quarter knocked off to beating my record, and almost thirty minutes gone by in real time, my phone was swiped out of my hands and I was left gulping in a mix of shock and dehydration. Without thinking, I plucked my phone out of the perpetrator's hand, coming face to face with my mom's ex.
And his stupid dog.
"Oh..." I let out a nervous chuckle, palms sweating and at a loss for words as I placed my phone back into our lovely principal's most capable care, closing his hand around it. I started petting the dog as a way to gain favors. They were both unimpressed by my attempt and the dog even growled at me, the sick animal. "I, uh....didn't see you there, Principal Hemsher. How was your break?"
"Phones aren't allowed on campus, Ms Smith. You know that." He sighed as if I had been the delinquent behind the graffiti at the back of the school and not just a harmless tetris player. My only crime here was murdering any chance I could have had at a social life. "We have a few transfers this year. Show them around."
"Uh, me, sir?" My confusion was written on my face as clear as day. "Isn't that the cheerleaders job though?" A blank stare was his answer and I got an overwhelming urge to lighten the mood. "You know, school spirit and whatnot...go hedgehogs...No? Okay."
"They're busy." He gestured at the side of the court where the cheerleaders stood, doing some lame and overused cheer routine then pointed at me. "And you're not."
"No, I am. I am." I rushed out, pointing at myself. "I don't know if you know this but I'm kind of a big deal around these parts. Like, mascot-level important here. I should be up there too."
"Yet you were under the bleachers trying for a new highscore? Right." Principal Hemsher pet his dog as he sized me up. "You have two options, hedgehog. Detention and I confiscate your phone or you fill in for the cheerleaders for a few measly minutes and you get to retrieve this..." He held my phone under my nose as he spoke, "by the end of the day. Deal?"
I glared.
"Deal." He voiced out our agreement since my mouth had gone stale from absolute loathing of him. And his stupid dog. "Mrs. Jones' office is where your little group is waiting right now. Get the job done, lead them to orientation in time and your phone will be all yours again." He tapped me on the back like he did every other troubled teen-that's what he usually calls us. "Hope you had a great break because I certainly did."
And he left me standing there in shock, confusion, betrayal...I really hate his stupidly cute pomeranian.
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My heart was beating so hard, my ears could feel it.
With my hand wrapped around the doorhandle of the secretary's office door, my mental peptalk had slowly wained out due to more horrific sounds of people talking animatedly inside.
I could see them through the little murky glass on the door but I hadn't taken into consideration that they could see me just as well so, as I came to the conclusion that I couldn't possibly talk to a group of teenagers, already plotting my escape in my head, the door was pulled open and, because my hand was still clutching the doorknob, I got pulled in too.
I went tumbling into the office and would have busted my lip if a hand hadn't reached out in time to rescue me. Like the elegant young lady that I was trying so hard to be, I looked up to express my gratitude and my breath hitched,abandoning my words somewhere along my windpipe.
Blonde, curly hair with dark roots, a beautifully sculpted jawline, pink lips that held a lip ring at the right corner of his bottom lip, a dashing smile to go along with it and eyes like a mixture of earth and honey.
I was falling again.
"Wow..." was the only word that escaped my mouth as he helped me to my feet. I stared in awe at the boy before me. Then I realized that the once lively room had gone deadly quiet and the alarm bells in my head that had failed me yet again decided to blare distractingly at the same moment I came to terms with what just flew out of my mouth. My conscience rubbed hard on the light bulb of excuse in an attempt to flick it on and it actually worked. "...you're pretty sharp for a blonde."
Kill me now, I did not just say that.
"That's a stereotype." One of the girls, a platinum blonde stated sourly. "And he's not even a real blonde."
I nodded.
"Right. Anyway, I'm your guide." I sent a short wave at the small group but they were too busy giving me strange looks to return it. I was already used to those looks so I tried for a smile and a joke that I thought they would find funny. "It's okay, I'm used to getting stared at like I just announced that I'm the school's most beloved mascot." I waved them over, covering my mouth in secrecy and whispered, "Not to brag, but I'm the school's most beloved mascot."
From the hallway, a cough could be heard. My smile wavered but I gave one last shot at befriending them.
"It's nice to meet you all."
They didn't answer and I took their silence as an opportunity to dive right into my purpose here.
I stared at the five new faces.
No Donovan.
I shrugged and waved for everyone to follow me. Maybe he doesn't need the tour since he had gone here before. I'll just have to play spot-the- traitor in the auditorium after I got through with this.
The blonde boy could have burned holes in my side profile with the way he kept staring at me, the three girls kept checking out my outfit and giggling to themselves which made me self-conscious and the depressed looking guy that was wearing the round-rimmed glasses was in a world of his own and I began to retract my earlier statement because it was most definitely not nice to meet them all.
By the time I had led them to the next point in this pointless and torturous tour, I was reduced to a stuttering mess, only thinking in pictures instead of having the little voices in my head narrate my next sentences before I spoke them.
I was nervous and who wouldn't be when they were all acting like I was escorting them to their last meals. They didn't even bother to throw a pity question my way to keep the conversation going.
"And this is...um," What's the word? What's the word? "...where we have lunch."
Dang it, Harley. Think in thoughts! Think in thoughts right now!
Someone snorted behind me and I turned to the crowd, my eyes sweeping across everyone's bored expressions for the perpetrator, coming to a rest at the handsome guy at the back.
"What?" My arms crossed defensively as we stared each other down. Well, I was staring him down. He just looked amused.
"Cafeteria." He grinned smugly and I sighed. I was so used to his type by now but it still killed me that a pretty face like that had been wasted on someone with such a rotten personality.
He had a low and sultry voice too. It made me think that he'd fit right in with those good-looking cologne models. I put a finger up to argue then thought better of it. That was actually pretty helpful and I'm really not in the mood to have him taunt me any further.
"Thanks." I forced out and resumed the task at hand. Only a few more places to go then I can lead them to the principal and go find Donovan. "But I'm the guide here so let me do my job please."
He walked up to me, stopping just before me and lowering himself so that we were eye to eye. I stared for a minute to show him that he wasn't as intimidating as he thought and he drew back with a knowing look on his face.
I had to deal with Richard on a daily so, compared to that monstrosity, everyone else made me feel like I was on easy mode. This guy wouldn't be a problem for me.
"What?" I asked again since he wouldn't stop staring and he shrugged.
"Nothing, it's just...it's nothing. So, lavatory, classes, cafeteria...what's next?" He pitched in and, mentally, I sighed. I scraped my last bits of confidence off the floor and picked up what he was putting down.
"The lab now then library." I spoke to him, catching the simple silver chain around his neck, and nodded at the door.
On the way, I informed them of their limited options on the cafeteria menu but, after receiving zero encouragement to continue, I quickly changed the topic to something more upbeat but was met with even worse silence which caused my confidence reserve to dry out like a shriveled-up sprout in the desert.
I didn't try to speak again.
But blondie did, and boy could he hold a conversation. In fact, he wasn't just holding one, he actually got them to respond to him by directing his questions at each and every one of them.
His method forced them out of their protective shells and they all gathered around him as he spoke like he was the guide instead of yours truly.
I had been left behind to notice the mood change and lament on their silent approval of the eviction of my good leadership. I had been replaced by a newbie and that did not sit well with me. I pushed my gratitude out of my frontal lobe and welcomed my old friend: loathing.
He was so annoying. Almost as annoying as his stupid bed hair. Oh, I could just about grab his thick head and comb it into a circle since he was proving to be as sharp as one.
"Job thief." I muttered as we entered the library. He heard me and made sure I knew by simply raising a brow. I mimicked his gesture then rolled my eyes away from his piercing gaze and onto the other boy who I hadn't noticed had been standing right by me.
I opened my mouth to explain the rules of the library-and he totally put his headphones on over his head to ignore me. Huffing, I leaned back on the bookshelf-breaking a rule- and closed my eyes to shut out the world around me but was instantly doused in the heavenly sound of the low and sultry voice of the blonde boy as he spoke directly to me.
"Where to next?"
I spared him my right eye, shutting it right back after catching his expression.
"Orientation." I mumbled. "Which we're late for by the way."
"What?"One of the girls exclaimed and I jerked upright, not sure why she had screamed like that. "You're telling me we have to head in with everyone looking at us all weirdly?"
"Um, yeah." I nodded. "You are new after all but I'm sure no one would really care-"
"Why didn't you say that earlier?" The other girl, a redhead threw her hands up dramatically. I didn't know what the problem was or how I could possibly fix it.
Besides, I did say it. They just hadn't been paying attention, like, at all.
"Yeah, you've just been standing there doing nothing this whole time when you could have let us know that orientation is now."
"Um, hello? Guide here." I gestured at all of me.
"No, he's been our guide. Not you." And the redhead pointed at blondie who was watching the drama unfold in silence. That is, until I turned my vengeful eyes on him.
If it looked like I was about to cry, I really wasn't. I just hadn't gotten enough sleep last night. That's why my eyes had gone red.
My choked response was cut off by him.
"Cut her some slack. She just thought you guys felt more comfortable talking to me instead. And you did, right?" He asked and they nodded, hummed and agreed in a choir. I wanted to grab a microscope to search for the backbone they all seemed to lose whenever he spoke. "It's my fault, okay? Let's leave it at that and head for orientation before we actually get into trouble. Is that okay with everyone?"
The problem died out like a drenched fire pit. I stood in disbelief for what felt like forever, wondering why everyone in this town always merited facial beauty over everything else. It was sickening.
I got a tap on my shoulder and one of the girls, I don't know who, muttered that I should lead the way and my fists clenched at my sides.
I felt humiliated and the whole situation seemed unfair. They hadn't shown any interest in what I had to say throughout, so why was I now getting such dirty looks from those three girls?
I walked out of the library, heading for the auditorium. I didn't care if they could match my pace or not. They could follow their new guide if they really wanted to make it to orientation in time.
I couldn't care less.
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The auditorium was nearly packed with the entire student body. I'm always amazed that we can all fit here with a few vacant seats even though our high school is the most populated in our town. Since the last row wasn't occupied, I pulled down a random seat and closed my eyes in a failed attempt to block out the noise.
My brother was situated somewhere in the middle row. I could spot him among the other Populars from here. It was especially rowdy in that particular section. Everyone wanted to be a part of whatever discussion they were having.
The Populars were loved by any and everyone in this town. My brother is loved and I...well, I'm just Harley the Hedgehog to them, a relief they all rushed to when their imperfections were compared to any of The Populars and their go-to excuse to hide their mediocrity.
But I also served as a reminder of it and they hated me for it.
Not even three minutes into my break from people, a chair popped down next to me and I shifted from my comfortable position to spot the intruder.
I glared at the new best school guide in town, wondering why he had made the conscious decision to abandon the group that had gathered somewhere down the line to chat with him just to annoy me with his presence.
It drew attention to my safe little spot and, not sparing a second for me to gather myself, other students began to occupy the seats in my row.
I sunk in my seat and pulled my hoodie on over my head, drawing it in to hide most of my face as I leaned my upper body on the free seat in front of me.
He cleared his throat.
My right eye twitched.
Slowly, though irritated beyond measure at his close proximity, I set the full force of my glare on him, hoping it would make him uncomfortable enough to go away. He stared back with an idiotic grin, a strand of his hair falling onto his face. His eyes glinted with amusement at my frustration.
"You're alarmingly tall for a girl. You know that, right?"
Of all the things he could have said, he had chosen that one as a conversation starter. One of my biggest insecurities. I gritted my teeth and nodded for the sake of nodding while chuckles rolled in from those who had heard like the end credits of a movie.
I had seen it coming from a mile away so it didn't bother me too much.
The voices in my head applauded him on his bold move sitting next to the school's most voted social pariah. No, really, they actually did that about two years ago. I had found out through the school's newspaper.
Funny thing is, I'm not even mad about it. Every school had at least one and I just so happened to fit into what they deemed unworthy of their attention the most.
Though I was in awe of his social skills, I swallowed a response and looked ahead. He filled the silence with a yawn, stretching like he had just woken up from an hour-long nap.
"But I'm taller so you're short in my book, sorry."
He did not sound sorry. At all.
"Are you mocking me?"I finally snapped like he wanted, sniffing and blinking my cry session away. I refuse to cry on the first day of school. "I thought you already had enough fun back there humiliating me just to get other kids here to like you. What's next? I know you're not above height-shaming but if you're going to do anything else I'd prefer if you got on with it already. My anxiety builds up when I try to guess at what cruel joke is gonna take place next so could you please, for the love of God, get it over with already and leave me the hell alone?"
He stared. I scrubbed at the dust in my probably red eyes with the back of my sleeves, took in a deep breath, and tried to glare him away with no such luck.
"I honestly thought I was helping."
Did he seriously think I was an idiot? Sure, he wore a mask of concern and confusion but I wasn't fooled by it because I had already been well-versed on teen boy 1-0-1. Naivety wasn't a trait of mine that he'd be benefitting from any time soon. I had already buried that version of myself for a good long while now.
"You thought wrong." I gritted out, feeling the glares being shot at me from eavesdroppers. "Just admit that what you really wanted was a few pathetic laughs from those girls."
He scoffed.
"Not my fault that your perception of me is so shallow."He shrugged, squinting at me like I wasn't worth the time of day. I returned the gesture wholeheartedly. "Back there, you talked like you were in need of a speech class or three, could barely make eye contact with anyone, and acted like just being there was sucking the life out of you so, yeah, I was helping."
"Helping? Give me a break." I wanted to cuss him out so bad. "I give you points for being delusional, taking embarrassing me and turning it into being helpful. And, yeah, I am pretty shallow. Mark it, stamp it, post it for all I care-"
"Real mature of you there." He muttered, sarcasm lacing his every syllable. "You get that one from a nursery book?"
"You'd recognize it since that's where your reading comprehension ends." I shot back, feeling rejuvenated all of a sudden. It really has been a good long while since I gave anyone a piece of my mind. "Make no mistake, to me, you were as useful as a bucket with a hole in it."
I turned away from his starved pufferfish expression, feeling exceedingly pleased with myself for once and conversation between us died out completely just as the transfers were called up.
Good, now he'll finally get out of my hair.
"I imagined this going a lot differently but whatever." He sighed as he rose from his seat. My side eye of annoyance at him was duly noted, seeing how he sighed again. "Catch you around, Harley. Or maybe not."
The hairs at the back of my neck rose along with my suspicion at the sound of my name. I tried to get a good look at him once more but could only view his back as he walked away.
He stopped right where The Populars were sitting, gaining the attention of Catherine and Riley almost instantly. Then the boys simultaneously turned to see what the girls were staring at and Cash and Hero froze.
My breath caught in my throat and suddenly the auditorium felt like a tiny box that I had been stuffed into.
I wanted out right now.
His eyes found mine and I shot up from my seat, the urge to run overpowering every other thought. His shone with a little bit of forced humor and a whole lot of hurt. Mine was filled with panic. I had already made up my mind to hightail it for the restroom when Hero pushed off him and spoke those very much haunting words.
"Of course you would leave out the most crucial information, Donovan." Hero muttered as he pulled Cash off of Donovan before giving him another, much warmer, hug. He was smiling and it was genuine as far as I can tell."We had a whole conversation on the phone this morning and you never thought to mention that you're back?"
Donovan broke eye contact first, a cheeky smile forming on his face as he turned to Hero, and, for the rest of orientation, wouldn't spare a glance in my direction.
I felt sick.
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