Guardian Angels.

After I'd said goodbye to Erica and Zach, I trudged off through the school gates and made my way towards home...if you could call it that.

In fact, I was so busy drowning in my own misery that I bumped into something hard and I spun around quickly to balance myself, arms flailing and everything. I glanced up, sweeping the hair from my eyes to see Julie.

Okay, so Julie was everything I wasn't. Popular, loved by everyone, good looking and incredibly talented. I'd found out that Jared showed an extreme interest in her...in other words, I had to stay the heck away from her or I'd probably lose a leg or something.

'Oh, erm...Alex, right?' she asked, smoothing out the the wrinkles of her shirt and flipping her brown hair over her shoulder.

'Aled.' I sighed, rubbing my arm nervously.

'Oh...Jared's brother?'

With those three little words, my whole world exploded and shattered into thousands of shards around me. So as well as not knowing my name, she also only knew me because of my idiot brother.

I might as well be made of cellophane.

I turned on my heel and strode off, ignoring her quizzical look as I kicked a stone out of my way.

Stupid Jared, with his stupid model-like looks and his stupid charm. Why couldn't I be like that? Did my parents use up all the good DNA on him or something?

'Oi, loser!' shouted an irritated voice.

I froze and looked over my shoulder. Speak of the devil and he shall appear, it seems. Jared was pretty much hurtling towards me in a blur, the look on his face could have made the bravest man quiver with fear. Well, I was dead meat then.

'Did I just see what I thought I saw?' he hissed furiously. He voice was so much like a hiss that I actually checked the floor for snakes.

'What do you mean?' I muttered, trying to act confident.

That was the wrong move. He grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me forwards, we were nose to nose.

'How about we go back to the house where we can talk about this privately?' he leered at me, not even waiting for me to reply. He already started to drag me off.

'Jared! I don't know what you're talking about!' I cried in pain, he was practically choking me with my own shirt.

'Julie.' he said simply.

Oh. That couldn't be good then. I really didn't like the look on his face as he shoved me inside the house.

The door swung shut behind him and he turned to me slowly, his pretty face all twisted up in anger. Hell, even the veins on his forehead were popping out. He must be really pissed at me.

'I saw you and Julie talking.' he growled, storming up to me and pushing me against the wall.

'I...I accidentally knocked into her!' I stuttered, flinching as his hands smacked against the wall on either side of my head.

'Really? Why don't I believe you then?' Jared sneered.

'I don't know! Trust issues?' I suggested a little stupidly.

His hands moved from beside my head to my throat. 'Wrong answer there, kid.'

'B-but...I-I...' I choked, coughing as his hands restricted tighter around my neck.

'Now Aled, don't make me hurt you.' he said quietly.

Don't make him hurt me? What was he talking about? He was already hurting me!

'P-please!' I begged, grasping at his hands with my own, trying to pry them off.

Oh God. Was he going to kill me?

Then his hands loosened and I shot out of the small space he had cornered me in. I made for the stairs, looking back to see him just stood there, grinning at me maliciously.

'Now there's a good kid, just go to your room and stay out of my sight.' he told me. 'Oh, and Aled?'

I forced myself to look into his face again.

'If I catch you with Julie again...I'll make sure that it' sthe last time.'

I nodded stiffly and stumbled up the stairs, locking my bedroom door behind me. I fell on my bed, shaking. Jared was an even bigger psycho then I thought...I just had to make sure that I stayed out of his way.

Somehow.