Deafening Silence

Chapter 1

Beck

If he cracked his knuckles one more time, I would get up and walk out of physics. It's not like I'm the perfect student or anything. I don't even like physics.

My eyes were focused on the guy in the desk in front of me-part of me praying he wouldn't make that horrible sound again, the other part hoping he would so I would have an excuse to get up and walk out. I watched as he brought his hands together, in slow motion as if he knew I was watching, popping his knuckles one at a time. Yeah, I've had enough. I pushed my chair back with a loud scrape on the tile floor. All heads but the teacher's-Mr. McNeal should've retired a long time ago, the guy was practically deaf-turned towards me. A girl I didn't know leaned over to whisper to her friend, keeping her eyes trained on me the entire time. Probably something crude about what-or who-I might be doing while I was gone. I rolled my eyes.

Backpack on one shoulder, I brushed past him on the way out, being sure to hit him "unintentionally" in the head with the corner of my bag. I let the door slam loudly behind me, catching a glimpse of McNeal jumping, pen flying out of his hand, and the knuckle cracker rubbing the back of his head. Taking long strides down the hall, I burst through the side doors of the school, practically running now towards the student parking lot. Mounting my motorcycle, I took my phone out of the side pocket on my backpack. Dialing quickly, I held the phone to my ear and looked up at the dark, threatening sky. I heard thunder rumble and a tremor of fear shook my body.

"Hey, Carson, it's me. I left. Come over," I said, hanging up on my best friend's voicemail when I finished the message. About to start the engine, I heard someone coming through-loudly-the same door I had just come out of. Glancing up while zipping up my leather jacket, I saw him coming towards me and sighed exasperatedly. The knuckle cracker had to be the one that followed me. I did not want his crap today.

I watched him intently as he made his way across the parking lot. Although this boy could annoy the crap out of me with just one movement, I couldn't say that he was unattractive. He was taller than me, and that's saying something since I was five foot seven. His hair was the color of coffee beans, his deep brown eyes fixated on me.

He approached me with that cockiness that all seventeen-year-old guys seemed to have. His stride was confident, and he fixed me with a look that would have melted most girls. But not me.

"Beckett, right?" he asked when he reached me.

"Beck," I corrected tersely, only slightly surprised he knew who I was. He stood there for a moment, his gaze boring into me, but I didn't look away. "Is that all?" I asked, seeing his confidence waver ever so slightly as I did. He began cracking his knuckles again, and I couldn't help but grimace. The corner of his mouth turned up in a half smile when he realized this.

"You left because this annoys you." It wasn't a question, and he continued to move through each hand slowly and thoroughly. I set my face into an indifferent expression, holding his gaze, tilting my head up slightly in neither confirmation nor denial. The corner of his mouth turned up even further. He looked down. "Nice bike. When did you get it?" I didn't answer. "Quiet and brooding, I see," he continued, looking up with that same smirk on his face.

If he kept talking, I decided I would hit him.

"I bet you don't even know my name," he said suddenly, placing both hands on the front of my bike, leaning forward so I could see the spokes of hazel running through his eyes. The comment threw me. My gaze on his faltered slightly, and his half smile deepened again. "You don't. You really don't. Too cool with your motorcycle and leather jackets to recognize a 'lowly peasant' like me" he said teasingly, thinking I didn't know his name, thinking he had bested me. About the latter, he was right. And I was about to snap. There was absolutely no way I would admit now that I knew his name.