Chapter Text
"UP! EVERYONE UP!"
damn, already? Piper felt like she didn't sleep at all, with a groan, she slowly got to her feet and started getting ready for another one of those dull days.
The girl chose a white T-Shirt and ripped jeans. it was just enough, not too girly, but still felt like her.
"Hey," said Piper's roommate in a sleepy voice "slept good?"
"Yeah, what about you?" responded the girl "also, are you still leaving tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I slept well, and i'm leaving in the afternoon actually"
With a nod, Piper left for a quick breakfast, afterwards, the fourteen years old headed to her locker, bag on her back and skateboard under her arm.
Piper's school probably wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the bullying, the incompetent teachers and the crumbling facilities. pupils were mostly troublemakers, on that Piper couldn't really talk; she was one of the worst, along with Leo Valdez, her lifelong best-friend, and an absolute idiot. The two of them were famous for a bunch of things. Like that time when they may or may not have made the bell sing a part of some christmas song .
Lost in her thoughts while walking down the hallway, Piper failed to notice the crazy-looking boy pinned against the lockers and visibly having a not-so-good time dealing with the school brute.
"You son of a bitch ! Put it back to normal !"
"What are you talking about ?!"
Leo, Piper was not even surprised when she saw the two boys, she was used to saving her friend though.
"Dave, let him go"
And he did, the girl had this talent of making people listen, needless to say, it was useful. once free, Leo rushed to his friend's side with that famous smirk of his.
"Thanks Pipes! You really saved my glorious butt there!"
"You're welcome, I wanna know though: what did you do this time?"
"Nah, it wasn't that bad, he was really overreacting" noticing the death glare Piper was sending his way, the boy realised staying silent was probably a bad idea, "I made his Walkman shout the start of 'Baby'—from Justin Bieber ya know?—in the lockers. His face was awesome, 'twas so worth it!"
"you're such an idiot," The girl said, not even trying to hide her smile
at that moment, the bell rang, they were both late. Piper took her things in a hurry while Leo walked outside, playing with something in his right hand, he clearly wasn't planning on going to class. with a wave and a wink, he left the pavement, leaving Piper alone.
After a few definitely useless classes, Piper was done. since they were free for the afternoon—though Leo wouldn't have cared either way—they had planned to hang out, go eat at some fast food and see a nice movie. Just the two of them.
It all started greatly, they ate greasy food at an overpriced fastfood, "more like fatfood" as Leo liked to say, Piper even tried to teach him how to use a skateboard. However, when they went for a walk around the little park near their boarding school, the two fourteen-year-olds witnessed a boy their age getting beaten up by a few older guys.
"Don't you dare lay your eyes on me again, creep!"
The boy looked miserable; his assailants were tearing apart his jacket, snatching a rainbow pin off it. His nose was bleeding, a lot. there was a mix of blood and tears on his hands.
"Please !" He pleaded "I didn't do anything, I promise!"
"Oh I'm not taking you're bullshit" said one of them, a tall blond guy, Piper believed his name was Octavian, or something like that.
Leo stopped, staring at the scene, his mouth wide open. Piper wanted to help him, it was the good thing to do. She, however, knew better than that, with a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder, she led him toward the theater, trying to forget what she had seen. Leo stayed quiet, he was playing with this thing again. Piper had asked him about what it was but he never said more than "not something I want to show Dave and his minions!"
The movie really didn't matter, they just needed an escape, something funny to laugh at, Piper's choice landed on 'Ride Along' some comedy. They had good seats next to each other and could see the big white screen pretty well. The movie started when they sat down with their bucket of popcorn.
When the girl reached for a handful, she noticed Leo's shaking hand underneath the pot. She could have ignored it—maybe that was what Leo wanted—but she was not that kind of friend.
"You good dude?"
A beat.
Another one.
And Leo looked at his friend. His usual smirk was missing the mischievous energy it was supposed to have. Still, he tried a reassuring smile and looked away. That was it. they separated shortly after the movie, a sour taste in Piper's mouth, a 'see ya' and they were done.
The sun was setting, Piper was walking through the dark and oppressing streets. She took that very path almost every day. still, Something felt wrong. steps after steps, the girl was more and more uncomfortable, she tried to take little alleys and walked faster but the feeling only became worse. Piper's feet were flying above the ground, she started running as fast as she could.
faster
faster!
She finally saw the front of her building, Piper rushed inside and closed the door behind her; she was alone. She was tired, and she was scared. She simply couldn't hold it inside this time. tears were begging to shed, they had for a long time. Every day it was the same goddamn bullshit! after making sure she was all alone, Piper sat on her bed slowly. watching the picture of her father on her nightstand for a second, the girl let go.
That night, Piper fell asleep to the sound of her own tears.