Hamilton Academy: He's Always Watching

Part Two ~ Chapter One

“If everyone knew about the note they would understand my concerns, but I stood by my feelings about needing to protect them."

-Matt

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MATT:

If I can't have a time machine to bring us back before the attempted murder of my brother, I wish I could at least freeze time. Maybe before I got the mysterious note things weren't anywhere near perfect, but it was one million times worse now. The backward glances I was always making over my shoulder were endless, and yet I could not find anything suspicious. Mr. Grey still acted as if nothing had happened at all, and it was just highly confusing.

Charlotte said I was just being paranoid. Would she say that if she knew what was going on? All she understood was that I wouldn’t let anyone from my group out of sight without a lot of details about their whereabouts, and I think she was just jealous. I wanted to protect them, that was all. I couldn’t tell them about the note, things would only become harder.

Amy seemed like she was floating on cloud nine half the time I saw her, and I didn’t want to be the one to bring her down. I didn’t know how she could bounce back so quickly from what happened, but there must have been something she was focusing her attention on. I was more worried that it would turn into someone though. That had already happened with Julia.

If everyone knew about the note they would understand my concerns, but I stood by my feelings about needing to protect them.

My feet thumped steadily against the dirt as I ran, music blasting in my ears. I tried to drown away my thoughts with songs, but it just wasn't working. I had been running a lot more lately. Usually, once I found a good rhythm, my brain would shut off and I would only notice the pounding of my heart. I couldn't seem to get into the mood today for some reason, and I really didn't want to keep thinking about everyone's safety.

I paused in my jog, leaning over and resting my hands on my knees. Taking a deep breath, I guzzled down water. Sweat trickled down the side of my face, and I knew I should stop soon. I had been running for a good portion of the morning already, and I wasn't making much progress on any school work. My grades were suffering greatly thanks to Mr. Grey's note, since I couldn't focus on any of the homework. Whenever I sat down to complete it I just couldn't think straight.

I straightened myself into an upright position again and pushed off. My feet went back to their rhythmic pounding and I let my mind wander away from all thoughts of Mr. Grey until I was concentrating on the music. A deep, melodic voice filled my ears. I let the feeling of peacefulness wash over me, slightly drained from always worrying about others.

Suddenly, I felt the sensation of someone ripping something from my ear. My good feeling vanished instantly as the music stopped, and I turned my head to face whoever pulled me out of my trance.

"Did you ever think that maybe spending your time with other people would be more beneficial than making yourself sweat?" Oh joy! It was Charlotte. Just who I wanted to see.

"Hello Charlotte," I sighed. Wiping some sweat from my brow, I tried to look interested in what she had to say. She ran a hand through her long, blonde hair, pushing it back from her face.

"How come my boyfriend is so anti-social," she muttered. I held back a laugh at her evident dislike.  Sometimes I wondered why we went out if we hated each other so much.

"Sorry that my social skills aren't up to your standards." I filled my voice with as much sarcasm as I could muster. Unscrewing the cap to my water bottle, I tool a big gulp. The refreshing feel of cold water coated my face when I poured some on my head as well. Tiny droplets slipped down my cheeks, making Charlotte wrinkle her nose.