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"Have a great day, sweetheart!" Mum says happily, leaning over to kiss my forehead. I send her a small smile before getting out of the car. Feeling the rain droplets begin to hit my head, I breathe out a sigh and begin to head into the building.

Before you ask, I'll just introduce myself. My name is Grace Leigh Parkinson, and I'm not your usual seventeen year old school student. You see, instead of having the basic brown, blonde, or black hair, my hair is a dark purple. Instead of applying make-up like every other teenager nowadays, I put in my nose and lip piercings. And instead of wearing nice dresses, or jeans, to school, I wear my usual baggy pants and large jumper. Oh, and I'm not one of those girls who just don't care about the school and their rules, because I actually do. The only problem here is the people who don't get that bullying is a crime.

For the past five years that I've attended this school, I have been bullied by at least half of the school's population ever since day one. Don't bother asking me 'why', because I don't know either. It may be my piercings, or the fact that I have no friends but either way, I still have no clue. Why don't I have any friends? Well, it's because the one friend that I did have got dragged into my problems and started to get hit too by everyone and that's when she told me she didn't want to be friends anymore. I don't blame her though. Ever since then, no one has wanted to be my friend, or even be seen talking to me.

I have to admit though, that it does hurt to know that I have no one to share my thoughts with, or to talk about boys, school and life with. It makes me feel even more alone to not have any friends at all. The only person who does talk to me is usually the Principal, or the school nurse. That's it.

And what's worse, is the fact that I can't even talk to Mum about anything because she is dealing with her own problems right now. Since she has cancer from second-hand smoke, I don't bother to talk to her about the things that happen at school. Mum is fighting her own battles and hopefully, for everyone's sake, she wins. Because if I lose her, I won't know what to do.

You see, Mum and I are inseparable. We always hang out when we can, we are always in the same room as each other, except for when it's time for bed. I think it's because we look alike that we're close or maybe it's the fact that I'm an only child. If you are thinking that because of how close Mum and I are, why wouldn't I tell her about how I'm getting bullied at school? Well, like I said before, she is dealing with her own problems and after she gets through them, I will tell her everything.

"Excuse me, you're in my way."

The voice of the person in front of me pulls me out of my thoughts, making me look up at the girl. Noticing that I'm in the middle of the hallway with my books clutched to my chest, I apologize and move to the side but bump into another person, making my heart race.

And at this exact moment, I know she had planned this.

"Ew! You just touched me!" The girl who I had bumped into, screeches, making me apologize and try to move away from her but students near by have blocked my escape. The crowd surrounds me and the two girls, making my heart continue to race. Then, that's when I see Nicole.

Now, remember how I said that I once had a friend who had left me because of how she was getting hurt too? Well, this is Nicole: the girl who left me and became one of the popular kids in the school. Also, Nicole is apart of the cheerleading team and according to some of the students, she now rules the school.

"Hello, Grace." Nicole says, the sick look clear in her eyes. Before I can speak, I'm kicked to the ground by Nicole and my head hits the lockers, making me wince in pain. I watch as the three girls stand over me, all of them glaring down as they look at my thin, fragile figure.

"When I first met you, Grace," Nicole begins, placing a hand on her hip. "I thought you were a strong, independent girl, but I guess I was wrong."

The girl to Nicole's left sends her foot into my stomach with her heel, making me bite my lip. If you think the word 'kills' describes the pain, you're definitely wrong—the pain is excruciating!

"P-Please..." I manage to choke out, but this just makes the girl, who had kicked me before, send her foot into my stomach a second time. I groan loudly, my hands moving to my stomach. Nicole smirks, crouching down to look in my green eyes as I stare into her blue ones.

"You're just a little girl like everyone said you were." Nicole whispers dangerously, her tone making me gulp. As Nicole stands up, the girl to her right kicks me in the stomach, sending me breathless.

When the bell finally rings, everyone, even Nicole, begins to walk away from me, leaving me to groan and try to sit up. I rest my back against the lockers, breathing out a sigh as I let my head hang low.

"Would you like some help?"

Hearing a voice in front of me, I slowly look up to see a guy who I never expected to even find myself near.

"What are you doing?" I ask, my voice coming out raspy. I narrow my eyes at Luke and let out a cough when I feel something tickle my throat. Luke crouched down, furrowing his eyebrows at me.

"Trying to help. What does it look like?" Luke asks as I stretch out my leg to try and kick look away. I breathe out a sigh at my failed attempt, deciding to look down at my hands which are on my stomach.

In a few sentences, Luke is the player of the school. You know, blonde hair, blue eyes, and the face of a model? Yep, this is the famous player. Luke is usually known for sleeping with girls and breaking their hearts the next day for his own fun. Everyone says he is trouble, but to me, he is just a pig.

"It looks like you're trying to either get yourself into trouble, or trying to trick me." I mumble, my eyes meeting his blue ones. I watch as Luke raises his eyebrow.

"Trick you?"

"Yeah. Like, you offer me a hand, and when I go to take it, you pull away and run off laughing." I explain and Luke chuckles. He holds out a hand and smiles at me.

"I won't do that." Luke says and I roll my eyes, not believing him.

"Just leave me alone." I say, earning a simple shake of the head from Luke.

"I'm just going to take you to the nurse." Luke says and I watch him for a few seconds, trying to find a little bit of humour on his face. Suddenly, without thinking, my hand reaches out and grabs onto his, making me breathe out a sigh.

"Ow!" I groan, as I feel a sharp pain in my stomach. Luke wraps an arm around my waist, and I wrap my arm around his shoulders to hold myself up. As we begin the slow journey to the nurse's office, I can't help but ask myself:

Am I dreaming?

I feel my heart begin to flutter as realisation hits me. I'm not dreaming! Someone has actually offered to help me, and is now taking me to the nurse's office.

Am I happy? More like ecstatic.

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