Jenna didn't know what to say.
Everyone was staring at her in horror, including Jacob.
Mr Burton tutted loudly. "My next class is waiting to come in. Let's move it on out of here."
He raised an eyebrow at Jenna as she passed but said nothing about her violent outburst. The look seemed to say, 'You know you just fucked up, right? But I'm not gonna save you.'
Nothing was going to save her now.
'Maybe I could just run home and hide under my bed,' she thought. But without Kai to show her the way, she'd probably just get lost and murdered.
A stampede of students trapped her against the wall. After they passed, Jenna went to move but got instantly pushed back. Kai knocked the air from her lungs as he slammed her into the concrete wall.
"What. The. FUCK?"
Jenna, too winded to talk, just stared helplessly.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" he asked.
"I... I just... I'm sorry... I didn't--" Jenna stammered, knowing there was nothing she could say to placate him.
A hand appeared on Kai's shoulder.
"Come on," Kenny said. "What are you gonna do? Beat up a girl in the hallway..."
Kenny let out a huge sigh.
"...Again."
Jenna saw the tension fall out of his body as his shoulders dropped. He took a step back, but before unpinning her from the wall, he leaned in and whispered.
"You're dead later."
He shoved past her, almost knocking her off her feet, before leaving her in the corridor to find her own way to the next class.
"That... was... awesome," an excited voice whispered.
Jenna turned to see a girl with messy purple hair staring at her as if she'd just fallen from the heavens.
"I can't believe someone finally stood up to him," she said. "I mean... you're totally dead, but still... it was awesome."
"Thanks," Jenna muttered, frowning at the girl who was yet to introduce herself.
"Come on." Purple-hair took her by the arm. "I'll show you the way to the Art block."
Jenna was grateful for both the directions and the social interaction. This girl was the only one who had spoken to her outside of Kai's little group.
"What is wrong with this place?" she asked, more to herself than to her new friend.
"You went to a posh school before this, right?" the girl asked.
Jenna frowned. Had Kai told everyone she was a posh school kid? Was that why they all looked at her funny?
"Not posh. Just... not..." She struggled to find the words to explain it.
"Not as crappy as this place," the girl finished and laughed. "I'm Jade."
"Jenna," she replied with a grateful smile. "What has Kai been saying about me?"
"Oh not much. Just that you're some posh-school brat bitch who moved into his house," Jade said. She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Nobody was honestly expecting him to react to getting a stepsister any differently, to be fair."
"Why is he like this?" Jenna pondered.
"The boy's a psychopath," Jade said, without missing a beat. She pursed her lips and cocked her head. "At least, according to my friend, Damien."
"He a trained psychiatrist, or...?" Jenna asked with a sarcastic smile.
"He's a psychopath too," Jade said. "Like recognises like. Those two don't mess with each other."
"Psychopathy can't be diagnosed until you are twenty-five," Jenna told her. She'd read about the subject after watching a run of serial killer documentaries on Netflicks. "You wanna know why?"
"Sure," Jade said.
"Because it's normal teenage behaviour to act like a psychopath," Jenna told her. She flashed her a wide and friendly grin so she didn’t come off looking like an unfriendly know it all.
Jade chuckled wryly at this. "Okay. Sounds legit but don't tell Damien. He'll bore you to death with an argument."
Jenna laughed and agreed. She was excited to meet this Damien if only because he was someone Kai didn't mess with.
'Maybe he's cute,' she thought. 'Maybe he can protect me.'
This fleeting fantasy vanished the second they arrived at the art class and Jade introduced her to her mates. None of them was good-looking. Three guys and another girl sat together, all wearing black
Damien was one of your stereotypical goth kids, wearing black clothes, eyeliner and silver jewellery. She imagined he was the mopey, self-obsessed and somewhat deluded type of goth guy.
Then he spoke up and proved her wrong.
"Is it safe to be hanging out with Valentino Shevchenko?" he asked with a sly grin.
"I wish I knew some MMA," Jenna scoffed.
"You do!" Damien cried as he got up and jumped into a dramatic re-enactment of her kick. The group of alternative kids chuckled, as did Jenna.
Luckily, Kai wasn't there to see. She wasn't sure this lot would be so brave if he were watching.
"He never comes to art," said one of the guys, as if reading her mind. "Says it's for sissies."
They pretended to be upset and laughed.
"Stay with us for the rest of the day," Jade invited. "He probably won't do anything to you while you're with us. Probably."
She didn't sound too confident.
"What about when I go home?" she asked.
"Can't help you there, I'm afraid." Damien shrugged.
"Maybe you can apologise," Jade suggested.
"I will," Jenna said. "Even though everyone knows he deserved it. Why was he picking on that Jacob guy, anyways?"
There must have been something in the way she phrased the question or the look in her eyes. All of them looked at her with the same knowing grin.
"Don't even go there," Jade warned. "Every girl falls head over heels for Jacob. We've all been there. But alas, it never ends well."
The other girl in the group nodded sadly.
"I don't see what the big deal is." Damien shrugged, feigning jealousy. "I mean if you want skinny, gloomy guys wearing black..."
He gestured towards his friends who nodded sarcastically with exaggerated eye rolls thrown in for good measure.
Jenna wanted to probe about Jacob further but figured it wasn't the time. There was clearly some animosity there... as well as a generous helping of envy.
After school, Jade was kind enough to walk her home. She invited her new friend in, but the girl shook her head as if she'd been asked into the Dahmer household to watch movies.
Once inside, Jenna ran straight up to her bedroom. She slammed the door shut behind her as if the Devil himself were chasing her.
He wasn't. Not the Devil or Kai.
As her breathing slowed, she could hear the house was empty.
'So... where is he?'
Kai was already pissed off when he walked into his English class. That little bitch.He saw her cowering in the corner, flashing him fearful glances. The terror in her eyes pleased him. She should be scared. He was going to make her sorely regret her actions.But not now.She'd managed to find the only person in this school who he wasn't prepared to mess with. Not after last time.Kai wasn't prepared to go into a fight he might not win. It was a waste of energy.He swanned in past the teacher and as usual, failed to hand in any homework."Homework, Kai?" she asked.Kai stopped and pursed his lips. He turned slowly. "You said I could have a break from homework on account of my nan dying, remember?"Mrs Connell sighed heavily and gave him a look that wasn't unfriendly, just... annoying.She was the only teacher he got on with, mainly because she was desperate to be mates with the students--even the bad ones. He figured she had been a friendless nerd in school and wanted to validate
Jenna didn't dare listen to music, turn on the tv or even look at her phone. She was worried any noise might mask the sound of his return, and she wanted to be ready to hide. Not that there were many places to hide in her room. After shutting the door behind her she had noticed there wasn't a lock. Propping a chair against the door would work... but she had no chair in the room. This room had been the home gym until being converted. It wasn't big enough to fit much more than a bed and a wardrobe, but Harry had made an effort to decorate it beautifully, with posh lighting and a few paintings that looked expensive.He told her she could change it any way she liked, making it reflect her personal style, but she was happy to keep it as it was--stylish and smart. That wasn't so bad, right?When the lock on the front door finally clicked Jenna almost had a heart attack. She sat back on her bed, hugging one of the large fluffy pillows and holding her breath. He stomped about the kitchen f
Kai felt a surge of adrenaline as he made a B-line for his target. Poor Jacob. He was going to destroy that pretty-boy face of his.He was almost there, almost had his throat around that poor bastards neck, when he noticed Mr Burton was the teacher on duty today. There was always one teacher guarding the gates, and it was usually doddery old Miss Fisher on a Friday. It was just Kai's luck that the old coot was sick today.Mr Burton gave Kai one of his famous looks."Not today, Kiddo," he warned, cocking his head slightly to one side. No one else would dare refer to Kai as Kiddo. But Mr Burton wasn’t normal. Kai wouldn't mess with Burton any more than he would mess with Damien. Something about the look in that man's eyes just sent off alarm bells in his brain. Kai was willing to bet he'd killed before, either in the army or elsewhere.It could wait. He had all day. And if anything, dragging it out would only make it worse for Jenna. He'd have to listen to her annoying pleas, sure, but
Jenna wasn't sure how to tell Jade and the others.In art class, they surrounded her, faces smiling and friendly, and her heart sank in her chest. She wanted to cry."What's wrong?" Jade asked.When Jenna said nothing, letting her sad face do the talking, Jade nodded sadly and looked away. "Yeah, I thought this would happen," she said. "You know... you don't have to listen to Kai," Damien said."If I don't, he's going to take it out on Jacob," Jenna revealed. She was surprised when Damien shrugged."So let him," he said."I can't let a guy get beaten up because of me," she said. That was the truth. It wasn't because she couldn't get his face out of her mind or even because she was constantly having fantasies about being his girlfriend.'Nothing like that at all,' she lied to herself."You might regret that when you get to know what he's like," Damien warned. "But it's your life, Jenna."With that, they left her alone. Sighing heavily, Jenna looked around the room. Charlene was ther
Jenna wasn't sure how to tell Jade and the others.In art class, they surrounded her, faces smiling and friendly, and her heart sank in her chest. She wanted to cry."What's wrong?" Jade asked.When Jenna said nothing, letting her sad face do the talking, Jade nodded sadly and looked away. "Yeah, I thought this would happen," she said. "You know... you don't have to listen to Kai," Damien said."If I don't, he's going to take it out on Jacob," Jenna revealed. She was surprised when Damien shrugged."So let him," he said."I can't let a guy get beaten up because of me," she said. That was the truth. It wasn't because she couldn't get his face out of her mind or even because she was constantly having fantasies about being his girlfriend.'Nothing like that at all,' she lied to herself."You might regret that when you get to know what he's like," Damien warned. "But it's your life, Jenna."With that, they left her alone. Sighing heavily, Jenna looked around the room. Charlene was ther
"So... how long have you and Julian been dating?" Jenna asked Charlene in a desperate attempt to fill the awkward silence. She found it so hard to talk to the only other girl in the friendship circle--if you could call it that. They were more like a pack of animals than a group of mates."A while... why?" she shot back, curling her full lips in disdain."You seem like a really cute couple," Jenna said, trying her best to be nice despite the other girl's cruel mannerisms. "Looks can be deceiving, right?" Charlene said, making a sour face. This time the mean face was aimed at Julian. "He's banging so many girls on the side I have to double up on the condoms to not get chlamydia."'What a lovely mental image,' Jenna thought, trying not to make a face of disgust. "Why do you stay with him then?" Jenna asked."Jeez, mind your own business much?" the girl scowled and rolled her eyes as if Jenna was the rude one. She tried not to sigh, but it wasn't easy to hold it in.Thankfully, Kai app
Rachel Connell had not relaxed for one moment since 'the incident'.She tried her hardest to mark the mock GCSE papers, but every few questions, her mind would begin to wonder. Kai was all she could think about these days. What if he ignored his dad and reported her to the board?Even with relaxing music playing and a glass of merlot by her side, she couldn't make herself calm down.She knew how lucky she was that the principal was on her side. He wasn't willing to lose a good teacher over a scum bag like Kai. But if it came to it, and they had to appeal to the board, she would need her son to give evidence. Rachel glanced up from her work, pen lid poised in her mouth and thinking as she stared at her son."You'd be protected," she said, pressuring him yet again. "I'd make sure Kai got suspended...""Like that would stop him." Tom tutted. "He's a psychopath, mum! What about that are you not getting?"Rachel rolled her eyes. "He's just an overprivileged white boy who isn't used to not
Jenna trailed behind Kai and his friends. She still did not see them as her own friends. Julian had barely said a word to her, and Ray never spoke unless spoken to.Only Kenny made an effort to talk to her, and he talked at a million words a minute.He filled her head with pointless gossip about people she didn't know from Adam—people she would probably never get to know.There were very few people that the gang deemed good enough to interact with. A couple of the guys on the rugby team, a few of the bitchier girls from the remedial class and a girl whose brother was apparently some kind of criminal—Sofia. Of all of them, Sofia was the only one Jenna felt herself gelling with. The girl was tough but kind and was the only person who ever stood up to Kai. He ignored her, mostly, but he did not seem to mind her.As the group headed to the benches, Jenna caught sight of Sofia and called her over. Sofia seemed to be a drifter, floating between different friend groups and ready to leave at