Chapter 12: Don't Need It
-Melanie
I felt the cold metal lockers against my back as I struggled to break free. "Stop! Let me go!" They grabbed my arms and held them still. Geena walked closer to me and harshly grabbed my chin.
"Just quit cross country. No one loves you and you're not good enough." She spat out, word by word. "Actually, while you're at it, you should just give up on life as well." Geena sneered as the girls next to me laughed. "I mean look at you," She took a step back and scanned me up and down. "You're so pathetic."
"Not as pathetic as you are." I growled.
Her sneer quickly faded away, replaced by a glare. She scoffed and whipped her brown curls over her shoulders.
"This bitch." She raised her hand and slapped me. The impact was so hard that I fell on the hard ground, holding my cheek. It burned.
"Deal with her." I heard Geena say. The girls started to kick me and step on me. Sharp blows rained down on me as I crouched down, covering myself.
"Hey!" I felt the harsh kicks come to a stop as someone's heavy footsteps came closer. I looked up. "Get lost Geena." He glared at her.
Geena stared at Nate and squinted her eyes back at me. "Piece of shit." She turned on her heels and walked away with her minions following behind her.
Nate crouched down next to me. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." I stood up and brushed myself off.
His eyes softened. "Do you want me to tell her to stop? Or, I can-"
"No, Nate. I don't want your help. I don't need it." I looked at him in the eye. He looked slightly surprised. I walked away, leaving him there.
…
After class, I walked straight to the parking lot, not wanting to hear Jennie's questions of what had happened. In the middle of the crowd, a hand grasped my wrist. It pulled me out of the hallway and into an empty classroom.
"Melanie! Why are you avoiding me? Did they do something to you?" I forced a smile on my face.
"It's okay Jennie, I hid on the rooftop so they didn't find me." Jennie let out a sigh of relief.
"I swear one day, I'm gonna beat the shit out of Geena. I'm so sorry I couldn't get to you. The other girls were holding me back. " She pulled me in a tight hug.
My heart melted. "It's okay Jennie. I'm really okay."
"That's good." She let me go and I almost thought I saw tears in her eyes. "Well, I have to go. I have to work on the science project with my partner." She grabbed her dance bag on the ground. "Bye, I'll call you as soon as I can since I have dance right after."
"No, no. If you have dance, don't bother to call me. You're gonna get home late anyways."
"Okay then. Bye." She smiled at me one last time and turned around. I saw her get swallowed by the moving crowd.
My phone buzzed in my jeans. I took it out and answered it. "Hi, Ben. Are you here yet?" There was a silence on the other line. I furrowed my eyebrows. "Hello?"
"Yeah, Mel. I don't think I can pick you up right now. Something unexpected came up. Can you ask Jennie for a ride?." He sounded urgent.
"Y-Yeah. I'll ask Jennie. Don't worry." What was so important to him right now?
"Thanks Mel and I'm so sorry. Text me when you get home."
"Okay, but what's so importa-" He hung up.
I sighed. It looked like I was going to walk home today. Should I just sleep here? I turned back and made my way to the rooftop.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone