Chaos Legion : Recognizing The Beast

by Jada Tarrant

  “I see you made a friend,” mum said as she drove. Her eyes went everywhere, even looking at the papers sticking out of the bag. Drew’s number seemed to pop into her view as it took her interest. “Boyfriend?” I just shook my head with a sigh.

  “Nope. Rude english partner,” she spat. Her mother frowned upon hearing the anger in her voice. “Isn’t always going to be like that,” she said as they got into the driveway. Quick to get to the door, I left eagerly to be alone in my room. “Dinner will be done in an hour.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Joliet, IL

  August 29th, 2012

  The first two days had been easy since I had been driven to school, but now I was left to fend for myself as I’d have to catch the bus. I didn’t even hear my alarm go off as it was blaring for a good fifteen minutes when I woke up. It caused panic to settle in immediately looking at the time. ‘Why didn’t anyone wake me?

  At least I woke up no later than that, giving me a few minutes to rush putting on some clothes and tying my hair up. Time was ticking and I didn’t want to miss school just yet.

  Stumbling out the front door, both of my parents didn’t look like they were here at all. My mother must have been serious about getting a job, and the little ones must be in daycare. Ah well, I’d learn to take care of myself soon.

  Someone looked familiar at the bus stop as i approached. Drew? His lips curved upward into a smile when he noticed me looking. It sent a creepy feeling down my spine. He lives around here?

  “Well, well then. Look who’s getting on the bus,” Drew said as the bus came to a halt. “I thought you’d be getting rides to school every day, royal child.” Considering his sarcastic tone, I rolled my eyes as I tried to ignore the anger I felt at the comment. “We got to finish that English project, angel.”

  I had enough of his talking as soon as he said ‘angel’, making me mad as I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him. “You aren’t getting anywhere with this,” i say with a huff. “Now don’t call me angel, that’s something my parents would say or else I’ll hit you each time you say it.” Quietly he smiled, somehow accepting the challenge with the press of a grin on his lips. Oh, how much I wanted to smack that look off his face.

  “Okay. Whatever,” he said, pulling out his notebook. “i have three questions for you.” The thought of him knowing me kind of intrigued me thinking about it.

  “Okay, then I can ask three?” I asked and he nodded. It sounded fair, that was the least that he could do for right now.

  “One, do you prefer cars, shopping, or reading?” he asked. The answer was obvious since i didn’t shop or know much about vehicles at all. “Reading,” I answered as he wrote it down. Then he looked back up. “How many siblings?” he asked, perking up a smile. “Three,” i said, knowing he had one question left.

  “Here’s a scenario. You’re all alone between two people engaged in warfare. How do you get yourself out of it?” he asked. My mind felt like it was spinning as i didn’t have an answer for him. It would take a few minutes to find an answer.

  “Find a solution that gets me out of there alive,” i said, stating the obvious. Drew cocked his head, assuringly waiting for more than those few words as if I had a detailed explanation for it, but that was it. At least he was willing to drop it. Hmm. Ok,” he said, beginning to space out. “Your turn.”

  “Are you human?” I asked bluntly. Drew began to start laughing as soon as i said it. “Yes,” he said, tearing up. Then he seemed to collect himself rather quickly as i was getting ready to ask my second question. “What kind of trouble are you?” I asked as the question seemed to leave a rather unnerving silence. “Whatever kind you can think of,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. My stomach churned upon hearing that answer. “You ok?” I opened my eyes realized I was being shaken. “Hello?” Looking at him, i could tell i had almost collapsed in fear in his lap. The odd stares from the other girls on the bus told me so as it just made me feel worse.

  “i’m fine,” I said as I managed to get off the bus quickly. The creepy vibe I was getting from him I couldn’t shake. Today felt like it was going to be a rather difficult day.

  “Hey, you have one last question!” Drew yelled after me as he ran to catch up in the hallway. His voice seemed to catch the attention of the supernatural people as they stared at me intently with interest. They were probably wondering what he was doing with a girl like me.

  He tapped my shoulder and I turned around to face him. It seemed like he was serious about it. “i don’t know,” i said with honesty. “I might have one by English class.”

  Reluctantly, he bared his teeth at me as he backed off. The instant he left I could tell he was going for the witches circle as they showered him with kisses. Now I didn’t want to intrude on his personal life, but it rather felt creepy enough to where I want to cover my eyes.

  Most of the day flew fast with very little difficulty until it was mythology class. Demon’s was the topic, and i could barely pay attention to it. I felt lucky that there was a book in front of me, and the notes Matthew slid into the middle helped as well as i copied them. It all seemed so bizarre to me as Ashley watched me closely in class.

  The bell had rang, and Drew was surprisingly one of the first people in English class. But the teacher slipped a shy smile my way before I took a seat next to him. He smiled sheepishly and threw an arm around me. What is he thinking?

  “All right everyone. We have another group assignment,” the teacher said as she shot a glance at me. Then she slipped a sheet of paper on the overhead, and my name came up next to Drew. It almost felt like a coincidence until he shook me happily.

  “The summer reading book Hush, Hush is what your project is on. You have a choice between a PowerPoint, poster, or an essay. Choose something from the story that interests you.”

  Seeing that Drew wasn't paying attention, I rolled my eyes as I thought about the assignment. It wouldn't be a great idea to do all the work, but at the same time I couldn't risk being flunked out of the class. Within seconds it seemed like he had heard my thoughts, as he threw a book on the table. There were a bunch of sticky notes attached to each chapter. He pulled himself away from me, watching as I flipped threw his comments. One of the beginning chapters caught my attention. “This one,” I said, flicking the sticky note:

  Patch interests Nora, but she isn't willing to give yet. Something about him appears off to her.

  I could say I felt the same way about Drew at the moment.

  “Interesting,” Drew said as he threw the book into his bag. “Can you come over to my place and we'll work on it?” Realizing what that meant, I nearly fell out of my seat thinking about.

  “I don't know. Depends on my parents,” I said and he began to snicker. “I don't even live a block away. How about after school you take a glance at my place, and we'll go over to yours to ask for permission?” he asked. His voice seemed to hold a challenging tone as it continued to be persistent. “Fine,” I said, defeated. What the hell did I just agree to?

  At the end of school it seemed like Ashley was shooting lasers into my head as it probed for answer. I knew she wanted the 'down low' on how the day went.

  “Today's weird. I think Drew is after me in some way,” I say. She just began to laugh. “Are you letting English class affect you? Come on, be more specific,” she said. So I took a glance around, making sure no one would be listening in on me. “He was being very nice and he asked me to come over to his place,” I said as Ashley began to jump happily in hysterics. “He likes you, he likes you,” she started to sing. Everyone that was around began to start looking at us both strangely. “Cut it out,” I whispered, as she danced around me. Why does everything have to be so awkward?

  The faeries began to chuckle as I brushed past them, and one had left the group to follow me. “Are you a lesbian?” she asked outright, reaching for my hair. “You're pretty.” Considering her question, my stomach flipped. Was she hitting on me?

  “No,” I said as
I kept heading toward the buses. “Single, never dated a soul.” She then perked up a smile, and I could see the curiosity building behind it.

  “Well the name is Emily. If you need help finding a guy I can help,” the faerie said as she returned to the school. Thinking about it almost made me want to puke, but at the same time the male faerie I saw swept across my mind. Maybe. But I shook my head, I wasn't that desperate for attention.

  As for when I boarded the bus, I was immediately pulled into a seat by firm hands that belonged to Drew as I began to panic. The pressure his fingers locked onto my hips made me feel uneasy as I knew he didn't think of me as his personal girlfriend. It almost made me want to have a conversation with him making considerate boundaries.

  “Relax,” Drew said as if he read my thoughts. “We have ten more minutes then I'll let go of you.”

  Seeing how it was reaching our stop, I was ready as I flew off the bus running toward my house. But Drew seemed to catch up to me as he twirled me around into his arms. “Hold on there lassie,” he says with a grin. “House is this way.” It seemed like he was getting closer to my place as he stopped right next to mine. “This is my home.” What? Looking between the two homes I realized something, he was my next door neighbor and I've never met him until now. Something seems to be very fishy the more I think about it.

  “Okay,” I reply as I walk up to my door. The second I opened the door it seemed like my father was the only one home. He seemed to notice Drew standing in the doorway next to me. “Hi there,” he said. “What's going on?”

  “I was going to ask your daughter to work on an .assignment we were put on together. I live right next door sir,” Drew said nicely. Smiling at him, my dad was pleased at his honesty. “Make sure she's back at five for dinner though,” my dad said. Crap, he agreed. The horrific thought of it was evident on my face as I followed Drew home. Just the thought made my head spin. He won over my dad.., and usually he's a difficult guy.

  Drew's eyes flickered towards me as I took in the view of his room. It was very small and there didn't seem to be much other than a bed until he brought out a chair for me.

  “What do you want to do? A poster, an essay,” I said as my voice drifted off as he took off his shirt. I had never seen a man without a shirt, except for commercials. And god, it was a beauty to behold.

  “I prefer computer stuff. So a PowerPoint,” Drew said, noticing my stare. “You like?” Ignoring him, I looked around.

  “Good, do you got a computer or something?” I asked as I didn't find a computer in sight. “Hold on,” he said, slipping out a small laptop out of his bag. “Sorry if it's too small, I don't like big screens.”

  “It's okay.” I said as I went to promptly turn it on. It seemed to be slow as the icon continued to turn in circles. “It'll take a few minutes,” Drew said, reassuring me it wouldn't take forever. “About two years old though.”

  Wondering what to do, I went through all the questions in my head. “How long have you lived here?” I asked, curiosity grabbing a hold of me. Drew just began to laugh. “About eight years,” he said, noticing my interest. “Anything else?” The thought of him allowing me to learn about him irked me in all the wrong places.

  “Do you spy on me?” I asked, even though I was sure it was going to be a no. But the question seemed to make him silent as he sat there. “Not quite, but I've always noticed you. The prettiest girl on the street, hiding her true self. I thought you'd be homeschooled. Seeing you in high school is quite a treat,” he said. Considering that was nice, warmth rose to my cheeks as he started to laugh, then I gave him a slight kick. “I thought you would slap me.”

  “Maybe I changed my mind,” I said, biting my lip as the screen finally came up. He looked over to his computer. “We only got an hour and a half to work on this before you get home,” he said with a grin. “We better get started, and if you have anything to ask me, just ask. I should answer it.”

  With him being open, I felt much safer around him as we worked. But something still didn't quite fit right, and it probably had to do with his family. Maybe that's the reason they're not here, but I don't want to be that nosy quite yet.

  CHAPTER 3

  JOLIET, IL

  SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2012

  Well, it seemed like all my ideas about Drew were wrong as I spent time learning about him. He didn't want to be more than a friend, even though he acted like it in public. Currently that was the only way he could get people out of his business, and roamed the halls in peace.

  The school didn't seem to take lightly to the growing friendship between Drew and I. Every time I looked over my shoulder either a faerie or a witch was watching me. It seems like I have caught their full attention. Thank goodness I don't have any classes with them, as the only one I have to deal with is Emily in gym class.

  On the way to mythology class, everything became a blur. Someone pushed me from behind as my face landed into the locker in front of me. The second I looked back it was a witch, and it seemed like she was pissed at me.

  “So your Drew's new hubby huh?” she spat in my face, balling her hands into fists. “I was his hubby too. Don't know why he would choose a powerless loser like you.” Ignoring what she said, none of it was true as I drowned it out. Well, except for the part that she could be Drew's ex. But I didn't want to get involved in the matter of that.

  “No I'm not,” I said to her, because it was quite frankly true. “Just a friend, not into that icky stuff.” As soon as she heard the word icky, she began to laugh and her hands were close enough to choke me. Rather did she know I saw Drew sneaking up on her.

  “Sophie,” Drew said and she completely turned around. Her face became red noticing he was here. “Dreww,” she said adoringly and went to hug him, even though his face remained placid. He didn't seem happy about it one bit. Then she gave him a slap across the face as I wouldn't forget the evil glare he was giving her.

  “What the fuck was that for?” Drew asked, baring his teeth. “For dating a damn mortal,” Sophie said, glaring my way. The fear in my eyes was a dead giveaway as she began to smile wider.

  “We're not dating though. She's a lesbian,” Drew said, making an excuse. The witch just began to laugh. “Ohh, so you're just toying with her? Fun, fun,” the witch said hysterically. Then she looked at me. “I'm sorry Hun, I didn't understand what was going on.” Giving her a grunt, I thought about how the whole school would view me. Great, so only Drew and Ashley know what's truly going on.

  The second the woman left Drew took in a deep sigh as he took a look at me. “She didn't say anything to you, did she?” he asked. I felt a tad bit suspicious as he asked that, but I ignored it. “Not much, she was made at me. And what did she mean by mortal other than the fact that I'm human? Is there something you're not telling me?” I asked. The questions kept bubbling inside of me as he just blinked as if he didn't hear a thing.

  “Nothing,” Drew said as the bell rang. “You're late. I'll talk to your teacher and explain the tardy.” So he ended up taking me to his class, and everything felt all strange with him again. He was keeping something, and I knew it had to be some huge secret. I wanted to know right now.

  Mr. Traffen was in the middle of a lesson when Drew and I walked in. The first ones to look at me were Matthew and Ashley as they formed a question with their lips : What happened?

  The teacher walked towards me and handed me the tardy binder. “You're late Terrent. What's he here for?” Mr. Traffen asked. “Escorted her to class. I'm sorry for causing her lateness. One of my exes held her up thinking she was my girlfriend. You know, one of the witches,” Drew answered. As I looked at the teacher, he had his mouth agape as if to say 'oh my god' as the thought seemed to horrify him.

  “Thank you sir, and do you need a pass to class?”” Mr. Traffen asked and Drew shook his head. “Not in class. It would be lunch right now,” he said as the teacher slipped him a few dollars. “Enjoy yourself,” the teacher said as Drew gripped the money tightly in his hands. �
��Okay,” he said as he left the classroom. So then I went to my seat, only to look at the time knowing there was only twenty minutes left in class.

  Matthew's eyes were filled with concern as I took my seat next to him. He slipped me a sheet of paper asking what happened as I looked at it. So I wrote some parts of the incident on it and slipped the paper back when the teacher wasn't looking. It seemed like he wanted to talk to me, but I knew the teacher would be asking first.

  Just as I thought, Mr. Traffen called me up to his desk during the last five minutes of class. He wanted to know what was really going on in much detail. But there really wasn't much to it.

  “Mr. Traffen, I was stopped before getting here by Drew's ex. She thought I was dating him and slammed me into one of the lockers near the lunchroom. I think she wanted to hurt me and before she could he hopped in. But other than that there isn't much to it,” I said honestly.

  “Sounds like you got trouble knocking on your door. You might want to steer clear of that and that boy. You'll get hurt if you get involved any longer. Safety is more important than anything when dealing with people like that,” Mr. Traffen said, eyeing the time. There was maybe a minute left before class ended. “Stay safe.” Then the bell rang and Matthew joined my side in the hallway.

  “So everyone wants your attention. Now isn't that a surprise for someone so quiet,” Matthew said, gauging my reaction. “Something up?” Now that question made me want to cry.

  “I'm not sure. There's a lot bothering me in my head,” I said. “They're all a bunch of what-if questions.” Then Matthew gave me a sheepish smile.

  “I wouldn't let your curiosity get the best of you. Looks like it's been getting you in trouble,” he said and left my side. “Good luck.”

  In English class, Drew's head was facedown on the desk the second I looked in. The teacher swayed me over to talk to her before I could go take my seat.