Elaise clenched her hands into tight balls and couldn't control her anger. "Nothing bad was going to happen anyway! This was just reassurance for you. I'm not your babysitter! I'm trying to get my life on track. It's time you finally grew up and did the same."
Raven glared at her with piercing hazel eyes and Elaise suddenly felt horrible when she looked closer and saw tears at the rims of her friend's eyes. Raven wriggled free of Jason's arms and walked, almost ran, from the basketball courts. "Raven, wait!" Jason called but Sally touched his shoulder.
"We'll go make sure she's okay," Sally shot a glare at Elaise and the girls ran after Raven, taking the girl's bag with them.
Elaise blinked and felt her heart racing, her throat closing off. Had she really just said that to her best friend? She risked a glance up at Jason and he looked appalled, shooting an angry glare back at her.
"Let's get out of here," Jason said to his friends and snorted at Elaise before leading the boys away, all of them casting glances back at the brunette.
"Jason, wait-"
"Katie!" Elaise snarled and the girl jumped. "Shut the fuck up!" She grabbed her friend's arm and dragged her away with Mandy following closely.
After recess, Elaise found herself in Engineering class with Der. Apparently it wasn't just the people on the basketball court that witnessed what had happened between the two friends. Word had gotten around and everyone was talking about it, casting all sorts of looks in Elaise's direction.
"So, what happened?" Der asked, almost mockingly, as Elaise got to work and began connecting wires, twisting them around each other with pliers.
Elaise grumbled and chewed on her lip. "We just realized our differences…"
"Which ones?"
"She likes having all this attention," Elaise scowled. "She called my friend a slut, when Raven's the one who used to fuck any guy at our old school who asked. She's a total hypocrite!"
"I know you don't mean that," Der whispered in her ear and Elaise watched him walk over to a bigger project that he and the other boys were working on. She growled and threw the wires onto the table with the pliers. Der glanced over his shoulder as Elaise stripped off her safety equipment, grabbed her bag and stalked out of the class.
She made her way outside to the courtyard again and threw her bag onto the table, jumping up and sitting next to it. She looked up as a girl walked past with a note in her hands, and she seemed to glare at Elaise. The brunette blinked and watched the girl continue into another building. She must have been a friend of Raven, she guessed. Sighing, she told herself that it was as though she had befriended a quarter of the school and Raven had befriended the rest. It felt like war would break out, and all the soldiers needed was the order to charge.
"I didn't intend to make you run off," she looked up and Der seated himself beside her.
"How'd you find me so quickly?" she asked, a shiver running up her spine.
"You scent of mistletoe led me here," he grinned sheepishly. "It's honestly not the best smell in the world, but it will have to do."
Elaise narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What do you mean?"
"Never mind," he shook his head. "Look, you and Raven are friends. Why are you letting something so silly get in the way?"
"It's not silly," Elaise retorted. "I'm trying to do good here, and she's mucking around and not doing anything in class! If she stopped being a whiny bitch then she'd do good too."
Der frowned. "This isn't you, Elaise. You were the exact same when the two of you walked through those gates. You're being like this because Raven is doing everything you can't."
She whipped her head around to glare at him. "What are you talking about? Of course I can!"
"With your friends, yes," he nodded. "But you don't have the male attention that Raven has. That's what you're angry at her for."
"Not true!" she crossed her arms stubbornly and bit the inside of her cheek. It wasn't! She thought. She was no way that that was the reason! She didn't care about boys… "We have to get back to class."
"No, we don't," Der snatched up her bag and swung it over his shoulder with his own bag. "If you're convinced you can do what Raven does, then prove it." He jumped off the table and ran away.
"Hey!" Elaise yelled and hopped off the table, racing after him. He was clearly slowing his pace on purpose so Elaise could keep up, but she chased him into a building and back out onto the oval. She was almost out of breath as the boy stopped on the oval and turned to grin at her, not even breaking a sweat. Elaise narrowed her eyes at him and stopped, holding her hand out. "Give me my bag!"
"Come and take it from me," Der poked his tongue out and ran across the oval… straight into the forest.
Elaise ran after him but stopped when she reached the tree line. Students weren't allowed to go in there! Why did Der insist on proving a point to her by choosing the worst rule to break? She remembered Raven telling her that she once heard wolves howling in there. It was dangerous. Nevertheless, she took a deep breath and checked over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being watched before she ran into the forest after Der.
She was surprised by how tall the trees really were as she stood under them and she glanced around, frowning when she didn't see Der anywhere. She tried calling out for him but he didn't answer and she felt shivers running up her spine. She walked deeper into the forest and scoped the area, blinking when she stepped over a giant tree root and saw her bag sitting beside Der' with the blond boy nowhere in sight.
"This isn't funny!" she called. "Where are you?"
She was suddenly swept off her feet and fell back. Panic rose up in her chest but she was grabbed and slowly lowered to the forest floor. She stared up at Der as he pinned her down with a grin on his face, his blond bangs hanging down like shaggy dog fur.
"Got you," he chuckled.
"You scared the shit out of me!" Elaise scowled. "We're not supposed to be in here."
"Scared of breaking the rules?" he teased.
"No!" she glared up into his chocolate eyes. "But everyone says it's dangerous. There could be man-eating animals in here!"
"That's the best part," he told her calmly. "Maybe if you broke the rules more often and lighten up, you and Raven can be friends again."
"Dream on!" Elaise snorted. Did he even care about how much trouble they would get into?
"I like dreaming if you're in them," he smirked and her breath left her.
Her heart raced as she soaked in his words and she locked eyes with him. She couldn't look away, no matter how hard she tried, and he began to lean down. She felt her cheeks burning and she tried to move, but her efforts were futile. She held her breath when Der' lips hovered over hers and she could feel his warm breath, sending tingles across her skin. She slowly closed her eyes, waiting for the connection, but she heard Der sniff. With a rush of wind, she opened her eyes and sat up, seeing Der standing a few feet away with his shoulders squared. He had his back to her, looking as though he was ready for someone to jump from the trees and attack.
"Der?" she blinked as he looked around, his muscles visibly tense.
"We have to go!" Der said quickly and grabbed their bags, holding his hand out for Elaise. She reached up and took it, accepting the help. She was surprised when Der rushed her back the way they had come. She tried to ask him what was wrong, but he didn't speak. When they got out of the forest and back onto the oval, they spotted Jason wandering around. The green-eyed boy looked confused when he saw them but he ran over, seeing something in Der' eyes that Elaise couldn't.
"What's wrong?" Jason demanded, not even questioning them about what they had been doing in the forest.
"He's in there," Der answered quietly, probably in hopes that Elaise wouldn't hear them… but she did.
Jason glanced down at Elaise before nodding and patting Der' shoulder. "Get Elaise inside. I'll sort it out."
"Jason, don't," Der tried, but Jason had already run into the forest.
"What was that about? Who's in there?" Ela
ise tried, but Der herded her back to the building and up to her dorm, not saying a word despite her questions. As soon as he dropped her off, he told her to stay in her dorm, returned her bag and left. Elaise was confused and sat in the living room, her head spinning. Someone was in there? Was that why the forest was forbidden? Was there some kind of stalker?
She had obeyed Der' command and stayed in her dorm until dinner, going down to the dining hall and sitting with Mandy and Katie to eat. Raven was already sitting with her friends and Anthony sat beside Sally. Elaise watched her blonde friend toying with her food, clearly uninterested in eating. Was she okay?
Elaise looked over to where Jason and Der were sitting, talking to Eliza and a few other boys with seriousness expressions on their faces. Elaise wanted to go over and ask what the boys had panicked over, but she assumed she wouldn't get an answer.
"Raven looks cheerful," Mandy giggled sarcastically, turning Elaise's attention again.
Elaise blinked at the blonde girl with her own little group, leaning her chin on her hand as she continued to play with her food. Jason glanced over to her from time to time but stayed where he was, engrossed in conversation with the others.
The brunette almost rolled her eyes when Kyle approached Raven. The blonde stopped playing with her food and dropped her fork onto her tray, lifting her chin from her hand to shoot a glare up at the boy.
"Hey, gorgeous," Kyle smiled and Elaise risked a glance over to Jason, seeing him rise from his seat, watching the boy. "Listen-"
But Raven appeared to be in no mood. She slammed her hands on the table and stood up, stepping away from her chair and snarling up at Kyle. "What the fuck is your problem?!" she yelled in his face and all heads in the hall began to turn. "Don't you fucking understand that I don't want anything to do with you? For the last fucking time, keep away from me and leave me alone!" With that, she stepped around Kyle and stalked out of the hall, leaving the boy standing on his own, utterly speechless, as well as everyone else in the hall. Jason sat back down, looking impressed with a slight smile.
"Wow," Katie laughed. "Maybe Jason dumped her?"
Elaise snorted and stared after her best friend. "You wish."
Midnight Stalkers
10. Midnight stalkers
The night was quiet as Raven walked around the school with her hands stuffed into her pockets. She had easily avoided the teachers and she didn't see any guard dogs around, so she knew she wouldn't be caught. After the event in the dining hall, she had stormed up to her dorm and punched a wall, putting a hole in it. Elaise had returned and tried to talk to her, but Raven hadn't been in any sort of mood to deal with her, yelling in her face as well. Elaise had snapped back and they had both stalked to their rooms, slamming their doors shut like children.
Raven had snuck out a few hours later and made sure she wore warm clothes. She had put on tracksuit pants and a hooded jacket with a long-sleeved shirt and her black boots under her pants. She let her hair flow freely and she found herself at the pool where she had spent her second night at White Grass, swimming around with Jason and sitting on his lap with his arms wrapped around her to keep her warm. She barely felt afraid now as she looked into the calm, clear water.
She knew that she was breaking the rules, again, but she needed a walk to calm herself down. After what Elaise had said to her earlier in the day, it was like the brunette had struck her in the head with a baseball bat. Raven had no idea that Elaise felt so bitterly towards her. What had happened to their friendship? What did Raven do wrong?
She moved on from the pool and walked over to the basketball courts where she spent most of her lunch breaks with Sally and the other girls, watching the boys play their game. Every time Jason scored a goal, he would run over to kiss her on the cheek. She felt her cheeks burn just at the mere thought of it now. They had become so close, but Elaise's friend had been right; he hadn't asked her out. Was he really just trying to woo her so he could sleep with her and finally ditch her? She shook her head roughly and cursed herself for thinking such a thing. Jason wasn't like that at all.
Jake was still furious with her for stabbing his hand. She smirked at the thought. Apparently Jason had sorted him out, but it didn't stop him from trying to approach her.
Kyle was another story, she snorted. He was constantly trying to flirt with her, even after Jason had made it clear to everyone that they needed to stay away from Raven.
"It's like you're his property," Allison had said. "Like a special pencil or something that he doesn't want to share."
"I think it's cute," Stephanie had giggled and Raven smiled, glad that she still had some friends by her side.
She walked across the oval and a cold breeze buffeted in her face. She bunched her shoulders but was still fairly warm in her jacket. She glanced up when she heard the trees of the forest swaying back and forth with the leaves rustling loudly. It sounded as if they were trying to tell her something, but she couldn't speak tree; if she did then everyone would think she was nuts!
Subconsciously, she walked closer to the forest until she was walking a few meters away from it, parallel with the borderline. She looked up at the half moon and took a deep, calming breath. The walk had definitely cleared her mind and she felt slightly better than she did before. Now she had to get back to her dorm without being spotted.
A rustle in the bushes alerted her and she stopped, turning to face the forest where a bunch of ferns were moving. She strained her eyes to see what was making them shake so much, but it was so dark that it hurt. Her skin suddenly crawled and her heart gave a painful thud when a pair of golden eyes blinked at her from the darkness. She tried to take a step back as the eyes narrowed at her and moved closer into the moonlight, but she was trapped in its gaze. What was this thing?!
She felt her throat close off as she saw a row of pearly white canine teeth, followed by a black nose at the end of a long muzzle. It moved closer to her, inch by inch, and she caught a glimpse of its huge body, its large, furry shoulders and its two front legs bent threateningly. She heard it snarl at her and she saw the large ears atop its head swivel back. She looked at its enormous front paws, covered in dark fur but its paws almost looked like… hands? She saw it crouch lower to the ground and snarl at her again, opening its jaws as if it was ready to rip her apart.
"Raven!" she yelped as she was grabbed from behind and she spun around, her eyes locking with Jason's.
She gasped for breath, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. "Shit, Jason! Don't do that!" she turned her head back to where the creature was, but it was gone, leaving nothing but swaying ferns. A deep growl rumbled in Jason's throat and Raven turned back to him, seeing him glaring at where the thing had been. "What was that?" she whispered.
"That is exactly why this school has a curfew," Jason growled. "You shouldn't have come out here on your own! It's not safe, Raven."
"But what was it?" her skin crawled with dread. Did he know what it was? It definitely didn't look like any animal she had ever seen…
"Nothing," he told her and grabbed her arm, pulling her back towards the school. "Never go near the forest without me."
"Why?" she asked, fear rising in her chest.
"Because of that thing! It's dangerous," he whirled around to face her, his eyes wide.
She shrank away from his gaze. "What does it do? Eat people?"
Jason closed his eyes for a moment and Raven worried that he would snap at her. "You remember the first week you were here? Everyone was talking about a girl; Courtney."
"She transferred, yeah," Raven nodded, remembering a bunch of students talking about it.
"Last week… Jocelyn?"
"She went home…" Why was he talking about those girls?
"No."
Her heart skipped a beat and she blinked up at him, confused. He opened his eyes and she was frozen in place when she saw the fear behind the emerald gaze. "Where did they go then?" she breathed.
"That monster took them both," Jason a
nswered and Raven flinched. "It takes girls from the school and brings them back to its owners. It would have taken you if I hadn't been there."
"Its owners? How do you know that?" Raven dared to ask and Jason closed his eyes once more, his hands clenching tightly. She didn't understand. How did Jason know about all of this, but no one else in the school did? If students knew about the creature taking Courtney and Jocelyn, surely they wouldn't be talking about how they transferred to another school or went home… Was the creature kept secret from the students?
"I told you that my sins could never be forgiven," Jason whispered.
Raven understood clearly when she saw the hurt on his face and her whole world came crashing down on her. "You used to help that thing?"
He nodded slowly. "I used to kidnap girls from White Grass."
Silent World Page 13
