I Hope You Like the Stars I Stole for You

Pruitt’s POV

Vic moved underneath me, and for a brief moment I thought he was going to break away from me. Instead he sat upright and placed his hands at my hips, moving his lips against mine in the most perfect way. My hands moved to his hair, and his hands tightened around me. I couldn’t suppress my moan as his lips moved around mine like they were meant to be there. He was such a good kisser, he held so much passion. I finally pulled away, my eyes like saucers. Had I really just done that ? Well, the secret was out now, now he knew that I liked him. He used one hand to gently stroke my hair again, and I smiled. “You’re beautiful.” He whispered softly to me. I backed off of him, crossing the room to my mirror. I looked at myself with disgust; I couldn’t help it. “You think this is beautiful ?” My voice was low and my tone rude. Vic looked at me, surprised, and crossed the room after me. “Yes, you’re the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen. And don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” I hugged him, squeezing tight, and he held me against him. I felt his lips on my hair, and I mumbled “I’m sorry” into his chest. And I was, I was so sorry that I couldn’t be better for him, that I didn’t deserve him, and that I had just ruined a perfect moment with my own insecurities. “Don’t be” He told me, his voice sure.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You can talk to me about anything, I’m not going to judge you. Trust me, I’m not one to judge… But if you feel like you need to get something off your chest, just blurt it out, I don’t mind. I’m a good listener, and I’ll try to help. That’s what best friends are for.” He was holding me at arms length, looking me right in the eyes. There were so many things I wanted to tell him in that moment- about how much I wanted to die sometimes, about how my dad frequently beats me, about how my mom is never around, about how no one likes me…but I was scared, scared that I’d scare him off. So I kept silent, and just nodded, biting my lip.

The next day before school, I tried my hardest to look decent for Vic. I failed miserably, but I’m saying I tried. I wore extra tight skinny jeans, black Keds, and a v-neck shirt that I thought was cute. I walked into school feeling semi-confident, and that’s when I heard it. A boy, looking pointedly at me “Slut.” I felt my cheeks burn immediately, you’ve got to be kidding me…

All through first period, a couple of jocks in the back were snickering and calling me names like “whore” and “prostitute” just because I wore a shirt that had a v-neck. I couldn’t understand this pointless bullying, why was it all directed at me ? Because I’m the new girl, or would they have hated me even if I’d grown up here ? It was hard for me to focus on my work with all that commotion going on, and I ended up getting nothing done. I trudged to second hour, just glad I got to see Vic, that would provide me some relief. The teacher was cool and let us pick our seats now, so of course I sat right next to Vic. “Hey” he said, and after a moment “What’s wrong ?” he had seen the look on my face. “Nothing.” I told him, avoiding his eyes and getting out my school work. “Listen, I’m leaving during this hour but I’ll be back in time for fourth hour, okay ?” I nodded, disappointed at the way this day was turning out. I avoided his eyes until he left, feeling the emptiness of not having him there.
As I walked out of second hour, a girl in my class bumped into me, in turn bumping me into a guy from my class. He turned around “Watch it !” And smacked my books out of my hands. As I bent to pick them up, a different girl pushed me, and I flew to the ground, skidding on my books. I hastily picked them up without a word, trying to tune out the laughter behind me. I threw my stuff into my locker, and skipped third hour. I sat in a bathroom stall the whole time, just wishing I could disappear. No one wanted me here, so what was the use of my existence ? It was my second week at this new school and things were already messed up…if anything they were worse.

I went to lunch, sitting with Ella, Sydney, Emma and Reid as usual. A few things were thrown at the back of my head, but other than that things were pretty normal. Sydney noticed I was a little quiet, and that made me feel better, like people actually acknowledged me. I assured everyone it was nothing, but continued not to speak much.

I got to fourth hour a little early to look for Vic. I waited until the bell rang, then finally took my seat. I noticed Mike was there, but no sign of Vic. Maybe he’s coming a little late, I told myself.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

He never showed.