Chapter 2

The loud thunderous blare of the alarm clock tore Elizabeth from her dreams, dumping her back into the real world. She rolled over and slammed her hand on top of the offending box, smothering the sound and finally killing it all together with a flip of a small switch. She hated the sound of the alarm, but her father hated it more, and with the thin walls of the house he could hear it almost as well as she could.

Rolling out of bed, she found her clothing and dressed, though she felt sore and wanted to climb back into bed. It was a school morning and she had to go, or the police would show up thinking her father had killed her.

Opening her door as quietly as she could, Elizabeth grabbed a quick breakfast of buttered toast and headed out to catch the bus. She always sat alone and near the front, which was not always bad because she could get off the bus faster then the other students. The ride was a little long because they had to pick up students, but once at school she slipped off the bus.

She was not at all surprised to see Josh waiting at the front doors, watching the crowd with a cocky grin on his face. She wanted to walk over and slap it off, but she knew he would not be alone. Josh always traveled with at least two other guys, making any fight an unfair fight. She rolled her eyes, not only irritated that he was waiting by the door, but annoyed that he was clearly looking for her. She turned to walk down the side walk and slammed face first into someone.

"Sorry.." She muttered, quickly stepped back away from whomever it was. She felt her face flush with embarrassment. She just knew the whole school could see how red she was.

"It's okay." The voice was male, and from how solid the body was she had already known that. She looked up at the face of the man who owned the body, and was almost stunned. He was clearly new, for she had never before seen the face, or the eyes that gazed back down at her. Those eyes were a deep gray blue in color, shifting to examine her face. The light that glittered off his eyes was like watching light filter down through a thin sheet of ice. His face was pale, but hansom with a strong jaw and high cheek bones.

"Wont happen again." She said quickly, looking away and walking past him. She slipped into a crowd of students and slipped past Josh and walked as fast as she could to her first class. She peeked in, glad to see that no other students had arrived and took her seat. She took out her book and sighed, glad to be out of the hall. The teacher of the class walked in and over to Elizabeth's desk.

"Elizabeth?"  The teacher asked. He was an older man with graying salt and pepper hair, wrinkled skin that reminded her of old worn leather. His hands shook and one eye drooped to the side, but he was a nice man that often helped Elizabeth when someone bothered her.

"Yes, Mr. baker?" She responded, looking up at him.

"We have some new students here in school. One is in our class. I was hoping that you could help him with the lessons so he can catch up quickly and wont get left behind." He said with a smile. Elizabeth had always liked him, and that fact that he always treated her like a person and not some poor animal to be pitied. She nodded her head to him, glad to help, as long as it was him who asked.

"Yea. I can do that." She said to him, going back to looking at her book as other students began to file into the class before the late bell rang. She was focused on what she was reading when she heard someone sit beside her. She didn't pay attention until she felt them move closer to her. Slowly Elizabeth looked over, surprised and irritated at the same time. There, sitting in the chair at her side, was the boy she had run into earlier. The bell rang and Mr. Baker walked to the front of the class.

"Here you are again." He said with a smile that could have out shone the sun. She turned back to her book and tried to ignore him.

"I'm Raphiel." He said to her, offering her his hand. She looked at him, then slowly slipped her hand into his.

"Elizabeth." She replied, pulling her hand back.

"Okay. For all of you that remember what we were working on last week, open your books. For those of you that don't, ask for help." Mr. baker said, sounding disappointed when he said that last part. Very few students actually payed attention, and he wished that more would. Of course, that would not happen. It was a high school after all.

"So what were you working on last week?" Raphiel asked, leaning in close to Elizabeth. She looked at him out the corners of her eyes.

"The minerals found in balsamic rock." She explained, pushing the book a little closer to him. Learning came easily for Elizabeth, so sharing the book was no drawback. She knew most of what it said anyway, having done the homework that was assigned. Mr. Baker had always told her that she was the best in the class, and as they worked together, she found that Raphiel was good competition.

The bell rang, causing a few of the students to jump, and waking up another. Elizabeth began to pack up, though she moved as slowly as she could without being suspicious. She was stalling so that she didn't leave until after the late bell. Josh knew where her next class was and would be waiting for her, either outside of class or in the hall.

"Hey, you okay Elizabeth?" Raphiel asked her, stepping in front on the table where Elizabeth was still packing her stuff.

"I'm fine." She said quickly, packing the rest of her stuff and zipping her bag. She headed out the door at a brisk walk, trying to get away from Raphiel. He was nice, but she didn't want him to be caught in the middle of her life. She avoided friends, which was one reason why she was considered an outcast.

Josh was waiting, like she had thought, for her to leave the room. She turned sharply, trying to duck into a large group of students like she had done before, but Josh was onto her this time and as she passed he slipped into the crowd and grabbed her arm.

"Elizabeth! Where are you going?" He asked with a grin, steering her out of the crowd by her arm.

"I told you I would get you." He growled, gripping her arm tighter. Elizabeth tried to pull her arm free, but he was stronger then she was, so her efforts were in vane.

"Let me go!" She yelled, hoping that someone would hear her. She grabbed Josh's fingers and pulled one back, almost getting her arm free when someone grabbed her free arm. She whipped around, thinking it was one of the goons he called friends, only to see that it was Raphiel. She was surprised, but whether it was a good surprise or bad she was not entirely sure.

"What do you want nerd?" Josh snapped, taking the moment that Elizabeth was not paying attention to grip her arm tightly again. She turned her head and glared at him.

"To take my friend to her next class." Raphiel responded, sounding as if his intentions had been clear all along.

"She is my friend too. I have something I need to discuss with her." Josh explained, trying hard to sound nice. Elizabeth could tell he was trying to fool Raphiel, and probably any teachers that were close by.

"I'm not friends with either of you!" She snapped, glaring at them both. She was angered that they had both called themselves her friend, when she wanted nothing to do with either of them. She jerked her arms hard and pulled free from both of them.

"Touch me again and I'll kill you!" She called back to them, taking off down the hall toward her next class. She zig-zagged around other students, racing to her next class to get as much distance between her and the boys as she could. Luckily no teachers saw her, so she got to class without hassle.

She took a moment to catch her breath before she walked into the class and sat down. She was just unpacking her bag when she heard a voice.

"Are you Elizabeth?" She sighed and turned slowly, her eyes settling on the boyish face of someone she had never seen before. He had bowl cut blond hair, which clearly suited him well. His eyes were a bright sky blue and his smile was quick, but insincere. She could feel his gaze boring a hole through her head and looked away from him.

"What do you want?" She snapped, glaring at her book as she put it on the table.

"I was sent by my brother to keep an eye on you." He replied, taking a seat beside her. She felt anger boil to life in her chest, whipping around to glare at this boy even though his gaze made her uncomfortable.

"Tell your brother I can keep an eye on myself!" She shouted, turning away quickly and closing her mouth when the teacher walked in.

"All of you open your books to page 176!" She screeched. The teacher was a tall woman that often reminded Elizabeth of a flamingo. She had bright red hair that was always slicked back into a tight bun. Her nose was long and hooked down, like it had been broken and no one had bothered to fix it. Her bright green eyes were set too far apart and she was so thin and pale she looked as if she had just walked out of a concentration camp. She wore a thick gray wool dress that hung off her bony body and gave her the appearance of a skeleton stuffed in a white sock and wrapped in a scratchy wool blanket to hide what it really was.

"Ms! I'm new. I don't have a book." Said the boy loudly, so that the teacher could hear. She turned and looked at him, looking as though she had just stepped in something distasteful and it had spoken to her.

"You must be Cole Weaver." She sneered at him. Elizabeth could almost hear the sizzle as the teacher glared at Cole.

"Share a book with Elizabeth." She finally told him in a rather bored way, then she walked to the board. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and pushed the book toward him. He leaned in close to her, a little too close for her liking. She reached over and put a hand on his shoulder, pushing him away from her.

"You're invading my personal bubble." She said to him, looking back at the book.

"I'm sorry. Want to invade my bubble?" He asked, raising his eye brows in a gesture that was lost on Elizabeth. He opened his arms to her, his smile suggesting he wanted her over there.  She felt like a mouse who had been caught out in the open and a cat had found her. She gave him a disgusted look and shook her head.

"No. Just stay over there." She replied, ignoring him. The rest of school passed without incident, and Elizabeth had a feeling it was because of Raphiel. It annoyed her that he was trying to take care of her, like she was a child that needed looking after. When school finally ended she headed toward the front door, having a need to get her father his favorite liquid death.

Reviews

[shadowmagi55]

Okay, slow down on the quickly use. I saw at least 3 or 4 in one paragraph. Switch it up a bit. And the names. Sometimes, except for like First names, you ignore that. Otherwise, very straightforward, so, not too bad.

[Ebb and Flow]

Okie dokie sister something to fix. Crowded, distance. You'll be able to find them if you take the time to reread it. love you