VERONICA's POV

I walked to the door, feeling nervous as hell. The hallway was crowded as usual and I dreaded it.

I already had an idea of what would happen if I tried to make it to my locker through the crowd but there was nothing I could do. If I failed to get to class, my father would be called and I would be punished by him for missing school.

Now, my father’s punishments were like a taste of hell on earth. Considering my two options, I would rather face the embarrassment from my school mates than get beaten up by my father.

I clutched my books tightly against my chest and took a deep breath before proceeding through the crowd. I was so focused on getting through the crowd that I didn't see the foot that had been set out for me.

I tripped over it, landing face first on the floor with a loud thud.

Laughter echoed all around me and I remained on the floor, refusing to move from my spot. I hated life. Today was my birthday but I still had to suffer like this.

"Aren't you going to move fatsy" David, my worst tormentor, mocked.

"How can you expect her to move? Her weight is too much for her to carry. Poor Veronica" Elena, another girl mocked.

"When she fell, the foundation of the school shook" Michael said and laughter followed.

The three of them were my nemesis. I hated them with everything but I couldn't speak against them as they ruled the school.

"What’s with the clothes?"

"Did she even take a shower this morning?"

"Her clothes are so dirty"

"Ewww. I’ll kill myself if i was as dirty and fat as she was.”

These were words I used too. Words I hear every day. Not only from my tormentors but also my family. It hurt every time that I heard it. But there was nothing that I could do about it. Years of bullying and abuse killed every fight in me.

"I saved this just for you" I heard David's voice just before liquid was poured over me. It smelled stale and disgusting.

Laughter followed and then I could hear the clicks and see the flashes of the camera. I hid my face as much as I could but it didn’t do much.

The bell rang, saving me from their torment. One by one, they started leaving the hallway.

“fucking bitch” David muttered before kicking me in my side. I groaned in pain, laying on the floor in the filth.

There was no time to change out of my clothes into the spare one I kept in my locker. Ignoring the pain in my side, I carried myself towards the classroom.

The teacher was already in class when I arrived. With only as much as a look of disgust in my direction, she went back to teaching while I dragged myself to my chair at the back of the classroom.

“Must we have class with her? She smells too bad” Becky muttered out loud. There were murmurs of approval from the others in the class.

I silently prayed that our teacher wouldn’t listen to Becky and ask me to leave the class because of the offending smell coming from me; Becky had a lot of influence.

Her father was rich and a big contributor to our school. She was also the head cheerleader and had the school at her fingertips.

“Let her be,” Damon said and the class instantly became silent.

I looked at him and our eyes met briefly. He turned away before I could thank him.

Damon was the only person who had ever been nice to me. He was the star hockey player of the school. Although he came from a wealthy family, he behaved nothing like the others from his social circle. He was humble and kind.

This made me wonder why he was dating someone as mean as Becky.

After he saved me from the bullies that one time, I fell in love with him and I’ve always wanted him to know. I know he would never reciprocate my feelings. Not when he had someone as beautiful as Becky.

But this was my last year in high school and I needed to let him know. If I never did, I would never get the chance to.

I didn’t focus much on the teaching. My mind was solely occupied with Damon and how I would tell him how I felt towards him.

All through the day, I couldn’t get him alone. He was surrounded by his friends and I stayed away. I finally got my chance after school had ended for the day.

There was going to be practice and everyone had left. He was the only one in the locker room.

I entered cautiously, clutching my bag nervously. He was about to put on his shirt when I entered. I took the time to admire his perfect body.

“Veronica?”

“Damon,” I answered, stupefied. He didn’t call me fatso or stupid. He called me by my name. “Do you need something?”

“Yeah. I-I...” I didn’t know how to say it.

“Veronica?” His voice was gentle and I decided to just blurt it out.

“I like you”

“What?”

“I like you. You’re a good person and you’re the only one who has ever been kind to me and...” his laughter cut me off.

“Is something wrong?” I asked with a frown.

He only laughed harder, clutching his stomach tightly.

“I can never like someone as disgusting as you. You’re ugly and fat and disgusting. The sight of you alone makes me puke. You think I saved you because I liked you? That day was a fucking mistake. It made me feel sick for days.”

I was shocked by his words. His action was even more unbelievable. Gone was the gentle and kind smile he always wore. It was now replaced by a vicious and scary look.

“Did you honestly think that I would like you back?” he laughed again and more laughter joined and I saw his team mates and the cheerleaders come out through the second door.

“Did you get that on camera?” Damon asked.

“of course I did” David laughed harder and I only stared in dismay. My brain refused to process what was going on. I saw them leave. Why did they suddenly show up out of the blue?

“I had a feeling you'll do something as dumb as this,” David said.

“It's his fault for being nice to her,” Becky scowled.

“Good planning Becky” David said and laughed again.

“The students will go crazy over this” “Looks like her defected brain still cannot process what’s happening” Anna laughed.

“Let me break it down for you,” Becky said, drawing closer to me.

“Damon doesn’t like you. He’s disgusted by you.”

I shook my head, not believing it. Why did I think he was a good person when he hung out with those terrible people?

“Stupid bitch” David yanked my hair and slammed me into the wall.

“Let’s not forget our birthday gift for her” I heard Damon say before a pan of smelly cake was smashed on my face. Flashes from the camera followed and their laugh rang out louder.

Blindly, I hurried out of the changing room. The hallway was crowded with other students and they laughed and called me names. The video they made must have already gone viral.

I wish I could die. Anything was better than coming back to school after the humiliation I just faced.

Tears continuously poured out of my eyes as I ran. The students started throwing things at me and I knew that I couldn’t leave just yet.

I hurried into one of the storage closets and hid myself there, bawling my eyes out until I couldn’t cry anymore…