Beautifully Damaged

15. Aftermath

Earlier, I had returned to class, having only missed fifteen minutes of English. Lunch came quickly after my meltdown and talk with Eli. As always, I sat alone, ignoring the fresh open stares and whispers.

What had gotten into me earlier? Did I honestly need the attention that much? Where had my blatant fury come from?

There were way too many questions and nowhere near enough answers. I bit my lip and took a sip of water, not hungry in the least.

"You sure know how to stir up trouble, chica." Morgan mused, a cat-like smile reaching her emerald eyes.

She slid onto the bench beside me, leaning back against the table and crossing her ripped jean-clad legs.

I sighed, noticing that I'd been doing that a lot lately. "So you heard about that?" I asked, swinging my legs over the bench to assume the same position as her.

"As if anyone hasn't," Morgan laughed, her spiky hair falling into her eyes. "That blow up is probably going to be legendary."

I shot her a look, groaning mentally and physically rolling my eyes, "It was so not that bad."

Morgan swept her hand in a gesture toward the masses of kids gossiping in the cafeteria, "They beg to differ."

"Okay, alright, it wasn't good," I conceded, keeping my eyes down and away from the faces and probing eyes of the student body.

"What happened between you and them?" Morgan asked, pinning her bright gaze on me.

While she was staring, I felt like I couldn't lie. The emerald depths of her green eyes bore into my soul.

"Oh, I don't know." I dropped my gaze again, fighting the invading blush that pervaded my face annoyingly.

Morgan's smile widened, and she leaned in towards me, instantly intrigued, "I think you do." Her singsong voice threaded the air between us. Her smirk was powerful, only deepening the rose tint on my cheeks, "You looked pretty furious back there, and obviously there's a reason."

I stayed silent. Trying to decipher my thoughts and feelings. It made me tired to think about it. There were so many things clamoring for my attention in my head, that I couldn't sort out quite what I had thought only a few hours ago. I wasn't even sure what had been going through my head at that point.

"It's Drake, isn't it?" Morgan whispered, winking with a Cheshire cat grin so wide, I thought it would split her face, "Oh that's just precious."

I bit my lip, sifting through my warring emotions.

"It's too bad that Tina snagged him first." Morgan added, biting her shining black nails absently. After an awkward moment of silence, she smiled, her eyes lighting up, and rose to her feet, "I'll catch you later, blonde-y."

I watched as she left, hips swaying, towards the table where her groups of friends were playing around. It wasn't her that my attention stayed on, not for long. My stomach was strangely hollow, as I looked, all the girls were fawning over a familiar dark haired boy, while some just looked on longingly.

He had been close to me, but why was I feeling so intensely protective of him? There had never been anything between us but a rocky friendship, and even that wasn't fully functional. That only left me wondering what was wrong with me.

For a second, I turned my gaze toward the cafeteria entrance, contemplating leaving early, just in time to see an excited Jenna burst through the doors and practically skip toward where I sat. A wistful smile broke out on my face as she streamed toward me, completely out of breath.