The Psycho Is Innocent | ꪜ

Chapter 8: The Other Him

         It zoomed right past his head, into the catcher's brown gloves. Strike! The words were like music to his ears and he smirked in victory as the crowd roared in cheers. Within the few seconds he had before the ball was once again handed to him, his gaze swivelled in Ariel's direction. As their eyes interlocked, Ariel froze, now unable to deny a simple fact.

          She was beginning to like Tobias Aspen.

•

         The bleachers shook beneath her as the crowd jumped onto their feet, screaming loudly as Tobias' team took the first game home. It was like a chorus of off-tune voices singing no song in particular and no doubt had Ariel joined in, unable to contain her excitement. The next few minutes consisted of Tobias and their team batter being hoisted up into the air, spectators flooding the field, the opposing team sulking in defeat and students rushing down the narrow pathway leading to the parking lot to make their way to the after-party.

         When the excitement had died down and everyone went their separate ways, Ariel simply remained in her seat, observing Tobias carefully, wondering how she could possibly like someone in such little time, especially someone like him. She hated him. So...why does she like him? When he began to approach her, she descended the bleachers, unable to fight the smile that crawled onto her face.

         "You were amazing out there," she said when the space was finally closed between them. Absentmindedly, her hand travelled against the material of his shirt. Something had definitely shifted between the two and Ariel feared that it could escalate into something more.

          Believe it or not, Tobias had never been in a genuine relationship. A real relationship. It was always for show or out of pity towards a girl who his feelings were never reciprocated towards. Unknown to Ariel, the only reason for that was solely because his eyes were always on her from the very beginning, waiting till he had a moment to strike.

"I think you being here brought me luck." She rolled her eyes, ignoring the flutter in her stomach as the words rolled off his tongue. "You stay here, I'm gonna go change and then we can leave." When he eventually disappeared into the boy's locker room, someone emerged from behind the bleachers, watching carefully as Ariel lowered herself back down onto the bench.

       They were simply observing until they were the ones who had the opportunity to strike. . .harder than Tobias Aspen ever could.

•

         Tobias took her hand in his and led her up the footpath leading towards Parker's house. It was a house that can only be described as a mini-mansion or at least two sizes down from one. The driveway was long, and the exit was barred by black iron gates. Parker's father served in the Army for most of his life and most of the money he earned went into building his dream home. Not only that but his job down at the precinct brought in a substantial amount of cash. To put it simply he belonged to one of the few rich families in their small town.

         When they made it inside, the intoxicating scent of marijuana and hard liquor wafted across her face. Ariel gagged, not used to such an environment. She wondered how Parker could be so brave seeing as his father was a police officer but it was a simple case of not giving a crap. Ride With Me by Nelly blasted through the massive black speakers propped up onto what appeared to be a makeshift DJ booth. As they maneuvered their way through the already sweaty and shamelessly drunk crowd, most eyes paid attention to their looming presence. Ariel hated the attention.

The kitchen was where all the fun took place. It had become a massive cooler, stored with alcohol beyond anyone's imagination. Tobias grabbed a beer off the counter, still cold to the touch. He leaned down to Ariel's ears, "do you want one!?" She shook her head, "you've been to a party before right!?" He questioned incredulously. She forced her lips into a thin line, biting back the urge to laugh, "of course." Ariel hated getting drunk. In a drunken state, you become more vulnerable and easier to target especially when you're a woman.