Birthmarked

11-What Doesn't Kill You Can Only Make You Stronger

A/N: Sorry this one isn't as long as the others, but it has vital information you should pay attention to. It would and probably should be longer, but i got lazy and said fudge it!

Hope you enjoy, and don't forget-though i don't see how you could-that Birthmarked is up for the Watty Awards so don't forget to vote; comment, become a fan.

Aliyahrenee

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"What the hell is wrong with you, Penny? You told me you were going to let me in on whatever was going on with you, but you stood me up! I sat there, waiting for you, looking stupid, before I finally got the clue!" Alli huffed.

I pressed a hand to my temple. "Alli, please, stop screaming."

"And then you don't come to school the next day. I bet you went to see Edon, didn't you? When did he become more important than your best friend?"

I placed my books in my locker and headed towards the courtyard, our place of rendezvous for break.

I shrugged. "I'm sorry, Alli. It was a family emergency-"

"You could have called or text, Penny, because there was this new invention called a cell phone!"

I sat on a bench, dropping my head into my hands. "Ugh," I groaned.

"What has been up with you? Do you not trust me anymore . . ." Alli continued to ramble on, but I couldn't hear her over the pounding in my head.

I squeezed my eyes closed to no avail. It felt like my head was ready to explode, and just when I thought I wouldn't be able to take it anymore, a strange new symptom occurred.

I could hear Alli more clearly now, but there were two voices, both of them identical. Alli still raddled on angrily, but there was another voice, one that was worried and hurt. There were other voices, too, but they were passing, distant sounds that came and went.

I pressed my hands to my head. What the hell was going on?

A hand rested on my shoulder and the voices, though still there, quieted, and my headache went away. I looked and saw Alli staring at someone with surprise. I followed her gaze to Nehemiah. He had been the one who placed his hand on my shoulder. Behind him stood Sofie, Rebecca, Zach, and Nathan; they stared down at me in concern.

Nehemiah's lips were a grim line. "Penny, we need to talk."

"I'm what?" I asked again, not wanting to believe what they were saying to me.

We all stood in the art room. It was completely empty, and they made sure it would stay that way; Nathan had locked the door with a key he had stolen from Mrs. Bennett's key ring from around her waist.

Zach had made a face when Nathan brandished the key from his back pocket. "How did you even get that from her?" he asked skeptically. Nathan had raised an eyebrow and smirked, saying, "You probably don't want to know." I shuddered at the thought.

Now, I backed into a stool and fell onto it, unable to stand anymore. "I'm a what?" I asked for a third time.

Nathan wore a grim expression as he raised his hand. He stared at it and it suddenly went up in flames. I screamed, jumping off of the stool to run to the sink. Nehemiah was at my side quickly, placing a steady hand on my shoulder. "Calm down, Penny."

I gawked at him. "Are you kidding me? His hand is on fire!"

Nehemiah cracked a small grin. "Look again."