It turned out hoping Stevie and his crew would grow bored was wishful thinking.
“Oy! Slut!” I heard someone behind me yell.
Of course, I was the farthest thing from a slut so I ignored it, assuming some girl was calling after her friend in that insulting fashion that had become so popular lately. Like for instance the time Steph greeted Vicki and me in the cafeteria with, “Hey, bitches,” and I got up and left the table in protest.
“Dinnae ignore us, slut!”
Well, that didn’t sound friendly at all.
I glanced over my shoulder and almost tripped at the sight of Alana Miller and three of her friends hurrying along the pavement behind me.
“Aye, you!” She pointed at me, her pretty face scrunched up in aggression. “Think yer something ’cause King’s goin’ oot wi’ ye? Yer just the sad wee geek ye were yesterday.”
Whipping back around, I picked up pace.
“Dinnae ignore us, bitch!” one of the other girls shouted.
And yet, despite trembling from head to foot at their intentions, I was going to ignore them, hoping they wouldn’t make it impossible. In other words, hoping to God they weren’t going to make this physical. I wouldn’t put the possibility past Alana.
Adrenaline pumping, I marched toward the school.
Why had Stevie set her on me? I hadn’t said a word!
“Aw look at her, running off tae her wee boyfriend. Dae ye no’ embarrass him wearin’ those dodgy charity shop clothes?”
Other students glanced at us in speculation, stepping out of my way when I passed, clearly not wanting anything to do with Alana Miller. I didn’t blame them. She was scary as hell! Fear clogged my throat at the thought of Alana getting her hands on me. I turned the corner and relief flooded me at the sight of Tobias at the gates.
“Enjoy him while ye can.” Alana’s harsh laughter made me shiver. “He’s gonna get bored wi’ a wee geeky bitch like ye in nae time!”
She sounded closer so I moved faster.
Tobias suddenly pushed off the gates and although I couldn’t see his expression clearly from here, I could tell by the way he started striding quickly, his movements jerky with tension, that he knew Alana was having a go at me.
Suddenly he was jogging toward me, his gaze narrowed over my shoulder in anger. “Problem here?” he called out as he came to a stop beside me.
I sagged against him in relief and his arm instantly came around me. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not proud of being relieved to be rescued by a boy. However, I’d lived most of my life with my head buried in the pages of a book. Alana Miller had kicked and bit and eye-gouged her way through life since she was at nursery. This girl would annihilate me if she got her hands on me. Whether it was Tobias coming to my rescue, or Vicki and Steph, I would have been relieved for the backup.
“Piss off, King,” Alana sneered as she and her girls passed us. She shot me one last threatening look and I shivered, acid flooding my stomach.
“What happened?” Tobias asked, concern etched all over his face.
I placed a trembling hand to my forehead, wondering how on earth I’d become a target for the worst bully in school within twenty-four hours. For doing nothing! For dating a boy! And refusing to be around someone who was using coke. That didn’t sound unreasonable to me.
“They just appeared,” I told him breathlessly. “Started calling me a slut, making fun of me for dating you. Stupid stuff...but...” I met his anger-filled gaze “...it’s Alana Miller, Tobias. I’ve known her my whole life. She’s itching for a fight and she...she’s vicious.”
“I won’t let her hurt you.” He put his arm around my shoulder and drew me tight to his side. I relaxed marginally at the feel of his warm lips on my temple below my headband. “The guys gave me shit yesterday. I was walking home from rugby tryouts and bumped into them. They taunted me all the way home.”
I clung to his waist, hoping my nearness would comfort him. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me, too. I really didn’t think Stevie would be this kind of a problem.”
However, it turned out our former friend was going to be a massive problem. By the time we sat down in the cafeteria for lunch, we understood Stevie and his friends had no intention of letting us get on quietly with our lives without them.
“Oy, oy!” Jimmy shouted across the room, drawing our gazes as we sat down at a table with Steph and Vicki. “The lovebirds are back!”
Some of the people around us snickered while Steph muttered under her breath, “Not again.”
Tobias and I shared a stoic look. We’d already decided not to engage with any of them, in the hopes that they would grow bored more quickly if we gave them no reaction. It sounded like we had a plan, that we were strong and ready to face Stevie’s order to his crew to bully us. The truth was, however, at least for me, that it was only day two and I already felt unsettled and ill at school. Dread filled me every time I had to leave the safety of a classroom and venture down the hallways. I anticipated bumping into one of them and having to endure their nastiness, and the embarrassment of knowing my peers might think some of the things Stevie’s crew were saying were true.
I pushed the food on my plate around, nauseated at the thought of putting any of it near my stomach.
“I bet when ye bang her, King, she’s still got a book in her hand!”
That was from Stevie, and not only did it make me want to curl up in a corner somewhere to hide my mortification, it really hurt, because it meant Stevie was using what he knew about me against me. He’d been in my bedroom, my private space, seen my private things and heard my personal thoughts on all different subjects. And while I’d been threatened to keep my mouth shut about what I knew, he apparently had no compunction about doing to me what he didn’t want done to him.
“She wouldnae have a book in her hand if I banged her,” Forrester boasted.
Tobias’s knuckles turned white as he gripped his fork.
“Remember, ignore them,” Vicki advised, the only one of us who looked unaffected and in control.
The obscenities kept flying our way, a constant stream, and Jimmy and Forrester illustrated some of what they were shouting with lewd playacting at their table. Some people looked annoyed and uncomfortable for us, most probably because Tobias was well liked. But a lot of people snickered and laughed at what Stevie and his crew were shouting and doing.
“Let’s no’ forget his other wee pals er there,” Jimmy yelled, smirking villainously. “They two are tasty. Gettin’ a shot at them two tae, eh, King? Got yerself a kinky wee foursome, eh?”
“Oh God.” Steph looked like she was going to be sick.
“Have they got nothing better to do than shout about sex?” Vicki scowled at them. “Probably because they’re not getting any.”
“Oy, blondie, how are ye on yer knees?”
“That’s it.” Steph stood up, her cheeks blazing. “I’m gone.”
“Steph!” Vicki shouted after her but Steph was already hurrying out of the cafeteria, making Stevie and his lads crow with laughter. “She just gave them what they wanted.”
“We can’t blame her.” I sighed. “If they don’t stop soon I’m going to vomit all over this table.”
Tobias reached for my hand. “They’ll get bored,” he repeated, but he himself looked like he was hanging on by a thread.
And then our savior stormed into the cafeteria in the form of Mrs. Penman. At her side was an older dinner lady I hadn’t seen leave the room. She pointed at Stevie’s table, and Mrs. Penman nodded at her before marching toward them. We watched as she said something to them. They clearly gave her lip back because she stiffened and said something else. And then suddenly she roared, “Move!”
The entire cafeteria hushed as Stevie and the boys scowled at her but did as she asked, swaggering ahead of her out of the cafeteria. They flashed wicked grins at us, Jimmy winking at me, and I jerked my gaze away.
In that moment I hated them.
Even Stevie.
Once they were gone, Tobias slid his arm around my shoulder and pulled me against him. “You did good.”