Chapter 1: The Outside

Hey guys! So firstly, I cannot thank you enough for reading my story! I promise, you won't regret it! I am soooooo exited for this story! Please leave any comment you would like, they are all appreciated. The song for this chapter is The Outside by Taylor Swift. Check it out, I chose it because it is all about her being alone and stuff. Makes more sense when you see the lyrics. This is one of the more main stream songs I will use. Anyway, you are all great! Hope you enjoy the first chapter of what will hopefully be something great!

Alex POV:

She has me by my hair and I holding me against the wall.

There are pieces of broken things all around the living room.

I wiggle out of her grasp, only for her to grab my right wrist and throw me back against the wall. She knows that I am powerless when she does that.

My lip is bleeding and everywhere hurts.

She screams into my face countless insults about how retarded and worthless I am and how she doesn't know why she keeps me.

She slams my skinny ten year old body into the nearby lamp and my leg gets all cut up.

She finally drops me to the ground, and I lay there in a crumpled heap.

She says in a menacing voice, "get out of my sight you worthless piece of-"

I bolt up, dripping in a terror sweat. The old alarm clock was buzzing next to me. I was so used to these nightmares that they barely fazed me anymore. I got up slowly and dragged myself into the shower. I never wash my hair in the morning so that it is dry for school. When I get out, I throw on a tight grey v-neck tee shirt, a pair of jeans, my black leather jacket, and a black nit cap. I have to brush the crap out of my hair every morning. I have thick, wavy, brown hair that goes down to the top of my hip. I also have these annoying natural blonde highlights in my hair that can get really frizzy. I hop down the hallway and into the main room of the apartment. As usual, Juliette is passed out on the couch. She was working late again last night, so I just let her sleep. I grab an apple, jam on my black converse, and hop onto my skateboard.

I have been dreading today for a long time. Today is my first day at my new school. It's the middle of January... Great. The goal at this school is the same one that I have at every school, remain invisible. This was only my second school this year, so it hadn't been a bad year. I just hope Goode High School lives up to it's name.

Percy POV:

The bell rings for fourth period science and I was the only person that didn't have a lab partner. I had heard Rodrick moved, but I thought that they would have replaced him by now. I guess I am on my own. It was fifteen minutes into class when a girl came in. She was one of the skinniest fifteen year olds I had ever seen, but she was definitely beautiful. I knew she was new, and she seemed a little uncomfortable. She glanced toward the class and I caught a glimpse of her eyes. She had fire in her eyes, but a cold exterior. "Um, sorry I'm late. I got lost," she says in a quiet voice. "That's fine!" Replies Mr. Hall. "Your new, right?" She nods and he grabs her by the shoulders and drags her to the front of the classroom. He says enthusiastically, "Everybody, this is our newest student Alexandria DiLaurentis." He has a huge smile on his face, but she still looks uncomfortable. "Actually, it's just Alex," she corrects. The thing about Mr. Hall is that he is overly perky and hates downers. This girl was obviously going to have issues with him. "Alright, just Alex," he says in an annoyed voice, "Go take your seat. Table 7." He sits back down at his desk and she walks hesitantly towards my desk and I move my stuff. She sits down and I give her a small smile. She catches it and smiles back a little. "I'm Percy, and don't mind Mr. Hall. He freaks everybody out at first, but you'll get used to it. She nods and says a small thanks before Mr. Hall clears his throat and tells us about the experiment for today. We are doing something with experimenting with water and plants or whatever. I'm just glad we get to use water. As long as it looks like we are doing something, he doesn't pay attention to us. There is a sink on our lab table, and Alex is trying to fill her little dish. I could tell she was struggling to keep her sleeves dry, so I leaned over and said, "I know it's January, but its hot as hell in here. I think you can take your jacket off." I see something flash in her eyes and she looks panicked. "No!" She says quickly. That's weird. "I mean, I'm fine. I'll just leave it on." She goes back to her expressionless facade. Wait, was that fear that had flashed in her eyes before? And what was she hiding under that jacket?

Near the end of class, Mr. Hall made us all quiet down and he started telling us about the homework. "Who would like to read the homework for everyone?" His eyes scan around the room until they finally land in the person next to me. "Ah, our new student Alex. Please read the homework off the board for the class." She looks startled, but then she looked at the board. She concentrated on it really hard for about a minute, then finally said, "No, sir, I can't." Immediately the teacher sighs and reads it himself, but I could tell she wasn't hearing him. However, I'm pretty sure she heard the guys next to us say, "Ha! New girls so stupid she can't even read!" I thought about this. Could she be dyslexic like me? I briefly consider that she may be a demigod, but quickly forget the theory. Not everyone with dyslexia is the child of a god.

Alex POV:

As soon as the bell rings I storm out of the classroom. They had called me some of the same things she had called me. "Even stupid people can read, but no, you're not even smart enough to do that!" I could feel her hand slapping my face like it was yesterday, even though it had been six months. No, I couldn't let her get into my head. But I know that she always will be there. No matter what. "Hey! Alex!" Someone called. I saw my lab partner run up to me. Percy, he said his name was. "Here," he said, holding out a piece of paper. I unfold it and am able to make out enough to tell it was the homework assignment. "I don't want it. What's it supposed to mean. You just rubbing it in my face like the rest of your dumb friends." I drop the paper and keep walking, but he catches up to me. "Those guys aren't really my friends. And I'm not making fun of you or anything, it just means that I'm dyslexic too and I thought I could help you out." This surprised me. How did he know I was dyslexic? I think the most surprising part of it was that it was actually sort of nice. "Thanks." I said giving him then best smile I could muster. He was ,after all, one of only two people who hadn't called me stupid when they found out. "So," he starts, "Where do you want to go to work on that project? Do you wanna just go to your house? I would say mine, but my mom is out of town and she wouldn't want us over there. So your house?" Wait, did he say my house?! Bad idea. "No!" I snapped. "My house, bad idea. Let's just meet in the library after school, okay?" He looks confused, but he nods and we go our separate ways.

The rest of the day is pretty uneventful. Oh, yeah, except for when I almost killed someone. Again.

I was in PE and we were playing dodgeball. I warned them not to let me play, but they didn't listen. That Percy guy was there too, but I just stood by myself at the back. "What, new girl too stupid to throw a ball too?" I heard a guy yell out. I recognized him as one of the guys who was making fun of me in science. He was this HUGE African American boy. He was surrounded by pack of laughing idiots that I'm assuming were his friends. I just turn away and try and block them out. "Hey! I was talking to you!" He says. He walks over and grabs my right wrist to spin me around. Big mistake. All I see is her.

She throws me into the small closet.

I have a gash in my forehead and cuts on my arms.

There are bruises on my legs too.

I hear her bolting the door shut.

I knew I would be in here for a long time.

I could also hear her muttering something about me being better off dead.

Then I blacked out.

When I snap back into reality, I see him on the side of the gym. He is writhing in pain on the ground.

Percy POV:

I decided to stay close to her and observe her. There was something that just drew me to her. I couldn't explain it and I didn't try to. I just went with it. In PE, she was just standing against the wall, still wearing that damn jacket. I heard Thomas and the other guys taunting her, and I was ready to go help her when he walked up to her and grabbed her wrist. Suddenly, her eyes glazed over. Her skin turned pale and her eyes were like stone. I could tell that she wasn't seeing him, but someone else instead. The look on her face was pure terror. What was going on? I could also tell that she wasn't seeing him by what she did next. She flipped him and he flew clear across the gym. Now everyone was gathered around, staring. How could they not? This tiny girl just flipped a linebacker with one hand! I saw her face snap back to normal and she looked terrified. The bell rang signaling the end of class, but nobody moved. Except her of course. She ran out of the gym and I followed. She was running at an incredible fast speed and I could barely keep up. I considered the demigod theory, but I dismissed it again, even though I made a mental note to check the records later. She finally slumped down into a clump against a wall in an alleyway. I stayed hidden, not wanting to scare her. She rolled up her jacket sleeves and put her head in her hands. What I saw scared the hell out of me. She had terrible scars all over her arms.

OMG what do you guys think so far?! I love this! Anyway, I will be updating soon because I can't stop writing this. REVIEWS ARE AMAZING! I love every one of you! Wow, first chapter is 1,805 words!

Xoxoxo!

LOVE U ALL!

- M