Their high heels click loudly on the floor as she walked towards her and she backed out till she reached the sink and had to stop moving.
"Well, well, it's Gracie Richards. The Grâce la belleza." Katy mimicked.
It was a title given it Gracie by Mr. Quint. He was a French man and he always try to appreciate the nature in what even way he can. He had used Gracie's name to define the beauty of nature on the first week of resumption before everything went down.
Gracie shivered but she didn't utter a word to the bullies.
"Just because you have a friend who is borrowing my post for the main time doesn't get you the audacity to do what you like, freak." Katy threatened to her face, making her cowered in fear as she tried to avoid Katy's spit on her face.
"Now tell me, what's so special about you that made Nicholas so interested in being your partner?" She didn't know when it happened but Vanessa was already in her face.
Who was Nicholas?... She had no idea that her mysterious lifesaver's name was Nicholas.
Vanessa pulled Gracie's head up by her chin for her to look into her brown eye, "You don't have anything special." She said softly, sniffing her hair. Then she withdrew abruptly.
"Eww, I swear her hair smell like dog's poop," She covered her nose and her blonde friend cat walked closer to Gracie, due to her high heel she was taller than Gracie so she bent low and snuffled. She backed out.
"I say she smell like dog's poop." She stuck her manicured fingers up on her face and rolled her eyes. Gracie maintained her look on the black terrazzo.
"Well, I'm sure history is about to repeat itself." Vanessa said. flipping her long hair back. Gracie was forced to look up as she was interested in what she had to say.
"Nicholas will do to you what Will did, it's just a matter of time so enjoy the glow." Vanessa whispered to her right ear.
Gracie's eyes widened in terror.
Katy looked from one party to other, her own purpose for being here was to tell the Freak to tell her friend to prepare for the worst because she wouldn't let her throne slide. "Anyway, I'm here for a different reason." again she almost enter the innocent girl.
"Tell your whoreish friend to prepare for the worst 'cause I usually don't accept defeat, never."
The door flung open and someone entered. Her skirt was what Gracie's saw first, then she slowly trace it up to the face, white hair. It wasn't a relief because it definitely not on she wished to see and she ever cleared thing up by walking past her to use the other basin.
Countess unlocked the faucet and allowed the cold water to rush down on her hand. she saw what was going on from the corner of her eyes but she continued to chew the gum in her mouth
When the bullies discovered that she didn't actually give a fuck, they bounced back on Gracie skipping the Nicholas's part. "I'm gonna ruin you." Vanessa said.
"Wait," Countess paused, then without glancing at them "You talking about ruin reminded me of something important, Vanessa."
Vanessa gasped and held her Barbie doll friend. "Do we just forget about the practice?"
Katy frowned in confusion, they already planned not to go for the practice in order to embarrass Tori tomorrow with different moves, "What are you talking about Vanessa? We planned–"
"Let's go!" Vanessa dragged Katy out, making her to stumbled on her black stiletto but didn't drip. The duo left arguing.
Even Gracie was shocked about what just happened. All that matters was that someone saved her from their words torment.
Gracie cautiously peeped over her shoulder to the girl washing an invisible stain of her hand. They stood there for a long time before Gracie summoned up the courage to talk to her. "Thank you."
Countess chuckled, "I don't take thank yous." she wriggled her hands and eyed her up, colliding her arresting sea-green with Gracie's inflamed emerald ones, there was a little spark of connection as though Countess was trying to speak to her soul. "I take favors in return." with that she left the room, shutting the door loudly behind her.
Gracie's breathe became really heavy as she muttered some words of comfort to herself. So much to take in, just in one day attack from the meanest girls she knew and a source of help from someone she wanted to stay away from.
Well now, she had a favor to pay back.
As soon as she was able to comport herself she left the restroom and ignored the suspicious stares she was getting from people who were wondering why she walked out of that restroom.
When she got to her locker, she checked her schedule for what was next after the short break which she could have used to read but had been wasted by people.
She grunted when she saw P.H.E as the next activity.
She folded the schedule into a small fold and put it back in her locker and used the last moment to admire her self-made anime characters. She was really good with caricature and obviously obsessed with every character in Naruto, no surprise her room was made up of anime and artwork.
Finally satisfied with staring, she closed the locker, her purple backpack hung lazily on her shoulder. As the bell jingled, a deep exhalation escaped her moisturized lips which was as a result of her soaking them.
Her mood brightened. There was always a way out of P.H.E.
It wasn't like the school really care about P.H.E attendance and for all she cared, she was stabbing the class.
Briskly, she trotted down the hall and located the nearest janitor's closet. She leapt into the dark room without bothering about the repercussion if she were to be caught. She locked the door behind.
She did the usual holy check as she hearkened to people walking up and down and the P.H.E's teacher's voice calling all senior year for the class. She sniggled, who gained anything from P.H.E, it wasn't like anybody want to become a P.H.E teacher at the end of the day.
Everything was smooth until she took two step back and felt someone's breathe on her neck. She froze, finding it hard to believe her instinct that she had a companion in the room. Her instinct told her to scream and run. And when she attempted, a strong hand covered her mouth and another drew her by the waist backward, slamming her into the wall softly. However, the surface was exceedingly faultless to be a wall.
Outstandingly comfortable, drifting her in a limbo of harmony. Even when a voice washed cold in her ear to calm down, she was already calm.
Then, at a junction she recognized the voice and her eyes which had closed on their own accord flashed open. She quickly withdrew and swiveled to him.
She saw him not in the dark but she was sure it was him, she had listen to him speak more than once.
"What the hell are you doing here?" She panted.
"You asking me, lemme see. I'm probably here because I thought where would my partner be and the inner man in me said I should hide in the Janitor's closet and here we are." he whispered with a chuckle.
Gracie furrowed her brows, "Like what the– stop calling that... 'your partner' because I'm not and why are you staking me?" her body was tensed up, even in the dark he had this stupid effect on her.
"I'm not staking you, little Birdie." He laughed, so enchanting.
She became more confused and blanked, no one ever called her Birdie, except her Nana and– "Don't call me that too." She sounded way too calm to be true, valid to the fact that she was perplexed.
Gracie could sense him moving, then his cold breathe and strong but trapping masculine cologne flew into her nostril. "What shall I can you then, Grace?" The way his whisper was still raspy and deep made Gracie felt tingling down her thighs.
But she swallowed, "None." she barely said.
She heard his chuckled and no longer felt his breathe on her face, "I care about my grades too, Grace."
That was the last thing she heard him say and he left her hanging. She hugged herself and stayed there with him in silent and murkiness.
Thinking about what he said and to the fact that Tori told her, she had a partner already. She did apologized for being sneaky and picking her boyfriend over her best friend. She would be left out if she had no partner at the end of the week and today was Thursday. She could not content herself anymore, so she spoke, "We should meet in the library tomorrow."
She heard him chortled, "Library for discussion, how interesting."
"I...I–" honestly she had no suggestion excluding the library for them to meet.
"Don't bother, I'll make plan." He said, in conclusion she suspected.
She sucked her lips, moisturizing it. In the deepest part of her heart she thought about what Vanessa said and she wasn't doing a good job avoiding it. Accepting to be his partner because of grades definitely did no justice to 'stay away from the DEN'.
After this assignment, she would never talk to him again. That should work.