“I don’t understand.” “How is it any of your business that I like your best friend’s boyfriend?” “Yes, I know he has a girlfriend.” “No, I’m not going to get in between them!” “Why do you care?!” These were all things I should’ve said when one of the cheerleaders started interrogating me. Somehow, and I had my suspicions, the entire school had found out who I liked. Which shouldn’t be a huge deal, because this was freaking HIGH SCHOOL! I would understand if we were in kindergarten or something, but this was Junior year. Come on, you people. I mean, yes the guy was the star football player. And happened to be dating the cheer captain/model/class president. She was really nice too, which was rare for a blonde cheerleader. But of course, if I like the extremely attractive quarterback, I must be some evil witch who hates happiness. Or something like that. I walked down hallways that whispered rumors and gossip with a cloud of bitterness around me. My anger was a wall around me, letting no shame or embarrassment enter. I made a beeline for the one person I had thought I could trust. She pretended not to see me coming until the very last moment. I was boiling with anger by now, but I was determined to stay in control. I stood there and stared at her until she met my gaze. Ellie was a good six inches taller than me, but at this moment she seemed no larger than an ant. She glanced back down at her feet. “I, I mean, I didnt mean to, I didn’t think,” she tried to explain, backing away every so slightly. Tears were welling up in the depths of her blue eyes. “I’m sorry,” she finally mumbled. “No, no you aren’t.” I said. She didn’t argue, just sniffed and walked away. We both knew she wasn’t sorry about what happened, she was just sorry I found out. I dragged myself through the rest of my classes, exhausted from keeping my walls up so high all day. People I didn’t even know were sneering at me, laughing behind their hands. I still didn’t see how it was any of their business. Yes, I liked a guy! Yes, he was taken! But I wasn’t gonna do anything about it. I would never do that to him, or his girlfriend. I was rooting for them just as much as everyone else. I couldn’t help that he was exactly my type, and I had tried everything short of dating someone else to get over him. I got home that afternoon and lay on my bed with my dog. We stared at the ceiling for a while. I just dreamed about the day before when I was still invisible to the world. I sighed and buried my face in my dog’s soft side, and let out the tears that I had hidden all day.