Taming the Veil - Chapter One

The Beginning

"Have a good day at school honey! Try not to let the other kids get to you and remember that your mother loves you." the kind-hearted, dark-haired widow called.

"I'll try, but I've got like, four tests today so we'll have to see and I love you mom!"

Aiden ran passed his mother, snatching his back pack off the marble kitchen counter as her rushed out of the door in hopes of catching his friends.

"And try not to miss the bus again dear!" she called to no avail. Her son was already far down the block.


Aiden ran the risk of missing the bus nearly every morning just to avoid dealing with the stuck up rich kids that tried to overrun their school. Ashenveil High School was mostly preppy and this meant that Aiden and his friends would be toward the lower end of the high school food chain, but that didn't bother them, it was the constant mocking and low blows they delivered them. It bothered the others more than Aiden. He was just happy to have them by his side. He lived close to the area of their town nicknamed by the youth "the Dead Zone" for its awful appearance and low property value. Not many people lived out that way, the closer you got, the fewer people there'd be, which explained why catching the bus was so hard. Aiden had to run four blocks to catch the bus since his mother worked early and could never give him rides. Today had been no different. He missed the bus by seconds, but at least he wasn't alone.

"Hey AJ!" his oldest friend called out.

"I swear the bus driver does this on purpose." His only other friend sighed.


Marci was Aiden's childhood best friend. He always enjoyed picking on her, but she was always to dish it out just as well as she took it. Her long dark hair, sparkling blue eyes, and fit figure gave her the chance to fit in wherever she wanted. (It helped that her father is a rich attorney too) She was smart, kind, and really cool, but her loyalty kept her with me and Zane, which makes me feel bad sometimes.

Aiden met Zane back in junior high. They bonded over their mutual hatred of their tormentor Ryder. Despite being taller than Marci and him by far, Zane was too peaceful of a guy to ever fight back, but Aiden respected that. He had short dark hair and dark skin that made Aiden laugh when he stood next to Marci due to her snow like skin. Oh the jokes that Zane and Aiden would torture her with… He always had a tendency of being hard on himself and really shy in new situations, but aside from that, Zane was an awesome friend.

"Hey guys, that little jerk just can't wait for one extra minute huh? If we hurry, we can probably slip in before the first bell!"

"Ugh, running before noon? That's exactly what I wanted today." Marci complained.


Aiden led the way as the others tried to keep up with his haste as they ran down the busy city block. With all the dumb traffic the town had, crossing a street could eat up anywhere from five to fifteen minutes. Luckily, Marci was amazing with finding ways around the traffic. Her father had helped out the owner of this coffee shop that got sued for wrongful termination and the saving grace about that was they had this awesome back alley that would let us bypass most of the traffic and get to school.

"Hurry up you guys! We're so close to Minnie's that I can smell their famous mocha espresso!" Zane said savoring the smell of coffee in the morning.

Aiden dashed passed the outdoor café tables and rushed inside with the others close behind as a barista nearly dropped a tray of drinks as they made their way toward the back exit.

"Sorry for barging in didn't mean to scare you!" Zane called back as we ran.

They finally made it down the block from the school and the sounds of education began to come alive. The goal was just in sight and victory seemed assured until Aiden ran right into something soft and bright. Zane and Marci stopped just in time to avoid a fall as he sat up and rubbed his pounding head, still in shock from the collision.

"…Aiden. It's you."