The Beautiful Monster

She hoped that getting out and going to class would be good for her, though.

It had to be better than sitting around in her room all day, staring at her phone as it continued to go off. Anything was better than that.

When she arrived at the classroom a minute before class started, she looked down at the sea of students and immediately saw Elias in his seat.

He was glancing around, looking confused. She knew that he was looking for her. She didn't move from the doorway until she saw Dr. Pierce walk onto the stage. That was her cue.

She hurried to her seat, hoping that Elias somehow wouldn't notice her. That was pretty far-fetched, though, since she was sitting in the row right behind him.

She sat in her seat the moment he turned around in his own. Their eyes clashed for a second before she hurriedly looked away.

"Alyssa," he said, trying to subtly get her attention.

Alyssa ignored him, even if it slightly hurt to do so. It was even more painful being around him again in person, seeing his handsome face and listening to his smooth voice.

She shouldn't have come here, but she knew that she couldn't run away from a whole class because of a boy.

She pulled her things out of her book bag for class, doing everything in her power not to look up at him.

She could feel his eyes on her, sense his sadness. She couldn't believe that they were so close only a few days ago. Then, she torched everything.

"Alyssa, please. We really need to talk," Elias said in a hushed voice.

Alyssa wanted Dr. Pierce to hurry up and start his lecture, but he was taking his sweet time this morning for some reason.

She glanced to her left to see that Zoe wasn't in class today. It honestly didn't surprise her anymore. Zoe missed as much class as she attended.

She heard light giggling behind her, but she ignored it. She needed to ignore it. The last thing that she wanted to worry about on top of Elias was Kaleigh.

She wrote down the day's date on her notes, trying to find anything to capture her attention until Dr. Pierce started his lecture.

"Alyssa," Elias tried again.

Alyssa looked up at him sharply.

"No," she whispered. She needed him to stop. She couldn't begin to concentrate when he was saying her name and trying to get her attention.

"Uh oh, lover's quarrel," Kaleigh smirked.

Alyssa rolled her eyes as she stared back down at her notes. She could feel annoyance burn through her, and she wished that she would've just skipped.

She obviously needed more time to cool down from everything, and she had thrown herself right into the danger zone.

Elias gave Kaleigh a glare.

"We'll talk after class," he told Alyssa.

Alyssa hoped he didn't think that was actually going to happen. Once class ended, she was going to bolt, and she didn't want him to follow her.

It was easier this way. She wished that he could understand that they didn't need to talk about anything right now. It wouldn't change anything.

"What are you guys fighting about?" Kaleigh asked. Her voice nearly shook with laughter.

Alyssa whirled around in her seat to face Kaleigh.

"Back off," she snapped. She could feel eyes shift to her, but she didn't care. She wanted Kaleigh to hear her words and hopefully abide by them. It was in her best interest.

Kaleigh looked taken back at first, but she narrowed her eyes and leaned forward toward Alyssa.

"Just because your boyfriend made you sad doesn't mean you should take it out on others," Kaleigh fake pouted, plainly mocking Alyssa.

"Just because you're miserable with yourself doesn't mean you can be a bitch to others!"

Alyssa replied as she stood from her seat. Her chest lifted and fell heavily as she glared down at Kaleigh. She meant her words, and she hoped that Kaleigh felt them.

Kaleigh's jaw dropped as she stared up at Alyssa. She couldn't even get any words out to retaliate.

Alyssa glanced around to see everyone staring at her in shock. She ducked her head and hastily grabbed her things.

She couldn't be here. She messed up once again. She wasn't even sure if she could show her face in this class again. It didn't matter, though. She just needed to leave.

She rushed out of the row and toward the exit. Her eyes burned, but she willed herself not to cry.

It wasn't worth it to cry all over again. That was what got her in this awful situation with Elias to begin with.

She showed too much of herself. She let her guard down, and she got hurt.

"Alyssa!" Elias' voice sounded from behind her.

Alyssa didn't slow her pace as she shoved open the classroom door and hurried away.

Alyssa rushed down the empty hallway away from her psychology class. Her mind was running on overdrive right now. What just happened played in her head over and over.

She couldn't believe that she made a scene like that in class. Something inside of her just snapped, and she hadn't cared who was around her. 

She had never been like that before, and she hoped that didn't happen to her again. She didn't want to lose control or be seen in such a way.

She could probably get in trouble too for her outburst, and the thought of that made her internally groan. She was ruining her school year.

Alyssa suddenly heard quick footsteps behind her. Before she could even turn around, she felt a hand on her wrist, stopping her in her steps.

She spun around to see Elias behind her. She had no clue how he got to her that fast, but she didn't want him here.

"I don't want to talk about it, Elias. I already know what you're going to say," she tried to tell him.