❝She was the kind of girl who searched for things that could never be found ❞

It was a bright clear afternoon. The cafeteria was buzzing with the noises, loud chattering of students, continuous sound of mobile notifications and occasional slamming of trays and opening of cans.

The atmosphere was loud and kind of annoying, but not as much as our table. Where a serious discussion about Oreos dipped in orange juice was going on between my dear friends, where Nate was sitting mad about something Finn had said.

"Oh come on! It's just a joke not a dick. Don't take it so hard" Alex huffed in a bored tone to Nate, who still had a childish pout on his face.

"You are overreacting like a whiny girl" Finn rolled his eyes showing Nate's shoulder, trying to force him to face.

Me, Maria and Ethan were sitting silently, just observing the chaos on our table. It was quite amusing, if you ask me.

"For the thousandth time Oreos dipped in Orange juice sounds a nasty combination" Sharon made a disgusted face.

"You didn't even taste it. It's like sex in mouth" Theo said with a longing sigh. That guy had a weird taste.

"Make it a little bit more sexual, why don't you?" I muttered to him dipping a fry in mayonnaise, then my mouth. I let out a sigh as the slight sweet taste of mayonnaise exploded on my tongue.

Kate choked on her diet coke and shot Theo a glare which he replied with a wink. Rolling my eyes, I dipped another fry in mayonnaise, before putting it in my mouth.

I raised an eyebrow when Ethan looked at me and let out a chuckle.

"What?" I asked him dryly.

He didn't reply and sucked on the straw of his apple juice, shaking his head slowly. Those entrancing hazel eyes were so bright, lightning up the whole room.

"Do you know that Joseph and Abby aren't actually dating?" Kate turned towards me with so much interest.

"What do you mean?" I asked in a bored tone. To be honest I wasn't interested in any gossip that flew around or the secrets those walls would spill. But Kate was. God! How much she loved the gossip and drama.

"Yes! The truth is that Joseph is gay and He was with Abby just to hide his identity"

"Did Abby know?" Sharon, the other blonde sitting beside me perked up, suddenly all her attention towards us. These girls.

"Yeah. Turns out that it was just a deal between them, she was just helping him out" Kate shared further without any hesitation.

"Wow. I really don't know how people can fake whole relationships. Like, I can't even fake a Hello to somebody I don't like" I spoke up looking towards Maria, who chuckled at me.

"You still babysitting the Basketball team today?" She asked me, taking a bite of her hamburger. The sauce spilled out, trickling on her chin, leaving a trail mark behind and she couldn't care less.

"Helper. I just help the Coach around, with the team and stuff" I explained, rolling my eyes at her. She wasn't quite happy with me being the team manager, because I wasn't getting enough free time to hang out with them. Her words not mine.

"Find me a fuck to give" She grumbled childishly.

What she didn't know is that I also didn't want to be the team manager or liked being it. But, It was the only thing that kept me busy after my classes.

What she didn't knew is that I always hated going alone to the dorm, where emptiness would wait for me to torture me. Where my screaming thoughts would challenge the screaming silence.

"It's just for three months," I whispered quietly, staring down at my lunch and blocking all the noises. My appetite was suddenly gone.

~~~

"STOP SLOWING DOWN!! KEEP GOING, KEEP GOING!!! YES!! PASS THE BALL, PASS THE DAMN BALL"

"STAY FOCUSED!!!"

The Coach's loud shouts were crystal clear in the Gym. Telling or more like ordering the guys what to do.

Settling down the water bottles, I looked up at them. Gone were the funny and carefree guys from before and someone else took their place. Serious expressions painted their face as they focused on their practice.

Sweat droplets, harsh breathing and severe light injuries and they still were absolutely fine. Thinking numerous ways to win the match. Practice match. Same thing.

The sharp blowing of the whistle stopped everyone. It all happened so fast, one moment the guys were standing there tired and thankful and seconds later they were all gathered around me, asking for towels and grabbing the water bottle, I had taken out.

Maybe Maria was right, I really was like their babysitter. Not good.

After drying their sweat, everyone fell on the ground making themselves comfortable, drinking and chatting.

"So how was it? Wasn't I a total badass out there?" Theo cheered, gulping down a good amount of water.

Ignoring their conversation, I picked all the empty water bottles from the ground and threw them in the box we had in the gym for recycling.

Stifling a yawn, I stretched my arms. I didn't get enough sleep last night. It was just really quiet and disturbing. but, now I was dying to get some sleep.

I cursed under my breath when someone threw another bottle on the ground. Titling my head, I saw Ethan. Gritting my teeth, I walked towards him.

"Pick it up!" I growled at him. I don't why I was making such a big deal, it was just a bottle. Definitely had to do something with me being sleepy.

He looked at me for a second, confused, etched his face. Then he rolled his eyes, when he realized what was going on.

"You can be a little polite, you know?"

"What do you want me to say? Ethan dear please can you pick up the bottle you threw on the ground just now?" I said in icy-cold tone, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Well you tried" annoyed him, he picked up the bottle and threw it in the box.

"Asshole" I muttered quietly under my breath, well apparently not so quiet considering he heard me pretty clearly.

"Bitch" He said in a mocking voice and gave me a forced smile.

"Bastard"

"Pinhead"

"Jerk"

"Dimwit"

"Imbecile"

"Woooow.. well if you guys have showered each other with affection, Winter I want to talk to you" Nate interrupted us, coming towards me with an amused expression.

"Whatever" Ethan grumbled and pushing past me marched away.

"Winter?"

"What?" I barked at him seething. Ethan really knew how to get on my nerves.

"Never mind. You are not in a good mood"

"Whatever, you say" Scoffing, I quickly grabbed my stuff and walked out of the gym without caring about anything.

Letting out a yawn, I turned in the direction of the girl's restroom to wash my face and sleep away.

Lazily, like a dead person I opened the door slowly and got in, shutting the door quietly behind me. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I was about to wash my face, when I heard a noise.

I froze at my place and concentrated on the noise. Slight whimpers and sobbing! Someone was crying. It was like the person was trying hardest to stifle the noise down, but it wasn't working.

frowning, I turned my head towards the booth in the farthest corner, from where the loud sobs were coming.

Cautiously, I walked towards it and making a small fist, I knocked the booth door gently.

"GO AWAY!" I heard the voice yell forcefully, but what caught my attention the most was that the voice sounded familiar, awfully familiar.

"Hey... It's okay. We can talk if you want" I spoke softly.

"I just want you to leave" I heard the quiet groggy voice speak.

"Too bad" I let out stubbornly "Come out now or I am coming in" It was a weak and empty threat. There's no way in hell I could go in.

But, before I could speak or think anything further, the door slowly creaked open revealing red puffy eyed, an absolute mess; Ericka.

Took some time but it's all done. Hope you all like it!

I have tons of work to do, but here I am #NoRegrets anyway gotta zayn now. Those projects aren't going to complete themselves.

Until then, Don't forget to vote if you like this chapter and comment what you think. Will be waiting for your amazing feedbacks

Bye, take care. Beauty is Power; a smile is it's sword :)

Love, Zee...