"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Your prince awaits you."
Amelie looked cautiously, revealing none other than Gary Smith sitting on her bed.
She opened her mouth to scream at the shock, but Gary quickly shushed her with his large hand over her lips. Amelie protested by thrashing up in bed and in turn Gary pinned her wrists down to her side with one of his arms.
"Tut tut… this is the thanks I get for saving a fair maiden?" Gary snickered, a grin flashing wildly across his features.
What is he doing? What am I doing? Amelie questioned herself. She never had guy friends back home, save the occasional family friend, much less a boyfriend. Amelie couldn't tell if he was flirting, sadistic or a mixture of both. It scared and amused her, but she forced herself to frown as she tried to kick Gary's chest hovering over her own body.
No. I need to scream.
She took a deep breath, preparing to yell her lungs out for help. Amelie might have found Gary oddly attractive; however, she didn't know how well intentioned a guy was who watched her in her sleep.
This time, Gary swung one of his heavy boots over Amelie's body, placing his knee in between her legs and nearly hitting her in the face with the black rubber sole. His kneeled over Amelie's stiffened form, knees on either side of her left leg, levitating his crotch just above her thigh.
Although Amelie could feel the tingling sensation in her body as Gary leaned his torso closer and closer. She was choking on air, the room seeming to tilt on an axis as Gary pierced at her golden eyes with his dark brown. There was a strange sparkle in the boy's eye as if he had just thought of a devious plan.
His hand is still on my mouth. I can stop this.
With a scrunched up face, pouting as much as possible, Amelie darted out her tongue against her captor's rough hand hoping to gross him out. It had always worked for her older brothers when they were fighting.
However, this seemed to only widen Gary's sick grin as he kept the hand in place.
"Wow," he purred seductively. "I had no idea you were such a freak, Amelie."
Suddenly, Gary's face was dug into the nape of Amelie's neck. The girl could smell the wonderful scent of him that seemed to combine not only cologne, but something else uniquely Gary.
No, this isn't right. For all you know, he will take advantage of you right now.
But before she could back out, she felt a hot breath of air followed by a wet tongue gliding across the length of her neck from her jaw line to her collarbone, and all resolve was lost. The room continued to spin as Amelie closed her eyes softly… then she was suddenly jerked awake.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
"Whaa..?" Amelie jolted up in her bed. She quickly scanned the room and with a sigh of relief (and some disappointment) there was no Gary to be found.
The clock read 5:21. That meant she had approximately two and a half hours to wake up for her first full day of classes. She still had no idea where to go as Pete had ran off after the bully encounter and Gary had only succeeded in bringing her to the dorm rooms.
Great. Now I'll never go to sleep.
She folded her arms across her chest. The room felt cold and empty without her posters, bookshelves and pictures in it. Then she automatically started to reach under the bed, forgetting that The Velveteen Rabbit had not been unpacked from her bag.
Where the fuck are my bags?!
She panicked, jumping out of bed in her outfit from yesterday and hair ratted up from her slumber. Amelie's heart began to pump faster, her throat drying out, the walls closing around her. It was nowhere to be found. Then she remembered- Gary had dropped them to carry her to the dorm. How sweet, she thought as she rolled her eyes.
Without putting on a robe or even slippers, Amelie rushed outside the main doors into the cool air of dawn. The sky was still relatively black with the moon disappearing in view.
The bag wasn't anywhere. She looked by the steps. Behind the bushes. Even going around to the back of the building. Nothing.
Why does this always happen to me?
Crying silently to herself, Amelie put her hand in her hands as she sat on the concrete floor, mind racing at a rapid pace.
I can't go to class like this! I'll never find my books now. What if someone stole the bag? What kind of sicko takes a bag full of clothes that aren't theirs? Great. Just great. My parents would be so proud of me.
Maybe a soda would help her fraying mood. There was a soda machine right in front of the main school doors. Awesome.
Amelie walked barefoot in the serene calmness of the school grounds. There were no prefects stalking the grounds, none that she could see at least, and it was quite nice to have a quiet time to think.
Her bliss only lasted for a moment as she got to the soda machine realizing she had no money-it was all in the bag she had lost.
Way to go, retard.
It's not my fault it got stolen.
Yes it is and you know it. Her other half scorned her. Maybe if you weren't so desperate all the time for attention then you would have noticed the bag on the ground.
She couldn't think of a logical counterargument to her conscience, which made her more upset. Everything seemed to be Amelie's fault, no matter what. At this point she was going to try to accept it instead of fight it.
Might as well go back to the room. Maybe you can hide there for the day, or even better, for the rest of your life, you failure.
Amelie turned her back to the school, wondering which way she had come from. She still hadn't memorized the confusing layout of the school. The fact that she had forgot to put on her glasses made the search even more difficult, as all words seemed to blur together in a dizzying mess.
Her gut told her to go to the dorm closest to the school. It looked just like it had yesterday: thick brick walls and a pair of steps. That was good enough for her.
Creeping inside the dorm doors, Amelie was immediately greeted by a friendly common room with a couch, television and… a soda on the coffee table!
By this point the fact that this dorm was definitely not the girls' did not seem to register to the girl who was so highly strung by her nerves that the caffeine beckoned to her across the way. She made sure to tiptoe into the room and slowly lift the can off the table as swift as a cat.
Easy enough.
The first gulp was so satisfying. Soda had never tasted so good after the past few days. It quenched her thirst that was trapped in the back of her throat and felt the carbonation tingle in her mouth.
She side stepped onto the couch next to the table, making sure to look behind her. At least she could have a few moments of joy before the inevitable crash later and the rest of her worries far behind her.
Her eyes began to glaze over when suddenly she saw something on the table. It wasn't just any something: it was The Velveteen Rabbit. And not just the book, but her book. It was recognizable by the wear and tear she had become so used to after multiple reads.
How dare someone take her book, the book she held so dearly to her heart. Amelie clutched the book up to her chest and breathed in the old musty smell of the pages. At least the book hadn't been destroyed. It was safe.
Amelie opened the book and leaned back into the cushion of the couch. It had always helped her sleep before and she was sure it would work now.
The book hadn't been open for a full minute when Amelie slowly closed her eyes. Her arms were still wrapped around the book. She was content, if only for that moment.
The time had passed quickly.
There are never enough hours in a day.
Amelie lay silently with her body facing away from the sofa. She was taking advantage of the restful sleep and hadn't noticed the loud click-clack of boots stomping on the hardwood floor around her.
Looking amusedly down at Amelie was Gary Smith. He noticed the book in her arms and tried to make out the title from the cover of her arms. She was fast asleep anyway, so Gary pried the book from her tightened grip without waking her up.
He continued to gaze in wonder at the soft innocence of the girl laying on the couch. The way her hair gently fell past her shoulders, the soft curve of her waist against her hips, her parted lips that took in slow breaths. Gary could have reached out and touched her then, but he restrained himself.
He had to play nice and stay off the radar in order to gain the trust back of Crabblesnitch. It wasn't his ideal situation, but it was better to go back to school and perform menial activities for the staff than go insane in Happy Volts.
Crabblesnitch had droned on about the girl in detail to Gary, explaining that she was to be aided by Gary in order to receive credit towards his probabtion sentence. 100 hours of community work. Yuck.
The chick had academic savvy, which instantly attracted Gary because everyone and their uncle at the school was nearly brain dead. It also didn't hurt that she was the most beautiful girl he'd seen at Bullworth, perhaps in a long time. Having a new girl on his side would help him regain the trust of his other classmates, perhaps even the brainless clique leaders. It was too perfect. Gary licked his lips in anticipation.
A small part of him longed for the affection of anyone, especially a girl, but he would never openly admit that to anyone. He'd sooner let Pee-pants piss over Gary's dead body.
He would have to wait until just the right time, Gary told himself, a slow grin appearing on his face. This was a challenge that Gary could not refuse. He would turn out the new girl faster than Mr. Burton could say "underage". All it took was time.
He had forgotten about the book in his hand he had taken from Amelie's grip and flipped it over to read the title. The Velveteen Rabbit. He had never been one for books, preferring reading about history's greatest dictators and war time strategies. Stories were simply a waste of time that could be used to plot.
However, he looked once more at the sleeping girl, softly snoring into the air. Gary stifled a chuckle and sat down in the arm chair, opened page one and began to read. Perhaps this book was useful if the girl had been clutching to it like a child would a stuffed animal.
"There was once a velveteen rabbit…"
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