the hating game ; lrh

fifty-one

I RACE DOWN THE hall at lightning speed, knowing that I must get to my locker and get out of the school before Luke has the chance to try and catch me.

I feel tears streaming down my cheeks, feel my breath catch in my throat every few seconds as I choke out sobs, feel my heart thumping in my chest as I run. How could I have let this happen? How have I let this boy — this stupid, idiot boy that I have spent my entire life hating — play me like this? How did I miss all of the signs that were right in front of me this entire time? Every moment we spent together — every fight, every word, every kiss — whirs through my mind at a thousand miles per hour. It was all a lie. It was all a great big trick to prove how stupid I am — and he did. He finally won.

All of a sudden, I feel my body crashing into somebody else's only metres away from my locker. I am thrown into the wall, but I hardly feel any pain from the impact. A few other people gathered around their lockers turn toward the commotion, and upon seeing my tear-stricken face they frown in confusion. I don't have time to get to my locker now — I just have to go.

"Jesus, watch where you're—" the person I crashed into spins around, casting me an annoyed look — Anna. Her face contorts almost instantly once she takes in my expression, almost as if all of our hatred melts away. "Rory, what's wrong?"

I glance around nervously, trying to avoid eye contact with what feels like a million people staring at me. "I-I can't," I choke halfway through my sentence, covering my mouth quickly in an attempt to hide my sobs. I look back to where I was running from and am horrified to see Luke chasing after me, and realise that I have to move now. "I h-have to go."

Without speaking another word to Anna, I race through the halls and burst through the double doors to exit the school. I run through the courtyard, ignoring all of the people staring at me, and finally make my way to the car park where Calum is waiting in the car for me. When he spots me, his face contorts into one of confusion and concern, and he slowly begins climbing out of the car.

"Rory, what's wrong?" Anna is behind me — I didn't even realise she had been following me — and gently touches my shoulder to spin me around. "What happened?"

I shake my head, far too aware of all of the people watching me. "Nothing, I—" I choke out another sob, cursing myself internally for being such a mess. I hadn't wanted anybody to see me like this. "I can't do this h-here."

Anna frowns, clearly very confused by my behaviour. "I don't—" she begins, shaking her head, but is quickly interrupted by somebody yelling at the top of their lungs behind her.

"Rory!" Luke comes sprinting through the courtyard, attracting the attention of just about the entire school as he does so. I instantly begin stepping backward, ready to make another break for it, as he approaches rapidly. Luke slows down once he reaches us, his face all splotchy and red with tears. "Rory, please."

Anna glances between us, silent for a moment before some kind of horrible realisation dawns upon her. Once this happens, she turns to Luke and acts almost as a human shield between him and I. "You need to go," she orders him.

"Fuck off, Anna," Luke spits, not even bothering to look at her as he speaks — his eyes are only on me. "Rory, listen to me."

"Luke—" Anna tries again, and Luke looks at her with an almost murderous glare.

"Move," he instructs, teeth gritted and jaw clenched tightly. Anna glances back to me, and I nod slightly, not wanting to cause more trouble between the two of them. She steps aside, but doesn't move any further away from me. By now, the entire school seems to be watching our interaction. "Rory, you have to listen to me."