Firecracker

-2-✔️

I WALKED SLOWLY TO SCHOOL  the next morning, dreading what it would be like when I got there. I knew that Michael would want to talk to me.

Okay. Not talk. But yell, scream, name call, and make me, well.... want to cry myself to sleep.

I had remembered to bring a lunch today, in hopes that Julia would eventually get off my back about it and I could just go back to eating snacks every couple of hours or so.

Sooner than I would have liked, I was walking through the doors of my high school, making my way to my locker, where Julia was already there at hers.

"Hey Jules" I greeted her.

"Sup Mile- wow, you look like you haven't slept in days" she acknowledged grimly, taking a good look at my side profile as I opened up my own locker and rummaged around through it.

But she was perfectly correct. I hadn't slept a wink last night, thoughts of the events of what had happened yesterday swarming through my head, taking over my thoughts and refusing to leave my mind whatsoever. I couldn't help it.

"Thanks, Julia. Good to know I can count on you to be brutally honest with me, right?" I gave her a flat look to match my dead pan attitude and tone of voice as I slipped acouple books and papers into my locker, closing it once I was done. I rubbed my eyes and yawned.

"Geez, Miley. What happened to you last night?" she inquired, closing her own locker door and we started making our desent to our homeroom class.

"I was up all last night. I couldn't sleep at all" I confessed to her.

"What kept you up?" she asked me curiously, and my mind drew a blank.

Should I tell her? Should I confess? I mean, she is my best friend, afterall, and she has the right to know. We tell each other almost everything.

Almost everything.

"I had a bunch of homework and projects to catch up on last night and I couldn't sleep until it was finished. I'm so dead tired right now, it's crazy" I told her instead. I don't know why, but I just didn't feel like I could trust her that much yet. We hadn't been friends for long, a little over two years at the very most of it all. But there was only one person whom I ever entirely trusted with my life.

And he currently hated my guts.

Getting to class, we took our seats as the bell rung and the lesson began.

75 minutes later and I was departing from Julia as I made my way to my maths class.

Walking into class, I kept my head down, feeling the weight of a certain green haired male's glare burning holes into my side profile, scrutinizing every move that I made.

Throughout the whole lesson, my mind wasn't focused. I was caught between drifting off to sleep, and avoiding Michael's eyes. I knew that I wouldn't be able to face him in a stare down. His gaze was so much more intimidating.

Once the bell for the end of class rung, I collected my things and all but dashed out of the class. I made my way to my locker, telling Julia that I would meet her in the cafeteria as I put away my books and got my things ready for my next class.

"Okay, so I have English first," I muttered to myself as the hallway I was in soon became scarce, everyone retreating to the cafeteria for lunch.

"And then after lunch is history," I reminded myself.

After about 5 more minutes had passed by, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand tall, my arms prickling in fear, my blood going cold.

He was behind me. I could sense it.