"...Drop your worries, you are gonna turn out fine. Oh... you turn out fine."
Andy Grammer's song went muted to my ears as my thoughts swept me away. I could only be located in the realm of my mind, a place where it was all white but the color black was tainting the area.
I didn't catch a glimpse of any faces, there was none to be found. All I could observe was the darkness and the light while voices murmured in the background.
As seconds ticked endlessly, the low murmurs gradually rose in volume. The incoherent words being spewed finally became comprehendible.
"Did... did he do something to you as well?"
A shaky girl's voice popped up, growing louder than before.
Who was he? Ricky? That was the only dangerous guy in world's issues class, unless you count the guy who I still haven't gotten a name for.
"I can't be here."
"Don't touch me!" The girl snapped, the brown eyes of Hayley etching itself into my mind, staring back at me with disconsolate features.
I know something's wrong with Hayley, but she won't say anything. How am I suppose to help when she pushes me away? We haven't known each other for so long, it's understandable.
How will I know if she's pushing me away so I can leave her alone, or pushing me away in hopes for me to stay and show I care?
I really needed to speak with her, but she was absent for the past two days. I've been worried, I wanted to contact her but no one I knew had her number, to make things more worse, they didn't even know who she was.
She really did have no friends. I guess it is truly hard being the new kid at school.
Maybe it's not the school that's the problem for the new girl, maybe it's just her, snickered a voice inside me.
Or maybe it's just the people, I pondered.
"But, you gotta keep your head up, oh oh," Hannah sung, the telltale sign of the chorus, which is the part she sings with the guy with thick rimmed glasses, aka the main lead.
"And you can let your hair down, eh eh," the guy shakily sang, his vocals wobbly.
Eventually, his voice cut off as he pursed his mouth into a thin line, a large inhale of air made his chest puff out as he wiggled his hands, shaking off the jitters.
"Come on! We nailed this at practice. Why are you all of a sudden shy? Acting like a newbie who's making their first appearance on stage?" Hannah complained, running her hand through her curly hair, similar to Noah's actions.
My eyes roamed around Mrs. Fluent's room, seeing all the nervous faces rehearsing the songs they'll be performing. It's a relief that I didn't have to face those nerves today.
It was a secret miracle that I missed the Saturday where everyone made the choice to perform in the mini concert. It was the day I decided to process what happened at the club, and the day I got saved from performing in front of the Mortes and the Imperishables.
It was always normal to have a mini concert before the real thing, but it was commonly held after school, not during the last half an hour of the school day. However, Mrs. Fluent took good notice at the changing moods of kids, realizing everyone became more on edge and defensive, so she wanted to lift their spirits with positive songs.
"I'm just- I don't really want to be in front of an audience filled with those people. My throat closes up by just thinking about their eyes on me. I don't want to hold their attention," Hannah's partner replied back.
"Trust me, I know the feeling. We can do this, besides, we're the first one up so we can get it over with quickly," Hannah tightly smiled, checking the time.
I reached for my phone, the number 2:10 presented before my eyes. "Alice, let's go. Mrs. Fluent expects us to be there five minutes before everything starts."
Alice looked up from her screen, halting her thumbs and putting a stop to her ferocious texting, probably having a chat with her mother.
"Alright," she responded, slipping her phone into her front pocket. "Everyone start heading to the auditorium! Go to your place, whether that is behind the wings or helping out with lights and sound checks!" Alice yelled throughout the class, accomplishing her job of being the informant.
The tense atmosphere was thick and heavy, spreading through the room faster than the speed of light. The girls and guys stiffened at the dreadful announcement, it was about to be showtime for them.
Hopefully the gangs will be nice.
Hopefully you'll get a grip on reality, snorted my dark self.
The lack of movement bothered Alice as she clapped her hands together and barked orders, "Please exit the room! Mrs. Fluent will kill me if we're late to our own show!"
Some hesitated to stay put as they slightly began to break their rigid form. Unfortunately, those people regain their senses as they realized a majority of the kids weren't moving an inch.
A girl with light curly hair, marched her way to the door, grabbing the handle and holding the door wide open. "Get out," Hannah bluntly said, no anger or rude attitude, just absolute bluntness.
They all looked at each other, their eyes sharing one thing in common. Why listen to the girl who holds no power over them? But, surely, if they knew who she was related to, what blood was running through her veins, they would oblige to the request. They didn't have a clue that Noah Esposito was a gang leader or that Hannah was apart of that, even if she didn't participate in gang activities.
Alice places her hands on her hips. "You guys can do this, there's nothing to be afraid of because we all can sing laps around those hyena-sounding people."
My lips quirked up as a smile broke through.
"I know everyone is nervous about going out there and being in front of intimidating people, but you can't give them the satisfaction of seeing you be scared, they like that. Don't give them what they like. You have to go out on stage, like we all did many times before, and sing your fabulous voices in front of those 'hyena sounding people'," I sincerely urged, flashing my wide smile at everyone present, including Hannah.
She caught my eyes and returned the gesture, spreading the door more wide for people to leave, and they did. They all followed each other out the classroom, and Alice waited for the last students to go by.
"Hey, Annalise. I like your skirt," Hannah complimented me, turning in my direction before walking out.
"Thank you," I beamed happily.
A faint smile tugged her lips up as she continued on. It would be unfair to think differently of her because of Noah, she wasn't him. It was good that I realized that sooner than later.
"Is that a good idea?" Alice questioned, darting her eyes between me and Hannah, closing the door behind her.
"I don't think we should judge her because of her brother. She's a different person than him, and if it's true what Noah said, she isn't apart of the Mortes," I explained, both of us walking down the hall and to the direction of the bridge.
"I don't trust Noah, and since he brung you to that club, leaving you with Ricky, I don't like him either. Who knows if he was speaking the truth," Alice exclaimed, looking at the crowd ahead of us, filled with students who aren't just singers.
"Dang it," she sighed. "Teachers aren't suppose to be letting the students out this early."
I ignored the packed hall as the huge windows from the bridge poured daylight upon us, it was dull and cloudy outside.
"You're right, maybe he can't be trusted. Hannah, however, is a different story. We've been friends with her for about three years, never once did she do anything bad. We can trust her," I defended, my mind drifting back to when she thought I slept with Noah.
Impossible.
Just be a nun already, a voice exasperatedly said.
"Maybe, but if she turns out to be a dangerous bitch..." my widening eyes found hers, surprised she swore, normally she didn't.
"...I'll murder her if she hurts a hair on your head," she mumbled, slightly shaking her head side to side as she pulled at a strand of loose hair from her messy, golden bun.
I could feel my brows come together as I stared at her, a little confused by the hostility laced in her voice. I was about to question her sudden mood change when something reeled in my attention, everyone's attention to be exact.
"You're an Imperishable, right?" Someone asked more loudly than necessary.
My eyes scanned the wide hallway, discovering Zachary, Michael, and Asher in the midst of the crowd. Their line of sight was stuck on two people in the middle of everything. Students became statues as movements came to a sudden stop, voices dropping down.
"Yeah, I am," the other person replied, the voice immediately made an connection in my brain.
It was him, the guy who I bumped into, also the one who bumped into me and Alice. My face landed onto his own, his brown complexion and thick black eyebrows met my eyes. The side of his face was the only view I got of him and for the one who asked the question. That guy had a shiny nose piercing and white skin, he seemed a little pale, but not because he was scared, his wicked smile didn't suggest that at all.
"Good," the guy smirked, an indent of a dimple forming on his cheek.
"For me or for you?" The Imperishable replied, looking him up and down as he stepped closer, sizing the kid up.
"Shit," I heard Asher mutter, taking long strides my way.
I held my breath as he approached, Zachary and Michael trailing along. It was about two days ago when Asher said we should talk, but he came home late, meaning I didn't get a chance to talk to him. He also went to school early, so I didn't get to talk to him in the morning or in between classes. He made sure to be unseen for the past two days.
Wednesday he sent me a text to talk, but here we are Friday with no communication still.
"Unfortunately for you, just me," the guy with the piercing grinned sinisterly, losing his joyful expression.
Asher grabbed my arm as he stood before me. "Let's go, now," was the only thing he said.
Alice and the rest of the crew stood looking at each other, a short debate entering their mind. Should they go home as well? Or should they stay?
"What? No, Ash, there's a concert happening that needs my help. I'm doing the lighting," I opposed, attempting to shake off the grip he had on me.
A humorous laugh fled between the Imperishable's lips, the hardened face he had on was wiped off as he couldn't contain his chuckles.
"Let me do you a favor," he began. "Leave my face or you're going to have to wheel yourself out of here once I'm done with you," sneered the Imperishable, his eyes holding genuine promise.
"She can't leave yet," Alice agreed with what I previously stated, prying her eyes off the two guys.
"Yeah, not when things are about get to interesting. Look at this soon to be fight," Michael whispered to everyone, his brown eyes captured by the scene.
"This is why we should leave, Annalise. You guys can get sucked into this, but she isn't," Asher shot back, aware of the two tense people getting closer to each other.
He tightened his hold on me as he made a move to the stairs. "Stop," I whispered loudly to him. "I'm the only one who really knows how to work the lights, besides Alice, I need to stay. Mrs. Fluent is counting on me."
Alice took some steps our way, slapping his hand off me. "You don't get to ignore her for like a week, then immediately talk to her and tell her what to do," she lectured him, her eyes burning with a fierce fire.
"Shut up," he rolled his eyes.
"There's no way people are going to make a path for you to go through," Zachary spoke up, leaning towards us all.
"I'll make a fucking path," Asher retorted.
I bit my bottom lip, sending a disapproving nod at Asher. He didn't have to swear or be rude to people who weren't doing anything bad.
"Please, just stop," I pleaded with him, looking at his sky-blue eyes.
"This is going to get messy. If we don't leave-"
The next thing I knew, everyone was shuffling backward, a newfound urgency to avoid the danger stirring up. The nose-piercing guy's fist curled up, flying fast and hard at the Imperishable's face. The guy smashes his knuckles against the person's left cheek, a harsh pounding sound broke through the whispers and gasps, causing absolute silence, deadly silence.
My eyes expanded three times their regular size, processing the punch that occurred, not peeling my eyes off of them for a second. The gang member who received the bruising hit, stood still as he regained the balance he momentarily lost as he stumbled to the side. He rubbed his cheek, moving his jaw side to side as his eyes held no pain, just a glint of annoyance.
His fingers curled into his palms, creating a steely fist that shook due to the amount of pressure he applied. His head then turned to the opposite side of where I stood, leading my eyes to the dark figure standing there.
Ricky stood tall and mighty, two of his closest gang members by his side. He held his hands to the back of him, assessing the situation with aloof, dark blue eyes. His signature leather jacket was gone, and only his darkish green shirt was on display, along with his muscular caramel arms.
He was eerily calm by the situation at hand, blinking once and stating four odd words. "You know the rules."
Rules?
With that, the Imperishable snapped his head back to the one with the piercing, throwing a devious smile his way.
"Are you going to stay hit or fight me?" The guy taunted, raising his brows expectingly.
The gang member grimaced, his face twisting in disgust at the guy before him as he snarled. "You're going to regret this, big time."
His fist soared at his face, halting before making contact. In defense mode, the guy brings his forearms together, blocking the punch he believed to be coming his way. The confusion on his face was extremely detectable as he started to falter in his defense stance. The Imperishable took this moment of weakness as a golden opportunity, he brought his right fist down to the guy's stomach, delivering a painful hit to the abdomen. His fist sunk into his victim, knocking the breath out of his lungs and making the guy double over.
A grunt escaped from the one who was hit, biting down onto his teeth as his jaw flexed violently. Eventually, he dropped to his knees, still breathless and wanting to breathe in. I thought this would be it, the guy was clearly down. He wasn't going to try anything the way he was, so why bother continuing?
But the Imperishable's fist flew across the guy's face this time, making him completely fall over on the ground, his hands rubbing against the tiles. Before he could rise up and defend himself, a swift kick sent him to fly onto his side, making him growl in an animalistic way.
"The guy is down, why is he still going after him?" I mumbled to no one in particular, my nerves were slowly creeping over me.
"The rules. He has to follow the rules," a voice notified behind me.
I turned around quickly, getting greeted with Hannah's face. "What rules?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.
"This is a-"
"She doesn't need to know," Asher chimed in, interrupting what she was going to say.
"I want to know," I swallowed, feeling my brother's heated eyes on me.
"This is a recruitment. No one can leave unless the other is dead," Hannah tensely stated, looking away from my horrified face.
"What, that's crazy. We need to stop this," I exclaimed in pure shock.
"For real, I don't want someone's blood on my new shoes," Michael agreed shortly.
"Yeah, this needs to be stopped," Alice nodded along.
"No one is getting involved unless you want to die as well," Asher warned, genuine truth in what he uttered.
"No needs to get involved. People choose to do this at school because this way there's a good chance they won't die," Hannah explained, looking at us as she shrugged.
"That's if someone intervenes?" I questioned.
"Yup, or at times until someone gets knocked out first," she said.
"Well who's going to stop them if there's no teachers?" I blurted out, scanning the area and finding no adult figure here.
"No one," Asher filled me in with a blank face.
"But-" I started to say.
"Bitch!" I hear the Imperishable shout in rage, watching as his foot is yanked, making him lose his balance and fall on the floor, hitting his back and head against the lockers.
The both of them were more to side than the center of the hallway, the guy with the piercing had blood streaking down his bottom lip. He bounced back to his feet and lunged at the Imperishable who was scrambling to his own feet, holding his head.
He grabbed a fistful of his opponent's collar, slamming his back against the locker again. The sound of crashing metal rung out the quiet halls.
"Is that all you got?" The guy insulted, a ridiculing smile lifting his lips.
"You're dead! Do you hear me? Dead!" The Imperishable roared, his head smashed with the other guy's, head butting him forcefully.
The guy staggered back, dazed into a trance as he shut his eyes, his head wobbling. He was sucked back into life as his throat was grabbed, squeezed harshly in the hands of the merciless.
"Not by you," he breathily declared, bringing his elbow roughly down onto the hands digging into his neck.
Once he set himself free, he greedily took a large inhale, satisfied, he promptly pressed down on the Imperishable's neck, making him grunt loudly as his hands shot up to stop the guy's actions.
"What the fuck!" He shouted unpleasantly, his face filled with aching tension.
"Want me to stop? Beg," the nose-piercing guy laughed, his voice laced with malice and his icy eyes guiltless.
"You'll be saying that to me later," he threatened back, although, by the pain scrunching up his face, it wasn't a credible threat.
The guy laughed louder, grabbing his shirt and throwing him to the floor, his body sliding over to Ricky's feet.
"You're suppose to be this big bad gang member, bullshit. You don't deserve that title, I do," he sneered, kicking him in the stomach.
The guy halted his actions, wiping the blood that was on his lips and smearing it on the back of his hand.
"Fuck you," the Imperishable spat, blood flying from his mouth.
Another kick was sent his way, this time the boot merged with his face, drawing blood from his eyebrow that gashed open. It was like a waterfall of blood pouring on the floor and I felt like screaming out.
All I could see at the moment, was Ricky's expressionless face staring at my own, his hands spreading a warm liquid across my cheeks. I could feel my heart pick up speed, beating abnormally as I process that it was blood smeared on me. The blood of a dead man.
Snap out of it, Annalise, you're in school, not at the club.
I sucked in a breath of cool, refreshing air, but it didn't help. I felt queasy, like vomit was going to travel up my throat and squirt out my mouth.
This needs to stop.
Then stop it, my inner self said.
Are you on a suicide mission? My dark self spat.
The Imperishable on the floor squeezed his eyes shut before grabbing the kicker's foot, twisting it far to the side. In less than a second, the nose-piercing guy bawled out, "Shit!"
Hisses slipped between his teeth, wrinkles appearing on his tense face as his head flew back. The Imperishable returned to his feet, glowering at his pained attacker.
No time was given for him to recover, the guy is grabbed by his shirt and shoved all the way back into a group of people. Some gasp in surprise, others mutter curses, and one sends a murderous glare at the gang member.
That guy was Brendon, probably itching to say or do something, but the amount of people in the resistance wasn't good enough. I still haven't mentioned anything to my friends about it.
A shocking turn of events leads the Imperishable to be kneed in the stomach, a balled up fist finishing the assault as he goes flying backward, but he was gripped onto and held straight up. The nose-piercing guy then pushed him far back, far enough to start reaching my location near the end of the bridge. In a few seconds, the Imperishable managed to switch their positions, this time the guy's back was facing me.
"Sto-" I started, being cut off instantly.
"No, don't say anything," Asher shushed me, pulling me over to the side where the lockers stood, away from the fight.
But the fight seemed to be attracted towards us as the two boys were drawn over. In one swift moment, the guy with the piercing rammed into Michael and Zachary, making them shuffle back.
"Watch it, ass," Mike sassily commented, crossing his arms as he frowned.
"Shut up, fag," the guy responded back, beginning something he wouldn't be able to finish.
*Reminder*
PLEASE VOTE, it'll make me :)
What is going on with Hayley? Poor girl literally has no friends, probably making her a easy target... but for what?
What do you think about Annalise being fine with Hannah? Should she?
What do you think about Asher just taking charge of everything after ignoring Annalise?
What do you think of the first recruitment out of the many to come?
What will happen next? Another fight?