There goes that word again. The word everyone uses so freely when I walk by, like I have no feelings at all.

I want to say I'm used to it, but truth be told I'm not. It still hurts everytime I hear someone mention it. It hurts when I hear it everyday of my life, like I don't know what I look like already, like I don't see the big pieces of meat protruding out of my sides every morning before I leave for school, the store, or to take a shower.

The word that always bring my dry eyes to a slow and painful sting. Just that one word brings up so many memories I'd rather keep hidden away somewhere, and never think about again.

That one word being fat.

I have just taken my first step, for my first day of Junior year, and I have already heard the word four times, from four different people. The snickering from across the parking lot taunts me on my walk to the side doors of the school.

I keep up my not fazed facade, but on the inside I'm a big sobbing mess that wants to run to the bathroom and cry. But I keep walking all the way to my locker with my masked emotion still intact.

"Hey look the wale's here. How are the rest of your species doing, you aren't eating them are you?" I hear Sasha and her clique already start to make fun of me and my appearance.

I continue to gather up my books for first through fourth period holding in my emotions before I crack on my first day back, I mean I should have prepared myself for this, it happens every year.

Most people would wonder why I do not fight back or stand up for myself. The answer to that is simple, I can't. I don't know how to come up with great enough comebacks. My face becomes too hot, I'm too flustered to look at anyone, and I get tongue tied, making things even worse for me.

"Hey fatty I'm speaking to you." She voices, her tone full of annoyance.

The funny thing about it is the things she and everyone else says about me are stupid and completely ridiculous. Yet everyone always laughs and snicker at their comment's, and they still hurt me to my very core.

I turn to acknowledge her, but quickly regret it seeing Ace nearby with a group of his friends.

He is clearly paying more attention to our conversation, then to whatever his friends are talking about, because he is facing this way with his beautiful hazel eyes staring directly at me expectantly.

I don't know what to say or do, everything escapes me, and I focus on how his eyes are expertly looking me over.

I blush furiously at his gaze, Sasha and her teasing completely forgotten, and look down to my books that now seem like the most interesting thing in the world to me.

I've had a crush on him since middle school in the seventh grade, when he moved here from New Orleans. His accent is the first thing that hooked me, it sounds so heavenly to my ears, that I automatically blush when I hear him speak. He has never spoken to me directly, but I do catch him glance at me every now and then.

Sasha follows my previous gaze and sees Ace looking in my direction, and takes advantage of the situation to humiliate me even more.

"Awwl, look guy's, Michelle has a little crush,"

My face heats up further, if that's even possible. She walk's closer to me and gets into my personal space and whispers in my ear words I already know are true.

"He will never want someone that looks like you Michelle. You're too fat for anyone to ever love, or even like."

I know.

"I mean how could someone like that," she points in the direction I know Ace has heard that I have a crush on him, and is now staring in our direction with an unknown emotion in his eyes, then turns to look at me again,"possibly ever like someone that is too ugly to look at, and is too fat to even hold in his arms? How could he want someone who would kill him if they ever slept together?" She scoffs.

I know. I know no one will ever want me. It's already been engraved into my head from all the other time's someone's told it to me.

She starts to walk off down the hall with the rest of her group before stopping to turn back to look at me out of the corner of her eyes.

"Don't forget what I said, fatty. He would never get with someone like you. Start buying your cat's now, oh wait, you'd probably think it was Chinese food and eat them, I guess you will truly forever be alone." she says with a shrug and continues to walk away with everyone laughing behind her.

A familiar stinging sensation settles in my eyes, and my first tear slowly makes it way down my cheek, indenting in every curve of my face.

I knew I should have took my grandparents offer to go back with them to Canada. I knew I shouldn't have let them leave without me buckled up in the back of their Ford pickup truck, but something in the back of my head told me to do otherwise. Clearly it was mistaken. Clearly I've chosen wrong, and now it's too late, they won't return until next summer.

I quickly wipe the stray tear away, and look up to find Zach, one of Ace's friends that moved here with him back in middle school.

"Don't listen to what she said to you, it's completely not true. Where I come from we like our woman to be thickly curved." he says to me, his accent shining through, just like Ace's.

I stare at him completely shocked by his words, but then anger suddenly courses through me, causing me to snap at him.

"Do I look 'thickly curved' to you?" I ask pulling on my fat, completely forgetting I'm talking to one of the school's claimed "bad boy" who could possibly make my life more miserable then it already is,"No I don't. This is fat, and fat is not attractive, trust me, I know from experience. The person I like wouldn't even give me the time of day, let alone look at someone like me." I yell at him exasperated. My rage now gone, my damn breaks and water seeps through every previous crack.

Tears have fallen all down my face, leaving a sloppy mess behind. I try to wipe them away, furious at myself for letting her get to me and yelling at Zach for only trying to make me feel better.

He gives me this sad look, but keeps a small smile on his face,"I wouldn't be so sure of that." he says with a reassuring look, before walking away and turning down the hall.

I stare after him wondering what he could have possibly meant by that, until the tardy bell rings, and brings me back to the fact that I have to now hurriedly make my way to first period English.

Before I could get there, I notice a body still lingering in the hallway. The body that homes the two most mesmerizing hazel eyes in my life.

Ace.

"Are you okay?" he asks me in that heavenly voice I've come to love over the years.

I stand there, looking at him, trying to come up for some logical reason behind him actually talking to me. Nothing I could think of could explain why his presence is still here, in the empty hallway, standing in front of me.

"You're Michelle right?" his voice is like soft silk wrapping my head in it's velvety texture. And my name seems to glide between his lips, as if he's had practice saying it in the past.

A burning sensation creeps its way up my neck to get to its chosen destination, where it tents my now beet red cheeks.

"Y-yes, I am." my voice comes out quiet, but my emotions shine through anyway.

I wait for the moment he tells me all the things I've come to know as true about me, but the words, the hate, and the laughing doesn't come.

He stands there for a moment, before he leans in, and breaks my personal space bubble. His amazing masculine scent with a hint of axe instantly overwhelms me, and I feel my knees quiver slightly.

"Don't believe anything she tells you," he slowly brought his hands up to wipe the tears off of my face, "ever."

He slowly lets his hand fall limp to his side, that same emotion from earlier in his eyes again. His shoulder grazes mine as he passes me by, causing a shiver of pleasure to spread throughout my body.

I stand there and watch his muscled back until he turns left, down the new wing, and out of sight.

But I could of sworn I saw the end of his lips curl up into that breath taking smile I can't seem to resist.