Behind Our Backs

"Hey Ev!" Lila smiled at her friend as she approached her. The were 10 minutes early for school and were walking up to the front doors. Other people were jostling around, talking about the "oh so amazing" party last night.

"Oh hey Lila. I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the party yesterday. I had to go with my mom for some stupid social event."

Last night, while Evaline was with Greyson, Lila called her, hoping that she'd come to a small... Get together involving most of the populars and cheerleaders of the school. Evaline declined, knowing that she and Greyson would probably hang out. Lila sounded disappointed and a little suspicious when they said their good byes and hung up, but Evaline thought nothing of it. She wouldn't have wanted to go anyways. Parties, to her, were nothing but obnoxious people getting drunk and being bigger idiots than they already were. Sometimes they were amusing, but most of the time, they were just stupid and annoying.

The "social event" was obviously a lie, but what was she supposed to say? Evaline hated lying to everyone, but she had to if she wanted to keep her place in the social ladder of high school and STILL be friends with Greyson.

"Oh that's fine! It was no fun without you there though. Dylan was asking about you!" Lila winked.

"Really?" She asked, her heart racing.

"Yeah! He really likes you..." Lila said enviously. "You are SO lucky... I'd do anything to be wanted by Dylan Starzomski."

"Hmmm..." She agreed with a hum.

Evaline hadn't really been listening, she was thinking about what Greyson had said; "I'll make it up to you, I promise!". What did he have in mind? She hadn't talked to him since last night.

"Evaline?" Lila waved a hand in front of her face.

Evaline shook her head, clearing it from her day dream.

"Are you ok?" Lila continued, looking worried. "You kind of have... Been out of it for the last few days. People have noticed. Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, no, sorry, everything's fine!" She smiled brightly. "I guess I'm just tired. Mrs. Carry has been really tough on the homework lately and I've been struggling to get it done."

Again, another lie. Sure, the homework had been hard, but to Evaline, it was easy. She would've had it done in a matter of minutes if Greyson hadn't been with her. It took her forever to finish it because she was still trying to piece together what he said.

"Yeah, I know, tell me about it..." Lila rolled her eyes just as they entered the main hallway that started after the front doors. "Carry made me answer a pop question in the middle of class. Thank God my text book was opened to the page with the answer, or I never would've got it."

Evaline laughed and saw Dylan at his locker smiling at her. She walked over to him.

"Hey, I missed you at the party, why weren't you there?" He asked, his smile slowly turning into a frown.

"Mom stuff!" Lila answered for her.

"Yeah, sorry," she apologized. "I wish I could've been there!" Lie number 3 for today... So far...

"Me too!" He winked as he walked away.

Her stomach flopped. He wished she was there? Maybe that lie wasn't a lie anymore... She SO should've went! Greyson could've waited! Dylan was there and had wanted her there too! Wait... What was she saying? Greyson was her friend, she wouldn't just ditch him for a popular (Who happened to be the hottest guy in school)... Would she??

She shook her head. No, of course not, she wouldn't do that to him even if it WAS the hottest guy in school...

'Bringgggg!!' The warning bell rang.

"Ugh, stupid bell. I'll drop by today after school today, ok?" Lila walked away before she could answer. She knew they weren't hanging out as much and she was kind of sorry for it, but Lila didn't have to invite herself over. She could understand where she was coming from though. Evaline missed hanging out with her too, but hanging out with Greyson was something new, and frankly, it was a little more interesting. Will Lila, all they talked about was gossip or guys or fashion. With Greyson, they talked about whatever, including music, which they both shared an interest in. He was just more... Fun. She didn't have to put up an act around him or talk about that horrible sweater one of the juniors were wearing. Greyson didn't judge people, therefore; he didn't gossip.

She sighed and made her way to her locker, grabbing a few books and shoving them into her bag. She closed the door and slowly walked down the hallway. Everyone seemed to be gone... The bell second bell must've rung. But... If everyone was supposed to be in class, or on their way, why did she hear voices coming from around the corner...? They didn't sound very calm. In fact, the sounded like the exact opposite.

Evaline peaked her head around the wall, hoping to catch what was going on. It looked like two jerks beating up a kid.

She frowned. The jocks kind of looked like Alex and George. She moved a little closer, trying to hear what they were saying.

"You little fag..." George muttered as he slammed the kid into the locker. The boy whimpered.

"When. Will you learn. Not to talk. To her?" Every pause ended with a punch from Alex and the boy was almost on the ground trying to shield himself, but George had him pinned against the wall.

"Talk to who?" The boy asked weakly. The voice sounded strangely familiar...

"You know who... She's been acting differently and you keep on staring at her. There's something going on with you two." George slammed him again.

Wait... Acting differently? Staring at her? Greyson...

Alex shifted slightly and Evaline got a glimpse of the boys jet black hair. His left eye looked bruised, clearly from one of the punches Alex delivered, and his lip was glistening with blood. His eyelids were closed, but when the opened, they revealed bright blue eyes.

Evaline's mouth hung open... It WAS Greyson...

"I seriously have no idea what you guys are talking about, so can you let me go now? Greyson asked hopefully.

"No. Not until you leave her alone." Alex said dangerously. "We don't want you talking to her and making her think differently about Dylan or the rest of us. We don't want her to turn into a freak like you."

"A freak like me?" He laughed. "I may be a freak, but at least I'm not stupid and can spell my own name."

Greyson's body smashed into the lockers again.

"Shut up, emo." George whispered. "We don't want that pretty little faggot face of yours to get anymore pummeled than it already has."

"No, you're right, I really don't. But thanks for the compliment - "

George punched him in the jaw and Evaline gasped when she heard the sound it made when his fist connected.

"I told you to SHUT UP!" George repeated. "Leave her alone, or else."

"You can't make me." He smiled. He didn't look scared, he looked proud... And extremely cocky at the moment.

"Well then, do you want a little taste of what will happen if you don't?" Alex threatened.

"Ummm..." Greyson thought about it. "No thank you, I already have enough blood in my mouth at the moment."

Alex and George both pushed him onto the floor and George picked him back up, whacking him against the locker again.

"Why don't you just kill yourself?" Alex wondered aloud. "I'm sure you could slit your wrists enough to die."

"Yeah, come on emo... If you don't do it and you're still talking to Evaline, I'll tell Dylan and he'll make sure you regretted ever looking at her." Alex warned while punching him in the ribs again. Greyson let out a groan.

"Will you stop?!" Evaline heard herself scream as she jumped out from behind her hiding place.

All three of their heads turned towards her. Alex stopped punching, George's hands retreated back and Greyson slid to the floor, his legs unable to support him. Greyson's eyes widened when he met her gaze.

"Evaline! This isn't what it looks like, I swear - !" George started.

"No, save it. I saw the whole thing. Just get away from him!" She yelled, fury starting to find it's way into her system.

Alex and George backed away from him.

"Get the hell out of here, before I get a teacher!" She threatened.

THAT got them moving.

"Oh! And Dylan will be hearing about this too!" She added.

They disappeared and Evaline ran over to Greyson.

"Are you ok?!" She asked in a whisper.

"I'm fine Evaline." Greyson said, not looking at her.

She gently tried to help him up, taking his fore arm. She let go when he winced.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! You aren't fine!" She panicked.

"I'm ok, I really am." He tried to get up and he gasped.

"This is all my fault..." She started to cry.

"No, no! This isn't your fault - " His eyes widened.

"Yes, it is!" She said. "If I would\Would've come over here sooner and if I hadn't waited, then - "

"This is NOT your fault." He said firmly, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "I'm ok, I promise. Don't blame yourself, do you understand me?"

"You're bleeding..." Her fingers traced his lip absentmindedly.

"It's nothing, lets just get out of here before a teacher comes." Greyson said, painstakingly pushing himself up off of the ground.

Evaline followed his lead, but when he tried to take a step, his legs gave out from under him and Evaline caught him around the waist.

"Thanks..." He said awkwardly.

"No problem... You're hurt, we should bring you to a nurse." She suggested as they started walking again.

"No!" He exclaimed. "What are you going to say? This happens all the time, I don't want the school to get suspicious, I deal with it on my own half the time."

"What do you mean this happens all the time...?" She asked slowly.

He paled. "Nothing! Lets just get to the nurse."

After about 10 minutes of walking through the hallways, they finally got to the school infirmary.

"What happened here??" The nurse, Ms. Walker, inquired when she saw Evaline supporting/walking Greyson into the room.

Don't let her name fool you. Ms. Walker, was a 30 year old woman, not a 300 year old woman. Her frame was thin, but she was quite pretty for her age. Evaline heard roomers that some guys purposely hurt themselves to try and get a little... Action from Ms. Walker, but she wasn't like that. She always sent them back to class, calling them idiots.

She often made friends with her patients. She and Evaline got along quite well. One day in Chemistry, a bottle blew up in front of her and a few shards had lodged their way into her skin, others leaving jagged cuts. Evaline was rushed to the infirmary and Ms. Walker had subtracted the glass from her arm and bandaged her up in no time.

Ms. Walker was quite nice and she always said "hello" to Evaline when they met.

"Umm..."

"He fell down the stairs leading to the second floor." Evaline spoke up.

"That's quite a fall..." Ms. Walker said, looking him over. She led him to a chair and she started poking at him, muttering to herself.

Greyson raised his eyebrows at Evaline and she shrugged.

"You're going to need some stitches for that lip." She noted when she finished. "Lift up your shirt a bit so I can see your ribs." Greyson obeyed and she pressed her fingers to his sides, making him wince. "Your ribs are bruised... How did you fall?"

"I - um - lost my balance..." He lied.

"Well, you're lucky you didn't whack your head. Ms. Clarity found you?" She asked.

"Yeah," Evaline answered. She didn't want Greyson answering all the questions incase he slipped up somehow. "He was lying at the bottom when I found him. I was on my way to class."

"Good thing you found him and brought him to me." Ms. Walker smiled at her. "He seems to get hurt and fall down a lot. I'll be right back to stitch Mr. Adams up. You're welcome to stay here and keep him company."

Evaline laughed nervously. She doubted that him "falling down" was the truth. Greyson nodded furiously, wanting her to stay with him and she agreed to stay as Ms. Walker left the room.

"Your last name's Adams?" Evaline asked.

"Yeah... I hate needles..." He admitted. "Of any kind."

"It's going to be fine, she's just going to fix your lip." Evaline smiled.

"Yeah, but it's still a needle." He countered, folding his hands in his lap. Her eyes followed the motion and she quickly noticed he was shaking.

"Are you sure you're ok?" She asked as she walked over and took the chair beside him. "You're shaking. Are you really that nervous?"

"I'm not nervous... It's just that whenever I get hurt, I shake because my body expects more pain..." He explained darkly. "Because I'd never stop, I'd just keep on going, no matter if it hurt or not..."

"Oh..." She changed the topic quickly. "How did they know anyways?" 'they' meaning Alex and George.

"Know what?" He asked.

"Know that you were talking to me."

"Oh... I don't know..." He shrugged. "Apparently you're acting different."

"Ugh..." Evaline put her face in her hands. "This is SO my fault... Lila noticed I've been different, but I don't know what's been off about me!"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Greyson rolled his eyes. "It wasn't your fault! Maybe it's just because you've been hanging out with me instead of them. I know there was a popular party last night and you turned it down, why?"

"Because, I wanted to hang out with you!" She said. "Parties are boring, I hate them. I don't drink, I don't dance, I don't do anything while I'm at them."

"Why not?" He asked.

"Because! These stupid parties never have good music to dance to!" She said. "It's so stereotypical!"

Just then Ms. Walker came back into the room.

"Ok then..." She smiled. "I'll try not to make this hurt."

Greyson gulped.

*****

"And there you go! You're all set!" The school nurse laughed.

"Thanks Ms. Walker." Greyson muttered as he got up off his chair.

"No problem sweety!" She turned to Evaline. "I'm guessing you'll need a not for class, right?"

Evaline nodded.

"And Mr. Adams will need one as well."

She wrote up to notes, excusing them both for being late to class.

Greyson and Evaline thanked Ms. Walker again and set out down the hallway.

"Why didn't you tell me that they did this to you?" Evaline asked as soon as they were out of earshot. "Alex and George are Dylan's friends, I'm sure Dylan wouldn't let that happen if he knew!"

"I'm sure he would..." He said in an undertone.

"I know he wouldn't!" She said defensively. "He's not liked that!"

"Whatever, I'm not going to argue with you." He rolled his eyes. "I didn't tell you because them bullying me makes me look week. It makes me seem like a loser, and Evaline Clarity does NOT hang out with losers."

He had a point there... She had to work a little for her popularity, and the first rule (or so she had been told) was to know who to hang out with. If you didn't hang out with the right people, your status would instantly drop. But of course, she couldn't tell Greyson any of this. He'd probably be crushed if he knew that if she knew about his bullying problem before they got to know each other they never would have made it to the friendship they had now.

"You're not a loser." She said instead.

"Have you seen me?" He raised and eyebrow. "I'm this emo faggot - "

"You are not." Evaline said angrily as she stopped in the hallway. "Never say that about yourself."

"That's what everyone else says." He stopped too. "I'm a freak - "

"Exactly, that's what everyone ELSE says. Not you." She said through gritted teeth. She hated how everyone treated him... She started to walk again. "They're just jealous because they're normal."

"And what's wrong about being normal?" Greyson laughed as he followed and started to walk beside her.

"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it." She sighed. "It's just... You're different, in a good way. Normal's boring, unique's more interesting."

He looked at her and grinned.

"What?" Evaline asked.

"Nothing," He said, still beaming. "You just reminded me of Ashley for a second."

"Ashley? Who's Ashley?" She asked quickly. She felt a twinge of jealousy, but ignored it. She and Greyson were just friends, she didn't feel anything for him and he didn't feel anything for her... Right?

"Ashley Purdy, he's bass player for Black Veil Brides. Yes, I know that sounds like a girls name, but Ashley's a GUY." He explained, then also added quickly: "And he's not a transgender either. You just reminded me of him because there was a quote he said. It was: 'Unique's what's cool. Normal? Who wants to be normal? Normal's a setting on a washing machine and no one wants to be that...'. I don't know, I guess I have BVB on my mind a lot."

"Oh!" She released the breath that she didn't even know she was holding in. "I thought it was a girl you know or something..."

"No! Why would a girl talk to ME?" Greyson laughed.

"I talk to you."

"Yeah, but you're Evaline."

"Oh really?" She huffed. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

He stopped outside a closed door.

"Hey, this is my class," He smiled, ignoring her question. "Talk to you later."

"Whatever, she rolled her eyes and started to walk off.

"Hey wait!" He called after her.

She turned around, pretending to be mad. Greyson walked closer to her.

"If - if you don't mind..." He shook his head. "Nevermind."

"No, what?" She smiled.

"I - I was w - wondering," He stuttered. "If you want to meet at the park tomorrow... Or something."

"The park?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," He blushed. "The park... I promised I'd make it up to you, so..."

"Oh, yeah, sure, I'll meet you there." She grinned. "What time?"

"8:00 sharp, you know what park, right?"

"Okidok!" She laughed. "I know what park, but as long as you bring some music and I don't have to dress up."

"Don't worry, you don't have to dress up and there'll be music." He turned and walked back to his classroom door. He stopped and smiled at her, then opened it and walked in, closing the door behind him.

"God..." Evaline sighed. "I hope this isn't a date..."