III- Pain

Indianna had made it to lunch, and she couldn’t be happier. All she wanted to do was find a quiet corner of the library and be by herself for the first time that day. During her third lesson, she had Ace, Greyson’s friend, trying to talk to her and then Brandon in the fourth. They both seemed nice, but Indianna hated them talking to her. She was better alone. Being alone was what she was good at.

The voice hadn’t spoken to her again and Indianna smiled as she opened her locker. Maybe she was just nervous and was imagining it? Indianna crossed her fingers and hoped that was the case. She placed her books into her locker and when she shut it, Brooklyn appeared out of nowhere.

“Indianna!” She grinned, making Indianna jump from fright.

“You scared me,” Indianna said and Brooklyn smiled apologetically.

“Sorry,” Brooklyn laughed. Indianna wondered if Brooklyn was ever not happy. She had yet to see her without a bubbly smile on her face. “So, I thought, considering you don’t know anyone, did you want to sit with my friends and me at lunch?”

“Oh...” Indianna bit her lip, shifting awkwardly on her feet. She avoided eye contact. “Um, thanks, but I was going to go to the library.”

“You don’t want to meet everyone?” Brooklyn’s face dropped slightly and Indianna felt guilty for turning her down, but she still shook her head.

“I... I, er, I need to get some work done at the library,” Indianna made up an excuse as Brooklyn’s attention was drawn to someone behind Indianna.

“I told you that you were a social outcast.”

Indianna turned round to see Greyson looking down at her, raising his dark eyebrows in amusement.

“Greyson!” Brooklyn gasped. “Don’t be rude!”

Greyson smirked. “What? It’s the truth.”

“You’re an asshole, but you don’t see me telling you that!”

“I know very well what you think of me, Brooklyn,” Greyson said dismissively. “Why don’t you run along so I can have a chat with your new friend?”

Brooklyn narrowed her eyes at Greyson and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re such a dick.”

Greyson glanced at Brooklyn with his dark eyes. “You better watch your mouth, Brooklyn,” he warned. “I was just with Harry, and he’s looking for you. It’d be wise to find him before he finds you.”

“Tell him to piss off,” Brooklyn shrugged and looked back at Indianna just as Ace and Kal approached them, followed by a boy with blond hair that was pushed back, a few strands falling forward, grazing his high cheekbones.

“Speak of the devil,” Greyson murmured, giving Brooklyn a knowing look. He turned and greeted the blond guy who was staring at Brooklyn who was trying her hardest to avoid eye contact.

“Indianna, shall I show you to the library?” Brooklyn suggested and stepped to the side but the blond boy was in front of her immediately, tutting and shaking his head. He placed his hands on Brooklyn’s hips and gently pushed her back onto the lockers. “Harry, I—”

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he whispered and narrowed his eyes. “You know I don’t appreciate you ignoring me, babe.”

“I totally haven’t been ignoring you,” Brooklyn said with a sweet smile. “Why on earth would I ignore you, Harry? You’re a total delight to be around, aren’t you? I can’t think why I would want to be away from you. Now, do me a favour, and leave me alone so I can show Indianna to the library.”

The blond boy, Harry, turned to look at Indianna, not having noticed her before. “Find your own way to the library,” he said, barely sparing her a glance and he turned his attention back to Brooklyn who’s mouth dropped.

“You can’t—” Brooklyn was cut off when Harry leaned down and kissed her. Immediately, Indianna noticed Brooklyn relaxing in Harry’s embrace and her lips moved in sync with his. She gripped his arms and Harry tangled his fingers in her curly hair. It was as if they had forgotten about the world around them and they were entirely focused on each other.

Indianna looked away, feeling awkward watching their intimate moment, and she caught Greyson rolling his eyes at the couple. They pulled apart when Kal, the ginger boy, made gagging noises and pretended to be sick.

“God, you’d think you two don’t spend every night going for it—”

“Kal!” Brooklyn cried, her eyes going wide. “God, stop talking!”

Indianna quickly realised that no one was paying her any attention so she slowly took a step backwards, confident that she could slip away unnoticed. Greyson, however, was entirely focused on Indianna and he noticed her immediately. He turned his head, raising his eyebrows at her.

“Going somewhere, Indie?”

Indianna felt her cheeks going red when all eyes went to her. This was the opposite of what she wanted.

“Er... Yeah. The library. I’m just...” She took another step back and pointed behind her. “Gonna go.”

“I don’t mind showing you where to go,” Brooklyn suggested kindly, stepping away from Harry.

“No,” Harry interjected, his voice blunt. He wrapped his arm around Brooklyn, holding her to his chest, causing Brooklyn to narrow her eyes and elbow Harry in the stomach. “She does.” He leaned down and whispered something into Brooklyn’s ear which made her roll her eyes but a faint smile formed on her lips.

“It’s fine,” Indianna said quickly and she hurriedly turned around and walked away before anyone else could say anything. She pushed away the guilt she felt from being rude and focused on making her way through the crowds of students littering the cramped school corridors.

Indianna felt utterly exhausted when she finally sat down in the library. She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, basking in the calming silence of the library. For the first time today, she felt at ease, surrounded by books and the few students that went to the library during lunch. Even the scent of dust and the poor ventilation of the library soothed her.

She was alone.

‘Sugar?’

Indianna sighed when she heard the voice. It didn’t make her jump this time, she was expecting it, having felt the presence creep into her mind. She chose to ignore the voice.

‘Indianna, don’t ignore me.’

Indianna scowled. ‘Leave me alone,’ she told the voice and reached into her pocket for her phone, attempting to distract herself.

The voice didn’t give up. ‘Indianna?’

Indianna shook her head and scrolled through her messages, ignoring the voice.

‘Indianna!’ The voice was so loud it made Indianna’s brain rattle and she gasped as a sharp pain seared through her head. It passed quickly, but she felt disoriented and rubbed her eyes, trying to focus properly on the world around her as she recovered from the burst of pain.

‘Did you do that?’ Indianna asked the voice in her head cautiously. ‘Did you hurt me?’

There was a silence. ‘I think I did.’

‘You think!’ Indianna didn’t think it was possible to yell in her mind, but clearly it was. ‘You think? That hurt! You hurt me!’

‘I can find it hard to control my anger at times, sugar. It’d be wise to do as I say and we can avoid that happening again in the future.’

‘You hurt me because you got angry?’ Indianna hissed. ‘What the hell is wrong with you?’

‘This is new for both of us, sugar. I didn’t plan on causing you pain, but you made me angry and it just happened.’

‘Are you even going to apologise?’

‘Are you going to apologise for ignoring me?’

‘That’s not fair! You’re insane! What do you want with me?’

‘I can’t tell you.’

‘Why the hell not!’ Indianna was growing increasingly frustrated.

‘I want to tell you, sugar—’

‘Stop calling me that!’

‘Don’t interrupt me. I want to tell you, but I don’t know if you are ready.’

Indianna frowned and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples with her fingers. ‘Ready for what?’ she asked eventually.

‘The truth.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I can’t tell you until you are ready, sugar.’

‘I’m scared. You’re scaring me,’ Indianna admitted. Her head was full of emotions and she wasn’t sure what to feel. Anger? Fear? Confusion?

‘I’m sorry about that, Indie. It’s not my intention.’

‘Answer me one question?’

‘That depends on what the question is.’

‘Do you go to this school?’

The voice paused. ‘Yes, I do.’

‘Are you in—’

‘Only one question, sugar.’