"I'm Raven," the blonde introduced herself, putting her bag at her feet.
"You look pretty tired," Gwen commented, turning in her seat. "Were you at Jake's party last night?"
Raven nodded slowly. "Things went bad so I had to drag my friends out of there. Didn't sleep too well afterwards."
"We can see that," Allison giggled. "But is it true?"
"Is what true?" Raven blinked, wondering what kind of rumor was going around the school.
"A few girls from the party are saying you and Jake snuck out and had sex on the oval!" the strawberry blonde whispered. "I'm not trying to be rude, of course."
"It's okay," Raven sighed. "And no, it's not true. We did hang out on the oval, but then he left."
"He ditched you?" Gwen frowned. "How rude!"
Raven shrugged, recalling what had happened the night before. "I didn't much care." She was distracted as someone walked into the class and she shivered when she recognized Kyle, the boy from dinner. He caught her eye and flashed a grin, taking a seat with one of his friends, sparing a few glances in her direction.
"What a creep," Sally muttered, noticing him. "He looks like a stalker."
"I hope not," Raven moaned. "I already have two others."
"Two?" the girls blinked at her in shock.
"Jason and Jake."
Gwen couldn't help but laugh. "The three J's!"
Raven rolled her eyes. "The new Musketeers. Great…"
The teacher began the class and Raven was bored as he talked about Shakespeare. She propped her arm up and leaned her chin in her hand, slowly dozing off to sleep. She was aware of Kyle watching her through the entire class and she felt uncomfortable under his gaze. It was like a panther, watching its' prey and preparing to pounce at any second. She didn't like it one bit.
As soon as class was over, Raven grabbed her bag and rushed out of the classroom with her new friends running after her. "What class do you have now?" Sally asked her.
"History," Raven told her, pulling her schedule out of her pocket and reading over it. "I hope that's less boring."
She yelped as she was suddenly pushed against a wall and pinned in place. Her new friends stepped back as Kyle held Raven. Her back burned in pain from the shock and she looked up at the boy in fear.
"I could find something more interesting to do," he whispered maliciously.
"I thought Jake told you to stay away from me," Raven threatened, trying to move with no luck.
"Jake isn't here," Kyle smirked.
"Kyle, just leave her alone," Sally tried to stand up for the blonde. "She doesn't like you, so stop harassing her."
"Stay out of this," he scowled at her and turned back to Raven. "So, how about it? Ditch class and come back to my dorm? It'll be more fun, I promise."
"No," Raven attempted to push him out of her way but it didn't work. Were all the boys in this school a thousand pounds?! "I would much rather get to class."
"But class sucks!" he told her. "Just like you could suck my-" He didn't get the chance to finish as a fist swung out of nowhere and smacked him in the side of the head. He stumbled back and tripped over his feet, hitting the floor. Raven shook herself, not surprised at all to see her savior, yet again.
"I'm going to make this clear to everyone!" Jason snarled at the crowd that slowly gathered and Kyle picked himself up, rubbing his head. "Leave the new girl alone!" Everyone looked around at each other and Raven saw Jason's body shaking violently. Was he okay?
"She can make her own decisions," Kyle grumbled. "She doesn't need you saving her."
Jason growled at him. "Keep the fuck away from her!"
Kyle glared at the green-eyed boy. "Don't you have a self-control class to get to? You know, the one that only you have to take?"
Jason had to take self-control classes? Raven thought and watched Jason twitching in anger. "Maybe if people like you didn't piss me off, then I wouldn't need to take it."
"Either way," Kyle snorted and glanced at Raven. "She isn't your property. I can still claim her as mine."
"You can't just claim her!" Jason snapped and Raven chewed her lip. "It's clear she doesn't want you in her presence."
"She can't be protected forever," Kyle warned the boy and stalked off, pushing his way through the gathered crowd of students. Raven blinked at her three new friends and saw the worry on their faces. Was this school really so safe? Raven wasn't too fond of some of the boys already…
Jason growled and turned to face the blonde. "You really know how to pick 'em, don't you?"
Raven gasped at him and felt suddenly anger shooting through her body. "You think I asked for that?!" she hissed at him. "I'm the new girl! I'm supposed to be left alone because nobody knows me. I'm supposed to be in the shadows where no one pays attention to me, but obviously not!"
"Well that's not how the new girls turn out here, Princess," he muttered rudely. "This is a boarding school, not Day Care."
"I couldn't care less if it was your baby shower!" Raven retorted and a few of the students choked on laughter but fell silent as Jason glared at them. "I don't want to have everyone trying to get in my fucking pants!"
"It's the signs, babe!" Jason snorted and threw his arms out. "You give off the wrong signals. If you gave everyone the impression that you didn't want to bed them all, maybe they'd leave you alone and I wouldn't have to save your sorry ass!"
"I don't need you to 'save' me," she added the air quotes as she stood toe to toe with the angry boy, something the other students clearly weren't brave enough to do. "I'm perfectly fine on my own."
"Fine, you can start saving yourself," he scowled. "I bet by the end of the day, you'll be begging for me to scare the guys away from you."
"As if!" she growled and turned, storming away. She heard Jason's thumping footsteps as he went the other way and she gently pushed her way through the crowd to get to her class, ignoring the curious whispers as she passed the other students.
She found her History class without any troubles and she ignored the teacher so she wouldn't become the center of attention again. She chose a two-seater table on her own next to the window, dumping her bag on the ground. All of the students blinked at her as she ran her hands through her hair, trying to calm down.
"Fight with Jason?" she looked up as Der stood beside the table. "May I sit down?"
She gestured with her hand for him to sit and he took the seat beside her. "How did you know? I didn't see you in the hallway."
"I heard it from the other building," he chuckled. "I haven't heard an argument like that in a while. You definitely picked a bad person to fight with."
"It's not my fault," she grumbled. "He can't seem to understand that I can take care of myself." Though she silently admitted the thought wasn't very appealing after thinking of the forceful way Jake and Kyle had treated her. "I'm not a baby."
"I can see that," Der agreed. "But Jason is different from everyone else; he's very protective."
"Why?"
Der had a knowing look in his eyes but he shook his head. "No one really knows. He's also the only one in the school to take a Martial Arts class. The teachers made it mandatory for him."
Raven thought about that. "Kyle called it his self-control class. Does he have ADHD or something?"
"No," the boy shook his head again. "Nothing like that. He just has problems with controlling his temper. He doesn't like the thought of girls getting hurt either."
"Is there a reason for that?" Raven tried asking, knowing that Jason was just trying to look out for her. Could she really blame him for it?
"You'd have to ask him," Der shrugged. "He doesn't mean to sound like a jerk though; that's just how he is. He's still learning to communicate with people properly."
Raven tried to understand what she was being told, but her brain just spiralled down into a world of scribbled words. Jason was a strange boy, but he really did have good intentions.
"What was wrong with Elaise, by the way?" Der asked, snapping her from
her thoughts. "I was with her in Math and she seemed sick."
"She has a hangover," Raven explained. "We went to Jake's party last night."
"That explains it," Der laughed. "You and Elaise are very different from one another, I do have to say. Yet, you both get along so well."
Raven smiled and yawned. "We've been friends for years. People have tried to break our friendship apart, but Elaise never left my side. She's always been there for me."
"That gives me the impression that you're the younger one, yes?" she nodded.
The class went on normally and the teacher almost didn't notice Raven until he asked her a question about the subject. Der didn't seem to like learning about World War II either, she noted as he tried falling asleep several times and the teacher constantly had to slap the blackboard with a ruler to wake him up. It was the next class that Raven wasn't looking forward to when Der told her Jason would be in her Match class.
When the bell rang, she said goodbye to Der and went in the direction he pointed to get to her next class. She tried to take a few deep breaths to calm herself and push her anger away before she got there. She flinched when something slapped her on the rear and she looked up, seeing Jake smiling at her as he easily overtook her, winking at her before melting into the crowd of people. Raven felt her body twitching and she couldn't stop herself as she let out a shriek of frustration, clenching her hands and stomping her foot like a child. Everyone turned their heads to stare at her but didn't dare say anything.
She stormed into her next class, thankful that the teacher hadn't yet arrived, and she glared across the room where Jason sat, his face dripping with sweat from his last class. She sat as far away from him as she could and she felt his eyes trained on her. She didn't look up at him once and she put her hands together on the table, clenching them tightly and trying to stop herself from lashing out at anyone.
"Looks like someone got dumped by Jake," came an annoying female voice behind her. "Didn't she know he's only interested in hook-ups?"
"Probably not," the friend she had with her said. "Must have had her poor heart broken."
"That'll teach her that she can't get any guys she wants."
Raven risked a glance up at Jason and he simply turned his head to face the front of the room, a slight smirk on his face to prove he wouldn't defend her like he had promised. Raven snorted and turned in her seat, looking up at the black-haired girl who wore inches of make-up on her face. "Excuse me?" she growled.
"I'm sorry," the girl smiled sweetly. "We were talking about you, not to you."
"I don't give a shit who you were talking to," Raven hissed. "Jake and I did not hook up or anything of the sort!"
"That's not what everyone's saying," she giggled. "We all know the truth; the two of you had sex on the oval."
"You're pretty pathetic if you believe stupid rumors like that," Raven retorted. "Because unlike you, I don't get paid for spreading my legs." The entire class had their attention on the girls and let out 'oohs' of excitement at Raven's comment.
The black-haired girl rose from her seat and cracked her knuckles, fury written on her face. "Looks like the new girl needs to be put in her place."
Raven didn't stay in her chair. She stood up and faced the girl in front of her, shooting an angry glare. "I don't need to be put in my place, but if you insist on trying then go right ahead."
"Brittany, don't go getting into fights," her friend mumbled worriedly as the girl in front of Raven puffed out her chest.
"This brat needs to learn who's in charge around here," Brittany snorted, towering over the blonde.
Raven tensed her muscles to prepare for a fight. "Don't underestimate me."
Brittany snarled and swung her hand up, slapping Raven across the face. Everyone fell silent and Brittany laughed. "What are you going to do now?"
Raven tensed up her arm and moved with a simple turn of her body, left-hooking Brittany in the face with all the force she could muster. Brittany yelped and stumbled back, grabbing the table to stop herself from falling. Raven breathed deeply and felt Jason's eyes on her again, watching her carefully.
"What's the matter now?" Raven sneered. "Cat got your tongue?" She flexed her hand and set her jaw as her cheek throbbed from the slap.
She suddenly froze when she saw Brittany holding her nose tightly and her heart raced when she saw blood flowing between the girls' fingers. "You fucking slut!" Brittany cursed and stepped towards Raven. "You'll pay for that!"
Raven's body slowly froze over and her blood chilled when she watched the red-sticky liquid staining Brittany's hand. Raven's breath hitched in her throat and fear tingled across her skin. She forgot all about her bag and she pivoted on her heels, spinning and taking off out of the room just as the teacher walked in.
The halls were empty now and Raven ran down them, not caring if anyone tried to stop her. She left the building and ran around the side where nobody would see her. She collapsed to the ground and sat with her back against the wall, propping her knees up and hugging them. She rested her head on her knees and fought back tears. She locked her jaw and her tears stung the rims of her eyes, rolling down her cheeks and falling from her face. Her body shook with fear and she let it take over as she cried.
She must have stayed there for an hour, she thought as she heard the school bell ring again. It was recess, she told herself, hearing kids on the other side of the building run out onto the oval or the basketball courts to play. She wondered if Elaise was going to try and find her, but the brunette probably wasn't going to be able to.
It wasn't long before she heard light footsteps and something heavy was placed in front of her. She slowly looked to her right as someone sat beside her. "I thought I'd find you here," Jason mumbled quietly. "I used to come around here whenever I panicked too."
Raven sniffed and tried to wipe her tears away, looking over at her bag placed in front of her. Had he really dragged it around the school to return it to her? "Thanks," she whispered.
"You're welcome," he said. "I finally figured it out. You're afraid of blood. That's why you don't strike out at everyone to defend yourself. I've never met someone with hemophobia."
Raven rested her chin on her knees. "Go ahead and laugh," she grumbled and sniffed again. She expected Jason to choke on laughter and tell her she was silly, but she heard nothing.
"I'm not laughing, Raven," he pointed out. He didn't even sound remotely amused. "It's a serious thing."
"You'd laugh if you knew what else I was scared of," she scoffed.
"What else is there?" he asked in such a caring way that she found it hard not to reply to him. He was so angry at her before… Had he calmed down?
"Forests," she bit her lip and looked up at him, staring into his emerald eyes. "And water; I can't swim." His gaze was steady, showing no joy in hearing her fears. He really didn't think it was funny? Other people would have thought it was hilarious.
"Why are you scared of forests?"
"No reason," she felt her throat close off as emotion swelled up. She didn't really want to explain that to him.
"Okay," he nodded. "I won't even ask about the blood fear, but I can help you with one of the others."
"How?" she mumbled, trying once again to wipe her tears away.
"Well, first you have to stop crying," he chuckled and she couldn't help but laugh at his adorable expression. "Secondly, meet me at the basketball courts after dinner. Don't forget to wear swimmers."
He didn't give her time to reply as he jumped to his feet and walked off, probably to go find his friends. Raven sat where she was for a moment, feeling her fear washing away as she thought of why Jason had suggested such a thing. He was asking her to break curfew again? In swimmers? Why?
She slowly got to her feet and picked up her bag. She walked around the school and found Elaise who almost had sparkles in her eyes, though refusing to tell Raven why she was in such a good mood. Raven told her about what happened with Brittany and the brunette frowned, giving h
er friend a hug and making a joke out of it when she found out Jason had followed her to her hiding place. Raven remembered that she still had his shirt in her dorm. Was he going to ask for it back?
For the rest of the day, no one bothered Raven and she was a little worried that she might have scared everyone off. She ignored it and enjoyed Music, sharing Science class with Elaise and got the chance to paint a canvas in Art. After lunch and P.E, Raven was looking forward to seeing Jason in Home Economics, but he wasn't there. The teacher said she could cook on her own if she wanted to, which she did, and they cooked spaghetti bolognese. The entire time, Raven tried to think of how Jason was going to help her with her fears. She had surprised herself when she had told him about them; only Elaise knew her fears. Why had she been so open with a boy she barely knew?
Silent World Page 8
