Once Upon A Lie

Seventeen:

Seventeen:

If Mal were being completely honest, he hadn't felt like himself much since he'd come to Ravka Academy. He should have felt happy he'd gotten a second chance. He'd gotten into far too much trouble in Ketterdam. The only person he really felt himself around was Genya's new friend, Alina Starkov.

She was a small, slip of a girl with jet black hair and brown eyes that almost seemed to shine. In fact, at that moment, she was the only reason why he even bothered to show up at school most days.

"What's got you smiling, Malyen?" Genya asked.

The two of them were sitting underneath the bleachers Friday afternoon. Both of them should have been in class. But Genya had been on her period and woken up in a foul mood not wanting to talk to anyone. And Mal had snuck off campus to get her junk food, and cigarettes, and the two of them were sitting in the grass munching on Sour Punch Kids while drinking cokes in between smoking.

"Thinking about Saturday," Mal said.

Genya grinned at him. "Your date with Alina?"

Mal nodded. "She's almost too sweet. I'm kind of worried I might scare her off if she finds out the truth about me."

She reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Mal, you didn't do anything wrong. The only thing you did was help protect me. That's it. Even the police agreed on that front."

"Yeah, I know," he said, "but uh...I found a spot I think will work for a ring to start fighting again."

Genya raised an eyebrow. "Really? Where?"

"There's this guy in my P.E. Class. Kaz Brekker. He owns a dance club in town. The Crow Club. He thinks a fight night might be a good way to bring in some customers. Said if I could get the fighters, he could provide the ring."

Genya raised an eyebrow. "Does he want a cut?"

Mal nodded. "Fifty-fifty."

"Do you think that you can trust him?"

He shrugged. "I asked around. Everyone says that he's good at deals. Keeps his word. Although if you get on his bad side, that's a different story."

Genya nudged him. "Then don't get on his bad side. You're smart. You can manage that. Think you can get The Blade back in the game after not having done it for a few months?"

He took a long drag of his cigarette. "It's been a few months. But I kept up with the training."

His sister raised an eyebrow. "Really? How'd you manage that without Mom finding out?"

"I did it early in the morning. I used the gym here at school. Nobody asked questions. I lied and told them I was working out so I could do wrestling tryouts last year. And slipped the janitor a fifty."

Genya chuckled. "That's my brother."

"Of course."

There was movement overhead on the bleachers. "Alina, stop please!" Mal looked up at the mention of Alina's name. From where they were watching, he saw Alina, and then that guy that seemed to be obsessed with her. Aleksander, he thought his name was.

"No!" Alina said. "No. I can't believe you did this to me."

"Oh, come on!" Aleksander exclaimed. "It would have happened eventually. We grew up together, Lina. All I did was make the sensible choice for us."

"No, all you did was take away my choices. You know Zoya is going to run her family's company. She gets to do something. You have put me in a box, Aleksander. You might as well have nailed my coffin shut!"

"Don't talk like that!" Aleksander exclaimed.

Mal watched as he grabbed her wrist, and Alina pulled away from him.

"You don't get to touch me!" Alina shouted. "I can't even---you know, you could have done this the right way. You could have asked me out like a normal person. We could have dated and fallen in love but you decided instead to be a caveman about the whole thing!"

"Really?" Aleksander said. "You would have chosen me if you had the choice?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You think I forgot you and Nikolai and that almost kiss you had?"

Alina huffed. "For Saints Sake, I was thirteen! And you know what, Nikolai's one of my friends too. I had the right to kiss who I wanted to kiss!"

"Alina, you're being ridiculous-----"

"You don't get to do that. You don't get to say that I'm being ridiculous when you're the one that put us in this impossible situation. I hate you!"

"Lina, please don't say that!" he grabbed her again, and Alina pulled away.

There was a clattering sound, along with a shriek. Mal jumped up instantly. He jogged up the bleachers only to see that Alina had fallen, hard, and hit her head. Aleksander was trying to help her up.

"Lina, I'm sorry, I'm sorry----"

"Get away from me!" Alina called. She was holding onto her ankle which seemed to be broken. "It hurts. It hurts. Oh it hurts----"

"Lina, let me pick you up and take you to the hospital," Aleksander said.

"Don't touch me!" she hissed. 

"Hey!" Mal called. "Hey, Alina, everything okay?"

"Mal!" Alina looked up at him. There were tears streaming down her face as she clutched at her left leg that seemed to be the one that had been hurt. "Mal can you help me?"

Aleksander glared at him. "Don't you dare touch her!"

Mal crossed his arms over his chest. "Did you really just say that? Because it seems to me like you're the one she doesn't want to be around."

"Alina!" Mal glanced over to see Genya coming up the bleachers. "Is everything okay?"

"I fell," she explained, "Can you help me up?"

"Sure, sure," said Genya, "Mal, you take one side, and I'll take another."

Mal shook his head. "Nah, I've got a better idea." He bent down and picked Alina up, carrying her bridal style in his arms. He could feel Aleksander's withering glare as Alina wrapped his arms around his neck to keep herself steady. "Okay, Linnie?"

"It hurts," she hissed.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. We'll take you to the hospital. Hold on. I've got you."

Aleksander stepped forward. "Oretsev, don't you dare. You've got not no idea what you've just done."

Mal glared at him. "Looks to me like I'm helping a girl. Which is a lot more than you've done. Now, get away from me before I knock you on your ass the way you did her."

The rich boy clenched his fists. Mal thought for a second he was going to get punched. But he watched the boy's face fall, and then he gestured at them to leave. Mal carried Alina down the bleachers in his arms.

"It'll be okay, Alina," he said.

He glanced down, and Alina had passed out in his arms. As he made his way down the bleachers with Genya following them, he could feel the heat of Aleksander's gaze on the back of his neck the whole way.