Chapter 44

Chapter 13 If there was one thing I hated the most about school, it was rumors that went around. Rumors that hurt other people, even if they are true. Rumors were hurtful. Especially if they were rumors about my boyfriend. When I walked into school, Thalia walked up to me. "Hey, Poppy. Is it true that Grayson tried committing suicide and that was why we were on a lockdown last week?" I was speechless. I did not know how to react. How on earth did she hear about that? The only people who knew about it were the teachers and me, and I knew for a fact that the teachers didn't say anything. And of course, I wouldn't. "What?" I said finally. "No, of course not. Where did you hear that from?" "Everyone is talking about it," Thalia said. "If it's not true, you should probably put a stop to the rumors. I'll call Grayson to warn him." She reached into her pocket to grab her cell phone, but I stopped her. "I'll call him," I said quickly. "I should probably be the one to break the news to him." Thalia frowned. "Fine. Whatever." And with that, she turned around and walked away. Sometimes, I couldn't help but wonder with she still liked Grayson and hated me for dating him. I tried being nice to her and when Grayson or Belle was around, she was nice but other times when it was just the two of us, she always had a scowl on her face. Sighing, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocked and dialed Grayson's number. He answered after only one ring, something he always did whenever I called. It was one of his special boyfriend powers. "Hey, Flower. I'm right in the parking lot so I'll be inside soon," he said. "Couldn't wait to see me?" "Actually, there's something I need to tell you before you walk in," I said. "And what would that be?" I took a deep breath. "Everyone's talking about how you tried committing suicide." The other line was silent for quite some time, so I walked to the front doors and looked outside. Grayson was standing in the parking lot, frozen in his spot. "What?" Grayson asked, finally. "How did they hear that?" "I don't know," I said. "I promise that it wasn't me." "Poppy, don't even go there," Grayson said. "Of course it wasn't you. You know what? I'm going to find out who the hell started this." He hung up and I saw him walk into the school building. He walked in and stopped right in front of me. "People are going to stare at me." "We'll stop the rumor," I assured. "We just need the right people to do so." Grayson looked passed my shoulders, his expression turning into hurt. "They're all staring. Everyone is staring. I can't... I can't handle it." "Grayson," I said, cupping his cheeks and turning his face to look at me. "I could go talk to Tony about the rumors. The teachers will put a stop to this." "What if they don't?" Grayson asked. "What if everyone will keep talking about it? They're going to talk about me and think I'm a joke." "Suicide is not a joke," I said. "Nobody will think you're a joke." "I disagree," Grayson muttered, looking down. "Some people are already looking at me with an amused look." I turned around, seeing a group of students sending smirks in our direction, mainly Grayson's. I sighed, facing my boyfriend again. "Come on, we'll go talk to Tony." I intertwined my hand in his and lead him to the biology classroom. Tony was already there, preparing for today's class. Tony looked at us, eyebrows furrowed. "Did the bell ring already?" "No," I said. "We still got five minutes. We're here because of rumors that have been going around school. Have you heard them?" "Nope," Tony said. "I'm not up to date with teenage gossip." "Well," I said slowly. "The rumors are that Grayson tried committing suicide and that was why the school was on lockdown?" Tony raised his eyebrows, looking utterly shocked. "What? Who spread that?" "We don't know," I said. "We know it's true, but is there anyway you could get the teachers to talk to their classes about it? Maybe tell everyone that the rumors are false and how suicide isn't something to lie or joke about?" Tony nodded. "Yeah, of course. I'll talk to the principal and she'll send a mass email to the teachers. They'll probably announce it during first period." "Thank you," I said. "Mind if we stay in here?" "Not at all," Tony said. "I'll go talk to Mrs. Goth." As Tony left the classroom, Grayson and I sat down at our regular desks in the back. I pushed our desks together and leaned my head against his shoulder. "How are you holding up?" I asked. Grayson looked down, wiping a tear away. Before he told me about his depression, he had never cried in front of me. Now, I see him cry all the time. "I just don't know how someone found out that I almost committed suicide and why they would spread the rumor around. Everyone has already been giving me weird looks." "I'm really sorry this is happening," I said. "Whoever spread the rumor is a jerk and should definitely be in trouble." "Yeah," Grayson said softly. "Thanks for being here for me, Flower. I feel like you're the only one I can trust right now." "You still have your sister, though," I said. "Gale is living with you now." "Yeah, but she's been working a lot recently," Grayson said. "I still rarely see her." "She's living with you at least," I said. "You get to see her daily. That must count." "I guess," Grayson muttered. Tony walked back in the classroom. "I talked to Mrs. Goth. She's going to be sending out a mass email to the teachers and they'll read it to the first class. And if you want, Grayson, you can go home and took the day off." "No, it's okay," Grayson said. "I already missed a whole week of school. Besides, leaving will probably make people think the rumors are true, even though they are." Tony nodded, showing his understanding. Shortly after, the warning bell rang and students began swarming in. I had to move my desk away from Grayson's but since the space between us wasn't that large, I kept my hand in his to comfort him. When the second bell rang, the PA system went on announcing all teachers to read the email they received to their class. Tony went to the desk and pulled out the email on the computer. "Alright, class, I need everyone to listen up. Mrs. Goth sent out an email, as you heard the announcement. And here it is." He cleared his throat before reading. "'A recent rumor has been going around about a student and it has to stop. Rumors are hurtful, especially to those that are not true. Suicide is an important matter and spreading rumors about a student attempting to do so is not a joke. It's hurtful. The person who started the rumor will be punished and if they confess now, the punishment won't be as severe.'" Jace raised his hand and Tony called on him. "So Grayson did not try to commit suicide?" Grayson sighed at that. Jace was really insensitive at times. "No, he did not," Tony said. "Then why was the school on lockdown last week?" Jace asked. "That's confidential information," Tony said. "It doesn't affect anyone, so you shouldn't be concerned about it. Now, regarding the email, no more talking about the rumor. It's false and quite hurtful. If anyone knows who started the rumor, please report it to Mrs. Goth. Alright, time to start the lesson."