NA - part one

I don't know a title for this. It's also lowkey bad. THere's gonna be parts (If I remember) because this story is long

In the 8th grade two months before summer, I swore I would redeem myself in high school. It was supposed to be a fresh start. The year I started turning in homework and doing all my assignments. The year I made friends. The year I start thinking about my future.

Sitting in the back of my english class, I stare at the paper in front of me. Blank. I read the question over and over again. My vision got blurry, my bottom lip quivered. I covered my ears, blocking out all noise as I read the question 5 more times. I didn't understand. I thought I was smart. I look at the teacher as she tells the class to ask if we had any questions before letting us off to do the assignment, alone or together. I watch as everyone stands up, running to get a free chair by their friends. I began to raise my hand but I hesitated, letting it fall back on the desk.

She'd think I'm stupid. Yet, maybe I was. I put my paper upside down on my desk, hoping the people next to me won't see the lack of work. I stand up, reluctantly moving through the class. I got to the teacher's desk and spoke, my voice low, quiet.

"May I go to the restroom, Mrs. Willis?" She nods without even looking up from her computer. I walk over, grabbing the pass before leaving in a hurry. I get inside a stall, sitting on the floor rather than the toilet. I feel the tears roll down my cheeks as I get my phone out of my pockets, texting my friends. They were in class, I wasn't expecting them to reply quickly.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps made me freeze. My body was tense as I slowly put my phone away. Whoever it was walked into the stall next to me. I tried to stay quiet but I sniffled. She didn't say anything. I stood up slowly, wiping my eyes. My friend replied, saying she couldn't help. I sigh, sniffling once more. That's when the girl in the stall next to mine spoke.

"Hey, are you okay..?" Her voice was quiet, soft. It sounded almost angelic. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out other than a soft whine. I shook my head as if she could see me. She spoke again.

"Sorry, I don't mean to be invasive, I just thought maybe someone to talk to could help. If you don't want to talk about it, it's alright!" She quickly cleared up. I heard her flush the toilet before walking out to the sinks. I step out of the stall, seeing her as I do. My heart skipped a beat when I saw her. Not because I was into her! Because it was her that heard and saw me crying.

"It's alright, I'm fine, thank you." Of course it had to be her. Anastasia Blake. She was gorgeous, and incredibly smart. If I told her anything about my struggles, she'd probably bully me. I washed my hands, even put a little water on my cheeks as they felt dry. She looked over.

"Well-" She cut herself off. She shook her head slightly.

"I'm here if you ever need to talk!" She said with a smile, drying her hands before walking out of the bathroom. I watch as she goes. Of course she was sweet. Yet, we all knew she'd probably just go mocking me the entire day. It was who she was.

I wiped my eyes once more, forcing the tears to stop coming as I clean the mascara off my cheeks. Waterproof? What bullshit. I walk out of the bathroom, walking back to the class. As I step inside, I notice the girls around my desk giggling. They were always so loud.

I return the pass, sitting back down in my seat. As I refuse to use any form of AI on assignments, I grab my mechanical pencil. I flip my paper over, trying to cover it with one arm so those girls couldn't see what I had done. I write my name at the top before I began trying to answer questions. I look all over the room to find any sort of help. Finding nothing, I sighed.

I look at the clock. Two minutes. I began slowly packing everything into my backpack. I stand up, tossing it over my shoulder just as the bell rung. I put the other strap on, walking out of the classroom slowly behind the other students.

The day passes by fairly quickly and I find myself in my algebra class. I was in a better mood since my friend had helped with my English work. I didn't take algebra honors or geometry as I struggled in math already. I turned my head to see Anastasia laughing with Cohen, her boyfriend. I rolled my eyes, getting a bit irritated.

No, I wasn't jealous. At least not of her...boyfriend! I wasn't jealous of her boyfriend. I look away, getting to work on the worksheet in front of me. I answer the questions I know, which is only 2 of them, and I lean back against my chair, trying to figure out how to solve the problems.

Anastasia seemed to notice, as I looked up to catch her staring. I give her a small smirk, watching her glare at me before looking back at her own paper. It wasn't like I understood much of what we were doing. I was always lost in algebra. It was just funny to watch her get annoyed...or flustered. One's definitely better than the other.

As we began going over the worksheet, I start writing the answers with no work on the ones I didn't do.

"Willow, will you answer number six for us, sweetheart?" My head shoots up when my name is called. I stammer, looking down at my paper.

"Uh- Yeah- It's-..." I don't finish the sentence. I stand up, with my paper, walking over to the board. With shaky hands, I pick up the marker and began writing. The lines were crooked as I tried to still my shaky hands.

It wasn't the standing or speaking in front of people that was the problem, I'm a star of course, I do it because I know I'm good looking and awesome...maybe. It was something else.

I looked back at the teacher after I finished, wiping my sweaty hand on my shirt, trying to make it seem like I was smoothing it down. I glance over at Anastasia and her boyfriend. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she read what I had written. Damnit.

"Good job, Willow! You can take a seat." All nerves leave my body as she says that. I'm confident again. My posture straightens, the smirk returns. I walk back to my desk, sliding into the seat, man spread as I go back to stealing other's answers.

Soon, class ends. I pack up, standing up and tossing my bag over my shoulder. As I walk, headphones on, I notice a smaller figure  slow their pace. Looking over at them, I lock eyes with Anastasia, who had slowed to walk with me.

"Can't go a minute without seeing me, can you?" I smirk as I tease her. She rolls her eyes. 

"I so can." She crossed her arms, almost defensively. I roll my eyes playfully as I look ahead once more.

"Earlier this morning, I saw you in the bathroom. Crying. Why?" She asked. My smirk falters. Why does she care? I quickly straighten my teeth, smiling.

"Awe, the princess actually cares about the peasants, that's new!" I shake my head, opening the door to parking lot. I hold the door for her.

"It was nothing, don't worry about it." I saw the way she looked at me as I walked away. She was upset. I could see it in her eyes. I shook off the urge to go back and actually tell her what was wrong.

I get into my brother's car. He was mad himself.

"Instead of taking the time to talk to your girlfriend, you should consider the fact that your brother has plans with his own." He takes off before I could answer, tossing me back against the seat. 

"She's not my girlfriend. She just had a question."

"That's the Anastasia girl you keep talking about, the really annoying one, right?"

"Right."

"You like her. I can tell." I look over, my eyes wide.

"Excuse me? Anything from that, literally!" I quickly defend, making an X with my arms, shaking my head.

"Come on, I'm your brother, I can tell! You talk about her all the time, and you really don't seem annoyed around her!" He smiled as he yelled back. Whenever I defended myself like this, I was usually lying. He knew this. But this time, I really wasn't.

"Okay, Bear, whatever you say." I give up, knowing I would end up contradicting myself.

Bear wasn't actually my brother's name. My brother was tall, mixed, and could get very aggressive depending on the situation. He could be lazy, and he's definitely a very curious person. His real name was Forest.

Our mom had some sort of obsession with names inspired by nature. He was named Forest because it was her favorite place to escape the world when she was a teenager, and I was named Willow because her favorite trees were willow trees.

In about the 4th grade, I realized what he reminded me of, and how well it fit him and his name. Bear. I started calling him Bear, and it's stuck ever since then.

"I know what I'm talking about, Will. I've had crushes too, I know how I was before me and Starla got together, it's just like you with Anastasia." I ignored him the rest of the drive.

When we got home, I went right up to my room, closing the door and getting ready for a shower. All I could think about was Anastasia's face, how upset she seemed.

Maybe I should have turned around, but I would never admit it or say sorry for it.

Author's Note

Uhhhh, yeah, this low-key sucks. Tell me if there's anything I should change! Or if you have any name recommendations!

Reviews

[Marie Kinnett]

This really good
loved it :0

[Elli🦝]

Thank youuuu!