Terribly Gorgeous

People that are broken are terribly gorgeous.

*

"You placed a wager." Those four words shattered my heart. I was saying it out loud stung. I should have known better. I should've learned that the jock would never ask a lady like me out unless it was for his benefit.

"Yes." You'd think he'd be upset about it, but he wasn't.

He had a smug on his face. He could have cared less. I hadn't seen him with that look before. He was no longer the sweet, loving lover I had imagined him to be.

"How long will this last?" I asked.

"Five months," he said. "However, it was the longest five months of my life." Another hit to the chest. I felt as though I were in the film She's All That. It was odd because it was one of my favorite movies, and now I find myself in the same scenario.

"Why?" My voice cracked, humiliating me even more.

"You came up with an excellent challenge." He didn't care that he had torn my heart out and was now walking on the fragments. He was pleased with himself.

My body was malfunctioning. My eyes did not well up, at least not yet. I felt hollow. 'How could I have missed this?' was all I could think. 'Didn't you see that wasn't real?'

"I didn't expect it to take me five months to convince you to admit you love me, but getting in your trousers was worth it."

People stared at us. Of course, Mitch had to do it at the center of the school entrance, where everyone could see him. It was as though they summoned everyone to the front of the school. And those who weren't there would hear about it in less than 30 minutes. Whether you liked it or not, gossip spread quickly in high school.

"I didn't do-" I began to talk, but he cut me off. I never slept with him. We didn't do anything like that.

"However," he said, "discovering you were also banging my pals behind my back stung."

The audience gasped. He was lying, but nobody could tell. They saw the pain on his face instead.

The glitter in his eye told me it was his retaliation for forcing him away the night before he sought to sleep with me. His three pals smirked behind him as they agreed to the proposal.

I wanted to knock their grins off of their faces. They were all infected. It's sick to gamble on and embarrass me in front of the whole school.

"But it no longer matters," I thought. "Nobody loves sloppy seconds in the first place." Hundreds of eyes looked at me, all of them judging. Everyone assumed I slept with Mitch and cheated on him.

Worse, no one appeared to care that he had made a wager in the first place. No one cared about that little detail, just that I had 'cheated' on Mitch Lingston, the golden boy. No matter what I said, I knew no one would believe tiny invisible Riley Carson or me.

My throat tightened, and my eyes began to hurt. Mitch laughed, and then everyone laughed, and their laughter hung in the crevices of my ear like bangles. Kids pointed and chatted all around me. From what others were saying, I had become the school's laughingstock as well as its slut in a matter of seconds.

I grabbed the strap of my bag before turning away, not wanting to weep in front of the whole school. Mitch said again after I had barely taken a few feet.

"You weren't even a decent deception."

My feet were moving before my thoughts could catch up. As everyone shouted and laughed for Mitch, I dashed across the parking lot to my vehicle. I started the car with trembling hands and drove out of the parking lot.

As I drove home, with tears streaming down my face, I knew that the remainder of the school year would be misery.

"I can't believe she'd do anything like that to Mitch Lingston."

"What in the world does she think she is?"

"He deserves a lot more than that tramp."

Similar things were being said about me. These remarks have followed me to and from lessons for the last two and a half weeks. I could only get away from them at lunch and when I went home. Even on weekends, if I went outdoors, I could hear it.

I hurried towards the library, tucking my head low. I wouldn't say I liked the attention, and the only place where I felt at home was in the back corner of the library. I wouldn't have to be concerned about seeing or hearing anybody there.

I was greeted with sacred stillness the instant the library doors closed. I took a deep breath and moved toward my area. Nobody ever came back, so it was all mine. Mrs. Anderson, the librarian, liked me enough to have one of the janitors place a comfortable chair in the corner. To top it off, I was in the romance department, which held all my favorite novels. It was the ideal little nook.

I sank into the chair with my luggage on the ground. It was by far the softest, most comfortable chair I've ever sat in while it was in use. I've slept in it a few times.

I tilted my head to the right and looked out the window. The glass was tinted so no one could see who was inside, but I could see everything outside. Students milled about outdoors on seats and tables. It was the typical senior lunchtime gathering. I used to sit out there, but that was long ago.

I tried not to feel sad or angry at seeing everyone out there. I wish I could sit outside in the beautiful weather, chatting with friends. But being out there was out of the question. Not any longer.

There are just 144 days; I thought before I left this Place.

Graduation, on the other hand, was too far away. I've spent many days in this hellhole, listening to nasty things people say about me. I'd leave if I could, but I couldn't because this is my senior year. Because I was nearly done. I only had to hang on for a few more months.

I shouldn't care what other people thought of me, but I did. I, like everyone else, dislike having others pass judgment on me for topics they do not know of. However, this is high school. This is where no one believes what is true; they care about themselves and their position and couldn't care less if they injure someone. And at the time, I was at the bottom of everyone's list of people to be good too.

I reached for an apple and a bottle of water as I turned away from the window. I woke up late this morning and didn't have time to get anything. If I had been bold enough, I would have gone to one of the vending machines near the cafeteria or someplace else, but I wasn't.

I'm eating an apple. I stood up to get the book I was now reading. The benefit of having this location to myself was that I could read a book and then set it back down to read the following day without worrying about someone taking it. It also left off one book I had to carry to and from class and home.

I spent most of my lunch hour reading and eating my apple. I took another look out the window before the bell tolled. What I saw caused me to squint. Mitch Lingston, the man who destroyed my heart, sat there like he was the king of the school.

He sat on the table's apex, surrounded by his three closest buddies and tiny entourage. With his all-American features and as captain of the football and baseball teams, he was the popular 'it' kid of Central High School. Blonde hair was well-groomed, beautiful blue eyes, and a figure with all the females salivating.

Mitch is the charming, popular lad you can't help but adore, yet he is everything but. Girls flocked to him and his buddies regardless of what they thought he was like. He treated them like yoyos and couldn't care less whom he wounded. His pals were just as awful as he was.

Mitch's closest buddies since middle school was Brent, Vik, and Rich. You couldn't go anywhere without running into all four of them. And, like Mitch, they only thought with their dicks rather than their minds.

I genuinely believed they were lovely for a time, but it was all a ruse. But, as you can see, that is how they entice all females to sleep with them. It also helped that they were all beautiful and recognized it.

Looking at them now, I can't see what I used to see in them. How could I have missed Mitch exploiting me for a bet? I was completely dazzled by that golden boy Mitch Lingston paying attention to me, dorky Riley Carson. It was a girl's fantasy come true.

I sighed when the bell finally rang. It's time to leave my small haven. After returning my book and gathering my belongings, I proceeded to my next lesson, Biology. I took a deep breath before leaving the library.

This is something I can handle. Riley just ignores them.

That was much easier said than done. I attempted to rush to my next lesson without collapsing. But recently, fortune has not been on my side. I ran into someone as soon as I rounded the corner.

I moaned as I looked up to see who it was. I believe the cosmos was conspiring against me at the time.

"It seems like someone is unable to remain away." My heart clenched terribly when I heard my ex- Boyfriend's voice.

"I can't get enough of it," I said. "Could you just get out of my way?" Oh, how I wished I could smash that smug off his face.

"Have you been missing me?" He said.

"I'm missing treading on legos," I replied. Mitch was the last person I expected to miss. He may rot in hell for all I care after what he did to me.

"Riley, you may appear as if you don't care, but I know you do. Remember I was with you for five months?"

"Need I remind you of 5 months of lies? Get out of my way now." Instead of waiting for him to move, I pushed him to make it to class on time.

"You may lie all you want, Riley, but you miss me," Mitch said. I rolled my eyes and ignored him. I'd assume he wanted me to miss him if I hadn't known better.

I stepped into Biology and took a seat near the rear window, ignoring all the remarks about me. I could see everyone from here, and they could ignore me as usual.

I got 'popular' while I was dating Mitch. People recognized my name, greeted me everywhere I went, and asked me to parties. I was thrust into the limelight, which I was not used to.

I was back where I had begun despite being despised and having no friends at the time. When I began dating Mitch, I gradually stopped talking to the few people I knew. I was with him almost every day, and because of Mitch, I got estranged from them. They couldn't stand being around me when the entire thing became public. They were well aware that if we were friends again, they would be despised just as much as I would be.

As a result, I was now on my own. While it didn't bother me, I missed having someone to chat with or hang out with. Being alone may rapidly become quite lonely. I returned to class with a sigh of relief.

I sprang out of my seat as soon as the last bell rang. I darted between people trying to get out of this hell hole, ducking my head down. On the other hand, Central High did not seem to be a jail. With its recently restored outside, new brown paint and brick, and freshly painted walls inside, you'd assume it was a welcoming place. But it wasn't like that.

Although the walls were a bright yellow and each classroom had a distinct color scheme, it was really a jail. I've never liked school, but my dislike for it has risen recently.

With backward glances, I dashed over to the parking lot. Maybe my automobile won't have a silly string on it today. I'm not sure how someone obtained that much silly string.

I observed Mitch and his pals standing by his vehicle ahead of me, so I took the long route around them. I once walked right by them in the hopes that they wouldn't notice. They did, and it was terrible.

I exhaled as I passed them and went toward the rear of the parking lot. The less engagement you have with them, the better.

Because of my current social standing, I was assigned to one of the worst parking locations. I was at the far rear, where getting out and walking into school took forever if I was ever late. I was just a few vehicles away when I saw my tragic automobile. I marched towards it, groaning loudly.

My silver 2010 Honda Accord was adorned with pink and purple silly string. Even though the automobile wasn't brand new, it ran like a champ. It became my baby the instant I saw it last year. My parents agreed that if I earned straight A's and saved half the money, they would help me purchase a vehicle. I received this gem five months later.

After unlocking the vehicle, I put my suitcase on the passenger seat before beginning the dreadful chore of removing the ridiculous string. This has been occurring for the last week, and it takes about 15 minutes to get it off. Fortunately, it stays together, making cleanup simple. I was thankful it was just a silly thread that had irrevocably destroyed my automobile.

I could hear everyone behind me laughing as I began to pluck off the thread. I tried to ignore it, gritting my teeth so I wouldn't shout back at them. It would be pointless for me to say anything.

"Have a good time cleaning it up, tramp!" Rebecca Roberts exclaimed. Rebecca is the top cheerleader and resident bitch at Central High. She despised me from the time Mitch asked me out, and I had no idea why until now. She wanted Mitch all to herself, and now that I was out of the way, she didn't hesitate to seize him.

Mitch walked up with Rebecca on his arm the day after he admitted to using me for a bet. Everywhere I turned, they were devouring each other's faces and dry-humping or making sarcastic comments about me.

Rebecca, on the other hand, isn't your typical blonde bimbo. No, she's astute and understands she doesn't have to dress sexily to attract a man. Rebecca dressed just enough to show off her great physique without seeming trashy. Every female aspired to be like her, and every man desired to be with her. Of course, she was aware of this and exploited it.

Her remark made me roll my eyes. It was amusing that she dubbed me a tramp after dating almost every football player on the squad.

I was cursing under my breath. I shook the thread between my fingers and dropped it on the ground. My swear words undoubtedly made my grandmother roll over in her grave, but I didn't care. I was done with this nonsense.

"Who knew the geek could curse so much?" A voice said from behind me.

"Thank goodness I'm not a fucking geek," I mumbled while turning my back.

"You really need some soap for that mouth."

"Please leave me alone." I was nearly through with the thread and could finally go.

"How come you want me to do that?" I almost heard the smile in the guy's voice.

"Because I'm not interested in talking to you." He was here to poke fun at me like everyone else. What more could he be saying to me? No one does that unless they want to embarrass me.

"That stings," I said.

"Good."

I wiped my hands on my pants after picking off the final clump. I turned around, still feeling the guy's gaze on me, and met a set of incredibly gorgeous grey eyes. In front of me stood a man who put literary figures to shame.

Silky black hair was longer than usual, with a few strands falling into a set of gorgeous grey eyes. Of course, the man had beautiful lashes and brows that any female would kill for. I had high cheekbones and a jawline that made my knees tremble.

There was no denying he was hot. But he had to be Alex Kinley, the other 'popular' man at school, for different reasons. You either adored Mitch, the all-American with blonde hair and blue eyes. Alex, the nasty lad with black hair and steel eyes. I know it's cliche.

I had no idea why Alex Kinley was regarded as Central High's bad guy. He rode a motorcycle, had tattoos, and was rumored to be a gang member, but I wasn't convinced. The rumors about here ranged from ridiculous to strange. I would know if half of what was said was false.

When I realized Alex was gazing at me, I hurriedly turned away. My cheeks became hot after checking him out, and I spoke back to him.

Looking down at my shoes, I said, "I'm sorry about that earlier." I didn't care about gossip, but I didn't know Alex, so who knows what he'd do to me. At the very least, he couldn't further damage my reputation.

"I had no idea you had a mouth."

"I didn't believe anybody was paying attention," I said. I looked up at him, and I saw he had a permanent smile on his face. He was scorching.

"I was delighted." I didn't know what to say in response. I wasn't sure what to do with him talking to me right now. He was the last person I expected to speak to out of everyone. Alex was the sort of person who kept to himself and a limited number of pals. I seldom observed him conversing with anybody else.

"Well, I have to leave." I turned and pushed myself into my vehicle, not wanting to disgrace myself anymore. With one final look at Alex, standing there with a strange expression on his face, I shifted into drive and drove away.

As I drove out of the parking lot, my hands trembled slightly. Did Alex Kinley just speak to me? It was the most anyone had said to me in over two weeks, and he didn't even call me names, which had to be a record.

I knew chatting with Alex was going to get me in trouble as I drove to work. And I didn't need any more trouble right now. All I had to do was keep my head down until the end of the year, and I'd be free.