Chapter 4
Aiydin
I need a hero to save my life
A hero will save me just in time...
-Skillet
By the end of first period I'd been hit on by about fifteen boys. The pick-up lines ranged from, "Are you from Tennessee? 'Cause your the only ten I see!" to "Nice ass.". Both failed to accomplish their task. The first comment received a roll of the eyes and scoff from me, while the second earned them the middle finger and a knee to their family jewels. Ugh, Sophomore boys.
You could say that most of the males in the school were steering clear of me. Well, except for Hunter, of course. Let's hear it for persistence, people!
"Hey IQ," he smirked, throwing an arm around my shoulder. Every boy around us cringed, waiting for me to retaliate with violence.
Strangely enough, I just smirked back and said, "Hey FK."
"That didn't come out right..."
"Yeah. Let's stick with the non-abbreviated versions," I nodded with a laugh.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a group of guys staring at me- well, more like gawking- probably wondering why I wasn't flipping out on Hunter. I was asking myself the same thing.
"Agreed," He said, beginning to walk. "So, how was English?"
"Well, because of some nasty comments the boys made about me, several of the males in my class most likely cannot reproduce. Oh, and Mrs.Dawyer officially despises me!" I added a little skip to my step.
His eyes went wide. "And this is a good thing how?"
"I dunno. I just like ticking people off. It's a quirk," I smiled, facing him and shrugging.
"You are adorable, you know that?" My knees almost buckled and my head spun. What had he just said? "So, what do you have next?" Hunter asked, already walking again, heading towards the locker.
Still dazed, I followed behind him, managing to choke out, "Algebra II." I was impressed with how calm I sounded compared to my reeling mind.
"Hey, me too. You can sit by me, so I can get you caught up," He cracked a heartbreaking smile and winked, heading off in the opposite direction.
I turned to find myself at my locker, number 278, right on the end of the row. Thank god, I wasn't smooshed between a bunch of people. Wait, how had Hunter known which one was my locker? It must have been a coincidence, my logical side reasoned. I shook my head and began working the combination I'd already memorized, 0-4-22. I popped it open and set my new English 10 materials inside, taking notice of how much room I had.
"Looks like you could use some decor," A happy voice chirped beside me.
I wheeled to find a girl, about my height, smiling at me like we'd been friends since, like, kindergarten. She had shoulder length, wavy, bleach-blond hair. The under-side of her hair was a bit darker, and had a bright blue streak in it. Her blue eyes sparkled, rimmed with a thin layer of mascara and eyeliner.
"Oh, I'm Karter," She held her hand out to me. I could faintly smell the scent distinguishing her as a fellow shifter- a wolf at that. Jeez, was everyone in this school a wolf?
I took it cautiously, wondering why she was being so nice. "Aiydin."
"Oooh, that's a cool name." I nodded, wanting to escape this awkward moment. What did she want? "So..." She looked down, fiddling with her silver painted nails. "Are you, like, with Hunter?"
And, bingo. There you have it.
"No, no, no!" I stumbled over my words, wondering where she got that from.
"Oh. Well, he never really takes special interest in girls around here. He actually doesn't date at all. He just kinda messes with their minds and then just leaves. I saw him actually smiling and talking to you, so I just figured."
Oh, yay. The guy was a player. How freaking cliche. To cover up my sudden disappointment, I just laughed, shaking it off. Well, now it was a sure thing that I had to avoid him. I couldn't deal with that kind of heartbreak. Not after... well, everything in my sixteen years of life. Too bad it seemed like that was going to be harder than it seemed. Karter chatted lively as she walked with me to Algebra II, which she also had. She'd asked about how I knew Hunter, and, before I knew it, I was spilling the details. The woods. The mall. And now school. It occurred to me then how absurd it was to be disappointed about a guy I barely knew being a total jerk and your stereotypical player.
She turned to me, her eyes alight with energy and something else... jealousy? Yep, that was it. "Do you have any idea what this most likely means?"
"Uh, that I have really bad guy judgement?"
"No, you dip wad!" She exclaimed, slapping my arm lightly.
I fake cringed, laughing. "Then what is it, ye olde wise one?" It amazed me how easily we were getting along, like I had always known her. Yeah, and look how far that notion got you with Hunter...
"It means that you and Hunter are so totally mates."
I swallowed hard, getting my wad of gum caught in my throat. I coughed and hacked, trying to get in out, but it seemed thoroughly lodged in. The edges of my vision were going blurry and I'm sure that my face must be purple by now. I felt two arms lock around me, a jerking pressure on my stomach, and suddenly the gum was out of my throat and I could breathe again. Oxygen deprived, I collapsed against whoever came to help me. I didn't care that I most likely didn't know them.
"You okay there?" A male voice asked.
I felt myself being sat down on the ground, and when I opened my eyes, a seriously hot guy was crouching in front of me, a worried expression on his face. Sandy blond hair, dark blue eyes, and semi-tan skin. He was officially the second most gorgeous guy in the world. Hunter had him beat. Darn it, stop thinking about Hunter!
"Hey, you in there?" The guy asked, confusing the hell out of me. I figured nodding was a safe gesture. "Can you stand up?"
I nodded again, this time cautiously getting to my feet. Just as I was almost all the way off the ground, I moved too quickly, sending my head spinning, and nearly fell again. The guy automatically caught me. I laughed nervously.
"You're quite the klutz aren't you?" He smiled crookedly at me. It was almost as amazing as Hunter's. Almost.
"Yeah," I said, stepping away from him and wiping my now sweaty palms on my pants. His once comforting presence was receding into something else. I wasn't feeling right standing around him.
"I'm Riley," He held out his hand. I had no choice but to take it.
"Aiydin," I said quietly. I felt myself getting dizzy again, and suddenly I was falling, this time away from him. Crap. I was going to bust my head open...
I let out a breath as two familiar arms wrapped around me, and I was pulled against a hard chest. Accidentally, I sighed contentedly and let myself sink into him. For some reason, Riley's stare was making my skin crawl. I didn't like it. I glanced up at Hunter, conveying my desperation to leave in my eyes. Too bad he was intently glaring at Riley, hatred in his eyes.
"Out to soil another innocent girl?" He spat, clenching his fists.
"I thought that was your job," Riley replied coolly, flipping his hair out of his eyes. So, he likes to impersonate Justin Bieber, huh?
"Just leave her alone."
"Why, lover boy? You didn't think I'd figure out what she is to you, did you? Think again, bucko," He scoffed, a smirk playing on his lips.
Hunter tried to lunge at him, but I was standing in front of him. I somehow caught the fist intended for Riley, and made a snap decision. I slowly brought it back down, uncurling the fist and lacing my fingers through his.
"I don't know what this is about," I whispered, trying to calm him down, "But even I can tell this vermin isn't worth it. Let's just go, before I pass out again."
He looked down at me for a minute, weighing the options. Finally, he sighed heavily and smiled at me. "Okay, IQ," He wrapped and arm protectively around my waist and carefully led me to Algebra II.
I heard a girly squeal as I walked in the door, and was almost thrown back as Karter slammed into me. She was bombarding me with questions. I couldn't tell what she was asking because all of her words were blending together. I rolled my eyes and let Hunter walk me over to a set of five desks all scooted together. One was occupied by a girl that looked like a smaller version of Karter and the other by a boy with light brown hair and dark brown eyes.
Hunter and I sat down side by side and Karter was bouncing in her seat. "What just happened?" She asked, eyes still alight.
"Well, thanks to you, I choked and in your absence I met the creepiest guy ever who happened to save me from choking to death. And then for some unknown reason, Hunter about got into a fight with him." Karter's eyes went wide.
"I went to go get help, sorry Ai-"
"So, what are your names?" I asked the other two people, cutting off Karter with a glare. She was confused, but shut up. I'd write her a note later.
"I'm Kaleigh, Karter's sister," The other girl smiled brightly, exactly like Karter. Kaleigh the same skin tone, the same type of make up, and even the same color eyes. The only differences were that Kaleigh was shorter, had a bit darker hair, and she had a purple streak in her hair.
"Parker," The boy said, smiling slightly. I got no bad vibe off of him, thank god.
"I go by IQ now," I coughed to cover up my laughter at the disappointment on Hunter's face.
They all stared at me, confused, but it was Parker that spoke up. "IQ?"
"Pet name," I bit my lip and glanced at Hunter who was shaking with silent laughter.
My back went rigid suddenly. I felt eyes on my back and immediately knew who had just entered the room. I scooted closer to Hunter, already terrified by RIley. Was he going to pull another stunt? I risked a glance over my shoulder. He was heading this way. Oh, god...
Just as Riley was about to take the seat on my opposite side, Hunter grabbed my by the waist, moved me over his lap, and into the seat that he had just been in. All in about a second. I looked up and smiled thankfully at him, but he was too busy glaring at Riley. Riley just looked past him, straight at me, giving me chills- and not in the good way. More like the wow, what a creeper way.
A low growl came from Hunter. I glanced around, waiting for people to turn and stare, but nobody seemed to have noticed. Maybe I was hearing things.
Another growl. This time, Parker looked up, giving Hunter a warning glare. So, I wasn't the only one. What was up with Hunter?
"Now, class, let's get started," The teacher, Mrs. Evans, began dragging the chalk across the board in some equation that I could really care less about. I was more worried about making it through class without a fight breaking out.
**
"My god, Hunter. You couldn't have been civil?" I skrieked, throwing my hands up.
"No," He said, in a dismissive tone.
"Boys," I hissed, popping another fry in my mouth.
Karter, Kaleigh, Parker, Hunter, and I were currently eating lunch. Well, to be more exact, us girls were having lunch. The boys had a freaking buffet. I had shared the last three classes with Hunter and Riley. And let me tell you, that is one Hell of a nightmare.
The whole class, the boys would stare each other down. At first, I'd attempted to get Hunter to let it go, but had given up about hallway through Algebra. I had no clue where his attitude had come from. Heck, I didn't even know anything about him. But, yet, he still has this burning desire to keep me at his side at all times. Maybe he had a possession problem.
"So, have you thought anymore about our previous conversation?" Karter asked. I gave her the death glare and bit into my chicken nugget. I had a feeling that adding the chicken nugget kind of took the threat out of my glare. But, hey, a girls gotta eat.
"What conversation?" Hunter suddenly forgot about his pile of fatty food and looked up at Karter and I.
"Oh, I brought up the fact that IQ over here is probably yo-" For the second time today, I choked. I glared, hard, at Karter, hoping that she would be smart enough to shut the heck up. Someone was pounding on my back. And evidently, that someone was the freaking Hulk.
"What- the - heck!" I screeched between coughs.
"Sorry, just trying to help," Kaleigh laughed, scooting away from me with her hands up. Yeah, you better scoot away, little girl, I thought sarcastically.
"Oh, hey, by the way, we are all invited to Malia's party tonight. I guess it's like a first day celebration. Heard it's gonna be all-out," Parker suggested.
"Even me?" I asked around the wad of fries in my mouth. How ladylike...
"Yeah. Why not?" He asked and I shrugged with a smile. Well, this was going to be good.
The rest of the day passed in a wild rush. Only a few more guys had the guts to come up to me after the episode in first period. One of them was actually really sweet. His name was Lanien, which was really unusual. But, hey, my name is a boy's name, so who am I to judge? And here's the kicker- he didn't hit on me at all. He just asked if I was going to the party. When I replied yes, he asked if I'd save him a dance. I agreed without even thinking about it.
Which brings us to the present, were I am standing in the middle of the living room, surrounded by dancing, drunk, High Schoolers. Talk about uncomfortable. I tried worming my way through the crowd, which wasn't working very well. It was one step forward, two steps back.
I was starting to panic a bit. I had never been a fan of people being all over me in any form, and I had a good reason for it. But, I am so not going to get into that.
A huge hand wrapped around my upper arm, pulling me to the side. I let out a tiny squeal before I saw the face of my savior. Hunter. Well, he just seems to be popping up in my life like dandelions in a field during spring.
"Are you okay? You looked kind of panicked..." He trailed off, raising is eyebrow at my and my darned skittish-ness.
"Uh, yeah, just a little claustrophobic," I lied smoothly, hoping he didn't catch on to it.
"Oh, that makes sense. So, are you here for anyone special?" He asked. I was grateful for the change of topic, but not so happy with the new one. Should I tell him? Wait, why should he give a crap? Why am I even second guessing this?
"I promised someone a dance," I replied, diverting my eyes from him and nervously searching the crowd.
"Who?" He asked.
I glanced up to his face, and to my surprise, his jaw was clenched, his eyes tight. "Lanien Reid," I whispered.
"Cool," He said dismissively.
I glanced down at my sandal-clad feet. Kaleigh and Karter had shoved me in a ridiculously sparkly dress that was equally ridiculous in length, stopping at a bit higher than my mid-thigh. It was silver with black accents, skin tight, and paired with black, strappy sandals. My hair was in a curly bun with shimmer spray all over it- Karter had gotten a little carried away. A few strands had fallen out from being tossed around by the sweaty bodies. Standing next to Hunter, I suddenly realized how slutty I must look. Oh, god.
Desperate for something- anything- to do, I found myself listening to the song for the first time today. I was surprised to find that I knew it by heart- Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. It was a juvenile song, yes, but it was fun and catchy. I was amazed that it was being played at a high school party.
Without realizing it, I was tapping my foot on the ground and singing along softly. Hunter glanced down at me suddenly, catching my eye. I stopped singing, blushing a million shades of red.
"No, you're really good. I'm guessing you like this song?" He cracked one of his smiles.
I nodded silently glancing down again. I started tapping my feet again, feeling like some mute idiot.
"Come on, IQ," Hunter said beside me, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him.
I stumbled a few steps before regaining my balance and blushing like crazy. I really hope nobody saw that.
"What are you doing?" I asked and Hunter pulled me dangerously close to him. My breath caught in my throat.
"Dancing with you, since your 'date'-" He used air quotes as he said date, witch made me want to laugh, but I held it in, "so rudely ditched you."
I stared at him intently, trying to figure him out. He let out a loud laugh at my expression, causing several people around us to turn and stare. I blushed for the hundredth time today. What is it about this boy?
"Now, come on. Get down with your funky self!" Hunter shouted, breaking out in some random dance moves.
"Are you drunk?" I asked, even though he clearly hadn't drank anything tonight- though he was sure acting insane right now.
"Nope, just trying to get you to thaw out a little, IQ."
I rolled my eyes.
"Aw come on!" Hunter grabbed my arm and started shaking it around while he jumped up and down.
If I thought people were staring earlier, they were burning holes through me right about now.
"Fine. Whatever," I groaned.
Hunter stopped the ridiculous dancing and suddenly seized my waist, swaying and jumping around to the music. I followed his lead, hooking my arms around his neck. After a minute, I joined in on the chorus of the song, singing loudly enough so I could most likely be heard by everyone, but not to the point where I sounded like a shrieking banshee.
Minutes flew by and I was having the time of my life. I don't remember when the last time I let loose and had fun was. Oh, yeah. Never. As a kid, I took some dance lessons, mainly ballet and contemporary. That stopped a year after, when my father decided I wouldn't go anywhere in life, so it wasn't worth the money.
Thanks, dad!
Before I knew it, the song ended and everyone around us was either staring at us like we'd grown an extra head, or they were laughing and clapping. I didn't care. It was the best thing that had ever happened to me, besides meeting Evan.
Still breathing hard, I looked up to meet Hunter's scrutinizing eyes. I raised an eyebrow at him and he seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in.
"You are so beautiful," He stared straight into my eyes, like he could see right through the facade I put up, down into my vulnerable core.
But, then again, if he could, he wouldn't like what was in there. In fact, he wouldn't be still standing here... leaning in towards me? I internally panicked, looking for a way out.
My heart hammered faster than a healthy rate.
My palms were sweating.
I was saved by Karter. "Hey, IQ, you're needed over there," She said, pointing behind her in no certain area.
I nodded, throwing an apologetic look at Hunter. "Sorry, duty calls!"
He didn't seem too thrilled at the interruption, but he'd have to deal. I just wasn't ready for that yet. Too bad he'd never know why.
Karter grabbed my arm rather roughly, causing me to flinch back towards Hunter. Bad memories were hitting me like a flood. I felt my hands begin to shake. Both Hunter and Karter were looking at me with different expressions- Karter's was a what the hell? look, while Hunter's was worried and confused.
I ignored them and brushed past Karter, heading for the kitchen. Hopefully, someone would have thought to put some non-alcoholic drinks in there. Say, oh, water? That's a universal type of drink. Sadly, I couldn't find it at all. I sighed heavily and stalked back out of the kitchen, now angry, jittery, and claustrophobic. Why had I even come to this party?
Oh, yeah, now I remember. Because I was actually dumb enough to think a stupid jock would remember that he asked an girl like me to save him a dance. God, I need a brain transplant.
I was so irate that I'd let my guard down completely. Which would be why I didn't know that someone had been following me until they had me by the arm with the other hand on my mouth.
I gagged, nearly throwing up at the over powering, sickly sweet, smell. Judging by the size, my attacker must have been a boy my age, give or take a year. The presence was familiar, but with the sudden haze in my head made it impossible to figure it out.
The man laughed, dragging me up the stairs. My calves repeatedly hit the steps, probably bruising my legs. Well, at least it'd match the finger bruises on my arm!
After the agonizing journey up the stairs, I was thrown through a doorway, into a huge bedroom. My eyes widened to about the size of a baseball when I realized what the guy's intent was. Just another day in the life of Aiydin Carter, I thought sarcastically.
Finally coming to my senses, I tried to scream, only to find that I had no voice. All that came out was a strained gasp. Tears welled in my eyes as I realized that I wasn't going to get out of this.
But, I also wasn't going down without a fight.
I shakily stood, barely able to keep from falling. As he edged closer, I steeled my resolve, using the strength I still had to roundhouse kick him in the chest. I was satisfied when I heard the breath leave him with a whoosh. The strength in my legs after that was spent. I dropped to the floor, quickly crawling towards the door.
Not quickly enough, though. The man gathered himself and came at me, yanking me up by a fistful of my hair. He bared his teeth at me and released my hair, only to grab my shoulder and pop it out, then use the same arm to hurl me at the wall. I winced as I heard my back pop, and I knew that getting up tomorrow would be almost impossible.
If I even lived until tomorrow.
That thought allowed the tears to fall over. I didn't have anything left in me to fight back with. I was going to be either raped or killed.
I think the latter would be better.
He yanked me up with a fist of my dress, causing it to ride up high enough to give him a full view of my underwear. Just great.
I looked up, scared as Hell, but wanting to seem confident. Only to come face to face with none other than a very highly intoxicated Riley. His eyes were no longer beautiful and blue, but dark black. He was very, very close to shifting. I'd learned a lot from being around my father and Evan had taught me the basics of shifters. I knew what the signs were when they were going to shift.
I stopped squirming, terrified of what the outcome would be if he did shift. None of them good.
"That's right, little girl. You'd better cooperate," He whispered in my ear, his lips brushing the side of it. It didn't make me feel the same as when Hunter had done similar today.
His smell invaded my senses again, making me want to puke all over his cocky face. His smirk was really ticking me off. If I could shift, I'd be full out wolf right now.
I involuntarily let out a low growl.
"Aw, the pup can growl. How friggin' cute," He teased, smirk getting bigger by the second.
He shoved me harder against the wall, every line of his body pressing against mine. I could clearly feel his excitement. God, this was sick. I gagged out loud, earning a slap from Riley.
"Don't act like you don't like it, slut," He hissed, suddenly shoving his hand up my dress and along my leg.
I drew in a breath and recoiled, terrified and scared. My heart was in my throat, beating a hundred beats per minute. I just wanted this to be a terrible dream. For it to not be real. But, I knew that it wasn't a bad dream. This was my sad excuse of a life.
And hopefully, the end of it.
More tears streamed down my face as he pressed as close as possible.
This was the end of me...
Riley looked me directly in the eye. Big mistake. The look in them snapped something in me and sparked the last bit of fire I had. Images of my family flashed, setting me off. I gathered all of my strength, pushing him off of me successfully.
He stumbled back, looking surprised. I used my remaining energy to punch him in the face, thanking the lord that Evan had taught me how to punch when I was younger.
He looked up at me, nose bleeding and lip split, pure anger in his eyes. "You bitch!" He screeched, coming at me, shaking.
Oh, god. He was going to shift and tear me to shreds. I let out one last cry, cowering in the corner behind a sturdy looking desk.
Just as he was starting to shift, the door flew open, and I heard a trigger being pulled, followed by a thump and then utter silence. I remained underneath the desk, terrified for my life.
"Aiydin?" A voice asked. It was vaguely familiar. "Aiydin, sweetie, I promise I won't hurt you."
Yeah, I'd heard that before. I tried to calm my breathing and shaking, fearing they would find me.
"It's Lanien. I'm here to protect you. Nothing is going to happen to you now, I promise..."
Lanien!? He was here?
Without a second thought, I hurled myself out from under the desk, and ran to him, jumping up into his arms. I didn't care that I didn't know the first thing about him. He was here and safe and warm. I felt a connection with him, like he was a longterm best friend or even a sibling. I was going to trust that.
His hands smoothed my hair, trying to calm me down. "You're okay. Riley is knocked out, but only for a while. I won't let you go, okay. But, I have to take you home."
"Will you stay?" I whispered, scared that he'd say no.
"Of course."
Lanien felt like the big brother I never had.
**** Sooo, intense I know.
Too intense? Perfect? Horrible?
:Let me now, kay?
Comment, vote and fan! Please?
Ciao!
Kaija<3
ps, sorry for the elipse in the title, wattpad says the title was too short.