Yay! Chapter 13 is here! And it's only taken me 4 months to update! Sorry. I was busy with getting my college applications done, which, by the way, DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO DO IT! It all ended well for me and I will be going to the University of Mary Washington this fall. I'm excited ^^
Ok to make up for the lost time, there's a bunch of stuff going on in this chapter. And some profane language. But seeing as this is an M-rated story I don't need to warn you.
This is dedicated to my dear reviewer Shazam who motivated me to finally update. For your enthusiasm I thank you XD
"She looked up, her heart racing, eyes scanning that paper that would decide her fate. After a few seconds, it was in confusion that she re-read the notice for the fencing team. Surely there must be a mistake. Alanna searched the paper, three, four times more. Her heart thudding hard in her chest it was with dismay that she realized the horrible truth.
Her name was not on that paper. She was not on the team."
Alanna could not take the jostling of the other boys around her. She could not bear to turn to her friends, shame-faced, being the only one of them that had not made it onto the team. So instead, she squeezed her way past two boys, who in turn stepped up to where she previously stood.
"Alan!" Someone called out as she stalked down the hallway, away from the gym and the crowd of cheery congratulatory praising. She did not want to be there, among all of them, all the while pretending to belong to a gender that she was not. Alanna broke into a run as she turned the corner. Right now she didn't care where she was heading.
"Alan!" Someone called her fake name again. This time, Alanna realized that Jon was following her. He was the last person that she wanted to confront. Alanna quickened her pace into an all-out sprint, leaping down the stairs that would take her out of the school via one of the side entrances. She slammed against bar to open that door and stumbled out into the faded light of falling evening. The outside air was crisp and chilly with the forewarnings of colder weather. There were shouts of glee coming from the soccer field as a group of boys played an impromptu game. Besides the boys, the only other sounds were soft crickets hiding among the bushes. Alanna let the door slam shut behind her and walked at a brisk pace towards the green houses. It was still her favorite hiding place and after a month here she had not found a better place to spend time alone. It wasn't that often that she had a chance to retreat to her green sanctuary.
A bang startled her from behind as Jon staggered out the same door. He spun around wildly, looking for her.
"Alan! There you are!" He exclaimed. "What are you running off for?" Alanna glared at him and stalked away. Jon sighed heavily at his friend's stubbornness and trudged along to catch up to Alan.
"Go away Jon." Alanna irritably said. "This is none of your concern.'
"Of course it's my concern. You're upset and you're my friend. I want to know why."
"I thought you'd know by now." The red-haired girl spat over her shoulder.
"Know what?" Jon stopped in his tracks. Alanna spun on her heels to face him.
"You didn't read the notice?" She asked him bewilderedly.
Jon raised an eyebrow. "Not all of it."
"I'm, I'm not on the team." Alanna huffed and put her head down. Saying it out loud had a terrible effect as if now it became certain and set in stone. It was shameful too. She didn't want to look bad in front of Jon.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I didn't get in!"
"What do you mean you didn't get in?" Jon exclaimed.
"I mean that I. Didn't. Get. Onto. The. Fencing. Team. You. Slow. Dimwit." Alanna accented each and every word hoping that her message would somehow come across to Jon. She turned her back to him once again. Her eyes filled with hot angry tears and she felt her cheeks turn characteristically red.
"Oh Alan!" Jon sighed. "I thought for sure you made it. There must be some kind of mistake."
Alanna sniffled and tried her best to keep her throat from choking up. "Obviously you were mistaken. Please I'm alright." Jon could not be turned away so easily (as she knew from experience). She heard his soft footsteps crunching over the gravel path as he approached her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and slowly tugged at her to turn around. Alanna hesitantly complied and looked up at Jon with wide violet eyes.
"Don't be so easily distressed by this." Jon murmured in a low voice.
"But this was what I was looking forward to since I got to this school." Alanna cried.
"Yes, but it's not the end of the world." Jon brushed his hand through her coppery red hair. "You still have a lot going for you. After the first semester there will be people dropping out and there will be a free spot for you."
"Oh great I'll be an afterthought addition to the team." Alanna grumbled.
Jon chuckled and folded his hands over her smaller ones. "Don't think of it that way." He contemplated his next words. "Although I don't know how you didn't make it. What you did at the tryouts – well pure brilliance."
"I guess the Headmaster didn't think so." Silence followed. The boys had long since abandoned their game of soccer so there were no distracting background noises. Jon shifted from foot to foot, quite unsure of what to do with himself.
"So what are you going to do now?"
Alanna clenched Jon's hands. "I'll wait until semester time and then approach the Headmaster with as much dignity as I can."
A smile crept up onto Jon's face. "For a second there I thought you were going to scream and yell and run off. Then I'd have to run all over the campus looking for you only to have you punch me in the face when I did."
Alanna snorted. "Hey don't push your luck."
"I'm just saying that you're remarkably calm over this."
"Like I said," Alanna said in a flat, dangerous tone. "Don't push your luck."
Jon threw back his head and laughed. "Oh Alan! If only you knew how incredibly attractive I found you."
"You find me attractive?" Alanna asked incredulously. "Go screw yourself."
Jon grinned and ruffled her hair. "Of course you silly goose. What, you didn't think that I didn't find you at all attractive? I think I must have mentioned it before a few times."
With shame, Alanna looked down at her shoes. "There's just a goddamn lot that you don't know about me. Doesn't that make you uneasy?"
"All I know about you is that you love fencing, you're stubborn, courageous, a little-over achieving and," he paused for added effect and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You have a cute ass."
"Jon!" Alanna ripped her hands from Jon's grip and slapped him on his shoulder. The boy only giggled and shook his head.
"It's true!" Jon said in his defense. "Have you ever looked back into a mirror to check it out? I mean it's so cute and firm."
"Enough!" Alanna glanced around hurriedly. Trees covered them from view if anyone happened to be looking out from the school but there could always be someone lurking behind a tree. It wouldn't do well for someone to overhear Jon complimenting her ass like this.
"Oh don't be like that." Jon moaned. "You're taking all the fun away."
Alanna raised her hands into the air in disbelief and sighed with exaggerated exasperation. She turned to go back into the school, and up to her dorm room when Jon decided to grab her around the waist from behind.
"Where are you going?" He whispered seductively in her ear.
Alanna squirmed in his grasp. "I want to go back to the room."
"Umm, nope." Jon all but practically dragged her into a more secluded patch off from the gravel path amongst the trees. "It's so much more fun out here with me." Any further protest from the girl was cut off as Jon kissed her. It was heavy, hot and filled with lust. Alanna's eyes widened and pushed back.
"You asshole! Someone can walk by any moment!" she hissed.
"Or no one will come at all." Jon panted. He grabbed the younger girl's hand and pulled her towards him once again. Alanna ceased to resist, to care, to even think of the consequences if someone were to suddenly appear. She only thought of Jon's hot lips against her. She shivered in delight as Jon's tongue entered her mouth. He grabbed her upper arms, then slide his hands down the lengths of her arms to encircle her slim waist. Alanna involuntarily moaned. Already she felt Jon harden against her lower stomach.
What'll he think when he doesn't feel me? An unwilling thought popped into her head.
For the third time that day, the side entrance of the school opened with a bang. Jon and Alanna broke apart as if the gods themselves had dragged them from each other. With no time to waste, they quickly stumbled over themselves as they shrunk down behind a clump of holly bushes. A small group of boys ran out with a whoot, laughing and boasting loudly. One of them kicked a soccer ball as he passed Jon and Alanna's hiding spot. The rest followed as they seemingly went their way to the vacant soccer field. Alanna's heart felt as if it had dropped down to her stomach and she was afraid to breathe even a tiny bit as the boys ran further down the gravel path.
Beside her, Jon was in a similar trance. Although his body was perfectly still, he followed the sounds of the boys with his cool, blue eyes. A slow steady gust of wind rustled the leaves above them and shook the tree branches just out of reach above them. Alanna crunched down even further, shivering now from the wind as it brought goose bumps to her skin, even while wearing her school blazer.
Only when no sound was to be heard except the still rustling leaves and the resumed and muted chirp of crickets did Jon and Alanna cautiously stir from hiding. Alanna's heart raced faster than before. Jon looked up and down the length of the path before he waved to Alanna that the coast was clear.
"That was freaking close." Jon wiped his now sweaty palms on his pants. "Too close."
"I told you!" Alanna reminded the older boy. "But no, someone had to have his way."
"I didn't hear you complaining." He thought for a moment. "Well not very much."
Alanna slapped him on his shoulder once again. Jon took a reproving step back and put up his hands.
"Don't kill me. Don't kill me. Don't kill me." He pleaded. Alanna approached him, a vicious look in her eyes. However her attack was interrupted by a ping from Jon's cell phone.
"Ooo! It's from Gary! 'Where are you?'" Jon read aloud. "Oh shit!" He stared at Alanna wide-eyed. "Alan, we have detention tonight!" Alanna squealed and slapped Jon again before grabbing his wrist and hauling him off to the detention hall.
With Alan still fuming at him for being late to detention and for almost getting caught, Jon knew there would be no chance of any romantic endeavors . Goddamn that boy drove him mad! Not a day went by since they first met each other that Jon hadn't thought of the red-haired boy. He was so…mysterious. Jon couldn't quite describe what it was but it drove him absolutely, positively mad!
And that heated kiss in that evening…so hot.
As fencing practice every day after school, Alanna found herself quite lonely. All her friends had practice, even Douglass whom she had defeated in the tryouts. She couldn't understand why she hadn't gotten the position that she wanted. If Duke Naxen had let Douglass on the time, then he had to let Alanna on the team. It had been an awkward conversation the next morning when Raoul had asked her if she was looking forward to practice after school. She was sure that people sitting at the tables ten feet away could have felt the heat rise off her cheeks as she mumbled "No." and dug into her eggs with vigor. She failed to miss the uneasy glance that Raoul shared with Gary and Alex. Gary had opened his mouth to say something but at that moment Jon hugely exaggerated a yawn and elbowed Gary in his face. Classes were a drag that day, and all of that week. Even gym was boring instead of the torture it had been before.
Even Ralon, her bully, seemed perfectly content with doing nothing. Alanna caught him glancing at her during gym and then turning away to laugh with his friends. What she wouldn't give to find out what Ralon was saying about her behind her back! She shook her head at herself and reprimanded herself. Maybe Ralon wasn't saying anything at all. It could be all in her head although she doubted it.
With nothing else to do except visit the vast library and greenhouses, Alanna texted George more and more often. She found that he was quite witty, clever and knowledgeable of everything and everyone of importance in the city of Corus. Alanna agreed to come to the city that Saturday, as she blessedly received no homework for the weekend. The rest of the week passed in a blur. Jon made no advances on her again besides an peck before bed or a small hug. Both of them were too tired or busy to think of it.
Friday evening came around and Alanna walked with Jon downstairs after the final bell rung, signaling the end of the classes for the day.
"Beloved Friday you couldn't have come soon enough!" Jon lamented. He winced as he stretched out his shoulder. "Ouch!"
"Hmm?" Alanna wondered.
Jon rubbed his shoulder gingerly. "Duke Naxen is making us do all sorts of exercise. We haven't picked up a foil at all!"
"I'm sure he's not going to let a bunch of out of shape boys run around with swords." Alanna pointed out. "Half of those people haven't done any serious exercise since summer break."
"Ha! Always the rational one aren't we?" Jon tussled her hair and gave her a quick wink before he took the staircase to the gym. With a heavy heart, Alanna decided to grab a tennis racket and go outside, before she went completely mad with not doing anything.
As it turned out tennis helped relieve some of the anxiety she had been feeling all week. Fresh air, some competition and a good work-out was sometimes all she needed to relax. She shook hands with the sophomore she had been playing against and went straight up to her room. During the course of the match there had been a growing pain in her abdomen. It got progressively worse until she purposely missed a few balls just so the match would be over quicker. Her competitive side hated her for it. She staggered into her dorm room and dropped her racket into a corner along with her sneakers. The pain was even worse after going up the stairs.
Egh! What did I do? Alanna wondered. I know. I'll take a hot shower, go to bed and if I'm not better tomorrow morning I'll go the nurse. She didn't even hear Jon as he came to the room later.
Thankfully for Jon, she missed the reek of cigarettes on him.
Pain.
Alanna scrunched into a ball and clenched her legs together.
Ow! She silently sobbed. Her stomach hurt even more than last evening. Her lower back ached and the spot between her legs was aching as well. No! Alanna reached between her legs. It was completely wet.
Mother-fucker. Alanna's mind whirled as she tried to figure out what to do. She opened her sleep-heavy eyes and looked at her alarm clock. It's digital number announced the time as 3:30 in the morning. Alanna let out a little moan and felt tears start to form. Of all the things to give her away it had to be her period didn't it? There was no way she could hide her pads and tampons from Jon. She couldn't change them out in the boys bathroom. She couldn't throw them away in any trashcan around the school.
Then it hit her like a lightning bolt. She hadn't even packed any, she suddenly remembered. What should she do?
4:00 am and Alanna speed down the road leading from Conte d'Royale to Corus. She rode a sleek black Yamaha FZ8, borrowed without permission from the school garages. As to why the school would feel a need to own a Yamaha motorbike, Alanna had no idea but she was thankful for it. After fiddling with a few locks and a few painstakingly, heart-throbbing scary moments she was off to see George at the Dancing Dove. She raced along the silent road, her headlights sweeping aside the dark. Twinkling above her were bright stars, arranged in fabulous constellations and were her only company on the lonely road. She reached the outskirts of the city and slowed down a bit, not wanting to get caught by a speeding camera or worse, a cop.
Alanna pulled up to the Dancing Dove as the first grey hint of light flirted along the eastern horizon. The last of the night's drunkards were hobbling home and some had even passed out in parking lot outside the night club. It was with unease that Alanna dismounted and removed her helmet. The Dancing Dove, while being a center of importance to the underground of the city, was not in the best of neighborhoods. During the day this part was pretty safe however in the pre-dawn morning, Alanna felt exposed and apprehensive. She secured her bike and approached the door. She knocked once softly, then more vigorously.
The same man who she met the first time she came here opened the door.
"Get lost kid." He growled. "We don't open til morning."
"Well it's morning now." Alanna retorted against her better judgment. She slapped herself mentally.
"You wanna screw around with me?" The man cocked an eyebrow and cracked his knuckles.
Thinking quickly, Alanna blurted out: "I'm here to see George Cooper!"
The bouncer looked confused for a moment. He wasn't sure what to make of this short boy wandering up to a nightclub doorway at this dangerous hour. He had to hand it to the kid, he had balls. The bouncer waved Alanna in. After all, how much trouble could this little pipsqueak cause?
"Up the stairs at the end of the hallway behind the bar. Take a right at the top of that landing." The bouncer muttered. "And I don't want no trouble."
Alanna hopped over sleeping patrons, empty bottles and a few patrons who were still awake. She felt herself shaking as she climbed up the dingy, narrow staircase lit only by a low blue light. Surely there would have been a better way to handle this. She could have told Corum instead of running off like she was on an adventure. She found George's room, marked by the Dancing Dove symbol and his initials carved underneath. She knocked on his door.
"George open up! It's Alan!" She said in a loud whisper. Hearing nothing within, she repeated herself, only louder. Giving up, she grabbed the doorknob and went into the room, closing the door behind her. It was completely dark in here and she fumbled for a light switch.
"Didn't yer mother ever tell yer it'd be rude to com'n uninvited?" George growled. Alanna felt a knifepoint pressed up against her neck.
"George its me! Alan!" She squeaked.
"Alan?" George sounded drunk, sleepy and astonished. "Lad! What in blazes…" Light filled the room and Alanna squinted against the brightness. The first thing that she noticed was that George was completely and totally naked. Incredibly toned from years of sneaking and working out, he had a muscular yet slim build. Also, Alanna blushed, between his legs, well, he was well endowed.
"Put some pants on." Alanna choked out. She turned away and sat down in an armchair and put her face into hands. This had gotten way out of control. She should have stayed at school instead of going off during this un-godly hour. Headmaster Naxen would surely rip out her heart for this. She couldn't imagine the number of rules and protocols and regulations that she was breaking right now.
"Alan what's the matter wit' yer? Are yer sick?" George coming striding up to her in all of his glorious nakedness. Alanna couldn't look away from George's bare body. "Did somethin' happen up ther' at the school?" His hazel eyes gleamed with concern.
"No George, nothing happened." Alanna didn't know how to tell him this. "I really need your help."
"What then!" George knelt and put his hands on her shoulders. "Just tell me already lad!" His naked body was not helping her concentrate at all.
Might as well just blurt it out. Alanna thought. "George, I'm, I am…I'm actually a girl!"
I apologize profusely for not updating sooner and hope to have the next chapter put up by Thursday. I also hope I haven't lost all my readers and reviewers. I would be incredibly sad. Sorry if this is isn't the best quality.
Since I love to babble in these author notes here's more of some semi-important info: I hate myself for not updating. It takes me more energy and will-power to sit down in front of a computer than it does to write. Once I start, the words just come together. I was honestly really busy. I'm trying to sort life together, college, boyfriend, stupid friends, work, etc. (Btw, my boyfriend is quite attractive XD)
Like always, I get so caught up in the details that it takes a few chapters to get through one event. 13 chapters later and she's only been at the school a month. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this story. I don't know what are your thoughts? How should I end it? I will continue but I kinda need some direction.