Faith walked into lunch with a frown the next day. Lennox had been hanging out with her, slowly but surely beginning to enjoy her company. This felt so foreign to Lennox; having a genuine friend. When Faith sat down next to her with her lips tugged into a frown, Lennox felt herself growing concerned.

She nudged her new friend. "What's bothering you, Faith?"

Faith shook her head, but Lennox could tell she was lying. Lennox had come to terms with the fact that she cared; she cared whether she liked it or not. So, she'd told herself that she'd give friendship one more chance. Just one, because she was tired of being alone. Because she didn't want to give her enemies that power over her.

"Faith," Lennox said again, a warning in her voice. She looked down to her pizza, then to the empty spot in front of Faith. Why wasn't she eating?"

Faith grimaced. It's nothing. Why do you care, anyways? I thought you hated everyone.

Lennox glared at Faith. That was a low blow and she knew it. "I'm trying to be nice here, and you're giving me the cold shoulder. What happened to the sweet girl I met a few days ago?"

Faith sighed. She's not longer here.

Lennox frowned, and she wondered if that's what she came off as to other people. Then again, other people didn't care if she was okay. "You can talk to me, you know. Why don't you go get something to eat?" Being nice to someone wasn't as difficult as Lennox had thought. If only Faith would go back to being nice as well.

Faith shook her head, and surprised Lennox by hopping out of her chair. The brunette sniffed, then hurried away, out of the cafeteria. Lennox felt a stab at her heart. For once, she didn't feel anger. She felt- concerned. For someone other than herself. Her eyes narrowed as she glanced around the cafeteria. People were gawking in the direction Faith had fled. Laughing. Pointing.

Lennox pushed back her chair and stood up, banging a fist against the table. It caught the attention of some, but her loud shout of "Hey!" caught the attention of the rest. The cafeteria fell dead silent. The girl who never interacted people had called the attention of the whole cafeteria. Interesting, they probably thought. Lennox could care less. Anger had bubbled up inside of her as memories tumbled back. The words, the shoves, the bullying. They had driven her to be this way. It was all their fault.

"Do you people have nothing better to do than laugh and point at people?" Lennox shouted. She leaned her palms on the table in front of her, her eyes narrowed on a certain girl in particular. "Do you think this is funny? Do you think it's ever been funny?"

Isla rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself, Lennox. What do you want from the poor girl, huh? You have no friends, so what do you want from her? You're such a hypocrite."

Lennox could feel herself shaking with anger. "No more, Isla." She shook her head at Isla's wide eyes. "I let you win, but not this time. You're going to regret every foul thing you've ever done." With that, Lennox sat back down to enjoy her pizza. She ignored the stares she was receiving, and people soon began to mind their own business. The hand that wasn't holding the pizza was clenched into a fist in her lap. She hadn't let anger consume her this much since Isla started having her bullied, since she stopped being friends with the 'popular' crowd. This time, she let it consume her. She let it fuel her.

🤘

After lunch ended, Lennox took her time walking to her next class. Anger consumed her every thought, her every footstep. Every laugh, every word, every footstep sounded magnified to her ears. Everything felt like a pulsing of a beat, and Lennox wasn't sure why she let herself get worked up for other people. She felt the battle within herself, the battle to let everything go as she once had. Then, as she dodged a foot stuck in he path on her way to her seat, she realized that she couldn't. She realized that ignoring the problem, ignoring people, wouldn't make her life better. It would just make it worse.

The remainder of the day, Lennox worried about Faith. She couldn't find the girl anywhere, and worry built up in her chest. As soon as her last class ended, she flew into the hall. Her light eyes were searching, and her heart wouldn't stop hammering. She ran towards the parking lot. She looked, and she even dared to approach someone.

Lennox halted just before the parking lot, panting. She turned to a girl she knew was in Faith's last period class. She was observant. "Have you seen Faith? Short, bro-"

The girl walked away, and Lennox fumed. She grabbed the back of the girl's shirt and spun her around. "I won't ask you again."

The shorter, and more terrified, girl sighed. "No, she hasn't been here since lunch. Please unhand me."

Lennox tossed her to the ground. Without further thought, she texted her brother. She knew he was in college, but she knew he would drop everything to help her. Besides, she was pretty sure this counted as an emergency.

Hey, Donovan. Sorry to bother you, but I need your hacking skills. Need you to find the address of a girl in my grade. Her name is Faith.

She would've called him if he wasn't deaf. She clutched the new phone in her hand as she waited. Glancing around the parking lot, she realized people were staring at her. Their eyes bore into her skin, and not even her angry gaze made theirs go away. As she was about to punch someone, her phone buzzed in her hand. She smiled at the address, but scowled at the latter part of her older brother's text.

I didn't realize you went to people's houses. I'd probably believe you were about to rob it.

She texted him a few choice words, then ran to her car. She didn't care about Nora. Nora could ride with whoever she wanted. Lennox hopped into the driver's seat and speed the mile to the address. She had to use a GPS, but that didn't mean she was about to obey the speed limit. A bad feeling had settled in the pit of your stomach, and she still couldn't believe she cared enough about Faith to break a law. Or, you know, several.

She arrived at a nice two-story house. She barely took in the carefully-kept garden. She barely took in anything as she rush up the cobblestone pathway to the front door. Her finger jammed on the doorbell, and she impatiently waited for someone to answer. A parent, a sibling, anyone. She didn't pray much, but she prayed that Faith was in that house. She prayed that she was safe, and that everything would turn out just fine. Her gaze turned to the arch of the porch above her when she heard the door open. Her gaze flicked to the figure in the doorway and she nearly sighed in relief. In fact, she nearly hugged the girl, and she hated hugging.

Faith's eyes were red from crying. Her lips where chapped, and her eyes held so much sorrow that Lennox could feel it in her heart.

"Faith, why did you leave school?" Lennox asked. She had so many other things she wanted to say, but that's what she stuck with. She wasn't sure how much of this 'tolerating friendship' thing she could handle. Was it even a friendship yet? She couldn't really tell.

Faith shook her head, her hands clasped tightly into fists.

Lennox took a step forward, frustration prevailing. "Faith, you scared me!"

Her eyes widened. Really? Then, they narrowed. I thought you didn't care.

Lennox let out a breath. "I do care, Faith. You're my- friend." It was like she was not only admitting to Faith, but to herself as well. The words tasted foreign in her mouth, like they didn't belong there. Yet, they filled her with a bit of warmth she hadn't realized she had missed.

Faith seemed as shocked as Lennox. However, instead of pulling her lips into a frown of thought like the red-head, Faith beamed. Then, she threw her arms around the taller girl, who surprisingly hugged her back. Then, with an awkward pat to Faith's back, Lennox pushed her away with a grimace.

"Sorry, I'm just not that big on hugs."

Faith just grinned wider. While you're my friend, you'll learn. Trust me.

Lennox just shook her head as a ghost of a smile creeped onto her face. Then, she remember the events that occurred in the cafeteria. She noticed the red that was slowly fading from Faith's eyes, and the paths that tears had created down her cheeks.

"Faith, what's wrong?" Lennox knew anger best, and anger was what consumed her at that moment. Not anger at Faith, but anger at the people that had caused her emotional harm. The people who used to bully Lennox herself.

Faith shook her head with a frown, turning back into the house. Lennox thought she would slam the door, but she surprised her by leaving it open. Lennox followed her, closing the door behind her. She took in the nice home, nicer than hers. It smelled faintly of cinnamon, and everything seemed to have been taken care of by delicate hands.

Faith stopped at a bedroom up the stairs. She gestured inside, and Lennox followed the movement. The room was a moderate size, with a theme of dark and light purple. It was girly, yet not so much that Lennox wanted to throw something. She sank onto the plush bed, running her hand over the comforter. It almost reminded her of her own home, of how looks could be deceiving. She then looked at her friend, who was pacing the room. In the corner was a wooden desk, and around it were inspirational writing quotes. Lennox actually smiled. It was Faith's novelist corner.

Faith stopped in the middle of the room, finally turning to face Lennox. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she shakily signed, This is hard for me, you know. Opening up to people about how I feel.

Lennox nodded. She understood perfectly.

It's just- I know I shouldn't let them hurt me, but they do. People keep hurting me, Lennox. They used to like me. It's not my fault I'm like this! She pointed to her throat as more tears streamed down her face. It isn't fair!

Lennox blew out a breath. "I know what it feels like, to lose popularity." She never thought anyone could understand her, let alone someone as preppy as Faith. She realized that some personalities were façades. Some people put façades up for so long they became one themselves, nothing more than a fake exterior.

Faith gently sat down next to her. Maybe we're not so different.

Lennox sighed. "Maybe not, Faith. Maybe not. They bullied me, too." Her throat felt like it was closing up. She tried to lock her emotions away, only showing anger to scare people into leaving her alone. She hated feeling vulnerable, let alone allowing herself to be.

Faith clenched her hands in her lap. She seemed angry now, and the tears had stopped. Slowly, she brought her hands up to sign. I had no idea. I'm sorry.

Lennox shook her head, and her short hair swayed. "Don't be. It makes me feel weak and pathetic. They shouldn't matter." She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to cry. She couldn't let herself cry. "But I let them." Her voice cracked at the end, and she attempted to clear her throat. She opened her eyes and forced the blurriness away by blinking rapidly. "I let them keep me away from people. I let them win, Faith."

Her new friend laid a hand on her shoulder. Then, she signed, Don't worry. We're in this together now!

Lennox wondered how someone could come out of a similar situation to hers so optimistic while she was the complete opposite. Then, despite her old inner voice objecting out of habit, she nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I guess."

———
Thank you guys so much for your support! I've been so busy with school but I wrote so yay! Please give me your honest opinion of this book so far and let me know if I should continue? Also, check out my profile for news to the anthology I'm a part of! I've been working on that, too!

-Sarah