Broken Hill Halo (Broken Hill High 2)

I mean, when it rains, it storms, right?

I return Nate’s smile and walk over to him. I stand behind him and rest both my hands on his shoulders before leaning down and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You ok?” I question, knowing today would be just as shit for him as it is for me, though probably a million times worse.

“I’ve yelled at five freshmen, scared a bunch of girls, and punched Trent Matthews in the jaw,” he informs me.

“Shit,” I sigh. “At least Trent is already on the shit list. He’s not about to go blabbing to anyone.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “You alright? You look funny.”

“Fine,” I say, not wanting to make matters worse by telling him about my little conversation out in the hallway. “I’m going to sit with the girls.”

“Ok,” he murmurs as he twists himself and presses a gentle kiss on my lips. He pulls back and I remind him how much I love him before leaving him to enjoy what’s left of his lunch with his friends.

I walk across the cafeteria to the girls before dropping down beside Brooke. “Not sitting with the boys today?” Brooke murmurs as she bites into her sandwich.

“Nah,” I say, stealing an apple off her tray and biting into it. “I can guarantee they’re talking about the accident or what to do about Jackson, and to be honest, I just can’t hear the story again.”

“Right,” she agrees with a groan. “I swear, everywhere I go, someone is talking about it or asking me if I was there.”

“I know,” I say, leaning forward and resting my head against the cool table. “It’s starting to give me a headache.”

I people watch in peace as the girls chat around me and find myself raising from my chair when I spot Elle sitting alone with a group of cheerleaders at her back, cat calling and quite honestly, just being a bunch of shitty bitches.

I don’t even realize what I’m doing until I’m already sitting down beside her. I feel the eyes of the room on me and I do my best to tune them out. Though, most of all, I feel Nate’s eyes, penetrating right through me. I used to feel awkward and uncomfortable with his eyes on me like that, but not anymore, now it’s more of a security blanket.

I sit quietly, eating Brooke’s apple when Elle finally gathers the nerve to question what the hell is going on. “What are you doing?” she grunts.

“Bringing you back from the dead,” I murmur as I finally turn my head to look at her.

Her eyes narrow on me and she looks around at all the people looking our way. “Excuse me?” she asks, confused.

“Look,” I say with a slight huff after the shitty day I’ve had. “I’m trying to be nice. Dating Nate has its perks, which means if people see me talking to you then they’ll automatically think you have my stamp of approval. They’ll start treating you like a regular human being again.”

“I don’t need your charity,” she snaps.

“That’s where you’re wrong,” I tell her. “I’ve watched you. You’re miserable. People are treating you the way you used to treat everyone else and I think it’s gone on long enough. You don’t come with the thick skin everyone else has had the chance to grow. You’re breaking down. I see it in the way you walk with your head down, the way you don’t speak a single word at school unless you’re called upon by a teacher, or the way you allow people to treat you like something they stepped in,” I explain.

She looks away as stubborn as ever and I reach out and touch her hand. “You don’t know how to be you without the help of a cheerleading uniform. It’s about time you learned who you are so just shut up and accept it.”

“And if I don’t want to accept it?” she questions.

“Then tough shit. I could have done something to stop Jesse from talking, but I didn’t, and that’s something I regret. Your life was impacted severely and I hate that I had a part in that, even though you kind of deserved it.”

She looks away again, probably unsure if she can trust me.

“Look,” I say. “Just because you’ve been a bitch, doesn’t mean that everyone else is. So, either take it or leave it, but without me, you’re going to cease to exist. The people of this school will make sure of it.”

I go to stand and she calls out. “Wait,” she says. “I don’t want to be an outcast.”

“That’s what I thought,” I say. “Come and sit with me. You can get to know my friends and realize that the world doesn’t revolve around pom-poms.”

She nods her head and she follows my lead as I get up from the table and make my way over to the girls. Brooke looks at me with narrowed eyes while Brylee and Courtney look extremely hesitant. I sit down and Elle slides her plate down beside me.