Ch. 4
"You bitch."
Reid's anger elevated to new levels as he watched Aaron approach Paige, fist raised. Before he knew it he had Aaron pinned face down on the ground with an arm twisted painfully behind his back.
Nicky, the bar owner, rushed over to tell Aaron that he needed to leave his bar. After letting Aaron off the floor Reid glanced at Paige, she looked a bit taken aback, her blue eyes wide. Not knowing what to say, Reid swiftly walked out of the bar and into the side alley that sat along one side of the bar.
What had come over him? The feeling that had raced through his body was foreign to him. Reid shook his head as the word formed, dangling just on the edge of his mind. Clenching his jaw tight, he pushed off the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets. He wanted to go back inside and enjoy himself, maybe make some more money at pool but he couldn't make his feet move. He couldn't face any of them with an explanation of what he had done. Sure it had been a good thing he did, but out of character for him.
Reid sighed and leaned back against the wall, letting his mind ponder of the feeling he had felt only minutes ago.
A half an hour passed before he heard the sounds of familiar voices. He peeked around the corner to see seven figures walking toward the cars. Paige was trailing behind, glancing around behind her in search for someone.
"Looking for someone?" Caleb asked, seeing Paige's wandering eyes.
"Yeah, Reid actually," she answered turning to Caleb. "Tell him….um….tell him I said thanks."
From where he was hidden, Reid half-smiled hearing the appreciation in Paige's voice. A car engine roared to life and Reid had to press himself against the wall as headlights swept close to his hiding spot. He felt childish but he didn't want to see Paige right now. He didn't want to explain why he came to her rescue, because he honestly didn't know the reason himself.
After watching the red taillights disappear into the darkness, Reid stepped out of the side street and walked to the parking lot to where Caleb, Pogue, and Tyler were standing.
"Hey, hey! Looks like the Tin Man has a heart after all," Pogue bantered, spotting his approaching blonde friend.
"Fuck you, man," Reid said holding up his fingerless gloved middle finger.
"What was that all about, dude?" Tyler questioned, an eyebrow slightly raised. He was caught off guard with the way his best friend had came to Paige's rescue. Reid was always a jerk to her and only thirty minutes ago he acted like her knight in shining armor.
"Well what did you expect, Tyler? Did you want me to let that son of a bitch hit her?" Reid snapped irritably. He tried to make it sound as if he had no other choice but to rescue her, that he did it because he had to.
"No of course not," Tyler mumbled, slightly hurt at his friend's outburst.
The Sons of Ipswich piled silently into Tyler's black Hummer. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. So Pogue, not liking these kind of moments, quickly thought of something to talk about.
His thoughts landed on the new girls they had met that night. "Paige's new friends are pretty cute, huh? And they're cool as hell."
"Blake so wants you man," Tyler told Pogue who knowingly smiled. After the Aaron incident, Blake had found and talked to him for the rest of the night. And when the girls decided leave, she walked with him out to the parking lot.
The ride was short and full of conversations that were mostly about the girls. Reid kept quiet, speaking very little which was not normal.
He must have a lot on his mind, Caleb thought as Tyler pulled into his driveway and climbed from the car. "See you tomorrow guys."
The girls woke early the next morning to the sound of beeping coming from the alarm clock.
Slowly but surely Paige, Rylee, Blake, and River started getting ready for their first day of school at Spenser Academy. All of them were a little nervous about attending a new school, but they tried not to show it.
"The only bad thing about going to this school is these damn uniforms," River said, staring at her reflection in the full-length mirror. "We all look like Britney Spears in her old days."
"Yeah, well at least we look hott!" Rylee said with a laugh.
"Wow, Rylee, that didn't sound at all conceited," Paige sarcastically implied rolling her eyes. She glanced at the clock. 7:00 a.m. "We should leave now so we can go get our class schedules."
The girls nodded in agreement, grabbed what they needed and followed Paige from the room. Paige called to her mom who was somewhere in the large house then went out to her car.
Only after a fifteen minute drive, the four girls arrived at the student parking lot in front of Spenser Academy.
"Hey isn't that Tyler's car right there?" Blake asked, pointing to a black Hummer a few spots away. Their question was answered as Tyler Simms and Reid Garwin stepped out of the car.
Reid spotted the girls, looked away quickly then walked right past them into the front doors of the large school. Confused, the four girls turned to Tyler, who merely shrugged and shook his head. "He's been acting strange since yesterday."
Tyler showed the girls where to find the main office, so they could get their schedules, then hung out in the hallway a little before they had to go to their classes.
Blake and Caleb shared English together and they walked to their class after saying bye to the rest of the gang. Tyler, Reid, Pogue and Rylee had history together and headed their own way, leaving River and Paige to go to their math class together.
Walking into the room, Paige noticed that they were one of the first few to arrive. They made their way around the room and took two seats that sat farthest from the teachers desk. Paige grinned and glanced at River as the teacher walked in and started writing complicated math equations on the board. River met her gaze and frowned.
Great, Paige heard River's voice in her head as clear as her own thoughts. This is gonna suck.
Paige laughed and probably looked crazy because River had not said the words out loud. She had used telepathy, another power they had received weeks after the storm.
Flashback
"So what do you guys think of this outfit?" River asked the three girls waiting outside of her dressing room. There was a huge party that weekend and River demanded that she needed a new outfit for the occasion.
"Great!" Blake said out loud. But it'd look better on me, she thought.
"What?" River turned to Blake in disbelief.
"I didn't say anything."
"Yes you did! You said that it would look better on you!" River stared at her friend, waiting for an explanation.
Blake's mouth fell open. How did she know that? She thought, I didn't say it out loud.
Hearing the words her friend never spoken, a hand flew up to Rylee's mouth in realization. "We can read your mind!"
End Flashback
As the minutes passed by, other students started pouring into the classroom. Among those students was none other than Aaron Abbott himself.
"Oh, this is my lucky day," Paige said, sighing in annoyance.
A huge smirk appeared on his face as he noticed the girl. He sauntered his way over and took a seat right next to them.
"Hello ladies," he greeted, the smirk still large on his face.
"Go jump off a cliff," River said in response.
"Harsh words coming from such a pretty mouth," he said licking his lips seductively.
"Ew," The girls replied in unison, wiping the smirk right off Aaron's face.
Nearly an hour had passed before the bell finally rung, the girls rushed past Aaron and quickly out of the class to find their other friends. Walking down the hallway, they spotted Caleb near the lunch room talking to one of the teachers.
"Hey guys, how was your first class?" Caleb asked once the girls were by him. The teacher smiled before returning to his classroom.
"Not too bad. But luckily for us Abbott graced us with his presence," River said with fake enthusiasm giving Caleb a small smile.
Caleb frowned slightly at the news. The minute bell sounded causing him to jump slightly. "Well I'm off to chemistry, see you guys later."
"Oh! Me too!" River said excitedly and joined him, leaving Paige by herself. Rolling her eyes, she turned and walked off to her next class.
She arrived at her second period just as the final bell rang. She sighed in relief. Finding an empty seat in the auditorium style room, she set her bag down and pulled out her notebook with a pen.
Someone caught her eye and she looked up to see Reid hovering over her. "Mind if I sit here?"
"No, go ahead," she replied as he sat down.
The teacher walked in at that moment and started telling his students about his eventful weekend. Paige hesitated before tearing a sheet of paper from her notebook. She pushed the paper in front of Reid.
Hey, thank you for helping with the whole Aaron thing last night.
Reid peeked at Paige from the corner of his eye. She wasn't looking at him. So he took his pen and wrote back. Don't mention it. I wasn't just going to sit back and watch him hit you. You're my friend.
This made Paige snort with laughter causing Reid and some other students to stare. This is news to me. Since when have you ever treated me like a friend, Reid?
He paused, thinking about what to write. You have a point there.
Paige looked up to see a genuine smile on his lips, which was a rare sight coming form Reid Garwin. She smiled back before turning to the front of the class, writing down what the teacher had written on the board. She smiled to herself, realizing that her and Reid Garwin had just become friends.
When the third bell had rung, Paige and Reid walked out of the second class they shared and together they made their way toward the lunch room.
As they walked, Paige noticed many girls glaring at her which could have easily burned a hole right through her. "Um, is it just me or is every girl in this school going to jump me at any moment?"
"Looks like Reid found his slut of the week," some said as she passed a group of girls.
Paige stopped dead in her tracks. She turned around and noticed a snobby red head glaring at her from the center of a small group of girls.
"Excuse me?" Paige asked walking straight up to the girl, getting inches from her face. "You got a problem?"
Laughing, the girl walked away, leaving Paige pissed off and confused. Turning around to Reid quickly, she raised an eyebrow in question.
"That would be the bitch of the school, Kira Snider," he answered. "And it looks like you have made an amazing first impression on her."
"What the hell did I do to her?"
"You are talking to Reid," Tyler explained, suddenly appearing next to them. He had just walked out of his own classroom with Caleb and heard the whole thing. "How do I say this…Reid is considered the Hugh Hefner of the school."
Paige tilted her head to Reid who merely shrugged, not denying the statement. She shook her head and walked past him, heading toward the lunch room. Entering the room she saw that it was completely different than the one in California, and unlike her old school cafeteria, it was small, with circular tables and windows set high in the wall. The sun filtered weakly through the glass, and the chatter of was loud in the confined space.
At one of the tables, sat Rylee and Blake so Paige made her way to them.
"Hey Paige!" Rylee greeted as Paige took a seat next to them. "How is your day so far?"
"Interesting," She replied, stealing a piece of French fries from Blake's plate. "Aaron is in two of my classes, Reid and I are now friends, and I already have an arch enemy who hates me because Reid and I are friends." She explained everything, ignoring the many comments the girls gave, and when Reid, Tyler, Caleb and Pogue appeared, their conversation stopped.
"Well I'm off to class early, I heard its hell trying to find a good seat in history." Blake said, getting up from her seat.
"My class is right next to yours so I'll walk with you," Pogue offered, giving the others a slight nod before placing a hand on Blake's back, leading her from the cafeteria.
"Pogue has math with me next," Caleb informed the others, amused.
"So?" River asked slowly.
"The classes are on complete opposite sides of the school."
"Thanks for walking me to class," Blake said once she stood in front of her classroom and faced Pogue. "And I know that your class is on the other side of the school," she finished, leaning up and kissing him on the cheek before walking into her class.
Pogue couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from her delicate form as she walked into the room. As Blake situated herself in her seat, she glanced at the doorway and smile back at Pogue, seeing him staring.
The minute bell rang for the fourth time that day, quickly bringing Pogue back to his senses. It took three minutes to get to the other side of the school. Realizing his dilemma he glanced around to see if anyone was in the hallway. Luckily, everyone was already in class.
Pogue's eyes bled black before disappearing and reappearing in a janitors closet near his own class.
He opened the door cautiously and was thankful once again that no one was around. He stepped out of the closet, and walked swiftly into his math class just as the final bell rung.
He saw that Caleb saved him a seat and winded his way over. Caleb looked at his smirking friend. "She kissed you didn't she?" He asked, already half knowing the answer.
"Just on the cheek, but hey, its still a kiss," Pogue said happily.
"Dude, she likes you. River told me that she hasn't stopped talking about you since last night. Even though its only been a day man, she's into you."
"Seriously? She is really cool," Pogue rambled on subconsciously about her for half the class before Caleb finally held up his hand to stop him.
"You do realize that you have been talking about Blake for the past….25 minutes right?"
"Sorry man," Pogue said with a grin. He couldn't get his mind of the beautiful girl that had caught his eye at their first meeting.