Fly Away

After my chat with Aleisha, I realized that maybe what I think about Tyler could be wrong or right.

I could be completely wrong, thinking that he'd changed. I mean, something had to have possessed me to set him up to go to jail....I mean, I was the one who thought he was a dirty, no good idiot who didn't care about me.

But, on the other hand, I'd also felt the need to visit him and practically take him back, after everything. I had to have thought something was different, considering the whole scene in the prison.

Maybe I'm just completely paranoid and over thinking the whole thing. Everyone thought he was bad for me, but I just couldn't let myself believe them. Weren't you supposed to follow your heart? Or is it your brain? Because right now, I don't know which one is going to help me more.

I still had to go to school, even though everyone knows what I'd done to Tyler, and what he's done to me.

When I walked though the doors to Shelbyville High, I was expecting gasps, and stares, and dirty looks, and whispers, sort of like when people learned about me and Leslie. Which, by the way, I don't know what the status is between us, considering we haven't talked since I told her I was visiting Tyler.

But surprisingly, these losers didn't seem to be interested in a rapist being sent to the slammer. Nobody really looked at me in particular, except for one boy. I'd never seen him before at high school, but I was suddenly overwhelmed by his godliness.

He just continued to stare at me, not saying a word. His eyes gleamed at me, they were so dark, yet so beautiful.

I was just about to snap and walk up to the kid and smack him up the back of the head, when I heard the familiar voice of Leslie.

"Hey there," she whispered to me, sounding depressed.

I whipped my body around, to see her. Her usually wavy hair of perfection was a frizzy mess, and her normally friendly, outgoing vibe, was sustained to a secluded, isolation.

"What happened?" I aroused, slightly frightened.

"I heard what you did," she snarled.

I was so confused, thinking about what I had done wrong.

When I didn't respond, she just continued, as if expecting the silence.

"Drake told me what you said. So now you don't love me? Is that it? Am I not good enough for you, now that your little Tyler is back? Huh?" she interrogated.

"Leslie, please just listen to me I-"

"Don't even apologize! You never loved me! I always had your back, and I was so stupid to have trusted someone like you! First, you make me believe you love me, then you take it all away after I gave up EVERYTHING for you!" she screamed. A bundle of curious teenagers crowded around us, their mouths shut for the first time in probably years.

"No, you've got it all wrong, Leslie. Please I didn't mean to hurt you!" I pleaded, wishing this nightmare would end.

"YOU DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT ME?! THEN WHAT IN GOD'S NAME HAVE YOU BEEN DOING ALL ***DAMN YEAR? MAYBE IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH A SLUT, YOU WOULDN'T NEED TYLER!"

Have I really put her through that much? Why is she being so different? What happened to my best friend?

Leslie's breathing increased and got louder with each huff. It seemed like an invisible laser was protruding from her eyes into my heart.

Her words replayed over and over for what seemed like millenniums, and I couldn't feel anything but hate.

Slut? I'm not a slut, am I?

Once again, my patience reached it's peak, and I couldn't continue to rationalize Leslie's behavior.

She hated me. This wasn't some kindergarten hatred for not sitting by your best friend. No, this was the kind of hate that your totally screwed with. This kind of hatred is nearly impossible to heal.

"LESLIE! Shut up! I didn't do anything wrong! I love Tyler! Aren't you supposed to be my friend? What kind of a friend does this?" I unveiled, pointing out the large crowd of people who were witnessing my devastation, the end of my friendship.

She stopped her rabid breathing and her expression transformed. Her entire complexer eased a bit, and she almost seemed to have relaxed, yet boiled up even harder on her thermometer of rage.

After what seemed like eternities of tense air and suspense, she opened her mouth.

"Then I guess we're not friends."

And with that she turned and strutted straight down the main hallway and out the front doors to the school, leaving me stranded.