A/N: I think I'll leave this as a couple of chapters rated T, but if you like it and want more – just say ;) It'll probably make more sense if you watch Drillbit Taylor first – or just the bits with the bullies in, it's soooo funny!
Anna sighed in despair, looking at her reflection in the slightly steamy mirror. She leant forward and wiped it with the back of her hand but still couldn't see through it. Anna's mum had told her time and time again not to leave her bathroom door open after a shower but she hadn't listened. She rarely did. Anna got up to close her bathroom door and waited a couple of minutes for the fog to clear.
She took a glance back at her face and scowled. Her hair! Anna's unruly dark waves hung around her shoulders, mocking her. Her mum adored it and called her a 'pretty little angel', the mere thought made Anna want to puke. Anna straightened her hair in record time and ran over to look at her little alarm clock, she had ten minutes to get to the bus stop. She used five of these minutes to choose an outfit; a loose fitting cropped t-shirt with 'Black Sabbath' logo across the front which showed a slither of flat stomach, black skinny jeans and her patent white Doc Martins. She used the other five minutes to freshen up and apply makeup.
Anna coated some signature black liquid liner over both eyes and a little pale lip balm before spraying her favourite perfume and legging it out of her room, school bag clutched in her hand. She had nearly made it out the door when her mother jumped on her.
"Annabelle! Haven't you had any breakfast yet?" She gave her only daughter a horrified look. Anna sighed and tried pushing past her but her insistent mother blocked the door.
"Annabelle, honey, it's your first day at school you have to have breakfast!" Anna watched her mother's blonde hair bob up and down as her blue eyes burnt holes in her forehead.
"It's Anna, and maybe tomorrow." Anna mumbled, before stepping past her and blowing a kiss back to avoid any trouble when she got back.
As she stepped out onto her new street, Anna breathed in the cool morning air. It was her second favourite season: summer. And the sun was blazing down and dappled the light grey pavement through the green leaves of the tall trees which lined both sides of the road. Anna hadn't known weather like this for almost a year, when she went to visit her Dad, in England. Anna was mad that her parents broke up, but was eternally grateful that her mother lived in the sunny state of California. They moved after receiving trouble from an aggressive neighbour and now here they were.
Anna was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she nearly walked past the bus stop, even though there were at least fifteen kids standing around outside. She paused and stepped over to a tall guy in a leather jacket. He had long black hair and a pockmarked face.
"What time does the bus get here?" She asked quietly.
He glanced up at her petite frame and grinned, "Should only be a couple of minutes."
Coral stepped back. Good, enough time for a cigarette then.
She lit up, relishing in the nicotine that swept through her veins and calmed her instantly. She probably wouldn't have been able to keep breakfast down even if she wanted to. Anna had reached nearly to the end of her rollie when the bus rolled up, in all its huge yellow glory. Anna was the last one to get on the bus because she wanted to finish her cigarette, but of course that meant sitting right at the front. Unlike her old school she didn't have to endure taunts and paper aeroplanes aimed at her but she was still bored as hell.
When they finally arrived, Anna was nearly pushed out by a rowdy senior as he shoved past her to get to the rest of the jock team. Anna scowled at him and tried to not fall over as she ascended the stairs into the main entrance. She had just reached the top step when someone jumped out at her. She shrieked as a short boy with a shock of blonde hair, who only looked about eleven beamed at her, offering his hand in a welcome. Anna stood there frozen before saying slowly, "Heeey there..."
The boy stuck his hand out further and Anna was forced to shake it. She tried not to pull a face at his sweat but she didn't succeed in hiding her mild disgust. The boy was not put off though.
"You're new, aren't you? I'm David, pleased to meet you!" He said, rigorously shaking her hand up and down. Anna retrieved her hand and wiped it on the back of her jeans, hoping he wouldn't notice.
"I, errm, could you help me find my locker?" She asked, trying to keep her tone polite.
"Of course!" he answered in glee. Anna caught some blonde girls to her left giggling at the pair.
"Good." She said, gripping his shirt and hastily pulling him off down a corridor.
They arrived at a dead end framed with light blue lockers. Anna sighed in relief to see that hers was one of the upper ones – that would make it much easier when retrieving books. Like for her first lesson – English. Anna sensed some awkwardness as David unloaded her books into her locker carefully so she decided to start some conversation. But just as she opened her mouth a tall gangly boy in a red and black bowling shirt accidently shoved her as he walked past. He mumbled an apology and called out to his friend across the hall, "Hey, at least it'll be easy to find each other."
Anna glanced up to watch their conversation, laughing internally a little.
"Yeah, I'll just look for the kid with the same shirt." His much shorter and beefier friend replied, slamming his locker shut.
The tall boy struggled with his locker and a pretty Asian girl with red glasses went over to help. Anna redirected her attention to David.
"So...what year are you in, David?" She asked, leaning against the lockers and watching him fiddle with her new deadbolt lock.
"Your year." He replied simply. This stumped Ana.
"Wait, you're sixteen?"
David jiggled her lock and gave it a satisfied smile, he then turned to Anna.
"No, I'm fourteen but I got moved up cause I'm smart, I guess." He blushed profusely, chancing a look up at her through his thin lashes.
"Aaw," She said lightly, ruffling his hair, "That's cute." If it were possible David blushed even more. Anna smiled at him, he was sweet, and useful – she could hang around with him until she found some friends more suited to her...needs. She doubted she could get stoned in the parking lot with this one.
David smiled back, and then his gaze shifted over Anna's shoulder and he froze.
"Filkins and Ronnie." He whispered, fear seizing his windpipe.
Anna turned around her eyes fell upon two very large boys, men even, who were carrying a tiny boy who was shrieking at them desperately.
"Someone, please! What are you guys doing?!"
The one on the left with cropped brown hair, she guessed to be Filkins, and piercing blue eyes yelled at him, "Shut up!"
"Guys! Guys, what are you doing? Guys, that's not for me, that's for my books! I am not a book!"
"Get in!" The other boy with short, black wavy hair, presumably Ronnie, yelled at him.
The boy continued screaming as the teens lifted him into an open locker. Filkins held the door back whilst Ronnie grabbed his arms and shoved him back into the metal coffin. Anna barely heard the other two boys from before whispering to one another.
"This is bad."
"No, this is good! At least we know we're not the biggest dorks in school."
"Maybe we should say something." Anna was sure she had misheard him.
"Survival of the fittest." His sensible friend answered.
"I gotta say something." He mumbled, then they started arguing in lower, more urgent tones.
"This is the dumbest thing I've ever done." He muttered.
Anna felt him brush her side as he stepped forward, "Stop!"
She pressed herself further into the lockers. What a moron.
Anna watched as the two boys paused and then turned around slowly to face the rebel. Filkin's mouth turned up into a cruel grin as his predatory eyes locked onto the ones of his prey. The tall boy swallowed as his eyes widened in fear.
A smooth, dangerous voice came from Filkins, "Harry Potter, you should learn to keep your mouth shut." His smile faded and he glared at him.
"That's what I've been trying to tell him!" His shorter friend said, his voice unmistakably rising a few octaves.
Anna could hear the boy from before legging it down the corridor, shoving people out of his way, "Run! Run, it's not safe here!"
"Hey, check this out! Matching shirt geeks." Filkins grinned again, walking towards the shorter boy and grabbing his shirt, yanking him towards the other.
"Hey, these bitches really wanna wear the same shirt – so let's make them!" He said loudly.
There was a lot of shuffling around as Filkins and Ronnie nearly jumped on the pair, pulling and stuffing until finally they stepped back to admire their work. They had managed to shove the taller boy inside the same shirt as the other one, and now their faces were pressed together as were their bodies underneath the ugly shirt. Anna watched as they tried not to fall over, the red and black short straining over the pair.
"Haahahah, there!" Ronnie yelled triumphantly, as the bell began to signal the first lesson. Filkins joined him in his malicious laughter.
Filkins suddenly bent low to snarl in the shorter boy's ear, "You better keep that shit on, cause if you try an' take it off – you're dead." Ronnie bent low as well to smirk right in their faces. "And d'you wanna know what happens when one o' ya dies, ya both die! Cause you're Siamese Queers, bitches!" He yelled, exploding with another bout of laughter. He hit them on the arm, nearly knocking them over before swaggering off with Ronnie in the opposite direction, still chuckling darkly.
Anna took a moment before her breathing went back to normal.
"Who the hell were they?" She said to David, just as people started to disperse.
"Filkins and Ronnie. Stay away from them, they're trouble." David swallowed again, "Ronnie is seventeen and Filkins is eighteen, which means he's not-"
"A minor," Anna finished for him, "He's above the law." She whispered, horror stricken.
"Just stay out of their way and with a bit of luck you won't die." He answered cautiously, like they were right behind them, listening. "Let's go off to English."
Anna nodded.
They jogged up one flight of stairs and walked straight in, along with all the other students. Anna's heart was still beating rapidly, remembering the mad glint in Filkins as he humiliated his opponent. She sat on the far right hand side, second from the back and David sat down next to her.
A thin woman with half-moon spectacles walked over and frowned at David, "David, you're not in my class." She said sternly.
"That would make a whole lot of sense," Anna said, knowing how rubbish she was at English and how smart David was.
The woman looked at her as if she was about to say something but then turned back to David, "You're across the hall in Mr. Peterson's room. Chop, chop!" She said, clapping her wrinkled hands together.
David bowed his head and looked at Anna apologetically. "I'll meet you outside and walk you to your next lesson."
Anna smiled, "Yeah, alright then."
He was ushered out briskly and that was the last she saw of him for a whole hour. Anna relaxed into her seat and arranged her stuff, looking through her textbook and doodling on the notes page. The second bell went nearly all the class where seated. The only seats left were the one in front and behind her. She looked absently around the class, wondering if they were avoiding her. She scowled and sat up straight, trying to put them out of her mind.
The teacher, Miss. Robinson, no prizes go to who guesses why she was still a Miss, called out everyone's names and as soon as Anna's was called off she tuned out.
Miss. Robinson's shrill voice cried out louder this time, "Where on Earth are Terry and Ronnie?"
Anna's heart stopped – Ronnie?
"Well, Mr. Filkins and Mr. Lampanelli will just have to make up the time at lunch." She sighed and sat back down again.
Filkins and Ronnie. Filkins. Ronnie. Fuck.
Anna tried to concentrate and settle down as they started reading Macbeth for the first ten minutes, but she just couldn't manage it. The old style writing made her head hurt and she couldn't manage keeping up with the story at all.
There was a light creak as the door swung open to reveal a very arrogant looking Filkins, and a lean and muscled Ronnie standing behind. Anna choked on her pen lid.
"Well, it's about time you showed up." Miss. Robinson huffed, putting down her book and turning to face them. "You will come to my class tomorrow lunchtime to catch up on what you've missed. Now be seated." She waved in Anna's general direction. Her insides froze as Filkins's eyes fell upon the seat in front of her. They flickered up to her face and his head cocked to the side, curious.
He moved forward silently and sat down in front, as Ronnie collapsed heavily behind her. She wondered how the seat could manage all that weight. Miss. Robinson carried on with her book, instructing the two to pick up theirs and start reading from page thirteen. Anna watched Filkins's muscles ripple slightly under his black hoodie as he stretched forward and then leant very far back on his desk, his arms and head hanging over her work. Anna leant back and her hair brushed up against Ronnie's chin which was much further forward than it would have been. Anna thought back to David's advice - how could she stay out of their way when they were going to sit right next to her?
Anna stopped breathing as Ronnie inhaled behind her, probably smelling her hair. Filkins must have heard because he started chuckling to himself. Anna sat up straight and tried to concentrate which was hard when you were sandwiched between the two biggest bullies in school. She frowned. How could they be in her class if they were older? Her subconscious tapped her foot impatiently, well they probably got held back because they're so stupid.
Anna let out a snort of laughter but managed to disguise it as a nasty cough.
But not well enough.
"Something funny, gorgeous?" Ronnie leant further forward, his head hanging over where her shoulder was.
Anna stiffened, "Erm, no. Not at all."
Filkins turned around, "You sure?" He purred, propping his elbows up on her notebook.
Anna nodded furiously, unable to tear her gaze away from his.
"Stop it." Ronnie growled from behind, grabbing her hair and tugging it back slightly, holding her still.
"Sorry." She breathed.
The shrill of the bell snapped Filkins out of his staring contest with her and he sighed, standing up and exiting the room, followed closely by Ronnie who trailed a finger across her shoulder casually as he passed.
Anna felt a shiver run down her spine. Not a good start to the day, she thought, grabbing her books and running out to meet David.
He was standing right outside the door, waiting eagerly for her. Anna got stuck behind a group of girls and didn't see when Filkins pushed past David roughly, and then turned on him.
Ronnie shoved him up against the wall and Filkins bent low to his eye level.
"I know you're waiting for her." Filkins grinned malevolently.
David shook his head rapidly but Ronnie slammed a hand into his neck, tightening it around his throat.
"Don't lie to me, David. Leave her alone – cause she's mine." Filkins pushed Ronnie off and gave David a sharp punch on the shoulder.
Anna waited for the rest of the class to exit before she walked outside. David was leaning against the wall, rubbing his shoulder soothingly.
"What's wrong?" She asked timidly.
"Nothing." David answered quickly. Too quickly.
"Well, c'mon then." She said, her face brightening. "Let's go off to Spanish."
A/N: I've had this reoccurring dream for quite a while now and thought maybe I could share it with you? There's gonna be a chapter two but probably not a third – I don't know yet – review are welcome of course!