Daisy in a Meadow

8 - Betrayal

A few days passed. Ruby had her first cheer practice on Wednesday, and she was adamant that I come watch for support. Although I'd much rather do anything than watch the cheerleaders practice, I knew it was important to her, so after school that day, I headed to the football field and took a seat in the bleachers.

There weren't many people around, so all I could really hear were the faint orders that Heather barked at her teammates. I kind of liked the quiet, but it didn't last very long.

"Daisy!"

I could recognize Malcolm's loud voice from a mile away.

"Daisy, what are you doing here?" he yelled from the bottom of the bleachers.

"Oh gosh," I groaned, as he was attracting lots of attention.

As he excitedly made his way over to me, I realized Andre and Elias were right behind him.

"I came to watch Ruby practice," I said as he neared me. "The real question is, why are you here?"

"Same reason as you," he grinned, blue eyes mischieviously twinkling. "Just here to watch the cheerleaders."

He gave a flirtatious wave to the cheerleaders. Most of them had already been looking at the trio. They began to wave back. Some let out a giggle. Ruby even began to twirl her red hair, to which I fondly chuckled.

Malcolm took a seat next to me, and Andre went to go sit next to him. Meanwhile, Elias remained standing, a permanent scowl etched onto his face.

"Would you sit down?" I snapped. "Your shadow's bothering me."

"Drama queen," he growled before reluctantly sitting down next to me.

"Take out the drama and you got that right."

Malcolm laughed and gave me a high five. Andre gave him a look.

"What?" Malcolm murmured. "She got him good."

I grinned and faced the cheerleaders again. When the practice was finally over, I faced Malcolm.

"Well, I'd better go get Ruby. I'll see you later, Malcolm."

"Goodbye, my love," he pouted and gave me a hug.

Malcolm had a flirtatious personality, so I wasn't quite surprised by the little pet name. However, Elias certainly was.

"Could you guys not fucking flirt in front of the rest of us," Elias snapped, causing us both to look at him. "It's disgusting."

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. "Since when are friends not allowed to hug each other goodbye?"

"Friends don't call each other my love," he sneered before glancing at Malcolm. "You could do way better than her."

I laughed in disbelief. "Okay, I'm going. Goodbye, Malcolm."

I grabbed my bag and exited the bleachers.

"Was that necessary?" I heard Malcolm sigh in frustration once I left.

"I'm just being honest with you."

"You and I both know that's not true. Daisy is one of the most—"

"Blah blah blah, save the love speech for someone who actually cares."

"What the hell? Andre, are you hearing this?"

"Huh," Andre's voice was disoriented as he just woke up. "What'd I miss?"

Elias and Malcolm began to talk over each other. Meanwhile, I walked towards the direction of the change room, deciding I'd wait outside for Ruby.

Minutes passed. I looked down at my phone, confused as to why she was taking so long. At last, I decided to head into the change room.

"Wait, are you talking about Daisy?"

I froze and hid behind the mini wall at the mention of my name.

"Yeah," Heather laughed, "I don't even know why you're friends with her, Ruby. That girl is so weird."

"What?" Ruby asked. "But, how?"

"She just is," Heather said firmly. "Did you see her sitting with the new guys at the bleachers? Gosh, she's pathetic. They clearly just feel bad for her."

"Yeah, there's no chance those guys would actually like her," another girl laughed.

"Y-Yeah," Ruby agreed after a moment. "You guys won't believe what she told me. On the first day of school, they locked her in the janitor's closet and she was trapped there overnight."

I covered my mouth in shock.

"No way, that must be why me and Anthony found her there the other day!" Heather sounded delighted. "Oh, this is too good. Anthony's gonna die when I tell him."

"Yeah, and apparently she had a whole meltdown, or in her words, a panic attack. I guess she really is crazy," Ruby said.

Laughter erupted throughout the change room. I ran out, tears welling in my eyes.

I couldn't believe my ears. I thought Ruby was my friend. How could she sit there and laugh as those girls made fun of me? How could she tell them the very secret she promised she wouldn't tell anyone? I trusted her!

As tears streamed down my face, I could hardly see my path as I speed walked in the direction of the parking lot. I accidentally bumped into a muscular figure.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"It's okay. Wait, Daisy?"

Just my luck, it was Malcolm. Andre and Elias were right behind him.

Malcolm grabbed onto my arm to prevent me from walking away. I looked at the ground.

"Hey, are you crying?" he asked, looking worried.

"No," I sniffled, though the tears streaming down my face indicated otherwise.

"What's wrong?" Malcolm insisted. He wiped at my tears.

I warily glanced back at the other two. Even Andre looked a little worried. However, Elias merely stared at me with his blank, unreadable face.

"It's nothing," I mumbled, embarrassed that they were seeing me like this. "I overheard Ruby saying some mean things about me to the other cheerleaders. I just... I thought we were friends."

A dark chuckle made me freeze.

"The fuck are you laughing at?" Malcolm looked back at Elias.

"I'm sorry, but you can't possibly be surprised," Elias glanced at me. "I mean, who would want to be friends with you?"

"Hey, that was uncalled for!" Malcolm shouted on my behalf.

"No, it's fine," I said quietly. "He's right."

Elias looked shocked at my agreement.

"No, he's not," Malcolm said with anger. "You're an amazing girl, Daisy. Anyone would be happy to be friends with you. I know I am."

He was trying his best, but I found it hard to believe him.

"Thanks," I looked away. "I guess I better head home. I'll see you tomorrow."

I turned around and began to retreat. Meanwhile, I could feel three pairs of eyes watch as my petite figure slowly walked away, shoulders sagged in defeat.

*****

Poor Daisy :( she deserves so much better.

QOTD: ur fav colour
AOTD: pink

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Love, Emmanuela<3

12/20/2022