A/N: Thank you so much for your awesome support! Here's the next chapter!
Sometimes, life just sucks. Maybe it doesn't mean to suck, but it does. School started today, and I have to admit, dear readers, that school sucks too. Why? Because school is a part of life. Perhaps when people say that this is Karma, maybe they're right. I always believed that it was God punishing me, but I'm trying to figure out when He's just going to stop. It feels like it will never end.
My new school is alright, nothing fancy. My mom paid an enormous amount of money to have the principle design a new "program for one" at school to keep me occupied. She doesn't want me home alone. Now, you might think, "Oh bless her little heart," like my grandma always says, but in reality, that's just an excuse to keep the tension down at home. If I'm not there, everything's better and happier. I'm kept at school until dinnertime, and trust me, I'm already done with auditing the old people's pottery class.
I just want everyone to leave me alone, so why is it that bullies decide to pick on me? Do I have a sign on the back of my shirt that says "LONER! PICK ON ME!"? I don't think I do. If I do, it's pretty invisible. But anyway, these stupid jerks at school tried to come on to me in the most pathetic way, and when I tried to ignore them, they started pushing me around. Now there's the way to a girl's heart. If she doesn't want to shack up in some boiler room, by all means start manhandling her. Different results are expected in a matter of moments.
If you couldn't tell, those last couple of sentences had sarcasm dripping off of them.
And you know what's the most annoying? Guys who can't make up their minds. One minute, they're practically begging your English teacher to let them be with anyone else but you, and the next moment, they're telling the bullies off for you like you can't do anything for yourself and you're some damsel in distress. Seriously?
When mom told me a while ago that a guy's mind was an unexplainable place to be, I didn't believe her. Now, I do.
Eli stared at the latest blog from SoundGrl17, unable to move from his position at the screen. No. Frickin. Way. SoundGrl17 was Clare Edwards? There was no other explanation that crossed his mind at the moment. The boiler room, the English partner, the bullies…everything was exactly the way it had happened at school today.
So the girl that he had spent so much of his time writing to was actually the little hottie from school? Wait, no, he shouldn't be thinking about her as a hottie. She was off limits. She was…not his type. He thought she was little and unattractive.
"One of these days, God's going to hit you with lightening for all these lies you're telling yourself," the sadistic part of his brain hissed at him, knowing full well that Eli thought Clare was cute. Damn.
With slightly trembling fingers, Eli clicked the Comment button and began to type. Sorry everything has sucked so far. Maybe it'll get better? You're English partner sounds cool though. It was nice of him to try and help you, even though he doesn't seem to like you. Maybe chivalry isn't so dead?
There. That might teach her to make such assumptions of him. That is, whether she knew it was him or not. No, bad Eli. He shouldn't be giving her ideas about himself, but he couldn't help pressing the button and waiting until the site confirmed that his message had been sent.
Eli stood and stretched, glancing towards the pile of homework that was already due for tomorrow. Wonderful. "Saved by the bell," he thought when he heard his cell phone go off. Reaching into his pocket, he grinned when he saw that it was Adam. "Hey," he greeted.
"Hey Eli. Dude, I'm really stuck on our math assignment. Could you help me out a bit on problem seventeen?"
Eli smiled into the phone. Adam had never been a real whiz at math. "Sure. Let me grab my book." He tucked the phone under his ear and began to riffle through the papers and binders he had haphazardly plunked down on his desk.
"So how're your classes?" Adam asked. "I only see you for English and math now."
"Well, if you could get yourself out of remedial gym, you might see me for PE as well," Eli teased, knowing that his friend hated remedial gym. "Nah, the rest of school's the usual crap. Sign Language is kinda fun, though."
There was a pause, and then Adam laughed. "I don't get you," he said honestly. "Didn't you take Beginning Sign Language already?"
"Yup." Eli flipped open his notebook.
"Then why are you taking it again? That makes no sense, man."
"Because, the first time I took it, it was just for fun. It didn't count for school credit at my old school because I took it at the community center, and I really only tried to learn so that I could cuss people out without them knowing."
Adam snorted. "Sounds like you."
"Yeah," Eli agreed. "But this time, all I have to do is refresh a bit, whiz through the semester, and move on with the intermediate class next semester. Seriously, Adam, it's like the easiest class ever. We don't even have homework, except to practice the handouts from class!"
Adam laughed. "Whatever, dude. I still like French."
Eli rolled his eyes, even though he knew that Adam couldn't see him over the phone. "That's because you speak French, jackass."
Adam just laughed again. "Hey, I'll keep your secret, you keep mine."
"Deal. The answer's twenty-four."
Sorry everything has sucked so far. Maybe it'll get better? You're English partner sounds cool though. It was nice of him to try and help you, even though he doesn't seem to like you. Maybe chivalry isn't so dead?
Clare pressed her lips together as she read the latest comment on her blog. This person, GothWriter49, was someone with whom she generally agreed. She pressed her thumb to her lips thoughtfully and gazed at the screen. He might be right…. But he didn't know Elijah Goldsworthy. He had no idea just what a strange person Elijah was.
GothWriter49 was, rather loosely, her friend, so perhaps she should take this comment to heart. For the first time since they had begun commenting on each other's posts, she clicked the Respond button. With slightly trembling fingers, she wrote, Perhaps you're right. I just find it very strange that someone who dislikes me so much would even care about what happens to me in the hallways. However, you might be correct about chivalry. It might not be dead at all, but it seems like any possible friendship with my English partner is, in fact, gone.
Clare sat back in her chair and tapped her foot. She was risking a lot by communicating with him. When she posted on her blog, it was her way of escaping. When he acknowledged that she was there, it made it a little more real. Now that she had responded, it was like they had made a connection, tentative as it was, and the thought scared her. There was someone else in her life, an extra person that she did not need.
Someone else that might find out about her secret.
Adam strolled towards Clare's locker, grinning when he saw her pulling her books out of her locker and trying to juggle them all on her way to her first class. "Hey. Do you need some help?" he asked cheerily. She, however, didn't respond. For a moment, Adam was struck with fear that she might have changed her mind about his condition, but then he shook his head and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Ah!" she gasped, dropping her books and flinging her hands up in the air. She whirled, pressing herself against her locker, and let out a huge sigh when she saw that it was only Adam. "You scared me!" she protested. "I-I didn't know you were talking to m-me."
Adam frowned and watched as her eyes drifted to his mouth as he said, "No problem. I just wanted to know if you needed some help." When she stared at him, he pointed to her English book, which was now crumpled on the floor. "English?"
Understanding flooded Clare's blue eyes, and she nodded. "Oh, of course! Um, sure. Thank you."
She closed her locker door, and through her bangs, Adam could see her watching him carefully. As they began walking towards class, Adam turned purposefully towards her and asked, "So, I heard from Eli what happened yesterday. Are you alright?"
Clare nodded and hugged her notebook close to her chest before answering, "I'm fine. I would've been just fine without Elijah, too."
Adam smirked. "Clare, Eli was glad that he could help you out. Give him some credit."
Clare shrugged. "I guess you're right." She smiled shyly at him. "I'll try to play nice."
Adam smiled widely at her as he opened the door to English class. "Thank you," he said sincerely. As she passed by, he lifted one hand up to her ear and snapped his fingers lightly.
She didn't even turn around.
Eli kept watching Clare all throughout English class, and he barely heard a word that Miss Dawes was saying. He kept watching the way that she wrote, the way that she watched Miss Dawes, and the way that would bite her lip. She was driving him crazy already! He clenched his fists and breathed a sigh of relief when the bell finally rang. He grabbed Adam and they made their way out of class quickly, not bothering to peek once more at Clare. "So what did she say?" he asked.
Adam wriggled out of Eli's grasp. "Dude, loosen up a little!" he chastised. "She's really independent, and she doesn't like the way that you're being hot and cold with her. She thinks you should have left her alone."
"What? Why?" Eli asked angrily.
Adam shrugged, and then paused. "Eli, I think she's-"
An outlandish scream erupted from down the hall, and both boys turned quickly towards the eruption. "Clare," they both said at the same time, and took off down the hall.
"I didn't even see her walk by us!" Adam called as they ran.
Eli didn't answer. He was too tense to say anything.
They rounded the corner and skidded to a stop, only to find Fitz and Owen slamming Clare headfirst into a wall of lockers. "Not so hot now, are you, huh?" Fitz cried. "Answer me!" Clare's eyes were squeezed tightly shut, and she was biting her lip so hard that blood was pooling on the top of her skin. Eli vaulted towards Fitz as he slammed Clare's head into the locker again, his hands tangled in her short hair so that she couldn't struggle out of his grasp. "Answer me!" Fitz yelled again.
Eli grabbed Fitz by the collar of his shirt and threw him away from Clare, who gasped as Fitz's hands were torn from her hair. Not caring if a teacher found them, and completely ignoring the onlookers in the hallway, Eli cocked his hand back and brought his fist crashing down on Fitz's face. The boys grappled on the floor, and Adam even added a couple of punches to Owen's physic.
It didn't take long for Eli to beat Fitz down, and when the older boy held up his hands in surrender, blood streaming from his nose and a black eye forming, he spit out, "She's a bitch!"
Adam pushed his hair out of his face and yelled without thinking, "She's deaf, you idiot!"
Everyone watching the fight gasped, and Clare's face paled as her body gave out and she fainted.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this. Does this chapter answer some of your questions? Hope so! lol! Please review! :D