I used to hate the first day of school. When I was in middle school, I would do anything to miss the first day, kick, scream, fight, bite; hell once I even stuck a finger down my throat in the Parkway Middle School admissions office just to get out of the first day. That was back when the moving began, six years ago today. Now I could care less; first day, last day, and everyday in-between are all the same; shitty. I guess I stopped making friends after the 4th or 5th school. Whats the use? I wouldn't be there long, six months a year tops and Mom will get over it, or have a falling out with her new boy-toy or lose her job or one of the other 6 billion reasons and we will pick up and leave again to another ho-dunk boring town.
"I think this could be it sweetie."
"huh?" I just realized we had pulled up in front of my new school, Beacon Hills High. It looked drab and uninteresting like everything else in this town.
"I think we could end up staying in this town for a while. All the people seem nice, its little and quaint, and this school looks like a great place for you. Look at all the cute boys!" My mom looked like me only older, long brown hair and green eyes, she was short and always looked tired, partially because we moved so much and partially because she worked crazy shifts as a nurse in the hospital; after all they never gave the good hours to the new nurses, and we are new wherever we go. She was a free spirit, always moving, always friendly and bubbly it was annoying as all hell but I loved her for it.
I looked at her and tried for an 'excited' smile and said, "yeah mom, it'll be great"
She smiled back, "I love you, have a good day."
I stepped out of the Ford Explorer and onto the sidewalk just as the bell for first period rang. As if being the new kid isn't bad enough, I get to be the new kid who's late on the first day. Yay me. I began the walk up the steps to school and decided to explore the campus before class, I was going to be late no matter what- who's to say I didn't get lost on the way? The campus was big, three stories it seemed, and lots of windows, there weren't any kids wandering around out of class, and it was a full 10 minutes before I ran into anyone, that being said, I was so engrossed in looking around I forgot to look right in front of me and ended up LITERALLY running straight into them. Sending the papers he was holding cascading in all directions and me flopping onto my bottom with an embarrassing 'plop'.
"Shit." He said bending over to quickly grab all the papers I had made him drop. I moved onto my knees and grabbed the papers closest to me, they seemed full of frantic scribbles done in pen and one had a dark drawing of what looked like tentacles or veins or roots, I stopped picking papers up to study the drawing closer, it looked familiar somehow like I had seen this drawing before, matter of fact, I could've sworn I saw it before and just as I was getting the image in my head he snatched it from my hands.
"Sorry, I- I wasn't p-paying attention to where I was g-going and…" I tend to stutter when I get nervous which is probably another reason why I try and avoid social situations. I finally got a good look at the guy, he was for lack of a better word: hot. Tall with a darkish complexion and a crooked jawline that somehow made him more attractive and his eyes…his eyes were glowing red. As soon as I looked into them I felt the need to flee as far and as fast as I could. I found myself speeding away in the opposite direction, my heart was beating out of my chest, and my mouth tasting of metal, I realized I had no idea where I was, my feet were no longer powered by my brain but instead some sort of primal instinct as I had never experienced before. I was covered in sweat and my breathing was out of pace, quick sharp and without oxygen. I finally managed to flick my brain on and slow myself down. Exhausted; I fell propelled myself back and sat down to catch my breath and gather my thoughts. I closed my eyes and saw the boys red ones burning into the inside of my head through the blackness. I quickly opened them again. It was nighttime, how much time had passed since I ran into the demon boy in the hallway?
My head was all over the place, nothing like this had ever happened to me before, but I felt different. Like some stirring force had warned me of something that I didn't know was inside me. It was scary and somewhat empowering. I looked around me, my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, I was in the woods, alone. Jesus, how far had I run? Where in the hell am I? I was sitting on a stump, a big stump, bigger than any of the trees around me, matter of fact I could probably lay down on it with my arms and legs spread all the way out and none of my body would hang off the edge. There was something about this place, it was somehow familiar, I traced the intricate grooved lines on the inside of the stump with my finger and suddenly realized how hungry I was, and cold. I wasn't wearing a jacket and shivered as I stood up, how far was the road from here? I saw lights in the distance and muffled voices. They were looking for me. My mom wouldn't have realized I was gone until she got home from work probably around 2 this morning. This means I had lost at least 12 hours. I tried not to think about it as I walked towards the voices in the distance. My legs ached now, and I was so tired. I felt like I was going to pass out, but had only gone about ten feet from the oversized stump so I sat down and prepared to stay the night or at least get some sleep before finding the town again when I heard my name behind me.
"Maeby?" I stood up and spun around. There was a man wit clock shadow standing in the moonlight, he was wearing a black leather jacket a white shirt and jeans.
"Yeah." I replied breathily fighting the urge to blackout. I closed my eyes and rubbed them then opened them again. "that's me."
"Im Derek, you've got all of Beacon Hills out looking for you. Kind of funny since nobody here's ever met you. What are you doing here in the middle of the night? Seems strange, your first day here and you run straight into the heart of the woods…" his tone was ominous and even a little accusing. What's this guys problem? What does it matter to him if I ran away and hid in the woods? I mean I didn't mean to, but that doesn't change the fact that its none of this asshole's business.
"The woods are comforting. Anyways, I didn't mean to scare anyone, I just needed some fresh air. Besides what's it to you? Anyways Im going home now," This guy was getting on my nerves, but I as soon as I turned to leave I started feeling dizzy again and remembered I wasn't really in the condition to go storming off at the moment "…as soon as I sit down for a second." Derek kept his eyes on me as I walked back towards the irregularly large stump. And that's when I noticed a flash in his eye contact, his eyes seemed to glow blue when the moon hit them, I felt fear surge into my chest just as I sat down onto the stump, this time I pushed the fear down, I felt more powerful, here in the woods with this strangely familiar tree.
"You need to leave, your mother is worried about you." Derek's voice was authoritative and a little harsh, Who is he to talk to me like he's my father? What does he want anyways? He was slowly approaching me, when I looked at him, like really looked at him, his face seemed to change, his teeth were bigger and sharper then normal again, his eyes flashed from regular to glowing then back.
"S-stop, y-your scaring me." My feeling of power was draining as I felt fear well up in my stomach. What is happening to me? Some moments I felt like fighting and others I felt like fleeing. But why? And had I just been sitting here this whole time? If so why was I soo tired?
"Just get up and we can walk together to find your mom, " his voice seemed less cold, and more soothing, "I know the Sheriff well, he's out there looking for you too, he's a good guy. There's really nothing to be scared of I wont hurt you, Just step away from the tree and we can leave together. I know the way."
"What's wrong with your eyes?" I couldn't stop staring at them. They were glowing more now. The tree I was sitting on seemed to be getting warmer beneath me. For a second, I thought I could feel it pulsating, a soft thump thump coming from beneath me.
"Nothing, your tired and cold, you've been out here for a while, lets get you home…" He was almost touching me now, his arm extended my way, with every inch his hand got closer I felt pressure build up in my stomach, fear? Anger? Anxiety? His hand was almost touching me now, and below me the stump grew hotter and hotter, my skin scorching under the heat. Had he lit the stump a fire? Was I burning alive,? I couldn't tell if the heat was coming from beneath me or within me now, pressure and heat and Derek's hand reaching towards me, and I knew what I was supposed to do, pushed the heat and the pressure out, I don't know if I pushed it out with my body or my brain or maybe it wasn't me at all, but suddenly I was on the stump alone, the woods suddenly illuminated and then pitch black again.
There was a circle of ash around us and all the grass that grew in the ring before had burnt up. And there was Derek at my feet, small wimpers came from where he lay and he was shaking, shaking hard. I could see boils erupt on his skin and I heard a sharp sob come from him. I had done this, out of fear yes, but he had never threatened me or offered me harm, and somehow I had inflicted this on him.
"Derek?" my voice was a soft whisper. He groaned. Do I leave him here to die of horrible burns? No. I had done this. Maybe he deserved it. But Maybe he didn't. I had to get him help. Somehow. Suddenly I heard his phone ring.