With terrified eyes, I watched the older girls corner me in the bathroom.
They had blocked the door, not letting anyone else in. I pressed my back against the cold tiled wall, my body trembling, my breath turning rapid and uneven as the two eighteen-year-olds stalked toward me like predators. One look at their faces, and I knew—I might not make it out of here unscathed.
"What do you want from me?" I whispered, my voice shaking. "What do you want from me?"
"Does Felix really go for scared little girls like you?" sneered the blonde, brushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. I flinched, my eyes snapping shut as a sickening wave of nausea overtook me. That gesture—it pulled something from the depths of my memory. Him. The man who had done the same thing. I could barely breathe.
"A pretty, innocent sixteen-year-old… and she bagged the most desirable guy in school." Her tone dripped with mockery. "How'd you do it, huh? He's never even looked at anyone before."
If she didn't stop touching me, I was going to throw up. Cold sweat soaked my back, and my legs buckled.
"We met… by accident," I stammered, barely staying upright. "Please. Let me go."
I must have looked like a ghost, because their expressions changed. Unease crept into their eyes.
"Sarah, quit it," said the girl standing behind the blonde. Her voice was flat, uncertain. "She's gonna pass out. We don't need trouble."
"I don't give a damn." Sarah glared at me, her face twisted with frustration. "Not until she tells me everything."
"You're uglier than the crap I just flushed," a sharp voice cut through the tension.
Hannah.
My classmate stepped out from one of the stalls, short-haired, sharp-tongued, and furious.
"No guy's gonna look at you, not with that mug. Actually…" She tilted her head, pretending to study Sarah's face. "My dog looked like a freaking masterpiece compared to your features. You're the one I'd rather flush."
The older girls recoiled, disgusted.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I dunno." Hannah shrugged. "Maybe I fell off the moon and landed straight into this restroom." She snorted. "What kind of question is that? I came to pee. What do you think people do in here?"
With zero shame, she reached out her unwashed hand and touched the leader's hair. The blonde jerked back, horrified.
"Ugh! Keep those filthy paws off me!"
Hannah grinned, teeth bared like a wolf.
"I should be the one asking you what you're doing here. Been watching too many Mean Girls reruns?"
Sarah pressed her fingers to her forehead, trying to keep her composure.
"Why are you meddling?" she snapped, stepping closer. "This doesn't concern you. You looking for trouble?"
Sitting against the wall, I barely registered Hannah sliding her grimy hand up Sarah's nose.
"Smell that?" she said casually. "That's what you smell like. Shit."
The blonde lunged at her, but her friends yanked her back just in time—probably because Hannah looked far too pleased with herself.
"Let it go," one of them hissed. "People say she's the headmistress's daughter. You mess with her, you're screwed."
Muttering curses under their breath, they stormed out of the bathroom. Hannah casually strolled to the sink and washed her hands, glancing at me from the corner of her eye.
"You're not doing too hot, huh, Selena?" she muttered. I couldn't even answer. My limbs had gone limp, my vision blurring. "A minute ago, I was your white knight. Now I guess I should toss you on my horse and take you to the nurse?"
She flicked water from her hands. "Just need to find that horse first."
I was already collapsed on the floor, blinking up at the ceiling, barely able to focus. Somewhere in the distance, I heard the bathroom door creak open and Hannah's voice again:
"Hey, you! Yeah, come here, White Horse."
A male voice mumbled something in protest, but she cut him off and dragged him into the room.
"Get her on your back. She fainted. You're helping, whether you like it or not."
Those were the last words I heard before everything went dark.
*
When I open my eyes, the first sight I see is the face of my best friend. Only after a moment do I realize that I am in the nurse's office. The blonde sits in a chair, embracing my hand. We are hidden behind a white curtain that separates the beds and allows some privacy.
- Selena, frog, are you alive? - asks in a worried voice, looking at me with caring eyes. - I thought I was going to die when Hannah told me what happened. Let me just catch those bitches, and I swear I'll break their arms and legs. Fortunately, our insufferable but sexy-minded friend was in the bathroom.
I raise my eyebrows, wondering if Eve just complimented Hannah.
- I'm fine. I just panicked and got weak. I'm not going to die," I reply, forcing a slight smile.
- You don't, but the girls who brought you to this state do. - I open my eyes wider when I hear Felix's voice. The 18-year-old, who appears in front of the bed, looks at me with worried eyes. He is accompanied by Mike, who is rubbing his hands together as if he is warming up before a fight.
I see that Eve looks delighted with my crush's visit, yet she has to add a few words of her own:
- And do you realize, sexy team captain, that it was your fault they attacked Selene?
Felix nods, not taking his eyes off me.
- I know, that's why I'm going to deal with it. They will never dare to torment Selena again. I won't allow it.
Mike puffed out his lips, looking delighted by his friend's words. I think there was an altercation between them during the party, but apparently everything is fine now.
- I don't want you to get involved in this, Felix," I announce in a low voice. - I can handle the problem myself.
- And how would you like to do it, frog? - Eve snorts under her breath. - You were so scared that you fainted. You rather need our help.
I can feel Felix's intense gaze on me. I am one hundred percent sure that he is wondering why I am so weak, when in elementary school I was able to stand up for him without being afraid of older boys.
No one has any idea that a few months later something terrible happened that caused me trauma. I can no longer fight. I automatically become weak, my legs buckle under me, and the whole world spins before my eyes.
This is an issue I have been fighting for many years.
- Blonde, lead us to the friend who helped Selena. We need to find out which girls they were so that we can do something about them. - Mike turns to Eve, who points her fingers in agreement. - Since Selena won't tell us, we'll find out another way.
- Please, give yourselves a break. Don't create a problem out of it. They didn't do anything to me.
- But it's enough that they had the nerve to attack you in the bathroom! - Felix raises his voice, which causes a feeling of fear in me. I look at him with wide-open eyes, and then he softens. - I'm sorry. I just can't let it happen again. Next time they might hurt you.
Eve looks at me for a long moment, then strokes my head and nods to the guys, telling them to follow. Mike pokes his friend in the shoulder while he remains motionless.
- Get some rest, Selena. I'll be back to you soon," Felix announces, sending me a slight smile. - And don't worry. I won't act impulsively. I will handle this with my head.
- You don't have to come back here. - I see the surprise on his face, so I quickly add. - I'm feeling better now, so I'll be back for class in an hour.
The 18-year-old nods, then leaves the nurse's office, following my friend and Mike. I shouldn't be worried, and yet I have a bad feeling that Felix might become impulsive.
I got excessively drunk during the party, yet I remember what happened when Mike wanted to keep me safe. Felix snatched me out of his embrace by acting too impulsively towards his best friend, so how can he react when he meets the girls who attacked me in the bathroom?
*
Maybe it was just my imagination, but as I walked down the corridor during my next break—released from the nurse's office with permission—I felt like everyone was staring at me strangely. A weird sensation gnawed at me, like something had happened an hour ago, and I was the only one who didn't know what it was.
Just outside the classroom, I caught up with Hannah and grabbed her forearm. She looked at me silently, waiting for me to speak first.
"Thanks for helping me," I said.
A small smile tugged at her lips.
"At least you can say thank you. Good. Just—don't faint around me again, okay? You're a troublemaker." She patted my shoulder before I let go of her arm.
"Did you tell Eve and the guys which girls attacked me?"
"Of course. Eve had her basketball teammates with her. I like those guys—they play well, and I only help people I respect. But your friend? No way I'm telling her." Her tone was firm.
"Do you know what happened during the last break? Everyone seems to be looking at me like I'm… different."
Hannah glanced around, then smiled again—definitely like she knew something.
"That's a question you should ask your boyfriend."
She walked off, leaving me confused. I frowned at the whispering students around me. What had happened? Why had Hannah called Felix my boyfriend? We weren't officially together…
"Selena!"
I turned wide-eyed toward my best friend, who was barreling down the corridor toward me, breathless and grinning.
"You scared me," I said as she stopped in front of me, trying to catch her breath. "What's going on? Tell me everything."
Still holding onto my shoulders, she finally smiled brightly.
"You've officially become the woman of the Little Prince. Wish you could've seen it!" Her laughter made me even more nervous—she looked like she was crazy. "No one's going to touch you again."
"Get to the point—I don't understand any of this. What happened, Eve?"
"Felix announced over the school radio that you're his woman. Next time anyone tries to lay a hand on you, he'll kill them. Now he's sitting with the principal on the rug."
I felt my legs weaken.
"What did he do?" I asked quietly, wishing the nurse's office had speakers so I could've heard it too.
"Selena, your crush just declared to the whole school that you're his girlfriend. That means you're as popular as he is now! Nobody's going to dare mess with you."
I should have been happy—my dream come true—but why did he repeat a line from my novel? Did he really want to fulfill all my fantasies?
He's crazy. And just like that, I was officially his girlfriend—without even knowing.
My life was definitely turning into fan fiction. Wouldn't every girl want a taste of this? But what had I done to deserve it? I had no idea. One thing was certain though: the looks from the whispering students were terrifying.
For the next few days, I was numb to all the school gossip that followed.