Well this is it – the last chapter!  It’s a bit of a let down I’m afraid, vvvv predictable and cheesy – I guess I just fell out of love with this fic and so it has kind of suffered!  Just hope you gain something from it – Thanks for reading x

 

Chapter 33

 

“I didn’t really understand it,” I wrinkled up my nose to show exactly how much I didn’t get the maths assignment.

 

“Why didn’t you just ask Mr Hobson when you had the chance?” Simon asked.

 

“You know I hate putting my hand up in class,”I said.

 

“Is this still because of year 7?”

 

I nodded, as ashamed as I was to admit it I was still emotionally scarred by what had happened when I was eleven years old.  We had been doing a project in History and the teacher had asked where the Normans came from, I had stuck my hand high in the air and announced proudly that they came from Norway, everyone had screeched with laugher and from that day on I had never put my hand up in class again.

 

“So have you done it?” Simon continued.

 

“More or less,” I replied, knowing full well that I had only half done my homework as I had been much more interested in Neighbours at the time.

 

“So when are you seeing that girl?” I changed the subject quickly.

 

Simon smiled at me, he knew full well that I was purposely changing the subject, yet he didn’t seem too bothered as talking about his pending date with the girl from the bowling alley gave him a soppy looking grin.

 

“Thursday.”

 

“Nervous?”

 

“Very, and what about you?”

 

“What about me what?” I asked.

 

“You and Ben, it all back on?”

 

“No, what made you think that?”

 

“The way you both mysteriously disappeared out of the bowling alley at the same time.”

 

“We just talked very quickly and I told him where to go,” I confirmed firmly.

 

“Kim!” he exclaimed, shaking his head.

 

“What?”

 

“You never going to sort it out?”

 

“No,” I replied, “I don’t want anything more to do with him, he’s a waste of space and needs to grow up.”

 

“Who’s this?” Rena asked, suddenly appearing with Jemma across the playground.

 

“No one” I replied, at the same time that Simon said “Ben.”

 

I rolled my eyes, now everyone was going to want to talk Ben at me.

 

“You guys still not made up?” Jemma asked

 

“NO!” I shouted.

 

“Awwwwww, but you are meant to be together” Jemma cooed.

 

“How would you know?  You never saw us together!” My friends really could be ridiculously stupid sometimes.

 

“But we know how much he means to you.” Rena replied, putting a ‘supporting’ hand on my arm.  I shook her off and stomped across the playground away from them, all I wanted was some space, and for my life to go back to normal, but they were never going to let that happen, and while the name Ben kept appearing in conversations I wanted nothing more to do with them.  May be I needed some new friends – or even better move far away where I couldn’t be constantly haunted by my past every two seconds.

 

“Watch where you’re going bitch!” a voice spat as I collided with an object.

 

I looked up to see Kelly, she looked awful, her cheeks were covered in smudged mascara, her nose was red and her eyes were puffy.

 

“Sorry,” I muttered, trying to move around her and carry on.

 

“She was talking to you,” another Popular said, taking my arm and pulling me back round to face Kelly.

 

“I said sorry,” I said firmly, “what more would you like me to say?”

 

“How about, I’m a slag?” Kelly prompted.

 

“Pardon?”

 

“Don’t play the fool.”

 

“I really don’t have any idea what you are talking about,” I said, taking a deep breath and trying to compose myself.

 

“Ben!”

 

“Oh,” I said shortly.

 

“He broke up with me,” she replied, her voice trembling so much, I almost felt sorry for her.

 

“I’m sorry.”

“Not as sorry as you will be,” she said, her lips pursed together.

 

“I haven’t done anything, I just want to go to class,” I said meekly.

 

“I’m sure you haven’t done anything, but seeing as you are the only person that was rumoured to be dong something with him then I’m going to deal with you anyway.”

 

At that moment I was scared.  People tend to underestimate the strength of teenage girls, they see boys punching the lights out of each other and don’t realise that girls can be just as damaging, if anything it can be far worse.  Girls use a far cleverer way of fighting, they use words, carefully planned actions, and gangs of friends, when faced with it on your own it’s terrifying.

 

“I haven’t done anything,” I repeated.

 

“I’m sure you haven’t,” she sneered at me, “he would never go anywhere near you, you’re nothing.”

 

She was edging nearer to me, her face almost pressing up against mine.

 

“You’re a worthless little cow, no one likes you, and I don’t know how you can bear to look at yourself every morning.”

 

Her friends were following her now, crowding around us, glaring at me, their bodies pinning me up against the wall.

 

“If I looked like you, I would never be able to show my face,” Kelly continued.

 

I felt the brick wall up against my back and shut my eyes, hoping that if I did they would all just disappear.  I was trying so hard not to cry, I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing they had got to me, so instead I shut them out.

 

“She’s such a baby,” one of the Populars shouted to Kelly.

 

They all laughed and I opened an eye, just in time to see one of them spit directly at me, the warm drop landing right on my cheek and sliding down my face.  I felt sick; I couldn’t believe that these girls who everyone admired and followed around so much could be so disgusting. 

 

Kelly grabbed me by the shirt and pulling me off the wall threw me on the ground and climbed on top of me, tugging at my hair and pulling it tightly, it made me whole head ache, the pain increasing as she pulled harder and harder.

 

I could hear all sorts of sounds from around us, I could only guess that we had drawn quite a crowd, these sorts of things usually did, I knew that somewhere out there my friends would be, I wish I hadn’t been so mad at them, may be then they would be here with me now.

 

As she pulled even harder I closed my eyes, I wasn’t going to retaliate, mainly because I knew that I couldn’t hurt her, I was small and not very strong, I was never going to be a match for her and all of her cronies.  So instead I lay back on the hard concrete and let her carry on, doing whatever she liked, but never letting her see how much she was hurting me.

 

Suddenly the pressure stopped and her body lifted off me, I opened my eyes up in confusion and was met with a pair of bright blue eyes.

 

“Ben?” I asked, still in a daze.

 

“You OK babe?” he asked.

 

I nodded, gingerly standing to my feet and shaking the dirt off me, I put a hand up to my head and smoothed over the sore bit, but it was soon covered by Ben’s hand, he softly stroked my head and pulled me towards him.  I let him do it, mainly because I felt so upset I wanted someone to hug me.  He placed his arms around me and pulled me tightly against him, then lifting up my head he planted a small kiss on my lips.  I was just about to pull away and yell at him, I had promised myself no more kisses, but then I realised we had an audience.  Looking over his shoulder I noticed half of year 11, crowded around us, staring with their mouths open, Ben had kissed me in front of all of them.

 

I looked at him, wanting to know what this meant, but all he did was pull me closer and give me another kiss.  He then turned away from me and back towards Kelly.

 

“It’s over,” he told her firmly, “I’m with Kim now.”

 

I could almost hear everyone around us gasp, Kelly looked at us both for a second, then turning on her heel left the crowd of people, I almost expected her friends to run after her, but instead they stayed routed to the spot.

 

“I’m with Kim,” he repeated, “as long as she wants me.”

“Of course I want you,” I smiled, whispered in his ear that I loved him and then we kissed again, searching each others lips softly and gently.

 

I smiled and linked hands with him, all of his friends – the popular guys in the football team were coming up to him and shaking his free hand, smiling at him and slapping him on the back.

 

I was getting similar treatment, I suddenly found myself surrounded with Popular girls, they were all craving for my attention, chatting happily to me, wanting to know if I was free for various parties. 

 

“What’s going on?” I whispered up to Ben.

 

“Enjoy it,” he whispered back, his lips grazing against my ear and making me shiver.

 

I turned my attention back to the fussing girls – it seemed that I had suddenly become this seasons must have friend, just by joining hands with Ben I had entered a whole new world, I had become a Popular myself.

 

I didn’t want it.

 

Pulling Ben away from the crowd, I moved towards my friends, they were my rock, the people that I loved most in the whole world, I was never going to swap them for superficial relationships.

 

“Ben this is Jemma, Rena and Simon,” I said, officially introducing them.

 

My friends all gave Ben a big smile and I knew immediately that he was accepted and that everything was going to be perfect.

 

“I forgot to say something,” I said, turning back towards Ben.

 

“Thanks”

 

“For what?”

 

“Saving my life,” I grinned.

 

“I don’t think she was going to kill you Kim,” he chuckled.

 

“She may have done,” I said indignantly, “you’re my hero.”

 

He smiled and bent down to kiss me – that’s when I knew.

 

I was falling in love with him all over again.