I hopped off the bus and limped down my street. I had endured a brutal beating today after school. I looked up as I passed by the house next to mine. There was a moving truck in the driveway and the door was open, revealing the entry hall. I shrugged and continued up my front walk and into my house.
As soon as the door closed behind me, my Croatian Sheepdog, Bella, came scampering down the stairs to meet me. She jumped up and put her paws on my shoulders, licking my face.
"Hi girl," I laughed, "I missed you too."
I grabbed Bella's paws and started dancing around the entry hall with her. Even though she was on the small side, as far as dogs go, when she was standing on her hind legs, her head was eye level with me. I guess I'm not really that tall (I'm only 5'4") but still.
Suddenly, the oven dinged. I walked into the kitchen to my stepmom, Marie, setting a tray of chocolate chip cookies on the counter. The house was filled with the smell of fresh baked goods.
"Ooh, those look good," I complimented her, standing on one foot while trying to hide it from her. If she knew what happened, I'd never hear the end of it. Plus I didn't want her to worry. "When are they going to be ready?"
"I'm glad you think so," she said, looking up from what she was doing, "but these aren't for you. They're for the new neighbors. Why don't you take them over once they're cool?"
"Why can't Hazel do it?" I instantly complained.
"Because you need more friends," Marie told me.
"Ouch," I muttered. I grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl on our counter and headed upstairs, walking as normally as possible.
The staircase to my room was at the end of the hall, behind a door that looked like it was supposed to lead to a closet. Really, I would've had to live in the tiny office that barely fits a desk and chair so I was wandering around the house when we first moved in and found this staircase that led to the attic. After that it was pretty much decided, Hazel got the room across from the master and the bathroom on the second floor and I got the attic and we had a bathroom built up there. It was great because while Hazel was doing her makeup (which she totally didn't need) I could shower and change in peace.
My room was very black. The walls were black, the bedspread was black, and the furniture was black. My bed was pushed into the far right corner, towards the back of the house. It was piled with dark colored pillows and blankets. There were multiple black, shag carpets all over the floor, as well as a dog bed even though Bella preferred my bed. My desk was stationed across from the bay window that overlooked the forest that was our backyard. It lined up with the one in Hazel's room and the one that served as the breakfast nook In the kitchen. There were two bookshelves on either side of the window. The two center ones were filled to the brim with my favorite novels. The one on the far left was full of sketch books and the one on the far right had my stereo system on top and all of my CDs in racks filling the shelves. The bathroom door was beside my nightstand and there was a huge black wardrobe beside that. On the other side of my desk was my dresser, the top overflowing with photos from my life before the plane crash that killed my mom and wounded my sister beyond recognition. My walls were covered with more pictures and song lyrics and Italian phrases written in silver sharpie. Then there was the door that led to the staircase and the door that led to my tiny balcony that was actually very close to the neighbor's house.
I sauntered over to my stereo and pulled out a CD, showing it to Bella. She barked in agreement so I put it on. "Welcome to the Black Parade" started blaring at top volume. After Marie and Hazel became aware of my music habits, Marie had my floor insulated so my room was practically soundproof. I flopped down on my bed just as a loud knocking came from the other side of my door. Slowly, I sat up, grumbling about how I had just gotten comfortable, not to mention the fact that my leg felt like it was on fire.
I limped to the door after grabbing the remote to my stereo from its place on my nightstand and pausing my music. I opened the door to a smiling Hazel.
"How was your day?" I asked her, wrapping her in a hug. I stuffed the remote in my back pocket and tried my best to stand on my own but I ended up leaning on her for support.
"My day was great," she told me, "but what happened? Why are you leaning on me?" Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"It's none of your concern," I assured her, attempting to regain my balance.
"Did they-?" she stopped herself. "Never mind. We'll talk later. Mom wants you to take those cookies over to the new neighbors."
"Ok, help me down the stairs?" I asked her with a pleading look in my eyes.
"Of course," Hazel responded. She tugged my arm over her shoulders and wrapped her arm around my waist. I leaned on her all the way down the stairs, Bella following closely behind us.
We met Marie in the entry hall. Me trying me best not to grimace while putting weight on my leg, which had crumpled (after already being bruised) when my other leg had been kicked out from under me. My ankle and knee were burning nonstop, which, combined with the dull ache of all the bruises, was almost unbearable. I took the Tupperware container that she handed me and opened the door, Bella at my heels.
I walked the short distance to the neighbors'. The door was closed now and the moving truck was gone. We lived in the older part of the neighborhood so most of the houses had three stories and all the cool aspects of old houses. Ours even had a dumbwaiter that went all the way up to my room, which happened to be above the kitchen and Hazel's room. Hazel and I had fun sending messages to each other via the dumbwaiter and she often sent me samples of the treats she made. Hazel was almost as good a baker as her mom.
I made my way up the front walk and told Bella to sit. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. It opened revealing a quite handsome boy who looked to be about me age. He had blonde hair and tanned skin. His eyes were the same blue as a cloudless sky and his teeth were so white they sparkled. He looked ravishing in his red button down and khakis. I looked down, suddenly self conscious, at my black attire. I felt kind of out of place in my leather jacket, black jeans and skull Vans.
"Hi, I'm Will," the boy said, holding out his hand.
"Nico," I responded, shaking his hand. "Um, my stepmom baked you some cookies," I held out the container.
"Oh, thanks," Will said, "Woah, is that your dog?" he asked, looking past me at Bella, who was still sitting dutifully just behind me.
"Yeah," I smiled. Bella was my best friend and talking about her was one of the only things that made me smile. "Her name's Bella. She's a Croatian Sheepdog."
"How'd you get her?" Will asked, petting Bella's head.
"Oh, um, I got her when I lived in Italy," I told him.
"Well, I guess that explains the accent," Will laughed. "Want to come in?" he stood up.
"Um, are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude," in truth, I wasn't the most popular kid in school. Actually, almost everyone hated me and I got beat up on a daily basis. Will seemed so nice that I was sure he would make tons of friends, as long as he wasn't seen with me. I didn't want to bring him down before he even had a chance to make a first impression.
"You wouldn't be intruding at all. Come on," he started inside.
I took a step, momentarily forgetting about my leg in light of meeting this amazing boy, and cried out in pain. Will's head whipped around and suddenly he was at my side, wrapping an arm around my waist.
"I'm fine, you really don't have to do that," I tried to wiggle my way out of his grasp.
"Yeah, sure Sunshine. C'mon, let me help you," Will argued, helping me through the door. Bella followed, whimpering slightly.
"It's ok, girl. I'm alright," I assured her, even though I could barely stand.
"Hey, mom," Will called, "where's dad?"
"He's outside, hun," a feminine voice called from further inside the house. "Why do you-" Will's mom came walking down the hallway. Her voice faded when she saw us. "Oh my God. What happened?"
"Uuuummm," I didn't want to tell her that my classmates beat me up, again, and I didn't have an excuse ready.
"Never mind that. Will, help him to the couch," she directed.
Will obeyed and before I could protest I was lying on their couch with my leg propped up on a stack of pillows. Bella curled up on the floor by my head.
"I'll go get your dad," Will's mom said, leaving the room.
"So, how did you hurt your leg?" Will asked, sitting down by my feet.
"I, um, fell. On the curb. And I, uh, I hurt myself. Yeah," I stuttered.
Will looked down at his hands. "Tell me the truth."
"I'm not sure you would like the truth," I told him honestly.
"Why's that?" He asked.
"That isn't going to work on me," I told him, glaring.
"What?"
"What you just tried to pull."
"What was that?"
"The whole 'you're not going to tell me the truth so I'm going to ask you what makes the truth so bad' thing," I told Will, still glaring.
"You're funny, Sunshine," Will smiled.
I crossed my arms and turned my head. glaring at him.
"You're adorable," Will said, squeezing my good knee.
"No I'm not," I grumbled, trying to hide my blush.
"Whatever you say, Sunshine," Will said, just as his dad walked in.
A/N: So this is the first chapter. It took my forever to write so I really hope you liked it. Sorry there were so many typos in the first draft. I forgot to edit it before I posted so to the lovely people who read this before it was edited 1) thank you and 2) you can stop wanting to slam your head into the wall, it's fixed. Goodbye for now my lovely uNICOrns.
-Queen Liz