Chapter 1One month into sophomore year and I find out everyone's calling me "The Leech."
It turned out that the nickname came from Madison Cooper—my childhood best friend Dylan's new desk buddy.
Apparently, it probably because of I was always "clinging" to Dylan Carter: eating his breakfast, borrowing his lunch money, living near his house.
When I asked Dylan why he didn't let them shut it down, he just shrugged.
"It's just a nickname. Madison's being dumb—ignore her."
"But you do kinda follow me everywhere. She's not wrong."
I stood there like he'd just stabbed me in the chest.
So eighteen years of friendship and I'm just... a leech to him?!
I didn't argue. Just went home, deleted every pic of us from my phone. Every single one.
Then I dropped out of school.
Now he went crazy.
"Avery! Where are you going?!"
"Somewhere you'll NEVER find me."
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I first heard the nickname while waiting in the lunch line.
Just another boring Wednesday. I'm standing there with my tray, stuck in the usual crowd.
Two girls in front of me are whispering—not quiet enough, apparently.
"Look, there's The Leech."
"Always following Dylan around. So embarrassing."
At first I thought they meant someone else.
Then one of them turns around, locks eyes with me for a few seconds, and smiles. That kind of smile that says "oh honey, you have NO idea."
I know that look. The "this is gonna be good" look. The "wait till you hear this" look.
My grip tightens on the tray until the edges dig into my palms.
The Leech?
They're talking about ME?!
I look around and suddenly everyone's staring. People whispering behind their hands, pointing in my direction when they think I'm not looking.
Some are straight-up laughing at me. Others just stare like I'm some weird science experiment.
My face went nuclear.
Ears burning, neck on fire, couldn't even breathe properly.
I grabbed my food and basically ran from the lunch counter, finding the most hidden corner I could.
But I barely took two bites before the table next to me started up.
"Avery's so gross. Always all over Dylan."
The girl wasn't even trying to be quiet. Like I wasn't sitting RIGHT THERE.
"I heard her family's broke. The Carters basically pay for everything." Another voice jumps in.
"No wonder Madison calls her The Leech. It's perfect."
"Right? So pathetic."
My hands started shaking.
My fork hit the table with a loud CLACK.
Those girls looked over when they heard the noise. When they saw it was me, they didn't shut up—they got LOUDER.
"Oops, looks like The Leech is mad."
"What's she gonna do? We're not lying."
I clenched my jaw, trying to keep it together.
But my hands wouldn't stop shaking. Couldn't even hold my fork anymore.
The food tasted like cardboard. Every bite made me want to throw up.
Screw this.
I grabbed my barely touched tray and speed-walked out of there.
Their laughter followed me like a wave, drowning me completely.
I went straight to Dylan.
He was at the basketball court, totally drenched in sweat.
Madison was sitting in the bleachers wearing this white sundress, holding a water bottle, cheering him on every few minutes.
When she saw me coming, her smile got HUGE.
Like a cat that just spotted a mouse.
"Avery! Come sit!" She patted the spot next to her, all fake sweet.
I ignored her. My eyes were locked on Dylan shooting hoops.
He just nailed a three-pointer and his teammates were high-fiving like crazy.
"Dylan. I need to talk to you."
Not loud, but loud enough for him to hear.
He turned around, saw it was me, and his face just... dropped.
He wiped the sweat off his forehead, clearly annoyed. "What now? Can't it wait till I'm done?"
"No. Right now."
I'd never used that tone with him before.
Even I was surprised.
Dylan just stared at me, probably shocked that his usually quiet little sidekick was actually standing up to him.
He looked at me for a few seconds, then waved to his teammates and slowly walked over.
"What's up? You look pissed."
Still acting like nothing was wrong. Like this was no big deal.
I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady. "The whole school's calling me The Leech. Did you know that?"
He scratched his head, looking awkward. "Oh, that. Yeah, I heard."
He HEARD?
That's IT?
I stared at him in complete disbelief.
Waiting for him to say more. Waiting for an explanation. Waiting for him to be angry FOR me.
But nothing.
He just stood there like he couldn't care less.
"You heard about it and didn't do anything?"
My voice started shaking.
"Do what?" He shrugged like I was being ridiculous. "It's just a nickname. Everyone at school has one."
"This guy in my class gets called Pig Face. You don't see him crying about it."
He actually LAUGHED. Like this was some stupid joke.
"But this nickname is meant to hurt me!"
I was practically yelling.
"You're overthinking it." Dylan patted my shoulder—the most fake, dismissive pat ever. "Madison's just messing around. She doesn't mean anything by it."
Doesn't mean anything?
I looked over at Madison.
She was watching us with this huge smile, looking SO pleased with herself.
"Dylan, you really think calling me The Leech is just a joke?"
My voice came out barely a whisper. Like I was asking myself more than him.
He rolled his eyes. "God, stop being so dramatic. Besides, you DO follow me around everywhere, so it's kinda..."
He didn't finish.
But I knew exactly what he was gonna say.
Kinda true.
Something inside me just... broke.
Completely shattered. And I knew it could never be fixed.
Chapter 2
From that day on, I started avoiding Dylan.
But the nickname had already spread like wildfire.
It was everywhere. In every hallway, every classroom, every corner of the school.
In class, people would whisper behind me.
"That's her. The Leech."
"I don't know how Dylan puts up with it."
At the library, someone would say loud enough for me to hear: "Oh wow, The Leech can read."
"Probably just trying to look smart to impress guys."
Even at the school store, the lady behind the counter would stare at me weird.
Like I was something gross she wanted to scrape off her shoe.
But the worst part? My dorm.
My roommates—girls I thought were my friends—started treating me like I had some disease.
First they just stopped talking to me.
Then they stopped pretending to be nice altogether.
They stopped asking me to lunch.
"We're heading to the cafeteria," they'd say, then walk out without even looking back.
Leaving me alone in our room, staring at four empty walls.
They stopped sharing snacks.
Used to be we'd always swap chips and candy. Now they locked everything in their lockers.
Even borrowing a phone charger became impossible.
"I'm using it."
"Mine's dead."
"I already lent it to someone."
Always had an excuse ready.
One night I got back a little later than usual.
When I opened the door, I could hear them whispering on the balcony.
"Is it true Avery's been using Dylan's money this whole time?"
"Must be. Why else would Madison call her The Leech?"
"She's broke, right? So where's her tuition money coming from?"
"Obviously Dylan's paying for it."
"No wonder she can afford to live near his place. Makes total sense now."
"God, that's so pathetic. I'd be way too embarrassed to show my face."
I just stood there in the doorway, hand still on the handle.
They saw me and went dead silent.
Then they scattered like nothing happened, going back to their beds.
Nobody asked where I'd been.
Nobody cared how much I'd heard.
Like I was invisible.
I crawled into bed and cried into my pillow.
It got soaked pretty fast, cold and wet against my face.
They had no idea the real reason I lived near Dylan's place.
It was my grandma's old house. The tiny, run-down place she left me when she died.
It was falling apart and barely big enough for one person, but it was all I had.
"Avery honey," she'd told me before she passed, "this house might not be much, but it's yours."
"As long as you have a home, you'll be okay."
They also had no clue I never spent a single penny of Dylan's money.
Every time he paid for something—breakfast, borrowed meal card, whatever little thing—I wrote it down in a notebook.
Every. Single. Dollar.
Whenever I made money from my part-time jobs, first thing I'd do was try to pay him back.
But he'd never take it.
"Why are you keeping track of everything? We're friends," he'd say.
I thought he was being sweet.
Now I realize he probably just didn't care enough to bother.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Everyone had already decided I was some gold-digging leech living off a guy.
The truth? Nobody gave a damn about that.
People believe whatever story makes them feel better about themselves.
Chapter 3
I tried to explain.
During one group project in our English class, things got really awkward.
When the teacher told us to form groups, the whole classroom went weird.
Everyone else was pairing up, chatting about who they wanted to work with.
And then there was me. Standing alone like I had some contagious disease.
Nobody wanted to be in my group.
I looked around, hoping for just ONE friendly face.
Nothing.
Some people pretended to check their phones.
Others suddenly found the window SUPER interesting.
A few just closed their eyes and pretended to sleep.
I worked up the courage to walk over to this girl who seemed nice enough.
"Hey, can I join your group?"
She looked up, eyes all shifty. "Sorry, we're full."
I counted. There were only three of them.
"I'm a good student—I was third in our major last semester."
Trying to prove I was worth having around.
This guy next to them just laughed. "So what if The Leech gets good grades? Dylan probably does all her work anyway."
"Yeah, he's probably taking her tests too."
"Right? No way she's actually that smart."
Everyone started nodding like they'd cracked some big mystery.
"I don't cheat!" I snapped, my voice getting louder. "I pay my own tuition with my job money, and my living expenses—"
"Oh please." Some girl cut me off and rolled her eyes. "Nobody's buying that."
"Stop acting all innocent. We all know what you really are."
That's when Madison's sweet voice cut through the noise.
She'd appeared out of nowhere, wearing this perfectly fake sympathetic expression.
"Come on guys, don't be so mean to Avery. She's just... doing what she has to do."
She paused, this nasty little smirk creeping across her face.
"I mean, not everyone has the skills to get Dylan to take care of them for so long."
"That takes talent, right?"
The whole class burst out laughing.
Like they were stabbing me with every sound.
My face was on FIRE. I wanted to disappear into the floor.
My palms were dripping sweat, nails cutting into my skin but I couldn't even feel it.
Finally the teacher had enough. "Avery, just join group three."
You should've seen their faces drop.
But they couldn't exactly say no to the teacher.
During the whole project, they acted like I didn't exist.
Every suggestion I made got completely ignored.
"What if we approach it from this angle—"
They kept talking like I hadn't said a word.
The research I'd done? Totally useless.
"I found some sources that might help—"
They didn't even glance at my papers, just pushed them aside.
I tried joining the conversation, but they cut me off every time.
"We already decided."
"We don't need your input."
"Just sit there and stay quiet."
Finally, I gave up.
Just sat there watching them get all excited about their ideas.
Like I was invisible.
No, worse than invisible.
I was a disgusting leech.
Like something they wished would just disappear.
