Unexpected Love

The Unusual Hero

"I thought I could trust you," I sighed as I chose what to say next. "I heard you talking about me."

Jake stood still, he was shocked. "You eavesdropped!" He accused.

"What did you expect me to do?" I asked. "I have no idea what is going on. Things are happening and I'm scared."

"It's a long story but I can tell you a part of it," Jake sighed ruffling his hair.

"Thank you," I replied relieved. I did want to know the full story but I'd settle for a part of it.

He led me to his bedroom and I put my bag down on the floor while he turned on his computer. He motioned for me to come over so I did.

What I saw on the screen was unbelievable. It was a picture of Jake as a child with a black haired girl beside him.

"Chelsea," I whispered. He nodded and moved on to the next image. They were in primary school now.

Jake went through a bunch of photos until he got to one with him and Chelsea in year 7. He had his arm around her and she looked very innocent. She had no piercings and she smiled a real smile. Jake noticed me staring at her smiling.

"That's her real smile, when she's happy," he informed me.

"What happened?" I asked curious.

"She left school and then you and I became friends," he hesitated. "There's really nothing to it."

"It still makes no sense," I accused. "You aren't telling me everything. Why'd she leave? Why is she scared of Sam? Why won't you ever be seen in public with her? Why are you keeping things from me?"

Jake looked down at his feet, then he met my eyes. I had never seen him so sad. I looked deep into his eyes but I couldn't see anything besides pain and terror.

I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I ran out of his room, out of the house before he could catch up. Tears were running down my cheeks and I constantly wiped my eyes. I ran for ages, all the way back to my own house which was far from Jake's house. I caught my breath and wiped my eyes once more.

I had so many unanswered questions. I let the tears spill again. I couldn't understand the pain that Jake was going through and the trauma he had been through. I didn't understand why he was never seen in public with Chelsea. It wasn't fair. Suddenly my best friend who I used to share all of my secrets with didn't feel like my best friend.

Suddenly a memory I hadn't thought of came to me. I remember just after I'd fled from Chelsea and Jake I had seen the guy that kept glancing at me come from the other side. I had seen his brown hair and brown eyes, his tall figure. Jake and Chelsea were the first unanswered question. He was the next unanswered question.

***

I sprinted down the court in my sports lesson the next day trying to clear my head while attempting to do the beep test. After I got to my goal of 9 I sat against the wall and buried my head in my hands.

"That was impressive," I heard someone say next to me. I looked up at the boy who sat against the wall beside me. Those brown eyes were familiar. It suddenly came to me that he was one of Sam's friends, the nicer looking one. I still didn't know if I could trust him.

"What's your name?" I asked warily, for once maintaining eye contact.

"My name is Aiden," he replied. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm Alana," I said quietly. His brown eyes softened a bit and held an emotion that I couldn't pick.

He nodded then quickly stood up. He looked back at me once and I wondered why he kept doing that.

***

Jake and I didn't talk at all today. I'd talked casually with Chelsea in form assembly but she never gave away anything. She had changed since year seven. She wore eyeliner and mascara now and had different piercings in her ear. She wore glasses now too. Her hair was longer now, in year seven it was shoulder length. I also noticed that when she smiled she never looked as happy as she did when she was younger. I noticed that she usually wore jumpers or long sleeved shirts.

At lunch I decided to eat with her since Jake wasn't anywhere to be found. I saw her rub her arm and frown. I suddenly realised that she had done this a number of times since yesterday.

"Why do you do that?" I asked.

She let go of her arm and answered with, "do what?"

"You rub your arm," I told her while pointing at her arm. She went eerily quiet.

"It's just sore," she murmured. "I knocked it last night."

"Will you show me?" I enquired.

She shook her head and I knew that she was again keeping something from me. I walked over to a bin to put my gladwrap in the bin. As I passed her on the way back I grabbed her arm and pulled the sleeve up. She pulled the sleeve back down in an instant but I saw what I needed to see. She had bright purple spots all over her arm, bruises. I gasped and sat back down.

"Why are you keeping things from me?" I asked. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say since I'd just seen her hidden bruises.

She looked up at me, pain in her eyes. "I don't want you to go through what I had to go through," she whispered before departing quickly. What was with these quick departures?

***

On my way home from school I felt uncomfortable. I wasn't walking with Jake or Chelsea, I was completely alone. I kept looking behind me. I didn't see anyone but I was still edgy. All of the secrets Chelsea and Jake were keeping from me were making me petrified. I sat down at a small park on the way home trying to think things through. I hadn't seen anyone following me so I didn't see any point in worrying.

I sat alone thinking about things until I felt a hand against my mouth. I couldn't scream. My heart was beating frantically in my chest. Someone had me from behind and was dragging me into the trees around the park. I struggled but my attacker just punched me every time I kicked or squirmed. When we were hidden I was thrown to the ground. I caught a glimpse of who had taken me. To my satonishment it was Sam. He laughed quietly and kicked me in the ribs. In a second Reece was by his side. They kicked and punched me. I couldn't breathe, my stomach hurt from the kicking and every body part ached. I tried to defend myself but that only led to more pain. I gasped for air as Sam kicked me hard in the stomach again.

Suddenly I heard someone shout, "Leave her alone!" I looked up to see another tall teenager my age punch Sam in the face. He kicked Reece and punched Sam again. I could hardly see anything after that. It was all a blur.

I could hardly hear the person who had saved me tell me it was going to be alright. I felt myself being lifted off of the ground. Whoever had saved me was taking me somewhere and I hoped it was home. I felt the tears silently rushing down my cheeks. Is this what Chelsea and Jake had been hiding from me?

My vision was now just blurry by my tears. I clung to my hero, whoever it was. When they placed me on the ground I wouldn't let go. I looked up to see who it was and I was surprised by what I saw. Those brown eyes.

"You have to go home now," he whispered. "I'm sorry about this."

He was gone in a flash and I was left shattered on the street. It was him. It was Aiden. Another question I didn't understand. Why did Aiden help me?