Sky had had this nightmare dozens of times.

In the dream, she was walking into her old school, after what had happened with Matt, and everyone was staring at her, they were pointing fingers and laughing and snickering—

Sky took a deep breath to stop her legs from trembling. She had to remind herself that this was not a dream. This was not her old school. This was West Valley High in California, and this was really happening.

"Look at her, she's the girl in the photo—!"

"Shit slut!" Someone laughed, as Sky walked in the doors, she didn't see who it was but it didn't even matter. Everyone was laughing around her anyways.

She tilted up her chin, clenched her teeth, and pretended not to hear, as she walked the halls in a dream-like fog, trying to find her locker.

I'm a fucking phoenix.

Nothing can touch me.

But her pep talk wasn't really helping. She felt like she was torn and thin and stretched as if the very pores of her soul were open for anyone to throw stones at and they would go right through her.

Finally, Sky reached her locker and opened it with the key that was trembling in her fingers, when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"...so disgusting. Can you imagine? Ew! And to think that I let her sit with us at lunch—"

Yasmine.

The memory of the photo that Yasmine had shared on her Insta, hit Sky like a wrecking ball to the gut. In that instant, the agony and anxiety that had been drowning Sky were replaced by anger, bright as a supernova that exploded in her mind and she slammed her locker with force.

"You got something to say? I suggest you say it to my face, bitch." She spoke, facing the blond girl who was standing nearby surrounded by her minions. Sky noticed Kyler, Moon, and Brucks, but Sam wasn't there.

"I got nothing to say to you, slut." Yasmine said. "I don't talk to people who like the taste of shit."

"Funny that. Since you're so full of shit yourself."

"Says the girl who likes to kiss ugly frogs." Yasmine rolled her eyes. "Just leave, I don't want you near me, loser."

Instead of leaving, Sky walked closer and tilted her chin up to meet Yasmine's cold eyes. The hurt and the anger burnt in her stomach like acid, she tasted the rage on her lips. It was one thing to insult her, but somehow it felt even worse that Yasmine was insulting Eli too.

"Some friend you are." Sky said, "Yesterday everything was good, you wants to get our nails done together - and now you're shaming me for kissing a boy?"

"Not a boy, but a freak," Yasmine replied with a snicker.

"You are the only freak around here." Sky replied, anger cracking her voice. "What a sad, fucking life you lead! You're nothing but a heartless bitch, who's jealous of someone kissing a boy because you don't have the nerve to do anything like that yourself—!"

Yasmine laughed at her face, and said: "Jealous? Of kissing shit-lip? Please, I would never go that low–"

"Would you stop calling him shit-lip?" Sky almost shouted. "His name is Eli! Eli Moskowitz. And he's a better person than you or I will ever be–"

But Yasmine just threw her blond locks over her shoulder and turned to leave.

"Come on," she said to her friends. "Let's go, I've had enough of this loser–"

"What did you just call me?" Sky grabbed Yasmine's arm, harder than necessary. "I'm not done with you yet, bitch–"

"Take you filthy hands off me–!"

At that Yasmine threw something at Sky, and Sky screamed in horror as she realized it was the iced latte Yasmine had been holding in her perfectly manicured hands. The cold liquid and the ice cubes splattered all over her face and hair, soaking her clothes and gluing her shirt to her skin.

All around her people started laughing and cheering, and Sky realized more photos were being taken, and videos too.

Just like that day when Matt had come to school, her old school, and they'd gotten in that fight—

It was happening all over again.

Something cracked in Sky's heart - rage and fear and pain and it was more than she could take. With breathtaking clarity, she remembered the taste of panic, the horrible realization that Matt had all the power, all the control, and she had none.

Not again. Never again!

This time she would go down fighting.

With perfect balance, Sky swirled around and aimed a fierce kick at Yasmine's stomach, and Yasmine flew across the hallway, hitting her back on the opposite wall.

The crowd around them was shouting, and Yasmine fell down to the floor, her jaw dropping in shock - but Sky was already going at her again, this time with a kick to her face—

That kick never met its target.

Someone grabbed Sky from behind, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Fucking bitch—!"

Kyler.

His arms around her felt just like Matt's. He had held her like this too, that one time when they had been at a party, she'd been drunk and it had annoyed Matt so that he had thrown her down the stairs and she had broken a rib.

Sky tasted the iron of fear on her lips.

"Calm down!" Kyler was saying. "Fucking crazy bitch—"

But how could she calm down when there was a guy holding her like this? Sky's shoulder screamed with pain, but she ignored it as she swirled around and freed herself from Kyler's arms.

"Don't touch me!" She cried. "Don't fucking touch me ever again, asshole!"

She went low fast and swept Kyler off his legs with a leg sweep. He was a big guy and went down hard, fell to the floor on his butt and the crowd cheered. Without a moment's hesitation, Sky launched herself at Kyler again, punching her fist to his shocked face, her knuckles meeting his teeth.

She was back up in a heartbeat, finding her balance, keeping her fists in fighting position, her knees bent just as Kat's dad had taught her so many years ago.

"She tried to kill me!" Yasmine was shouting. "She's fucking crazy!"

"You bitch—!" Kyler was spitting blood on the floor tiles.

"Want more?" Sky breathed, glancing from Yasmine to Kyler. "Cause I've got plenty."

Even with this shitty shoulder of hers, she knew she could take these two down, and even Brucks if he decided to join the fight. These people clearly knew nothing about fighting, whereas Sky now saw their bodies through her fighter eyes - all soft spots and vulnerable places that would easily crack under her kicks and punches—

But then there was someone shouting and parting the cheering crowd - a teacher, no, several of them, and it was only when Sky saw their shocked faces that she realized what she had done and the burning rage began to subside.

Oh crap. Dad's gonna be so pissed—

A male teacher Sky didn't know grabbed her left arm, and she cried out with pain as her shoulder was bent, but didn't resist when the teacher started dragging her away.

Brucks was helping Kyler up, and Moon was tending to Yasmine. Passing them Sky noticed that Kyler was wiping blood from his chin - a cut lip maybe, though Sky kinda wished she'd managed to knock out his teeth.

For Eli, that is. She had wanted to draw blood, not just for herself, but for him too.

But now I'm so screwed. If they kick me out of this school, where the fuck am I gonna go?

She was being dragged down the hallway, her shoulder was throbbing with pain.

"She's fucking mental—" someone was saying, and then another voice:

"—crazy slut!"

"--that was kinda badass!"

Sky didn't know who was speaking. Her head was spinning with the adrenaline rush, her vision blurring at the edges.

And then there was Eli, standing in the crowd with Miguel and Demetri, looking at her all wide-eyed and pale but with red spots on his high cheekbones.

Sky took in a sharp breath, suddenly tasting tears.

Had he seen her fight?

Did he now think that she was a crazy slut too, or—?

"Eli—!" she breathed, as the teacher pulled her past him. He said something, but his low, throaty voice was lost in the noise, Sky couldn't make out the words or their meaning. She tried to keep eye contact, but she was pushed forward, Eli's face disappeared in the crowd, and Sky was thrown into a room she realized was the principal's office.

When the door was slammed shut behind her, her heart sank.

I really messed up this time.

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