The Second Chapter - The Biggest Asshole in Heathfield
.
.
.
By the end of the day, I didn't encounter Will again, despite his locker being opposite mine. Also, I was getting a lot of weird looks, which I assumed were because I was seen conversing with the three siblings in recess earlier who – apparently – no one ever talked to. Like, ever. Which was also weird. So I just wandered over to my car and chucked my stuff on the passenger seat before starting up the car and pulling out of the Heathfield High School carpark. The drive home was quiet and boring, because my car's speaker system had broken prior to me moving away with Mum, and I didn't have time amongst the drama to fix it yet. I could've played it straight from my iPod, but the quality was just so bad that I knew it would be worth the wait. I just had to find a place sometime soon that could help me out.
"Mum, I'm back," I called as I opened the door to our apartment, closing it behind me before chucking the keys on a nearby packing box. "You in here?"
"In the kitchen," Mum called back, so I weaved my way through the brown cardboard and make it to the kitchen, which consisted of white tiles and timber.
"What're you doing in here?" I sang as I found my mum unpacking boxes of cups. "Ooh, I didn't know we had these," I added as I picked up a really nice red mug that had a kind of matte finish. Mum sighed.
"That's because I bought them today," she replied sourly. "Your father sold all my stuff, remember?"
I bite my lip. "Right," I replied, tapping the bench with my fingers. "Okay. Cool. Well, I'm gonna go finish my room, so..."
"I got you something, too," Mum called out as I made it to the hall. "It's on your bed."
"Is it a chocolate cake?" I called back as I skipped down to my room and threw the door open. "Because I won't eat anything else, you know that."
"It's not cake," Mum added, and I scowled.
"Well, that's unfortunate," I muttered, looking around. That's when I found a parcel sitting on my bed; a brown box, with details on the sides. Frowning, I moved for the box and turned it around so I could see the writing. I was addressed to me, which was weird because I didn't remember ordering anything in the past day I'd been living here. My frown deepened as I grabbed a pen from a nearby shelf and stabbed it into the tape, ripping the box open anxiously. There was another box in there, but there was also a piece of paper sitting on the top, which made me hesitate before picking it up and opening it.
Sin,
I wish I could say sorry, but that's kind of stupid, so I won't. All I can attempt to say is that I hope you're doing okay. I know you need me right now, and it sucks I can't be there for you. If I could be there right now, and drop everything else for you, I would. Except if I was eating chocolate cake; you know how I feel about chocolate cake. So, instead, I sent you a box of some of my stuff. I know it's not the same, but it's better than nothing. I wish I could make it up to you. After what I did, I understand you being angry or upset. I would be, if our roles were reversed. That probably doesn't make you feel better, does it? I wish I hadn't written this in pen. Look, I just want to make sure you're okay. With your dad and everything, I know you probably don't want to think about me, and I'm sorry for that, too. But you have to be strong. Just think about this; I've written about a thousand letters, and I'm going to be sending you one every month, just to make sure you haven't broken anyone's ribs while I'm not there. And for a guy who said apologising is stupid about five minutes ago, I'm going to say sorry again, and I miss you.
Love Klaus.
I took a deep breath in and set the letter carefully on the bed beside me before turning to the box. I didn't know what I expected to find in there, but it made me nervous. Finally, I took the lid in my hands and shimmied it off, lying it next to the letter before reaching my hands in the box to find a whole lot of stuff sitting in there. The first thing I found was one of his jumpers. I pulled it close and breathed it in, closing my eyes to let the memories come back in a wave of warmth and peace. It smelled so nice, just how I remembered. Before I got too carried away, I put the jumper down and keep searching. I found the first Star Trek, which was our favourite movie, and one of his PS4 controllers. It was red, which was my favourite colour. One thing that made me smile was the picture of both of us sharing an entire homemade chocolate cake, which we had tripled the recipe for. Amongst the other stuff, I found one small box that I didn't recognise. It had a little white ribbon on it, and I hesitated before I pulled it out and lifted the lid.
"That was supposed to be your Christmas present," Mum commented quietly from behind me, and I whirled around, eyes wide and glassy before they snapped back down to the box. It was a silver ring, with a medium sized ruby centred right in the middle that rendered me completely speechless.
"Was he going to- what was... mum?!" I whispered, staring at Mum with wide eyes. Mum bit her lip, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned sideways in the doorframe. Finally, she nodded tensely, and my hand shot up to my mouth as I stared back down at the ring. And then I started to cry, for the first time since last year. Mum swooped in and held me tightly to her, but it didn't make me feel better. I just cried and cried and cried.
. . .
The following day, I attempted to make myself feel better by dressing as if nothing had happened, and I had to say it was kind of working for me. I had my hair up in a messy bun, with a loose grey singlet and a pair of dark skinny jeans. I had my favourite boots on, too, and my beautiful car in the parking lot. I felt good. Also, I had my first Psychology lesson after recess, which was mainly what was fuelling my excitement.
My brother called right as I made it to my locker. I hadn't told him about the box that came in the mail yesterday, but I guessed our mother told him already, which was why he was calling. I was just happy that me and my brother had unlimited calls, or we'd both be in trouble.
"Cas," I said when I picked up. I could basically hear the frown from across the line.
"What, no Elven greeting?" my brother replied with a pout. "What's gotten you in a mood?"
"You mean Mum didn't tell you?" I asked reluctantly, rubbing my forehead. "God damn it, Mum."
"What, what's going on?" Cas asked curiously, concern seeping through the phone. It made me feel good, to know that someone cared about me. That someone could still tell when I was feeling out of place.
"I got a box in the mail," I said finally, focusing on the books in my locker to avoid my feelings. "It was from Klaus."
"Oh, shit," Cas murmured finally, shuffling around on the other side of the phone. "Are you... are you okay? What was in it?"
"Oh, just a bunch of stuff," I lied, pursing my lips. "And a ring."
A loud silence followed, which meant I was right about my assumption. Cas knew about it, this entire year. And he didn't say a word.
"River, I'm so sorry," he mumbled, sounding guilty. "I just- I couldn't tell you, not after what happened. I couldn't do that-"
"It's okay, Cas," I interrupted, biting my lip as I looked down at my left hand. "I'm okay. I think I cried enough salt water to fill the Atlantic, but I made it. Don't stress, and don't even think about flying over. You need to keep an eye on Dad, okay? And I need a distraction."
"Just... be careful, River," Cas pleaded finally. "Please. I can tell you exactly how this will end if you don't take it easy, and I'm not sure that's where you want to end up after the past year."
"I'll be careful, I promise," I assured him. "I love you, but I have to go."
"Love you too," he replied before I hung up. When I had my voice to myself, I let out a heavy sigh and leaned my head forward against my books in my locker, screwing my eyes closed. Yeah, he was right. I definitely needed to take it easy.
"Hey, it's my favourite elf," someone I recognised as Will announced from behind me suddenly, making me turn my head to find him leaning back against his own locker. "You alright?"
"Rough night," I replied with a tight smile, swinging my bag over my left shoulder. "How bout you? How much Elvish did you manage to memorise last night?"
"Only 'melamin' and 'yallume'," he answered with a pout, and I raised an eyebrow.
"Yallume?" I questioned. "When are you ever going to need to say that?"
"You never know when the chance might arise," he shot back with a shrug. "Like, um... oh, what about this?" He straightened his back as he prepared to give an example. "Oh, yallume! It's finally lunch time!"
Despite my mood, I found myself grinning at how ridiculous he looked. "That was adorable," I commented, and he rolled his eyes.
"But completely relevant, all the same," he added with a serious nod. "Completely relevant."
"Oh yeah," I agreed with a serious nod of my own as I pulled my bag up higher on my shoulder. "I'll definitely be shouting that to everybody at lunch."
Will grinned, then pursed his lips. "Hey, you want to come over after school? I feel kind of bad after recess yesterday; I didn't see you after that."
I smiled dryly. "Yeah, I kind of got the impression your siblings didn't appreciate my company," I admitted freely. "But it's okay, you don't have to make up for it. It wasn't you, anyway."
"Yeah, but I let them kick you out," Will whined. "Please? It'll make me feel better?"
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, fine," I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "If it's going to make you feel better. But if your siblings want to kick me out, I'm expecting you to have my back, okay?"
"You got it," Will grinned. "Alright, well I have to go to my science class; I think I have Nano-Technology."
"Oh, that's so cool," I said with a grin. "I think I have art this morning or something."
"Oh, that's so cool," Will mocked me in a high-pitched voice. I rolled my eyes again.
"I do not sound like that," I shot back before closing my locker and heading down the hall.
"See you at recess," he called after me, and I stuck my hand up just as I rounded the corner. I made it to the art room just as the bell went, which meant I was kind of early because everyone else started coming in just as I took a seat.
"Alright, I want you continuing your work from last week please," the teacher called from the front as she made her way down the classroom. "Remember; quick, light strokes for the light and slow, hard strokes for the dark. Make it clash. River Sin, is it?"
I looked up as the teacher stopped right in front of me, leaning on my desk so we were kind of eye-to-eye.
"Yeah, that's me," I replied, and the teacher nodded.
"Since you arrived near the end of a large project, I'm not going to make you do it. But I still need something to grade. So I'm going to get you to show me what you can do with a paintbrush, okay? I want you to choose a paint you want to use, and you're going paint me something with it only using one colour."
"A paint type?" I questioned. "Like, acrylics or oils or watercolour?"
"Correct," the teacher confirmed. "I'll get you some paper, and you can gather what you want from the cupboards." I nodded and got up to get some watercolour paints from the shelf my art teacher had pointed to, along with a few paintbrushes, a pencil and some water. From there, I received my piece of paper and began painting.
It was about halfway through the lesson when the door opened and a rather familiar looking God wandered in, with all his glorious black hair pushed back out of his face and those gorgeously pale blue eyes scanning the room for the teacher. They landed on me for a fraction of a second, but I'd like to think they lingered a little longer than that.
"I think I'll be pointing out the obvious when I say this," the teacher announced when she saw him, "but you're late, Tyler."
Tyler nodded. "Yeah, I'm aware," he replied, his voice low and swoon-worthy. "Will I be getting detention or can I just keep going with my project?"
The teacher rolled her eyes. "Just get your stuff and sit down," she muttered, so he obeyed. I bit my lip and stopped myself from rolling my eyes at myself. This guy was already pissing me off and I hadn't known him for more than a day yet. It made it worse knowing that I didn't like him because I found myself attracted to him, which was so unlike myself. Apparently, though, you just couldn't help it when the sexiest man alive decided to go to the same school as you.
Sigh.
"My brother tells me you got here the other day," his voice sounded from beside me, and I jumped slightly, very surprised at the sudden presence I felt to my left. I glanced sideways to find Tyler sitting there, a piece of paper sitting on the desk before him. He wasn't looking at me, but his statement was directed at me nonetheless.
"That's nice," I said after a mild hesitation as I continued to paint.
Shit. He was talking to me. Shit. What should I say?
"You know, I don't remember ever liking you."
Oh, perfect, River. You couldn't have been nicer if you tried.
"I don't remember ever liking you, either," Tyler shot back gruffly, making me want to grimace. "But Will told me to be nice, so I'm being nice."
I screwed my face up at his comment. "If you call 'making an obvious statement' being nice, then I'd hate to see what you being awkward sounds like."
"Yes, I can definitely see why he likes you," Tyler said with a frown. "Your annoying voice and snappy attitude must have guys crawling all over you."
"Very clever," I shot back dryly, feeling defiant already. "That was a very clever sarcastic blow. Yes, it made my self-esteem drop so much. I feel awful about myself. I'm going to go eat some chocolate cake and cry about my ex-boyfriend some more."
"Some more?" Tyler picked up. "You do that often then?"
"Twice a day," I replied smoothly. "Only at seven, because that was his favourite number."
Tyler snorted. "Funny," he said, and I rolled my eyes to stop myself from beaming at him with a goofy grin.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" I pressed. "You can sit anywhere else. Literally anywhere else."
As long as you can't see me drooling over here.
"What, you don't appreciate my company?" Tyler cooed, flashing me a playful smirk, and I rolled my eyes again, trying hard not to make a fool of myself.
"No, not really," I admitted. "I don't really converse with brats. Or assholes, for that matter."
"Pity," Tyler sighed, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as he gazed blankly at the paper in front of him. "Cause I'm the biggest asshole in Heathfield." Despite my urge to grimace, I found myself smirking.
"Yeah, I kind of gathered that much, thanks," I retorted, returning my full attention to the painting in front of me. I didn't talk to him much more for the rest of the lesson; by the time recess came, I had packed all my stuff away and was the first one out of the classroom. I needed to put as much distance between me and that irresistibly good-looking stack of maple-syrup-doused pancakes that I saw whenever I looked at Tyler Slater.
I was kind of looking forward to seeing Will again, but I also wasn't. But that was probably just because of his siblings. There was something about the way they went about their business, like they didn't want to be noticed. Adriana didn't even look like she wanted friends. It seemed like Tyler was only talking to me because his brother had told him not to be a dick, but even so I felt like Will was the only one who was showing any real interest in me at all, and to be honest? I kind of needed it.
"Ugh, I'm so sick of school already," I grumbled as I took a seat beside him, clenching and unclenching my fists in my lap. "I mean, why are we even going if we're just getting taught all this pointless stuff that we don't even want to do in the future? Is 'knowing the reasoning behind a large focal flower centrepiece' going to get me an advancement in Psychology? No. No it's not."
"It's not even twelve o'clock and you're already pissed off," Will sighed dramatically. "That's unfortunate."
"For you, maybe," I grumbled, tapping my fingers on the table frantically. "My brain is not making sense to me right now. I need to stop thinking."
"That would be nice, yes," Will agreed with a mock smile, and I let out a sigh. "Hey, that's a big rock," he commented suddenly, and I glanced at him for a moment.
"Yes," I said after a slight pause. He caught on straight away and cocked his head sideways, narrowing his eyes.
"I should've known," he mused, resting his chin on his fist. "A pretty girl like you had to have a boyfriend."
"How do you know it's from my boyfriend?" I shot back defensively, crossing one leg over the other before pursing my lips. "Maybe it was my grandmother's? Maybe it was from my best friend? Maybe it was from my brother?"
"A ring like that doesn't come from a best friend or a brother," Will corrected with an eyebrow raised and an amused smile playing on his lips. "And if it was from your grandmother, you would've been wearing it yesterday because you miss her oh so dearly. Which leads me to believe you got it... last night. Dun dun dun."
I nodded, looking disappointed. "You're right," I murmured, rubbing my forehead. "I shouldn't have hidden that information from you, Solas. I mean, I've known you for a whole day now! How selfish of me?"
"But I'm right, aren't I?"
"No, you're wrong," I replied, admiring the ring on my finger. "I mean, you were right about the whole 'boyfriend' thing. But you were wrong about the whole 'best friend' thing. He was both."
Will was quiet for a moment. "What happened to him?" he asked finally, and I looked up. "Like, why isn't he in your life anymore?"
"He had to leave," I sighed, sinking into my seat as I leaned back and gazed at the ceiling. "He just came to my door one day, and said he had to go away soon. He had to leave me behind. Said it was for the best."
"Was it?"
"No. No, I don't think so."
.
.
.
Okay so the past two chapters have been particularly LONG ('sorry' if you don't like that and 'you're welcome' if you do). I'm really uneven with how long I keep my chapters, I'M SORRY! I'll try and keep them all around 2000 words each, but I know a lot of them will most likely leap up to 3000, while some may drop to 1000 THERE'S JUST NOTHING I CAN DO!
I hope you're liking the book so far, and if you stick around a lot more will be starting to happen! I'm sorry if it's starting too slow or if it doesn't lead anywhere for the next couple of chapters but it WILL get somewhere!
While I'm here, what do we think happened with Klaus???
I don't usually like keeping these note things long, so I'm gonna cut it off now with a big THANK YOU for every comment and vote I get, and a huge I LOVE YOU because I do, I really do, all you gorgeous people are the reason I live on this planet.
Keep reading! x