Stay Away

Chapter 10

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Chapter 10! *drumrollllllllll and clashing symbals...* uhh yeah ok

enough theatricals... Enjoy :33

PS if you haven't seen already, I've changed the title of this book to Stay Away.

non-edited

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Victoria

Another day of school. Another step forward in the vortex of time. Another day of boring classes and people avoiding eye contact. Just another day.

I didn't expect anything unusual to happen. I didn't expect anything crazy, impossible, life-changing to come barging into nondescript Brownridge High School. I didn't expect to see him again.

I was at school earlier than usual, with questions to ask my English teacher about my Slaughterhouse Five essay. And yes, as weird it might seem, I do give some shit about my grades. I don't plan to stay in this judgmental, confining town for all my life, and I don't plan on backpacking the country, which leaves college as my only option.

I'd heard some girls gossiping about a new kid. A super hot, mysterious badboy with the "dreamiest eyes." Ha. Like they'd ever get any guy willing to put up with clingy barbie dolls.

I was walking toward my locker, when I noticed a guy opening the locker next to mine. That locker had been unused for the entire year, when the girl who'd had it transferred to who knows where. Also, no one was exactly eager to be next to Victoria, the "cold-hearted" outsider.

Oh great, this must be the new guy. Just wait until he hears the rumors about me.

There was something about him though, about his shaggy brown hair, streaked with brilliant golden strands. His worn and beaten leather jacket screamed modesty, but he wore it with a strangely familiar sense of confidence. Everything from the highest hair on his head to his dark gray sneakers tugged at something within me.

And then he turned around, and clear blue eyes met mine.

They were more of a light periwinkle, I used to say, just to annoy him. A birthmark shaped like a crown graced the top of his forehead. "I am a king! Bow to me, loyal subject," he'd command me, and I would just laugh and say, "In your dreams, Mr. Periwinkle," and we'd be even again. This guy standing ten feet in front of me was from my life before the Black Forest pack, before the attack, before everything changed forever. His name was Odysseus Thrax, such a pompous name, I know. My four-year-old self thought it sounded silly and hard to pronounce, so I called him Ossie. I called him Ossie, and he called me Tove.

Ossie was my best friend, my ex-boyfriend, and the one person I used to pray for everyday since the attack. I never thought I'd see him again.

Apparently, neither did he. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. He blinked once, twice. Then he smiled a smile that wrapped me in a cloud of rainbows and gold and honey and sunshine. A smile that always made me feel safe and happy. And I smiled. For the first time in two years, I smiled. I was surprised the muscles of my face remembered how to.

"Tove? Is that really y-"

He didn't get to finish. Before I even knew what I was doing, I dropped my books, ran to him, and tackled him to the ground. I had never felt so happy in my life. In that moment, it felt like everything else disappeared. The days of listless wandering, the years of holding up a fake, hard exterior, the moments when I felt so alone. They all vanished. Even the throng of students in the hallway, who were staring at us with immensely shocked expressions, faded into a gray, muted blur. Nothing else mattered, then. I'd found Ossie again. The one person who ever fully understood me, the one I told everything, and I mean everything to, the one who never judged me for my mistakes, who loved me for who I am. Yes, he sounds like the perfect guy, the guy most girls wish for, Prince Charming, because that's exactly what he was.

We'd been best friends since I was three. Like many things in the universe, a reason for our friendship simply didn't exist. He was one year older than me, and we didn't have many things in common. When we were younger, we used to see each other all the time. Life was simple. We were carefree. As we got older, puberty graced us with its hormonal presence and we somehow found new groups, Ossie with the "cool guys" and me with the awkward, giggly, blushing freaks whom I called friends. And yet, we still found time to hang out. Life was still sort of simple, we were semi-carefree. But as the years kept passing, the age of mates approached, and girls, some of my friends even, started finding their mates. At the time, Ossie and I had decided to try dating. You know those opposite gender best friends who try being more just for the sake of normality or internal obligation? We were one of those pairs. It was actually going pretty well. We'd agreed to stop everything if our relationship began to mess with our friendship, but so far, things were smooth. He made me feel good about myself, and I made him happy. We were the dream team. That is, until he found her. Penny. His mate. It was so unexpected, because guys don't normally find mates until they're seventeen. He was only fifteen then. We broke up obviously, but we stayed best friends. I guess you could say we were lucky that we could still hang out and have fun after being in a romantically involved.

Anyway, the whole break up and found-my-mate scenario happened not too soon before the attack. I thought I was the only one to escape, but apparently not. Seeing Ossie that day gave me hope for other survivors.

"Oh my gosh you're alive! I can't believe it. You have no idea how glad I am to see you," I gushed out, getting up and releasing him from my embrace. Tears of joy pricked the corners of my eyes, and I was too happy to care. Ossie smiled again and just shook his head in amazement.

"And I you." His expression matched mine.

"You have to tell me everything!" we shouted simultaneously, subsequently bursting out laughing. That was another thing we always did, seeming to know each other's thoughts.

The bell rang, signalling the start of class, though all classes were probably empty because everyone had come out to see the drama of our "reunion" unfold in the hallway. Every pair of eyes were on us, but strangely, I didn't give a damn about the attention. I had Ossie back, and that's all I needed.

As he and I walked toward our classes, the sea of people gradually parted, like a wave. How nice of them, I thought, and I wasn't even being sarcastic.

The only thing that made me doubtful of the whole situation was the pair of green-gold eyes burning holes in my head as I walked away. Adrian.

-

Hey peeps! What do you think of Ossie? And Victoria's "other side"?

Vote and comment if you like :)

Also, cast suggestions anyone?

Luvs,

Liv