Avery sat at a desk in science waiting for the teacher to appear. She slowly pulled out her books and stationery, ready to attempt to take notes. It was obvious that she was an outsider. Each of the three-person desks began to slowly fill only for the desk she was sitting at to stay empty.

She would have preferred that it remained that way when a boy she was quite familiar with sat beside her, Aiden, followed by his friend William.

Aiden was a shorter guy who was tall and lean. He didn’t have much in the way of muscles, and because of his lack of weight his cheeks looked hollowed. His dark brown hair was always greasy and unbrushed. His clothes always had some kind of stain on them, and whenever he was close by you could always tell with the strong smell of cigarette smoke or marijuana.

Avery’s hands clenched uncomfortably into fists as she shifted her chair as close to the edge of the desk as she could, opting to stop breathing as the inescapable smell of cigarette smoke assaulted her nose.

“You’re finally back, babe” Aiden began with a smug look as he moved his chair closer to her. He turned to his friend with a look of amusement, and William grinned back at him giving him a nod of encouragement.

Aiden turned back to the blonde, his lips parting as his tongue snaked out to lick the corner of his mouth with a lecherous smirk. He looked Avery up and down, the familiar look of a half-brained pervert that couldn’t take a hint.

“How about you meet me after school for some… fun?”. Avery shuddered at the thought, disgust flooding her system. Aiden was known as a licentious asshole. He would hit on anything that could move, make uncomfortable remarks and thought that females were nothing but a vagina with legs. The day that Avery would go anywhere with Aiden, would be the day she killed him personally.

Avery ignored his question, placing her balled fists in her lap and refusing to look in his direction. This seem have annoyed him because Aiden sighed, leaning into her personal space, “Come on, babe, we all know that you’ll open your legs for anyone” his irritated tone caused a shudder to run through Avery.

When she continued to ignore him she hoped that that would be the end of it. Most people would have taken the hint by that point, but then she felt his fingertips run a line across her upper thigh. His skin felt like static against hers, sending waves of discomfort throughout her being.

She slapped his hand away and leapt out of her seat, her body shaking from his touch. The seat banged against the table behind her, causing the entire room to turn to her and the brown-haired boy. She couldn't believe his nerve, how he clearly didn’t even think of her as a human being with the right to ignore his comments - to say ‘no’. She stared at him with horror in her eyes, her lip quivering as she held back the screamed words that echoed through her.

Aiden looked surprised by her reaction, looking her up and down like she had suddenly became the most hideous thing he had ever seen in his life. Tears came to Avery’s eyes but she tried to shove them back down when she looked around, noticing that all eyes were now on her.

“Gross” Aiden proclaimed, leaning back in his chair, “I would never pay someone like you for sex. What are you a prostitute now?”.

Avery’s face scrunched into disgusted resentment before she snatched up her bag strap, swinging it over her shoulder. She gathered the books and stationery on the desk in her hands hastily before taking one last moment to glare at the repulsive being that had done such horrible things, and the class that bore witness to it yet did nothing. With a huff, Avery turned to run towards the door.

____

She found herself walking down the school hallway. She had no particular destination, but she knew that she wanted to be as far away from that science classroom as possible. Where should I go? Avery didn’t want to leave, nor did she want to stay in the halls when teachers would be patrolling for people skipping their classes.

With a sigh, Avery turned her attention back to the corridor but her stride was broken as she recognised a figure at the end of the hall. It was the boy that she had seen at lunch, Mr dark hair and tattoos. She watched him as the same feeling began to well in her chest. It felt as though there was a pressure building in her lungs, her breath hitched as her heart began to pound. For a moment he just stood there, his back to Avery, staring at the lockers to the right of him with a quirked eyebrow.

She was frozen. She didn’t understand why this stranger was making her feel such an intense feeling within herself. Avery took a step towards him, her mind suddenly drawing a blank as a force that felt so natural took over her body, willing her towards him. His head turned as he looked over his shoulder, dark hair shading his eyes as he watched her take another step in his direction.

Avery couldn’t explain why she felt so drawn to him, but it felt so right. It was when her lips parted to call out to him that he turned on his heel, disappearing out of sight down another corridor at the end of the hall.

The magnetic attraction that she felt towards him quickly faded and she was left with an emptiness in the pit of her stomach. She brought her hand to her chest, realising that her hands were shaking. Who are you?

____

Avery had opted to lock herself in the stall of the bathroom for the remainder of the period. She didn’t want to risk getting caught in the halls during class time and be sent back into that room full of piercing eyes and disgusted looks.

Avery sat on the toilet seat as memories from two weeks earlier unwillingly began to play in her mind. Being shoved against the cold tiles of the toilet wall, her school bag taken and thrown into the toilet. That was the day that she had learned never to use the bathroom as a place to hide.

The fear of the toilets was far less strong during class time. The chances that Paige would find her locked in a stall was significantly lower. Nobody saw her come in, and nobody would be looking for her. Or that was what Avery had thought.

Avery hadn’t noticed that someone else had entered the bathroom until she heard her name being called, “Avie-wavie… are you here?” The familiar voice echoed through the stalls. Avery raised her hands to cover her mouth, muffling a gasp. She felt her heartbeat pick up as she tucked her feet onto the small toilet seat so that they couldn't be seen from under the door. How did she know?

“Are you in here sweety-pie?” Paige’s sing-song voice called out, followed by the bang of a stall to the left of Avery. She silently thanked God that she had chosen the toilet furthest from the door as she heard the second bang. “I don’t think she’s in here...” Paige’s bodyguard grumbles, “Did Aiden say that she hid here?”. Of course.

Paige sighed, her footsteps receding to the sinks on the other side of the room. Avery let a breath of silent relief escape her. “No, he just said that she ran out of class and didn’t come back. I figured she would be hiding in here” Paige explains, taking her small makeup bag from her purse, unzipping it to take out her lipstick, “Doesn’t matter, I can still fix up my makeup now. Hughes would’ve just been a bonus”.

Addison laughed as Paige twisted the tube before bringing the soft pink lipstick to her lips. Avery brought her hands down from her mouth, realising that their search for her was over. She reminded herself to never hide in the toilets again. She hadn’t realised that Paige had her minions planted all over the school, but now she knew better.

“By the way Paige, how are you and Ethan. I’ve been meaning to ask but Sadie hasn’t left us alone all day...” Addison grumbled, leaning against the wall beside the sink. Paige gave a hum, smacking her lips together before twisting the lipstick closed, placing the lid back on and throwing it back in her bag, “I know right, she’s such an attention whore, I can’t stand her”. Paige sighed, trying to decide how to reply to the first half of her friends question, “I don’t know” she continues “he never really shows that much interest in me… you know... sexually” she mutters.

“Well, aren’t you planning to try and kiss him at the party this weekend?” Addison added, genuinely sounding curious. Paige took a moment to answer, zipping the makeup bag shut as she placed it back in her purse, “Maybe, depends if I get the opportunity or not” she responded nonchalantly, in an attempt to sound like she wouldn’t care either way.

The brunette put her hand in her purse, quickly finding her phone as she pulled it from her bag. The studded case glittered in the fluorescent lights, sending tiny reflections bouncing against the tiles. Slowly a grin crawled onto her cheeks as she looked at Addison with cruel amusement, “You know what would be funny” Paige began, her tone laced with sadistic humour, “Let’s text that bitch, Avery”.

“Ooo! What are you gonna say” Addison laughed, bouncing over to Paige’s side. “Take a look” she smirked as the quiet taps of her typing filled the toilet, punctuated by the unmistakable sound of a message being sent.

There was a moment of silence before a loud DING erupted from inside Avery’s bag. Her eyes widen in horror as she realised that she had forgotten to put her phone on silent this morning before school. She hadn’t been at school for a week and never received messages during the day; it had just slipped her mind.

Panicked silence falls over Avery as she screwed her eyes shut, hoping, praying that they would ignore the sound. Please God, if you really exist, please. Please!

The heels of Paige's shoes clicked against the tiles as she strode towards the sound. The creak of the toilet seat in the neighboring stall startled Avery as she looked up just in time to see Paige's smug face appear above her. “Oh look who we have here” Paige mused, her lips curling into a cheshire grin. “Who is it?” Addison pretended to enquire from her place at the sinks.

Paige snickered as she turned to her friend, “It’s our favourite friend, Avie-wavie” she announced. At this Addison’s expression changed to match that of Paige and Avery heard the click of her shoes approaching the stall.

BANG!

The stall door shook from the impact. “You thought you could just eavesdrop on us, stalker?” Addison hissed from the other side of the stall door. Paige giggled and turned back to Avery who cowered below her, “I can handle this Addy, but first can you pass me the Gatorade in your bag, I’m parched' she exaggerated. Addison’s lips curved up knowingly before following the brunette’s instruction.

“I’m so happy to see you again. I thought we had scared you off,” Paige began, “We missed you so much Avie-wavie...” She sung, her fake friendly tone echoing against the bathroom walls. “It just hasn’t been the same without you” Addison agreed as Paige leant down to take the half-full Gatorade bottle from her. The pair exchanged winks before Paige sat the bottle at the top of the stall wall, letting Avery see it.

Avery could do nothing but stare up at the brunette. She had nowhere to go. She couldn’t leave the stall, if she did whatever was about to happen would probably be far worse. While she was locked in, they were locked out.

“Why don’t you come on out so I can give you a warm welcome back?” Paige suggested, “I mean, I have so much time I have to make up for… you know?” Paige continued, twisting off the lid and bringing the Gatorade to her lips.

SPLASH

The blue liquid fell from above Avery like a waterfall, showering over her head, clothes, and bag. Avery shuddered as a trail of Gatorade ran from her hair down to her face. She was stuck in a state of shock, unable to move with her arms hovering outstretched at her sides.

“Oops, sorry about that” Paige shrugged as Addison exploded into laughter outside of the stall. Avery didn’t raise her head to look at her bully, nor did she reply. She knew that anything she said would bring pleasure to the girl above her. “Blue suits you though, matches your eyes!” She says with a fake-friendly smile and laughed along with Addison.

Paige stepped down from the toilet, disappearing from Avery’s sight. “Listen up, slut” Paige’s voice called from the other side of the door, “It only gets worse from here on out'' With that, the click of high heels moved away from the stall, getting quieter as the girls left Avery alone in the toilet, laughter echoing throughout the room until the bang of the toilet door left her in silence.

The slam of the door seemed to sink a certain feeling of finality into Avery. Slowly, as if the world would shake apart if she rushed, she brought all her limbs into a tight ball, tucking her head into her knees. Avery pressed a clenched fist against her mouth as loud sobs racked her body, punctuated by hiccups and gasps for breath. She pressed her forehead against her knees, ignoring the sticky sensation that followed the action as she cried.

Why did I ever decide to come back to this Hell?