Author's note- Hi all! I'm finally back! So, for those of you that have read Chapters One through Eighteen, I suggest that you ignore them. Many of the things that happened in those chapters will still be happening, I've just revised the chapters to make them better. If you're new to this story, then I really hope you like it! I'm hoping to update once a week, but I honestly can't guarantee that. I thank you all for being so patient with me while I've been working on finishing this project and getting it edited! And now, I'll let you get to the reading!- SAWilson
Chapter One
Monday September 27, 2010
Sweat poured down the back of her neck. Her breathing was ragged as she whipped her body around. She kicked out her left leg with a forceful snap, but it was caught. She spun around to keep her balance as her leg was pushed away. It was nearly a lost effort though because her opponent hit her directly in the center of her chest with a shove so hard her lungs expelled all of the breath they held. Hurriedly, she tried to pull air back into them before jumping to avoid getting knocked to the ground.
Her heart pounded wildly as she staggered slightly, still working to get her breath, and caught her balance. It was lucky that she did, because she narrowly missed getting kicked in the side. She dodged a series of punches and another kick, giving her enough time to come up with a plan. Tire him out. He's bigger than you and you're faster, she told herself, ducking down as his fist came at her head. Tire him out and you'll win.
When he came at her again, she threw a series of three punches in quick succession, each of them connecting exactly where she wanted. She then spun to her left and got behind him, using the few seconds it took for him to turn around to take a few breaths. Adrenaline pumped through her as she jumped into the air as high as she could and landed a dropkick to his chest.
She landed hard on her stomach, swiftly rotating her hips by swinging her legs to get her her back. She then rolled herself backwards, extending into a full handstand before lowering her feet to the ground, just as her prey was getting back to his feet.
In the few seconds that her eyes were off of her attacker, her advantage was lost. Her assailant aimed a kick at her stomach, which landed easily and threw her off guard. His hand wrapped around her wrist as she bent forward, He spun her until her back was to him, wrenching her arm behind her back. With a small smirk, she threw her head back and connected with her aggressor's chin.
Her wrist was freed. Taking advantage of that, she spun her body down into a leg sweep. His legs were effectively knocked out from under him. Got you right where I want you, she thought as her opponent hit the floor.
"Donovan!"
Her attention was diverted. She grunted loudly as her back hit the mat after a rather forceful leg sweep of revenge at the hand of her sparring partner. She took several deep breaths to get her lungs working again and glared up at the young man pinning her down with big blue eyes.
"I almost had you," she said as the young man stood up and held out his hand for her, grinning.
"You wish," he retorted with a sarcastic chuckle.
She took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "What's the deal, Jack; I was doing just fine," she said, now looking at the person that had distracted her.
Jack's tall frame came off as intimidating to most people, sometimes even her, with his wide chest and muscular arms; a result of the many years he'd been doing martial arts. He had his hair pulled back into a ponytail which, in her opinion, made him look like a regal lion because of the subtle streaks of gray running through the soft brown. He glared at her, his eyes narrowed, obviously in instructor mode.
Jack folded his arms over his chest. "What was that?"
"A missile drop kick," Sommer replied taking deep breaths.
He raised his brow and turned his head slightly so that his ear was facing her a little more. "A what?"
"You heard me, Jack."
"Yeah; I heard you," Jack said, unfolding his arms.
Sommer grinned. "They're used all the time, Jack," she replied. "They're a handy tool in taking an opponent down."
"When they're used correctly, yes," Jack corrected.
Sommer furrowed her eyebrows and cocked her hip to the side defiantly. "That was a darn good drop kick, Jack and you know it."
"You were letting Foster get the best of you! He had the upper hand every second of that sparring match, Donovan," Jack stated. "Now quit being cocky and keep focused."
Sommer smiled as she walked over to her gym bag and grabbed her water bottle. She could tell by Jack's near constant use of her last name, that he was only a little angry with her. She knew that if he were really angry, he would have only said her last name once. "Since when did confidence become cockiness?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Since I said so! You were allowing Foster to the the better of you! That's not gonna fly in matches and you know it. Now, you need to make your opponent think he's getting the better of you, but keep the upper hand," he instructed. "I wanna see those hands up, protecting your face, and I wanna see you on your guard!"
"I knew what I was doing, Jack," Sommer argued. "I'm not new at this, you know."
"Damn it, Donovan, do you ever listen?" he asked, throwing a towel to the ground forcefully. "You may not be new at martial arts, but I'm trying to teach you the art of Mixed Martial Arts and you're screwing around."
Sommer took a long drink of her water and swallowed before replying, "I wasn't screwing around; I was sparring."
"You're still doing things that you're not allowed to do in an MMA tournament. Focus and try to remember that you're not just doing Taekwondo now. And Foster, you need to stop swinging punches at your opponent's head like a blind man, got it?"
"Yes, sir."
"Take it again… I want to see roundhouses, back fists, heel kicks… moves that you'd see in a Mixed Martial Arts tournament, all right?"
"Yes, sir," they said in unison.
Sommer set down her water bottle and wiped her face gently with her towel before heading back over to the mats. "Oh, and Donovan?"
"Yes, Jack?"
Jack smiled. "Show him no mercy."
Sommer grinned widely as she took her fighting stance. "Your wish is my command," she said before she snapped her leg, kicking Foster's chest.
An hour later…
Sommer walked out of the studio locker room fresh and free of the smell of sweat. She ruffed the towel over her hair, catching any water that might have been threatening to drip. When she felt her hair was dry enough, she shoved the towel into her gym bag with her sweaty clothes. As she rummaged through her bag, she could feel the stares of some of the guys in the studio.
Sommer was one of the few girls that trained at Jack's, and the only one that was there three to four times a week, so she got stared at a lot. She had a feeling that this was only because of the massive amounts of testosterone floating around in the building. When men were pumped full of adrenaline the way they were when they were sparring, they would look at any woman in the room. Unfortunately, in most cases, that ended up being Sommer. Probably because I'm the only girl that spars with the guys, she gathered, sighing heavily at the revelation.
She honestly couldn't understand why they even bothered to look at her. She wasn't pretty, by any definition of the word, in her opinion. If she were asked, she would actually describe herself as plain; not worth looking at twice.
She had the body of an athlete which, according her best friend, any girl would kill to have. Sommer disagreed. She wasn't an idiot, she saw the type of girls… women… that graced the covers of magazines like Vogue or Cosmopolitan; they were models, thin, leggy, and beautiful beyond belief. That wasn't her. Well, except the leggy part, she amended thoughtfully. Besides, the girls on those covers are airbrushed anyway, and they probably have surgical enhancements of some sort.
Despite being fairly tall, Sommer didn't think she had anything going for her. She wasn't like the girls in town with their constant flirting and confidence. She didn't have guys following her around, wanting to date her. She didn't even know how to get a guy's attention. The only thing she knew, was how to be herself; shy, friendly, and an overall tom-boy.
Sommer was just an ordinary blonde haired, blue-eyed girl who loved to read and practice martial arts. She never pretended to be anything that she wasn't and she didn't feel it necessary to change her body, or face, when she was perfectly content with what she had. Even if it means I don't ever have a boyfriend, she thought somewhat dejectedly.
"Sommer?"
"What's up, Jack?" she called back, grabbing her brush and glasses case out of her bag.
"Could I see you in my office for a second?"
"Sure."
Sommer quickly put her glasses on and threw the case back into her bag as she started running her brush through her long blonde hair. I wonder what he wants, she pondered as she walked into Jack's office and sat down. "What's up?"
"Well, I've been doing some thinking."
Sommer laughed. "You thinking is never a good sign," she teased.
"Very funny," Jack said with a slight chuckle. "Remember a few months back when I told you about a student of mine that helps me train some of my more advanced students?"
Sommer nodded. Oh my God! This is, like, the chance of a lifetime!
"Well, I think that you're a perfect candidate for him."
"You do?" Sommer questioned.
Jack nodded and continued, "Sommer, you're a great martial artist but if you want to succeed in Mixed Martial Arts, you need to be more disciplined. I think that working one on one with someone on a more personal level will help. I'm going to set up a time with him and I'll let you know when you'll meet with him, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Sommer replied with a bright smile. "Sounds great."
"Now, when you're working with my… assistant, as it were… I want you to be serious and really work hard to master your technique; you hear me? I don't give this opportunity to just any of my students."
"I know you don't, Jack, and I promise that I'll work hard; be serious," Sommer assured him enthusiastically.
"Good, because I'd hate to see someone with your talents become too arrogant to use Mixed Martial Arts correctly."
"You know me better than that, Jack."
Jack nodded. "Yes, I do; which is why I'm giving you this opportunity."
"Thanks, Jack; I really appreciate it."
Jack winked. "Good, now get out of here."
Sommer grinned as she stood up and walked out of his office. I wonder who his assistant is, she mused. Jack's never said his name… not that I can recall anyway. With a shrug, Sommer finished brushing her hair and threw her brush into her bag. Seconds later, she was slinging her bag over her shoulder and walking out to her car.
"Hey, Donovan!"
Sommer paused, looking over her shoulder as she unlocked her car. "Hey, Foster, what's up?"
Foster smiled when he finally reached her. "That was a good match today," he told her.
"Yeah, it really was," Sommer agreed.
She pushed her glasses up her nose as she looked at him. The moonlight glistened off of his deeply tanned skin, making him look more beautiful than he already was. This, of course, was not news to either of them. Foster knew he was a handsome guy, and sometimes flaunted it, but he wasn't overly confident.
"That was a seriously good drop kick, too," he said, his eyes wide in amazement.
Sommer blushed a light pink as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I really thought Jack was gonna have my ass for throwing that in," she admitted.
"Yeah; so hey, I was thinking you and I could go out some time, catch a movie or something," Foster said.
Sommer tilted her head and bit her lip in thought. She and Foster had been training together for the past few years and had become quite good friends. At one point, Sommer had even had a crush on him. She knew, however that there would only ever be friendship between them. "I'd like that," she said after a moment. "I'm not sure when I'm free though."
Foster smiled, his white teeth a bright contrast to the deep tan color of his skin. "That's cool," he said. "Why don't you give me a call when you have a free day or night to hang out?"
"Sounds like a plan," Sommer agreed. "See you later!"
"Later," Foster called as he headed toward his truck.
When she got into her car, Sommer pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and punched a few keys. She then held the phone to her ear and waited. A friendly voice came over the line but it was only a voice message. "Hey, CJ it's Sommer; I was just calling to see what you were up to," she said. "Give me a call back if you have a minute, okay? Okay, I'll talk to you later, bye."
She hung up the phone and put it on the passenger's seat before fastening her seatbelt and cranking the ignition. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and put the car into gear, beginning her drive home.
The whole way, Sommer's mind wandered to the conversation she'd just had with Jack. She couldn't help being excited about the opportunity that she was being given. In the past two years, she had only heard of Jack giving this chance to three other students; it was pleasing for her to know that Jack thought her worthy enough for the extra lessons.
She wondered what this "assistant" of Jack's was like. She couldn't recall anyone ever saying much about him in her time at Jack's although, she now remembered that she had heard Foster say that his name was Kevin once before. Kevin was a very popular name so it could be any one of the many that lived in Langford.
In all honesty, she didn't really care who Jack's assistant was; she just wanted to get better at her craft. Sommer had always been like that; the type of person that constantly wanted to succeed in anything she did. It wasn't necessarily because she had to be the best; she just preferred doing things well because she knew that she could if she put her mind to it.
When she arrived home, Sommer grabbed her things from the trunk of her car and headed inside. As she made her way toward the stairs to drop off her backpack, she called out, "Hey, Mom."
"Hey, Sweetie," her mother replied. "How was school today?"
Sommer sighed as she walked through the kitchen and into the laundry room with her gym bag. "The same as it is every day, Mom… Hell," she answered, throwing her sweaty gym clothes into the washer and adding the detergent.
"Come on, Honey, it can't be that bad."
She started the washer and walked back into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge as she said, "Mom, can we just not talk about school? Please?"
Grace Donovan was a petite woman with short, brown hair. She was fairly thin, but her figure was soft and slightly rounded as opposed to Sommer's harder, more angular frame. Her face was kind and always had a pleasant demeanor with hazel eyes accented beautifully by dark lashes. "All right, all right," she sighed, glancing over her shoulder at her daughter. "Come help me with dinner then."
Sommer grimaced as she peeked at the contents of the pot her mother was stirring. "What is that?"
"Its split pea soup," her mother replied.
"Gross! Mom, are you trying to kill me?" Sommer asked with laugh.
Mrs. Donovan rolled her eyes. "It wouldn't kill you to eat healthy every once in awhile."
"Mom, I do enough sporty type things to keep myself healthy," Sommer argued lightly. "I mean; I do martial arts, ballet, swimming, and I used to do gymnastics. What more do I really need to do?"
"Physical activity isn't enough to keep you healthy, Sommer; you have to eat right too," Mrs. Donovan chided gently.
Mrs. Donovan was what one would call a health nut. She strived to keep her body healthy and functioning by eating right and exercising. Often times she would hope that her husband and daughter would join her in her quest for great health, but they were both as stubborn as mules.
"Eating right and eating green sludge are two different things, Mom," she retorted with a little shudder for effect.
Mrs. Donovan elbowed her daughter playfully as the two of them laughed. "It's not really as bad as you think it is, Sommer."
"I'll just make myself a salad, thanks," Sommer told her.
"I bought fresh veggies this morning."
Sommer walked over to the refrigerator and began pulling out the things she wanted to put into her salad. "Want me to whip one up for you and Dad?" she asked.
"That'd be great."
As she began making the salads, Sommer and her mother chatted about her mother's day and what she had done. Mrs. Donovan was an author that just hadn't found her niche yet but her days were spent in front of her laptop at home in the hopes that something great would work its way out of her and onto the screen.
Sommer felt that her mother was a great writer; when she allowed the words to just come to her. When she tried to force things, her writing tended to become choppy and full of "fluff". Needless to say, Sommer's essays for school had always been top notch because of her mother's knowledge of the English language.
"Mom, you're trying to force it; why don't you just let the words come to you?"
"Because I need to get something out. I have all of this creativity pent up inside me just bursting to come out but I can't seem to focus it."
"Take a break from writing for a day," Sommer suggested. "You hardly ever leave your laptop. Go out with your friends tomorrow and maybe something will strike."
"You're probably right," Mrs. Donovan said with a sigh. "I'll call Gloria tomorrow morning and see if she's available for a lunch date."
"Do yourself a favor, Mom and go out for more than just lunch; go shopping or something," Sommer said. "Spend the whole day out of the house, away from your laptop. It'll do you some good. Just promise me you won't meet up with Harold."
Mrs. Donovan looked at her daughter with sad eyes. "Sommer, I told you…"
Just then, Sommer's father came home from work. The two women finished making dinner and the three of them ate and talked about their day in turn. Sommer told her parents about Jack wanting her to train one on one with his assistant and they seemed genuinely excited for her.
"I don't know how you keep up with it all, Sums," Mr. Donovan said.
"Keep up with all of what?"
"All of your extracurricular activities, I mean; you have swim practice every weekday morning, martial arts Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings,and ballet Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings… It's a lot for a seventeen year old to handle and yet you seem to be doing just fine with all of it on top of your school work."
Sommer smirked. "Well, you see, I'm a lot like my father," she teased. "I'm overly organized."
Mr. Donovan smiled as he said, "Well, I knew you had to have some of me in there somewhere."
He was a handsome man in his mid-forties with blonde hair and blue eyes. It was clear that Sommer had gotten her height from him. Neither of her parents was athletically inclined but Steve Donovan's tall, lean build would have been great for basketball had he wished to play. As it was, he was more of a computer man than anything else.
Sommer laughed and wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Well, if you two will excuse me, I have homework to do," she said, standing up and taking her dishes to the sink.
She then walked over to the door and grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder as she walked back to her mother. "Dinner was great," she said, kissing the top of her mother's head.
Mrs. Donovan rolled her eyes with a laugh and said, "Uh-huh; I want you back down here when you're finished with your homework to do the dishes."
"Yes, ma'am," Sommer replied, kissing her father's cheek and walking out of the kitchen.
As she walked up the stairs to her room, Sommer thought about the day's events. She had to admit that the highlight of her day was always when school got out and she went off to ballet, or martial arts. Sure, she loved school; not for the usual social aspects that drive most teenagers, but for the knowledge it filled her with.
Sommer wasn't a typical teenager; no, in truth, she was just someone who blended into the walls. She supposed most kids she went to school with would consider her a nerd; if they bothered to pay attention to her. Then there were people like Matt Robson that liked to torment her to no end.
At the thought of Matt, Sommer groaned inwardly. She hated Matt and his cronies, Brad McGraw and Jacob Harding. The three of them made her time at school a living hell and she couldn't do anything to stop them. Not for the lack of trying, she thought as she walked into her room. One day…
Sommer's thoughts were never finished. As soon as she shut her bedroom door, her mind went straight to the pile of homework that she had in her backpack. In all actuality, she had finished her homework at school; she always did. However, she had been doing Matt's homework for him since the beginning of the year. The homework she had to complete belonged to him, her "favorite" school bully.
A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about the conversation she and Matt had had earlier in the day. It wasn't really a conversation per se. It was more like Matt threatening her the way he did every day, and every day, Sommer took his threats. She took them, and did nothing to stop him. I could probably easily kick his butt, and I do nothing, she thought bitterly. Ugh! Why can't I just stand up to him?
With a heavy sigh, she sat down at her desk and pulled out Matt's books. She had several of the same classes as Matt but there were a couple that were different and it was these books that she carried with her from the end of the school day until the beginning of the next. Oh joy, pages worth of math, she groaned inwardly as she looked over Matt's assignments. Then she smiled. It'll take him all day to copy the work.
That thought made her smile even bigger as she opened his math book and got to work. It wasn't but a half hour later that Sommer was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone in her backpack. "Hello?"
"Hey, Sums; how's it goin'?" a cheerful voice asked from the other end of the line.
Sommer smiled brightly at the sound of her best friend's voice. "Hey, CJ; it's going all right, how are you? How do you like your new school?"
CJ Wilkes had been Sommer's best friend since before they could walk and they were as different as two people could be, physically and in personality. CJ had always been the stronger minded of the two; more apt to tell people off for some reason or other. She had always stuck up for Sommer when people had picked on her and that had usually kept their fellow students from picking on her too much. But since CJ had begun going to a different high school, Sommer had become prey for the predators of the school.
CJ groaned. "School's school as far as I'm concerned… they all suck," she said with a laugh.
"Tell me about it," Sommer replied, pushing her black rimmed glasses up her nose. "Any possible boyfriends at Davenport?"
Sommer had always thought of CJ as beautiful. She was the very picture of the word with her long, dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was the type of beautiful that could be on the covers of magazines, all tan skinned and pouty lips. She even had a well toned body that was the result of eleven years of ballet. In fact; CJ was the prima ballerina of their level at the ballet school they'd attended since they were six, despite not being as tall as most ballerinas. Sommer wasn't the only one that thought CJ was beautiful, either. Guys loved the way CJ was put together so it was no shock that they all wanted her; especially since she didn't feel that she needed a boyfriend all the time.
"Nah, I'm happy being single right now besides, high school guys are jerks anyway," CJ told her.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Sommer muttered.
"What was that?"
Sommer cleared her throat. "Oh, nothing," she said.
"Sommer, is everything okay? You sound kind of tense."
"Yeah, everything's fine… I just miss my best friend; that's all," Sommer answered as she glanced over at a picture of the two of them on her desk. "School just isn't the same without you."
"Is that bastard Matt Robson tormenting you again?" CJ interrupted. "I swear I'm going to beat his little-"
"CJ, don't make things more difficult for me, okay?"
"You make things difficult for yourself by letting that s. o. b. walk all over you the way he does. Why don't you just give him what he deserves? You know; go all Taekwondo on him or something."
"Martial arts aren't a toy, CJ; I can't just walk up and give him a beating just because I can. That's not the way to solve things."
Sommer heard CJ sigh deeply. "Sums, Matt Robson has done nothing but torment you and bully you since we were all kids; he deserves to get a dose of his own medicine."
"I agree, but I'm not going to use my martial arts on him; even if it would make him leave me alone," Sommer argued. "I was taught to respect martial arts and I intend to uphold that lesson. Besides, he's never actually laid a finger on me; if I were to beat him up just because I can, I'd be no better than he is and I won't bring myself to his level."
"Okay, I get it; just promise me that if that bastard ever touches you in the smallest way, you'll give him a beating so hard he'll never even think about talking to you again."
Sommer laughed softly. She truly admired CJ's courage and strength. Many times Sommer had actually found herself being envious of CJ for having those qualities. "All right; I can agree to that," she said after a while. "Now, tell me about your new school."
Tuesday September 28, 2010
The obnoxious beeping of the alarm on Sommer's bedside table woke her at five o'clock the following morning. With a yawn, Sommer reached over and turned the alarm off as she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Though her school day didn't actually start until nine due to her free period in the morning, Sommer had to be up before the sun so that she could make her daily swim practices.
With another yawn, Sommer planted her feet onto the ground and got off of her bed. She walked down the hall to the bathroom and freshened up a bit. She then changed out of her pajamas and into her swimsuit. Once she had that all situated, she slid a pair of warm up pants up her legs and pulled a long-sleeved shirt over her head. Moments later, protein bar in hand, she was in her car, driving to the pool.
Between swimming, ballet, her martial arts training, and school, Sommer often found herself becoming overwhelmed. She felt that she was practically living thirty-six hour days compacted into twenty-four with the amount of things she had to do. She also found that she had very little, if any, time for herself; not that she was complaining. Sommer didn't really like spending too much time alone. She found that she tended to replay all of the hurtful things that had been said and done to her over the years when left to her own devices. A part of her believed that was why she kept herself so busy, or spent as much time with CJ as she could. CJ never allowed her to wallow in her misery and Sommer appreciated that.
Once she arrived at the gym where her practices were held, Sommer hurried inside and finished getting ready for her warm up laps. "Hey, Coach," she said as she entered the pool area.
A small, round woman smiled at her as she raised a thermos to her lips. "Morning, Sommer," she answered. "Ready to get started?"
Sommer grinned as she finished pulling her swim cap over her hair. "You know me; I'm always ready."
"All right then; into the pool with ya… Let's start with your regular warm up."
"Freestyle it is," Sommer said as she stepped onto one of the starting blocks and pulled her goggles over her eyes.
"Nice and easy," her coach said.
With a loud shrill, Coach Holland blew her whistle and Sommer dove neatly into the water. Her lips parted into a smile as she slid up to the surface and began speeding through the water at a steady pace.
Sommer had always loved the feel of water on her skin. When she was in a pool, she felt like she was in a completely different world; like she had no cares or worries at all. Feeling the way her body sliced through the soft water was like nothing else she had ever felt.
When she reached the end of the pool, she sunk under the surface and twisted her body around, pushing off the wall to head back in the other direction. "Good; don't rush it," the coach called. "This isn't a race, it's just a warm up."
For two hours Sommer swam; doing her best to get each stroke as perfect as the last. She'd been swimming competitively since the age of six and it was probably her favorite thing to do; along with ballet and martial arts of course. Having so many extracurricular activities was something that Sommer had enjoyed since she was a child and she planned to continue with them until she was no longer able to do them.
All too soon, it was time for Sommer to get ready for school. "All right, Sommer," Coach Holland called. "Good work and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Thanks, Coach," Sommer said as she pulled herself out of the pool and padded over to her gym bag.
She picked up the bag and walked into the locker room where she quickly showered and changed into her school clothes. Once she was dressed and ready to go, Sommer threw her wet things into her gym bag and made her way out to her car. After throwing her gym bag into the trunk of her car, Sommer unlocked her car and got in. She rested her head on the steering wheel for a moment before starting the car and driving off.
School was Sommer's least favorite part of the day and that was for very obvious reasons. Three of those reasons happened to be leaning against the back wall of the school's theater just inside of the school parking lot when she pulled in. It was obvious that they were waiting for her. Great, she moaned inwardly as she pulled her car into her space and cut the engine.
Three boys stood watching her as she got out of her car and made her way toward the campus. The thinnest of the trio smirked menacingly as he pushed off of the wall and fell into step beside her. The other two stayed where they were; most likely because their "leader" had told them to.
He was a good looking guy with dark brown hair that hung slightly in his equally dark eyes. He was on the school baseball team so he was built well, though not extremely muscular. However, the short sleeved shirt he had on showed what muscles he did have and while he was less muscular than his two buddies, he was the more intimidating.
"Lookin' good today, Donovan," he said.
Sommer knew he didn't mean it, so she just kept walking while he kept on talking. "So, you got my homework?"
Instead of stopping to look at him, Sommer kept walking until she reached her locker, doing her best to ignore the feeling of fear creeping over her. "Donovan, I asked you a question," the boy said, a tone of anger entering his voice.
"Yes, Matt; I have your homework," she replied quietly as she turned the dial of her locker.
"Good, because I don't want to remind you again what'll happen if you don't do it."
"You remind me every day, Matt, and every day, I have your homework," she said, opening her locker and beginning to change out books. God only knows why.
Matt grabbed Sommer's arm and turned her to face him. He stepped forward until her back was against the lockers and placed a hand on either side of her head. "That's because you're a smart girl, Donovan," he said with a snarl. "I'd hate to have to ruin such a pretty face and I don't think Daddy would like hearing what I could tell him."
He had her. She knew he had her. What Matt knew about her family could tear it apart and she couldn't let that happen. "Matt, you… you promised you wouldn't say anything!" she pleaded.
"Don't worry, Donovan," he said with a malicious grin. "As long as you keep doing what I tell you; your little secret's safe."
Sommer froze in fear as Matt leaned in and touched her cheek. She then turned her head so that she couldn't see him. Matt grabbed her chin and forced her head back to where it had been. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, Donovan," he hissed. "I want to know that you're listening to me."
Her eyes widened slightly as he lowered his hand and briefly grazed her stomach. She could feel her knees weakening in her fear, but she forced herself to remain upright. It took every ounce of courage she could muster to look him in the eyes and it wasn't easy for her to do, but she managed.
"That's it; now hand over my homework and I'll be on my way," he said with a sneer.
With a shaky hand, Sommer reached into her bag and pulled out the folder that held Matt's homework. She handed him the folder and then retrieved his books.
Matt smiled triumphantly as he took his homework out of the folder. He folded them and stuck them in his bag before taking his books and handing her back the folder. "You're a doll, Donovan."
Without another word, Matt turned and walked away.
As he rounded the corner out of sight, Sommer let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She took a deep breath, attempting to calm her shaken nerves. When that didn't work, she took several more. Her run-ins with Matt left her in various states of shakiness, so she knew that she would calm down eventually.
Though it took her a little longer than she hoped it would, she managed to get control of herself before the bell rang. This was a lucky thing because she hated being late for class. In fact; it was practically unheard of for her to be late for anything. She headed to her seat but stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed that it was occupied by someone else.
The person sitting in her seat was none other than Megan Winters, the most popular girl in the school. She was also the most beautiful; and she knew it. There wasn't a guy at the school, freshman through senior, who didn't want the chance to date Megan, who preferred to be called "Meg". In all actuality, there probably wasn't a guy in the entire town that didn't want her, but she only had eyes for one guy; Kevin Underwood.
Kevin was the talk of the town and Meg had had her eyes on him for a very long time. Everyone knew. It wasn't a secret. Everyone also knew that they weren't dating though, in Sommer's opinion, Meg probably considered them a couple.
Well, this should go well, Sommer thought as she finished crossing the room to her seat.
The closer she got, the clearer Meg's animated conversation with her two best friends, Gwen and Kat, became. "... And as I was checking out the skirt in the mirror, I saw Kevin standing behind me," she was saying. "He couldn't take his eyes off me!"
"Meg, you are so lucky!" Gwen, the girl on her left, said. "I'd kill to have Kevin Underwood staring at me with those gorgeous green eyes of his."
"Seriously!" Kat, the girl on Meg's right, agreed.
Meg gave a fake laugh. "Well, Kevin isn't into blondes, Gwen," she said. "He prefers brunettes."
"How do you know?" Kat questioned.
Meg gave her a small look of disbelief and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Because he's into me and I'm a brunette; duh."
Gwen nodded. "Oh, right. So what happened when you saw him looking at you in the mirror?"
Meg ran her hand through her dark hair and sat up a little straighter. "Well, I caught him staring at my butt and turned to look at him. When he looked me in the eyes, he smiled and said, 'That skirt looks good on you.' I'd been debating on whether or not to buy it, but that sealed the deal for me. My mom wasn't too happy that I bought something so expensive but it's not like we can't afford it."
"I'm telling you, Meg, I think it's only a matter of time before Kevin asks you to the town social in two months."
Meg gave her an incredulous look. "Of course it's only a matter of time before Kevin asks me to the town social. That's a total given, Gwen," she told the redhead. "Kevin can't resist me."
Kat laughed. "Meg, no guy can resist you; I mean, look at Brent, he practically drools over you."
"Brent is an arrogant pig that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole," Meg snapped. "Kevin is a guy with class and he knows how to treat a lady."
Sommer cleared her throat to get their attention. The three girls looked up at her with looks of annoyance. "Can I help you with something?" Meg asked.
"You're sitting in my seat," Sommer told her.
Meg furrowed her brow as if in thought and looked around the desk. "Really?" she asked, looking back up at Sommer. "I don't see your name on it."
Sommer sighed and fought the urge to roll her eyes. Here we go again. "It's assigned seating, Meg," Sommer said with the air of someone explaining something to a small child. "That's been my seat since the school year started."
"Well, things change so why don't you just run along and sit in that empty desk over there?" Meg suggested maliciously, pointing at the seat that she was supposed to be occupying while her two evil side kicks giggled.
Just then, the bell rang for class to start. Sommer really wanted to say something to Meg but she couldn't work up the nerve to do it. Instead she just sighed deeply and walked back across the room and sat down in Meg's empty seat. "All right everyone, settle down," the teacher called as she looked around the room.
When her eyes landed on Sommer she furrowed her brow in curiosity. "Sommer, what are you doing sitting there? That's not your assigned seat."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Johansson, but my seat was already occupied and the person wouldn't move," Sommer replied.
Mrs. Johansson turned and found Meg whispering to Gwen and Kat, completely unaware that she was being watched. "Meg," she said.
Meg turned and smiled at Mrs. Johansson. "Yes, Mrs. Johansson?" she asked sweetly.
Mrs. Johansson walked over to her and clasped her hands in front of her expectantly. "Would you care to tell me why you're not in your assigned seat?"
Meg's smile faltered. "Well, I um… I was just sitting here talking to Gwen and Kat and I didn't realize the bell had rung," she said quickly.
"Oh, and is that why all of your things are out, prepared for class?"
Meg said nothing and the class sniggered softly. "Meg, this is the fourth time I've had to tell you to sit in your assigned seat this week. I want to see the three of you after class; now gather your things and get into your proper seat."
Meg set her jaw and piled up her things as she stood. She gave Sommer a dirty look as the two girls passed each other, but Sommer kept her eyes focused on her destination. She knew that Meg would most likely form some kind of retaliation, but she didn't really care. The three witches of Langford High didn't exactly scare her, though she couldn't say she looked forward to whatever they might do.
The rest of the class went smoothly, though Sommer couldn't say the same for the rest of the day. When lunchtime came around, Sommer was sitting by herself under a tree doing her chemistry homework when a shadow fell over her. She looked up and found Matt looking down at her. "Hey, Donovan," he said.
"Are… are you here to… to-"
Matt squatted down in front of her and sighed, interrupting her. "Donovan, I ask so little of you, don't I? I mean; what's you doing my homework really amount to in the long run?" he questioned.
Sommer could tell that he was angry so she didn't say anything. She just waited for him to finish. It would be easier, and he would leave her alone faster, that way.
His cold blue eyes narrowed menacingly. "I ask so little of you and you go and screw me over."
Her eyes widened in confusion and fear. "I've done everything you've asked of me, Matt," she said quietly, her voice shaking slightly. "How… how… how is it that I'm… supposed to have sc… screwed you?"
"My math assignment from a couple of days ago; I got it back today… I got a C. We made a deal, Donovan."
"Matt, you're not a straight A student, the teach… teachers know that," Sommer said, attempting to diffuse the situation.
"And it's your job to get me through my classes," Matt said through partially gritted teeth, "You're not holding up your part of the bargain."
"Do… don't you think it would… would look fishy if you suddenly started handing in work that's above what you usually hand in?" she questioned, hoping he would see her point.
Matt was silent for several moments. It was obvious that he was giving what she had just said a lot of thought. "Not to mention, your test scores would stay the same," she continued. "You don't want to get caught cheating, do you?"
Matt sighed. "Well, it looks like we're going to have to take this a step further," he said.
Sommer closed her book and looked Matt right in the eyes, though it took a lot of effort for her not to look away. "What makes you think I'll agree?"
Matt smiled and leaned his head closer. "Because you don't want Daddy's heart to be broken, and believe me, with what I could tell him…"
Sommer slumped in defeat and stared down at her hands as she whispered, "What do you want me to do?"
"You're going to tutor me so that my test scores can go up."
"You mean you want me to actually spend time with you outside of school?" she asked, looking back up at him, shocked. "Matt, I don't have the time to-"
"Do you want me to make good on my threat, Donovan?" Matt interrupted.
"I'm not saying I won't tutor you," she told him quickly. "I just don't have time outside of school. I have too many things-"
"Well then you're just going to have to make time, Donovan."
"Matt-"
Matt stood up and took a piece of paper from his pocket. "My assignments from my first four periods. I'll meet you at your car after school with my assignments for periods five and six, and the books you need," he said, tossing the folded paper onto the ground near her. "You better not leave before then."
Sommer picked up the paper and unfolded it before putting into the folder she used for Matt's homework. She rubbed her forehead as she packed up her backpack and stood. How in the hell did you get yourself into this? Oh, that's right; you're an idiot; that's how.
"Hey, Sommer!"
Sommer paused and turned at the sound of her name. Not many people at school called her 'Sommer' so she was curious to see who had. A freshman girl with black and blonde hair from her sixth period dance class came jogging up to her. She relaxed, pushing her glasses up her nose as she smiled. "Hi, Tina, what's up?"
Tina smiled back as she came to a stop in front of Sommer. "I heard you were the person to talk to if I needed help with passing a class."
"What class are you having trouble with?" Sommer asked, shifting her backpack to her other shoulder.
"English," Tina replied. "Mr. Varner isn't an easy teacher."
Sommer smiled knowingly. "He's not so bad once you understand his methods," she told her. "Tell you what, I'm busy today but I can meet with you tomorrow at brunch or lunch to help you out."
Tina beamed brightly. "I'd really appreciate that! Thanks a bunch, Sommer, you're the best!"
"We'll see how you feel about that after I help you," Sommer said with a laugh.
Tina laughed too. "So hey, have you thought about my idea for the dance recital at the end of the semester?"
"Yeah, it's a great idea, but I'm not sure we'd find a guy that's willing to participate."
"I could probably get my older brother to do it; he owes me a favor," Tina suggested.
"That's a thought," Sommer agreed, remembering that Tina's brother was a dancer on the school's dance team. "Oh, I heard you were dancing for the Town Social this year, that's awesome."
Tina bit her bottom lip. "I'm not so sure."
"Why not? You're a great dancer."
"The Social's not too far away and I haven't even choreographed anything for it yet; I haven't even picked out music!"
Sommer smiled reassuringly. "Tina, you're a great dancer, as I've said; I'm sure whatever you do will be wonderful."
Suddenly, Tina's face brightened and a huge smile spread her lips. "Hey, you should dance with me!"
"What?"
"Oh, come on, Sommer! Please?" Tina pleaded. "I can't go on stage at the Town Social by myself! I'm way too scared."
Sommer bit her lip in thought. "Why are you asking me? I mean, there are tons of other dancers at this school…"
"I'm asking you because you're the best dancer in our dance class and I don't think anyone else would help me… Please, Sommer?"
I'm probably going to regret this, Sommer thought with a sigh. "All right, I'll do it."
Tina squealed and hugged Sommer. "You're a lifesaver, Sommer Donovan. Okay, so, why don't we meet after school tomorrow and we can try to pick some music?"
"All right, I have to be somewhere at five though."
"No problem, I'm sure we'll be able to find something before then," Tina told her.
"Okay, I'll see you later then," Sommer said before heading off to class.
Seconds later, the bell signaling the students to begin heading to class sounded. As she made her way through the quad to her next class, a hand grabbed her arm tightly and spun her around. "You're gonna pay for that little stunt you pulled in English this morning, Donovan."
Sommer wrenched her arm out of Meg's hand. "I didn't pull any stunt, Meg," she said. "I simply told Mrs. Johansson that…"
"You landed me in detention is what you did and I'm not happy about it."
Anger was boiling just under the surface of Sommer's skin as she gritted her teeth. "You landed yourself in detention, Meg."
"No; my detention is your fault," Meg snapped. "If you had just kept your damn mouth shut about the seat assignments, Mrs. Johansson wouldn't have known."
"Mrs. Johansson isn't stupid, Meg; she's the one that assigned our seats," Sommer said. "She would've known we weren't in the right seats anyway."
Meg's eyes went dark. "Don't talk back to me," she snapped.
"I'll talk back to you if I want, Meg," Sommer snapped back. "I'm not going to stand here and let you belittle me because of something you got yourself into."
"I didn't get myself into anything; you got me into it."
Sommer rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. Meg grabbed her arm and yanked her back toward her. "I didn't say you could leave," she hissed.
"Let go of my arm, Meg," Sommer said with a forced calm.
"Not until you apologize for getting me a detention," Meg replied, trying to grip tighter.
Sommer pulled her arm out of Meg's grasp and narrowed her eyes at her. "I'm not apologizing for something I didn't do," she said defiantly as she turned and began walking away.
"I'm going to make your life a living hell, Donovan," Meg called.
My life's already a living hell, Sommer thought, and it's because of people like you.
She checked her watch and quickened her pace. She didn't have much time before the second bell rang and her class was all the way across campus. Luckily she'd gone to her locker at the beginning of lunch or else she'd be even later than she already knew she would be.
Just then, the bell rang. Sommer swore under her breath as she hoisted her backpack higher onto her shoulder. Great, Mr. Cassidy's going to... I don't know what he'll do, but I bet it won't be good. Without another thought, she turned and almost ran across the quad to get to her class.
"Miss Donovan; you're late," Mr. Cassidy said as Sommer burst through the door.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cassidy. I promise it wasn't my fault."
"I'm not interested in whose fault it is, Miss Donovan; Just don't let it happen again," Mr. Cassidy admonished. "Now take your seat."
Sommer did as she was told and quietly prepared for the lesson. To be quite frank, Sommer wasn't a huge fan of foreign languages; not because she didn't appreciate them, but because she had trouble learning them. She had a tendency of getting tongue-tied when trying to speak a language other than the one she had grown up speaking.
When the class ended, Mr. Cassidy held Sommer for a moment. "Mr. Cassidy, I'm really sorry I was late," Sommer said.
Mr. Cassidy folded his arms over his chest as he sat down on his desk. "Sommer is everything all right?" he asked.
Sommer gave him what she felt was a convincing smile and nodded. "Everything's fine; why do you ask?"
"You just seemed agitated when you came in," he said with a small shrug.
"Not at all," Sommer stated.
"All right, well, my door is always open if you ever need to talk."
Sommer nodded and pulled her bag onto her shoulder. "All right then; off you go," Mr. Cassidy said, handing her a small slip of paper.
When she looked at it, Sommer realized that it was a note to her next teacher, excusing her from being late. "Thank you," she said quietly.
"Don't worry about it; just don't show up to my class late again."
Sommer smiled genuinely and nodded again. "You got it. See you tomorrow."
Sommer's final class of the day was dance. Apart from English, dance was probably her favorite class. She enjoyed the way dancing allowed her to work off her stress and anger. She felt the same about Martial Arts, but dance was different. Dancing forced her to use all of her body at all times, physically draining her while at the same time, boosting her mood. Martial Arts, on the other hand, got her adrenaline pumping and sometimes made her even more angry. This was why she preferred dancing when she had built up anger, and boy did she have a lot of that today.
The final bell of the day rang and Sommer groaned inwardly as she made her way into the locker room to change. She had been dreading this part of the day since Matt had told her that he'd meet her by her car. It was honestly the worst part of her school day, the end, so to avoid having to spend more time with Matt than she absolutely had to, Sommer took her time changing.
Finally, Sommer realized that she couldn't stall any more so she grabbed her backpack and headed out the door with a heavy sigh. As she knew he would be; Matt was leaning against the trunk of Sommer's car flanked by Brad and Jacob. Now is not the time for your heart to start racing, Sommer, she told herself. Just stay calm. Don't let your fear show.
The second the three boys saw her, they looked at each other and grinned wickedly. Sommer knew those looks; they were going to be relentless every second of their time together. Okay, Sommer, you can get through this… just don't allow them to scare you.
Matt smiled and pushed himself off of the car. "You're late, Donovan," he said, his smile fading.
"It um… it takes a few minutes to change after dance," Sommer told him.
Jacob's eyes twinkled for a moment. "You take dance, huh?" he asked with a suggestively raised eyebrow.
"Here and downtown," Sommer said, taking a step to her left so that she could get to her car.
Matt stepped in front of her, blocking her way and almost making her bump into him. "I'd really like to see that some time," he said with a small smirk.
"Yeah, that body must be bangin' under those clothes of yours," Jacob said, licking his lips and raking his eyes over her.
"That's probably the only thing she's got going for her," Brad said with a laugh.
Sommer turned her attention to them for a moment, giving them a look that clearly told them that she thought they were pigs. Brad was the shortest of the three boys and also the most muscular. His hair was dark brown making his blue eyes stand out really well. His eyes weren't kind though, they were cruel; just like Jacob's.
Jacob was slightly taller than Brad but his muscles weren't as defined. His blonde hair was cut short and his brown eyes were almost constantly narrowed in scrutiny. Brad was a wrestler for the school's varsity team whereas Jacob played quarterback for the football team. Both boys had a reputation for being womanizers and bullies; the latter of which Sommer knew about first hand.
Sommer gave them a look that dared them to try anything. They didn't have anything on her so she had nothing to be afraid of when it came to them. Of course, they only laughed at her and continued making snide comments.
Matt turned his head to look at his friends. "Will you two shut up? I'm trying to talk here."
Sommer looked up at him; blank faced, and stammered, "Um… I… I really need to get going."
"You're not going anywhere."
Matt nodded to Brad and Jacob who began closing in on her. Sommer's eyes widened with each step that brought them closer to her. "We're not done talking yet," Matt was now saying.
Sommer's breaths were starting to become ragged with her anger. She was becoming tired of Matt's games but she was too chicken to say anything to him about it because of what he could do to her family. She needed to get out of there before she did or said something she'd regret. "Matt, listen…"
"No, you listen," Matt interrupted. "I'm not playing games with you, Donovan. I will make good on my promise if you don't play nice."
"I've gone along with everything you've asked of me, Matt, and I'll continue to do so… but I really have to go."
As Sommer finished unlocking her car and opened the door, Matt stepped behind her and closed it. Sommer turned around to face him and found his face just mere inches away from hers. "I'm late for something," she said, barely above a whisper.
Matt gave her a piece of paper before gently touching her cheek with his forefinger. "Make sure you answer your cell phone tonight," he told her.
Sommer nodded shortly and hugged herself as Matt, Brad, and Jacob turned and left her alone. A tear slid down her cheek just as it had that morning before her first class and she quickly raised her hand and forcefully wiped it away. So much for not letting them scare you, she thought bitterly as she finally turned and got into her car.
Author's note- I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please, if you have any questions, comments, or just anything you'd like to say, please leave a review. I always do my best to respond to them as quickly as possible!- SAWilson