Rumors

Lola had already heard about the rumor being spread around school, but knowing didn't make the whispering and staring any easier to deal with. Keeping her head down, she headed directly to her locker and inwardly groaned as she spotted her older brother waiting for her.

"Is it true?" Callen asked as she opened the door, removing the books that she didn't need and shoving them inside.

"If you're referring to the rumor that I am an evil mastermind, hell-bent on world domination, then yes..." Lola stated, slamming the metal door shut and turning to face Callen, "If, however, you are referring to the ridiculous rumor that I slept with Preston fricking Lawrence, then no it is most definitely not and you shouldn't have even had to ask."

"Lo..." Callen started, falling silent as Lola raise her hand to stop him.

"Do you know what hurts most about all of this?" Lola mumbled as tears trickled down her cheeks, "It isn't that people are spreading lies about me, it's the fact that the one person that I thought would have my back... the person that is supposed to know me better than anyone, has to ask if they're true."

"I know without a doubt that you wouldn't let him anywhere near you, but I also know what that scumbag is capable of," Callen explained, wiping away the tears that rolled down her face and pulling her into a hug, "Let me know if anyone bothers you today, okay?"

"Okay," Lola whispered, taking a deep breath and pulling away as the bell rang to signal the start of their first lesson.

By the time lunch came around, Lola had had enough and just wanted to go home. Entering the cafeteria, she approached the table where her friends were sitting and took a seat.

"I always knew that you were desperate, but giving it up to Preston Lawrence... even I have better standards than that," came a familiar voice, causing Lola to look up and her friends to fall silent as Connie towered over Lola with a smug look plastered on her face.

"You... standards, really?" Lola replied, "I don't have anything nice to say to you Connie, so I'm not going to say anything at all and hope that you just walk away."

"I'm sure that everyone is interested to find out whether the rumors are true or not," Connie added as Callen entered the cafeteria with the football team.

"Well, perhaps everyone should pin back their ears and listen closely," Lola snapped, standing up and watching as everyone stopped what they were doing in order to look at her, "I did not and never would sleep with Preston Lawrence, this was a nasty rumor started by Connie herself to get back at me for getting the boy that she had been trying to get for over a year."

"That's not true," Connie argued.

"Oh please, I was told that it was you," Lola stated, "Nobody's whispering now are they... people are so quick to believe bad things that they hear about good people and the funniest thing about it is that Preston may be one of the biggest jerks I have ever met, but even he had the decency to apologize for something that wasn't even his doing."

Grabbing her bag, Lola stormed out of the cafeteria and made her way to the bleachers. She had been sitting there for nearly twenty minutes, when someone sat down beside her and she glanced over to find Callen staring at her with a smile.

"I'm proud of you, you know," he told her, nudging her shoulder with his own, "I know that this year has been hard for you and that you hate conflict, but you did good in there."

"I'd just had enough of everyone staring and pointing as if they knew that it was true," Lola mumbled, "Why would she do something like that?"

"Girls like Connie feed off of drama, Lo... they pick a nice person or someone that they are jealous of and they try to make everyone else hate them to make themselves feel good," Callen added, "Then they watch as that person gets ridiculed and torn apart, but you didn't let that happen. You're my little sister and I hate seeing you so unsure of yourself, but I can't control what people make up in their small brains... or what they share with their big mouths."

"I'm sorry that I had a go at you earlier."

"No, I'm sorry for thinking that you wouldn't have come to me if something like that had happened," Callen said, putting his arm around her shoulders and kissing her head, "I love you."

"I love you too."

Laying her head on his shoulder, Lola focused on his warmth at her side and tried to push away everything else that was playing through her mind. Sometimes, having an older brother was a pain, but Callen had always been there when she needed him and would forever be the only true superhero in her world.