The Beginning

A Chapter by KingO'Malley

It's the beginning of new school year, and Reyne is already having problems. This new guy Jin won't leave him alone and Jason is already picking fights with him. How could his day get worse?

Chapter One: The Beginning

I haven't cried in four years. I haven't smiled in four years. I haven't spoken in four years. I haven't laughed or felt happiness or felt warmth in four years. All I've felt is loneliness and pain. And no matter how much I try to change that or be the least bit happy, there is always someone there to destroy it before it can be created.

I would say that I have friends to help with the pain. I would say I have people that are there to support me and help me through these dark times, but . . . I'd be lying. Isn't that why I don't speak or cry or smile anymore? Isn't that the point of being lonely?

Some would argue that the point of being lonely is to get closer to those around you and help you feel wanted, but that would also be a lie. The point of being lonely is to show just how unwanted you are. It shows you just how much no one really cares. There are those lucky people out there that have others to help them through those times, but I'm not one of them.

I'm just alone. Or rather, I was until he came along.

--->o<--

Getting up in the morning was always a hassle. This morning was no different. My cellphone buzzed loudly and annoyingly right next to my head for a good ten minutes before I got fed up with it and sat up, pushing the off button on the alarm. I never had a noisy alarm because it would bother my father, and I would prefer not to be beaten right before school.

Not that it mattered that much to me, but it would only make the rumors that would begin flowing again that day worse. With the beginning of a new school year came new rumors, and I would like as few of those as possible.

I stretched then stood up to get ready for school. After a quick shower, I threw on a black t-shirt and a worn pair of blue jeans, then put on my favorite crimson hoodie over the t-shirt. I picked up my silver necklace and clasped it around my neck. It was a beautifully made locket that used to be my mother's. It was made of silver with swirling designs all over it and black obsidian stones set into the metal.

I tucked it under my hoodie and walked to my backpack. As I bent down to pick it up, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I'd been told that I looked a lot like my mother, but I highly doubted that. My unruly platinum blonde hair, which was almost white, just brushed my shoulders and swept into my dull crimson eyes. My skin was white, as though I hadn't seen the light of day in my entire life. That may have had a little to do with it, but it was also just me. I was naturally pale.

I winced at the sight of the chained wing tattoo on my neck, and shifted my hoodie so that it covered the tattoo. With that, I packed all of the new notebooks, paper, pens, and pencils I managed to buy with my spare money into my backpack and threw it over my shoulder, ignoring the pain when the strap landed on a bad bruise.

I walked out of my room and made my way quietly through the small, old house so as not to bother my father, who was most likely drunk. I sighed with relief when I closed the door silently behind me. The walk to school took about five minutes, and when I checked my phone for the time, I saw that I was fifteen minutes early.

I went to the front office, and when the secretary saw me, annoyance flashed across her face. She shuffled through a drawer next to her and handed me a paper without a word. Ms. Sheen was the secretary that had been working at the school for a while, and knew that I wouldn't say a word. And by now, she probably already knew what I needed anyway.

I took the paper, which had my locker number and classes, then went into the hallway to find my locker. To my displeasure, my locker was on the third floor, all the way at the unlighted end of the hallway, which seemed to never have its light bulb replaced. I found my locker, #399, and marked the where it was in my memory, though I doubted that it would be hard to forget.

As I turned around to go to my first class, which conveniently enough was on the first floor, I ran into someone and got knocked on my butt, as did the person I ran into. They quickly scrambled to their feet. “Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going,” he said. “Here, take my hand.” The teen offered his hand, which I responded to with a disgruntled look, and got up on my own.

The teen looked at me awkwardly. “Um, my name is Jin. It's nice to meet you,” he said with sincerity in his voice. This time he held his hand out to shake. I promptly ignored it and walked past him towards the staircase at the other end of the hall.

Jin said nothing more, but I heard him following me down the hall. I ignored him as we both walked down the hallway, then the stairs, but when we both went towards the same classroom, I turned around and gave him a look.

“What?” he asked, confusion etched into his features. I just shook my head and walked into the Advanced Math classroom. I found a seat in the back corner next to the window and dropped my backpack next to the desk, then sat down. Most of the other students were already seated and talking excitedly with their friends. For one second, I thought about what it would be like to talk to friends, but pushed that thought to the back of my mind, along with the rest of the things I didn't want to think about.

The students that knew me from before my Senior year gave me mocking glances, and I immediately knew that this year would be hell. Again. In the corner of my eye, I saw Jin sit next to me, but I pretended not to notice and looked out the window and into the desecrated courtyard of the high school.

When Mr. Layton walked in and introduced himself, he asked us to introduce ourselves as well. We went by row, and luckily for me, I was the last seat in the last row, so I wouldn't have to say anything. When it finally came down to me, Mr. Layton just ignored me and started introducing what we were going to do in class and handed out the syllabus.

Some students looked confused while others just sighed, annoyed that they still couldn't get me to talk. Whispers broke out in small bursts, and I heard them discussing me in all the conversations I could hear. I just rolled my eyes and tuned everything out as I scanned my eyes over the syllabus. Equations, equations, and more equations. Fun.

The class passed quickly as I spaced out and even fell asleep. I was rudely awoken by Mr. Layton, who didn't look happy at all.

“Please pay attention in class in the future. I'll let you off today, but know that this is your first and only warning,” Layton said, giving me a stern look. I nodded in response, holding back a yawn.

Irritation passed in Layton's eyes before it disappeared and he went back to explaining . . . whatever he had been explaining. Snickers could be heard from some students. I decided to just look out the window and pretend I wasn't there.

The rest of the day passed similarly, with all of the teachers ignoring me when it came to introducing me and going on with class. I found that I knew most of the material we would be going over in all of the classes, so I didn't worry about passing. It wasn't until my last class that something went wrong. Although, I must admit I had been expecting it.

It was my English class, and the teacher was new this year. Apparently the other teachers hadn't warned her about me, because when it was my turn to introduce myself, she waited for me to say something. I just shook my head at her and resumed looking out the window. Mrs. Kay walked over to me and asked in a sweet voice, “Please introduce yourself. We need to get on with the class.”

A girl in the front giggled. With a sigh, I shook my head, trying to get it through Mrs. Kay's head that I wouldn't say anything, but she just didn't get it. The girl that had giggled spoke up.

“Mrs. Kay, he doesn't talk. He's a mute,” she said, a sickly-sweet smile plastered onto her face.

Mrs. Kay gave me an apologetic look. “Oh, I'm sorry, dear. I'll just introduce you to the class.” I shook my head violently. I didn't want them knowing my name, especially not my last name. Then they'd know some of my past, and then I would never hear the end of it. The teacher frowned. She took one look at her clipboard and understood.

“Alright, let's get on with the lesson,”she said and handed out the syllabus. I tried to pretend I was paying attention, but quickly lost interest and spaced out again, forcing myself to stay awake. All throughout the class people gave me looks, some confused and some mocking.

I didn't pay attention to them and pretended to listen to Mrs. Kay. The only person that made me uneasy was the new guy, Jin. He kept looking at me with an emotion I couldn't decipher, and it made me uncomfortable.

When the mind numbing class was finally over, I left as fast as I could and made for the forest. Before I could even leave the school grounds, some guys grabbed me by the shoulders and dragged me behind the school. I didn't resist them, as I was used to this, and let them slam me against the brick wall.

I suppressed a wince as the bricks dug painfully into my bruises and cuts. “It's nice to finally see you again, Reyne. It's been awhile,” the teen that shoved me against the wall, Jason, said, smirking.

I rolled my eyes and looked over his shoulder to see a newer looking kid, who seemed anxious. Probably a new kid Jason wanted to add to his gang before he graduated. If he graduated at all, that is.

My nonchalance seemed to aggravate Jason. He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You've only gotten prettier over the summer. You're starting to look prettier than Jennie.” My eyes widened in shock, and I had to push memories of a situation similar to this away. I should explain. Jennie was Jason's girlfriend, who was also the prettiest girl in school. Even the other girls would date her if they had a chance.

I shoved Jason away roughly, making him stumble back into one of his lackeys. I tried to run, but another guy grabbed my wrist with an iron grip. I pulled and tugged, but nothing worked. Getting angry, I swung my fist and hit the guy square in the nose. I heard a sick crunching sound, warm blood pouring onto my knuckles, and pain exploding in my hand, but ignored it all and ran as the teen let go of me to hold onto his broken nose.

Footsteps followed after me, but I was too fast for the people coming after me. I ran and ran with only one destination in mind. The forest. When I hit the tree line and plunged into the dark shadows of the trees, the footsteps going after me finally stopped, and the yelling faded into nothing. And yet I didn't stop running. In the forest, I felt free. I wasn't happy there. I wasn't content. But I felt free. Nobody knew about this place of mine, and that was good enough for me.

I slowed to a halt when I reached the peaceful clearing I knew so well. The clearing was about ten meters across, with a wooden shed at the edge of it. All together, it was beautiful. Flowers bloomed all around the edges, and within the clearing the grass was a healthy green and reached my knees. The grass glimmered in the sunshine. The shed was broken down looking, but suited my needs. I walked across the clearing to the other side where the shed was.

I opened the rusty metal door and walked inside. The inside was small, but comfortable. On the floor in the corner were some blankets I had managed to smuggle in a few months before, and against the back wall was a short wooden shelf that sagged with all the notebooks and drawing pads, all in protective folders, that were stacked on it.

There were some candles lined on the right wall, away from the shelf, that I lit when it was raining, or when it got dark. Lined up on another small shelf along the left wall was art supplies, fresh notepads and drawing pads, pens, and pencils.

I bypassed the shelf of supplies and went straight for the back. I picked up the drawing pad that was on the top and pulled it out of the protective folder. I went back to the shelf of supplies and picked up a tin of drawing pencils, then went over to my nest in the corner and got comfortable in the blankets.

~Time Skip, 4 Hours~

I got lost in drawing for what seemed like an eternity. When I checked my phone for the time, my eyes widened, and I snapped my head to the window. The light outside was slowly getting darker, signaling night was coming. 'S**t!' I cursed in my head. 'I'm late!' I quickly gathered my school things, put my drawing pad and pencils away safely, and then took off out of the shed towards my home.

As I ran through the shadow shrouded forest silently, I heard footsteps crunching and heavy breathing. I slowed down to a walk and tried to follow the sounds while calming my own breathing. I soon found the source of the footsteps and saw that it was the guy that knocked me down in the hall, Jin. I scowled slightly.

My scowl slipped a bit as I really looked at him for the first time in the fading light. His light brown hair was cut short and had natural highlights that the golden sunlight bounced off of. His tan skin seemed to glow strangely. What drew me in the most was his alluring deep blue eyes that seemed like they could sparkle even in the darkest of places.

His eyes were clouded with worry as his head whipped around, seemingly looking for someone or something. I frowned, wondering why he was out there so close to my sacred place. I approached him slowly and silently. I was approaching his back, so when I reached him I tapped him on the shoulder. This startled Jin and he spun around quickly with a look of surprise and fear on his face.

When he saw me his body relaxed and a relieved expression passed over his face for a second before he hid it. “Oh, it's you,” he said. “What are you doing out in the forest at night?” I gave him a look and turned to walk away, deciding not to even try.

“Wait!” Jin exclaimed, grabbing my wrist quickly. I spun around and yanked my wrist out of the other teen's hold. He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender when he saw my harsh glare. “Sorry, it's just . . . well . . . I'm kind of lost,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. I raised my eyebrow at him, urging him to elaborate.

“Well . . .” the brunette started. “ . . . I kind of saw that fight with you and Jason, and I was worried when you didn't come out of the forest, so I went looking for you . . . and managed to get myself lost.” I sighed in annoyance and turned around, motioning for him to follow me. We walked in silence for about half an hour before we reached the edge of the forest at last.

I knew I was way late, but I knew since I was already late it couldn't be that much worse. “Thanks,” Jin said to me, shooting a grateful grin at me. I only shook my head and turned to walk away. Jin stopped me with a question. “How do you know your way around the forest? Do you go there often?”

I got the feeling he just wanted to talk to me longer, but I just turned to him and tapped my watch. He got the message and bade me good-bye, then took off in the opposite direction of my house. I thanked whatever gods that were out there for that. I didn't want him to see what was about to go down.

When I realized that it was already eight o'clock, I started sprinting towards my house so as not to be any later than necessary. I reached my house breathing heavily and reached for the door handle. As predicted, the door was unlocked. My father never bothered to lock as he was always drunk and it just didn't matter to him if someone stole our stuff or not. None of it was valuable anyway, so there would be nothing worth stealing.

I tiptoed silently through the house, hoping my father would be asleep. When I made it to my room, I let out a breath of relief. Being as quiet as I could manage, I put all of my things down, took my shoes off, and flopped onto the bed. I wanted badly to sleep and forget the day, but I knew I had things to do. So I sat up on the bed and ran a hand through my hair.

I got up off the bed and cautiously padded through the house to the kitchen. Me father would wake up around eleven, so I decided to make him his food early in hopes of being taken off the hook for coming home late. Or, if I was lucky, he had fallen asleep before it was time I got home.

I pulled a frying pan out and some cooking supplies before I started making the chicken. The kitchen was soon flooded with the succulent smell of lemon chicken, carrots, and rice. I heard a glass bottled hitting the floor and groaning footsteps on old wood as I put the food into a plastic container. Fear filled my body, crashing over it like a tidal wave, when I saw my father walk into the kitchen.

I quickly made sure that my face was clear of any emotion and continued to put the food into the plastic container. “You were late,” my father's deep, rough voice boomed. I flinched imperceptibly and only nodded in response, not meeting his eyes. My father was a fat, though not overly fat, man. His curly brown hair was an inch down his back and disheveled as always. His deep black pit for eyes were boring into me.

I could feel him practically burning holes through me as I closed the plastic container, put a fork on it, and handed it to my father. My hand was shaking. The man saw this and smiled menacingly. I tried not to show my fear, but I knew that something was going to happen, and it wouldn't be good. Not at all.

“I think you need to be punished, boy,” he growled. I just stood there, avoiding eye contact with him. He brought his hand back then swung it down in an arc. I flinched, but when the expected pain didn't come, I squinted my eyes open to see his hand half and inch from my face. “But I think I'll save that for later.” With that, the man took the food I made and went into the living room. I stood there, frozen in shock at what had just happened.

My head spun a little bit and I had to grab the counter behind me for support. Fear gripped my heart like a vise. I was terrified to know what he had planned, but quickly pushed that to the back of my mind and walked slowly to the my room. I didn't even bother changing and crawled in bed, falling asleep quickly, dreaming of the things that were most likely going to happen to me.