1

2 years after Sean's party. 

Sapphire

The sun rays streamed into my room, spreading the flecks of light into every corner. The heat radiated off the closed windows, busting through the chilly air and warming my skin.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and stared at my blue eyes. That was the reason why I was named Sapphire. And it is a mere coincidence that my surname was Blue. Sapphire Blue with sapphire blue eyes – I had been subjected to many jokes in the past with my friends due to this.

Looking further down, I examined my blue skinny jeans and a white tank beneath a black jacket. Gently running my fingers through my hair, I plaited it to a side.

The scent of my newly purchased shampoo, that will have to be replaced immediately lingered in the air for a brief second. It almost felt intoxicating, and dominated my perfume. Ready for the day, I threw my bag over my shoulder and made my way out of my room.

As I was stepping down the stairs, I was instantly greeted with a rich aroma of coffee. Today was my first day of last year in my school and I was very excited. Pun intended.

"Your daddy has been a very bad boy." Juliette spoke to her 16 months old son, Jack Abbott, who stared at her with a blank expression. She had green eyes with dark brown hair that she inherited from my father. "He just left me naked in the bed."

"He won't understand you, darling." My sweaty brother-in-law, Jacob Abbott spoke, wrapping an arm my sister while she stirred the pan of eggs.

PDA

I cleared my throat and Julliette and Jacob quickly retracted. Jacob turned around with a sheepish smile, while Julliette continued what she was doing, pretending as though I didn’t overhear their conversation.

"Remember, people are staying in your house." I said, settling myself beside Jack's chair. He looked old for his age with those chubby cheeks and pink thin lips, which makes everyone squeeze them at one glance.

"This shouldn't be new to you, Saph." My sister glared at Jacob, who just shrugged it off and sat on the chair across from me.

"So, first day huh?" He asked me.

"Yea.." I groaned in disappointment.

This was pretty much how our days have been starting for the past few years now. Unlike a normal functional family, I stayed with my sister and her husband. We were a happy family until our mother left us when I was 12. We stayed with our father until he found his second love and married Helen Aiden. Let's just say, she wasn't one of my favourite people.

My father had certain expectations with the marriage. He thought he'd bring home a new mother for us but instead, he brought an entirely different person home who wasn't even close to a motherly figure.

My father didn't believe me when I said I was abused by her. But my sister knew it. She tried to convince my father but he was blinded by the love for his new bride and step-daughter that he didn't believe his own blood.

Seeing no other option and unable to leave me with them, my sister asked me to move in with her. Since then, I left everything behind and started living with them.

Jacob was a very sweet guy. My sister met him in high school and they got married a few years later. And they had Jack in a few months from their marriage.

Jacob knew me from when I was a child as Juliette used to bring me with her on few of her dates. She used me as an excuse to go out and hang out with him, and since Jacob and I enjoyed each  other’s companies, we never complained. So when Juliette asked if I could move in with them, Jacob didn't have any problem with me intruding their personal space. He was more than glad to have me here and treated me like his own sister.

"It's time for you to go out, y'know?" Jacob said. "I met your sister when I was 18."

Juliette and I almost choked on our coffees, listening to something we are not used to. Jacob was responsible for ruining dozens of dates I was going to. He was very over protecting like that.

"What? I just-no, Saph don't give me that look.. I know it's-"

"-Unbelievable." I completed it for him.

"Okay, unbelievable. But I think you must enjoy your freedom. It's really awful that you're seventeen and haven't had any boyfriend."

I groaned.

"Make sure you meet someone interesting, today."

"My school is in serious need of such people."

"Though it's strange," Julliette started. "Jacob's actually making sense after a long time, I-" to which he just glares "-think it's time for you go out. I mean, you're seventeen and are still a virg-"

"Don't even complete that!" I shrieked, making little Jack flinch. My face is flushed with embarrassment and Juliette frowned at my sudden outburst.

"Shouldn't you be glad that your sister isn't a hoe?"

Juliette narrowed her eyes at him. "You're calling every girl who lost her virginity a hoe?"

His eyes widened. "Don't twist my words. You're just making your statement sound like you're waiting for your sister to turn into a hoe. I never told anything about girls losing virginity or anything."

"Could you please cut down the use of such words? Your son is right here." I said. "You don't want his first words to begin with hoe."

Jack looked up at me as if he knew I was talking about him.

"Moreover, no one wants to broadcast their sexual status." I hissed.

"You're over reacting." Juliette said. "We're not corrupting our son."

"As a matter of fact." Jacob said. I glared at him, who was trying to avoid his eye contact from me.

"Really?" I narrowed my eyes at Jacob. "How interesting would it be if I narrated last Sunday's tale?"

Jacob's eyes widened as he grew pale.

"Last Sunday?" Juliette asked me.

"I-I-I don't know.. what.. you're talking about.." Jacob said to me, trying to act normal.

"Oh" I smirked, "Let me remind you then-"

"No!" Jacob snapped.

"Guys, you are freaking me out! What is-" Juliette tried to intervene but-

"Oh, it's nothing, darling-"

"Are you sure, Jacob? I remember you holding Juliette mobile and-"

"Wait.. you actually touched my mobile?" Juliette narrowed her eyes at her husband.

Juliette always had a weird fantasy with her mobile. She wouldn't let anyone touch, not even little Jack when he wants to play with Siri.

"Yes, he did.. He was kind of checking if-"

"Checking what?" Juliette asked me, still glaring at her husband, who is trying to move his chair away from my sister.

"How about, Jacob completes the story? It's best to hear it from the criminal's mouth, isn't it?"

With that said, I left my brother-in-law to the wrath of my sister

***

Walking into Autumn Ville High School, I looked around to meet too many gazes. I groaned, realising that there was no change in my school, even after a break.

If you asked people about me 2 years ago, you would probably get responses like,

"Sapphire, as in that blue color?"

Yes. That used to be their reaction. They didn't even know I existed.

But since we are in the present where almost everyone knows me by the letter S, it is hard to escape from this Spot light.

"Sapphire!" I heard someone call me from behind.

Of course, how can I forget that voice?

I turned around to see Nina, a black eyed blonde, whom I call my best friend, approaching me.

Her eyes are so brown that they almost look like demon eyes for me.

"Flash news! Sapphire Blue's secret admirer has beaten up her long-time bully Tate Jackson." She spoke, like a television reporter.

"Oh no, not again." I groaned, throwing my head back in frustration.

"Your secret admirer is back, baby!" She sang.

Yes, my secret admirer.

God must be really curious about where my karma would take me that he actually had to create sudden bumps in my already uncomfortable life.

Two years ago, I was so glad I could get out of that boarding school. I loved this place. it was busy and no one really cared about me. And what I loved the most was the huge library. We never had a cool library in my previous school, since it was nothing but food to the termites. No person would want to read a book, not considering the exceptions like me. And they wouldn't restore the library for me.

So, I was very happy to see no one was interested in me and I was doing everything fine for a month until this happened.

A guy who was a year above mine, and whose name I forgot, bullied me in the cafeteria. It didn't affect me as though it wasn't a huge deal and I was always welcomed to such things.

But the following day was a disaster and brought about a complete change in my life, when the senior came to me in the lunch and fell on his knees and asked to forgive him.

Okay, that might seem like exaggeration, but it happened, literally.

The jerk of the school has come to apologise to a nerd junior? Impossible.

To make matters from interesting, he just drew his hand out and stuck a note into my hand. As I opened the note, it read,

You just earned my interest, pretty girl - S

There it began - my roller coaster ride. Everyday a guy would come to me bruised up and apologize to me for his unfair actions. In a few months, guys were even scared to look at my face. We tried to figure out who the guy was, who was beating everyone up. The only clue we had was the letter S. But we couldn't make out who it was.

I was the most dreaded thing in Autumn Ville. Messing with Sapphire Blue was like messing with her secret admirer.

But people didn't stop. There is a bitch club in my school, whose only aim is to never close their mouths. Well, not just mine but probably every school is fortunate enough to have such people.

They circulated rumours stating that I hired someone who would beat the ones who messed with me. Like, is it even necessary to escort someone? I was pretty upset about this rumour since I did no such thing.

And the next day, I learned that the girls received spiteful letters which asked them to mind their own business. They were more than horrified and started doing what they were told, quite literally.

"SAPPHIRE BLUE! you are spacing out on me!" Nina yelled, shoving her hand into my eyes.

"Yeah, yes! What were you saying?" I asked, fixing my glasses.

"I was asking you, why is Sean freaking Lanter coming this way?!"