Eva's PoV

College following the accident and the 'chat' with the bad boys was not what I wanted. Waking up on a Monday morning was bad enough, but my anxiety had quadrupled as soon as I'd remembered it'd be the first day of having to face them after what had happened on the weekend. The only saving grace of this day was going to be my music.

From the moment my feet touched the cold wooden flooring, music played as I got myself psyched up. I quickly got dressed and headed down for breakfast, headphones in now to make sure I didn't wake up my mum. I made myself some toast and headed out the door to eat it as I walked, my playlist on again for the millionth day in a row. Panic at the disco filled my ears as the college building came into sight and my gut instinctively tightened in fear. Why did I have to feel like this? Why did I feel like I was back at school worrying about bullies?

The only way I was going to get through today was to ignore everybody, focus on my work and listen to my music. There was nothing that was going to happen today that would stop this plan that I had come up with... Well, that's what I thought until I walked into the room and noticed everyone deep in conversation. Instinct kicked in and I muted the song, walking in pretending to be oblivious when really my ears pricked up like a dog's.

"I can't believe it." Hannah gossiped to the popular girls, all crowded around her as she was the first to spread some more gossip. "Amber cheated on Ashton with Kian. They've always hated each other but when Ash finds out from me that it was Kian, he's gonna go ape. And I should move up his list." Once again I rolled my eyes at her comments as I headed for my desk, pulling out my phone almost instantly. If she wanted to use this information to embarrass Ashton in front of the whole class, I was going to stop it. It wasn't fair for him. He was a dick, and had annoyed me with his recent messages but I just couldn't sit back and watch that depressed guy come into view for the whole class to see. Not when he was meant to be the bad boy. Luckily for him, he'd escaped any bad injuries. The doctors had said it was a miracle. He'd just got some cuts and bruises, sprained his ankle and dislocated his shoulder. They'd managed to fix it and put it in a sling but he didn't need to stay in the hospital. He was meant to carry on life as normal, apparently that was the best healer - along with the painkillers to assist him. Rumour had it that Ashton was coming back today to see his friends and, of course, inflate his ego more by talking about his experience to everyone at college.

Me: Ashton somehow Hannah found out amber cheated with kian. She wants to tell you in class so that she can move up your list. Just wanted you to know now so it isn't a surprise later. Sorry.

Sent. I pray he sees it before he gets to class, if he's coming in. I just can't stand the idea of anyone being humiliated in class, even if it meant helping Hannah I'd do it. Despite keeping to myself, I was never one to sit back and watch as something went wrong in front of me. I knew exactly how that felt and I never wanted anyone to go through that. When I was about 13, going through the tough patch at school that we all had to go through, when hormones are playing havoc and emotions ran amok, I had one best friend and her name was Lina. We did everything together and told each other everything; who we crushed on, who we hated, any gossip we had heard. It was great having someone who understood you fully.
That was until that fateful day.
To this day I still don't know why she did it, but she stood up in front of the class and announced my crush on a girl in that very room and embarrassed me for life. I had only just come to her with the suspicion that I liked girls as well as guys, and I'd told her in confidence that it was this girl in our class that had changed my mind. It was meant to be a secret. It was meant to be between two friends and yet there it was, open to the class like laundry outside to dry. I felt vulnerable. I felt deceived. I felt so small and so fragile, watching as everyone in the class began to gossip about it. That girl I'd crushed on avoided me from then on. Lina and I fell out that day and for the remainder of the year, I stayed alone - my music being my saving grace every day as it drowned out the snide comments and the laughs people did at me every time I walked past. That's what started it, that's why I wore earphones all the time. I hadn't trusted a single soul since then but I never wanted to tell anyone that that was the reason. When people asked why I wore earphones, I told them I hated the noise of idiots at college. When my parents questioned me, I told them the same thing. Literally no one in the world knew the reasoning behind the music, except for me. Me and my living nightmare that was that day.

Since then, despite remaining a loner, I've always wanted to help others avoid what I'd felt, and that's why I was helping Ashton. My phone vibrated to let me know a message had arrived. I pulled it out and held it under the table as I read the response.

College: fuck! How the fuck do you know all this?

Me: I hear everything. I see everything. You'd have ended up being embarrassed in front of the whole class for the sake of Hannah moving up your list of people you're bedding.

College: she's gonna get it I swear. Just wait and see.

His threatening message came through only minutes before he limped into the classroom, his eyes darting straight to Hannah with a glare so awful it sent tingles down even my spine. She was about to feel his wrath. He fully believed my message. I was finally in his good books.