Chapter 6: A Kick to the Heart

"So, did he send you any pictures?" Hannah squealed as we walked to our lockers. "No, nothing like that. He was flirty. I was flirty, but it wasn't so bad." I handed her my phone. She read through the conversation and giggled. I tugged at my shirt. It was a used uniform shirt that was completely faded. I looked as poor as I felt right now. I took off my bag and slipped two of my romance novels in my bag along with my journal. I wrote so much personal stuff in this journal that I would die if anyone else read it. I needed to start leaving it at home. Hannah pointed down the hall. "See that girl over there?" She pointed over to near where Chase is standing. That guy Luke from the arcade was next to him, and another girl was approaching them. "Yes, she looks kind of familiar. Do I know her?" I asked. Hannah nodded. "That's Courtney. She was at the mall with the guys over the weekend. She's dating Jason, the principals' son," she explained. "I'm exhausted at the thought of it. This place is a zoo," I said. "Yeah, the amount of popular people here is a little extreme. You'd think people would get along, but oh well, can't expect much from high school, right?" ***Chase's POV Luke punched my arm. "Seriously, man, when are you going to let me ride that beautiful motorcycle of yours?" Rolling my eyes, I wished he would stop asking. "It's never going to happen. Let it go." I shoved him away. "Okay, well, what about that half-naked chick from your party?" he asked. "Dude, I don't even know her, and that was an accident. She was clearly too small for her suit." I relished in the thought of that girl half-naked. She was hot and in need of help. It was a perfect scenario for me to weasel my way in. Something flashed in the corner of my eye—long red hair and pale legs. She looked familiar. I would recognize a hot chick from a mile away, or maybe not. They all started to look the same after a while. She was cute, but her clothes seemed to be worn and faded. Courtney started eyeing me up and down like she usually did, but she was Jason's girl. For some reason, that didn't stop her from following us around. She was a total b*tch, but she could be funny, and by funny, I meant terrible. "Look, the new girl. The one who almost drowned at your party." She nodded at the girl with red hair. "What's her name again?" Luke asked. I racked my brain. I thought I heard it at the party. "Amber, no, Aria. Don't ask me her last name. I don't know, and I don't care." We headed in her direction. She was talking with Hannah, who was super hot, but we've never interacted. I needed to change that. "Hey, new girl. Nice clothes. Did you pick them out of the dumpster out back?" Courtney asked. A few people around her snickered. I laughed. The least this girl could do was try. She was at a high school for the elites, rich people, and whatnot. She needed to try harder. The new girl looked hurt but tried to hide it, just not very well. Her friend scowled. "Don't you have a cheer to mess up?" she shot back. Aria looked at Hannah and shook her head. Luke slammed the books that she was holding, and they dropped to the ground. "Seriously?" Aria asked and kneeled to pick them up. I kicked them across the hall. Other students started slipping on papers, kicking books unintentionally. She looked me in the eye. At that moment, I felt like I hurt her. I shook the feeling, and we all started laughing. Her friend began to help her pick up all of the papers and books that they could get. "What a loser. Who even let you in this school?" Courtney asked. She saw a small book on the ground and picked it up. She started laughing. "What is this? A romance?" she asked. Luke grabbed it. "Very nice. Trying to learn a thing or two or are you just a slut?" he asked. I hated that word, but I said nothing. Who brought romance books to school? That was kind of lame. "What business is it of yours? I am not bothering you." She tried to grab the book from Luke, but he raised it higher. "Give it back, Luke, seriously," Hannah snapped. Aria rolled her eyes. "Picking on the new girl is so cliché. Grow up," Aria shot back and lunged for it again. Luke tossed it to me. Suddenly, Courtney jumped behind Aria, grabbed the entire contents of her locker, and pushed it all out onto the ground. "Chase, control your followers, would you?" Hannah directed at me. Courtney's best friend, Polly, picked up some papers from the ground and ripped them. "Well, this looks like fun. Happy Monday, new girl," she sneered. I shrugged. This was none of my business, and I owed this girl nothing. What was a little hazing in high school anyway? "Are you going to say anything or just watch?" Aria asked me directly. I looked into her green eyes. She really was beautiful. It was a shame she dressed the way she did. "I'm probably just going to watch. It's funny," I replied. She laughed. "Oh, it's funny? What makes it funny? Your friend's lame jokes, or maybe the fact you are such a stereotypical rich playboy?" That stung a little, but I couldn't let it show. I couldn't let some new girl who didn't know me try to show me up in front of my group. "Little girl, you know absolutely nothing about me," I snapped at her. "Instead of getting all angry, maybe do something about it. You're wearing hand-me-downs at an elite school. You're a senior. For God's sake, it's embarrassing. Just call up your daddy and get some money to fix yourself before you try to run with the big leagues." Her eyes started to glisten. It looked like she was about to cry. I hated crying. When my little sister did it, I couldn't help but fix it. I didn't want to fix this girl. She had her own problems, and I was not her support system. "Well, you don't know anything about me. Besides, clothes aren't important. This isn't a fashion school. I'm here to learn, which is more than I can say about you." She threw the words in my face. They hardly bothered me, but she wasn't entirely wrong. Of course, I would never say that to her with all of these people watching. Courtney and Polly grabbed some more papers and ripped them up. Luke slapped Hannah on the ass and walked away laughing. I saw a few books out of sight. The girls were too busy arguing to notice them. There was a small journal, faux leather if I was guessing, and two small but thick books on the ground. They appeared to be the romance novels Courtney referenced earlier. Of course, she was a reader. I grabbed the books and journal and slipped them into my backpack. These looked interesting to read. A smile crossed my face because no one saw me stuff them in my bag. I stood back up just as the two girls finished picking everything up. Courtney and Polly headed to class once they lost interest in tormenting the new girl and her friend. They left me standing there watching Aria and Hannah pick up the pieces of a messy morning. "You know, if you tried to fit in more, people wouldn't pick on you," I said, leaning against the lockers. She was looking feverishly around, trying to secure all of the contents of her locker. "Or, and think about this super carefully, maybe you and your friends could try being nice human beings instead of tormentors. Sounds pretty great, right? That way, you won't have to try putting the blame on innocent people for your actions." She made a fake shocked face. It was kind of cute, and a laugh escaped me. "Oh, so glad you find that funny," she replied. It looked like she wanted to slap me. I wouldn't stop her if she tried. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt much based on her small size. The first bell rang. Hannah grabbed her friend's arm and yanked her away from me, mumbling something under her breath so I couldn't hear. I was somewhat relieved. She didn't seem to notice she was missing a few things, primarily the journal. I would probably not open the romances because I was more into thrillers, but this journal was very intriguing. I couldn't wait to see her again, that was for sure. ***Aria's POV I was not sure what upset me more. The fact that my mom moved us here or Chase's face. It turned out he only had his good looks going for him because his personality sucked. Either he was raised terribly, or he just sucked. I barely made it to class, and I couldn't even think about what classes were affected by my homework being destroyed. Part of me hoped they were just notes.