I'm Never Okay

As the final bell rung, Frank threw himself out of his chair and was the first out of the maths classroom. He had tried to avoid Hayley since lunch, slightly difficult because they shared so many classes, but hadn't been able to stop glancing at her. She'd seemed totally out of it, depressed and silent. Or maybe that was normal for her.

Whatever, he thought, chucking his books into his schoolbag. "I'll just wait for Gee and Mikey outside."

A few minutes later, Gerard and Mikey came up. "Hey, sorry about lunch man," Gerard said. "My art teacher made me-are you okay?" He interrupted himself, noticing Frank's bleak expression.

"No, I'm not okay. Hayley was being a total bitch today."

"Hayley?" Gerard repeated. "I thought you lik-"

"Uh uh," he interrupted. He described the lunchtime's events. "She's a total prep. You know, I thought she was cool. But she's just like the rest of them. Shallow as fuck. She doesn't care about anyone else, just hanging out with the 'cool kids'."

Just then a figure rushed past them. Mikey glanced at it uneasily. "Uhh, I think that's her," he pointed out.

Frank's expression hardened. "Screw that. I don't care about her."

Gerard tugged Frank up. "Come on, let's walk home. Forget about her. There must have been a reason she was doing what she did."

Frank rolled his eyes and walked off with the brothers, but couldn't stop himself from thinking up loopholes for Hayley.

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"-just hanging out with the 'cool kids'." Frank said bitterly.

Hayley paused for a moment, on the verge of tears. Then she rushed past the guys talking about her. I couldn't help it, she said in her mind, trying to justify her actions. She couldn't.

She walked until she was out of sight, then slumped against a tree. "I can't deal with this," she muttered.

After a few seconds, a quiet voice came. "Why?"

"Mikey?" Hayley looked up. Mikey was regarding her with serious eyes.

"Why did you dump Frank like that?"

Hayley bit her lip. "Mikey, I-" Tears started making their way down her face and she sniffed once before running off.

Mikey watched her pelt up the street until Frank and Gerard made their way to where he was standing.

"Mike, what were you doing?"

"Nothing."

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"Frank?" Hayley said as she stepped out of her front door. Frank was sitting on the sidewalk, but turned to face her.

"Hayley...I just don't get it." He watched her solemnly. "I thought you were different from all of that. Hell, you're into Misfits."

Hayley felt herself starting to tear up again. Shut up, crybaby, she raged inwardly. "I am different," she choked out before her throat seized up. Surprisingly, she felt warm arms wrap around her. She felt safe. Safe enough to tell him everything.

"Because, all those preps asked me to hang out with them, and I couldn't say no, and then they were chucking stuff and I wanted to go over to you. But I wasn't strong enough. And then..." She trailed off.

"Then?"

"Don't worry," she said, burying her face in his shoulder. "I'm really, really sorry."

He hugged her gently. "I'm sorry too."

They stood there on the sidewalk for a long time.

Suddenly Frank's mobile rang. It was a text from Gerard. "Where the fuck are you? School started five minutes ago."

"Oh screw that," he sighed, putting it back in his pocket. "I'm wagging today. Wanna come back to my house?"

Hayley smiled. "If your parents aren't home."