His Scars

1. Frankenstein's Monster

Hey Kids! 

So, I'm excited for this one. Nervous. But excited. Please do give it a read and let me know your thoughts <3

Sage

It would be just another rainy day it seemed. I watched two raindrops race each other down the windowpane as I tapped my pen against my book. Mr. Christian Alphonsa was never late to class. Not that I was complaining or anything. While Psychology was by far my favourite subject, I just wasn't in the mood today. I'd stayed up reading the previous night and was definitely paying the price for it now.

I heard a thump near me and the scrape of a chair.

"Hey, babe." A deep voice said in my ear.

The raindrop I was rooting for was losing miserably.

"Are you seriously ignoring me?" The voice sounded more amused now.

The opponent had crossed the finish line and my poor raindrop still labored tirelessly. It was all over.

I sighed and turned in my seat to face Eric Butler, the 'Golden Boy.' He was loved by all. He excelled in both academics and sports and was doted on by all the teachers. The girls loved him and the boys worshipped him. With chiseled features and a soft crop of hair that looked like it had been spun from gold, he even looked like an angel.

What most of the population chose to turn a blind eye to was the fact that not only could Eric be a bully and a colossal jerk, he also guarded his possessions jealously.

"Good morning Eric," I said, not bothering with a smile. Usually, I might have been able to force one, but in my zombie state, I really could not summon the energy or the will to even try.

Fortunately for me, Mr. Christian walked into class and saved me from having to indulge Eric in a dull conversation that would only be about him.

I was currently his prey. I was the one he guarded jealously. I was the one he was trying to get into bed. I might have allowed myself to get caught too if it wasn't for Miranda.

When Eric first began to flirt with me, I was flattered. Here was this beautiful specimen, and he was interested in me. I might've flirted back a little bit too; a shy smile here, a flutter of the eyelashes there. That was until I was cornered in the girls' bathroom by Miranda, a girl with flaming red hair and bright blue eyes. She had a splash of freckles that kind of reminded me of fairy dust, across her small, slightly upturned nose. She warned me about Eric. Just speaking about him caused her eyes to fill up. The only thing I could do was offer her a tissue and tell her she was better off without him.

"I know." She said, "and so are you." With that, she turned around and walked out.

Now here's the thing about me. I will take another's warning and advice into consideration, but as far as judgments go, I will make my own. That's exactly what I did and as it turned out, Miranda was right.

Eric couldn't figure out why my shoulder had suddenly turned cold. But I made it clear that neither of us would be making our way into the other's bed because I was not interested in being one more notch on his bedpost or just another name on his list. That wasn't to say that I was interested in changing him either. I had neither the interest nor the inclination to turn him into a one-woman- man or make him fall in love with me. I would have preferred that he left me alone.

What I was not prepared for, however, was how strong his resolve was. The more I resisted him, the more he wanted me. The only way to get him off my back was to either sleep with him, or find myself a boyfriend. The former was not going to happen because that would just defeat the purpose and the second wouldn't happen because not only was it a stupid option, the other boys were too afraid of incurring Eric's wrath.

In the beginning, I had hoped he would set his sights on some other poor victim and leave me alone. Of course, he wasn't exactly celibate while he waited for me to give in.

Neither of us was going to stand down, we were both waiting for the other to blink. Hence, we fell into an unlikely and inconvenient--for me-- acquaintanceship.

I was doodling in my notebook. Sometimes Eric would look over to see what I was doing, but for the most part, his attention was trained on the teacher.

There was a knock on the door, followed by excited whispers.

"Go ahead, Mr. Adams, introduce yourself."

It was only when a hush fell over the class that I looked up.

"Damn," Eric said, just loud enough for me to hear.

He was wearing a dark blue hoodie under a leather jacket and had paired it with a pair of black jeans. He had broad shoulders and long legs. But it wasn't his sense of fashion or impressive build that had the whole class stunned into silence.

The right side of his face was marred with scars; one that started above his eyebrow and curled around his eye till it met his cheekbone, and the other ran from his sideburn and dipped into the corner of his mouth, pulling his lips down just a little bit to make it look like he was scowling.

"My name is Kane Adams." His voice was deep and gravelly. His eyes ran over the class. They even touched on me briefly before falling away. I kept my expression as neutral as possible. I watched his gaze harden as he took in the judgment.

When it was clear that he wasn't about to say anything else, Mr. Christian asked him to take the seat behind Eric.

As soon as he reached us, Eric stuck his leg out. Kane tripped but caught himself on the desk behind Eric. I didn't say anything as some students tittered and others laughed nervously.

"So sorry," Eric said, sniggering. "I didn't see you there."

Kane looked down at him, his face was devoid of expression. "Don't worry about it." His eyes moved to me and I froze. I could almost feel the chill of his gaze. He sat down in his seat and Eric laughed again.

"That was really mature." I snapped as quietly as I could but a few of our classmates turned to look at us.

"Oh, come on babe, it was just a joke. Frankenstein's monster knows that." He argued and I stilled. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kane stiffen.

"You're not funny."

"You just don't have a sense of humour. Everyone else was laughing."

Knowing that I would get nowhere arguing with him, I turned away and stared outside the window for the rest of the class. My stomach felt sick.

-----

KANE

I don't know why I did it. It would have been easier to just stare at the wall at the back of the class and not see the judgment. I suppose I had learned early in life that there was only so far you could run before you ran out of road.

Besides, even if I didn't make eye contact now, at some point someone would have to talk to me about something and I would see the horror and the shock and the gaping mouth anyway. Also, there was the comforting fact that I wasn't the one who had to deal with the uneasiness of having to look at my own grotesque face in the morning.

So, although sometimes it got difficult, I did make eye contact when I was speaking to someone. Once you toughen your shell, it's not that bad.

I tripped over a leg on my way over to my seat and caught myself before I landed on my face. Like I needed any more damage in that area. I closed my eyes for a second and took a breath before straightening up.

"So sorry." A guy with blonde hair said, sniggering. "I didn't see you there."

I should have seen that coming. It wasn't the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Just pretend the apology is sincere and let it go.

"Don't worry about it." The laughter resounded in my ears. My eyes moved to the person sitting next to him. She had long black hair and startling green eyes. They were wide with shock but when she saw me looking at her, her face became blank.

I took my seat and I heard her tell him off. I rolled my eyes. I didn't need Miss. Goody Two-shoes over there sticking up for me.

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