KARINA’S POV

Holding on to my backpack for dear life, I hurriedly walked towards where Elise and Meg were. On Saturday, I’d spent a few hours at Tony’s - eventually meeting his dad and two dogs - before heading home. Other than a morning text, and an evening phone call, I hadn’t spoken to Tony since then. And, more importantly, we hadn’t talked about school or going public.

"Morning," said Elise, parting a bobby pin with her teeth before sliding it into her hair, positioning her quiff in place. “You look worried?”

"Me? No, I’m fine," I said, trying to look normal. I buried my fidgety hands in my pockets, staring at the ground. If I glanced up, I ran the risk of spotting him, and I had no idea what I was to do if I did. Should I kiss him? What if I miss? Should I hug him instead?

"How was that gig thing?" Elise continued, eying me up a little oddly.

As soon as she mentioned it, my cheeks turned red. “Um, yeah it was good fun.”

Elise looked over at Meg, giving her a devilish smile. I swallowed thickly, wondering just how transparent I was. Meg shifted awkwardly, like someone was watching her.

"So, are you still into Tony?"

"Elise, I thought you took biology? It’s him that’s suppose to go into me."

At that, Elise laughed, but it wasn’t the kind of laugh that sort of comment (which I made quite often) would usually receive. It was hysterical. Meg’s hand slapped over her mouth, her eyes flashing a look of something which closely resembled sympathy.

"Good to know you’re experienced," said a low, rough voice.

Letting my eyes pop out of my head, I slowly turned on the spot to see Tony smiling down at me. Noticing the humiliation on my face, he gave me a sweet kiss on the forehead before taking my hands in his. I was so worried about it being awkward, but it wasn't at all. He just smiled at me reassuringly, like he knew all the crazy scenarios running through my head. He's going to lean in for a proper kiss and I'll not notice and then he'll be humiliated when I get a fright and he'll get angry with me and everyone will see and he'll dum-

“Come on,” Elise urged, “introduce us, then.”

Tony squeezed my hand, putting all my worries at rest. “Elise, Meg, this is my boyfriend, Tony. Tony, this is dumb and dumber.”

"I am dumb," Elise announced proudly, "nice to meet you, Tony."

"Hi," he said politely, giving them both a qualified smile. His grip on my hand tightened, and he took a baby step back. He was nervous too, and that gave me a great sense of relief.

"I need to get some stuff from my locker," I lied, "so, uh, I’ll see you guys in class, yeah?"

Elise said that was fine, but Meg remained silent. When I looked at her with a questioning expression, she just forced a smile at me and then scratched her forearm, eyes darting about nervously. This isn’t like Meg.

Pulling Tony away from them, I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to figure out what was wrong. Before Tony arrived, she was fine. Was there something going on between them?

I had to push the thoughts aside. It was a new relationship, one that I had been dreaming of being a part of. I couldn’t throw it away on something so petty. Anyway, I was sure neither of them would keep a secret from me.

"Lucia wants you to come over again," Tony informed me, slumping against the locker adjacent to mine. “She’s written this big list thing of stuff she wants to do with you.”

Pulling my Physics book out and shoving it in my bag, I told Tony that I’d love to hang out with her. For me, being around Lucia was like having another sibling, something I’d always wished for.

As I went to close my bag, my attention became hooked on Tony. Even under the artificial light, his eyes seemed to sparkle. He licked his lips thoughtlessly as his gaze trailed along the line of lockers. He seemed to take everything in: never missing a detail, regardless of its size.

"Um, see at lunch," he began suddenly, fiddling with his fingers. It was then that I realised I was not the only one unsure of how it all worked. Neither me nor Tony knew the protocol, so everything was a lesson to be learned. "You don't have to sit with me if you don't want to. Like, obviously I'd like to have you there, but what I mean is I don't want to suffo-"

"Well, well, well," interrupted Mike, who seemed to pop out of nowhere, as he rested his hand on my shoulder. "Look what the cat dragged in.”

"Two extremely sexy individuals?" I suggested jokingly.

Mike scoffed, rolling his eyes. “More like a stripper and a dildo with legs.”

"Ouch," I gasped, putting my hand on my heart.

Tony wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder. I shrunk into his embrace. Contradicting my expectations, nobody seemed to take a second glance at us. It would have been completely different if it was Owen's arms around me.

As Mike told us about his latest hook up, Tony playfully bit my ear - slowly tugging it as Mike continued to ramble. When he finally noticed, he grimaced dramatically, causing both me and Tony to laugh.

"Aw jesus," Mike chuckled, "save that shit for the bedroom."

"You loove it," I teased, "it makes you all frisky just thinking about it, huh?"

"Oh yeah," Mike agreed jokingly, "hard as stone."

TONY’S POV

Walking along the hall, I analyzed every moment I had spent so far in the day with Karina. Am I being clingy? Did I compliment her enough? Does she mind that we’ve got public already?

Stopping at the water fountain, I took a quick drink before leaning against the wall. The halls were silent. Exhaling, I shoved my hands in my pockets and shut my eyes: I had no intentions of going to my third period class.

Hearing a door swing open, I leaned forward to see past the lockers and in the direction of the noise. At the end of the hall was a ginger girl, curled up at the bottom of the wall with her knees to her chest. In the quietness, I could faintly hear here crying.

Lifting my bag off the ground, I tossed it over my shoulder as I approached. The closer I got, the faster my pace became. It was Meg, and she was a state.

"Hey, hey," I rushed, kneeling by her side. Meg turned her head away, crying into her knees to muffle the sound. It was then that I seen it: her pale wrists were covered in horrific red lines, not an inch of skin untouched for about 4 centimeters. There were two fresh lines carved, one of which was causing blood to drip on the ground.

"Don’t tell Kat," she choked out quietly, "please don’t tell Kat."

Covering my mouth with the back of my hand, I shook my head. I didn’t know what to do - I could either get a teacher, which would result in her probably being put through hell and her parents finding out, or I could sneak her out of school. The latter seemed like the best option.

"Come on, I’ll get you out of here," I promised her. She was so reluctant, and so fragile, that part of me was scared to even touch her.

Once I had persuaded Meg to get up, I sneaked her through the old fire exit that wasn’t monitored. It was the one I used when I was skipping school - hadn’t gone off in years, and didn’t that day either. Perks of attending a shitty school.

Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, which were a little shaky, I guided her away from the school. We took refuge behind a large brick wall which was lined with trees, a place I often hid if I didn’t want to go to a certain class.

Meg slid down the wall, taking up her previous position once again. She roughly yanked her sleeves down in shame, eyes fixed on nothing in particular as she breathed in and out at an alarming rate. As if seeing was too much, she then squeezed her eyes shut and tried to make herself smaller.

"Please- please don’t t-" she gasped, like she couldn’t breathe. It quickly clicked that she was having a panic attack.

Panicking myself, I kept trying to speak words of reassurance as she panted. I had never had to deal with someone having a panic attack before, so I had no idea what to do. I just sat there, staring at her as she tried to control herself. I rattled my brain to think about what was going through her mind, and how I could settle her disruptive thoughts.

"I won’t tell anyone," I ensured her sternly. "Just take long, deep breaths for me. Like you’re having a baby. Wait, you’re not having a baby, are you?"

Meg chuckled, wiping her nose on her sleeve as she shook her head. "No. Why, do I look like I am?"

Even though I knew she was trying to lighten the mood, her voice seemed to shake when she posed her question. She seemed so uncertain of herself, and it was heartbreaking to see.

Cautiously, I settled into a more relaxed position next to her, resting my hand on her knee. "Of course not. You’re a pretty girl, Meg."

She inhaled unevenly at my response, scratching her converse along the ground to make the gravel grumble against the sole. She seemed so caught up in her own mind, which probably wasn’t a nice place to be. "I-I’m sorry you had to see…" she trailed off, referring to both the attack and the cuts. I nodded understandingly, squeezing her knee.

Meg's unsteady breaths were the only thing I could hear alongside her sniffling. She gradually, sneakily, edged closer to me, and then proceeded to rest her head on my shoulder. Even though I didn't want her, I didn't want her to feel unwanted either, so I did nothing about it. I was caught in the middle and didn't know which side to choose.

When she seemed to have calmed down, and the rustling of the trees was the loudest noise around us, I perked up a little and discreetly moved away from her. "Maybe we should get back," I suggested, "period three should end any second now."

Meg nodded unenthusiastically, lifting herself off the ground and brushing herself off. I rose also, grabbing my bag and sliding my arms through the straps. Without saying a word, I gave Meg a hug. I just wanted to make sure she knew that I was there for her, and that I cared.

"Thank you, Tony," she said softly, pulling away and giving me a sincere smile.

"It’s fine," I shrugged.

But I wasn’t sure that it was.

Notes

ok so the relationship between Meg and Tony, thoughts?? its an important one (js)
ANYWAY, SUP. I HAVE A SHIT TONE OF HOMEWORK IM IGNORING TO DO THIS. SCHOOL IS INSAAANE RIGHT NOW, DAMMIT.

thank you guys for reading, as always. I cant believe the response this has received!<3