The Wright Brothers

Chapter One: What would you prefer to be called, your highness?

Chapter One: What would you prefer to be called, your highness?

I was drowning in a sea full of sharks. All blood hungry, all fighting for the same goal and all oblivious to my suffering.

I wasn't supposed to be here. It was the first day of senior year and the last place I wanted to be was in the midst of this crowd of rowdy teenagers jostling each other in order to see the fight that was happening in the middle of the mass of people. 

My hair was being pulled as well as my body in all directions. The straps of my bag were falling from my shoulders as people grabbed onto anything they could in order to help themselves see the action taking place.

The cheers and screams were deafening, but not as much as the silence that finally came as I stumbled forward. Body's parted unexpectedly and there was nobody and nothing to catch me as I fell onto the concrete.

My palms and knees scrapped off the concrete and I stopped myself from face planting in the front of the majority of the school.

"Fuck," I muttered, bending my knees as I tried to stand up. The sharp pain in my knees and in the pain of my hand distracted me from the deafening silence that surrounded me.

I willed myself to stand and look at the reason for all the chaos. Only then did I finally realise why the crowd at formed.

Two boys.

I recognised the boy that was laid out on his back on the concrete, bloodied and bruised. He was undoubtedly a nice guy, if not the nicest guy in our year.

Harvey Carter, the guy on the football team that always brought fruit for the team, the guy that gave me his seat in AP French because he was sitting beside my best friend.

The other standing over him, a hoodie over his head as he stared down at the guy beneath him. I couldn't see his face very well, but I did notice the mop of brown curls falling over his eyes and the unlit cigarette between his lips.

There was a harsh tug on my school bag making me lose my footing again only to crash into a hard surface. I looked behind me to see my letterman wearing best friend.

"Casey," I breathed out, finally able to breath now that I was out of the chaotic crowd. "Casey, that's–"

"I can't believe he's back," I heard Casey mutter, his eyes not even leaving the scene before him. His teammate was on the ground bleeding and he made no move to help him.

Nobody moved to help him not even when the hoodie wearing guy leaned over Harvey as if he was going to punch him again.

He didn't punch him. He didn't give him any mercy either. I watched in shock and awe as the boy picked up the bulky football player by the collar of his letterman jacket.

I watched as his lips moved. I didn't hear a single syllable that fell from his full lips. I didn't know what he was saying to Harvey, but I knew by the tension in his body and the sneer on his face that it wasn't anything in Harvey's favour.

I shook my head, slipping my arms out of my school bag and walking towards the blood bath before I had a chance to think about the consequences of my actions.

"Hey! Leave him alone, asshole!"

His head snapped towards me and I felt myself almost falling to the ground again at the hard look in his eye. Shit, no wonder people weren't helping Henry, this guy was scary.

There was no backing out now, I reminded myself. His harsh gaze was locked on me and it didn't soften like I thought it would.

His hand left the collar of Harvey letterman jacket as he stood up straight. He towered over me, making me feel smaller than I ever had.