Aerie's Fallen Immortal

Chapter 2

"You look like you just slept in the middle of nowhere." Emily replied, "Come on, just one more order and we are free to go."

Aerie sighed. The lights flashed in front of them as the night comes. Aerie gently counted the banknotes thats as handed to her as she walked out of the coffee shop. She had always been told that walking alone in the street would not be safe after sunset would not be safe, but what could she do anyways?

So Aerie pulled her headphones as she walked in the direction of her 'home'.

"Hey."

Aerie looked aside, just to know that there weren't anyone around. She tried to look for the person whose was calling her, but in the dim street where lights flashed, there was nobody. So she walked on.

"Hey." The voice continued to call her, "calling for you, mate."

Aerie looked back again, and this time to see around ten boys waiting for her at the corner.

"What?" Aerie replied. She knew thats she should be running, or at least, walking away. Fast. But instead she was there, talking.

Bad move. Aerie thought. But when they walked closer, she could recognize them. The school bullies. Pretty clearly.

"Leo?" Aerie asked, "what are you doing here?"

Run run run.

"Looking for you, friend." Leo replied, with a smile. "Thought you may come in handy."

Aerie chuckled. "Come in handy for what?"

"You see, me and my gang of boys are looking for some spare charges, so in case you have them, we're thinking if you would want to share them among us." Leo said, in a tone that was gentle enough for Aerie to know that she was completely screwed.

"I don't have any money with me today," Aerie said as she laughed, embarrassingly.

"Really?" He replied, "thought you might have some, you know, saw you counting some back inside the coffee shop over there."

Run.

And so thats what Aerie did. Without even looking back, with a last glance into the mean smile that he wore on his face, Aerie made a run for it. But it did not take long. Within ten steps someone form their group chased after her, and within another five she was nailed to the ground, and was dragged into the closest back ally, where the ten of them had all their attention on her as her back laid against the wall.

"Still? Even after five years, you should be smart enough to know that running away don't help." Leo laughed, "Don't be smart only in books, sweetheart."

"I told you." Aerie breathed, her black eyes staring directly into his, "I don't have any money."

"Oh really?" Leo laughed, still smiling as if he had already won, and pulled a kitchen knife from his pockets. "Lets give you one more time to answer that question, shall we? Oh, a scar on that pretty face wont be nice, don't you think? Girls at your age are supposed to be cute."

"As I said," Aerie said, breathing for air as the weight of the massive hand was still on her, shoulder, pinning her against the wall, "I don't have any money for you."

"Uh oh." Leo said, mocking her as he made a sad face, "wrong answer." When he finished, the boy on the side drove his hand into her bag, and pulled her wallet out of her bag, handing it to him.

"Hey! That is mine!" Aerie yelled, struggling as she reached for the wallet, "Give it back!"

"Good friends share with each other." Leo mocked again, "No wonder you don't have friends."

"We aren't friends." Aerie hissed, "We never have been."

"Oh my," Leo laughed, counting the $20 banknotes as he stared back at her, "I am sooo hurt! Oh no, I am sad. Mommy, Miss Smart don't want to be friends with me!" The crowd laughed, breaking the silence between the summer night. Noise that reminded her of her years in high school, noise that she never wanted to hear again.

Laughter.

"Cool." Leo commented, "you are really quite rich, aren't you? $120 in your little wallet. You can leave now."

"Give it back!" Aerie yelled, "Its not yours— its for tuition. Even if its not, then its still not for you—"

"We aren't friends, Aerie." Leo laughed again, throwing her empty wallet onto the muddy ground of the back alley, "it's mine now."

Aerie wanted to yell at him. To make him give the money back to her. But as the coldness of the blade still hung around her throat, all courage in her inside was reduced to dust. Aerie is still scared, still scared of him. Even after all the laughter, even after all the mean words, even after the years of shame.

Aerie was still scared.

"Hey." Another male voice joined in the noise. And Aerie knew that the voice didn't come from crops, or anyone related. Just one.

"What?" Leo yelled, "Don't you see what we are doing? Mind your own business, Young man. Or we'll punch you as well."

"Oh really you would?" He asked genuinely, smiling so cheerily which made Aerie shake, "Just thinking that girl over there wasn't enjoying herself, so I got interested."

"That," Leo replied, switching his view from Aerie to man who calmly walked through the mist in the ally, "is none of your business."

"Then I am sorry then." He said, grinning,"But please allow me to interference."

"Boy, you are really weird." Leo commented, "But if you come one step closer, then I am going to punch you in your face." He said, raising his knife towards him, "and I am not bloody joking."

Aerie couldn't help but look at him. Having a weird feeling, Aerie always felt as if she had seen him somewhere before. Maybe when she was smaller, maybe the secretary in the office, maybe the cashier in the market. She knew she had seen him.

"Okay." He replied, grin fading from his face.

And when he gently opened his palm, gaze digging his way into Leo's eyes, the knife flew, across the air, and from Leo's hand, it went into his.