The hallway I got forced into was darker than the main part of the school, and the lighting made the eyes of the people stood around me all the more menacing. They glinted eerily, reminding me of a predator with its eyes set on its prey. Closest to me stood Austen. He was evidently the one who had pulled me here; he still had a tight, unrelenting grip on my upper arm. He used it to pin me against the lockers, standing close in front of me and holding me there so I had no form of escape. I was cornered, I knew. The only thing I could do was raise my head and meet Austen's predatory stare defiantly, a small and probably foolish act of bravery on my part. Austen's smirk grew wider and wider - I'd never seen his face so animated. "Got you now, bitch," he grinned, leaning into my face. "There's nobody here but you, me, and a couple of my close friends," he nodded back to the seven or eight people stood flanking him, each wearing similar smug expressions as they stared at me with contempt. I focused my attention back on to Austen, as he was closest to me and, at that moment, the biggest threat. "What do you want?" I asked. I tried to make my voice sound confident and unafraid, but it came out high and shaky, much to my disappoint. Austen leaned his face down closer to me. "What do I want?" He asked. "I want to teach you a fucking lesson Krissy, and one you won't forget. I want to show you exactly what we can do to you. You see, Krissy, it appears that nobody explained the rules to you when you got here, and I thimk you need to damn well learn them. You, and the rest of your little group, are the scum of this school. You're weird, you're freaks, and you belong at the very bottom of the scale. You are beneath us. I've noticed that in your case, you seem to think that you can have some kind of position here, but I swear to you, you have no position whatsoever. Emo, wrist-cutting freaks like you don't get to talk back to us, otherwise bad things happen." He looked over his shoulder and nodded, before stepping away. I had no chance to move, before another person was pinning me back. I met her eyes. It was the girl who I'd seen earlier today with Austen in art. Her pretty, makeup-laden face was very close to mine, her jewel-like eyes glittering with a sadistic look in them. "I heard about what you said today, bitch," she sneered at me. "About how my baby Austen has no standards because he's with me. You stupid little bitch, you think you're better than me, don't you?" I stayed silent. She slapped me hard across the face, her manicured nails scraping across my cheek and I'm fairly sure they drew blood. "Answer the question, whore," she hissed. I shook my head no, so frantically my hair whipped out. My eyes were wide and frightened as I stared at her. She let out a low, sultry laugh. "Of course you don't think you're better than me," she smirked. "Because you're not. You'll never get where I am, you'll never have any kind of status around here. The only people you'll get any respect from is those faggot friends you have and your little prick of a boyfriend. And the rest of us... well, we'll give you this!" On the last word, she kneed me in the stomach, hard, and stepped back to let me hit the cold floor, winded. I gasped as those around me cheered, clapped and laughed. The girl stood smiling at me for a second before kicking me swiftly in the ribs with her stilleto-heeled shoes. Then she stepped back, only to have the rest of the little group surround me. My body shook from the blows they landed on me, each one sending another shock of electric pain through me. I felt one shoe slam into my nose, creating a wet crunch and warm sticky blood to flow all over my face. Once they had all had their fun kicking my crumpled body, strong arms grabbed me and pinned me to the wall. I opened my swollen eyrs as best I could, and met Austen's. "This, bitch, is what people like you get. Get used to it. Nobody's coming to save you, no-one's gonna stick up for you around here. You're nothing, you don't even deserve to live, so be thankful you're still breathing. Have fun getting home." And he let go of me, causing me to fall back to the ground in my weak state. He spat over me, and then led his gang away, laughing and high-fiving each other as they celebrated what they had just done. I lay on the cold hard flooring, unable to move more than a few inches without causing myself immense pain. I just lay curled up, crying and whimpering. My tears mixed with blood as they ran down my face, dripping onto the ground in small pink puddles. I had no idea what I was going to do, how I would get home. And how could I face Gerard? He was already in a fragile state himself, and I was going to go back to him like this. I heard fast footfalls suddenly, growing louder and closer, and I cringed. Was it more people out to hurt me. The motion made me moan as new pain shot through me. I heard voices, more than one accompanying the footsteps. "Krissy!" The voice was filled with horror and pain as the footsteps drew right up to me. I looked up through my sore I eyes, and with relief I saw the faces of my friends. I tried to open my mouth, intending to say something, but before a pitiful word could fall from my lips, the world went black.

Notes

:( poor Krissy. Don't worry, she's not dead, just unconscious. I've had a new idea for a plot twist now, so be prepared. It's not a nice plot twist, and I won't blame you if you all hate me for it. Thanks for reading, and I'm dedicating this chapter to the victims and families affected by the tragic Boston explosions. If any of you were involved or near it, please stay safe. You're in my thoughts and prayers xxx