Chapter 2: That One Person.

The cafeteria fell silent as all eyes turned towards the scene. Lily immediately stood up in shock, her hands flying to her head. Jace and Justin tried to stifle their laughter, but it burst out uncontrollably.

“What the!”

Lily's face flushed with anger, a feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time. "Hey! Watch it!" her voice rose in anger. "And what the hell is so funny?" Her narrowed eyebrows conveyed her annoyance as she glared at Jace and Justin.

Mark scowled. "Excuse me," he retorted with resentment in his deep voice. How dare she- a nobody raise her voice at him? "You were the one in my path."

“Your path?” she repeated in anger.

"Wha-what?" Lily finally snapped out of her anger, realizing she was shouting at Mark! And getting on his bad side probably wasn’t a good idea. But regardless of who he thinks he was, it was only basic manners to apologize.

"Quick, Lily, let's go clean it up," Sarah interjected, whispering, "Let's not attract more attention."

"Uhh Lily, sorry… sorry,” Jace said. “It's actually my fault," Jace said, stretching out a napkin he had brought out of his jacket to Lily.

But Lily, consumed by her fury, continued to stare at Mark, waiting for an apology. However, he only returned her stare with a glare and a stupid smirk on his face. The look he gave her was nerve-wracking and uncomfortable, yet she still stood there, waiting for his apology, something he would never do even if it was his last day.

Sarah swiftly snatched the napkin from Jace's hands. "That's okay, thanks," she said.

Emily nudged Lily with her elbow, snapping her out of the staring contest with Mark.

Finally aware of her surroundings, Lily glanced around—from Mark to the crowd of people observing her. Until her eyes met Ethan's, who was sitting at a table at the end of the cafeteria with some other students. His eyes locked on Lily. No, her hair? He seemed fascinated, particularly by her hair. Why?

Emily suddenly spun around, gripping Lily's hands, and guided her towards the exit.

“Bro, she’s hot,” Justin said with a smirk on his face.

“Shut the hell up!” Mark immediately said, and then they went to their table. The eyes of students in the cafeteria finally started turning to their business, some still following Lily as they walked towards the exit.

As Lily walked away with her friends, Lily couldn't help but turn her head back to where Ethan sat. His gaze remained fixed on her, and it sparked a fluttering feeling inside her. But the fact that Ethan saw her in such a state was very embarrassing.

Her heart still sank at Mark's rude reaction. How dare he blame her for his and his friends’ carelessness? The memory of his rude glare still haunting her as they walked toward the exit of the cafeteria.

But little did she know that Mark was also staring at her from where he sat. His eyes followed her until she left the cafeteria with her friends. Maybe there was a little bit of guilt in his eyes. Wait-No, he’s literally ‘Mark Evans’. He has a total lack of empathy for anybody. There’s no way he can ever feel guilt over something that was clearly her fault.

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Lily, Emily, and Sarah were headed to the girls' restroom. Sarah used her jacket to cover Lily’s head to prevent others from seeing the mess.

“I guess the rumors are true. He is really rude,” Lily said, her voice filled with disappointment. “it’s not something to be chill about.”

“Isn’t Jace dreamy?” Sarah jested, completely ignoring Lily, as she clung onto the napkin tightly, her eyes shining with infatuation, lost in her own world.

“Handsome face with an arrogant personality. Why do girls like that?” Emily said with a grimacing face.

“I don’t know, he's just too handsome,” Lily said, wondering why she was once drawn to him despite his bad behavior.

“I definitely hate him now!” Emily said with a clenched fist. “I’m so sorry Lily, this is very … embarrassing, I don’t think the school will forget this.”

“Haha,” Lily laughed away her unease, “I don’t care… I don’t care what others think, as long as I have you two… I’m okay.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Sarah squealed. “I'll tell y’all something, Mark does not have a sweet spot,” Sarah said, clenching her teeth. “Only if you're older, maybe he will look at you… a little.”

“I know, but why, though?” Lily asked.

“But guys, isn't Jace dreamy?” Sarah ignored Lily again, smiling at the napkin, being insensible to the conversation happening around her.

“Okay, we get it - this is not the time,” Emily hissed, rolling her eyes at Sarah.

“You know I’m meant to use that, right?” Lily said, trying to snatch the napkin from Sarah's grasp, but Sarah held onto it tightly refusing to give in. Letting out a sigh of resignation, Lily let go of the napkin.

“Mark totally hates me now,” Lily whined, the cold stare still haunting her.

“Of course,” a voice Lily had been avoiding all day echoed in her ears.

‘No!’

Three girls came from behind and blocked her path; it was the so-called popular girls from her class, led by the queen bee herself, Madison Walker.

She and her friends stood in front of Lily, Emily, and Sarah, blocking their way from entering the girl's restroom.

“Of course he hates you,” Madison repeated, her voice dripping with disdain. “Who would like someone like you? I mean, take a look at what you're wearing. What were you thinking?” She giggled.

“Move!” Sarah said, sounding like she was ready to throw punches at Madison.

“Why would Mark ever like you? Seriously, what were you thinking?” Madison said, ignoring Sarah's threat. “I’m glad you decided to stop copying me, maybe we could be friends now,” her words dripping with sarcasm.

“Why would I want to be friends with someone like you?” Lily rolled her eyes at her.

“Huh, why? Wasn't it you that begged me to be your friend?” Madison said. “You thought I would forget that pitiful, lonely girl.” She eyed Lily from up to down.

“That was years ago, when I knew nothing of the trashy hole you are,” Lily spat, her voice filled with venom.

“Now move before I make you,” Sarah said, walking closer to Madison, her fists clenched.

“Pfft,” Madison hissed as she and her friends laughed, mocking Sarah.

Yes, Lily once liked Madison. Everyone did. She was pretty, rich, and most of all, they looked alike – the same hair, eyes, height, and clothes. Lily thought they could be the best of friends along with Sarah.

But as Lily approached her, Madison told Lily that she was too ugly and she couldn't be friends with someone like her.

Sarah overheard Madison talking to her best friend about Lily. Madison complained, "I can't stand it! They keep comparing her to me. I want to kill that girl. There can only be one queen in our class, and it's me. Why can't she just leave this school!" after Lily heard it, she knew that it would be impossible to be friends with her.

Madison gave Lily a cold smile and said, "Hey, Lily. Did you see the new guy? He's so hot, don't you think?" She giggled, glancing over at Ethan, who had just walked by.

"What now, Madison?" Lily asked, trying to sound tough, but her face grew hot with embarrassment. She had barely spoken to the new guy, let alone formed an opinion about him.

Madison continued, "I mean, I'm sure he's just dying to hang out with the likes of us, right?"

The other girls laughed, and Lily felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She and her friends had always been the targets of their cruel jokes, but she had hoped that this year would be different. Now, with the arrival of the new Ethan, she feared that things would only get worse.

Madison eyed her again before they walked away.

Lily watched them go with a heavy heart. She knew that they would never stop bothering her.

Every word Lily said and the movement she made was compared to Madison. They said things like, "Oh, she's copying Maddison. Is she trying to be Madison?"

Lily and Madison were so alike, showing up to school with the same purse or jacket like they were twins, and, then comparing started. Everyone saw Lily as a ‘Wannabe Madison’ and this made the sophomore school year dreadful for Lily. She had to change the way she dressed because she didn't want to be compared to Maddison ever again.

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Lily, Sarah, and Emily finally entered the restroom. Sarah quickly turned on the water, bending Lily's head over the sink to wash the smoothie out of her hair and Emily tenderly stroked Lily's hair, trying to remove every trace of the sticky mess.

"Why did we sit there?" Emily lamented.

“It's totally my fault but……” Sarah trailed off.

"Come on, Em, let's look on the bright side," Sarah said. "At least they know who we are … now they can say, ooh the girl that we got smoothie on her hair.” she chortled, then added, “And did you see Ethan? He was totally checking out Lily!"

Lily felt a blush creep up her neck at the mention of Ethan's name. Despite the embarrassing incident, she was weirdly happy she caught his attention.

Emily let out a frustrated sigh. "This is going to take forever. We need shampoo."

"I'll go get some and a towel," Sarah suggested, making her way out of the restroom, leaving only Lily and Emily, along with a few other girls, retouching their makeup.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't say anything back there," Emily said.

"It's not your fault, Emily. She will always be like that," Lily reassured her.

Emily always thinks she is the reason they get picked on by Madison, but she isn’t. Madison hated Lily even when Emily hadn’t enrolled in school.

Emily looked at Lily with a frown on her face. "But you changed your style because of her, didn't you?"

Lily hesitated, not wanting to admit the truth. "No, it's not just because of her,"

Emily definitely saw through her facade. " You know I’m probably not the best person to be telling you this but … you changing your style won't make a difference, it simply just means you backed down, or she won. She’ll always find a way to pick on you," Emily added, " that’s why she is getting more confident … Stupid bitch!”

“Don’t worry, Emily, she will never win over me.” Lily laughed, feeling a bit embarrassed,

"You can't let her win, Lily. You have to be true to yourself," Emily said.

Lily nodded, feeling a sense of empowerment. Emily always knew how to make her feel better. She knew that Emily was right, but it was easier said than done. Madison's constant comparisons had worn her down over the years, and Lily felt like she had no choice but to conform.

After a while, Sarah returned with shampoo and a towel. They worked together to wash and rinse Lily's hair, making sure every trace of the smoothie was gone. Lily was so grateful for her friends' support, life without them at Willow Brook High would be hell.

As they left the restroom, Sarah grinned ear to ear. "I love your new hairstyle, Lily!"

"It's not that bad," Emily added.

Lily smiled, feeling a little better about the whole situation. Thank God for her friends being with her.

As the first day of school was finally coming to an end, Lily's mind raced with thoughts. She couldn't believe the day she was having - first the smoothie incident, the drama with Madison, then the arrival of the new boy, Ethan.

For the first time in a while, Lily found a boy in willow brook high attractive and she was determined to find out more about him.