Nyx groaned as she was jolted awake from her slumber by her blaring alarm. She swung her arm and slapped the snooze button as she made a frustrated face. Nyx then brought that same hand up to her face and rubbed her left eye with her closed fist. Her arm fell down to her side again as she stared at the ceiling, she contemplated if she really needed an education. Her mind drifted to her two best and only real friends, Alex and Nathan. Those two made school bearable, she wasn't exactly... popular at her school. She was considered the black sheep, so for the most part she was ignored at school. Sometimes people would give her a hard time and ridicule her, especially this one girl, Alana. After a few more minutes of contemplation, she decided she should probably just go to school so her grades didn't suffer. She also didn't want to receive a string of texts from Alex and Nate, saying how horrid she was for leaving them alone in hell.
Nyx lifted herself from her comfy bed and stumbled to the bathroom across the hall from her room. She flicked on the light and looked in the mirror, her raven black hair was frizzy and knotted slightly. She made a face of disgust before she turned around and turned on the shower. As it ran and the water adjusted, she got towels from the cabinet in the hall outside the bathroom. Thankfully, Nyx's mom was usually gone for work by the time she woke up so she never had to worry about making noise. After her shower, she walked into her room with the towel wrapped around her and picked out her clothes for the day. After she returned to the bathroom and changed into her clothes, she blow dried her hair and applied her subtle but dark makeup style. She smiled slightly at herself in the mirror, it really made her sapphire eyes pop.
Nyx went downstairs and started brewing coffee before she felt a buzz on her hip. She pulled out her cellphone as she leaned against the counter next to the coffee maker. She smiled slightly when she saw a text message from Nate.
6:46 am: Hey, you're coming to school today, right?
6:47 am: Yeah of course I am. Can't leave you and Alex to fend for yourselves :)
6:47 am: Good! It always feels weird when you aren't at school
Nyx smiled again, she would never admit this, but Nyx had a small crush on Nate. He was so kind and caring, he was handsome and strong too. She couldn't imagine he felt the same way though, so she never mentioned anything to him, or anyone else for that matter. The coffee maker beeped and jolted her out of her head. She pulled her portable thermos out of the cupboard and poured coffee into it. She added her favorite caramel creamer and stirred it with a chopstick. She exited her house after locking her door and walked to her car. A jet black 2014 Chevy Impala. It had stickers on the trunk, mostly spiritual symbols and images from her favorite anime. She stuck her key into the ignition and twisted, she sighed in relief as the engine roared to life. She had been having some car troubles recently and was afraid her car wouldn't start. Gentle air began flowing through the vents and calming her. Her eyes drifted to the clock and noticed that she would be late if she didn't get going.
After a short ten minute drive to her high school, she parked in her reserved spot and sat there for a moment. She saw all the young freshmen running inside to make it to their classes on time. She laughed silently to herself when she remembered herself acting exactly like that when she was a freshman. She is a senior now, an 18 year old senior, and it made her a little wistful. She gathered her strength and gathered her things before getting out of her car. She locked it with a press of her key dongle as she walked away from her car. Nyx kept her head down as she walked through the hall towards her locker. She didn't want anyone to gain an opportunity to ridicule her. She finally reached her locker and turned the dial to enter the combination to open it. After she had shoved her bag into it, she felt someone tap her left shoulder and she turned her head to look. She smiled faintly when she didn't see anyone, already knowing who was playing a trick on her.
Nyx looked to her right with a faint smile, "You ass." She teased Nate as he finished leaning against the locker next to her. He had a smug grin on his face. Nyx's pulse quickened slightly, he was wearing a dark grey V-neck tee and dark blue, almost black jeans. His shaggy black hair falling perfectly in his face, but not enough to block his piercing, heart stopping green eyes which perfectly contrasted his tan skin.
"Yeah, I know." He shrugged subtly with another smirk. "You okay? You look like you didn't sleep very well." His tone suddenly changed to genuine and his eyes softened. His eyes locked her in place and she sighed slightly.
"I'm fine. I just don't like coming here. Honestly, you and Alex are like the only reason I show up at all." Nyx chuckled slightly to try and lighten the severity of her words. Nate's face didn't change though, it remained sincere and soft. "Did you get a haircut?" Nyx tried to change the subject.
"Awe, aren't you sweet." Nate said as a small smile crept onto his lips. "Yeah, I did. I had a ton of split ends so I had my mom snip it a little. No biggy." Nate's face suddenly lit up like he remembered something. "Oh, hey! Did ya see the news? A new Odd One showed up." He said as he pulled out his phone, he brought up a video and held it in front of Nyx. Odd Ones were people who had special abilities that no one else possessed. These people, when they were discovered, were arrested and taken to a mystery place where no one ever saw them again. Her jaw dropped as she saw the subject of the video. It was Anthony from her English class, he was being escorted from his home in handcuffs. He had a look of horror on his face before he started glowing orange slightly. There was suddenly a bright flash of light that obscured the camera shot. When the camera came back into focus, Nyx gasped as she saw the people in black tactical gear on the ground, burning to a crisp. Anthony was taken down with a fire hose before he was rushed by three more men, they put him in a fireproof straight jacket and lifted him to his feet. The video ended as Anthony was shoved into a large van bound for the mystery place.
"Holy shit." Nyx said quietly as Nate slid his phone back into his pocket. She brought her arms up and held herself. "He was an Odd One the whole time?"
"Guess so. I wouldn't have guessed either." Nate shrugged again before the bell rang through the halls, signifying a five minute warning before classes began. Nyx closed her locker and followed Nate down the hall towards her English class, which she shared with him. When they entered the classroom, Nyx was immediately put in a bad mood. She saw a group of students gossiping about Anthony. She shot them a dirty look before going to sit in her seat. After a minute, Nyx was jolted when a hand was slapped onto her desk. She looked up from under her eyebrows and saw the girl she hated more than anyone.
"Well well, black sheep, bet you heard about your buddy Tony frying those cops, huh?" Alana said with subtle malice in her tone.
"He wasn't my friend, now go away." Nyx said as she subtly rolled her eyes. Alana scoffed before she leaned closer.
"Please, I saw how he looked at you, slut." Alana said tauntingly before a second hand slammed onto Nyx's desk, Nate's hand.
"Alana, back off before I take you down with a wet napkin. Puta." He growled at her angrily and Nyx tensed slightly. A small smile spread across her lips, she loved when Nate defended her. She loved it even more when he spoke Spanish. Alana glared at him before she turned around and went back to her posse.
"Thanks, Nate." Nyx said softly as she glanced up at him. He was still glaring towards Alana for a moment before he sat down at his own desk next to Nyx's.
"Eh, they're a gaggle of rancid cunts, don't worry about anything they say to you." Nate said with a wave of his hand. Nyx snorted softly before Nate continued. "But...let me know if they bother you again, okay?"
"Okay." Nyx said with a smile as their English teacher came into the room. She started talking towards the class as students started to settle into their seats. Nyx took out her copy of Romeo & Juliet and promptly tuned out. She had no interest in a book she already knew the ending to.
After English, Nyx and Nate walked together to their next class, Biology, which they conveniently had together as well. Nyx's heart sank slightly when she saw six coolers sitting on the first row of desks. She had forgotten that today was a special lab day, dissecting deer hearts. Nyx halted and her face twisted in disgust before she tensed upon feeling a hand on the small of her back. She looked over and saw Nate looking at her with an amused smirk. "Come on, Nyx. It'll be over before you know it." He spoke softly in a calming voice that made Nyx's stomach flutter. Nate pushed her into the room more as she pushed back slightly, causing Nate to laugh softly. After the two sat down at their desks and the class began, their teacher, Mr. Jackett, began his lesson.
"Today, we will be dissecting deer hearts. As you may or may not know, deer have similar hearts to ours but are smaller and slightly more intricate." He began as he passed out the deer hearts, one per group. A few princesses wretched in disgust as a deer heart was placed in front of them. When a heart was placed in front of Nyx and Nate, Nyx took a deep breath and exchanged a look with Nate. He picked up a scalpel and dragged it across the surface of the heart. Nyx had to swallow to avoid gagging as Nate chuckled slightly.
"Come on, it's not that bad." Nate said to her as he worked.
"I just don't like blood, okay?" Nyx replied to him as she looked away, she hated seeing blood. It made her feel squeamish, even when it was her own blood. After that period of intestinal torture had concluded, third period rolled into fourth and fourth into fifth. Before Nyx knew it, she was standing in line at lunch with Nate standing next to her. She was chatting with him before she was hugged roughly from behind. Nate smiled as Nyx yelped from surprise before whipping around.
"Oh, you dick!" Nyx said with a smile on her face as she shoved Alex back playfully. Alex laughed as she regained her balance.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." She laughed as they waited in line for their food. After getting their food and sitting at their table, Alex spoke again. "Hey, you saw the story on the news about Anthony, right?" She asked before she took a bite of her pizza.
"Yeah, Nate showed me before first period. It's kinda crazy to think that he was an Odd One this whole time. I never would've guessed." Nyx responded before she took a bite of her own food.
"Well, I imagine that someone like that wouldn't want it to get out, considering what happens to them when they get caught." Nate sounded somber for a moment and Nyx looked over at him.
"You okay?" She asked him before she took another bite of her food.
"Yeah, I'm good. It's just kind of a bummer to think about, ya know? Odd Ones don't really get to choose being an Odd One, they're born with it. I guess I just feel kinda bad." Nate said sincerely before he took a sip of his orange soda. Nyx and Alex looked at each other for a moment.
"I guess I get it, but those people can be really dangerous. I mean, you saw what happened with Anthony. He killed those cops, burned them up! That shits scary." Alex said as she took another bite.
"I mean yeah, that sucked, but that doesn't mean all of them are bad people." Nyx interjected as she took the last bite of her pizza. She understood the fear surrounding Odd Ones, but didn't understand it at the same time. Some of them could be bad people but some could be good and noble too, just like the rest of humanity. So why did the super powered people have to be locked away?
After they had all finished their food and threw away their trays, Nate suddenly got close to the ladies and spoke with a hushed tone. "Alright ladies, I have a very important question. Do you, or do you not, want to get high?" He asked them quietly as he looked between the two of them. Alex smiled and immediately agreed, Nyx was still iffy however. She was a smoker, but doing it at school seemed to be a little dangerous, if they got caught. Besides, she had never gotten high at school before, it made her feel weird.
She already felt different enough.
"Uh, sure." Nyx said after some hesitation, Alex smiled and bounced slightly as Nate leaned up straight again with a devilish grin.