Title: Letters from the Sky
Author: WhyIsARavenLikeAWritingDesk
Fandom: I Am Number Four, 2011
Characters: Henri, John, Sarah, Sam, Number Six, Mark/OC
Rating: T – M
Disclaimer: I do not own I Am Number Four. Everything belongs to their respective owners.
Summary: On Lorien, one is never whole unless both sides of the coin are accounted for. On Earth, one is just never whole. The Number Fours will change that.
My brother and I made it through fourth period before our schedules deviated from one another. For fifth period he had American English while I had a free period. I didn't know where to go. I was standing at my locker, chewing on my lip and trying to think of something, when Sarah walked passed me.
"Sarah," I said, catching her arm.
"Ava," she smiled.
"Hi, um, I have a free period. I don't exactly know where to go," I said quietly.
"Oh, most people go out to the football field or sit out on the track field. It really doesn't matter as long as you aren't disturbing someone's class."
She smiled. I tried to smile back, but I have a suspicion that I failed.
"Do – is there a music room or something?" I asked desperately.
I was about fed up with all the questions for the new kids. My brother was handling it better than I was. For some reason it was just getting to me this time. I wanted time to sit and relax and not have to worry about anything. I wish I had thought to bring my guitar from the house.
"Yeah," she said. "C'mon, I'll walk you."
"No, it's okay. Just point me in the right direction."
"You're sure?"
I nodded.
"Okay. The music room is in a building by itself. Go down that hallway," she pointed, "and out the doors at the end. There's a sidewalk that will take you down that way. It's two buildings over. You can't miss it. The door is covered in music posters and photographs."
"Thank you, so much," I breathed.
"Any time," she said.
I waved goodbye and made my way to the hall way she pointed out. As I passed all the classrooms down that wing, I searched my bag to make sure I had my sheet music and pen. I pulled out my folder full of loose sheet music, some of it blank and some of it written on, and thumbed through it to make sure I had all of the piece I needed. I stuffed everything back into my bag and pushed the outside doors open.
For March in rainy Ohio, it was surprisingly sunny outside. I stopped just to look. The grass was really green for this early in the year. There were puddles of mud lining the sidewalk. The sky was clear. And, for the first time that day, there was not a soul in sight. I started down the sidewalk, looking for the door Sarah described. It was there, two buildings down, just like she said. I tried the doorknob, but it was locked. There went my peace for the day.
I sighed and rested my head against the cool metal of the door, trying to discourage the oncoming frustration headache. I let the past few days wash over me. With those images finally quiet, I concentrated on my brother. I closed my eyes and I saw what he did. I saw his classroom and the other students as he looked at them. He obviously felt me in his head. He wrote something down and I laughed when he looked at it so I could read it.
Get out of my head, Ava. Go enjoy your free period. And call Henri so he'll stop calling me.
I blinked a few times and shook my head and I was back in my own body.
I didn't register what had happened before I had spun around and clocked some kid in the jaw. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands. The kid groaned and rubbed his face. He opened and closed his mouth a few times to make sure he was alright. Unfortunately, being Lorien and not human, I have more strength than I realize sometimes. I could already see the bruise sprouting on the side of his face.
"I am so sorry," I whispered.
"No, it's my fault," he ground out. "I snuck up on you."
"I am so sorry," I said again.
"It's alright. You have one hell of a left hook though."
"Geeze," I sighed, sinking back into the door. "My first day and I manage to punch some guy in the face. God, my luck sucks!"
He laughed, and it wasn't until that sound met my ears that I actually really looked at him. He was, well, in one word he was hot. He had pale skin and chocolate brown hair that he had pushed to the side, though it still fell in his eyes. Ohmigod, those eyes. I'd never seen someone with eyes so clear a blue. I was kind of shocked. So not only did I manage to punch some kid in the face on my first day, I managed to punch a really cute kid in the face.
"Yeah," he agreed. "You're luck sucks."
"Thank you," I said bitterly.
"C'mon, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just trying to see if you were okay."
"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.
"Well, you were just kind of standing there. I thought something might be wrong," he shrugged.
"Great. So not only do I manage to punch some guy in the face on my first day, I manage to punch the guy trying to make sure I was okay in the face!"
My headache was back in full force. I rubbed my temples and tried to sooth it back into the recesses of my mind. The guy I had punched was looking at me funny.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I have a headache and I was trying to get it to go away. I guess I didn't hear you behind me."
"I'm Mark James," he said holding out his hand.
"Ava Smith," I said, shaking it.
Instead of letting go he began to pull me along somewhere.
"Whoa, whoa. Where are you taking me?"
"To the cafeteria. I have a feeling I'm going to need some ice for this nice little bruise you gave me and you could probably use some for your headache."
"Okay, okay," I said pulling my hand back. "I'll walk with you to the cafeteria. No need to drag me. Not like I can say no to the guy I just punched in the face anyway."
"Exactly," he grinned.
Mark led me back into the building and towards the front of the school. I followed him quietly. He glanced back at me occasionally. I kind of wondered why.
"So, you're new to town?" he asked.
"Yeah. Just got here a yesterday."
"And you came straight to school?"
"I didn't want to sit around the house with my dad," I said quietly. "He's kind of boring."
"So is my dad. He just likes to work."
"Yeah," I agreed.
Mark suddenly stopped and pointed to a set of doors.
"Just for future reference," he said, "this is where the cafeteria is. Don't eat the food."
"Good to know."
Mark opened the door and let me in before him. I paused and let him take the lead again. It's not like I knew where he was going. He waved to some of the lunch ladies and continued back behind the kitchen door to a deep freezer. He opened the freezer and pulled out a couple of ice packs. He wrapped them each in a towel and handed one to me. I thanked him and put my bag on the floor, jumping up to take a seat on the freezer. He did the same. I pressed the ice pack to my head.
"So, Ava Smith, where did you get a left hook like that?" he questioned.
"We lived in a big city when I was younger. My dad couldn't always take us places so he taught me and my brother a few things to keep us safe."
"Your brother? His name John?"
"Yeah. How did you – You're the quarter back," I sighed.
Figures I would make kind-of-friends with someone that made bad with my brother.
"Yeah. How did you know?" he asked.
"You rub my brother the wrong way," I said flatly. "He tells me everything."
"Well this is kind of embarrassing," Mark said.
"Don't worry about it. It takes him a bit to get used to new people."
"And you like new people?"
"No, I despise new people. But it's not like I can tell you to piss off. I punched you in face."
"If I'm annoying you –," he said.
"No," I interrupted. "Really. I just get frustrated with it sometimes. We move around a lot."
"Sorry," he said.
"No. Nothing to be sorry for."
We sat in an awkward silence for a minute before he asked,
"What were you doing outside the music room?"
"Sarah, the girl that showed me and my brother around, told me where it was. I was going to ask if there was a piano I could play."
"There is not," Mark said. "The music teacher has been trying to get the funding for one for years, but he's never been able to."
"Oh well," I sighed.
"Here," Mark said. He moved around until he could pull his wallet out of his back pocket. He flipped it open and handed me a card. "That's got the address of the music shop in town. They've got a few pianos for sale. I bet if you ask really nice they'll let you play them. If not, then there's always the one at the church."
"Thank you, Mark," I whispered.