[Disclaimer: I don't own the Generation Dead Novels, nor am I receiving profit from this. As this is a fan fiction, some of the information or characters may seem wrong. If you have any questions or comments in regards to the story, please feel free to leave me a review. I ask that you sign in so that I may be able to contact you back in regards to your review. If you have something you would like to privately address with me—any issues that arises…please feel free to also message me. Feedback is greatly appreciated as it helps writers to grow and flourish.]
SUMMARY: For a girl whose boyfriend was killed in a tragic accident, one wouldn't think Selena would be as happy as she is. But she's escaped her past-or has she? Her abusive and power-hungry boyfriend's back, and he's got vengeance on the mind. Will Selena be able to escape him and find true love in the strangest of places?
Chapter One: Omissions
She stared straight ahead at the black board, but not really seeing it. Her math teacher kept talking, droning on and on about functions or something. Her dark brown hair was down back into a braid with a bright red ribbon tied at the end. It almost looked black in the poor lighting of the room. Her jade-green eyes were a little unfocused, until she realized how quiet the room had grown. She glanced up at the teacher who stood beside her desk. Concerned filled eyes watched her, and she noticed the other looks she was receiving from other students.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Selena said respectfully, and in a quiet voice. Her math teacher gave a slight nod.
"Miss. Haunterling," the teacher started," I realize that recent events may have affected you far more deeply than you care to admit. That's why I'm sending you to the counselor." Selena opened her mouth to object but shut it, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips. No one knew anyways, so why bother. She and Marcus had broken up only just recently before his accident…the one that had killed him. He'd been on his way to school this morning actually, when another car hit his. Killed on impact, was the report. Selena didn't care. She was freed, and there was nothing anyone could do to her now. She collected her things and rose quietly, her slender form catching some approving eyes as she left. Her eyes briefly met Tommy's, and she was startled by his look of concern as well. She kept going, feeling her braid bounce against her back as she left. She'd made it through most of her classes in a very quiet mood, even going out of her way to ignore her 'supposed' friends. They all thought that Marcus and her made a cute couple. He was tall and broad-shouldered with a deep booming voice, and hazel eyes. He had a rather tan complexion.
She passed no one in the quiet and empty hallways as she made her way to the front of the school where the guidance counselor's office was located. She hesitated, before knocking lightly on the door. A 'come in' was called out and she opened the door stepping in. She'd never been in here before, now that she thought about it. She blinked almost owlishly, taking in all the books and the potted planets. The guidance counselor was a woman. Short, and rounded. She had thick rimmed glasses on a beaded chain and wispy gray hair. Her eyes were a light brown shade of color. Nothing significant about it.
"Ah, Miss. Haunterling," the counselor said, with a gesture," Please, have a seat. I've been expecting you. Tragic incident this morning, to be robbed of life so young." Selena sank down into her seat. "But you do realize it's a very real possibility that he might return?" The counselor paused, letting it settle in. Selena hadn't thought about that. She felt faint, woozy even. There wasn't enough air and her palms felt sweaty. "Now, I've heard of other couples making it work out between them and the differently biotic. I'm here though if you need me. We've not had any news back yet but it might just well happen—" Selena stood up quickly, almost knocking the chair over in her haste. The counselor's eyes flashed in concern. "Miss. Haunterling?"
"I—I need to go home," Selena said quickly," It's…that's…" The guidance counselor nodded her head as if it was a reasonable enough request.
"Of course. I wouldn't have expected anything else. Do you think you can make it the rest of the day?" she asked, as if to be sure. Selena shook her head quickly and the counselor began writing a note for her. "Very well then dear…" She handed her a piece of paper. "Give that to the office…" Selena grabbed her bags and quickly left, not looking where she was going and ran straight into Tommy. She would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed her, for which she was thankful.
"Sorry," he apologized and she stared at the ground mutely. He let her go. "Are you…okay?" She nodded quickly, then hesitated and shook her head no. She was aware of students walking around them, giving them quizzical looks. People were curious. Should be. Selena had never really carried on a conversation with the differently biotic. She and her group of friends didn't really accept them. Some of her friends were completely against them, saying they shouldn't even exist. She noticed Marley, one of her friends, staring at her with an unreadable expression.
"I'll be fine, sorry to run into you," Selena said, trying to sound apologetic as her eyes flicked from Marley and finally up to Tommy's face. He was captivating in a strange way, but it was the honest concern on his face that really got to her. "I've…uh…got to get to class…" She said and realized how stupid that was considering she was holding a universal release sheet for school. Tommy had probably seen it, considering she was holding it in plain sight. He gave a slight nod, and stepped out of her way. Very gentleman like. Marcus had never been like that. She smiled and headed over to Marley.
"Oh man, that was gross. He was all up in your space too," Marley said with a shudder, then spotted the release sheet, "Oh man, you are so lucky" Selena met her eyes," I mean. Oh wow, I'm sorry. I mean, what with your boyfriend dead now. That had to suck…"
"Ex, Marley, we weren't dating anymore," Selena replied. Marley rolled her eyes, tucking her thick black hair behind an ear, it sprang back out instantly. Marley was also a rather squat and rounded person with Hispanic origins.
"Yeah yeah, you two would've been back together in no time if that other car hadn't gotten in the way," Marley replied, and seemed to think about it," Hey, do you think he died because he was distracted?" Selena made a slight face, confused. "You know, you broke up with him this morning right before school and got on the bus and all, and like, he died because he had an accident? Couldn't that be your fault?" Selena knew the girl wasn't trying to be insensitive, but she was.
"Yes Marley. I could've affected that," she replied, but she seriously doubted it. Marcus hadn't been sad, he'd been furious. Her left cheek still stung from his slap to her, when he claimed she had no right to try to leave him and that he owned her and would let her go when he was ready to.
In the comfort of her own home, Selena could finally relax. She grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl before heading to her room. She kicked the door shut so that her parents wouldn't bother her when they came home, or the maids for that matter. Her parents were fairly rich, and she was an only child. She flipped on her stereo, letting the soothing voice of the Maroon Five band's lead singer wash over her. She tossed her backpack on the bed, before crossing her room to sit in front of her vanity. She wasn't an overly ugly person, nor was she some glorified goddess of a woman. She was somewhere in between the mixture. She unbraided her hair, running her fingers through it a few times before switching to her brush. She set the brush down after only a few strokes and really looked at herself. She looked tired, and could see light gray beginning to appear underneath her eyelids.
She wore a button-up white blouse with cuffed sleeves down to her hands. It was a slim fitting top, tucked into her black skinny jeans. Her red converse peeked out in the dark from beneath her vanity. One of her shoelaces was untied. She had a black sleeve-less vest button top over her white shirt, finishing her look of modern aristocracy. Her dark brown hair slid forward to hide her face as she slumped over, letting her head hang so that her chin bumped her chest. She wore a silver bracelet with a few charms attached to it, but that was about it for jewelry. She had on a thin coating of black mascara and a lighter dusting of golden brown eye-shadow. A fairly neutral color. Even her lip-gloss was that of a clear neutral color—minus the glittery wet texture it gave to her. Her nails were manicured, French-tipped and a nice glossy top coat. She picked her apple up, from its perch on her desk and took a bite out of it. Her thoughts drifted to Marcus.
It'd been a nice day outside. The sunlight was beaming down on her as she exited her house with one strap of her backpack on. Marcus was leaning against the gate at the end of her drive-way. She had a rather large yard. She meant to continue straight past him but he grabbed her arm, jerking her around to a halt.
"Hey, slow down babe," he said, mouth pulling up into a sneer as he pulled her into him and pressed his lips to hers. A little rougher than she'd like. She could smell cigarettes on his breath, and jerked back. He let her and even chuckled. "Fiesty this morning aren't we."
"Marcus…How many times do I have to tell you we're over before you finally GET it?" She demanded, planting hands on her hips as she glared at him. She didn't want to fight with him. He'd already proven he was physically stronger than her enough times. She had scars to prove that much. "We're over! Through, as in no longer together-" Whatever she was going to say hadn't come out fast enough to compensate for the sudden blow to her face. She was jerked sideways and tumbled onto her butt. Her hand flew up to press against stinging cheek as her brain dimly registered the sudden pain. Marcus looked furious. His hazel eyes danced with fury as he stared down at her.
"You don't get to decide when we're over," he snarled at her, grabbing her by the front of her shirt and hoisting her to her feet," I DECIDE. I'll TELL you when I'm done with you!" He shouted at her, shaking her until she thought her shirt would give from the force. He threw her back down and kicked her leg. "Get up already." She did, and he went to grab her again but she slashed out at him—catching his cheek with her nails. It left four angry lines. She turned to run and was yanked backwards painfully by his grip in her hair. He didn't stop there and slammed her hard into the brickwalling of her gates. "This is your fault…you've done this to yourself…" His voice had softened," I only hurt you because I love you…and you know you love me as much…that's why you're still here with me…and why you'll always be there for me…just like I'm always going to be there for you…Babe…ride the bus today like a good girlfriend does…"
"We're not together," she told him, meeting his eyes. He smirked.
"Fine…we're separate," he said, startling her with his agreement. "I'll see you at school…" He turned to leave, and she could tell he was angry at her. It radiated off of him in dark clouds of boiling emotion, and part of her was scared. Scared for what might happen next. What she might let him do next. She didn't love him. Never had, but had agreed to date the jerk because she wanted to fit in. She was still regretting that decision, since he couldn't seem to figure out that she meant it everytime she told him they were over. Now she didn't have to worry about that…
Or did she? She gingerly poked at her head, finding the bump from her tussle this morning with Marcus. It still hurt. She sighed, getting up and slipping out of her shoes to go through her backpack for her homework. She didn't feel like trying to do any of it, but knew she'd be better off if she finished it all today rather than wait for tomorrow and scramble to get it all over with. Her mind went to Tommy…and how genuinely concerned he'd seemed for her. Her friends were faking it. Hell, half the people that knew Marcus pretended to be sorry for her. She fished out her math binder, only to realize she hadn't copied down tonight's homework. She groaned, rubbing at her forehead when someone knocked on the door. One of the maids.
"Miss. Haunterling…you have a…a…guest…at the front door for you," the maid spoke, and the way she said guest made her suspicious. She opened the door and the maid gave her a look. "It's…one of those…dead people."
"Thank you," Selena said, heading for her front door. Her heart sped up. What if it was Marcus? Would he really come here? She hoped not. Her fingers trembled as she grabbed the doorknob and got it open. She was startled to find Tommy at the doorstep instead. "Oh…hi…"
"Hello," he replied, and seemed uncertain.
"Um…," She said stupidly, staring at him for a few moments longer. "Want to…uh…come in?" She asked, pulling the door open for him. He smiled as if gratefully and stepped in. She caught a whiff of something almost spicy yet nice as he passed and it confused her briefly. She shut the door behind him. "Did you need something?" He turned to look at her, and she noticed he had his backpack.
"I thought I'd…offer some help with…math," he told her slowly, with the pauses that seemed common with most of the undead society.
"Oh you've got to be psychic," Selena said with a relieved sigh," I just realized I hadn't even copied down tonight's homework and I'm not even sure how I was going to get it done since I don't have anyone's number in the class and—Sorry…" She said taking a breath and giving him a smile. "Can I get you anything…uh…" She trailed off, remembering he wasn't alive. He didn't seem offended.
"No thank you," he told her, "So…shall we?" She stared at him for a few seconds longer than necessary before realizing what he meant.
"Right, math homework," she said, shaking her head," Excuse me, My brain seems scattered today." She headed for her room, pushing the door open. It was a very plain room actually. A computer, a stereo, an entertainment center, a bed, a wardrobe, a walk-in closet, a vanity, a desk...and a window-seat that looked out into the front yard. She'd used that window to sneak out a few times in her life. She had some book shelves crammed with books as well, along with music CDS. She pulled another chair over to her desk, and fished out her math binder before setting her stuff down and taking one of the seats. Tommy sat down in the other one and laid out his own work. At first he simply went over the lesson as it'd been taught in class and Selena listened, having to work out the practice problems as they went. Soon they had finished all of the homework and had moved onto other things, like talking.
"So…I overheard…that…you're boyfriend…was killed," Tommy said slowly, and Selena taught maybe he didn't know how to bring it up. She gave a slight shrug.
"He wasn't really my boyfriend. Maybe at first, but I kept telling him it was over and he just didn't seem to think it was," Selena said slowly, not mocking his speech but because she was thinking so hard about how to tell it. "Of course, the counselor told me that it's a very real possibility that he might come back…" Tommy gave a slow nod, and she glanced at his face. She didn't really see any immediate expression that she could identify. He seemed to be listening and giving her the complete floor and his attention. She pulled her feet up into her seat with her and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on the top of her knees. Her hair fell forward, shadowing her face and creating a curtain between them. She was quiet for a while.
"You don't want that to happen," Tommy said, a statement. Not a question. She shook her head. "Why not?" She didn't look at him.
"…because I'm scared," she admitted quietly. She felt fingers in her hair and turned as Tommy swept her hair back out of her face. He was trying to see her emotions. She felt her eyes tearing up and couldn't stop them.
"Why?" he asked again," Do the differently biotic scare you?" She shook her head. "So…At least I don't scare you…" She felt herself smiling a little.
"No, you don't scare me. I mean, I've seen some of the differently biotics that are rather grotesque looking, but they've never scared me. I know most of them won't hurt me," she told him quietly. She still had her head resting on the top of her knees. She remembered hearing about him going to Washington, D.C. and trying to get rights granted for the differently biotics. She had some admiration for him, that she kept quiet from her friends. It was amazing to have such a strong idea and to chase after it.
"So…why does your ex coming back…scare you?" Tommy asked quietly. She thought it weird that she was having such an intimate conversation with him. She didn't really know him, plus he was dead…and her other friends hated people like him. She'd been in that crowd for a little while until she'd realized that it had been stupid to think things like that.
"He…," and she hesitated, not sure if she should say anything else. What if he came back? He could really hurt her…or kill her. That was what scared her most. That he might kill her. She closed her eyes. "He wasn't the nicest guy on the planet." She said it with quiet acceptance. She felt cool fingers against her cheek. The one Marcus had struck only this morning.
"He beat you?" A question this time, the fingers didn't leave her cheek.
"Sometimes he'd hit me, he'd threaten me, or yell at me," she replied not opening her eyes or moving," He'd never go too far and do anything too permanent and he always said it was my fault...that I pushed him into doing this."
"And…if…he…comes back…you…fear he'll…do…worse," Tommy's speech was even more broken than it had been earlier and his fingers were no longer on her face. She opened her eyes to see him staring out the window instead. She gave a slight nod of her head, not sure if he'd see it or not. He did, because he turned his attention back to her. "I won't let that happen."
"Why?" She asked quietly, but not arguing. Curiosity.
"Because I'm trying to change the world," he replied, with a passion in his voice," For…differently biotic…to give them rights…and…I can't have…one go bad." She continued to watch him in silence. "People are scared…enough as it…is but I can…change that. It…will be hard to change their…thoughts…if…they…are scared…of being…killed." He'd said it. What she was scared of.
"Thank you," She said quietly, and he nodded. He stood up and she got up quickly as well, watching him pack his stuff up. She followed him to the front door, where he turned to face her.
"I promise…you'll be…safe from…differently biotic. We can…achieve peace," Tommy told her and she believed him. She stood on her tiptoes and in an impromptu gesture, pressed her lips to his cheek in a quick peck.
"Thank you Tommy," she said and closed the door to her house. Tommy stood there for a few moments longer than necessary and reached up to touch his cheek where he thought he could still feel her lips burning into his flesh. The action had been so sudden, it had almost startled him. It was over as quickly as it had begun and he was almost certain it hadn't happened. He headed for her gates, stopping once to look over his shoulder and at her window. He could see her standing there and he raised his hand in a slight wave, which was returned. He hoped he could keep his promise to her. He was going to change the world, and not have all his hard-work undone by the actions of one. He would need to find this Marcus and speak with him before anything happened that would change the course of history for the worse.
[I realize the chapters aren't probably going to be as long as I would like them to be. Normally I aim for at-least 10 pages or 5,000 words, whatever happens first. But as this is a new thing I'm starting, I'm content with a short chapter for the first chapter. They will probably grow progressively longer as they go on. This is just an Author's note warning that it may take some time between each chapter for updates to occur. P.S. I don't have any beta reader and I'm going to try and catch all my mistakes but I'm only one human…and I don't have the PERFECT writer's touch…so yeah…. Hope someone reads and enjoys?]