Over the Edge

Chapter One

Her smile faltered for a moment before brightening up her face again. Adrian Ivashkov, impossibly rich and spoilt, who always seemed to be drunk was her only, best friend in the world. Once, when he was utterly inebriated, he confessed that he actually bathe with bills in his overly-large marble bath tub just because it was fun.

Rose Hathaway was raised in single- parent guidance, with average looks, normal brown hair and dull brown eyes. She was the total opposite to Adrian's girlfriends, tall, blonde, and well, maybe they were not as curvy as her. But that didn't matter, nobody cared about her.

She didn't study for the sake of studying, it was just a choice she didn't have any matter to. She had guessed, once, that Adrian was only being nice to her because of her brains. Rose had rejected the thought entirely, though she may hurt later, ignorance was still bliss to her.

She was like a tutor to Adrian, perhaps a friend to share his thoughts with, but that was that. Friends, he was very clear with that notion. He only liked her, not love her. However, she had wished being attractive to him rather than knowing him.

Rose recalled the first time she had met him, when she first came to Montana…

The air was cool and almost too hurting to even inhale; her nose was terribly red and felt cool to the touch. Her hair was messy and at all angles as she slept all the way in the plane. Her mother was going to arrive later, having been proposed of a better job here in Montana. She felt terribly alone and being 17, though going to be a senior but was new, and incredibly not pretty, she couldn't help but flinched at the harsh reality.

She was being bullied the first day she enrolled in. Apparently, she had angered some 'cool' people by being too smart for her own good. When she first entered the classroom, she could feel every pair of eyes on her, sharp and cutting. Some of the girls were giving her the annoyed looks, because she was not cool with her knee-length skirt, as cool girls wear their skirts barely covering their arses. Cool girls don't wear the out-of-trend or baggy shirts, but tight and cute shirts. No bears or animals printed tees.

She looked awkward in her faded blue jeans and worn-out sneakers, unkempt hair and heavy book bag.

If this was a girls' school, it should be changed to whorehouse. Nobody, except the nerdy ones, were concentrating in classes or studying. Nobody bothered to use the library or even attend school. Maybe it was just the way this school worked, because when the teacher asked a question, he or she answered it themselves. Even the nerdy ones were considered as 'cool' to her. They do study, but wear the same clothes as those of the cool ones, but they were different in a degrading way because they have brains over beauty. So, Rose was the nerdiest of all nerds in this school.

The girls were like whores, throwing themselves at whoever interested in them, and later, she learned it was because all of the guys there were incredibly rich. How her mother actually got her there was a mystery to her.

During break time, Rose snuck into an empty ladies' at the third floor. Feeling very bloated and nauseous, perhaps due to her frazzled nerves and being the first day of school, she rushed into it without a care of the world.

Ignoring the sounds of moaning and grunting, she happily stretched her arm to open the door to a cubicle, and froze when a sharp voice cut through her train of thoughts.

"Who the hell is here?" Rose gulped, but refused to be cowed. It was just a voice, really. Putting on a strong front and a self-confidence that she does not have, she turned and her defences went tumbling down. Standing in front of her was a tall blonde girl with her lipstick smudged, glaring daggers at her.

"Rose Hathaway?" The girl widened her eyes for a moment in amusement before returning to that hard and cold person again. The girl then pursed her lips and shifted her weight to one leg before rolling her jade green eyes. They were beautiful, large and though heavily shadowed and covered with black liner, something innocent shone through and looked very entrancing. Unlike Rose's muddy brown eyes.

"I didn't ask for your name, I am demanding for your purpose here, dumbass." Somehow, Rose did not like the way the girl spoke to her and she sounded very impolite and rude, where's her manners by the way? Dumbass, she had never cursed before, though heard it shoot at her direction in the past, she still felt uneasy and had the urge to tell the girl to not say this kind of crass word. She managed to seal her mouth and started to speak once more.

"I just wanted to use the toilet. I had no idea someone was in here." Rose pulled on her believe-me-I'm-innocent look but the girl watched her critically and suddenly, her face reddened and her mood descended to something worse than before.

"Don't you know this bathroom is only supposed to be use by the Pretty Flowers Gorgeously Ladies? Nobody comes in here without permission, and looking at you," She eyed her, moving from her unruly mane of brown hair to her chest, brushing over quickly, then fixed a shocked look when she saw her sneakers. "You're one of the losers, aren't you? Get lost before I lose my patience, pathetic dog." Rose resisted the urge to laugh, seriously, losers sounded better than that term.

This time, Rose's anger became something ugly and unnatural, rising to the insults thrown her way. Taking in a deep breath, she supplied her own acid-witted words.

"You know what, I don't really care. You say I'm a loser, but look at you, the pot calling kettle. What are you, some high-class snobbish bitch just because Daddy got money for you to go for plastic surgery? I bet all you do is fellatio."

She spat the words out, and she regretted them instantly as she saw the red blossomed into something nasty on her face. The girl no longer looked pretty, as though some spell was casted and she turned from a princess to a witch.

"Fellatio?" A deep, male voice resonated and she almost shivered because it sounded so sexy and her hormones were raging a little too wild. And then the voice laughed, deep and she gulped. The guy in question came into view, coming out from the cubicle the girl was in.

"Girl, you have to use something simpler, so that she can understand, ya' know? Something like blowjob. "

Rose couldn't helped it, she just blushed like some teenage girl (She's one too) and looked down at the similar patterned tile floor. Part of the question why she felt the colour rose to her face was because the guy was only wearing a low-waist jeans hung nicely and his abs were just in clear view. This was the second time Rose had seen a guy's body; the first time when she was in fifth grade and the boys would raise their jerseys up to wipe their sweating foreheads. There was nothing sexy about it, except ribs protruding ones or flabby stomach to imagine about. Gross.

But this time was different, the attraction was instant and it was definitely desire.

What caused Rose to lift up her head was the sound of unconstrained and somehow pretentious laughter bubbling out of the girl. Rose's eyes met hers and for a moment she saw the pure, unadulterated fury going through those eyes. Then, they were gone and replaced by something akin to joy.

"Yeah, something simpler. Theo always right, eh?" The couple laughed and proceeded to the hallway outside of the ladies'. For a moment, she forgot that this bathroom was specifically for the females. The guy went out first, and as Rose went for the door, a strong arm caught hers in a tight grip. Hard and very strong. There was nothing gentle or soft about the girl.

"You're dead. I'll make sure you'll suffer for this embarrassment. Remember the name Lissa." Lissa walked away without a backward glance, with her ass swaying and hair done provocatively down her back. Rose walked out only when the sounds of laughter and shrill screams faded.

Therefore, on her first day, her locker was raided. Her textbooks were gone and her gym clothes were left in the trash. She could barely suppress the urge to yell at everyone but had to maintained indifference just because she was a newbie. Rose had to use her own savings to buy everything back again and placed them at her home. Horrible, actually, because her bag weighed so much that it broke under the sheer weight. This time, she had to call her mother and get a new one.

It was during the third period when she found herself lost and reached for the map of the school. Turn right, at Block C, where there was a science lab and a quadrangle facing it, then-

She found herself turned around forcibly, and three-evil, evil whores- girls, with hands on hips and lovely blonde hair straight and silky, were glaring and frowning at her.

"What is this scum doing here?" The first girl asked, known as Avery, smirked evilly at her.

"Lost, Rose Hathaway?" Lissa inquired, laughter shining in her eyes. There was something about the way she pronounced her name with so much distaste just like the way one said the word 'prostitute'.

"Is it one of those homeless kids?" Mia, with her dyed blonde hair and fake smile, was looking very angelic and very crazy. Her eyes were wild, and though her hands were loose, a moment later, she lunged for her neck and started squeezing it. She cackled, and laughed happily, like it was her favourite past time. Maybe it was.

"S-Stop, I c-can't breathe!" Lissa wrinkled her nose and came into view, looking just as mad, eyed her evilly and punched her hard at the stomach. Whatever little air she had, it escaped and she bowed over, wincing and tears flowed from her eyes.

Rose struggled, and realised her hands were held by Avery, who was holding her while the other two assaulted her. Black spots filled her vision, and she stopped struggling, hoping to feign unconciousness. As Avery started to lossened her grip on Rose's arm, she used all her strength to pushed at Avery, shocking Lissa and Mia. "Bitch, you think you can get away? The fun has just started." Rose headed for the doorway but the three person clearly outrun her. She felt her arm once again restrained and bit back a yell of frustration. Screaming and kicking, she hit at whatever her arm came in contact to. Now, Mia held her arms and Avery came into her line of sight.

"So this dog do bark." Avery slapped her, hard, and Rose suddenly couldn't hear. It was as though time stopped; she had never been hit before and it hurt. A lot. The slaps didn't stopped, it continued, changing to punching her jaw. Fortunately, none of the girls seemed to be that strong, but constant hitting could still result to an injury.

She felt the attacks stopped and of her body being pushed to the ground. Her hands instinctively came up and they hit the ground first.

"Someone's coming. Let's go." She saw a briefly scared Avery tugging her accomplices away, heading for the entrance. Silence was all that was bearable, her stomach hurt and she could taste the blood. She was biting her tongue to stop from screaming, and enduring the pain. Slowly, she raised herself and moaned when she fall to the ground, because her arms were too weak and throbbing with pain.

Rose pressed her face side-ways at the cold floor, bracing herself again. She flexed her legs and stood up. Throwing a glance at her backpack thrown carelessly at the ground, she began to stroll over it, wincing every time her hand brushed her stomach. Her phone was cracked, and after pressing a button, it appeared to be usable. Count herself lucky, but those mean girls were too busy with her before attending to her phone.

Rose decided to head straight home, something she was not accustomed to because she never missed a lesson, and went for the entrance. No one approached her or stopped her, and as she walked past the administrative building before coming to the gate, the reflective glass of the general office mocked her.

Her hair was wild and standing at all directions, her lips were cracked and bleeding. Tears were dried but sent traces down her face. The collar of her shirt was torn and overall, she seemed okay. But her eyes, looked very tired and defeated. She glanced away from the mirror, feigning ignorance to her appearance. However, she still tried smoothing her hair with her sore arms.

Her wrists were red and bruised. Anger didn't come as she expected but a sickening feeling filled her. Fear. She was very scared; school seemed very much like a valley of tears, and she wondered if she could ask to be back to her old school.

It was not as new as this school, but at least there were no bully, well there were, but at least they don't come after Rose. Tears blurred her vision and she wished badly for her bed, her home. Hoping for an affirmative from her mother to change schools, she jogged home and can't help the anxiety in her chest.

Rose's new home was a modest two-storey, with a yard and common picket fence around it. She pulled out her key, and pushed it into the keyhole. Her relief was clear, finally being at comfort and was gladdened by the fact she wasn't being followed by those girls.

Walking briskly to the telephone after placing her bag onto the floor, she wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans and reached for the receiver. With shaking hands, she dialled and was put through the line.

"Mom, it's Rose."

"How is it there? I was thinking about calling you just now and you called." A laugh. "Oh, I'm arriving soon, so speak faster."

Arriving already? She thought her mother was still in New York.

"But Mom, you can't! I've got something to tell you-"

The line went dead, and Rose heart stopped. Her sob bubbled in her chest, then another, until she was crying again. It felt silly, crying all the time, but today was harsh and long and she wanted to escape all of it. Why hadn't anyone tell her that she was going to get bullied? Rose placed a tentative hand on her stomach, and then lifted up her shirt, seeing blue-black all over it. The bruises weren't going to disappear, and playing truant doesn't seem to be a good idea.

With the silence of the house, Rose sat on the chilly floor, her heart beating painfully and with her mind filling with images of the possibility of tomorrow, all negative, Rose cried. Then, she crawled, stood up and held back another sob. The next day, she would bring an insect pesticide with her.

Author's Confessions:

I am not a professional writer, therefore please do not something utterly fanstatic. I advised listening to a piano piece played exceptionally well, named : Innocent, Laputa by Joe Hisaishi. It's pretty short, perhaps around 3 to 4 minutes.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Anything concerning to real persons, places or objects are purely coincidental. Any form of work recognizable as those by Richelle Mead belongs to her. Not mine.