So Ashley kept her eyes down as she walked the hallways trying not to make eye contact with anyone. A girl bumped into her shoulder.

"Slut," the girl murmured under her breath.

Slut. She was horrified. Her footsteps slowed. It was that someone who didn't even know her and felt they had the right to judge her. There had been no proof of her actions. She was being called something so offensive yet she had never been with a guy. How on earth was it possible for someone to call her a slut when she was still a virgin? It was so wrong.

She was stunned and her mouth dropped open before Diane glared at the girl. Sally put her arm around protectively steering Ashley to her locker. "Ignore her."

She wanted to but it was impossible. She never believed it would be this bad which just proved how naive she was. Just when she didn't think things could get any worse she noticed something written on her locker in red lipstick. Whore. She swallowed as her throat burned and she fought the tears that threatened to spill.

Diane took a tissue out of her bag and tried to clean it up. All she managed to do was smear it so the word wasn't clear.

"Let's get your books and get to class." Sally's voice caught her attention.

She nodded. Her hands shook as she tried to get into her locker. Sally helped her get her books before she closed the locker.

"I'll see you guys later," Diane said before disappearing down the busy hallway to her first class for the day.

"Come lets go," Sally said pushing her into action.

Her first class of the day she kept her head down and didn't look around at any of the other students. Sally sat beside her. At least she hadn't been alone.

Every time she heard people whispering she wondered if they were talking about her. The whole thing had made her self conscious and withdrawn. It angered her that this wouldn't be happening to Maddox. No one would be calling him names or writing things on his locker. It was unfair on so many levels.

She tried to hold it together but it was tough. The classes where she had her friends were easier to get though than classes where she was in her own.

"Have you seen Maddox yet?" Diane asked as they walked to her locker. It was lunchtime.

"No." She was preoccupied and subdued.

She just wanted to go home and shut the world out. For the first time ever she would rather be listening to her parents argue than be at school in the middle of this mess.

She opened her locker and found some notes that had been stuffed through her locker. her lip trembled when she read the first one. Whore.

"What the hell?" Diane gasped as she took the one note from her and read it.

Ashley's cheeks heated. She just wanted to go home.

"Ash." The voice came from behind her. She closed her eyes gripping the rest of the notes in her hands.

It was Maddox. She didn't want to turn around to face him. His hand went to her shoulder and turned her to face him. The sight of him and the concern in his eyes undid her control. Her eyes began to tear up.

"I'll just be over here," Diane murmured backing away to give them some privacy.

"What's wrong?" His gaze dropped to her hands.

He opened one of her hands and soothed the scrunched up paper to read it. With each one he read his jaw tensed and his frown deepened. His eyes were fierce when he crumpled up the last one.

A guy who walked past sneered at her and that set Maddox off. He grabbed the guys arm.

"Have you got something to say?" Maddox asked him. He was taller and a lot more intimidating.

"N..no," the boy stuttered, shaking his head for good measure.

For a moment it looked like Maddox was debating whether to hit him or not.

"Don't," she said touching Maddox's arm.

His eyes met hers and he shoved the boy away.

"I had no idea it was like this for you," he murmured still looking fiercely angry.

She shrugged trying to down play it. "It's been like this all day."

"Who?" His tone was sharp.

"It doesn't matter," she sighed as she turned to close her locker.

"It matters." His voice blanketed her in a way she didn't want to decipher.

She faced him. "What are you going to do?"

"Make sure they don't do it again." His eyes darkened.

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear while she studied him. The sight of him still did strange things to her heart.

"You can't go around threatening everyone."

The whole situation felt was impossible.

"It's my fault this happened." His eyes searched hers. "I need to fix this."

He was trying to take responsibility but it was hers. If she hadn't led Logan on, none of this would be happening.

"This isn't your fault and you can't fix it."

His eyes held hers and she swallowed. He had such an intensity about him that was difficult to resist.

"Besides if you defend me it's only going to make the rumour more believable."

"I don't care," he muttered.

Why was this happening? Instead of being able to go back to her life before he'd entered it, she was grappling with the worst type of situation she had no idea how to navigate.

"I got to go," she mumbled. Diane was still waiting four lockers down from her.

"I'll fix this," he assured her, his tone determined. His hand rested on her arm.

She shrugged and he released her. She left him standing by her locker without a backward glance.

"He looked like he was going to punch someone," Diane murmured as they headed to the cafeteria.

Dread curled her stomach into knots as we entered the cafeteria. She ignored some of the snide comments and got some lunch.

Sally was already at their usual table. When Diane and Ashley got to the table she didn't sit down.

"Can we not eat here?" Ashley asked not liking the way she felt like she was under a microscope, every movement being judged by the surrounding students.

"Sure." Sally nodded, understanding.

They headed outside and sat under a tree.

She tried to eat but she only got half way though her meal before she tossed it in a nearby bin. She sat back down by her friends as they watched her closely.

"What did Maddox say?" Diane asked.

She didn't want to go into all the details. "He wasn't happy about it but there is nothing we can do to change it."

She played with a blade of grass to distract herself from looking around to see if people were still staring at her.

"Something is going on," Diane murmured.

People were getting up and racing inside the cafeteria. Then she heard someone yell "fight".

She wasn't interested in watching people hit each other but she hoped it would take some of the attention off her.

She didn't understand the need to physically lash out at a person. Yelling and shouting was just as good. More and more people raced inside to see the fight but the three of them remained where they were.

She leaned back in her hands and titled her face to the sky needing to calm the nervous tension that if been dealing with all day.

"Oh my God," Diane whispered.

Ashley opened her eyes and followed the direction Diane was staring. Maddox was striding to her pulling along a disorientated and bloodied Logan.

She shot to her feet.

When they reached her Maddox who was still holding Logan by the front of his shirt.

"What..." the words died in her lips when she saw blood dripping from a cut on Logan's mouth and his one eye was already bruising.

"Logan has something to say to you." Maddox glared at Logan, tightening his hold on his shirt.

"I'm... sorry." Logan whispered.

"For what?" She directed her question at Maddox.

"Explain," Maddox commanded, jerking Logan by the collar.

It felt like the whole school surrounded them watching.