The blood from my wounds splashed onto the icy stone floor. He repeatedly bashed my head into it, which created a dent. I was going to cry out for help with this gruesome situation but who would help me? There weren't any houses for miles. My eyes were drawn to the pool of blood from the new hole in my head. I tried to get up but his foot jabbed into my rib cage which created an engorged purple bruise. How did I end up here? Why did I get involved with a monster like him? Where did I go wrong? Who would have thought that someone who came across as a total sweet heart would turn out to be a hardheaded, abusive, beast. I'll admit, I certainly didn't think about it when I first met him.
(Six months ago)
Another colorless start to another crappy week. I thought this monday would be equivalent to the rest, agonizingly boring with no surprises. Yet, walking into Mrs.Evanowski's 11th grade Social Studies classroom for first period, I thought differently. Chatter drifted out of the mouths of students. Overdoses of Axe and expensive perfumes wafted the atmosphere, piercing my lungs when I inhaled its strong scent. There were no seats next to my friends. They were all in the back of the room, talking and laughing, not even giving me a sideways glance. I was a bit offended that they never acknowledged me walking in, but I got over it pretty quickly. We had a huge homeroom so almost all the seats had someone in them. The back of the room was beyond crowded. The only seat that was left was the one in front of Mrs. Evanowski's desk.
She grabbed a clip board and red ball point pen off of her metallic desk and hushed us students. She began to do attendance as I plopped down into the wooden chair next to the new guy. He had just moved to New Jersey all the way from England. I rarely ever saw him (he was so shy I didn't even know he was in my class), and when I did, it would be for a brief moment. He'd rush through the halls with his eyes focused on the tiled floor, avoiding all the cold glares from nearly everyone he passed by. His arms were always pressing his textbooks against his chest. All I had ever really seen was the back of him. I was beyond curious to see what the front of him looked like. He turned toward me and a faint smile tugged at his full lips. He had the perfect jaw line, kind of like a model would. His dark brown eyes met mine for a second or two before he looked away. His skin had been kissed by the gentlest rays of sunshine. His dark hair was swept up, with multiple gels, into a quiff. He looked rather handsome in his blue jeans, wife beaters, denim shirt, and Timberlands. There was this rugged look to him, he seemed cool. At first glance, I didn't see anything bad about him, which made me wonder why did all the students disdain him?
Lost in thought, I didn't even realize Mrs. Evanowski had called my name for attendance several times and that she was watching me gaze at the boy sitting next to me. In fact, the entire class was watching me stare at him. When I came back to reality, I began to heat up with embarrassment. My hands were clamming up, and my stomach turned. Mrs. Evanowski was still waiting for me to say something.
"I-I'm here." I stuttered sheepishly.
"Are you sure about that?" She asked jokingly.
I nodded timidly. I could still feel everyone's eyes on me, it made my heart beat quicken. The rhythmic tune pounded in my ears so loud, I thought the whole class could hear it.
Mrs.Evanowski continued to go down the list, calling names in alphabetical order. Once she was finished, she asked,
"Is there anyone I missed?"
"Yea... You missed me." said the boy nonchalantly, as if he were used to being forgotten.
"I'm sorry, young man. It's just that I haven't had a new student so late in the year, I sometimes forget." she explained as she jotted something down on her clipboard.
I had to agree, it was late in the year. April was almost over, and once May passed we would have a short way till summer break. I also had to agree that I was just as much at unease about having a new student as Mrs.Evanowski was. He had already been here for two weeks and I didn't even know his name. I could practically feel the awkward circling around the table.
"I'm Zayn, by the way. Zayn Malik." He said casually, attempting to break the ice.
"Hey Zayn. I'm Mikayla. So how are you liking P-Burg so far?" I asked while doodling in my notebook.
Mrs.Evanowski had started teaching but I wasn't paying attention, as usual.
"It's alright I guess. I mean I haven't made any friends yet." He replied quietly, trying to avoid trouble with the teacher.
I laughed to myself because I knew what that really meant was, "I'm having a rough time. Would you mind hanging out with me so this place won't seem like a living hell?" Although I'm quite shy when meeting new people, the words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them,
"I'll be your friend." I said with a smile.
He smiled back in reply, and his eyes lit up. I could tell my friendliness meant a lot to him. I could tell by the look in his eyes. His brown orbs resembled sparkling stars in the night sky. It's as if they were peering deep into my very soul. I wanted to look away, but I just couldn't. It took everything in me to tear myself away from his gaze. Wait... Did we just have a moment?
When I got to lunch (which was more like brunch because we had it so early in the day), my friends were waiting for me at our table.
"So... I saw you talking to the new kid." Katherine said in her sing song voice.
"She wasn't talking, she was flirting, and everyone saw it!" Vanity exclaimed with a smirk on her face.
"What are you talking about? I was not flirting."
"Don't even try to deny it! I walked past you when I was going to the bathroom, but you were too busy trying to flirt that you didn't even notice me. I heard what you said. 'I'll be your friend, Zayn!" Alexa mocked me, batting her eyelashes and talking in a high pitched voice.
"We all know you want him, so why don't you just admit it?" Katherine asked, popping a french fry in her mouth.
"I don't 'want him'. I was just being nice." I huffed, growing annoyed.
"You're lying. I could tell just by the look on your face when he smiled at you. For as long as I've known you, I've never seen you look at anyone that way." Katherine remarked.
"That doesn't mean I like him. I just met him." I said, biting into an Oreo Alexa offered me.
"Look, there is two things you can do; keep lying to yourself or you could admit you have a crush on the new guy." Alexa stated bluntly.
I willfully shook my head.
"It doesn't matter how much she protests. We all know that she wants him, bad." Vanity commented before sipping her Fanta orange soda.
At this point, everyone was making kissing noises at me, some with mouths full of food.
"Haha. Very funny. You guys are so immature." I scoffed.
Their sound effects soon feel silent and their eyes shifted towards the door. My curiosity got the best of me and I turned around to see Zayn. He was looking for a place to sit, but it seemed that no one wanted him near them. It was like he had some infectious disease or something. Ironically enough, our table had one extra seat. I started to stand up and wave, but a hand on my shoulder pulled me down.
"Don't even think about it! He can not sit with us. I don't give a damn whether you like him or not." Katherine scolded.
"Oh my god! I don't even- Forget it. C'mon, cut him some slack! I mean, the people in this school haven't been very welcoming toward him these past few weeks." I explained.
"And that means we should! Hell no! He can sit by himself!" Katherine exclaimed.
"Katherine, Mikayla does have a point." Leslee said.
"Yea, is it really going to kill you to let him sit here?" Jasmine asked pleadingly.
Up until now, neither of them had spoken, but I was glad they said what they did. Vanity and Alexa took sides with Katherine. I rolled my eyes at their shallowness. Zayn spotted me and approached the table. On account of seeing him, Alexa rudely flung her Oasis sneakers onto the chair and scowled at Zayn. He instantly got her point, and without a word, sullenly trudged to a desolate table near the trash bins.
"Was that really necessary?" I said.
"Yes. Now that piece of trash is where trash belongs." Vanity said coldly.
"Vanity!" Katherine exclaimed, "That's an insult to trash!"
The two of them, along with Alexa started howling. (It wasn't even all that funny).Once they'd stopped, they noticed how angry I was. They all know I can't stand when people act that way just to fit in with the crowd. I guess it's easier to go against the innocent rather than stand up for them.
I felt terrible watching Zayn sit all alone. I would have gotten up and sat with him but it wouldn't have made a difference, lunch was almost over anyway.
I pushed my way through the crowded hall and went to my locker. After putting in the digits of my combination, I opened the metal, maroon painted door and began grabbing books for second, third, and fourth period. A loud knock startled me. Once I got everything I needed, I closed my locker to reveal Zayn smiling at me.
"So why didn't you sit with me? Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?" He asked sarcastically.
"No, not at all. Look, I'm really sorry about Alexa. She's usually a nice girl. I think she just felt peer pressured into being so rude." I said.
"It's fine. I'm over it. It wasn't the first time someone was bitching at me." He chuckled.
He was looking at me the same way I'd looked at him in Social Studies. He grinned down at me with an indulgent and infatuating look in his eyes. The way he admired me made me feel radiant, angelic even. I felt like the most sublime girl in the world. My hands were warm and clammy. My pulse picked up and I felt hot. Oh crap! No, this couldn't be happening to me. I wasn't going to let it happen to me, not now. Then I thought, is it just my friends remarks getting to me .....or... Do I actually have a crush on Zayn Malik? I tried to reassure myself by assuming the matter was nothing to worry about.
"Um.. Well uh... I-I have to get to class. Ms. Rabar hates it when I'm late." I stuttered.
"Ok, see you after class." He said.
Without so much as a goodbye, I sped down the hallway, pondering what just happened to me. Why had I acted so foolishly? What had come over me? Was my mind playing tricks on me? To be honest, I didn't know. All I knew was that I did not want to think about it anymore. I didn't want to think about Zayn anymore. Then I walked into my math class and....
"Hey Mikayla."
Well that didn't help. Once again, he was the only person left to sit with. I desperately wanted to be anywhere else but next to him. I knew if I sat there, I would feel the same way I had just moments before. I didn't want to feel that way, I was afraid to feel those kinds of emotions. I did not know how to contain them, then again, maybe they weren't meant to be controlled.
I sat down and instantly felt uncomfortable and restricted. I couldn't just let go because if I did, I would regret it. I needed to be stoical, to be nonchalant. I had to pretend that what I felt meant nothing, like the emotions stirring inside were nothing more than the gum beneath my shoe. I hoped I would have to wear this poker face for two class periods only. Just to check, I asked,
"Um Zayn, can I see your schedule?"
"Why? You're not stalking me, are you?" He teased before handing me the slip of paper.
Dammit! He was in every single one of my classes. I was both eager and neurotic all at once. It made me start losing confidence that I could continue this façade.
"So, did you find what you were looking for?" Zayn asked.
"Yeah. We're in all the same classes." I replied, sliding the paper across the table.
Before I could pull away, he placed his hand on top of mine, not even realizing what he'd done. His hand was oddly chilled to the bone. Peoples' hands get cold, but not like that. His was arctic. We looked from our hands to the other's gaze. I could feel my hand clamming up again, and I swiped my hand away as if I were just touching a blazing stove top.
I didn't look at him the rest of class. I just focused on Ms. Rabar and her agonizingly long algebra equations.
The next morning, I was aroused by the sound of my father's low, stern voice.
"Mikayla, we're leaving! We'll see you when we get back!" He yelled from downstairs.
My parents were leaving for Florida for a funeral. They didn't want me to miss school so they decided to leave me home. Alone, I might add. On the bright side, they trusted me enough to have no type of supervision. My parents finally realize I'm old enough to take care of myself. I had just turned 17 a month ago, and they still tried to baby me. I was more than capable of being alone for a couple days, just me and the house.
Putting that particular situation aside, I realize I hadn't given any thought about Zayn and all that happened the day before. The most crucial of questions on my mind was; Did Zayn feel the same way or was I just delusional? There was only one way to find out.
After I'd indulged myself in a bowl of sweet crunchy banana nut Cheerios, I went upstairs and opened my closet. I slid the hangers left and right, searching for the perfect outfit. I came across my brand new black and white striped maxi dress from Charlotte Russe. It was chic, flirty, comfy, and it made a spectacle of my curvy figure. I slid it off its metal hanger and laughed while doing so. After just one day of being around Zayn, I was already dressing up to get his attention. It was beyond ridiculous, but I did it anyway. I brushed my teeth thoroughly and rinsed. My airways opened up and a scent of minty coolness entered my nose when I exhaled. I rubbed a bar of dove soap between my palms until my hands were covered in suds. I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed my face with my soapy hands. I rinsed off my hands and splashed myself with cool water. I dried my face with a fuzzy navy blue towel, then removed my pajamas and lathered myself in jasmine scented lotion. I slipped into a black push up bra and matching black underwear. I pulled the dress over my head and let the bottom of it fall to the floor. It was perfectly snug at the top and toward the bottom, it started to flow. I took my lengthy dark brown hair out of its ponytail ran my fingers through it. I rummaged through my top white dresser drawer and grabbed my hair spray.
***
My black gladiator-like sandals glided along the white tiles as I proceeded through the hallways toward my first class. On my way, I ran into Katherine and so we walked together.
She looked me up and down numerous times with a puzzled expression on her face.
"What?" I asked.
"Uh, nothing, it's just... you're wearing a dress. I've never see you willingly wear dresses to school unless it's picture day, and even then, sometimes you just wear a dress shirt and jeans or something. What made you wear one?"
"Nothing, I just felt like doing something different." I replied as we strolled into first period.
I looked around, seeing the hopelessly bored expressions of the class. The only person, it seemed, that didn't look like all the light was drained from him, was Zayn. He was practically glowing. There he sat, smirking at me and doing a subtle wave. I mirrored his actions. I could feel Katherine's eyes cutting into me like daggers so I turned to face her.
" 'Something different' my ass!" She cried.
I was going to protest but she gave me a look that said, 'If you interrupt, so help me, I will kill you', so I decide to keep my mouth shut.
"So, dressing fancy to impress the terrorist, huh?" she scoffed.
"Woah, okay. First of all; that's rude. Second; what I wear to school has absolutely nothing to do with Zayn."
She cocked an eyebrow in my direction, knowing I lied. But so what if I did. I just didn't like the idea of my friends ragging on me about who I liked. In fact, I wasn't even sure it was a total lie. I mean, how could I be so sure that I liked him. The first time we'd spoken to each other had been just 1 day ago. I may not have been so sure then, but it was only Tuesday, I had the rest of the week to figure it out and even more time after that.
That same sunny Tuesday, in 3rd period, we had a science lab to do. Of course, I was Zayn's partner because no one else wanted to take him. (It wasn't like I was guilted into it. I wanted to be his partner anyway. Not because I liked him, but because he was the only person in that class I got along with.) We were working with toxic chemicals that day, so we were forced to wear gloves and goggles, which I looked horrendous in, but who didn't, right?
While we waited for Mr.Weber to give us our chemicals, I thought about a question I had been dying to ask Zayn since the day before.
"Zayn, I have something to ask you."
"Alright."
"Well, um..."
I began to twirl my hair around my finger. This is a nervous habit I have. When I have something on my mind and I don't think the words will come out right, I twirl my hair.
"I was just wondering what you think about-"
"Okay! Here are your chemicals" Mr.Weber interrupted," and remember to be extremely careful. We haven't had the chemical shower installed yet so if you do spill these toxins, you're gonna be in big trouble."
We both nodded implying that we understood.
"Sorry, now what were you saying."
He spoke so softly I nearly crumbled at the sound of his voice.
"Oh, um... it was nothing, never mind." I muttered while fumbling with my hands in my lap.
He smiled genuinely and gingerly placed his hand under my chin. He pushed my head up so we could be at eye level. I felt a wave of déjà vu as I stared at my reflection in his eyes and once again melted under his touch. The expression on my face mirrored nothing of the sort, which was something I was trying extremely hard to do.
"C'mon, you can tell me. You were asking me what I think about something, right?"
Just then, Mr. Weber fumbled as he was transferring the toxins to another pair. I backed away from the table quick enough to get away from the spill... Unfortunately, Zayn was not as quick as I was.
***
I sat quietly in the wooden chair in the nurse's office, forced to listen to Zayn's screams that were driven by agony. There we waited for an ambulance to arrive at the school. I wondered what commotion had occurs in the class after I half walked, half carried, Zayn down here. Everyone was probably gossiping, or possibly even laughing about the subject. Mr.Weber was probably wondering what will happen to his job now that he's injured a student.
I was lost in the depths of my own mind, floating, gliding around everything that popped into my head. The elusive trance ended when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was the nurse.
"The ambulance is here. You can go back to class now. I'll write you a late pass. " she said.
Back to class? I couldn't let him go by himself.
When I woke up Monday morning, I had reached a decision. I didn't want to keep bouncing back and forth between Zayn and my other friends. Zayn has only know me for a couple days, but he acts like he's known me for years. I think it's pretty cool considering my friends barely know anything about me. And they're the ones that have known me for years! I'd rather have one loyal friend than have a ton of friends who try to control me. I wasn't going to be irrational about it and drop my friends out of the blue. I was going to talk to them first.
"Hey Katherine!" I shouted while sprinting down the hallway. "Me, you and the girls need to talk at lunch today. Okay?"
"Yeah sure. What about?" She asked.
My answer was interrupted by the bell ringing. Thank God! I'm positive that if I told Katherine that we were gonna talk about Zayn before hand, that she wouldn't show up.
"Got to go Kit-Kat! Late for Spanish." I said.
When I entered the Spanish room, I sat next to my friend Jasmine(Jazzie for short) and saved the other seat for Zayn. If only one of my friends were going to get along with him, it would be Jasmine. She likes everyone!
"So what do you think about Zayn?" I asked.
"The new kid right? He seems cool. And he's really seemed to click with you. Wink wink." She replied while raising her eyebrows at me.
"Ugh! I-"
"That's what you said when you were with him last night! Hahaha!" She joked while repeatedly poking me in my ribcage.
" Jasmine! You're so disgusting!"
I don't get it. Why do all my friends assume I have a thing for Zayn! I really don't. Unless... I just don't want to admit it. It's not like he's unappealing or anything. He is kind of sexy, but I don't want to get involved..... Then get hurt.
"I'll admit he is cute, but I don't like him." I explained.
"That's too bad, cuz he really likes you." Jasmine sighed.
"How can you tell?"
"He asked me if you like long walks in the park? I'm no love scientist, but I think he wants to ask you out."
I didn't know what to say to that. Then he walked in, and sat in the seat I saved for him. He tried to meet my gaze but I kept my eyes on the floor. He grabbed my hand and held it up to his chest. I couldn't help but to look up at him. I felt the butterflies in my stomach, and my heart stopped.
"Mikayla, I know what your thinking, but before you even say anything..... I just want you to hear me out." He whispered.
"Zayn, I - ow!"
Jasmine had poked me with her pencil. By the scowl on her face I could tell she wasn't afraid to do it again.
"Go ahead. Say what you want to say." I said turning to face Zayn again.
"Look, I know we haven't know each other for a long time, but there is something I want to ask you."
Just then, the fire alarm rang! This time it wasn't a drill! There was a real fire! In a screaming panic, everyone headed out the door. Zayn never let go of my hand. The main door in the front lobby was right in front of us, but Zayn went down a hall towards a janitor's closet, pulling me along. What the hell was he doing?! There was a fire and he wanted to go into a janitor's closet! Zayn shut the door behind him, and the next thing I knew, we were on the roof of the school some how.
"How did you just... Why are we... What are you.... Okay! I need answers! Now!" I exclaimed
He didn't answer me, but he did bring me to the edge of the roof. I was so surprised. It was beautiful, and I just, I was flabbergasted. Then I realized, Zayn started the fire. The flames spelled out,'will u go out with me?' The guy hasn't even known me for 2 weeks and he was already trying to make a move. Then again, no one has ever done anything like that for me before. (Especially if it involved almost burning my school down)
"Well?"
His little stunt took my breath away. I was speechless. All I could do was nod. I didn't even think about it. He pulled me in for a tight embrace. In that moment, I felt safety and reassurance. I also had a feeling Zayn wasn't planning on letting go any time soon. And neither was I.
***
The fire department told us that after lunch we had to be sent home. I had just enough time to talk to my friends.
"So what did you want to talk to us about?" Alexa asked
"Well... Don't get mad, but I wanted to talk to you about....Zayn."
None of them spoke a single word. They just stared at me, as if I were insane. I told them about how he asked me out, and they instantly went off!
"Are you serious?! You said yes?! That bastard almost burned down the entire fucking school!!!" Katherine shouted.
"I know but... Wait a minute. Why don't you guys like Zayn anyway? What's so terrible about him that makes you cringe at the fact that he asked me out?! " I exclaimed.
No answers. They were obviously trying to find a good enough reason to hate him. Absolutely pathetic!
"You know what! Screw this and screw you guys, too! I thought you were my friends, but I guess you're not! A real friend would stick by me! You're just a bunch of fake bitches!"
"Fine! You can sit with your fucked up boyfriend from now on! Anyone want to join her?" Vanity asked.
At first I thought no one would get up, then Leslee and Jasmine rose out of their chairs.
"At least you guys are my real friends." I sighed.
Then I did something I don't think I should have done. I walked up to Vanity and punched her dead in the jaw. I looked down at her, wiping the blood pouring from her mouth, and said,
"He is NOT my boyfriend."
***
The next day, after school was over, Zayn and I were called to the the principal's office. Someone must have snitched! I could've bet that it was Katherine & Vanity! Although I hadn't seen them all day, I had a good feeling it was them. Zayn was called in first, leaving me alone in the waiting room. I waited, maybe for about ten minutes. Then I heard something break. Followed by a screech that was so horrifying it sent a chill down my spine. Then, what looked like a hand slammed against the window, and made me jump. Afterwards, something splattered against the window. I couldn't see what it was because the the glass was blurry. All I could do was guess what was going on in there? Dead silence. I was anxious to see if everything was okay, so I stood up and slowly walked towards the door. My legs shook like maracas with every step I took. When I laid my hand on the icy cold door knob, my heart started to beat about a thousand miles a minute. I closed my eyes as I twisted the knob, fearful of what I might see. What I opened my eyes to, paralyzed me. My blood ran cold, my knees locked, and my jaw dropped.
Blood. Everywhere. On the walls. On the floor. It was all over Zayn's hands, and dripping from his mouth. I saw what was left of my principal. Humongous chunks of him were missing. There was a huge hole in the side of his head. Blood pouring out of it. I saw parts of his brain, the mush it had become. It made me feel lightheaded. I thought I would faint. I looked back at Zayn, and I noticed that his eyes looked so different. They were pitch black, like the deepest depths of an ocean. He was on his knees, looking back at the body. Then he turned to me. I didn't want to see him, and I squeezed my eyes shut. I felt his icy hands cup my face.
"Hey. Open your eyes. Open your eyes Mikayla. Look at me." Zayn whispered.
I did open my eyes, and looking at him, sick to the sight of him covered in someone's blood, I was mortified. I locked my eyes on his, desperately searching for the Zayn I knew. This was not him. Although his voice was still his voice, and his body was still his body, but his eyes were not the dark brown they once were. I got lost in the sea of black I saw now. My train of thought ran off course and multiple thoughts popped into my head. How did this happen? What is he? What is he going to do to me? Am I going to die, too? The thought of dying right there and then, made me start to sniffle, and before I knew it, bitter tears were streaming down my face.
"Don't cry. It's all good. Everything's going to be okay." He cooed, wiping my tears away with his thumbs.
I knew he was only trying to soothe me but something in the way he said that worried me. I pushed his hands away from my face and slowly backed toward the door. With every step back, he took a step forward.
"Zayn, just stay away from me, please." I begged with my back to the door.
"Don't be afraid. You don't have to worry about anything."
I knew he was lying. Obviously if I found my principal dead after just ten minutes with him than I had a lot to worry about. I placed my hand on the door knob and when I did , I flung it open with no hesitation and sprinted out of the office. I screamed as loud as my lungs would let me, and I ran. I ran out the front door and down the street. I didn't know where I was going, and I didn't care. Hell, I didn't even care about having to dodge raging cars on the freeway. As long as I was far away from Zayn, I was safe and content.
"MIKAYLA! STOP!!!" Zayn hollered.
I didn't stop, in fact, I ran faster. I knew he was getting closer, and I was getting tired. I stopped at an intersection, wondering which way I should go. I ran full speed down an ally, which probably wasn't the best choice. When I reached the end, I frantically searched for a way out. In an instant, I was pinned against a brick wall. My head was pounding after the harsh collision.
"I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am...for what I'm about to do." He said.
My blood dripped onto the ground like rain water. One drop fell into Zayn's hand, and he licked it off. Oh god! I thought I was going to hurl. The taste of my blood must have set him off , because he then pulled a knife from his pocket. He used his body weight to hold me against the wall,used one hand to hold my arm, and the other to make the incision. I could feel each individual vein split. The burning sensation. It was so deep I could see my bone through the gooey white flesh. I cried out in pain, hoping someone would hear me.
"Zayn what are you doing?!"
He didn't say anything. Instead he bit down on my forearm as hard as he possibly could. It felt like a thousand neddles were being injected into my skin all at once, and I howled in pain. I tried to fight him off, but it didn't work. Suddenly, I fell to the ground and hit my head on a garbage can. Zayn was unconscious with a bat lying next to him. Who ever did this, saved my life. I saw the brown Uggs, and then I knew.
"Leslee?!"
To be Continued.......