School started out dreadfully. I had a few people stare at me with sympathy, but everyone else looked at me as if I was an even bigger outcast then before. Was it really that hard to treat someone as if they're actually human?

I closed my locker after retrieving my history book, and almost had a heart attack when I saw Hannah standing next to me.

"Hey, bitch! Hope you had fun at the dance. And don't worry, there's more where that came from." She laughed and walked away. What was that supposed to mean?

I sighed, and headed to my history class.

When the day finally ended, I found Grayson standing next to his car. He drove me home, and told me to be ready for 9:00 when he'd pick me up for the party.

*****

With two hours to spare before the party, I found a cute grey off the shoulder dress to wear. It took me awhile to figure out if I'd actually wear it or not, because it seemed pretty small. {

Standing in the bathroom, I looked in the mirror.

There's no way you'll fit in at that party. Especially when you're this ugly.

Grayson is going to barf when he sees you.

Maybe you should just end your life now. Then you won't have to worry about the party.

Look at you. You deserve to be punished for the breakfast you ate.

Now cut yourself.

The voice was back.

I pulled out a blade. Holding it to my wrist, I drew a line of red. And then another. And then two more.

I dropped the blade to the floor. I cleaned the cuts, with my jaw trembling as the water ran over them.

I made sure the bleeding had stopped and I even wrapped my wrist in a thin white bandage to be sure. I don't want the cuts to stain my dress if they open up.

Soon, it was time to get ready for the party. I put on the dress and added a bit of makeup.

Then I heard a knock at my door.

"Hey! You look amazing." Grayson leaned against my door frame with his thumb in his pocket.

"Thanks, so do you, Dolly."

Buckling myself up in his car, we drove in a comfortable silence to the party.

There were already drunk teenagers outside. Music blasted from inside the house, and I could make out everyone's dancing silhouettes through the windows.

Sensing my nervousness, Grayson wrapped his arm around me as we walked inside.

We hung out for a bit, but then he leaned in to tell me something. The music was really loud, so he had to yell right next to my ear. It was still hard to hear him.

"I'm gonna go catch up with a few friends, is that okay?"

I nodded my head in response. I decided to explore a bit.

I found myself in a hallway. "Hey, I don't think I've ever seen you at one of my parties." A guy said.

"Oh, it's yours?"

"Yep. I'm Austin Dean." He smiled. He seemed nice. "Can I get you a drink?" He asked. "I don't drink, is there pop?" I replied. "Yeah, I'll be right back!" He walked off to where I assume the kitchen would be.

Minutes later, he was back with Ginger Ale in a red solo cup. "Thanks!" I took a sip. We talked for a minute, but then I started feeling slightly nauseous. I realized that this asshole spiked my drink... I should've known better. Taking open drinks from strangers is a bad idea.

I tried to walk away to find Grayson, but Austin grabbed my arm. "Not so fast, princess." He didn't seem so friendly anymore. "Come on, let's go in here." He pulled me into a bedroom.

My vision was getting hazy, and I knew where this situation was going.

"No, please... I said no." Talking was getting hard. I was just so, so sleepy... He pushed me onto the bed after grabbing my butt, and then took hold of his belt, struggling to get it off. It was getting hard to see and I couldn't get up.

I was sure that he was about to assault me, but then the door was pushed open.

"What the fuck!?" Grayson yelled. I remember him running up and punching Austin square in the jaw, before picking me up and walking out.

Then everything went black.

*****

I woke up in a random bed with Grayson by my side. The music was still blasting downstairs, so I knew that the party hadn't ended.

"Oh, you're awake! I'm so sorry Amber, I shouldn't have left you alone... And that guy... He almost--"

"I'm fine, Grayson." I interrupted.

"That guy ran off. Stay here, I'm going to find him and knock the shit out of him." He said.

Before I could protest, he walked out. This was a whole new side of Grayson that I hadn't seen before.

Ignoring what he told me, I headed downstairs.

I pushed passed people until I reached Hannah.

"Ew, it's Grayson's little witch. I heard about you coming onto Austin, slut. And I'll make sure everyone knows... How dare you! He's my cousin." She yelled.

Rumours do spread fast.

Ignoring her, I kept walking, with a small headache thanks to whatever Austin put in the Ginger-ale.

I looked over my shoulder, to see a devious Hannah typing something on her phone. Then people started pulling out their phones and glaring at me.

Oh no. It was like a repeat of the dance. Hannah was Tweeting about what I apparently did to Austin.

I received several looks of hatred and disgust. I felt horrible. There was going to be a whole other reason for everyone to pick on me at school.

I didn't even realize that I'd started crying until I ran into Grayson.

"Amber? What happened?" He wrapped his arm around me and led me outside. "Please, take me home." I whispered. He nodded and knew not to pry. Not yet, at least.

At home, I walked straight into the bathroom grabbing the blade. Everything that happened... It just hurt. And I also hadn't told Grayson about the cuts from earlier that day. I broke the promise of telling him right away. I need to cut.

I deserve to cut.

Since my arm was still covered by the white bandage, I pulled my dress up to reveal my thigh.

And you know what came next.

Afterwards, I headed into my room and fell asleep with stinging eyes due to all of my recent crying. I didn't bother taking off the dress before climbing into bed.