[ t a b le s h a d t u r n e d ]
♥ gabriel ♥
FROM THE CORNER of my eye, I could see a pair of eyes fearfully watching me. For the past five minutes, I'd been ignoring it and instead, was trying to read through Mrs Marshall's - Mr Holland's replacement - illegible comments on my essay but now I was getting pissed off. She was terrible at teaching but at least she wasn't sick enough in the head to have an affair with her student.
My fists clenched together at the thought that Mr Holland had the guts to justify himself using-
That bastard.
Neither of them was worth spending my damn thoughts on. Feeling my breath speed up in anger, I took a gulp from my flask and changed my line of thought before I flipped.
Clicking my silver pen shut, I twisted in my chair to look behind me at whoever the hell had been intently watching me. I met a rightly terrified pair of eyes.
Timothee Johnson.
I raised an eyebrow. He was likely having flashbacks from the last time I'd focused my full attention on him. I snarled coldly at him, my upper lip curling in distaste as I thought about what he said that day. A split second later, he shivered and looked away petrifaction dripping on his face like melting wax down a candlestick.
An image of his bloody face with a broken nose came to mind; his hand pressing against the floor as he scrambled away from me.
Gabriel, he had it coming.
"Excuse me. Can you face the front please?" I heard a hoarse yet feminine voice order me. "Gabriel Reid, is it?"
I turned back around to see Mrs Marshall whose eyes were darting between the seating plan and my face. She was tall, blonde and with light brown eyes. "Yes, Ma'am. That is what it says on the seating plan, does it not?"
A couple of people sniggered, eager to gain my approval.
I gave them a frosty look that showed I wasn't up for messing about. I wasn't trying to be funny. She'd already wasted twenty minutes of the lesson doing God-knows-what.
Over the past half-year, I'd boosted my English grade from a D to an A and I knew that if pushed a little further, I'd be able to get an A*. That was only going to be possible if she taught.
"Drop the attitude, young man," she answered back, looking at me sternly through her black glasses.
"It's been 16 minutes and approximately 43 seconds since this lesson commenced. I gladly will if you begin teaching-" I responded monotonously, the lack of pitch in my voice highlighting the dead seriousness of my words.
There was no point me wasting my time in this class if the teacher was incapable of doing what she was being paid to do.
Before she could comment on my impoliteness, I continued putting an icy emphasis on my last word. "-Ma'am."
I could have sworn she froze in fear for a moment as if the lack of humanity exuding from me had sucked the words from her mouth.
"I- Um, Yes. Yes," she said shakily. "Sonia, can you hand out these articles to everyone, please. I'd like you all the skim through and find three differences between the writers' point of view. Jot down the methods used too."
The teacher looked at me again as if half expecting me to smile in gratefulness. I glared at her. She was too stupid to be teaching if she thought I'd thank her for doing what she's employed here to do.
Mrs Marshall has only been teaching for twenty minutes when she'd got distracted again. I didn't have another ounce of energy to bother with this her again.
The sound of my phone vibrating pulled my attention away from the class. I took it from the pocket of my slacks, glancing at who it was from.
Lisa
Change of plan liubimiy. You can't come to mine tonight.
You
I wasn't planning on coming anyway.
Lisa
You're funny.
I still want you to meet Yohan. We've changed our location. I'll come to your house and drag your ass there if you don't show up.
I looked at the message in distaste. So the person she had been talking about earlier today was none other than Yohan. He didn't sound as if he was worth my time.
You
What makes you think I give a crap about what you want?
She was typing. She stopped. She was typing again.
Lisa
10 pm. I'll send the address.
I tensed my jaw before locking my phone.
It buzzed again.
Lisa
Oh, baby, you're gonna leave me on read?
Gabriel.
I can see you're reading this.
...
It's been two minutes.
I'm expecting a paragraph.
I rolled my eyes in annoyance. Talisa was getting way out of her head. She needed to rein herself in if she didn't want to set herself up for defeat.
You know she doesn't care about causing her ruination.
But neither did I.
We both shared the same attraction for desolation and that seemed to be the very thread that seamed us together by the tips of our icy fingers. That emptiness was the needle that drew us together.
The only difference between us two was that I had the ability and willingness to cut that thread with the snip of a scissor if I felt the need to whilst she didn't have that strength. Talisa knew that difference between us but didn't give a damn.
You
Fine.
Mrs Marshall was still rambling about something unrelated and I found myself packing my leather bag, knowing she wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
All eyes were on me as I stood up, hungrily raking through my eyes inch with allure and interest. Ignoring them, I slung my bag over my shoulder leaving the classroom. Behind me, I could vaguely hear Mrs Marshall telling me that the lessons not over yet but I couldn't care any less and instead let the door slam shut behind me.
As I stride down the hallways, my eyes fell upon the posters that had been placed around the Academy regarding the Spring Masquerade Ball that was coming up soon. I'd heard Talisa and Ashlei discussing it last week. It was apparently a renowned event for the senior years.
You are cordially invited to the annual Forteaux Academy Spring Ball
28th May
8pm - 1am
Dinner • Cocktails (18+) • Formal Attire
In the corner of the glossy paper was a photo of a white lace mask that looked similar to one that I'd seen in the past. It has thin snow coloured lines, a few silver gems and a feminine shape.
Feeling a prickle of further irritation, I peeled it from the wall before slowly screwing it up tightly and feeling the wafer thing material collapse under the pressure of my fist. I didn't feel any satisfaction. Just emptiness. My body feeling like the cool lick of iron as I threw the poster on the floor.
"Gabriel," I heard a voice say from behind me.
Could I not get a damn moment alone?
The fact that it was a voice that I hadn't heard in a while was the pure reason I didn't storm away. A lanky boy with a gaunt face, porcelain skin and cornflour blue eyes met mine.
"Arlo."
It was the first time we'd spoken to him in probably more than a month. My mind was always so chained with other things that he rarely entered my thoughts.
For a moment we stood there, an odd awkwardness filling the air as if neither of us knew what was supposed to come next. The idea that I was once able to feel comfortable talking to him was a distant memory that I'd severed off.
If I'd had continued talking to him months ago, I was certain he'd have broken my trust someday. It was better to not allow yourself to be susceptible to that.
"Are you done for the day?" he asked eventually, his voice heavy and quiet. I couldn't tell if his tone had changed over the months or if his voice had always been like that and I'd been too blind to notice it.
At least you're not that blind anymore.
There was no point beating around the bush. Standing straight on the spot, my metallic eyes locked on his for a brief second before moving away. "What is it that you want?"
He looked momentarily startled at my frankness before shifting slightly uncomfortably in his feet. Was the Arlo Kimberly feeling uncomfortable? How the tables had turned. I felt myself wishing that he felt even more unsettled.
"Nothing."
There was a wisp to his response that made it sound as if a part of Arlo wanted me to probe at him until he gave me a better answer.
I didn't bother.
"Good."
A lock fell upon the muscles of my face as I stiffly nodded at him before turning to walk away. My Oxford shoes beat loudly against the marble floor of Forteaux as I strode towards the main exit so that I could head home. It was hammering with rain outside and I began taking out my umbrella.
Behind me, I could hear the Arlo let out a sigh however the further I walked away, the quieter the sound grew.
I'd found that that rule applied to life too. The more you walked away from it, the softer the noise became and the faster you ran, the higher the chance that you wouldn't get dragged back into its web again.
A consequence of the weighty crown that had been placed on my head was that I got a reserved parking spot directly outside the school. It was as if my name was invisibly printed on the tarmac.
Pulling open the door of my black Aston Martin, I sat down in the driver's seat pulling on my seatbelt and starting the engine. As always I felt images of blood and glass flood into my mind yet within half a second, I'd expertly managed to suppress them.
It turned out that the more I drove, the quicker I got as pushing those pictures away deep within me.
I thought back to the number of times I'd been reminded of her today.
My lip curled in disgust as I reached over into my bag and pulled out a little container. Placing two pills in my mouth, I swallowed hard before leaving the container on the passenger seat and reversing out of the parking spot.
"Gabriel wait!" I vaguely heard a voice shout from outside the window. Twisting my head to the right, I saw Lexi rush towards the car; her handbag was balanced on top of her head in a pathetic attempt to shield herself from the pouring rain.
She tapped on the window, overemphasising her nasal words in case I couldn't understand. "Are you heading home? Can I have a lift please?" I looked at the baby blue of her eyes hard. I'd learnt a while ago that Lexi lived on the same street as me.
What Lexi didn't know was that I didn't live there anymore.
Turning my head forward again, I ignored her and put my foot on the accelerator, winding down the windows and letting the icy weather freeze my veiny hands.
It probably took around twenty minutes to get to my apartment given the roads were busy. The first thing I did was pull out a whiskey tumbler and fill it halfway with the Jack Daniels that Talisa had given me at lunch today. It scorched at my throat, filling me with a warm resonance.
Kicking my shoes off, I sunk into the black leather sofa glancing out of the two long windows that provided a view of London. I'd been living here for around four months now as I had found that it was a pretty ideal spot. Close to the train station, high up enough to give a nice view and far enough from most of Forteaux so that I wouldn't bump into anybody. Nobody apart from Talisa knew about this place.
I wasn't sure whether it was the methodical ticking of the large old fashioned clock or the chemical concoction inside me but within ten minutes, I was knocked out stone cold.
"If it ain't the psycho again," a purple-haired girl cackled. The others erupted into laughter as I unsurely stood in front of them.
A taller boy with a strong build looked up from his beer bottle with earnest eyes. "I'm sorry man, we already told you that we don't really wanna hang out with you anymore. My parents have heard the stuff you got into and don't want me around you. They think you're messed up in the head."
A moment later he started laughing loudly and the others joined in. My heart started racing as he slapped his hand against his thigh howling. "You absolute weirdo. Why the hell are you here? Nobody wants you here."
We'd known each for seven years. I didn't think they meant it when they said we don't want to see a psycho again.
"I just thought that-"
"Blimey, this one thinks too. Didn't know people who should be in a mental asylum could do that."
The purple haired girl tried to imitate me, opening her eyes wide and slacking her mouth. "Blood! Glass! Car crash, aaagh!" She broke out into giggles.
A third person rolled their eyes. "He's not a psycho, guys. He's a liar. And attention seeker. And someone who clearly thinks we're a damn joke."
"Yeah, Veronica's right. We weren't kidding when we said we'd beat the hell out of you if you come back here." I watched in surprise as he signalled to the other two boys standing in the circle.
One of them pinned me down whilst the other kicked me straight in the stomach hard. I grunted our in pain as it got worse. Minutes blurred together and I was crying out in pain. Another swing. Mentally sick. Another punch. Liar. Laughing and videoing.
A second later it got worse when-
A cold slender hand wrapped around my bicep and shook me rapidly. "Gabriel, calm down. Just open your eyes. It's not real." The words phased in and out as I clenched my fists tightly. "Lybimuy, just open your eyes."
My teeth were grinding together as I dragged my eyes open, taking a deep breath of air as if I'd been drowning. I blinked hard a few times, trying to process my surrounding as I felt the hand run up and down my arm desirously. "Breathe, babe."
My eyes snapped up to the brunette with seafoam eyes sat on the sofa in front of me. "Did I ask for your help?"
"You-"
"I said did I ask for your help?"
She looked amused at what I was saying and I loathed that.
"No."
I glared at her harshly as her full lips pulled into a smirk. "So get away from me."
Bringing my hand up to my hair, I tried to brush it back with my fingers so that it didn't look as unruly, not bothering to think about the things I'd seen in the nightmare. There was no point analysing it again. I'd seen it over a hundred times before and lived through it one too many times. My voice was its usual ice when I looked at Talisa again. She was still wearing that ivy green dress. "How the hell did you get in?"
She paused for a moment before shrugging her shoulders, "I knew you weren't going to show up later so I thought I'd come down to your place and make sure you do. I buzzed for the apartment above when you didn't let me in. When I walked up, I saw your door was left open ajar."
Considering the way today had been, that seemed like a likely scenario. My hand drifted to my forehead as I rubbed at it briefly.
"Mind busy?" Lisa questioned, moving her dark brown hair away from her shoulder so that her collar bones were evident. "Well, you know what you do to get your mind away from everything? Two things actually."
My grey eyes locked onto her green ones just in time to see a little twinkle dancing in them.
I looked at her robotically and she got my answer. "Fine. Option B it is. After all, we do have a few hours to kill before Yohan." Lisa shrugged her shoulders walking to the cabinet furthest to the left and taking out a whiskey glass for herself and pouring in some Jack Daniels that was left on the table.
Moving towards the coffee table in front of me, she then put her lips upon the whiskey tumbler that I'd been drinking from earlier, tipping it upwards and finishing it in one go.
"Here."
Before I knew it, the glass was thrown in my direction. It fell short yet I managed to grab it inches before I would have shattered against the laminate floor.
"Shit throw."
A flicker of a smile grew on her angular face as if satisfied that she'd finally got a reaction from me. She sashayed towards me and filled it up. "If I were you, I wouldn't be complaining."
I took the glass from her as she sunk on the couch beside me, taking off her thin silver heels and lightly resting her head upon my shoulder. A wave of tiredness stopped me from pushing her away so instead I allowed myself to continue blankly looking out the window again, feeling a dull numbness encapsulate me again and letting nothing but the ticking of the clock fill my ears.
HEY ALL! I know it's been a while but I wasn't joking when I said an update will be coming soon. Hopefully in this chapter you got to see how relationships, personalities and things in general have changed. I'd really love to hear your thoughts, especially since it has been a while since I last posted a chapter.
What are your opinions on all the characters?
To my old readers, thank you so much for continuing and to the newer ones, I really hope you're enjoying the story (:
♥ 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫! ♥