As I walk into the building with Austin following behind me, I can't help straining myself to hear what people say as they pass by. It seems that Devil Girl apparently has became a very... Discussed topic. People glance at me, and then turn around quickly as if I'm Medusa and I'll turn them into stone. I actually think that it wouldn't be so bad, because half of these people I wouldn't mind turning into stone. Especially Dallas, who I'm still trying to avoid. I seriously hope that what everyone said about him coming for me isn't true, because if it is then I'd probably kill myself or something along those lines. Just in case, I have prepared myself for it, so I won't be taken back in complete shock, probably like how Dallas hopes. I practiced a little with Bryce, but he didn't know what was going on and just decided to leave and play with his toys, so I practiced in front of my mirror, looking at my expressions to perfect them. I have to admit, I'm not bragging or anything, but I'm actually a pretty good actor.
I head off to my locker. As I dial in the combination, I feel someone's presence behind me. I turn around because I expect it to be Austin, so I'm pretty surprised when it's not him. Instead it's Elliot, who sits next to me in science. He's a nice guy, but he can be a little too nice and annoying at times. His only flaw is that he talks way too much! Especially to me, since I guess he thinks we must be best friends or something now just because I had bothered to talk to him. I just needed to find out what the homework was and now he thinks we're best friends. He's smiling widely, and I seriously am creeped out by him. I pretend that he's not there and I zip open my backpack, but he coughs to get my attention. I mentally slap myself. I really don't feel in the mood for chatting with him, so I take my time getting up.
"Is there something you need?" I ask. I cross my arms over my chest to show that I'm not happy he's here, but he doesn't even notice. He just keeps grinning widely, as wide as I think it can go. I seriously have the urge to punch him, but Ms. Ahla told me a lot about self control, and I promised her I would try my best not to punch someone out of the blue. I think it may be time that promise is broken, because my fists are itching to punch him.
"Nope. I just wanted to say hi! Well I guess I already said that," he laughs. I try to muster a smile, but I'm too annoyed. "So, what class do you have? I have math with Mr. Chase and let me tell you that guy is really loud. He can be mean but he's not really mean to me. Well I guess because I actually listen to him, while other kids like-" I cut him off by placing a hand over his mouth.
"Listen. It's really early in the morning and I'm not in the mood for talking." I say. I pull my hand away and grab my books and shut my locker.
Elliot nods. "Oh okay. I guess we can sit next to each other at lunch when I guess you'll be more-" I walk away from him. When I'm pretty sure he's out of sight, I slow down.
"That kid never stops talking!" I hear a voice say. I immediately know who it is and I turn around and sure enough, I'm right. It's Austin, and he seems pretty entertained by my annoyance. I scowl at him.
"Tell me about it." I mutter. I'm actually glad to see Austin here, because I was going to go look for him anyway. He promised he'd help me go find my next class if I got lost, and I'm seeing how well he'll live up to it. I guess it's a test to see if I can trust him or not, or maybe I just want to be with him. Either way I need him. "I was about to duct tape his mouth shut." I say, and pull out a roll of shiny silver duct tape. Austin looks at it quizzically, but then he laughs.
"Actually I've tried that, but it never worked." Austin says. I can't help but smile a little, because it definitely seems like something he would do. Maybe we have more in common than I thought. I head off to my first class, which is History. Yay, I get to be with Dallas for a whole forty-five minutes! I let out a groan, and Austin looks at me with suspicion.
"I have History." I say. "Which is probably the most annoying class I have."
"I personally think they're all annoying... But whatever. Let's go." Austin says. I expect for him to lead me, but instead he pulls out his phone and starts texting his friend while I'm still trying to find my way around. I'm pretty sure I've walked in a circle at least five times before Austin stops me.
"History is the other way." he says. "Follow me." I trudge along his side and I make mental notes to myself as I pass by the classrooms. History is near the creepy picture of the principal, two doors from the nurses office, across from the staircase.
"Next time you lead." I say, pretty annoyed. I'm pretty sure I've lost five minutes by walking in a circle.
"I just wanted to see if you could find it by yourself." Austin says defensively.
"Sure, maybe if you weren't so busy texting you could've saved me five minutes." I say. We make our way down the hall towards the History wing.
"Mrs. Donner right?" Austin asks, looking at the number scratched on the door. I nod, and then he opens the door for me and I walk in. There are two girls sitting on the counter chatting, and a couple too busy making out to notice us walk in. I seriously get disturbed by the girl and I can't stop myself from saying something about her.
"What a slut." I whisper. Austin starts to laugh loudly, causing me to jump and the couple to pull apart to glare at us, but then they go back to making out. I turn around and walk to my desk, and Austin's about to leave but I stop him by putting a hand on his arm.
"Stay with me. I can't stay with these people alone." I beg. I honestly don't think I'd be able to survive with these people. I seriously hate them so much I'm pretty sure they'll be dead by the time class begins. Either them or me, I guess. Austin pauses a moment, and then nods his head slightly. I literally am doing a bunch of backflips in my head right now. "Thank you so much!" I say. I sit in my seat and Austin sits on top of a desk in front of me. We sit there for a moment, absolutely quiet.
"So," Austin begins, trying to think of something to say. He didn't himself expect to stay, and neither did I, so it makes this sort of awkward. "What's your favorite color?"
"I guess anything but pink." I say. "But mostly red. You?"
"I like yellow." he answers. It's quiet for a while so I decide it's my turn to ask.
"Um... What's your favorite... Movie?" I ask.
"I love horror movies." Austin answers. I make a face.
"Ew. They're not even that scary." I say.
"They are too!" Austin argues. "I mean, some of them suck but others creep me out!"
"Well I guess you're less of a man than I thought." I say teasingly.
He's about to say something back but then the bell rings and then it's time for him to go. He gets his stuff and walks out the door. He waves slightly and walks out the room. I wave back, but by then he's gone. As I sit in my desk waiting for class to begin, the two girls walk over to me. The taller one, with blonde hair and blue eyes does most of the talking. The shorter one, with brown hair and green eyes mostly remains quiet.
"Hey. I'm Val and that's my friend Miranda." The blonde, who I now know is Val, says.
"Hi." Miranda says quietly. She smiles shyly and puts her hands behind her back.
"Is there something you guys need?" I ask.
"Not really. We just wanted to talk with you." Val says.
"Okay... What do you want to talk about?" I ask.
"I'm pretty sure you can figure it out yourself." Val says.
"Actually I can't." I say. Val doesn't budge, so I take a sigh. "Lemme guess. Something about Austin?" I ask. It seems pretty obvious that they came here to talk about him, since I'm positive that they don't want to talk about our history final or my hair or anything. Val claps her hands.
"Thatta girl! See that Mira?" Val asks Miranda. She nods and gives a thumbs up.
"Okay. So what about him?" I ask.
"Well, we were just wondering about your relationship with him." Val says. I raise an eyebrow.
"Just friends." I say.
"Oh, have you heard of Lily? They were the best of friends. Until she left him like that." Val snaps her fingers.
Is that who Austin was talking about? It takes a moment for me to understand. I figured if he won't tell me anything, then at least I could get it out of two girls. I needed information somehow.
"No. Who is she?" I ask, pretending not to know anything about his past. Val gapes at me and I feel uncomfortable, but also pleased that it worked. I mentally praise my acting skills.
"You don't know? Oh, Mira, should we tell her?" Val asks. Miranda pauses a moment, and then nods. Val ducks her head down and speaks in a low voice so only we can hear her.
"Four years ago, a new girl came into the school, her name was Lily. She was really pretty, and the sweetest thing, but everyone hated her. I guess jealousy or something." Val says, shrugging.
"Lily was bullied by the girls a lot, mainly because she was the newbie. They ordered her around, pushed her, and treated her like dirt." Mira says. I guess I can relate to that.
"Then, one day when she was busy doing a 'mission' for the girls, she ran into Austin. I don't know the full details there but all we do know is that they became real good friends." Val says.
"They were friends for a long time, and eventually Austin developed feelings for her, but then came Dallas." Miranda says. She looks a little sad when she speaks. "He tried to seduce Lily, and I guess it worked, because next thing you know she was crawling all over him." I swallow. Is that what Dallas might do to me? I feel my hatred against him grow stronger every second.
"Lily then got rid of Austin - unintentionally that is, since she was too busy adoring Dallas - and moved on to him, and they were happy. Except, Lily realized after a while Dallas was a player. She tried to go back, but it was too late. Austin wanted nothing to do with her, but you could tell he was heartbroken. He did everything to get her back, but all that resulted in was him getting suspended for a week or two." Mira says. I'm about to stop them but I freeze after what Val says.
"Then, one day, Lily was riding her bike when she got hit by a car. The impact was so strong she died right there, leaving Austin and everyone who loved her." Val pauses, letting it sink in.
I seriously am taken by surprise here. "She... Lily died?" I ask quietly. Miranda nods, and wipes away a tear.
"It took all of us by surprise. Those girls started to cry and had a breakdown, Dallas was in shock, but Austin's reaction was the worst."
Val starts to cry a little too, so it's hard to understand, but I can piece the words together. "He tried to kill himself, he took drugs, smoked here and there, and worst of all, he promised he would never fall in love again." Val says.
I feel my eyes fill up with tears, but I blink them away before they can see. The girl he loved, broke his heart and then she died, leaving him alone, without her. He started doing terrible things to try and forget her, but it couldn't work, and then he promised never to fall in love again.
"How do you know all of that?" I ask. Val clears her throat, but another tear falls down.
"Lily was my cousin, but I never treated her like that. I treated her like how I treated my mother, because I loved her. We were best friends, told each other everything, but when Lily died, I had to piece together the missing pieces until I finished the puzzle." Val says, and another tear falls. Miranda hands her a tissue.
"Oh." I say. I'm at a loss for words, so I just give Val a hug and whisper "Thank you." in her ear. She nods, and walks over to her seat.
As the class fills in I realize something very important. Austin's tougher than I expected. There's more to that boy than I thought.
-
After History is over I head towards the music room when Val catches up with me. Miranda's following close behind, but stops to tie her shoe.
"Hey, I never caught your name." Val says.
"Ally." I say. "Ally... Dawson." I feel weird saying my last name is Dawson, but I guess I finally have a chance to be 'normal' for once.
"Nice to meet ya Al. Where you going next?" Val asks.
"Chorus." I say. I mentally check my schedule to make sure I'm right.
"Oh cool. We have to go to science. Bye Al." Val says, and she walks away with Miranda towards the staircases. I watch them go around the corner and then disappear, and then I head off to Chorus.
While I'm walking something in the back of my head is screaming for me not to trust them.