Hurt

January 21st

Fey pulled up her tights, buttoned her shirt after straightening her camisole, tightened the white-striped, red tie, brushed out her light-gray skirt and then threw on the lavender-gray sweater. After picking up her shoulder bag and lacing up her Keds, she was ready to go.
Coming out of her room, she went to the dark kitchen. There was a half-filled mug of coffee on the table next to a note. The coffee was still warm.
Fey picked up the note, letting out a breath. She flicked her dark hair out of her face and read her father's scribbling.

My Dearest Fey,

I'm so sorry I can't stay longer, but I was called away again.
I know you're working hard at school and I hope I can join
you sometime soon to hear all about your adventures.
I'll call you in a few days.

Love,
Dad

"Another business trip, huh?" she said quietly to the empty house.
It was the same routine: She woke up and she was alone. She went to school and came back here, alone. Every day she was alone, but she supposed she couldn't complain. She had her books and the days went by peacefully. Nothing was better than that. Besides, she had long ago given up on believing in fairy tales. She didn't believe that some mystical prince was going to sweep in and save her from her loneliness. Reading those kinds of stories didn't mean anything at all. Nothing. She definitely wasn't holding out any hope.
Going back to her room, Fey opened the drawer to her bedside table and pulled out a push-pin. She moved to her thirty-by-thirty bulletin board and stuck the note next to the others. She was going to have to get another board soon. There were only a few spots left and most of the notes were overlapping already, but each were the same.
"Next time". . . It was always "next time".
An alarm beeped and she glanced at the watch on her wrist. She was going to be late being early to school if she didn't leave now.
She closed the door to the two-story house and locked it behind her, turning and pulling out her bike before walking out her front gate. She locked that, too, and then took off.
Luckily, she made it with fifteen minutes to spare before the first bell rang. She could go to the library in East Hall before the school started teaming with people. As she locked up her bike and made her way through the grounds, Fey wondered how they would bully her today. Though she was the Student Body President, she wasn't exactly well-liked. It was interesting to see what everyone came up with on a daily basis, so she didn't mind it anymore, even if it had been shocking at first. It was hard for them to find the time to even try anything, too, so she had taken up hiding in the library in the mornings and lunch to give them a break. It wasn't so bad, either. The library was the biggest room on campus apart from the cafeteria. With wall to wall books on shelves from floor to ceiling and two stories worth of. . well, stories, she was well entertained and happy. Not many people loitered around, either, so that was an added bonus. Fey was happy to be left alone to study or escape into a book's world for a short while.
She was just reaching up to try and get Sleeping Beauty after she had returned all of the books she'd already "borrowed", when the bell rang. She sighed, looking at the book longingly. Sleeping Beauty would have to wait for another time.
Empty handed apart from her bag and a book on Grecian Mythology, Fey made her way to class. The school was teaming with people now, but everyone moved out of the way as she walked down the halls. It was normal routine: She walked and they gave her a wide birth. Why, she couldn't figure out. It wasn't like she was a bad person and she hadn't done anything particularly outstanding or harsh, but no one approached her. Instead, they stared and whispered from the sidelines and made up weird and unfounded rumors behind her back. She supposed it was just their way to pass the time, but she hated liars. As far as she could tell, there wasn't an honest one among them.
When she opened the door to the classroom, the chatter stopped for a moment before continuing at a lower decibel. A few of the girls who were the main cause of her teasing watched as she went to her desk at the back of the room. There, on the surface and glinting in the sunlight from the windows, was a vase of black roses. Considering this was Rose High, it was just standard to know the meaning behind each rose and its color. Black was a bad omen. It meant "hate" or the very disturbing wish of the receiver to die.
Fey was a little disappointed. This particular incident had happened a lot over the first half of the year. It was already January. She would have figured that they would come up with something more imaginative. Maybe she had given them too much credit?
Unfazed, she bent and breathed in the sweet aroma of the roses, relaxing instantly before picking up the vase and moving it to the empty seat next to her. She hung her bag on the hook attached the desk and pulled out her notebook and pen. All that was left was to wait for the teacher. Until then, she could let her mind wander.
And that's exactly what she did.
For the next half an hour, she got lost in the flower petals, day-dreaming. It wasn't as if she really needed to pay attention anyway. Even without taking notes, she had the highest grades in school. It was just too easy. There was nothing challenging about this place, which was why it was so easy to imagine that she was some fairy smaller than her pinky dancing among the petals and leaves and soaking up the sunlight with her wings. It would be just another day, but it would be different than this one, and that was all she wanted.
"Ms. Crane?" the teacher said, a little annoyed. He was always annoyed, it seemed to Fey. For some reason, the old, bearded man just did not like her. "The Principal wishes to see you."
Fey tucked her hair behind her ear and rose. She wasn't happy that her daydream had been interrupted, but it was a rare occasion that she was summoned to the office. It was a nice change of pace, she supposed, even if it was just some odd task the teachers didn't want to do themselves.
A few minutes later, she walked into the office. She glanced around the big room and noticed that the Principal--a balding, short man with a nice face who had to be in his seventies--was looking out his window as if he were watching something interesting.
"Sir?" she asked to get his attention.
He turned and smiled, coming over to take her hand in both of his. "Fey. So nice to see you again. Are you doing well?"
"Fine," she told him easily, her expression never changing. "You called me?"
He dropped her hand, folding his own behind his back and going back to the window. "Yes. We have a new transfer student. He has a certain. . reputation that precedes him."
Fey raised her brows. Reputation? "Was he expelled?"
The Principal smiled at her fondly. "As perceptive as always." He turned back to the window. What was he looking at? The only view was that of the courtyard before the library. It was a very boring view. "Yes, he's been expelled a few times, though that's not the only reason. and he's already twenty, so this is his last option, it seems. He's a little. . . difficult to deal with, but I'm sure you'll be able to handle him."
Expelled a few times? It must have been more than a few, if Rose High was his last option and he was twenty years old. What in the world had he done to get expelled? "How difficult, sir?" she asked.
"Enough so that I want you to help him in any way you can. The other students may not be so welcoming."
She nodded. "I see." Oh, yeah, she understood that well. "All right. Where is this 'new student'?"
He turned away from the window and sat in the chair behind his desk. "Not here, obviously. It seems he doesn't like formal introductions and skipped out to look around the school. Considering he doesn't have to report to class officially until tomorrow, that's fine. However, I would like you to find him and show him around. You're excused from classes for today and are free to help him however you can. He'll have the same schedule as you and you'll have free reign for the most part to do whatever you deem fit to get him on the right track. You have leeway already as Student Body President, but this will give you a little more room to wriggle." He leaned back, tapping his fingers on his desk. "I would like to see him succeed. I'm sure that you're the only one that can help with that."
Fey's curiosity was peaked. The Principal thought she was the only one that could help? How strange. What could she do that someone else couldn't?
Despite the questions piling up, Fey gave a slight bow in agreement and said, "I'll do what I can."
The Principal smiled happily. "I knew you would help. I think you can find our little delinquent wandering around the courtyard by the East Hall." He turned his chair towards the window, the back facing her, an obvious sign of dismissal.
Fey turned and left, making her way back towards the East Hall's courtyard. She was more curious than afraid, if she was to be honest, but the thought of an expel-lee being under her care was daunting. What would he look like? What kind of personality would he have? Was he mean? Scary? He was probably tall and hulking, like a frightening gangster with anger issues. He was probably lazy, too, and if he was unwilling to learn, this was going to be a challenge.
A smile tweaked her lips. Finally, a challenge.
It took her a few minutes of near-jogging to get to the East Hall. The school really was too big when you needed to get somewhere fast. Each building was at one corner of the three-mile campus, with an abandoned greenhouse at the back between the West and South Halls behind the office-slash-main building-slash-cafeteria. Courtyards were strategically placed between the office and each hall with stone benches and trees scattered here and there. Stone walkways connected all of the buildings except the library, greenhouse and West and South Halls. The library itself was in the courtyard of the East Hall and forest bordering the West, South and East Halls. It was an extensive school and definitely not easily crossed, but the mild climate kept everything green here and worth the trip.
When Fey finally got to the courtyard, she looked around, slightly out of breath. When she finally regulated her breathing, she still didn't see any sign of the new student. On the off-chance that a tree was blocking her view, Fey walked around and inside the courtyard. However, it wasn't around a tree that she found him, it was in. There, perched on a high branch among the leaves, was the newest addition to Rose High.
"The trees are not for climbing," Fey said calmly.
The boy jerked straight, losing his grip on the tree and tumbling down in a swirl of leaves. Fey expected him to land with a thud on the ground, but, instead, he flipped midair and landed in a squat position easily on the grass in front of her. Slowly, he stood, turning to face her.
Fey was taken aback. Not because he fit the picture she had in her head, but because he was the exact opposite. He was dressed in black, baggy pants riddled with pockets and chains and a black t-shirt with some strange logo on it under a grey, hooded sweatshirt. His hair was down to his waste and a beautiful, fiery red, pulled back with a blue band. At his neck, shorter layers curled up and around his head in spiky strands, leaving his face open and revealed. His features weren't frightening at all. In fact, he was rather gorgeous, even if he was a bit perturbed. His skin was pale, his eyes an entrancing green under severely arching, short brows. His lips were soft and shiny, sitting under a straight, small nose. His ears were both pierced three times, un-matching earrings decorating them, and a bar code was tattooed into the left side of his neck. He was imposing, too, and had obvious muscle in both his arms and legs, but he was short. Like, really short. Even for a guy. But, then, she was rather tall for a girl, so she shouldn't judge.
And this was someone who had been expelled from three different schools? Of course, the way he'd flipped out of that tree and landed harmlessly on the ground was something to worry about, certainly. Oh, yes. This was definitely going to be a challenge.



The person who had scared him out of the tree he'd climbed to get a better look around was a girl. And not just any girl. This was an angel. A very pretty angel.
In the sunlight dappling through the trees, Sane was hard-pressed not to run back home and put on a better pair of pants. He'd probably gotten mega brownie points for that landing, though, but that had just been reflex. Nothing special, really. But this girl, she was something else. Not the prettiest girl he'd seen by far, but the air about her shimmered with something he couldn't name. She was his height, but stood proudly, her shoulder-length black hair shifting in the breeze in soft waves. She had an expressionless face of porcelain skin and her features were that of a doll: her eyes were big and glossy gray, her mouth small, puckering and rosy, her nose pointed and sharp, and her brows rising in soft arches. She looked capable and unapproachable.
"Sorry," he said gruffly, wiping his hands in his pants before shoving them into his pockets. What was he supposed to say? He wasn't good with girls.
"You must be the new student," the angel said. Her voice was clear and medium-toned and polite. "I'm the Student Body President and your escort." She held out a small hand. "My name is Fey Crane."
A little apprehensive because his control on his strength is less than great, he reached out and shook her hand quickly before shoving it back into his pocket. His face flamed. "I'm Sane Weppon."
Fey nodded. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you around."
For the rest of the day, Sane followed the girl around. She was unaffected by his presence, it seemed, and that was a first. Most people ran scared at just the sight of him, so why was she so different? Not that he minded in the least. It was nice not to be avoided or fought with. As she led him around, she explained that the South building was for the sciences, the West was for phys ed and had a pool, the North building was the math section, the East was English and other languages, and the main building was for economics, history and had the cafeteria. It was all common sense, but he wasn't going to be able to remember. Not at all. He was too busy trying to ignore the way others stared at him and the way they all parted like the Red Sea when they walked down the halls between classes. It looked like this school was going to be the same as every other school. He could never catch a break and he was tired of making his family uproot and move.
When the bell rang at the end of the day, Sane walked back to the classroom where Fey had said they would have first period.
"Fey?" he asked at her slight frown. It had been hard at first to talk to her because her expression never seemed to change, but after spending most of the day with her, he learned that she did show some emotions, small though they were. He just had to catch them. "What's wrong?"
She glided through the empty classroom, going to the back row and picking up a dripping bag from the desk next to a window seat that had a vase of black roses on them. "Well," she said as she tipped her bag and let a ton of water drain out. "At least they're becoming more imaginative."
He came up behind her and glanced at the notebook she snapped closed. There were vulgar names and scribbled drawings written all over the pages inside. Unfazed, she dumped out her bag's contents in the trash and added the notebook to it, coming back to pick up the vase.
"Are you being bullied?" he asked quietly, slightly angry. He didn't like bullies.
Fey headed for the door. "Nothing out of the normal routine. Come on. It's time to leave. Tomorrow you have class. I'll help you study if you need it to catch up, but I'm sure you don't want to hang around me for obvious reasons."
He caught her wrist as she made it out the door.
"That hurts," she said, wincing.
Immediately, he let go of her hand, backing away. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to--"
"It's okay," she said, her expression slightly surprised.
Sane held up his hands. He wanted to see if she was okay, but he was afraid to touch her again. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry."
Suddenly, she smiled and his whole world stopped for a minute. The blood rushed to his head and the air around Fey seemed to sparkle. Momentarily, he thought his heart had hit the floor and bounced off the shiny white tile. Who on earth was she?
"Breathe," Fey told him. "There's no harm done. You scared me and I'm not used to people touching me." Her smile faded and her face went back to its natural stoic expression. "What is it that you wanted?"
"I-- I forgot," he said lamely, feeling like an idiot. His face colored in embarrassment.
"Come on," she ordered, turning again. "Let's go."
Sane scrambled to catch up to her, walking down the halls to keep up with her. The school still had people loitering about here and there, but for the most part it was empty. The students really wanted to get out, it seemed. But, for the first time in a long time, Sane wanted the day to last longer. He wanted to talk to Fey more--this time about something other than the school. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so curious about someone. Normally, he left others out of his life, worried about what might happen should anyone find out about them. He could start over here, right? He could have a friend, couldn't he? He wanted someone.
But as he watched Fey walk with quick, sure strides off the campus, he was unsure yet again about whether he should take the chance. She might not even want to be bothered by him. And, for all he knew, his past was still following him. If that were true, then his present was always in trouble. That meant that he couldn't risk anyone getting involved. No matter how much he wanted to pull them into his world.