3Easier to Run
© Sorraya T 2012
Chapter One- A Demon Named Angel
"You have got to be fucking kidding me." I said stiffly. My parents only response was to glance at each other, then look back at me and shrug. "A boys school?"
"Ayden, it's the highest recommended school for academics within a hundred mile radius." My mother said primly.
We had been a having a normal lunch, where nobody was talking and we all pretended we weren't in each other's presence while a maid bustled in and out, bringing our plates to the table. My father was reading his newspaper, my mother was writing in her little blue book about fundraisers in her society for rich old bitches who don't have jobs, and I was listening to Korn on my iPod. And then my mother had to ruin that by casually mentioning that I was being transferred from my old school, my lovely, co-ed private school that was Steyne High School, to Hinchcliffe Academy for Boys. An elite, selective, private boys school. Fucking hell.
I clapped a hand to my forehead in frustration. "Yes, mother. For boys."
"The gender dominance doesn't change the excellent performance of it's students during and after high school." My father told me sharply.
"Okay." I conceded. "Yeah, the school is great for smart people. But you seem to be forgetting one very important thing: I am not a boy."
"And?" my mother asked, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.
"And they wouldn't let me in anyway." I growled, feeling slightly triumphant.
My mother gave a careless wave of her hand at that, smoothing her already perfectly ironed cream dress. "Oh, that's a non-issue. The headmaster is a good friend of your father's, and he was absolutely fine with allowing an exception in your case."
I was about to scream. "Influenced by a sizeable donation, I bet." I sneered.
"Well yes, that probably did help." My father said simply. He still had not looked up from his newspaper.
"You guys, you've really outdone yourself, you know that? I mean, I know you both love fucking up my life, but this is absolutely inspired." I hissed. "I mean, calling me Ayden? That was a good one, sure. What girl doesn't want to be mistaken for a boy? But now you're really rubbing it in, aren't you? Just how much you wished I wasn't female. You're actually sending me to a school full of them. What, are you hoping I'll pick up some tips?"
My parents both stopped what they were doing, to give me cold looks filled with disdain. "All you ever think about is yourself, isn't it?" my mother said nastily.
I scoffed. "Whatever. Hell, I was running out of guys to sleep with at Steyne, and now I can have my pick at Hinchcliffe, I guess." I told them with a sneer, standing from the table suddenly and knocking my chair over with the force of my rise. They both gaped at me, something I enjoyed before quickly stalking out of the room.
The worst part? My senior year started tomorrow. I fucking hate my parents.
*-O-*
I parked my car in the Hinchcliffe school parking lot. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, wishing I could just hide in my car forever. I opened my eyes and mentally prepared myself, gritting my teeth and getting out of the car.
I noticed a number of boys already milling around, high fiving each other and sharing various greetings as they caught up after the summer vacation. There were a great many whose eyes bugged out when they saw my car, and if possible, grew even wider when they saw me. My car was my baby, I loved her more than anything else I owned. She was a symbol of my freedom.
She was a beautiful Chevy Corvette Stingray, pitch black and made brand new two months ago. Up until then I'd had a Camaro Firebeather, but I upgraded to Sting because it was subtler. My Firebreather was still at home, and I drove her every now and then to keep her warm, I did treasure her. But Sting was my pride and joy.
"Bye baby, I'll see you later." I whispered to her, patting her on the hood and walking into the jungle that was Hincliffe. The yelling and laughing that had filled the parking lot and front part of campus slowly died down, and I realised that people were staring at me and whispering. I heard a low whistle as one guy stared at my car, practically drooling. I could totally understand that.
I smiled at the appreciation of my car. Of course they liked it. My car was fucking awesome.
My smile died when a boy stepped in front of me, blocking my path. I was annoyed, but at the same time I was just thanking God that my jaw hadn't dropped; because this was the most gorgeous guy I'd ever seen in my life. God knows there had been a tonne of attractive guys at Steyne. I'd slept with a fair few of them. But there had not been one that could even get close to the pure sexual lure that was this boy's physical being.
He had beautiful gray eyes, stormy and icy, and it felt like they could see through me to the very bone. His hair was slightly long, sideswept and a golden blonde that was clearly sun-bleached. His strong bone structure made him slightly intimidating, but would surely have many girls on their knees for him.
But not me. Not yet, at least.
"I think you're on the wrong campus, sweetheart." He told me, his voice smooth and deep.
"If I wanted to hear what you were thinking, I would have asked." I said bluntly. He raised an eyebrow as an amused smirk played on those sinfully tempting lips.
"Well, drop the pants and prove you belong here." He said casually.
I scoffed. "I could, but that would only embarrass you."
"Why's that?" he asked, genuinely confused.
"Because you'd realise that a lack of any dick is something we have in common." I shot back. "Now get out of my way. I have to get ready for my first day in this hellhole."
Rather than taking offense, he smiled at me. I went to go past him when he shocked me by holding an arm out and wrapping it around my waist. "Don't think this is over, sweetheart. If you're gonna stay here, you've just started a war." He whispered, his lips brushing my ear. He nipped at it gently, then moved down to my cheek, placing a gentle kiss and then releasing me.
I flushed with rage and stalked off. I didn't want to go to this school, but expulsion and a murder sentence don't look so good on a résumé.
After getting my schedule, I realised why all the students here had such high GPA's; all of the classes offered were AP. And I was not an AP student.
I already hated Hinchcliffe and I'd only been here twenty minutes.
I walked into my first period class when the bell rang, and immediately hated Hinchcliffe even more. The jerkoff from the parking lot was sitting in my English class and as luck would have it, the only free seat in the room was next to him. I gritted my teeth and made my way to the seat, stiffly lowering into it and pulling out my books. I decided I would merely ignore him.
The teacher started attendance, and because of my stupid surname, I got to immediately draw even more attention to myself. "Ayden Adessi?" the teacher said hesitantly. I realised that I knew the voice, and looking up, my face drained of colour.
"Present." I said faintly.
We looked at each other, both of us feeling completely shocked and not entirely sure how to react in this situation. It was Gage. My best friend, he was twenty-five, and apparently my English teacher. I heard the dickhead chuckle beside me. "Ayden? Really?" he said lowly.
"Shut up." I snarled. I hadn't talked to Gage for the entire summer, we'd had a huge fight on the last day of semester and now we were being forced together. I didn't even know if we were still best friends. I wasn't in the mood to deal with the asshole's shit when I realised who was going to be my English teacher for the next year.
Gage smiled with some strain through his confusion. "It's great to have you join our school, Ayden, and our class. I'm Mr Conti" He said, trying not to make his discomfort obvious.
"Thanks." I said, flashing a quick smile. Gage- Mr Conti- nodded, staring at me for a second before he continued reading attendance.
"Angel Lebeau?"
"Present." Called the jerk. I turned towards him, a slow smile coming onto my face.
"Angel? And you thought my name was funny?"
"Both our names are deceptive, I guess." He said smoothly. "People hear your name and think you're a guy. Then they find you're a chick. People hear my name and think I'm nice. Then they find I'm an ass."
"Admitting it is the first step to overcoming it." I snickered. I was desperately trying not to break down into full-blown laughter.
When he finished attendance, Gag- Mr Conti paired us up with the person sitting next to us for the rest of the semester. I internally groaned. I turned to Angel and glared. "Okay, here's the deal. You do your part of the work, I do mine. We interact as little as possible. Understood?"
He leaned back in his chair lazily, looking thoughtful as he tapped a finger on his chin. "Hmm. Nope."
I took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. "And why would that be?"
"I don't do homework." He said simply.
I snorted. "You do now."
"No can do, sweetheart. I've got other things to do." He explained as if it were obvious.
"So have I. Which is why it will be far easier if you get the fuck over yourself and do half the work. Otherwise I'll let Ga- Conti know that I've done my part, but you've been slacking." I told him smugly.
Angel stared at me, a mix between outrage and amusement covering his face. "You don't wanna start this, sweetheart."
"From what you said this morning, it's already been started." I said coolly. "So I figure I may as well get the first move in."
He shrugged. "In that case, well played. But it won't work. Besides, what's got you so busy?"
"None of your Goddamn business." I said shortly.
"I'll find out even if you don't tell me." he sang. I had no idea how one person could be so infuriating, but somehow Angel achieved it.
"Tough."
I was relieved when the bell rang, and I quickly gathered my things and was about to leave the classroom when I was again stopped as a large hand wrapped around my wrist.
"Just so you know, you're sitting with me at lunch." He said matter-of-factly, stroking his thumb across the back of my hand.
I snorted. "In your dreams."
He smiled at that. "Oh, you will definitely be in my dreams."
I jerked my hand from his grasp with a growl, but he was already walking out. Arrogant ass.
I looked at Gage for a moment, biting my lip. "Um, Mr Conti, I-"
He looked away from me, but I could see the hurt and anger in his eyes as he did so. As always, this made a lump form in my throat. "I'm sorry, Ayden, but I really have to get to second period. We can discuss whatever you wanted to say tomorrow during class." And with that he left the room.
I felt like hitting my head on a desk.
Oh yeah. Hinchcliffe sucked.
*-O-*
By the time lunch came around, I was fucking exhausted. All I'd gotten all day were stares, wolf-whistles and leers. I could safely say that I hated Hinchcliffe with a passion.
I pulled a bottle of water and my phone from my bag, sitting at an empty table near a window in the cafeteria. I was texting my friend Marina when Angel seated himself across from me. I stared at him for a moment, and then decided I would keep ignoring him. I continued to text her, and then decided to check my Facebook, so he began tapping the table repeatedly. After a few moments, it got to me.
"Can you quit it?" I snapped.
"Quit what?" he asked innocently.
"You really are an asshole. Don't you have friends to be with right now? Instead of bothering me?" I asked irritably.
He brightened. "I thought you'd never ask." Before I could ask what in hell he was talking about he twisted in his seat. "Hey guys! She says you should come join us." He yelled at a table at the front of the cafeteria.
"I didn't, actually."
"Ah, well, too late now. Wouldn't wanna make a scene." He said slyly, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
I leaned towards him over the table, beckoning him with a finger to come closer. He leaned forward, looking interested. I put my face mere centimetres from his, glancing down at his sinful lips and back at his eyes, holding them with a seductive expression. "There's something you should know about me, Angel." I murmured softly, almost touching my lips with his.
"And what's that?" he whispered back, a slow smirk gracing his lips.
"I hate assholes." I said softly, and then kicked my foot straight up under the cafeteria table. His eyes widened and he started coughing from the pain. I ignored his pained sputtering and went back to my bottle of water, taking a sip and reading the label uninterestedly.
I heard a few guys make sympathetic groans. Angel's friends had joined us, and they seated themselves around the table. There were four others in his little group, from what I could tell. And the first thing that hit me was that they were all absolutely gorgeous.
"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" the one seated on my right asked, his good looks dark and commanding. His eyes were a deep, hypnotizing blue and he had some fine stubble across his defined jaw. His hair was such a dark brown it was almost black. "I like my women feisty."
"And I like my men quiet, so clearly the attraction is one-sided." I said tartly.
Rather than getting offended, he let out a loud laugh. "You're gonna be a challenge. I think I'm gonna like having you around here." He told me with a wink.
I rolled my eyes, but at the same time I felt a bit warm. Maybe I could make some friends here. Not Angel, obviously, but this guy seemed like he would be able to hold a good conversation. "Well it doesn't matter if you like it or not, I'm here to stay. You should try help Angel here get used to that."
The boy smiled. "Oh, I will. I'm Caleb Cosentino." He said, taking my hand in his and brushing his lips across the back of it.
I snorted. "I'm Ayden Adessi."
"Pretty name for a pretty girl." He said smoothly, curving his mouth in a half-smile.
"My name is many things, but pretty isn't one of them." I told him. "Who are the rest of you losers?"
The other three boys who had been watching our exchange with amusement while Angel groaned with agony turned to look at me.
A boy with fairly short brown hair and two different coloured eyes, one bright green and the other a pale blue, smiled at me. He had a soft, kind face. "I'm Tanner Austin."
Another one with deeply tanned skin and dark brown hair nodded at me, glancing at Angel warily. "Hunter Anthony. Are you gonna hurt me for talking to you?"
I giggled a bit. Shit. I giggled. What was this school doing to me? "Nah, only irritants get hurt."
He relaxed a little. "In that case, I'd be happy to help you out with anything around school until you get used to it."
I smiled at him, pleased to have found someone polite in this dump. "That would be awesome, thanks."
I turned to the last one, who had been most quiet throughout our little introduction. He had blond hair, a defined jaw and green eyes, and he was currently studying me like I was him. "And you?"
He studied me a moment longer before he responded. "Jarrod Lowe."
"Nice to meet you guys. Why are all you nice, civil guys hanging out with the overgrown baby here?" I gestured to Angel, who had stopped moaning and was now glaring at me with his hands in tight fists on the table.
Caleb snorted, leaning back in his chair and putting an arm around the back of mine. "Who says we're civil?"
I smiled a little. This guy I could see myself being friends with. He didn't beat around the bush, but he wasn't a straight-up asshole about it. "I thought those members of Hinchcliffe's elite were supposed to be well-mannered?" I said in a very delicate, snobby voice.
The boy with the green eyes, Jarrod I think, snorted. "Elite? I'm a scholarship student." He informed me.
Tanner turned to him, rolling his different coloured eyes. "That counts as elite, dumbass. For a scholarship student, you're surprisingly stupid."
"I'm nowhere near as bad as Cale." He said defensively.
"I'm not stupid," Caleb protested, leaning back into his chair with a sexy downturn of his lips that made him seem broody and mysterious. "I'm just unimpressed by the educational institutions we call school."
I raised my eyebrows at him. "You don't seem so dumb to me. I counted three big words in that sentence."
Caleb gave me a half-smile that oozed masculinity. "Stop, baby, you're making me blush."
"He always turns on the smarts around girls. He uses a big vocabulary to make up for the fact he has shit for brains." Angel inserted. He seemed to have recovered from his... ahem... accident, and was now looking at me with a mix of curiosity and irritation.
"Yeah, what was it you said about that, Cale? As much as girls love the sexy badass, they love the smart, sexy badass more?" Hunter snickered.
I rolled my eyes. I was loathe to admit that I was actually enjoying my conversation with these primates. They were funny, and most of them quite nice.
Cale just grinned mischievously. "You speak the truth, brother." He drawled, leaning back into his chair with his hands behind his head. "Besides, it helps me get the really badass chicks. You can stick to your fuck buddies Hunter, but my girls know how to ride more than just my dick."
"Mine are more... experienced." Hunter responded with a smirk.
"Why can't you guys go for a girl who won't fuck around on you? Go for the smart chicks dude, leaves you with someone you can actually have a conversation with when you're done fucking." Jarrod said wisely.
"None of you have mentioned anything about girls who are actually nice." Tanner noted with a frown. "Smart chicks will fuck you over even worse than sluts or bitches."
Angel chuckled at them all. Watching the way the boys interacted was entertaining, they were truly good friends. "Guys, you all know that at the end of the day I could get any one of your chicks. Enjoy them while you can, but they come running to me in no time." He said cockily.
I snorted. "And then you open your mouth and they're running away from you. Screaming, most likely."
The boys all roared with laughter at their friend's humiliation. Angel nodded his head, a sly smile pulling at his glorious lips. "Believe me, sweetheart, when I open my mouth, girls definitely start screaming."
Caleb laughed, reaching his hand across the table for a high five. "I'm stealing that line, dude."
I made a face. "Don't use it on me."
"So we can skip straight to the physical part, then?" Caleb shot back, winking at me. I giggled and leaned back into my chair, where his arm still rested.
"Name a time and place, baby." I purred, raising my eyebrows at him suggestively. This kind of flirting was comfortable with me.
He groaned and leaned towards me, "Please tell me you have a motorbike, or a tattoo or something."
"I don't know about those," Angel interrupted, eyes locked on me. "But she's the one driving the Stingray in the student lot."
Caleb grinned and patted his crotch. "See? Hard already."
Tanner made a face. "Dude, really didn't need that piece of information."
"Tanner, shut it." Hunter ordered, turning to survey me. "So, you're Caleb's type then."
I snorted. "I'm not a 'type'"
"Sure you are, baby. My type." Caleb explained, smirking.
"My car doesn't sum up my personality, Cosentino." I shot back, my eyes glittering mischievously.
Jarrod contemplated me. "You're already in Cale's corner, you got the badass part down."
"Who says I don't meet your expectations? Or Tanner's, or Hunter's?" I challenged, raising an eyebrow.
"Or Angel's?" Jarrod shot back, looking closely at my face.
I laughed outright. "Oh, sweetie, he doesn't meet my expectations." I watched Angel in my peripheral vision. He leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms.
"You don't know me." He said quietly, his voice dangerous. "And I'll be making sure you're out of here fast enough so that you don't get to know me. You haven't earned the privilege."
My face soured. "Make it fast, I don't wanna have to look at you next to me in English for the rest of the year."
Tanner tried to intervene, his expression concerned. "Guys, we're having friendly conversation. No need to-"
"From what I saw in English, the only thing you're interested in looking at was the teacher. Do you normally slut it up with teachers, or is Conti just special?" Angel said bitingly.
I paled. Embarrassing as it was, just the mention of my best friend's name hurt, despite the fact that Angel had perceived our relationship to be something else entirely. I stood up from the table, my appetite gone. "Excuse me." I murmured, quickly stalking away. I looked for a bathroom, before realising the problem I faced. The campus was for males. There were no accessible female bathrooms in sight.
I worked my way to the front office and coughed to get the secretary's attention. "Yes?" The old dear asked, blinking at me through her enormous glasses.
I immediately put on my best polite snob voice. "Pardon me, but would there be any, uh, facilities that could be made available to me?"
She blinked at me again, comprehension dawning. "Oh, of course! You poor dear, feel free to use the office bathroom, and the staff bathrooms."
I plastered on a pleasant smile. "Thank you."
I looked around and found the office bathroom, quickly entering and locking the door behind me. I made my way to the sink, leaning down and splashing water in my face. I looked up at the mirror to see that I was pale and gaunt. I realised that amidst all the drama, and with my appetite misplaced by alcohol over summer, I had hardly eaten in weeks. I wasn't hungry; far from it in fact. But I required nutrition.
I quickly took a deep breath and composed myself. Leaving the table had been foolish; it had been a confirmation of that asshole's accusations, in his mind, and an announcement of immediate weakness. So I had to make it look like it wasn't a big deal.
I stalked from the bathroom, nose in the air. I hated the front I put up, the act that I was some rich snob who believed myself to be better than everyone. But I had no choice here. This wasn't Steyne High School, it was Hinchcliffe Academy for Boys. I was on my own here, and I needed to make myself invincible.
Even if it disgusted me.
I quickly returned to the cafeteria, deciding against sitting in the seat I had been in. Instead, I walked back to the table of attractive boys, ignoring the surprised and wary, and in Tanner and Hunter's case apologetic, gazes and sat myself delicately on Caleb's lap. He quickly got over whatever surprise he had immediately felt and his arms wrapped around my torso, pulling me into his chest. His hand moved to my thigh, tracing patterns in the soft skin made visible by my makeshift school skirt.
I looked up and smirked at Angel, who gazed at me with a passive smile on his face. "Well played." He said coolly.
I feigned a look of confusion. "I wasn't aware this was a game."
The other boys looked at Angel disapprovingly. He merely snorted and rolled his eyes at me. That's right, asshole. You don't know who you're messing with here.
"Angel, don't be an ass." Tanner said with a frown. "It's her first day. It must be tough, being alone in a school full of guys."
I smiled at him, my first genuine one of the day. "Thank you, Tanner." He was right, to a point. It wasn't exactly easy to be at a new school, especially being the sole girl in a school of males. But he really had no need to defend me. Where many girls would have crumbled and been shaking with apprehension, I wasn't about to let a bunch of idiots intimidate me.
By the time I was finished with them, they would all be eating out of the palm of my hand. This group was only the beginning; by the end of Senior year, the entire school would belong to me.
I would start with Caleb; clearly, this guy would be a challenge to rein in. But I was his type, and when I'd taken him to my bed he would be putty in my hand. Then I would move on to Tanner. I had no doubt that if I presented a front of kindness and heartfelt judgement, he would side with me against anything. Jarrod was intelligent, he would be harder to deceive, and the way that he looked at me felt familiar. However once I gained his respect, he'd be behind me as well. Hunter would be a bit more difficult. He was polite, but he was stern and serious. If I managed to gain his loyalty, I wouldn't lose it. All I had to figure out was how I would go about it.
After they were on my side, the rest of the school would follow. The way that the people in the student parking lot had moved aside for Angel expressed the power he held here. I assumed he kept company with those of significant status, and so if I held that powerful in my grasp, they would immediately follow the example set. Only then, would I conquer Angel.
He hadn't realised who he was messing with when he made his observation about Gage. Payback was going to be a bitch.
NEW STORY AWOOOO
Yeah, so I'm a little ADD and can't work on the same story for too long haha. But I hope people enjoy this and it grows! PLEASE R&R, I really want to know what you guys think!
Love Sorraya T (formerly JAckles)