Storm Warning - TLOM Prequel

Chapter One - The Music Nerd

The red haired girl jogged quickly to her first class, her binders and books in her arms. Her brother had left early and she'd been left to walk to school alone, late.

Again.

Lark Weston had never been an early person; she was quite often late for school, due to her constant keyboard playing. Every morning at seven am, she'd rise, plug her headphones into her prized instrument, and stretch her fingers over the black and white keys, music flowing through her veins as she played.

The melodies she produced were magical and beautiful and let Lark close her eyes and feel her music.

Alex's eyes met hers as she entered the classroom. The other students barely cast a glance at her, the regularity of her lateness no longer bothering them.

"Miss Weston." Her teacher's slow drawl met her with disapproval. "What was it this morning?"

Lark sighed and muttered under her breath, "Jace Everett..."

But he didn't hear her.

As she went to sit down in her seat, another person walked through the door. Turning, Lark saw that it was the principal, and she silently prayed the visit wouldn't be to call her upon on her tardiness. "Miss, I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to speak to Mr Weston?"

Alex frowned a little, and cast a glance at his sister before exiting the room after the principal. "Hey, Lark!" A boy from the football team yelled. "Your brother's in deep-" Before he could finish, their Math teacher shouted over the top of him. "Right! That's enough!"

The boy settled back into his seat and Lark scowled as she slid down in her seat, arms folded over her chest. She sat on her own in most lessons, mostly because there weren't many people who wanted to speak to the resident music nerd. Other kids were in cliques and pushed aside other people who weren't in their group, and Lark was definitely not in a clique.

Her red hair had been a major set back in her school, often being nicknamed "Ginge" or "witch" just because they found the old folklore about redheads with green eyes amusing. Being quiet didn't help either: Lark would much rather hide herself away with a book, her headphones blocking out the world, or with her piano to keep her company. People didn't like that; they wanted their friends to be outgoing and talkative. Everything Lark wasn't.

As Lark stumbled through her lessons of the day, she found herself becoming increasingly anxious. By the time lunch rolled around, she was gnawing on her fingernails.

Lark hated lunch. She hated being surrounded by people who were loud and noisy and inconsiderate of her noise preference.

"Lark!" Alex's voice called her as she entered the cafeteria, "Come over here!"

Lark looked over without a word of reply, taking in the big group of guys and girls and wondering what the hell her brother was trying to do. Sliding between people carrying trays and pushed out chairs, she made her way over and kept her eyes focused on her older brother. "What's up, Alex?" She asked, acting nonchalant and calm.

"Why don't you sit with us?" He offered, gesturing to the empty seat between him and a dark haired boy, about a year older than herself.

Lark cocked her head and desperately looked for a way out. Her, the music nerd, sit with a bunch of jocks and cheerleaders? It was going to be big news if she agreed. And Lark did not want to be big news.

"It's cool if you don't want to," The boy to Alex's left was staring at her intensely, his voice deep and low. "But we don't bite." He flashed a grin, and Lark caught a glimpse of his shiny white teeth, as if to emphasise his point.

Taking a deep and shuddering breath, the dainty redhead stepped over to her brother and placed herself carefully in between him and the older boy, anxious not to touch the staring footballer in any place.

"I'm Brett." The boy on her left offered his hand, and Lark cast a glance at it cautiously. "Wow, you really are a nervous little bird, aren't you?"

Lark frowned, and took his hand, as if to prove a point, shaking it firmly with her own little palm clasped in Brett's. "I'm Lark, and I'm not so sure that 'nervous' is the right word for me." Her voice was quiet and Lark could see some of the other girls casting her jealous looks, as if the attention of Brett was longed for within the group.

"I'm Ella," one girl spoke up loudly, and began pointing her perfectly manicured nails around the group. "That's Dawn, Aaron, Danielle, Chris, Shawn, Liza, Hope and Sam." She introduced everyone else in a dignified manner, as if she was the queen of the table. "You already met Brett." The way she said his name made it sound as if the boy was her property, and Lark resisted the urge to gag.

The girl Ella had introduced as Liza wrinkled her nose at Lark. "So you're the little music nerd?" She looked between Lark and Alex, and muttered, "We know who got the best genes."

"Hey!" Lark exclaimed unconsciously.

The table went quiet and everyone stared at Lark, as if seeing her as a person for the first time. "I uh..."

She was cut off by the sound of Brett laughing beside her, his laugh rising over the sound of the other twenty tables in the cafeteria to be the loudest sound in the room. "The little bird has claws!"

Boy, Lark wished that was true.