And then, just like that, Grayson was laughing wildly, the sadistic twist of his lips making him look like something from a horror film. He let go of Jane to clutch his sides as his chest heaved and he attempted to control his laughter. She took note of his drastic mood swings and raised her eyebrows in alarm.
The rain had stopped but they were both still dripping wet. Jane was holding the poor soul of a creature in her tightly wound her arms. The dog was writhing in her hold, struggling to jump from her arms.
Jane couldn't take it. Her frustration spilled over into her shouts, "You are going to help me take care of this dog! You hurt him, now you're healing him!"
His smirk disappeared for all but two seconds before it returned, stretching wider into a slanted smile. As if Jane had just cracked the best joke ever. He should have been sent to an asylum years ago.
"What are you smiling at?! Follow me, bastard; if you don't, I'll call the cops right now!" Jane cursed him as she headed in the direction of her house, soaked clothes clinging to her scrawny figure.
Grayson, surprisingly enough, walked along with her. He said nothing but glared daggers into the back of her head. After a while he pulled a sweet from his pocket and slowly peeled away the crinkling pink striped wrapper away. Jane glanced back; a fatal mistake.
He met her gaze and tossed the treat into his mouth. Jane was bewildered that his teeth looked blunt and average; she'd been expecting ugly, twisted, yellow fangs.
"You want one? They're sour. Taste delicious!" He chuckled and offered a sweet from his pocket.
Jane rolled her eyes and turned back to watching the sidewalk ahead, picking up her pace. "Fuck you."
His long legs easily kept him by her side. "Oh come on, it's good!" He smacked his lips together as he noisily ate the second candy.
"You and your sour treats are disgusting and I don't want a part of either!" she snapped, ignoring Grayson's fake pout.
A small sigh escaped Jane at the sight of her quaint little house and much larger barn looming behind it. She nudged the old wooden gate open with her foot and let it shut when Grayson entered the yard. She swayed as she made her way up the stone path and to the door of her home. She shifted the dog's weight to her left arm so she could dig her keys out from her pocket and unlock the door.
The second the door opened a small brown and white puppy bombarded them, jumping at their legs and yelping excitedly. The dog in Jane's arms seemed to jolt back to conciousness at the sound and it whipped it's mangy head around wildly. Juane stepped over the puppy after closing the door. She led Grayson to the dining room which had bags of animal food covering every counter and food bowls on the floor that were covered in slobber. Toys were scattered in every room and birds tweeted in the other rooms. The house reeked like it hadn't been cleaned in months.
Jane seemed to take no notice of it. She carefully handed the dog to an unsuspecting Grayson and warned him, "Don't you dare do anything! Don't even move from that spot! I'll be back in a minute!"
He nodded and held the dog sweetly in his arms, brushing his fingers through its filthy fur. As soon as Jane scampered away with the puppy following her, he moved to the living room and sat down on the hair covered couch. Pictures of animals occupied the dark purple walls while real animals took over the rest of the one floor house. Grayson spotted Jane's beautiful grey Persian cat sprawled out in the center of a coffee table with her two sleeping kittens.
He had yet to spot another human in Jane's house. 'Talk about a crazy person,' he thought cynically.
Memories flashed behind Grayson's eyes and he tensed, fighting the shout that clogged his throat. The dog whimpered at how painfully tight Grayson held him.
Immediately his arms loosened. The past taking its hold over him, he spoke to the dog in an oddly sympathetic tone. "Was I holding you too tight? Did I hurt you really bad? Damnit, I am really sorry, man! I'm such an ass." In a mutter he added, "Maybe I should have been the one to get stoned." Not that it could breathe, the dog's eyes slid closed and it rested its head on Grayson's chest.
Not long after, Jane came running, puppy still on her heels, and sat next to Grayson on the couch so she could easily move the dog from his lap to hers. She took a wet rag and gently began washing the dog's worst exterior injuries, getting rid of layers of dried blood and grime and gravel from the road. Grayson pretended to not be paying attention.
Once Jane finished, she set the rag aside and took a white tube of medicine from her back pocket. She twisted off the cap as she spoke. "This will help prevent infection and get rid of what he might already have. We have to massage it onto his wounds. Be gentle but quick so I can bandage him up before he starts bleeding again."
Silently they both filled their hands with the thick white ointment and got to work. Jane had to bolt away once more to get a bandage after they'd finished. When she returned she meticulously dressed the dog's wounds, picked it up, and carried it outside to who-know's-where.
Back, she grumbled, "Why did you hurt the poor thing?" She bit her lip in anger. "You should thank me for not reporting you, damnit!"
Grayson's eyes sparkled with the thrill of an argument. The devil's smirk found it's way back to his face. "Does it hurt to hurt someone? Is that bad? Doesn't the pain make you feel good?"
"Why don't I help you find out how it feels to be on the receiving end? I'll beat you with a whip and then you can tell me how it felt," Jane replied sarcastically.
"Oh! Jane, how did you know? I've always wanted someone to whip me; I have waited for it my whole life! But, ah, it won't be as fun if I can't do the same to you!"
'This guy is sick. Beyond sick. He's fucking insane!' she thought.
"Can I have a glass water?" he asked out of the blue as if they hadn't just been talking about beating each other.
"Sure," Jane mumbled, going to fetch him a glass of water.
He bolted up from the couch the second she was out of sight. He slipped out the front door and rounded the house, stopping to look out along the yard surrounding the giant red barn. He jogged over and shoved aside one of the massive doors.
He smirked and rubbed at his chin, lifting the latches of half of the cages filling the barn. Rabbits, birds, dogs, and even a couple of funky looking chinchillas ran around the floor, letting out happy noises and getting into some of the bags of food leaning against a stable stall.
'Sorry not sorry Jane!'
***
Jane was late for yet another Monday of classes. She burst in about ten minutes late to her English class, having already missed two other classes. She looked around the classroom at everyone busy writing away on their surprise test.
"Fuuuuck!" Jane cursed under her breath as she made her way to Miss Griselda's desk.
"Take your test and get to work, Jane!" Miss Griselda snapped.
Jane took the packet from her and dragged her feet to an empty corner desk. She stared at the test with it's bold, twenty sized font title; PREPOSITIONS. The test was covered in blanks where the proper prepositions were meant to go. And of course there weren't any hints to go off of.
The class bell rang before Jane even finished. Mrs. Griselda collected the test nonetheless. Most of the other students left the classroom to enjoy their free period. Jane remained in the corner, staring blankly out of the window.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Grayson walking quietly out of the classroom. Her hatred for him swelled in her chest and she knew exactly why. She was certain she could kill him for letting out all of her animals the other day.
Emma walked over, blocking Jane's view of Grayson. "Hey Jane! We are going to start preparing for the talent show today. You can help us write down the names of each student and their performance for the "rock star band" theme." She handed her a piece of paper and a pen.
Andrew stomped over. "What? Jane is not taking any responsibility on this! Miss Colgate Smile! She is so dumb I bet she doesn't even know what you're talking about!"
"Hey, you better watch your mouth!" Jane snapped back.
"Oh!" He turned to Emma. "Let me remind you of what she did the last time we did a play. She ruined everything!" To Jane, "There's no way I'm letting you handle this!"
"Fine! Take this and do whatever the hell you want!" Jane threw the paper and pen at Andrew's face. She wasn't known to explode like this, but Andrew crossed the line. Him and his swollen superiority complex had always pissed Jane off.
She didn't say anything as she thumped out of the class which had grown dead silent.
Andrew didn't move for a second. Jane was everyone's favorite, no matter how dumb and stupid she was. Somehow she was loved and cherished by everyone but he was the smart one, the sane one, and everyone fucking hated him!
"Andrew! How could you say that to her! She has always helped and made our plays better! You obviously don't know anything about her! What makes you think you're better than her?! You pig!" Emma screamed.
All eyes were on him now.
"But..." He tried to defend himself but couldn't seem to find the words to justify his actions.
"We can't do this theme without her! Bring her back!" Emma demanded.
Jane fought the tears clouding her eyes. She went to the right where Lance's class was and waited for him to come out and help her but Lance wasn't the guy a girl should have as a friend; especially a defender.
He was always getting bullied but never stood up for himself. And if he couldn't stand up for himself then he would never be able to stand up for someone else.
And that's how Jane met him. It had been her third day at the school that same year. She was going up the stairs when she found a boy crying alone in one of the darker hallways. He had short black hair and a long, pointed face. Jane was unsure of what to do because she had never seen a guy sob before.
"Excuse me?" she tapped his shoulder.
The guy flinched away from her touch, curling into a tighter ball and yelling, "Please don't hurt me! Please, I don't wear braces! I don't!" he turned around and began to plead. He bowed his head to the same level as her feet and gripped her ankles.
Jane knelt down and peeled his hands from her ankles. "It's alright. I won't hurt you, I promise." She offered her hand and he took it, pulling himself up. "I am Jane." She smiled as bright as she always did. The guy wiped away his tears and stole a glance at her face. Her smile reminded him of his mother; it was so soothing he felt his heart calm down and his fear subside.
"I...I... My name is Lance." He tried to smile but ended up blushing.
And now, having known each other for about half a year, Jane knew that the only person she cared about anymore was Lance. She would fight for him and curse people and get punished for him, but she still loved him.
Finally Lance walked out of the classroom. All it took was a glance to Jane's bright red, contorted face to know that something had happened. Again.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, kissing gently on her cheeks.
"Nothing, let's go for lunch!" She tried to hide her tears but Lance knew better.
He took her hands in his and demanded, "Jane... Don't you dare try to keep something hidden from me."
They went to their favorite spot near the back of the school in an abandoned classroom only used for storage anymore. Jane spilled her guts, letting Lance into everything.
"Andrew, that son of a bitch! I want to knock the bastard out!" He clenched his fists in helpless frustration.
"But...he's right, you know. I am stupid; dumb as bricks," she said, tears threatening to fall.
Lance pulled her closer and held her tightly against his chest. "You're not stupid. They are; everyone else in this damn world is! Didn't you ever learn that you're not supposed to listen to idiots?" He smiled and gave her a sweet, jelly filled candy.
"They will apologize. You're the best, they can't do this play without you."
"Thanks, Lance." She smiled. "What did you think happened? When you came out and I was about to cry?"
"Nothing..." He quickly changed the subject. "What's up with that Grayson guy? Is he mental or what?" Lance asked as they stood and headed back to their classes.
Jane ignored the awkward shift in conversation. "You have no idea what kind of monster he is! He belongs in a nut house!"
"What did he do now?"
"I found him throwing rocks at a dog the other day. When I stopped him and made him help me fix up the dog he came to my house and did what I told him for a while. I don't know what changed in him though because after I came back into the room from getting him a glass of water he had disappeared. So then I went to the barn and all the animals were let out of their cages!" Jane said, anger boiling in her just at the memory of discovering it all.
"Jesus. What is wrong with that asshole?"
***
Jane was walking to the teacher's lounge when she saw Grayson standing alone in the corner. He smirked at her and then winked. Jane ignored him until she remembered that he still had some business with her.
"Hey you!" Jane pointed at him.
"Hey! Wow you seem so cool, why are you talking to a loser like me?!" He remarked sarcastically. He was peeling the skin from his fingers.
He smiled. "You know the great thing about smiling is that it hides the darkness inside of you so perfectly. Isn't it great?" His finger was bleeding but he didn't seem to care.
"It doesn't do anything if your smile is ugly as fuck! Now, you have to come home with me after school! If you try to ditch me I'll report you!" Jane threatened him.
"I won't, I promise! I keep my promises! I write them in my diary. I am a good boy, really!" Grayson said.
Jane rolled her eyes and snapped, "Give me your number!"
"Oh sure thing sweetheart! We can do our little chit-chat all night long. It hurts when I type too much and that makes me feel so happy I can type more!" He laughed insanely.
Jane couldn't stand listening to him without a shiver crawling up her back. He was the creepiest guy she had ever met.
"Your number...?"
Grayson picked out a pen from his coat pocket and roughly grabbed Jane's palm. At first he carefully wrote the digits on her skin. But then he returned to the first number and forced the pen down so hard it stabbed past the first few layers of skin and ripped open Jane's palm as he continued on with each digit. Jane tried to twist free but he held her still.
Fear and pain clamped her throat shut and she couldn't even find her voice to scream.
When he finished her hand was covered in blood and going numb. She cradled it against her chest and ran off down the hall so Grayson wouldn't see her sobbing.
Over her shoulder she screamed, "I fucking hate you!!"
A/N:
Sorry for the late update! Enjoy this one ;)
Please give me your comments!!!
I'm waiting desperately 😊