The Perfect Horton Kids.

(KAIRA'S POV)

I was grateful that school was scanty because I didn't want to attract attention coming to school with Slade Horton.

"What time?" He asked, parking the car without looking up at me.

"Huh?"

He turned to me and I swallowed a lump in my throat. "What time are you done from school today?"

"Oh." I shrugged lightly. "I have the Ink Club meeting after school. I'll be done around 4 today. You don't have to wait for me, I—"

"That's perfect. I'm done with football practice before 4 today. I'll see you later."

There was no room for argument in his tone. It all sounded finalized so I found myself nodding at him.

Eager not to get lost in those eyes as I easily seemed to do, I grabbed my bag and left the car like the seat was burning me. Then I walked quickly towards the school building.

I let out a deep breath, soaking in the fresh air that welcomed me. It was obvious that I was breathing better now that Slade was nowhere around me. So why did it still feel odd without him around? His presence was suffocating at the same time that he gave me more life.

My racing pulse had adjusted and I didn't feel like a robot in my own body anymore.

I started up the stairs and into the wide hallway which was thankfully empty. I walked to my first class, History studies and as expected it was empty.

I was thirty minutes early and even though that was not so much time in all honesty, it was the world to teenagers.

I got out my notebook and journaled for some time. I was getting into expressing my feelings on paper that I paid no attention to the time passing by or to the kids who started coming into class.

I was in my own world, until I felt a strange sense around me. And that was when I noticed. Everyone was staring at me, and whispering indiscriminately.

I looked down at my desk and then up again. So many pairs of eyes fixed on me, and they didn't even care to look away, so I had to.

"What in the world?" I murmured to myself.

I had been the first to arrive, so I couldn’t understand why everyone was suddenly looking at me.

Slade isn't taking this class with me or I would think people are laughing at me for some snide remark he made. I didn't trip, no one poured water on me… I touched my back and there was no paper on it.

But those eyes never left. All pinned on me.

I quickly brought out my phone to check PineCrest social media platforms and then I felt an instant rush of sickness.

"Oh no." I whispered to myself.

My hands were trembling so much that my phone shook too.

There were pictures of me all over the pages! Pictures from the wedding, that I hadn't even seen yet. I tapped on the top trending picture and my breath caught. It was a picture of Slade and me, on the dance floor.

Staring at it made the whispers around me disappear. It was like I became sucked into my phone.

The picture looked perfect. I looked perfect … we looked perfect.

I tapped the comment section and there were so many comments talking about me. Some were great, some were bad, some were jealous. "Who does she think she is?" one comment read. "She's just the help's daughter." Another one: "She's actually pretty though."

But a lot of them were calling us the perfect Horton Kids.

"I'm not a Horton." I whispered to myself and just then, someone angrily snatched my phone from me.

I looked up, heart pounding. It was a girl I didn't recognize. Her eyes were blazing. She was holding my phone like she wanted to throw it