A/N Hey guys! I wrote this book not intending it to be a fanfic. The character Ben is in another world he hasn't experienced any things he has experienced in the 5th Wave so you will not be spoiled. I recommend that you read this fanfic leave a comment and then do yourself a favour and read the trilogy of the 5th Wave as the third book has recently came out. This is my first story do not judge! Enjoy the story and then leave a comment about what you think!
Love you guys, bye!
I hadn't seen colour since my father left. I didn't want to because colour meant feelings, and I didn't want to feel. I lived my life hidden in books, not letting others become a part of my life. I didn't want to be hurt again. Other people wore their heart on their sleeves, not expecting to be hurt. Me, I knew how to stay safe. Keep your feelings on the inside, don't let anyone in. Even better. Don't feel at all!
School in particular was hard. Kids everywhere. It's hard enough for normal people, but I was desperate to avoid human interaction. At least most people at school ignored me, but sometimes, someone makes a commitment to interact.
When I'd started at Prefatory High, kids tried to talk to me. But after awhile, they learnt to ignore me. They understand my outlook on life. Don't interact, don't feel. A few others went down that road too. Social outcasts. We didn't hang out with anyone. Not even each other.
Angelica was different. She arrived on a cold, bleak day like any other. Her parents had sent her here because she'd been bullied at her old school. She said she had never really been friends with anyone before. I knew how she felt.
Science class was first the day I met her. Mr Barnsley, in his usual high-pitched voice, announced to the class before we started….
"Okay class, we have a new student. I hope you will all treat her nicely."
A chirpy 14-year-old girl walked into the class. She started to look for a seat, saw the empty seat next to me and made a beeline for it. Each student in the class looked at her with disgust and looked away.
I felt sorry for her. She didn't know what she had done. By sitting with me she had committed social suicide day one.
"Hey!" she said.
I glanced at her for a second and then looked back at my science project. She took in a breath as if she were about to say something, but didn't, obviously changing her mind. I thought the interaction would stop there because I had ignored her, but instead after a few minutes of awkward silence she spoke again.
"So," she dragged out the word as if she were a robot malfunctioning, "Want to be my partner for the project? I mean, us gingers have to stick together!"
I looked at her as if she were a new person. She had bright red hair, pulled back into a plait that ended just under her shoulders. Wisps of hair sticking out like they were trying to break free.
She caught me staring and went red in the face. I could have sworn I did too.
Wait! I had to stop this!
Happiness, anger, fear, sadness, and all the other things I had been fighting of for six years straight. What was happening? Something was wrong with this girl. I needed to get away now! I raised my hand slowly.
"Wait!" she yelled earning a warning look from our usually happy science teacher.
I lowered my hand, politeness taking over my need to get away.
"My names Angelica." the girl I now knew as Angelica said lowering her voice.
Talk back, talk to her, talk, talk, talk!
"My names Ben", I said as the bell rang, giving in to the prompting voice inside my head.
The trek to school the next day was long and hard because of the several thoughts and feelings rushing through me. I'd snuck a quick look at Angelica's timetable the day before and realised we had practically all the same classes, English was my only class without her. There was no way to avoid her and her "witchy" feeling powers.
I had tried to skip school today, but lets just say that didn't work out.
"Hey mum,"
"What?"
This is how most of our conversations would go.
"I'm not feeling too great," I had said, "Can I skip school today?"
"What? A day off to slack off and be more useless than you are now? Go to school so you don't end up like your good for nothing father."
But I never fought back, never complained. What would be the point when your mums so numb she stares at you like she can't even remember your name. After dad left, she started drinking and slowly bit by bit disappeared till all that was left was an angry, hollow shell, leaving destruction in her wake.
But I pushed those thoughts away and focused on the pat, pat, pat of my sneakers on the path.
I arrived at the school gates just as the bell rang, so I sprinted across the grass so I wouldn't be late for math.
I arrived there a mere five minutes later. The teacher Ms Belair gave me an annoyed look, like I wasn't the only person who'd been late that day. She handed me a piece of paper and gestured towards the back of the classroom.
I started to walk, scanning the desks of working children as I passed.
It was then that I realised my fatal mistake. A wave of stickiness passed through me. In being late I had forgotten that Angelica was in this class.
There she was, waving and smiling at my usual desk at the back of the class. I waved back pathetically and sat down next to her. The girls in the class gave her looks of pity and one or two of disgust. The boys just stared daggers at me as if my presence was poisoning their next prey.
I looked at Angelica, thinking she would have noticed all the attention she was getting. But instead she was smiling, the orange freckles sprinkled across her face moving as she started to talk to me about what I had missed in class, what movies she had watched recently and what stuff she wanted to buy that weekend.
I tried to zone her out as she chattered away but she was oblivious, as if everything she said were important and I was the only one who would listen.
Well maybe I was.
Math ended pretty quickly. In fact the rest of the term flew by. Funny how time flies when you have an Angelica droning on about her life and her hobbies next to you. Amongst other things, she had let slip that she liked to make lists about all the things she thought about in a big book that she'd scrawled, "tell me everything" on the front. To be honest, there's no way I would put my inner thoughts down on paper where others could see them. Not that anyone would care. But that's not the point.
Everyday I saw the book she had been banging on about, poking out of the top of her bag, all yellow like a ray of optimism, with it's green sword of justice, her fancy pen she wrote with. A ridiculous looking imitation quill. Talk about dramatic!
But I had no idea just how dramatic things were about to get.
Sobbing, sobbing, endless sobbing and it was coming from the girl's bathroom. I mean yes, I am a boy and walking in probably would make several old posh grandmas faint from disgust, but I had to do it. Because I knew the sound of that voice.
Angelica.
I don't know why but the second I heard it, I knew that I had to go in. The thought of her sad, I just didn't want to think about it. Why did I care about this girl? I was acting like some dumb cliché, there to save the damsel in distress from who knows what? I swear for a moment I even felt…taller.
What happened to conceal, don't feel? Maybe the boys weren't staring daggers at me because I was poisoning her. Maybe it was because she was poisoning me and I wasn't noticing.
But I walked in there anyway. I walked in like a stupid wannabe super hero, to save his girl in her weakest moment.
Well not exactly.
I walked in to a heaving mess of emotions. I could feel it in the air, like a sticky residue of emotion clinging to everything, even the walls, and the sobbing was louder in here.
I was wondering why no one else was in here comforting her already when realisation hit. There WAS no one else.
Shoot, Angelica was a loner just like me, cept she had been trying desperately with all her talking to change that.
Curled up in a ball on the bathroom floor, shoulders shaking, the contents of her bag scattered over the floor was Angelica. But she wasn't Angelica. Her face was smeared with a weird cream that covered her normally freckled face. Her eyelids patterned by different shades and her cheeks were darker than usual. A think line outlined her deep blue eyes and her eyelashes were thicker than normal as well. She was wearing makeup, something I hadn't seen Angelica do.
"Go away."
I looked around the room and seeing no one looked back down at Angelica's scowling face.
"What?"
"I said go away."
She was talking to me, her voice so unrecognisable I wouldn't have guessed it her except I was looking at her directly.
"Did you hear me?"
I couldn't help it, I had to answer.
"Yes."
"Then why are you still here?"
"What's wrong?
"As if you don't know! Didn't they tell you it worked"
What?
"What?"
"I can't believe I told you about the diary. I thought you were different. Owen told me everything."
"Excuse me?"
Owen? What was she talking about? Owen was a scumbag. Owen had been one of the persistent ones when I arrived. Constantly trying to get me to react by stealing my stuff, tripping my up when no one was looking. He was a first class turd and the last person I would ever have anything to with.
"I don't know what you are talking about?" I looked around at the change room floor. A kaleidoscope of mess and colour everywhere.
"Oh really? How did he know all that if you didn't give him the diary. They all stood there and laughed. All of them, while he told them stuff. Secret stuff. And now I can't find it"
Anger so much anger. I didn't stop it as it came through me destroying all my barriers and making me a hollow anger machine.
Owen. Owen. Owen would pay.
No one would hurt my friend ever again.
Instinct kicked in. I stormed out of the girl's bathroom, bumping into several surprised girls and shocking many of the boys that were standing outside. But I ignored them. My focus, Owen.
It didn't take me long to find him chilling with his friends as if nothing had happened. More anger coursed through me. How could he just sit there?
"Owen!"
He looked up surprised to see me there face red, steam practically pouring out of my ears.
"Hey dork, what's up?" Sniggering from his brain dead back up crew was the final straw.
I picked him up by the collar, surprised at my own strength. I heard a gasp behind me but I ignored it.
How could he just sit there? Poking at people till they bled for his enjoyment. He would never hurt Angelica ever again. A purple haze settled over my eyes.
And that's when I delivered the punch.
Pow. All the years of hurt manifested into one righteous blow.
Owen stared open mouthed at me as did all the onlookers.
Slowly I turned around. There was Angelica, she had seen the whole thing. I was ready to apologise feeling weirdly guilty about what I had done. But instead of the verbal babble I was sure I deserved, she reached out and hugged me.
"Come on." She said, as we opened the door to happiness and together walked through it as friends.
A/N There you go! Hope you guys enjoyed. This took me so long to complete, leave me a comment if I should do a spin of detailing Angelicas life before this book, maybe even during the events that you just read! Please comment, I will try to reply!
:P Bye!