Noble Warriors

Chapter One: No Romeo

"Crap," I groaned, knocking my useless alarm clock into the garbage can. The damn thing was designed to wake me up for class, instead I woke up to be five minutes late to second period. If Constance finds out… Shit, it wouldn't matter to me.

Sniffing the nearest shirt, -hoping it was clean- I pulled it over my head, next my jeans and shoes, before escaping through my window. Didn't have the time to deal with that bitch this early in the morning. Kicking my rusty car to start, I grimaced at having new neighbors. Their second day in, and I refused to go over there with Constance to greet them. The cocky looking man that moved in would be my new therapist. No reason to get myself acquainted on social terms if he was going to suck my mother's wallet up soon enough.

After school, I tend to lock myself in my room to forget that I'm stuck in this shit place of a world. Poe, Lovecraft, Nirvana, and Mary Jane are my friends that help me forget when I can't do it on my own. A month into senior year, and I was already contemplating a death that would be called a masterpiece in years to come. Now my schedule would have to change so that I could get 'help.' I didn't need help, it was everyone else who needed help!

Arriving at school, I jabbed a stray pencil into my apple to make an organic pipe. Loading a bowl, I quickly toked it up in my car to help me get through English. At the last hit, I ashed out the apple as I walked up to the front doors of the school. The apple tasted of THC residue, perfect, my favorite flavor.

Ms. Cochran glared at me when I entered her shabby classroom. I noticed an unfamiliar hooded girl occupying my regular spot in the back of the room, stationed by the window. I slammed my backpack on the desk next to her, in attempt to make a statement. Nothing. The bitch didn't even look at me.

This stranger brought nothing with her, no bags or books. Definitely new. I knew every face at this school, but hers. Maybe because I've yet to see her face. I still probably would've came up empty on placing a name. Her unique fashion clashed with all the norms this school had stuck with. Her outdated floral dress fell to her ankles, covering the back of her dirtied pink converse, the hood of her turquoise zip-up she wore masked her identity but let her rusted blond hair splay onto her desk.

"Violet!" croaked Ms. Cochran, startling both me and….Violet. "I'm not sure how it's done over in the East coast, but I certainly forbid sleeping in my class!"

So the girl was asleep. Nice move. Last idiot to attempt that was sent to lunch detention for three days. I'm guessing this newbie would get off the hook since it was her first day.

"The East coast was more entertaining. Simple as that." The smoothness behind this girl's voice was refreshing, unlike the wailing of the girls that filled the hall. "It'll happen again, I assure you." The screeching sound of her chair being pushed back brought everyone's attention to her as she stood up.

It was the first glimpse I caught of her face. Her jaw line was rounded, and appeared soft to the touch. Brown eyes, doe like, sat centered of her makeup-free face. Below her sweet nose were luscious lips pink as a new budding rose. No jewelry, no piercings, no bullshit.

I was pulled out of my observation when the girl walked briskly from the room, flipping our teacher off on the way out. This girl, Violet, I need to know her. The voices in my head told me, shouted at me, that she wasn't like the others. That she was like me.

Glancing over at the abandoned desk, I smirked at her remains. In sharpie, Violet had drew herself shooting Ms. Cochran in the head with a sawed off shot gun. Classic.

…

So, it turns out I didn't have third and fourth period with her, bummer. At lunch, I sat under the tree by the library to read a book I'd just checked out the other day about birds. Cracking it open, I could've sworn I heard the tree's branches rustle. There was no wind. Choosing to ignore my better judgment, I continued to indulge myself with my book.

When a half burnt cigarette fell onto the left page, singing a hole into the colored illustration, I gritted my teeth. Placing the cig between my lips, I craned my neck to look up. Damn, what a peculiar, yet oddly erotic sight. Two legs were dangling on either side of one of the larger branches that connected to a gone-commando ass. Not one of those strange huge asses or extremely flat. This ass was a nice creamy white and seemed perky, when standing.

I rubbed my chin at this fascinating moment. Never been kissed, never touched a girl's breast, never had sex. Senior year was beginning to feel uplifting. Not that I was ugly or anything. In fact, I was top of my track team, attractive, or so I tell myself, but my personality hindered me from socializing. Not that it bothered me. People here didn't deserve my attention.

Before I could make a snide comment to the unfortunate girl, she began to tilt over.

My body crashed against the Earth when I felt the weight of another being slammed against me.

"Ow. What the fuck?" the girl asked in a haze as she slid off of me with her hand rubbing her head.

How lucky could a guy get? The new girl, with balls for two, landed in my lap, literally. "Violet? Are you okay?" Damn, this girl was really delicate, when not falling off of thing. "What were you doing asleep in the tree?

"I've been here since my English class? And who are you?" She asked me as she scowled at her pain.

This girl brought a grin to my face to the point my cheeks began to cramp. So, she had no recollection of the boy she sat next to, for all but a minute, and she went commando. "I'm Tate, Langdon. I have English with you. I was actually sitting right next to you," I answered, exhaling smoke, from her cigarette. She left behind the taste of honey wax.

"Oh. Well thanks, Tate." Violet removed her coat as she yawned, stretching her arms upwards. Her arms were thin, her torso slender. When she arched into her yawn, her breast pressed against her dress, she also didn't' wear a bra. "This is mine. Is stealing a regular thing in Cali?" She asked, plucking her almost burnt out cig from my mouth.

"Is going commando the thing to do where you're from?" I shot back, knowing that that was uncalled for.

"What'd you see, perv?" No slap, no punch, just a quirky smirk as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Nothing out of the ordinary." I must've hit a soft spot. Violet stood up and crushed her cig beneath her heel, dusting her dress off of any dirt or grass.

"Only a virgin would be so ungrateful," she hummed before awkwardly skipping off. Ouch. This girl was good. Too good.

I wanted to follow after her, to save some face, but then I fought against my urge. I didn't want to scare her off with my creepiness. If anything could scare her, that is. She seemed invulnerable, witty, and most of all, dangerous. I spent the rest of my lunch questioning myself about this girl. Was she a virgin? Was it that obvious I was one? Would she want to get with a guy like me, despite my psychological flaws?

…

Last class of the day, p.e. Luckily for me, it was just the mile run and then we were excused for the day. Running was a piece of cake, being the best runner and all. As I was stretching, an all too familiar voice called out to the coach. "I'm late."

"Obviously, go stretch up newbie. We don't check in until after the run," replied our creepy coach. I'm pretty sure he's slept with all the cheerleaders by now. Those lazy bitches would do anything for a passing grade.

"Already did." Violet came and stood next to me, not even acknowledging my presence. Her black sports bra was visible through her white tank and her yoga shorts clung tightly against her lower half. I couldn't stop myself from imagining what she would look like without them, already knowing what she really looked like underneath just provoked me even further.

When she did, finally, notice me, she punched me in the shoulder. "Trying to catch another peep, perv?" She joked.

"No, just seeing if you were paying attention. That's all," I retorted against my grin.

"I'm always at attention," she replied under her brilliant smile before taking off as the coach started his timer.

At first I kept a steady pace but when Violet had begun to get a step ahead of me, I broke my pace and sped up. On our second lap, the two of us were racing each other, side by side. On the final lap, Violet winked at me and began a full on sprint at the halfway mark. She checked in with the coach at the finish line, saluting me as I was a quarter of the way done.

This girl, Violet, kept apprehending me at every corner with new surprises. The wink and matching grin she sent me as I wiped the sweat from my brow sent a jolt through my body. I think I'm in love.